Young people attending Camp Niangua, the School of Metaphysics’ summer camp, constructed a 9 foot by 20 foot relief map of the world on the Healing Wall at the World’s First Peace Dome on our College of Metaphysics campus.

Elizabeth Vaughan, age16 from Broken Arrow, OK, Susie Starkey, age 12 from Leavenworth, KS, Nissa Romanowski, age 15 from Bloomingdale, IL, and Logan Goldstein age 10 from Oklahoma City, OK, formed the continents and major islands using white Portland cement with the assistance of camp counselors Paul Madar and Paul Blosser.

The campers outlined the major land areas with colored chalk and then mixed cement and applied it to raise the land masses out from the wall. "This class synthesized art, geography and metaphysics. As the campers directed their thoughts towards peace, they found that they cooperated with each other, learned about the world and had fun," said Paul Madar.

While sculpting the continents, they learned that their thoughts were being embedded into the concrete as they worked. Susie said she wanted to make sure no one got "yucky" thoughts when they visited the Healing Wall. Logan experienced relaxation when he worked on the wall. "I gave a peaceful thought to the wall and it gave me back a relaxing thought," he said.

Creating the relief map is a significant step towards the final vision of the Healing Wall. Stones from four continents had already been received before map construction began, including stones from: Dharamsala, India, exiled home of the Dalai Lama of Tibet; from Ayers Rock, an aboriginal site in Australia; and from Germany, as well as many stones from the United States. Each stone represents the donor’s hope for peace and will be mounted to the Healing Wall.

While completing the coastline of Northern Russia, Nissa was excited about talking to her grandmother in Poland to send a stone for the Healing Wall. That same afternoon, Dr. Barbara Condron gave the campers the vision of what it might be like someday for them to bring their own children or grandchildren to the Healing Wall to see what they had given to the world.

As the campers made progress throughout the week, more and more comments were heard. When Dr. Pam Blosser, camp director, came to check on the class and entered the dome area she could clearly see the Healing Wall coming to life. "My heart leapt," she said "and I realized that this was the manifestation of the vision that had been held in mind for so long. It was finally here!"

The Peace Dome will be dedicated as a universal site devoted to peace on October 11, 2003. There are many ways people can be a part of the experience of the Peace Dome. "We are encouraging people all over the world to read the Universal Peace Covenant at 1 pm CDT (6pm UT) on dedication day," said Barbara. "At camp we teach the children how individuals make a difference. With this synchronized effort of lifting our voices in peace we hope to move the hearts and minds of young and old to a similar realization."