Transcript
Levert Brookshire AZ Cell Block Society Pre-Release Master Plan Dear Reader, Within these here pages I've made a sincere attempt at capturing as much knowledge, useful insight and relevant wisdom as possible. All of which gathered up, collected and organized over the course of these past 13 yrs of my ensnarement, trapped here behind tall electrified razor wire fences. Languishing inside Arizona's penal system. Engaged in my own personal painstaking quest for change, transformation. Alienated, isolated and living a solitary life away from the many distractions, demands and obligations found in civilized society, I lost everything materialistic but found myself. Through literature and writing, my life was saved. Both of them are responsible for teaching me self-discipline, helping me to discover that everything that I need to survive and thrive in my life, has always been within reach all around me. Regardless of my whereabouts, I realize now it's up to me nobody else, to utilize my mind and figure it all out for myself. To do that, I'll need information. So far, this here is my best attempt at documenting everything I've managed to learn and figure out during my past 13 yrs on a personal journey of self-education and growth. I'm certain that, there's more to be added at the end of my final stretch closing out this long 21 yr. term. Like a deadly poisoneous snake bite, in it's toxic venom so is the anecdote. Upon realizing this, everything began to change, for me. A shift in my thinking process helped me to see all the real power necessary to achieve whatever it is that I desired, was in fact inside of me all along. It was waiting for me to tap into it, develop it and direct my inner-potential, even while entombed behind cellblock walls. Or, on the other side of them 'outside' these tall fences as a civilian, roaming freely in society. It's always up to us, ourselves to 'dig', 'excavate', 'search', ourselves to gather up, collect everything that we will need to transform ourselves and change our thinking, for the better. Following my own personal excavation and digging adventure, documenting and cataloguing my discoveries, meticulously recording my finding's, over a 13 year expedition. These pages here capture what I've come to hold, value, save and even protect: to be used later as my personal note's, map's, and chart's to guide me along as I navigate the hostile, complicated, unpredictable, civilized society's environmental conditions that are surely expected ahead, in my post-release future, being as an ex-felon. Transitioning from, prison life into civilian life will definately come with some expected challenges. Having my own calculated, measured-out, realistic time-lines and simplified, attainable goals written out for me in advance, for me to reference when I need to, will be an extremely important tool for me, to have at my disposal. What will be even more important is me having the drafted up 'blueprints' and 'plans' to actually achieving the goals. By taking consistent, measured steps, with a purpose, with regular and repetitive action's. I am sure to produce some small amounts of success daily. Sticking to healthy, productive and diligent rituals- regular scheduled habits, progressive gains will be made, using what I've assembled together in these pages. This will also become my most valuable and useful self-motivation tool. Referencing my own past personal accounts, in these writing's, will become my greatest inspiration. Depending on the facts and estimates provided within these pages for my guidance tool. I've made plans, inside these charts to continue the disciplines of reading and writing upon release, which is the source of my transformation. Having been here for most of my life, socialized into this whole prison life culture, and cell block living environment for close to two decades, straight before I'm actually released. The need to readjust, de-program from my long 20 year prison socialization, programming mindset will have to be considered. As I re-enter civilized society, this is where the need for self-discipline and creating new rituals and developing healthy daily habits will play an important role, continued 'reading' and 'writing', 'exercising' and working towards a goal will allow me to pace myself and ease into, a smooth transition, gradually and successfully, following a disciplined process, not a 'rushed', 'unprepared', 'confused' process, that most ex-felon's experience once released. Deconstructing 21 yrs of prison living, to 'reconstruct' a completely new and different life for myself, outside of institutions will not happen overnight, this takes time. Like prison, it takes creating new plans, different rituals and health daily habits, outside of prison also. Taking my time to plan develop, test and and construct schedules for my diet's, workouts, job hours, family, personal leisure time, and studying. To develop my new rituals demands that, I pace myself, taking my time to ease into my civilian life socialization process. Reprograming myself. Taking small steps each and everyday, eventually will lead to my goals. Like I've learned to do behind walls, I must learn to manage 'time' outside of prison. Staying focused, and on course is the key to success. I have plans to follow a personal development program out there as I've done inside here for years. I've spent years in here studying and designing this personal development program for outside these fences, designed to help me maintain and continue my self-discipline, self-restraint and self-control, using alot of the same methods I've used while inside here. Repeating the same repetitive, healthy, and constructive ritual's, daily routines work for me. Taking same small steps, some small form of action each and everyday will eventually lead me to my personal goals. This entire collection of cellblocksociety essays along with this cell block society post-release master-plan. Together. All have taken me years to develop and then compose, into these neatly arranged and organized record's of what I'm hoping to use as my best writing's yet, for the general public to critique. Given the fact I will be using all of the cellblocksociety collection of writing's and the cellblocksociety post-release master plan, just as they are displayed to the general public, so too, they will be used as my real 'plans' for the future. Their development and construction, all of it had to, take into account the fact that I would be into my mid-fifties by the time these 'plans' would actually be followed and carried-out, on the street's, put to the real test. There's been much consideration and thought put into the planning and development of these goals, I've written down. The goal's I've come up with here in these plans, have been developed to match the age ranges that I will be at the time they will be executed, come the time of my release and re-entry back into society. They were all written as practical, step-by step plans to approach each and every goal from the first day of my release, til' the following first year, second, third and even beyond. Starting out with simple, smaller, more manageable, realistic, short-term goal's, mid-term, and long-term as well. Laying out legitimate, well thought out plans to move me from one goal to the next. Gradually becoming 're-socialized' back into civil-society again, as, I find stability and balance, which I expect to lead me into, my longer -term, long-range goal's. Using these final years of imprisonment to prepare myself and work on my thinking process, rationalization and decision-making. Replacing the way's of thinking that led me back to the prison cell's again, for the third time. A thinking mindset, which led to not only my action's that day which came to result in this outcome. But more so, the values that, I had at the time. Which made my decision's and actions on that day acceptable and justifiable to me, in the first place. That is, the kind of value-system and thinking I've set out to change. After wasting the entire first-half of my life, squandering away years of opportunity's and chance after chance to correct my thinking, and decision-making process. Until now, at 48 years old and 25 year's altogether, languishing inside cellblocks', I've used my prison sentence as my last and final chance, to correct my flawed, dysfunctional value-system, replacing my sociopathic way of thinking. Something I've dedicated my entire prison term towards. Trying to properly re-examine, re-evaluate, reprioritize myself, by looking closer at my mindset and thinking. Something that had taken decades upon decades to develop, shape, and form into what they are. I've had to 'excavate' layer upon layer of past experiences, sifting through every imaginable kind of trauma and neglect, in order to find answer's. Finally, I've reached a place in my 'digging', and 'sifting' where I'm able to, recognize some of the 'corrosive' values that influenced my decision-making. I've been able 'identify' the 'toxic', 'polluted' core of all my past decision making. 'Pulling-it out', 'separating-it' from the rest of myself. Not allowing it to corrupt, poison, or taint the rest of my life. Arriving at this new place of thinking, and how I come to make decisions in my life. Arriving at this new place of thinking, and how I come to make decisions in my life. Where I am now, at the time of my 'change of heart,' at the time of my 'change of values' and 'change of thinking.' Many of the inhabitants here inside prison cellblock's are strongly against self-improvement and having any shifts in 'values' or change's in thinking, which lead away from criminal behavior. Any turn around from criminal way's, becomes seen as a direct threat to the established, dominant criminal authority here. All of which spends upon the whole idea and belief in criminality. So the majority of inhabitants here, always have misgivings about the whole 'rehabilitation' mindset and 'reform' way of thinking. But their misgiving's about reform only strengthened my resolve. I've gradually, become repulsed by this kind of prisoner, those who don't welcome 'change' or 'self-reform', have become threats to my journey. I've had instances where some prisoner's have even went as far as 'sabotage' to end my personal journey of self-rehabilitation. I've gotten familiar with the whole negative side of sabotaging and derailing prisoner's who are trying to better themselves, before they're released. I've seen it first hand, how other prisoner's set out to stop other's from gaining an education by causing them to 'stumble' and 'fall', before they reach they're educational goals. Whenever I see this being done, it disgust's me. Making me even more disgusted with myself. Just thinking about the whole idea that it was me, my own decisions that landed me inside these places, in the first place, again and again. Knowing, after what efforts I've made to change from one set, of values to another, from one way of 'thinking' to another. Changing how I 'think' and make decisions. After everything that, I've come to learn. Nothing could ever entice me down a path of crime, ever again, leading me back to this outcome. The thinking that, I have today. Make's all criminal activity and unacceptable way for me to land back insider here, again. Today, I've become a man who, will alway's protect and guard his 'freedom', my 'life', and even my legacy. Something that, I had never done before, in my past, having always taken them all for granted. Squandering my freedom, my life, and my legacy, being an absentee father, contributing nothing to my children's lives, missing out on my nieces and nephews upbringing. Not being there, by my mother's side to hold her hand, and comfort her in her last and final hour's above earth, because of my being inside here. The cause of my having to miss out on the most memorable moments of my life, was being in prison. Where I've been no use to anyone that I love and care about, unable to participate in their lives or experience life with any of them. As long as I'm here, because of my flawed value system and my dysfunctional way of thinking, being inside here will keep me unable to contribute to anyone's life, constantly subdued and held back, unable to make any difference whatsoever to family, community, or society. As a man, this should be unacceptable. Because, as a man, I know that I can do much more than this, with my life. These here writing's have become my very first real small steps, and my first small actions towards changing all of that. Through time management in prison, self-education, and self-reform, I've reached this point. A point that has led me to exercise my own potential to 'think' and 'act' in way's that produce desired outcomes, and healthy, planned-out results. Empowering myself, with the proper educational tools, was the key to making changes. Arming myself with the knowledge of psychology, human-behavior, socialization, personal responsibility, self-reliance, health, politics, law, problem-solving, and self-discovery. These, were the tool's that were most helpful in changing how I think, how I seem myself, in this life and in my family, the world that I live in. Making me want to, become a producer, who produces meaningful contributions, in their world. Contributions that benefit other's around us. Reprogramming my entire thinking process has changed my whole behavior completely. It's changed the way that I perceive other's, how I perceive myself. More importantly, it's changed the expectation's that I have in myself, for this life. Completely replacing my old criminal values and criminal thinking removing it from my rationale. What I learned, that works for me in the change process, doing productive thing's and healthy things, creative things, over and over again, repetitively til it has become one of my good, healthy habit's. Adopting this practice, is what has helped me, to make it through extremely psychologically difficult and very mentally challenging times. Learning patience, how to pace myself through the reform process, and manage the way's I use my time, to develop new constructive, more proper and correct thinking patterns. Developing proper habits and ritual's, which eventually lead to change of old negative habits and ritual's. This is how behavior-modification starts. The building blocks for rehabilitation. This is something I'm planning to take outside with me, once I'm released. There's a new opportunity approaching. Fortunately for me, I'll get a new chance at the age of 52. Which will likely be my last one to get it right. Making it that much more important for me to take this opportunity extremely serious. Now that I've discovered the true and real power of using my mind, being awakened by literature and knowledge, applying the human system of, thinking my way through, my challenges, in order to overcome them oppose to succumbing to them. Each and every challenge has a solution. I just have to 'think' and figure out what it is, in order to get a favorable outcome I want. Making the old impulsive, reactionary, criminal thinking obsolete. By creating different habits for myself, different thinking patterns opens me up to better uses of my mind, producing better outcomes. Using my mind to formulate and develop different, productive plans. More specifically, achievable, realistic, calculated goal's. Following well thought-out, carefully researched, neatly organized blueprints, that lead to my goal's. By, writing down everything and then, separating everything into it's own category, this helps to clarify exactly what my challenges will be beforehand, what my specific threat's are, and what tool's I'll need before setting-out on my journey to pursue my goal's. This new kind of thinking, leaves nothing to chance or coincidence's. Instead, my new thinking, outlines everything into step by step plans. Broken down, into short-term, mid-term and long-term plans. Scheduled into, time-estimates, and small actions leading to bigger ones. Writing out the guidelines for me to follow once I'm actually released from prison. Has helped me to strengthen my self-determination and give me stronger mental staying power as I got through my prison journey, facing resistance, obstacles and pushback from all of the negative energy found in prison. Designing my future plans while being here has become my motivational tool in here, as well. Working on this master plan, has become something I turn to for strength and purpose. Conducting the research needed, organizing the information and solving the problems, that arise. All of this prepares me, and trains me for the challenges that will come along. This writing process has become my first goal-setting system for me to use while I'm here. Since I'm not able to get up and leave here or have the freedom I need, to put these plans into action. This, is my chance to create unique goal-setting activities for myself. Ritual's and habit's that I can practice, while I'm in prison. Ones, that put me on the road to success, and keep me there until the day I'm finally released from these places. When I'm able to take these written-out guidelines and turn them into real life pursuit's, outside of here. Following plans that are solution-oriented, focused on solving problems that are very common and likely to appear, but often underestimated by the majority of ex-felons who leave prison without a plan. Uncertain, about where it is they would like to go, no plans how to get there, scared of all the challenge's they have to face, threatening them from ever, getting there. Whatever we choose to think about, to think about the most is what we will experience. Whatever we choose to focus on, that's what we will gradually move towards in our lives. My time in prison, has been focused on where I want to go in life. My thinking would've been more fulfilled as a youth, had I been exposed to these self-empowering techniques back when I was much younger. Because of my years of reading and studying various kinds of literature and different subject matter along this journey it's come to help me strengthen my written plans with much needed useful information, all of which will come to be valuable during the execution of the plans, I've filled these writings with information that will assist me in the pursuit of my goal's. Designing different strategies, alternative options and reference sources where I turn to for guidance tips and insights, whenever I experience challenges in my pathway. There is much that has been included about way's to leverage assistance from my use of easily accessible 'data-banks' that many people aren't even aware of. Having knowledge of very specific kind's of databank's that have very specific kinds of information that's organized and catalogued for use, by the general public, especially by those who need direction and guidance tips, for getting around 'discriminating' restrictions, and 'criminal history' limitations imposed on ex-felons. In order to overcome any civil disability laws that add more difficulty and pressure to my readjustment and resocialization back into civilized society, I will access these information data-banks to give myself more equal-footing to meet these restrictions, limitations, and pressures, that threaten my freedom, my life or my legacy. Most of my info that I will get, is going to come from one dominant source. Known as edenpress.com. Once I'm finally released from prison and put back into, civil-society again. As an ex-felon, with an extensive criminal-past, my birthname will then become my newest prison, having the stigma 'convicted-felon' attached to it permanently. Keeping me permanently chained up, shackled to a life of menial labor job's, low paying wages, with limited income potential. My name, will confine me to the lowest level social class status of all, 'the underclass'. Like prisoner's, those who are, assigned a criminal conviction to their birthnames, must wear a permanent social-label in 'civilized-society' like an inmate does. Having this permanent label will automatically disqualify me from specific decent paying job's, forbidding me from specific occupations, professions, and vocational trade's. This was never said or stipulated during any of my court hearing's or punishment terms. However, this is very much an 'unspoken' punishment that comes with the 'criminal-court' process, which turns into a life sentence, we weren't told about. Imposing a punishment upon me, which add's additional restrictions on my life, that were not apart of my sentencing, in court. Limiting me from participating in specified business opportunities, professions, and opportunities for employment. Making it difficult for me to compete as an 'equal' in civil-society. Being discriminated against, and held back, because of, my birthname, long after I've paid my debt's to society. Given these labels and stigma's I'll never have another clean slate, again, to move forward as an equal. These label's are assigned to us, to keep us from competing as equal's, ever again. This is going to be a reality for me, from the first day out of prison. My most immediate and daunting challenge ahead. Demanding that I take serious, closer-look at all available, and realistic options. Creating methods for myself, that will be useful, for occasions like this. Discrimination becomes an ex-felon's biggest obstacle. It's the biggest threat we will face, outside of prison. I've put alot of hours, days, weeks, month's even year's trying to create a "strategic" plan that will work, whenever faced with this challenge. A strategic plan, that is written up to address the legal maneuver's and legitimate options available to me, that will 'free' me from my criminal history. Strategy's that unshackle me, from my birthname identity. My solution to the problem has been, to use the legal channel's available to me. In order to minimize the threat of discrimination, alternative identification will be an option. Included in my writing's, I've revealed several other options also, way's for meeting the challenges of discrimination once I'm released. It was also helpful to discover how the status-quo, ruling class get away with, 'legal' discrimination against those of us who have been convicted of a criminal act, or spent time in prison. Through my studies I've learned about 'the civil disability laws', which have been written and passed in every state. They aren't criminal laws, they can be found in all fifty states, 'business' and professional codes. They are created to control and limit the competition in specific professions. Keeping rules in place that don't let certain people in the competition. In some cases, this makes good sense. We want to keep people with "child-molestation" convictions, prohibited from working inside our school's, to protect our children of course. Given the many, well-documented cases, time after time where many of ex felons have been-extended another chance, trust being placed in them, only to be, taken advantage of and walked all over for it, betraying trust and violating society's rules over and over again. It's no surprise that the "public" has completely give up on us all, who get out of prison. The credibility, has been degraded for all of us, because of our past history everywhere. Distrust is easier for the public, in order to keep themselves protected from us. As ex-felons who have been to prison more than once, we've got to take personal responsibility for our choices to be repeat offenders. There are way's that we can educate ourselves about these civil disability law's and how to go around them. Which, I've written about extensively in my master plan. I elaborate in details how to unchain myself from the lifetime stigma, of ex con. I write about the ways to cut off my shackles to low-skilled, low-paying jobs, and the 'criminal survival class', or 'underclass'. I write at length about the ways to avoid feelings of desperation, inferiority or inadequacy. This post-release master plan that I've written up, has been well researched and carefully prepared in a way, that will be empowering for me when the time comes to use these plans. They are put together in a way that will make me feel confidence in them as I follow them through, along my journey. I will reference these plans as I move closer and closer to my goal's, and whenever I have to find sources of self-motivation, direction and insight. I will have been off the street's 18 years, by the time I'm released from prison. Therefore, the most important and most vital thing for me to do upon release from day one is to find a job. Securing a source of income of any legitimate source, will become of critical importance for my master plan to work. At the very least, even something unappealing, discouraging, and low-paying for starters. it's only temporary, very short-term and immediate as possible. Being so newly released, back into society after nearly 20 years of being provided everything by the state, learning to provide for myself, and being self-reliant from the very, first day. This will be of grave importance to my successful transition or the cause of my failure. Because it will require a legitimate source of income in order to sustain the inexpensive low-budget, basic, commonly needed, daily essentials that each and everyone of us depends on, such as food, clothing, shelter, even public transportation has fees. As I, become slowly adjusted to my new freedom, getting myself balanced out, finding out what my own personal situation looks like with my family, friends and support network. After making an assessment of everything, my initial few week's or first few months. I'll be able to slowly and gradually transition into more responsibility's, having more of a choice, selecting the type of jobs and wages I would prefer. It's all about being patient and humble, the longer I can remain free, staying out of prison. The more range of freedom I will soon have to be able to decide, without pressure. Which type of occupation I want, at what skill-level and what pay-grade do I want. But, this does not happen, overnight. It takes time. It will become a regular thing for me, to take time-outs. Find a comfortable, quiet, peaceful spot and pull-out these writing's, going over every page. Refreshing myself, referencing information that I've forgotten, using these for reminders and even self-motivation. I will often pull these out to re-evaluate what I've written down in my "short-term" employment options, to see what I find that could be implemented at the time, or perhaps which of my "self-employment" options would work feasibly into my life at the time, without complication's. Also, I'll be occasionally, reviewing all of my "professional-certification options". So that, I'm constantly monitoring the 'timing' of when everything 'lines-up,' to it's own window of opportunity. Theres not a lot of time remaining for me. But there's enough for me to reinvent myself one last, final time. To recover lost relationships, fulfill some of my long-lost personal goals of mine, and make good on some past unfulfilled promises that I've made, before my life here on the earth, comes to an end. On my last final stretch here on this earth, above ground. I only want to be of service to those I've neglected all these years and of some service to other's too. And this is the legacy that I'm planning to leave behind.... As, a species on this earth, we as humans are the only species who have the power to change our behavior. No other species can change their behavior, bird's, dogs, horses, fish or snakes, no other species can change who they are, or what they do. Only we have this power inside of us, to change. Many of us are in denial and resist change. I'm looking to break the cycle. Transcribed in 2017.
