An introduction to religious and spiritual experience

The Prison Phoenix Trust
This is an orgnanization which brings yoga and meditation to prisoners, 
often transforming their lives. It came about as a result of someone being 
inspired by the religious experiences of others. Ann Wetherall
 
began 
working with Sir Alister Hardy on the categorization of the experiences 
sent in by the public in 1983. Considering that ‘imprisonment’ might be a 
trigger, Ann contacted people who had suffered periods of incarceration – 
hostages, and prisoners, including IRA prisoner Jimmy Boyle, infamous 
for his ‘dirty protests’. As a result of her request published in prison news-
papers, she received letters from prisoners, describing spiritual experi-
ences which most were admitting for the first time, as they feared being 
sent to the psychiatrist.
Here is an extract from the kind of letter Ann read, describing the 
experience of a prisoner on the 58th day of a hunger strike:
I suddenly felt the most holy benediction flood my heart with a 
physical warmth so comforting so absolutely unworldly that I felt my 
sins (which were many and grievous) were wiped away . . . as the feel-
ing gradually matured in me all my lifelong grief and sadness all the 
loneliness and self recrimination all the hate was washed away and 
healed. In their place was the Holy Ghost. It did not go away. 
It remained there where the physical heart is like an infinitely tender 
and live warmth-cum light. It expressed itself as Life and intelligence 

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Fruits of Spiritual Experience
225
and Love – all in one. Words are inadequate to describe the experience. 
It can only be expressed by living one’s life consistently in a way that 
can express ones gratitude and admiration,This caused the prisoner to decide to stop the hunger strike, co-operate 
with the Home Office, deal with the borstal sentence, give up smoking 
and drinking and live a completely different life.
Ann felt that the prisoners who wrote to the RERU (as it was known 
at that time) deserved support, reassurance as to their sanity and help to 
build on their experiences, so she left the research in order to set up ‘The 
Prison Ashram Project’ with Rupert Sheldrake and Bede Griffiths among 
the original patrons. Later renamed ‘The Prison Phoenix Trust’, it is now 
an organization in contact with over 2,000 prisoners all over the country. 
Its aim is stated in its newsletter:
The opportunity for spiritual growth exists in a prison cell. The Prison 
Phoenix Trust encourages young prisoners in their spiritual lives 
through the practices of meditation and yoga, working with silence 
and the breath. We offer personal support to prisoners through teach-
ing, workshops, correspondence, books and newsletters – and to prison 
staff too.
www.prisonphoenixtrust.org.uk