Peace Codes

Healing Mandalas & Meditations for Embodying Peace on Earth

Bonnie Gold Bell & David Sun Todd

Special Excerpt for Summer of Peace

Bell & Todd Arts

 2012 Bonnie Bell and David Todd All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any informational storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright holders. First e-book edition: December 2012 Special Excerpt edition: June 2013

Contents
Introduction 6 18 44 One: Blessings from the Heart of Nature

Two: Meditations on Personal and Planetary Peace Three: Crystal Keys to Prosperity 70

Four: Meditations on Personal and Planetary Harmony Five: Meditations on Personal and Planetary Love Six: Empowering Visions for the Year 2012 Seven: Blessings of Earth and Heaven Afterword 200 201 174 148 122

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About the Artists

HOW TO READ THIS BOOK When reading this book in Adobe Reader, you have the option to view the book with two facing pages showing. If you are reading on a computer screen, you may prefer this viewing mode. It will allow you to read the meditations while seeing the images on screen. To select this mode in Adobe Reader, go to the View menu, select Page Display and then select Two Page View. You can always return to viewing single pages if you prefer.

Introduction

Introduction Part One: Embodying Peace by David Sun Todd

Near our home in north Florida, a narrow road leads to a magical spot. After passing a handful of homes with wide lawns, the road enters a dense forest. The woods are full of creeping vines, a wild mix of trees, and the occasional fox or family of deer. In the heart of the forest lies a small lake. The green trees that encircle the lake are reected in the still waters which are home to sh, turtles and perhaps an alligator or two. Most months geese or ducks swim its surface, calling to each other across the waters. Often, a snowy egret or great blue heron stalks prey in the tall grasses along the shore. ! When Bonnie and I need to escape our computer screens and reconnect with nature, we head down this road to the lake. No matter how agitated or drained we may feel leaving our house, our journey through the woods to the quiet waters never fails to restore us. It is a place of great peace, and we treasure it. We feel that peace as a vibrant energy transmitted from the waters and all the living things in this special place. It is an oasis in an urban environment and a portal into the heart of nature. ! For the last twenty years, the two of us have been on a quest to mine vibrationally-encoded treasures in the natural world. For instance, how can we capture the energy of peace we nd at this lake and share it with a world besieged by conict and war? This quest began in the early 1990s after two decades of traditional spiritual study and training. After completing that spiritual work, our new path focused on our deepening relationship with the Earth as Gaia, or the living spirit of the planet. By marrying the awakened gifts of our spiritual practice with a growing recognition of the divine essence of the Earth, we embarked on an alchemical journey of discovery and co-creation.

! The fruit of that long journey is our energy-enhanced art. We cocreate these images with each other, with Gaia and the nature spirits that surround us, and with Divine Source working through beings in many dimensions. The two of us shape the images, and the transformational energies encoded in them come from our earthly and spiritual allies. The essential alchemy we employ melds the vibrational energies and information that come from both the dimensions of spirit and the domains of matter into a new, unied and transformative essence. Different series of images have emerged that address key needs on the planet during this time of great shifting and awakening. ! The images in this book address the profound need for peace in our world. When we reect on the reality of conict and war, we see that it originates in the realms of the mind and emotion. There we nd the old beliefs and prejudices, the ancient wounds and karmic patterns that fuel both personal and collective conicts. But when we step out of the domains of mind and reactive emotion and step into nature, we nd the balm that soothes our mental stresses and emotional turmoil. We are returned to our senses in the natural world. Soon, we barely remember what all the fuss was about before we became immersed in the sound, sights, and scents of the living planet. ! This is the healing power of nature. It is a tangible energy of peace we can ingest into our bodies, our minds, and our souls. This energy is around us all the time. We simply need to wake from our mental preoccupations-stop and smell the roses--to receive the many gifts of the Earth. ! When the healing power of nature is combined with graceful energies of Spirit, it becomes the matter-spirit essence that we imbue into our art. This transforms the images from art to beauty-medicine and makes them tools for personal and collective transformation. (Bonnie writes more about the art and its purpose in Part Two of this Introduction.) ! When we create an image in this alchemical way, it becomes encoded with new energies and information from a wide range of subtle sources.
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The Peace Code images in this book carry unique energies and information to help resolve patterns of conict on the planet. Out of hundreds of images we have co-created in two decades, this series of 84 embody the energy of peace. ! All our art begins with photographic images of nature that are reshaped by sacred geometries into new forms. In the Peace Codes, most images have a version of the whole Earth at their centers. Thus, these Codes invite you into synergy with the planetary consciousness of the Earth known as Gaia. She wants to work with humanity to restore peace on the planet. ! While many people may pray for peace, the Peace Codes invite you to move into active co-creation of peace with Gaia. The matter-spirit power of the Codes enables you to literally hold the energy of peace in your own body. Gaias message is this: Be the peace that you have prayed for. By contemplating the Peace Code images and absorbing their vibrational blessings, your personal energy eld becomes imbued with the energy of peace. Like the images themselves, you become peace-full. As more and more people become full of the energy of peace, it will spread out into the collective energy elds of humanity. ! This is how Gaia will work with and through you to restore peace on the planet. The Codes can calm the mind and emotions of the collective just as a walk to a quiet lake can calm you. This is a way of working for peace that is not part of a social or political process. Rather, it is a personal embodiment of the very essence of peace. ! Our physical hearts generate a donut-shaped magnetic eld that encloses our bodies. This eld has been measured to extend up to 12 feet around us, although the nature of electromagnetic elds is such that this eld probably extends much farther, even to innity. As you meditate on the Peace Code images, your heart-eld becomes pervaded by their energy. This makes your personal eld more coherent. And it empowers you to

share that energy of peace with the elds of other people and places to which you are connected. ! This connection can extend beyond your personal presence. Through intention, you can connect with the elds of people or places anywhere on the planet. When you focus your attention and intention on distant elds, you become resonant with them. The coherence in your eld created by the Peace Codes will help the distant elds become more coherent and to become resonant with the energy of peace. This is the principle of subtle activism, or using meditative intention and eld dynamics to effect change in the world. Thus, what begins as meditative regard of the Peace Code images can blossom into a subtle activist practice that can powerfully transmit the energy of peace. ! The magnetic eld of the human body is quite similar to the magnetic eld of the Earth. Our hearts generate our magnetic eld just as the core of the Earth generates Hers. The more we become resonant with the Earths eld, the more empowered by the Earth we become. Gaias love and energy can ow through us, amplifying the healing effect of our intention to transmit peace. Through synergy with Gaia, our ability to effect change throughout personal and collective elds becomes a powerful force. By joining with others in the same practice, this process can become even more transformative. ! !

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Introduction Part Two: Encoding Peace by Bonnie Gold Bell

The Peace Codes in this book are delivered through two forms of encoded media--mandala images and words. Working synergistically, these mandalas and meditations act as portals through which we can access and absorb vibrational blessings of peace. ! The images are photo-collages, built from Nature photographs taken by David, with the occasional addition of space photographs from NASAs observatories. We import the photos into the computer for remixing. David and I sit side-by-side at the monitor, selecting the sections of a given photograph that will appear in the image were creating. We use sacred geometry to determine the shape of the image. We call these images mandalas because they, like traditional Eastern mandalas, are a form of art that creates a sacred space around a center point. ! As we work, we may layer sections of one photograph on top of another. The patterning and natural colors in the photographs, as well as our deep intuitions, guide us in the creation process. We stay engaged in the creation of each image until both of us feel that it holds a coherent visual essence and that it embodies its intended purpose. We also use our aesthetic sense to create an image that best conveys the beauty-power of the Earth. ! Every image contains symmetrical features that occur wherever we join two identical sections of a photograph. This is the foundation geometry, the code of 2, that underlies all of our work. The simple act of taking a section of a photograph, ipping it and digitally joining the two sides was the fortuitous event that opened the doorway to the energetic potency in our art. Two major discoveries owed from creating symmetrical images in this fashion.

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! We rst discovered that an image with a balance between right and left, up and down became a vessel of visual alchemy. As above, so below is the keynote of alchemy. When you add as left, so right, the resultant image becomes a powerful container of alchemical potency. The goal of alchemy is liberating the brilliance within matter, the light within our cells. We humans can recognize and connect with this awakening energy visually. Our bodies instinctively see and respond to this kind of symmetrical balance. The effect is calming and at the same time uplifting. When people began to report that they felt healing energy coming through our artwork, we realized that the alchemical radiance conveyed by the symmetrical structure was part of what they felt. These images are interfaces with the bright potential within our material world. ! We also made another, more shamanic, discovery when we began to create symmetries. When we join two sections of a photograph, the bilateral shapes that appear in the seam where the photos join often look like animal faces or whole bodies of fantastical creatures. This is how our brains process things that have symmetrical, bilateral shapes. Subliminally, our minds tell us, Pay attention, that might be alive! Seeing these miraculous beings appear in these Nature images spurred David and I to keep creating symmetrical mandalas. They heighten our awareness of the livingness of the organic world. We see the presence of beings from many dimensions embedded in the landscape of the natural world. We consider this to be one of the most valuable gifts that come through these mandalas. ! It also bears saying that everything you see in these images is real. The source material is photographic and hence realistic even though the natural elements are remixed to create novel, and thus surreal, shapes. There is a unique communication that comes from each component element in these images. The specic plants, rocks, stars, birds and butteries whose photographs we work with share their elemental essences through these images. Together, these cosmic and planetary elements form a rich and diverse organic presence in the art.
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! In their energetic essence these images represent the union of Spirit and Matter, but they are given form through the material elements of Earth and other cosmic bodies. In that sense, they are emergent from matter below. They primarily rise up, through the body of Gaia, into visibility. This, too, is part of their balancing effect. For too long, light has been associated primarily with Spirit-Above. These images invite us to connect with the innite light that is held within Matter-Below, and thus within our own earthly bodies. ABOUT THE NAMES AND MEDITATIONS I am charged with naming our images. This is another form of sacred visioning and co-creation. I start by looking at the image and connecting with its multidimensional seedsong. It is this complex vibrational essence that I tune into when naming each image. I let the patterns, shapes, and colors of the Nature elements speak to me. I open myself to the symbolic and archetypal resonance that I might see or feel in the image. I also consult my inner guidance for any keywords that might point me to the name. ! Then I start to play with words. I write down a few variations. Sometimes new words have to be created to capture the essence of a given image. Once I have some good options, I usually evaluate the names through numerology and share them with David to get his input. The naming process is a subtle remix technology that parallels the creation of the visual image. The end product is a name in which the sound, meaning, and numerology of the words meld into a harmonic whole. ! Once the name has emerged, I begin creating the meditation or written blessing. You will note that the style of meditation varies from series to series. Some have an italicized phrase at the end that is shared by all 12 images. These phrases express an invitation from Gaia, and the italics indicate that they are a quote in her voice. Some of the meditations are more invocatory and take the form of prayers or blessings. In each series,
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the meditations are designed to express the common theme that the series embodies. ! As with the names, the words of the meditation often arise out of the shapes and colors in the mandala. When someone contemplates an image, his or her vision and feeling-core directly register the layers of information and energy in it. My goal in writing a meditation is to support our mental faculties to conceive what our senses perceive. I hope to create a harmony between the visual and verbal messages so that the healing and awakening vibrations encoded in the art are accessible on all levels of being. ! Though they are sacred in the sense of being revealed and designed with reverent attention, these meditations are free of alignment to any particular spiritual perspective. They are verbal doorways into the universal blessing energies of this art. ABOUT THE SEVEN SERIES OF IMAGES Each Chapter contains 12 images and meditations from one of our Healing Mandalas Calendars. Each series is created with its own unique geometric structure and elements as described below. We have used the subtitle of each calendar as the title of each Chapter in this book. ! 1. Meditations on Personal and Planetary Peace These 12 images were created for our 2009 Healing Mandalas calendar. The images feature two 12-sided wheels. The outer wheel is created from diverse elementsplants, owers, rocks, feathers, and buttery wings while the inner wheel is a crystal. At the center of the crystal circle in each mandala is planet Earth, set in a gure created from a magnolia blossom. Six of the images in this series feature the Earths Western hemisphere and six feature the Eastern hemisphere. ! ! 2. Crystal Keys to Prosperity This series of images also appeared in 2009 in a second calendar called Gemstone Visions. Each of these images is built from photographs of two

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crystals, primarily arranged in simple symmetries, layered onto square mandala shapes. ! 3. Meditations on Personal and Planetary Harmony These images, created for our Healing Mandalas calendar in 2010, were designed to evoke and empower harmony. The circles in these images are built on the geometry of eight. The source materials for these images are tropical plants, leaves, butteries, bird feathers and seashells. The center features the cosmic Earth (our planet shown within the Sombrero galaxy) set inside a four-sided seashell corona. ! 4. Meditations on Personal and Planetary Love These are the images we made for the 2011 Healing Mandalas calendar. We used the numerology of six to create hexagon shapes, which we layered and rotated to create a 24-sided inner feature. We created the central Earth image by blending photographs of the Eastern and Western hemispheres into a single globe. This is in keeping with the theme of love, which fosters unity and the melding of two into one. All the images are made from leaves and owers combined. ! 5. Empowering Visions for the Year 2012 We wanted our 2012 Healing Mandalas calendar to have special potency for this special year. We created pentagons (ve-sided), which we repeated and rotated to create a 20-sided central gure. Thus the numbers ve (the sum of the numbers in the year 2012) and 20 (a number signicant in the Mayan calendar) are both encoded in the images. By empowering ourselves with a vision of what lies beyond this transitional time, we help usher in a new world. At the center of each mandala is a crystal buttery carrying the globe of Earth, set in a circle built from Milky Way star elds. This signies our world reborn, as a buttery is reborn from its previous form. The elements in these images are owers, leaves, butteries, water plants, mushrooms, trees, and ocean sands. !

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! 6. Blessings of Earth and Heaven These images are part of the 2013 Healing Mandalas calendar. The large oral shapes are eight-sided gures built from whole owers and leaves. The borders and 12-sided central mandalas are created from deep space photos from NASAs Great Observatories. The combination of close-up Earth photos and way-distant celestial photos emphasizes the unity of our local environment on Earth and our vast cosmos. ! 7. Blessings from the Heart of Nature These 12 mandalas will appear in the 2014 Healing Mandalas calendar. As that phrase indicates, these images convey the warmth and peace we can feel amidst Natures beauty. These images feature a 12-sided circle with added points. Each is made from photographs and scans of owers and leaves. HOW TO WORK WITH THIS ART There are a few simple practices that will help you get the most out of contemplating these mandalas. ! 1. Sit comfortably. Since you are looking at the images on a computer or other e-device, seat yourself at a distance from the image that allows you to"see it in clear detail without straining your sight. Experiment with various"placements until you nd a posture that feels natural. You want your body to feel good while absorbing the imagery. ! As you gaze on an image,"your breath will ease and your body will open, enabling the reception of"energy through your whole being. While your contemplation of these images will begin with eyes open, it is"also natural that they may close at some point. No problem. You"can still see inwardly what is coming to you through the image. ! 2. Feel through your eyes. What lifts normal looking into profound seeing"is that you are regarding the image with depth of feeling. You could say that"you are seeing with your entire body from the vantage of your heart, rather"than your head. That is why comfortable posture is so
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important. If your body"feels relaxed and supported, then you will nd it natural to extend your"vision into contemplation. ! 3. Be open to the energetic effects of the art. It is natural and good to feel somewhat altered by contemplating these images. Especially when they are lit up as they are in electronic form, you may feel an infusion of light, warmth and energy, resulting in expanded states of awareness. If you are sensitive, you may want to absorb these images a few at a time, rather than all at once. Another natural effect can be receiving information as words or just tacit knowing. Emotions may arise. These effects are all forms of blessing that come from the multidimensional energies that are encoded in this art. ! 4. Enjoy the discovery. There are so many patterns, beings, colors, shapes, elements, and vibrations to be explored in this art. These images can be an ongoing font of transformational energy when you engage with them in the spirit of exploration. ! ! One nal note: When reading this book in Adobe Reader, you have the option to view the book with two facing pages showing. If you are reading on a computer screen, you may prefer this viewing mode. It will allow you to read the meditations while seeing the images on screen. To select this mode go to the View menu, select Page Display then select Two Page View. You can always return to viewing single pages if you prefer.

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Chapter One: Meditations on Personal and Planetary Peace

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1.1 Intention
Earth speaks to us through color and patterning. Every petal and stone broadcasts her evolving intention. Here, bright veins of red curve through the velvety depths of an organic circle. The crystal patterns in the center form a counterpoint to the leafy elds of green. Listen closely to the harmonic messages that come through the living world. Be informed by Natures design. Receive healing, strengthen peace on our planet.

Photo Sources: Prayer plant, quartz, magnolia petals, and western Earth

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Intention

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1.2 Guidance
Luminous blue petals surround a core of crystalline light. The owers organic softness contains and supports the brilliant information that shines from inside. Deep understanding comes when we see ourselves as the reection of this natural synergy. Feeling the spirit-intelligence within our luminous bodies, we connect with our core guidance. Inner knowing is a blessing. Receive healing, strengthen peace on our planet.

Photo Sources: Hydrangea, gemstones, magnolia petals, and eastern Earth

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Guidance

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1.3 Certainty
Every day, we chart a course to the future by making choices, small and large. Feeling certainty in the face of all our options is a great gift. The soft rose stone within the sun-bright petals represents the heart itselfsource of certainty and peace. In touch with ourselves, connecting with the complex life on our planet, we act with calm assurance. Trust your instincts. Receive healing, strengthen peace on our planet.

Photo Sources: Shrimp plant, rose quartz, magnolia petals, and western Earth

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Certainty

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1.4 Protection
Feathers and crystals form a living shield with etched curves of blue and a golden center. The strong colors and bold lines inspire a sense of courage. Connect with this potent vision when you feel overwhelmed by challenges. The power of living elements is our ancient and ongoing help. Take refuge in Nature. Receive healing, strengthen peace on our planet.

Photo Sources: Blue jay feathers, citrine, magnolia petals, and eastern Earth

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Protection

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1.5 Grounding
Spinning, as we are, through space and accelerated time, we each need an anchor. When we locate our deepest ground, we gain steadiness and presence. The earthy colors in this rock are lit up by the moonlike white of the quartz. Sink your roots into the planet, and let your spirit y. Link the Earth with the Sky.

Receive healing, strengthen peace on our planet.

Photo Sources: Rock, quartz, magnolia petals, and western Earth

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Grounding

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1.6 Respect
Humanity stands with one foot in tribal conict and one foot in global identity. Our hearts, our bodies and our planet bear the marks of this dilemma. The vivid patterns in this mandala convey a different vision. We see a picture of unity based on respect. When we honor the spirit within all others and our living planet, a new collective emerges. Join the Earth tribe. Receive healing, strengthen peace on our planet.

Photo Sources: Buttery, chrysocolla, magnolia petals, and eastern Earth

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Respect

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1.7 Understanding
The pollen threads in the heart of a red rose form an intricate lace of seed code. The teal stone adds cool contrast to the warm design."Different, yet harmonic, the two elements enrich each other. We human inhabitants of Earth need to understand our differences and learn to cross-pollinate. Embrace diversity and discover harmony. Receive healing, strengthen peace on our planet.

Photo Sources: Rose, beryl, magnolia petals, and western Earth

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Understanding

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1.8 Tranquility
The quality of tranquility is as elusive as a hidden treasure. Embedded in this image are some clues to nding it. Like organic curtains surrounding a round blue stage, the blossoms draw our attention toward the glowing core. There is a gem of gladness at the core of your being. Unveil the happiness in your heart. Receive healing, strengthen peace on our planet.

Photo Sources: Pansies, lapis geode, magnolia petals, and eastern Earth

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Tranquility

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1.9 Strength
When we are young, we spend a lot of time on the ground. We directly experience Earths support. As we leave childhood for adult responsibilities, we may lose touch with her nurturing strength. The golden rock and light-lled crystals in this image infuse us with planetary power. Be rooted in Earths sacred ground. Receive healing, strengthen peace on our planet.

Photo Sources: Rock, refracted quartz, magnolia petals, and western Earth

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Strength

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1.10 Clarity
Like crystalline eggs in a basket of light, these gemstones shine with creative energy. Refractions highlight the stones clarity. Reecting on these lit-up stones, we connect with the creative brilliance within us. Like gems, we are all the more valuable when we are clear. Open to lifes translucent nature. Receive healing, strengthen peace on our planet.

Photo Sources: Mixed gemstones, amethyst, magnolia petals, and eastern Earth

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Clarity

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1.11 Reection
How does a single ower reect the complexity of the cosmos? How does one stone display the structure of the universe? Contemplating this image, the answers are revealed. We are born with this holistic wisdom, which can only be accessed within. With the world as your mirror, you will see splendor. Receive healing, strengthen peace on our planet.

Photo Sources: Orchid, uorite, magnolia petals, and western Earth

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Reection

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1.12 Awareness
From its shining blue-green core to its pastel borders, this image sings lifes radiant refrain. Emerging from the dark red eld, snowy stems offer lifegiving pollen. Looking deeply into Nature, we gain a new perspective. We awaken to an awareness of greater identity. See your planetary self and be at peace. Receive healing, strengthen peace on our planet.

Photo Sources: Hibiscus, uorite, magnolia petals, and eastern Earth

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Awareness

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About the Artists

Bell & Todd is the spiritual and creative partnership of Bonnie Gold Bell and David Sun Todd. Their art calling is to create media that activate and nurture personal and planetary awakening. Guided by Source, they remix the code of Nature and the Cosmos into beautiful new forms. They marry words and sometimes sound to the images, and then charge these multidimensional creations with energetic blessings. ! Bell & Todd artworks are published in The Gaiastar Codex, an evolutionary oracle deck; in the book, GaiaStar Mandalas: Ecstatic Visions of the Living Earth; in the book Peace Codes: Visions and Meditations for Resolving Ancient Conicts on Earth; in their yearly Healing Mandalas calendars; as well as ne art prints and notecards. At their website, you can view over 200 of their radiant images as well as videos, blogs, transmissions and the
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ongoing Big Earth Blessings projects. Please visit www.bellandtodd.com. ! Bonnie and David also work with people for self-healing and placehealing. They create custom images encoded for people, businesses and nonprot organizations, as well as homes and facilities. Their Big Earth Blessings videos and other media provide new ways to bless humanity and the living world. ! Bonnie and David are members of the guiding Council of the Gaiaeld Project, a nonprot group that champions subtle activism, or the use of meditative techniques to bless and uplift the world. Visit www.gaiaeld.net for more information. ! They are also members of the Heart-Space contemplative group of the Thriving Resilient Communities Collaboratory. The TRC Collaboratory is an action research network exploring new collaborative strategies to scale the thriving resilient community movement in North America. Visit www.thrivingresilience.org to learn more. !

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End of Free Excerpt

We hope you enjoyed this sample of the Peace Codes book. The complete book features 84 healing mandalas and meditations. To order your complete copy of the Peace Codes please visit www.bellandtodd.com/ebooks/. To see our complete offering of publications, calendars, note cards, ne art prints, and Big Earth Blessings videos, visit www.bellandtodd.com. Thank you, Bonnie and David

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