In this presentation, I will share with you the unexpected healing power of poetry in my life. I will tell you the story of how this came about and share some of the poems that emerged to open the gate of empowerment for me. I encourage you to bring along poems that have touched your soul and helped you too, to share if you choose. They could be ones you have written or favourites that you've read and love, even nursery rhymes! I hope that this session will help you experience the power of poetry as one of the ways that can open a dimension of healing and fun as it has for me.
Rula Kahil, PhD, is a Lebanese born educator and poet. In Lebanon, Rula worked as an elementary school teacher, a guidance counselor, and as a philosophy professor at the American University of Beirut. She has Masters degrees in philosophy of education and guidance counseling, and a PhD from the University of Toronto in philosophy of education.
It was while writing her PhD dissertation on the experience of shame that the power of poetry revealed itself to Rula. Researching shame opened doors to her experiences of this powerful emotion. Through shame's pain Rula found herself unexpectedly writing poetry, something she had never done before. Not only did writing poetry become a healing companion in her life journey, it also became the power that helped her express her personal stories and her most complex academic ideas in her dissertation.
