ABSTRACT
Research can be transformative, especially when one is researching one’s passion. For more than 12 years I have had the honor of listening to research participants narrate stories of deep spiritual experiences related to cultural identity. Many of the spiritual journeys shared by these adult educators of varied backgrounds involved transformative learning experiences related to their cultural and religious history. The sharing of such stories has the eff ect of helping both the teller and the listener unfold their own inner wisdom; as the teller relates and shares powerful memory of spiritual experiences it evokes memory in the listener and potentially leads to greater wisdom for each. As I’ve discussed elsewhere (Tisdell, 2003, 2013), for the teller, this process of signifi cant spiritual experience is not simply a recalling process: tellers usually re-member such formative spiritual experiences in light of their cultural background and identity in new ways. As Frederick Buechner notes in speaking of this re-membering: “Memory is more than a looking back to a time that is no longer; it is a looking out into another kind of time altogether where everything that ever was continues not just to be, but to grow and change with the life that is in it still” (cited by Wuthnow, 1999, p. 141). These kinds of memories do indeed change in the re-telling, with the “life that is in them still.” The process of narrating experience leads to the further development of identity, for the narrator and can transform listener/researcher (Clark & Rossiter, 2008). The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the transformative process of conducting the research itself as well as the fi ndings related to spirituality, cultural identity, and unfolding wisdom of educators in a US context.
