Many people would say Harmony is synonymous with peace or calm. I say harmony is simply the energetic resonance between two or more entities. The outcome of that resonance is determined by the frequency broadcast from each individual. It is the signal we broadcast out to the Universe that creates our realities. This signal is how we draw people, situations, and events into our lives that act as our mirrors. If you want to know what kind of signal you are broadcasting, simply take a look at the people in your circle of friends and family. If you are totally surrounded by loving, compassionate, and peaceful people then congratulations are in order! You are broadcasting love, compassion, and peace if that is what you are surrounded with. If on the other hand, you are NOT totally surrounded by loving, compassionate, and peaceful people, then I invite you to take a closer look at the issues they do present to you. What actions in others really push your buttons? As you examine and ultimately heal the issues that push your buttons, you will experience more peace and calm in your life, more harmony. These buttons are really 'diamonds in the rough' that will lead you to the gemstones buried within you. When something really gets to you ask yourself, "What is it really that bothers me?". What is it about ME that this triggers my frustration, anger, or any other reaction? Perhaps it is something you are also 'guilty' of doing, even if it is to a lesser degree. Perhaps it is giving you an opportunity to let go of judgment and move into a Graceful Acceptance. I invite you to use your triggers to diagnose the areas that are asking to be healed within you. Each one of these triggers can become a beautiful part of you once they are healed. As you heal these different aspects of yourself you will feel more and more complete. The more complete you feel, the more peaceful you feel. As you continue you this process you grow ever 'lighter' and come ever closer to remembering the totality of Who You Really Are. The more you work on yourself, the more you will notice a better, brighter, more peaceful world around you. You will see these qualities around you because it is the frequency that you broadcast out into the world around you. Other individuals broadcasting similar frequencies will begin to resonate with you, which draws like minded beings into your reality. This creates an energetic harmony. As you continue to heal and release issues within yourself, you also continue to raise the frequency of your own vibration, bringing you ever closer to the Graceful state of Unconditional Love and Compassion. This, in turn, automatically helps to lift up those around you simply because of Who You Are and not because of anything that you DO. It is a state of be-ing not do-ing. I frequently receive invitations to join in a worldwide prayer session for the war that is going on in Iraq or for the planet in general. Each time I respond by inviting all of those same people to not only pray for peace in the world, but to also spend the same amount of time praying for peace within themselves. Yes, as a group we can have a powerful impact on the world around us. Yet, I also believe that we can have an even more powerful impact on the world around us by focusing on bringing ourselves into a balanced state of love, compassion and peace. I wonder how we can pray for peace over there while ignoring the conflicts within our own souls, our own families, and our own communities. Remember that would we would choose to see in the world around us, we must first find inside ourselves. As we bring more and more peace into our own souls, we change the signal that we send out to the universe. We lift those around us by bringing our energies into resonance. By changing our resonance we can change who and what we harmonize with, assisting each other to reach greater and greater heights. We do this by focusing on ourselves and doing our own work. We cannot force the world to change anymore than we can force an individual to change. All we can do is to BE the shining example of what we choose to see in the world and trust that as we do so we, send out a resonance to others around inviting them to do the same. So I invite each and every one of you to take a stand and do your part. Do your part by working on yourself. Stop worrying about the things that you cannot change. Stop worrying about what other people are saying or doing. Instead, do what you can in each moment of each day to BE a shining example of peace, love, and compassion. Do this not because you think it will change other people, but do this because it is what your heart tells you to do. Open to yourself and allow yourself to feel with your heart, listen with your heart, and lead from your heart. This is where your wisdom resides. It can be a long and sometimes difficult journey to discover true inner peace, but it is possible. Attaining inner peace is a process which must begin with identifying what you truly value. From this starting point, be willing to mix with positive people, improve your understanding of yourself and others, and be prepared for an exciting journey. Our beliefs and values set the direction of our lives. If we do not live in harmony with them we will live in a chronic state of stress and will be unable to experience inner peace. Shakespeare's often repeated line "To thine own self be true" is very wise. To those of us raised to care about everyone else's opinion but our own, it may seem selfish. However, if you don't discover its importance early in your life you will realize it later with many regrets. The pathway to inner peace is no easy journey. If you really desire inner peace, then you'll have to be prepared to do the inner work. Getting to know the true you is certainly a part of this process. Defining what is important to you and making sure your goals and decisions harmonize with your values and beliefs are important aspects of this journey. Another very important and immediate thing you can do to become more peaceful is to remove or eliminate unnecessary and significant stressors in your life. You will also need to learn to manage those stressors which you cannot avoid. Joy in life is also very important to inner peace. Be honest, do you need to lighten up? Maybe just a little? If you are too intense and have too narrow a focus in life, you can miss out on a lot of joy. Be willing to broaden your horizons and be more open to the positive experiences of life. Most of us know the devastating impact that critical, judgmental and negative people can have on our lives. They can take your peace right away from you and leave you stewing in anxiety, anger, doubt or other unpleasant negative emotions. It is therefore very important to choose your company wisely if you want to experience inner peace. Minimize your contact with negative thinkers and try to spend more time with positive individuals. Our inner peace is more dependent on good communication skills than many of us realize. It helps us to overcome preconceived ideas, judgments and prejudice. Let's face it, the way we see the world and interpret other people's words and actions can make us feel very stressed. Communication skills such as being observant, paying attention, listening, giving feedback and speaking can all help us to maintain positive relationships.