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Life Stories – From the Wounded Writer to the Healing Teacher: A Transrational Way of Teaching Peace as Unfolding of Life Story

From perspectives inherent in the thesis, my text strives to combine two wide, independent topics: writing (as a form and a method) and teaching. Accordingly, two writing styles – the literary and the academic – and two layers of research – a personal exploration and an academic investigation – constantly intermingle. Thus, my work depicts the background that has moulded my perception of the world and of life, and how I have developed therefrom, especially in relation to my education, profession, travels, places of living. By being brought to life on paper, this inner journey highlights the foundations of my deep motivations and the ‘whys’ and ‘wherefores’ of being a teacher, which opens a space for me to describe my transrational teaching of peace and conflict transformation today, seen through the lens of one seminar. Deep down, my thesis is a text about the self-healing potential of autobiographical writing and the healing qualities, acquired from the wounds, which are intrinsic to the elicitation of peace.

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Regarding the actual research process, I perceive my thesis as the living product of the compromises I made between my profound aspiration (the time and space I wished I had at my disposal) and my undeniable reality (the time and space I effectively had besides my job). Each interruption into the writing process halted the flow of inspiration and damaged my enthusiasm. Yet, driven by my passion for writing and searching, I did not give up. I feel impelled to use the metaphor of the voyage to translate this process, for it embodies travelling back and forth, as much through my life realities at the time of writing as through my past story. By re-activating my memories, that introspection unfolded before my internal eyes a palette of experiences, knowledge and competences, which lead me to consciously use myself as a resource – one of the most precious learnings. And then, writing oneself becomes a hazardous endeavour as soon as it involves potential readers.