La Paz Interior

Wednesday, we attended a workshop at the University of Jaume I on "inner-peace." At first, I must admit, I scoffed. So far my peace studies have been on things like the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping or promoting peace through food security, economic empowerment, basic freedoms... and I viscerally wrote off the study of inner-peace as a "frilly" topic.

The lecture was interesting, we colored a Mandala and heard about the theories behind inner-peace techniques.  But I found myself thinking throughout: I still don´t see how getting individuals to achieve inner-peace is going to lead to actual peace. How will inner peace overcome the massive human rights violations being committed around the world? How will it stop the outbreak of violence and conflict? Having inner-peace won't fill any stomachs or put a roof over any heads. Where people lack the necessities of life, peace cannot be sustained. Right?

So, during the question portion of the lecture, I decided to bring the issue. "It was very interesting to look at peace in such a different way, and myself and my peers from Alma College enjoyed it immensely. Could you please elaborate on how the tecnhiques of attaining inner peace apply in developing countries? How this view of peace can overcome the extreme poverty and human rights abuses which cause conflict?"  Her answer opened my mind to an entirely new way of thinking about peace.

To briefly summarize: Gloria had done extensive research with school children in the most dangerous parts of Mexico City. She taught them these "inner-peace" techniques and theories, and saw a decrease in unhappiness, violence, misbehavior, and discontent. Here was the qualitative proof I was looking for. Gloria's point was that we are connected to each other and we treat others how we treat ourselves: therefore, we will not promote peace on our societies unless we have peace within ourselves.

Friday and Saturday we were in Gernika, the site of a brutal attack on civilians by the Germans in 1937. We visited Gernika Gogoratuz, an organization who works with peace research and peace building. Again, we were presented with an alternative view on "peace." The center publishes reports, and on in particular intrigued me: "Dialogue Through Art." The book, by Alex Carrascosa, was about using workshops to create collective art pieces. The idea of securing peace through art reminded me of the workshop at the university, and I loved the idea.

Andreas Schafter, our contact at Gernika Gogoratuz, coordinates the "Everyday Life and Peace" division of the institute. He works with anti-racism campaigns, and research on the reflection community activities provide in relative community peace. Once more, we were presented with a thought-provoking alternate view on peace promotion.

Inner-peace as a tool for achieving universal peace is often written off, but after hearing Andreas ad Gloria's work with inner-peace I am convinced that is a mistake. It makes sense and, more importantly, it can be extremely effective: be at peace with yourself and your environment, and you´ll treat others peacefully-- start at the micro-level and peace will increase at the macro-level.

-Elizabeth Wayne