Category Archives: symbols

The Peace Bell: A Spiritual Journey

When I journeyed to Assisi only to find its iconic Peace Bell silenced, I became determined to hear it ring again.

At one point a few years ago, I felt as if there was a hole in my heart. The news seemed to be only of war, and our political leaders only seemed ready to confront conflict with military madness. Longing for peace, I decided to go to Assisi (a short trip from my home in Italy) to ring the Peace Bell. I felt called to do this symbolic act of hope. Somebody, I thought, has to go and ring that Peace Bell!

So on a fall day, I drove along a quiet, hilly back road, full of curves and beautiful views of the Apennine mountains. The fields were dotted with olive groves and vineyards interlaced with woodlands and bed-and-breakfast inns, and the autumn light glowed soft and warm, unlike the torrid summer sun that pricks one’s skin.

Assisi, also known as the City of Peace, is the birthplace of Saint Francis. The town feels as if it is piled up upon itself, stone upon stone, shining like rose quartz and nestled into the hillside above the valley of Spoleto. As I approached the city that day, I first caught site of the Rocca Maggiore, a fortress dating to 1174. Soon afterward, the spectacular 13^th-century Basilica of San Francesco came into view.

The Peace Bell is outside of the old walls of the city, not far from the basilica. It is supported by four granite columns, each representing a different religion: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism. Designed by German artist Gerhard Kadletz, the bell is named Regina Pacis (Queen of Peace), and it is meant to unite the four religions to announce peace with one voice.

You can read more about my journey to ring the Peace Bell below. This story was published as a “Spiritual Journey” by Spirituality & Health Magazine (April/May 2025).

Feel free to share “Sacred Journeys: The Bell that Peals for Peace.” We sure do need more than ever to hear it ring!

CALombard The Bell that Peals for Peace Download

When an Ideal Model Goes Wrong

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My mother used to always say: “Nobody’s so bad that they can’t be used as a bad example.” One might find this advice startlingly judgmental, but surely Mom was referring to people like the last US president. He was and still is ‘bad’ and hence a perfectly good ‘bad example.’ And yet, many of the 74 million people who voted for him still believe he has the right to be president. Many love him. Some even see him as their Savior.

Trump is not just a good ‘bad example,’ but also a good example of an ideal model gone wrong. Assagioli emphasized our need to have what he called ‘ideal models.’ He wrote:

“Hero-worship … is a natural and irrepressible tendency of human beings and, at the same time, one of the most powerful stimuli towards the elevation of consciousness.”

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Imagine All the Healing

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“Finally I was able to let go of fear and found courage and trust.” (Marije Smits)

When Susan arrived for her first counseling session, I was struck by her almost fairy-like beauty. With dark hair, creamy fair skin, and crystal green eyes, she reminded me of Snow White. At the time of our meeting, Susan was a 28-year-old PhD student studying philosophy and ethics. Not long before, she had discovered a mole while taking a shower. Susan had been going to tanning salons since she was 20. By the time she was 23, she was addicted to looking and feeling “sun-kissed”. By then she was working at the tanning salon to help pay for her own treatments. For nearly two years, she was tanning every other day.

The mole turned out to be diagnosed as malignant melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. “I didn’t even know what ‘melanoma’ meant,” she admitted to me. “When I found out the results, I was all alone at home and started to panic. I thought I was going to die.”