Living a harmonious life?

Laying on my mat, listing to the sound bath of singing bowls and gongs, my body and mind feel free, open, and harmonious – one with the world.

Then the soothing sounds end and the world resumes. I wait. Will harmony return to my body and mind? What happens when I step outside and hear bystanders yelling and screaming? Can I maintain the harmony I felt only moments ago? Do I have the ability to create my own harmonious life?

Harmony evokes balance with rhythm; harmony can be pleasing not only to the ear but also our body. What happens when harmony is disrupted? For some, harmony is defined by the rhythm they know – if they live in a turbulent environment, anything not turbulent is discord.

But how many times have you listened to music or sounds that sound irritating to you – and yet pleasing to others?

Harmony cannot be defined without discord. The distinction creates the definition. How would we recognize harmony if everything was harmonic all the time? If your life has been disruptive and stressful, you won’t know how to ‘calm down’ regardless of how many people tell you to slow down.

Harmony is individual until it is universal.

For me, universal harmony is sweet sounds of birds chirping in the stillness of nature; it is the sound of waves gently lapping upon the shore, it is peaceful silence. Quietness can create harmony of the brain.

What about you? Do you think the outside world brings harmony or does our interior harmony affect the outside world?

Katie