#116 - A Prison is the Shadow of a Festival | Sonya Shah (Ahimsa Collective)

If we are committed to healing and a joyful life, we must look at our culture’s longest shadows, and change the way we understand justice. The opposite of the expansive freedom of a festival is the national nightmare of mass incarceration. Today on Life is a Festival. Sonya Shah, a specialist in restorative justice, is here to shine a light in our collective darkness and a possible path out. The show begins with an exploration how to live a meaningful life and how to cultivate joy in activism. We discuss the US prison system, why incarceration doesn’t serve society, and ways to support reform. Then we dive into the alternative practice of restorative justice with all its benefits and challenges. I share my own experience participating in a community accountability process. We finish our conversation with a discussion of masculinity and gender violence, and how we can create space for healing by learning to sit with our own triggers. Sonya is an Associate Professor at California Institute of Integral Studies and has been teaching and facilitating restorative justice circles for over 15 years. She has trained hundreds of facilitators in trauma healing, and helped communities design their own group healing processes. She initiated the Ahimsa Collective in 2016 which facilitates circles for survivors of sexual harm and people who have committed sexual harm within prisons and other environments. She is a Buddhist, a first-generation immigrant from India and a shining example of joyful service. Links: Ahimsa Collective: https://www.ahimsacollective.net/ Life Comes From It: https://www.lifecomesfromit.org/ Zehr Institute: https://zehr-institute.org/ Justice in America Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0wb6JtwN3qBgGiwKKmqj1i bell hooks The Will to Change Men, Masculinity, and Love: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Will-to-Change/bell-hooks/9780743456081 Thirteenth (film): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13th_(film) You’re Going to Die: http://www.yg2d.com/what-is-youre-going-to-die Timestamps :06 - bell hooks and patriarchal harm :14 - What does it mean to live a meaningful life? :18 - How to cultivate joy in activism :25 - The prison system, privilege and how we become aware of our collective shadow :37 - How we can take action for prison reform and advocacy :47 - Switching to restorative justice :53 - Eamon’s experience with a community accountability process 1:05 - Reframing from perpetrator to “person who caused harm” 1:14 - Gender violence and patriarchy 1:20 - Sitting with triggers and reactivity 1:25 - Facing challenging truths