Douglas E. Noll – An International Peace Consultant Serving Humanity in All Possible Ways
Peace in the world begins with peace in oneself. People must aspire to create a physical place that inspires calm and quiet to help their family build inner peace. Knowing how to connect meaningfully with people is an important part of becoming a peacemaker. Everyone must be inspired and motivated to reach out to individuals in their community. We may begin by ensuring the safety and health of our communities before striving and thriving for peace. Access to decent education, cheap housing, clean air, water, food, and healthcare are all part of a healthy and peaceful life.
Peacemaking is a constant responsibility that requires us to identify effective methods to communicate and actively listen. This entails actively engaging in acts of compassion and love, even when it may be most challenging to do so. Although there will always be moments when we can merely participate in peacekeeping, we must eventually aim to create space for us to empathize and sympathize with others. People must begin by changing themselves if they want to make a difference in the world.
Many peacemakers help people build peace and remain positive about life’s outcomes. Douglas Eugene Noll is one of them who engaged himself for mankind. He is an internationally recognized peacemaker and peace consultant who guides people through his techniques, thoughts, and meditation. He was born with multiple disabilities, including clubfeet and near-deafness. Noll was born almost deaf, nearly blind, crippled with two club feet. Despite this, he learned how to study and become a lawyer before eventually assuming the role of a peacemaker, four-time best-selling author, speaker, visionary, and teacher. He is the co-founder of Prison of Peace. Prison of Peace is a non-profit organization founded in 2010 with the goal of reducing violence and promoting peaceful dispute resolution among convicts. The organization educates murderers in maximum security prisons on how to be peacemakers and mediators in their prison communities.
Turning Point in Noll’s Life
Stating that his life began after the age of 50 would not be wrong. For 22 years, he was a dedicated trial lawyer. He soon realized that he did not belong in the courtroom after a gradual inner awakening. As a result, in 2000, precisely two weeks after his 50th birthday, he quit a successful trial practice at a prominent legal company to become a peacemaker. In 2009, his colleague Laurel Kaufer received a request from an inmate in the most dangerous women’s jail in the world. Noll decided to help the inmate along with his friend and they both contributed to the cause without any kind of hesitation.
The initiative started in the world’s largest, most dangerous women’s jail, Valley State Prison for Women, Chowchilla, CA. When the jail was converted to a men’s prison in 2013, Noll began teaching male convicts. Prison of Peace filmed its curriculum in 2021, with plans to make it available worldwide in 2022.
Douglas Noll’s Contribution to the World
Noll has written four novels that indicate his attraction toward peace and peacemaking strategies. His third book, Elusive Peace: How Modern Diplomatic Strategies Could Better Resolve World Conflict, was given the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution’s Book of the Year award. His fourth book, De-Escalate: How to Calm an Angry Person in 90 Seconds or Less, won the Book Excellence Award, was a best-seller on Amazon, and has been published in four languages. In addition, Noll has developed online courses in legal negotiation, de-escalation, and emotional competence. Noll is a lawyer-turned-mediator, best-selling author, trainer, coach, and public speaker. He has worked in a variety of settings, including maximum-security prisons and the US Congressional Budget Office. He is committed to de-escalating heated arguments and teaching others how to do the same.
Peacemaking is carried out by peacemakers like Noll who seek measures to lead nations and communities to stop violent conflict. These agents are third parties acting as mediators who help people build and refine their personalities. Peacemaking is thus an active attempt to minimize conflict and bloodshed. Mediation is used by many of the peacemakers and Noll uses it as well to help people. Peacemaking may entail the process of finding a settlement to a conflict while it is continuing, but it may also involve some sort of dispute resolution after the violent fight has ended.
