Shaka Senghor: preference

Transcript context

…Would you say that in prison you, in some way, discovered religion? I grew up in a household where my mother went to church, in a community where church was a big part of that experience. So I wouldn’t necessarily say that I discovered religion in prison. I went through several iterations of figuring out what my spiritual journey is. I’ve studied Christianity. I’ve studied Islam. I’ve studied Buddhism. And what I realized for me personally, that my spiritual journey is really about learning, an ability to connect with other human beings. To me, I think the greatest scripture ever written is nature itself. If you think about the infinite nature of the sky or the depth of the ocean — to me, I think that’s metaphors for who we are as human beings, like our infinite ability to connect and the depth of which we can really stretch our imagination across any sector if we’re present to it. Meditation is a big part of how I live my life. Mindfulness — being super present in the moment — is really important to me because I think the moments are all that we have. I studied religion a lot early on in my incarceration, largely influences of Malcolm X and his journey — that self-discipline that he was able to develop through his religious practices. And just the curiosity, like historically, what we’ve thought about a divine power bringing all of this magic into the world as we know it now. I’m still on that quest, still on that journey. I’m still learning. That’s the thing I love about life — every interaction is an opportunity to learn. Do you think of yourself as a black Muslim the way Malcolm X was?…

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