"Throughout history people have built many walls," said Barbara Condron, a curator for the Peace Dome in the United States. "Most of them have symbolized division and separation. This wall is meant to unite the Earth and her people."

Curators have been receiving stones since the dome's dedication as a Universal site for peace in October 2003. Amethyst from Uruguay, Black Obsidian from Kenya and Armenia, and quartz from Japan are examples of the stones being sent to the College of Metaphysics for safekeeping until 2020. That's the projected year when the stones will be placed into the wall during ceremonies recognizing each continent.

Researchers anticipate the uniting of the planet in one place will create an energetic field with multiple influences. "Primarily, we want to study the healing effect the wall may have with individuals and on the community," resident geologist Tad Messenger said. Currently 249 stones representing 65 countries have been collected. The Antarctica stone was a gift from Grandmother Silverstar, an elder of the Lakota Sioux tribe.

"This stone gave permission to become a part of the healing wall," Silverstar said when presenting the stone. The Sioux honor the planet and its bounty, be it mineral, plant or animal. They believe everything is alive and carries the spirit of the creator. Through acknowledging this spirit, communion can be experienced.

Stones from the continent are considered a modern-day holy grail since Antarctica is largely snow-covered. Teams of scientists from two dozen nations live and work there for several months then relocate to more temperate zones. "Receiving this stone when we are still two years away from creating the Healing Wall, is affirming," Condron said. "Now that each continent is represented, our next goal focus is each country on those continents being represented."

Toward that end, a delegation of 15 recently traveled around the world from the U.S. to Melbourne, Australia for the Parliament of the World's Religions, a gathering that meets every five years somewhere on the planet. This year over 5000 attended.

"One of our purposes for attending Parliament was to share with participants news of the Healing Wall construction," Condron said. "Everyone we met is fascinated by the project and supportive. We made many new friends from around the world."

Some of them learned of the history and destiny of the Healing Wall through the premiere of Seven Generations: The Making of the Healing Wall. The documentary was created by 14-year-old Hezekiah Condron who has been a part of creating the dome and its wall since its beginning. Hezekiah hopes his film will be soon be available for viewing at www.peacedome.org. "I want as many people as possible to know about the Healing Wall and contribute to it." Hezekiah said. "There's a lot of good news and this is part of it."

Those wanting to participate in the project can visit www.healingwall.org or email peace@som.org .