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I wore my star all the time, almost like a badge of office. But as time passed, I became increasingly uncomfortable wearing the star, as the situation between Israel & Palestine intensified. If I was wearing what was, after all, the star of David, even though I was wearing it for it’s spiritual rather than religious significance, then I felt that I should also be wearing the moon and star. I started looking for one. I looked for a moon & star pendant everywhere I went, yet I couldn’t find one. Even when I visited a Moslem country, I couldn’t find one. Then in the aftermath of 9/11, I thought “I need to wear a cross too!" It was at that point I was inspired to create a necklace containing the symbols of all main world religions. I sat down and did some drawings. The necklace evolved to represent not just all religions, but also all peoples and all ways of being, including all indigenous people, the original religions, atheists, individual spiritual paths and political philosophies, i.e. communism. I knew that while wearing the necklace, no matter what was going on in the world - what was on the news or in the papers - there would always be at least one place of peace, where all people, cultures and ways of being were held in equal tolerance and respect. I would wear it as a badge of office, becoming a living symbol of peace and tolerance. The term “The peacechain” came to me. The first Peacechain was hand made in silver by the wonderful, innovative Scottish jeweller, Lorna Purvis, who developed it and prepared it for casting. Although I originally designed the Peacechain because I wanted one for myself, I decided to market it internationally, as the vision of peace and tolerance is shared by so many people throughout the world, and the movement towards peace is growing every day. The more of us that hold that space of peace, the more it will grow, the further it will extend, the more people it will reach, the stronger it will become. We are all homeopathic doses of whatever we are in the Universe. We can choose to be homeopathic doses of peace and tolerance. We can choose not to be drawn into anger, hate and judgement. The only way we can spread peace is by BEING peace. As James Twyman says, “Don’t pray for peace, for in praying for something we acknowledge its lack. Rather, pray peace. Become peace.” In other words – become the change that you would wish to see. The wonderful, inspirational speaker and workshop leader, Diana Cooper, suggested many years ago that we could all have a place of peace in our homes. Just one area, no matter how small - maybe simply one chair. But as long as we were in that space, we were to be peaceful, to think nothing but peaceful thoughts. Gradually, over time, our place of peace would hold that peaceful energy and it would begin to permeate throughout our whole house. For me, wearing the peacechain has become like that, I carry the energy of peace with me wherever I go. Wear your peacechain as a badge of office. Every time that you put it on, do so with the expectation and intention that while you are wearing it, you hold all people in equal respect & tolerance, you dedicate yourself to peace, you are a living symbol of peace, tolerance and respect in the world.
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