>>>
>>> WELCOME BACK TO NEW DAY NORTHWEST FROM THE AAA TRAVEL
ALCOVE WITH MARGARET LARSON.
>>> WELCOME BACK TO DAMIEN
ECHOLS SPENT 18 YEARS ON DEATH
ROW FOR MURDER.
HIS TWO FRIENDS RECEIVED LIFE
SENTENCES THAT THEY WERE
RELEASED IN 2011 AFTER NEW DNA
EVIDENCE CLEAR THEM.
A STRING OF DOCUMENTARIES TOLD
THEIR STORY.
THEIR STORY. IN HIS NEWEST BOOK, HIGH MAGICK,
THE SPIRITUAL PRACTICES THAT
SAVED MY LIFE ON DEATH ROW, HE
SHARES WHAT KEPT HIM WHOLE FOR
NEARLY 2 HORRENDOUS DECADES.
WE ARE PLEASED TO WELCOME
DAMIEN ECHOLS.
DAMIEN ECHOLS. IT IS SO NICE TO MEET YOU.
I AM VERY SORRY FOR WHAT YOU
HAVE BEEN THROUGH.
YOU SAID IT HAS BROUGHT YOU
HERE TODAY.
HERE TODAY. YOU HAVE MADE PEACE WITH THIS.
THIS TALK ABOUT WHAT THIS IS.
THIS IS MY FIRST QUESTION WHAT
I OPENED THE BOOK.
REALLY INTERESTING AND I THINK
PROFOUND.
PROFOUND.
PROFOUND. TELL ME HOW YOU DESCRIBE IT?
>> IT IS MAGIC SPELLED WITH A K.
IT IS A LOT OF ESOTERIC JUDAISM
AND A LOT OF PRACTICES.
MAGIC IS ALL FOR INFANTS AND
PURPOSES A PATH TO
ENLIGHTENMENT.
ENLIGHTENMENT. WE THINK TO ACHIEVE THE STUFF
YOU HAVE TO AUTOMATICALLY
PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THAT WE
HAVE SOMETHING THAT IS JUST AND
RICH IN BEAUTIFUL HERE IN THE
WEST AS IN THE EAST.
>> IT IS A SPIRITUAL MEDITATIVE
IN HER APPROACH TO THINGS.
YOU'RE THE SECOND PERSON I HAVE
MET WHO HAS A STORY LIKE THIS
WHERE THEY HAVE BEEN WRONGLY
ACCUSED AND CONVICTED OF
SOMETHING.
SOMETHING. IT SEEMS LIKE THIS ALMOST
INSURMOUNTABLE OBSTACLE OF
DESPAIR THAT THEY ARE ON DEATH
ROW.
ROW.
ROW. DID
ROW. DID YOU ALREADY KNOW SOME OF
THESE THINGS?
THESE THINGS? >> YES, SOME OF THEM.
AND I TELL SOME PEOPLE -- IT'S
HARD TO MAKE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND
THIS BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU GO
THROUGH.
THROUGH.
THROUGH. IT IS SO HORRIFIC.
WHAT SAVED ME AND WHAT KEPT ME
SANE AND WHAT KEPT ME GOING IS
A CONCEPT CALLED WILL.
IT IS SIMILAR TO DHARMA.
IT IS WHAT YOU ARE HERE FOR,
WHAT YOUR PURPOSES.
PEOPLE THINK OF SPIRITUAL
PRACTICE LIKE THIS.
WHAT IS THE TERMINOLOGY YOU
WANT TO USE.
ARE YOU ONE WITH DIVINITY, ARE
YOU ONE WITH GOD.
WHATEVER CONCEPT AND WHATEVER
NAME YOU WANT TO PUT ON IT.
IN ACTUALITY, IF THAT'S THE
ONLY REASON FOR EXISTENCE, THEN
WHY ARE WE BORN TO THE POINT OF
MAGICK , PART OF THE POINT IS
TO HELP YOU FIGURE OUT WHAT
REAL IS.
REAL IS.
REAL IS. ONCE YOU FIGURE THAT OUT AND
APPLY YOURSELF TO IT, 100% WITH
ALL OF YOUR HEART, THEN THINGS
LIKE DESPAIR AND DEPRESSION
FALL INTO THE BACKGROUND.
FOR ME, THE THING THAT I HAVE
ALWAYS LOVED WAS TO BE
CEREMONIAL, TO HAVE CEREMONIAL
MAGICK.
MAGICK.
MAGICK. I
MAGICK. I WOULDN'T FOCUS ON THE FACT
THAT I WAS IN PRISON FOR WEEKS
AT A TIME.
RON DOSS WENT TO VISIT THIS GUY
AND HE SAID WE HAVE A PLAN TO
BREAK YOU OUT.
AND HE SAID YOU CAN'T DO THAT
BECAUSE I HAVE TOO MUCH WORK TO
DO.
DO.
DO. THAT'S THE WAY I FELT AT TIMES.
>> THAT'S THE WAY YOU ARE
REMOVING YOURSELF FROM YOUR
SURROUNDINGS.
SURROUNDINGS. IT'S SOME OF THOSE SAME THINGS,
SUCH AN ELEVATED HUMANITY.
IT'S A VERY INTERESTING CONCEPT.
WHAT DID YOU PHYSICALLY DO, ARE
THERE EXERCISES THAT WE CAN DO
TO GET THIS IN THAT FRAME OF
MIND?
MIND?
MIND? >>
MIND? >> ABSOLUTELY.
>> ABSOLUTELY. SOME ARE SIMPLE AND SOME ARE
BUILDING ON HOW COMPLICATED.
>> IS THERE WHEN YOU CAN SHOW
US?
US?
US? >>
US? >> ONE THAT IS EASY AND SIMPLE,
A VERY BASIC PRACTICE FOR
CLEARING YOUR MIND.
MOST PEOPLE WRESTLE WITH LET'S
SAY YOU HAVE A SONG IN YOUR
HEAD.
HEAD.
HEAD. ARE
HEAD. ARE YOU ARE RELIVING AN
ARGUMENT.
ARGUMENT.
ARGUMENT. A LOT OF THE EASTERN PRACTICES
ARE MORE TIME-CONSUMING AND ARE
MORE INVOLVED.
MORE INVOLVED. THERE'S ONE AND IT SOUNDS
MORBID MAYBE BUT BECAUSE OF MY
PAST BUT I WOULD MEDITATE IN
THE PRISON CELL.
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS SIT WITH
YOUR EYES CLOSED AND IMAGINE
THAT YOU WERE STANDING IN A
PRISON CELL.
PRISON CELL. EVERYTHING IN THE CELL IS
WHITE.
WHITE.
WHITE. THERE'S A WINDOW ON THE BACK
WALL, ALMOST A SLIP OF A
WINDOW.
WINDOW.
WINDOW. IT'S SO HIGH THAT THE ONLY WAY
YOU CAN REACH IT IS BY DOING A
PULL UP OR EIGHT GIN UP.
YOU USE BRUTE PHYSICAL STRENGTH
TO PULL YOURSELF UP TO THIS
WINDOW.
WINDOW.
WINDOW. WHEN YOU DO THIS, YOU MAKE
YOURSELF PHYSICALLY FEEL, AS
MUCH TACTILE SENSATION AS YOU
CAN.
CAN.
CAN. SO
CAN. SO YOU WANT TO ACTUALLY FEEL
YOUR MUSCLE STRENGTH, FEEL YOUR
SHOULDERS PULLING.
SHOULDERS PULLING. YOU LIFT YOURSELF UP TO THE
WINDOW.
WINDOW.
WINDOW. WHEN YOU GET TO THE EDGE, WHITE
LIES BURST IN -- WHITE LIGHT
BURST IN.
BURST IN.
BURST IN. IT'S ONLY WHITE LIGHT.
TO DO THIS, YOU DO THE THREE OR
FOUR TIMES BACK TO BACK, NO
MORE THAN FIVE MINUTES, YOU
WILL FIND YOURSELF A LOT MORE
FOCUSED, A LOT OF THE ANXIETY
WILL BE GONE, YOU WOULD BE
FOCUSED ON WHATEVER IT WAS THAT
YOU NEEDED AND NOT FOCUSED ON
THE THINGS THAT CAUSED THE
DESPAIR.
DESPAIR.
DESPAIR. >> THAT IS FASCINATING.
EDDIE VEDDER LOVED THIS SORT OF
THING.
THING.
THING. HE
THING. HE SPENT MORE THAN 15 YEARS
TRYING TO ADVOCATE FOR THIS.
WHAT DID THAT FEEL LIKE TO HAVE
SOMEONE KNOW THAT THEY WERE
GOING TO TRY TO MAKE THIS
HAPPEN.
HAPPEN.
HAPPEN. >> IT IS ODD.
TO ME IT IS ALMOST LIKE TO
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE. THERE'S THE ONE YOU HEAR ON THE
RADIO.
RADIO.
RADIO. THE GUY WHO USED TO COME SIT
WITH ME ON DEATH ROW.
HE'S ONE OF THE FEW PEOPLE THAT
WAS ALLOWED TO COME IN AND
VISIT ME.
VISIT ME.
VISIT ME. BECAUSE I WAS IN SUPER MAX.
EVERY TIME HE WAS IN THE AREA,
HE WOULD COME AND SIT IN THE
VISITATION ROOM AND EAT CHIPS
IN THE ROOM WITH ME.
WE WOULD TALK ABOUT WHAT'S
GOING ON IN THE WORLD.
HE WOULD TRY TO GET MY MIND OFF
OF THE SITUATION I WAS IN.
SO EDDIE VEDDER IS THE GUY ON
THE RADIO BUT YET HE WAS THE
GUY WHO DID EVERYTHING HE COULD
TO HELP ME WHEN I WAS IN MY
"DARKEST HOUR".
"DARKEST HOUR". >> ARE YOUR FRIENDS OKAY?
>> ONE LIVES IN TEXANS AND THE
OTHER ONE IS IN ARKANSAS.
THERE STILL A LOT OF EMOTIONAL
SCARRING AND TRAUMA AND PTSD.
>> BLESS YOU FOR SHARING THIS.
THIS IS INTERESTING AND IT WAS
SO NICE TO MEET YOU.
YOU CAN JOIN DAMIEN AND
CONVERSATION WITH EDDIE VEDDER
TONIGHT HERE IN SEATTLE.
THERE'S A LIMITED NUMBER OF
TICKETS AVAILABLE SO VISIT OUR
WEBSITE FOR MORE INFORMATION.