Shawn Stoner's journal

A Weekend at the

College of Metaphysics

Friday May 23, 2003:

Traveling to the College of Metaphysics for a student weekend is always an important and valuable part of the journey. This weekend I was travelling with other students and teachers from the Chicago area: Jay McCormick (teacher-Chicago), Terryll Nemeth (director-Chicago), Adam Campbell (teacher-Bolingbrook), Marsha Craig (student-Bolingbrook), Estir Sim (student-Palatine) and Valerie Blaumgarden (student-Champaign and Palatine).

We started out from Bolingbrook early Friday morning. I love and appreciate bringing new students to the College of Metaphysics. It is always an important Self-respect lesson for me, as I get to see myself through their eyes. This weekend was Estirs first visit to the college and the whole way down she was asking questions....

“Where will people be coming from?”....

“How long has (fill in the blank) been in the school?”.....

“How long have they been teaching?”......

“Where did you start?” .....

“How often do you move?” ....

“How many miles do you put on your car?”

This one made me smile and I knew that she was amazed at my answer, astounded that I would willingly travel so far and so often.

And then there was the precious pearl that she spoke, the incredible wisdom of infancy.

She said that Connie (Orisini- also a student in Palatine) is such a nice lady. I said, yes, Connie is very special.

She was quiet for a moment and then she said, “Metaphysics makes people special.”

Estir said that she wanted to improve her communication skills and I knew that this was very multi-layered for her. Estir has spent most of her life in Russia, having only spent the last several years in the United States and English is still challenging for her. I also knew that she has a deep desire to connect with others of like-mind and to strengthen the inner communication within herself.

My goal was to have a meaningful experience with every person attending the weekend.

I had set this goal several weeks before, not consciously realizing how many people would be attending. When I remembered that there were going to be over 100 people in attendance, I thought for a moment about changing my goal, but then held true. I told myself that I didn’t know how it would manifest, and I wanted to remain open to whatever my subconscious mind might bring to me.

We arrived Friday about dinnertime, parked and went inside, hugging our hellos and introductions as we went. One of the many things that I love about the School of Metaphysics is how we hug-real hugs, from the heart. There is a whole art and science to hugging, and the research is being continually refined.

As usual, the food at dinner was excellent. Lasagna, bread, and a huge salad made with greens from the Universal Garden. At dinner we were greeted by Dr. Pam Blosser, President of the School and Dr. Barbara Condron, the guiding light for much of the creative activity within the organization. We were told that after dinner at 8pm we would be meeting behind the main building and then all going together to the Peace Dome to witness the next movement in evolution of “The Invitation.”

Many of us had seen the first manifestation of this play during a previous student weekend, and at that time it was already incredible. The seed idea behind this play was a question. What would it be like if 8 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates gathered together and talked about the Universal Peace Covenant? What would they say? What would they think about what we had created? What if we could witness this conversation?

“It is a whisper that is deafening.”

Dr. Barbara had told us earlier in the evening that one of the things that she likes about the Peace Dome is that you have no secrets. Everything is known. Because of the acoustics, a sound made on one side of the circular room travels around the whole room so that everyone hears. Small sounds make big noises, reverberating around the space. It is a glimpse of how it will be when we are all consciously connected all the time. When we will know each others Minds as well as we know our own.

We settled down in the dome, leaving space in the center. Standing facing the wall around the perimeter of the space were 8 people. They were still, waiting. Dr. Barbara walked to the center of the room and began telling us the story of the Nobel Peace Prize and how it came into being. She then told us of how the Universal Peace Covenant was written and how the inspiration for “The Invitation” came about, through the study of the Nobel Peace Laureate’s lives and their works.

Then, one by one, each of the eight people standing around the perimeter came to the center and talked to us. There were some who it was easy to see who they were-there was Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, but others were more obscure. What was amazing was that each person, although portrayed by the College students and staff, seemed to be that person. Laurie was Betty Williams. Paul was the Dalai Lama. I knew from being at the college during the previous months for classes and meetings that they had been working at embodying these individuals and the essence of who they were and what they believed in-how they thought and expressed. At times I was moved to tears by their speeches-they were so good.

As if all the people whose thoughts went into the Universal Peace Covenant could be manifest into a single messenger, Dr. Barbara became that giving each of the 8 a copy of the Universal Peace Covenant. They then came to the center of the room and talked to each other. This was the hypothetical conversation that we were privileged to peek in on. It was profound and inspiring. It was the Peace Covenant come to life.

I took many pictures during this play, and was intrigued to find that most all of then came out fuzzy. This puzzled me-was it the lighting in the dome? Or was it what I first thought; that the pictures captured the thought energy as it was amplified and spun around the dome. Take a look and see what you think. Come and experience the energy of the dome and then maybe you will have your own ideas.

We were left this evening with a vision of the Peace Dome and the Universal Peace Covenant that was perhaps more expansive and inclusive than what was held previous. Each of the Peace Laureates departed the dome by letting us know what classes they would be teaching the following morning and who would be in these classes.