Then, the Daily OM asked me to create an on-line course called Healing Harp Meditations. This six-week course is designed to promote feelings of deep relaxation and peace, and to facilitate life reflection and review.

The course is available for $11 (yes, you read that correctly!!) and once you sign up, you receive a weekly e-mail that includes: 1) a guided meditation co-created by Barb Thune Schommer, registered nurse and Healing Touch instructor, and me, 2) contemplative exercises, 3) practical applications, 4) reflection with healing music, 5) affirmations, and 6) homework. Click here for more information.

As Mary explains, “The process of working together to create something we cannot do alone and the excitement of these collective ideas and actions taking shape always captures me. I definitely draw personal satisfaction and energy from seeing people thinking and working together [with the collective goal] to make something possible for them, their neighbors, and future generations.”

There are a number of levels behind Mary’s love of community development. At the surface, there is the joy of directly benefiting people through uplifting their surroundings. On a deeper level, Mary serves as an “international ambassador of peace.” She thrives by connecting people from different backgrounds and uniting them in a quest to create vibrant local economies.

This passion continues to guide Mary in her private and professional endeavors. For more on Mary’s story, see her contribution in “Women as Healers: Voices of Vibrancy.”

Eleanor Wiley

As a speech pathologist, Eleanor Wiley learned something amazing! Through helping people with developmental disabilities overcome their impairment and communicate with their surroundings, she realized that being interconnected with the world is one of the most important things in life.

This early experience eventually led her to design The Sacred Wheel of Peace® … A Place to Begin, a prayer bead that promotes unity amongst different cultures. According to Eleanor her intent is clear, “We must all work together in order to move forward in peace and harmony.”

Wheel of Peace

Eleanor’s Sacred Wheels may look ordinary upon first glance, however the bead’s simplistic design is the key to its profoundness. The Wheel’s symbolism can be understood in a number of different ways. This, in turn, represents the diversity of the world in which we live. Eleanor gives an example of a possible meaning, “When using the wheel as a metaphor for one’s own life or the community, it allows you to see what happens when we remove any part of the wheel. When this happens, the wheel becomes unbalanced and falls apart.”

Eleanor has since used these beads in conjunction with numerous peace projects and lectures around the world. Her work towards promoting unity and tranquility can be seen around the necks of people from all walks of life. For more on Eleanor Wiley and The Sacred Wheel of Peace®, read her story in “Women as Healers: Voices of Vibrancy.”