The Fall Equinox! The air feels cooler. The leaves begin to change. The wind strengthens. Gardens are harvested. Days and nights are equal in length creating a mirror for us of balance and harmony.
With harvest season in full swing, we are reminded of gratitude for the abundance of the earth. As the trees let go of their leaves, we are reminded to let go, shedding what no longer serves us. We begin to think about preparing for winter: changing tires on the car; taking screens off the windows; putting the gardens to bed; and all those things we do as we prepare for winter.
You are a being that thrives on harmony. It feeds your heart and everything in your world.
Several years ago, my friend and colleague, Stephen Hobbs, guided me through a process that he calls ‘Your Word for the World.’ It was no surprise to me that my word for the world turned out to be ‘Harmony.’ My life’s purpose boiled down to this one word.
In fact, when he asked me to imagine a world without harmony in it, I immediately started to cry. We were at a small business breakfast in a crowded restaurant at the time and I could not stop the tears from cascading down my cheeks.
This powerful experience led me to contemplate a few questions:
- How does Harmony show up in how I live my daily life?
- What does Harmony really feel like – in the heart?
- Can Harmony be cultivated in our daily life?
A few years of contemplation on these questions, and more, has spawned more clarity. As a result, the Harmony Principles have emerged as an acronym based on the letters of the word. Especially, to answer the very practical questions I started with.
I have spent a lifetime in music, as a musician, composer, and teacher. Throughout that time, my being has been bathed in harmony, or lack of it. How fascinating that my life’s journey and choices have ripened through harmony into the soul work I now do through the Sound Wellness Institute.
Many years ago, during a period in my life when I felt like a hamster running at full tilt on one of those never-ending wheels, I made a choice to become a student of my mind. I must say that has been an ‘education’ in itself! As I became more mindfully aware of how I create separation or wholeness in my own thoughts, I began to understand that one of my biggest hindrances or successes in creating harmony resided in my own head.
As I became more aware of what thoughts created more separation or harmony, I found I could stop the ones I did not want and choose the thoughts I did want.
And the coolest thing happened – my heart expanded its capacity for compassion and love.
Harmony is completely at home in the heart. In fact, I believe that harmony is a human being’s natural state. We just have to find ways to return to that permanent part of our being.
What does harmony in the heart feel like?
- Belonging
- Community
- Less stress
- More clarity
- Save energy
- Save time
- Feel happier
- Perform better
- Worry less
- Feel confident
- Remember more
- Authentic
I am sure you could add more qualities to this list. As I continued to add to this list an acronym began to emerge. The words below were chosen from a long list. It is also interesting to note that the word ‘harmony’ has seven letters, which conveniently match up with the main chakra system.
Here are the harmony principles:
As you settle into the rhythm of Nature and the shift of the seasons, bring a little Harmony with you. Breathe into your heart. Allow your breath to massage the harmony at your core and let it flow out into the world.
In Health and Harmony,
