The History of the
Universal Hour of Peace symbol

Sharka and I were classmates at the College of Metaphysics during 1995. This was the year that the Universal Hour of Peace was initiated. The vision? For everyone on the planet to spend one hour, the same hour, engaged in whatever will bring them peace. We had all been talking about the meaning of this to ourselves and to the world and there was swelling of anticipation in the power of this kind of event globally.

Dr. Barbara had an image in mind that we could use as the symbol for the Universal Hour of Peace and she had asked Sharka to sketch it. Her idea was an hourglass with a galaxy spinning around it. Sharka had been looking for photograph of a galaxy for days and had not found one anywhere. I remember her saying to me that it would come, she just didn’t know from where.

Early one morning she and I walked across a field to a century old house, affectionately known as Shambala in the School of Metaphysics. We had been systematically dismantling the house in order to use the beautiful wood in other buildings - the house had been empty for nearly ten years before the School of Metaphysics acquired it in a land purchase. It looked unuusal now as the entire second level had been taken apart except for the floor and some framing. Mark Starr, the carpenter who was helping us in this endeavor was standing on the second floor. He called out "Hey Sharka I have something for you!" and tossed a book down to her. She caught it and we looked at the title (which I don’t remember now). Both of us were wondering what he was up to as Mark has a reputation for being a jokester. She opened the book to look. There in the middle was a photograph of a galaxy - exactly what she had been searching for! We were amazed and delighted at the power of universal law. When I asked Mark why he had chosen that book to give to Sharka he said, "I don’t know, it just seemed like something she would be interested in." What a wonderful testimony to the truth that when you listen to yourself you can aid other people to fulfill their desires even if you are not aware of the desire. This is how we experience life when we live in harmony with Universal Law and truth.

Sharka used the photograph from that book to complete the image that is the Universal Hour of Peace symbol. Three years later a class in the Kansas City, Kansas branch of the School of Metaphysics created a large glass etching of the symbol. It was their gift at the 25th anniversary celebration of the School. Today it is the focal point on the west side of the second floor chamber in the Peace Dome.

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