Occasionally one meets in the course of one’s life people who leave a deep imprint on you. Last month I spoke about French spiritual teacher Alyna Rouelle. Today I would like to write about another such teacher I met on … death row Texas !
Roger W. Mc Gowen and I have been corresponding for almost 20 years now and through his books he has become a spiritual guide for hundreds around the world, especially in Europe and the USA. In the spiritual texts section you will find a quite remarkable text of his and there are of course many more in the book I wrote about him, MESSAGES OF LIFE FROM DEATH ROW (only available on Amazon, and in England also from http://cygnus-books.co.uk/).
Roger was condemned to death for a crime his brother committed. His lawyers and the international support group which backs him are absolutely certain he is innocent – but serious miscarriages of justice are, alas, frequent in Texas, especially if the accused is poor and black as Roger is. After a long period of years of revolt which were literally consuming him, Roger decided to assume the full responsibility of his life. This was one of the major turning points in his life on death row – understanding that in every situation, we have the choice of our thoughts, of being a victim or assuming full responsibility of a situation. This does not mean that we caused the problem, but that we are capable of responding with intelligence, creativity and love to what is facing us. It is choosing to say YES to everything, rather than NO, to choose gratitude over complaint.
Roger has gone as far as writing to one of his good correspondents, a well-known French writer, “If I have to die on death row, I will have at least shown than one can be happy there.” When you know a tiny bit about death row Texas, quite literally one of the worst places on the planet and one of the very closest to hell, this is just stunning. Either this man is crazy – or he has understood what very few people have demonstrated. Personally, his example kept me standing during the worst crisis in my life, and he is a constant, daily inspiration to hundreds around the world. So, dear friend, please consider reading his book. You will find it deeply inspiring both in terms of your personal and spiritual development.
I will leave you with one of my favourite statements of Roger’s:
“Love is only one thought away.
Remember to use it often.
It can never be depleted”.
PS: Four years ago, we had to cancel the two websites we had on Roger, for reasons related to his defence, and there is as yet no new one.
However, there is a quite remarkable TV program from Swiss TV on Roger which is available both in English and in French, for $25 (same in Euros or Swiss francs, or £15), plus postage, which I can send you if you contact me.
Pierre Pradervand
