Finding Freedom in Prison with Mason Suehs

Mason Suehs used to deal with anxiety and a gnawing sense that he was broken by using drugs. This, of course, led to some poor decisions and eventually to two stints in jail. However during his second period of incarceration he took a class offered by Anna Debenham and the Insight Alliance that pointed towards our innate well-being. The class taught him that he was not broken and didn’t need fixing. Now Mason works for The Insight Alliance, teaching others what he has seen and helping to reduce the recidivism rate among the inmates at Portland-area prisons.Mason Suehs works with the Insight Alliance teaching classes primarily to people who are incarcerated, pointing them to their wellbeing and the limitless potential they possess. Through deeper understanding of our minds, life tends to move smoother. Mason took The Insight Alliance course towards the end of his second prison sentence, and it changed his entire experience of life. You can find Mason Suehs at The Insight Alliance.You can listen above, on your favorite podcast app, or watch on YouTube. Notes and a full transcript are below. Show Notes* Searching for answers to life’s questions and to feel better * How there’s so much less for us to do  * How the recidivism rate for inmates drops when they learn about their true nature * How we both create our experience and then respond to it * Why no one is broken or needs fixing * Seeing unwanted habits for what they are and not defining ourselves as ‘addicts’ * How we’re designed to have insights and change * Learning from an experience with a cinnamon roll (yes, you read that correctly)Transcript of Interview with Mason SuehsAlexandra: Mason Suehs, welcome to Unbroken.Mason: I’m happy to be here.Alexandra: Why don’t you tell us a little bit about your background and how you discovered the three principles?Mason: Sure. I discovered the three principles when I was incarcerated six years ago. And as Anna Debenham, leader of the Insight Alliance or founder, she came into prison. It was my second time in prison, and that was in for drug offenses. And, man, it shook my world. I had been searching my whole life, for what’s the answer, looking at all the billions of thing things out there and trying to solve my inner struggles and my inner challenges and then turning towards drugs, getting deeply into addiction, and then making not the greatest decisions. When I took this class I had previously been involved in tons of meditation. And I even was sober for seven years between my two prison sets, got a degree in public health, when I was still felt like life was such a challenge. It was like I was still always looking for a way to try to feel different and feel better. Always looking for the next thing, the next self-help book. How do I escape this challenging experience? And then when Anna came in, like I mean, she just started with you’re not broken, you actually don’t need to do all that. To fix anything, or fixing an imaginary soul. There were so many insights. And it really just helped me become like a better, better flow or a better surfer a better mover through life. I realized there’s so much less for me to do than I thought there was not my natural capacity. Like who I was, was actually amazing. Incredible. If I let my hands off of it, and I saw the nature of where my experiences really coming from, I’d elevate. And I and it’s just been a journey of these last five or six years.Alexandra: When you took that class with, was it with Anna herself?Mason: Yeah. Alexandra: Are they mandatory?