“The process of the Seventh Step brings about a peace of mind that we never dreamed possible. We sense that what is present throughout our search for spiritual growth is our ability to feel our Higher Power’s love for us.” “It doesn’t matter that we will not attain a state of perfection or complete humility in our life-time.” (It Works, How & Why, p. 53) “Affirm divine calmness and peace, and send out only thoughts of love and goodwill if you want to live in peace and harmony. Never get angry, for anger poisons your system.” – Paramahansa Yogananda (1893 – 1953) renowned Bengali Yogi
One Thing – Finger Eleven (3:32)
Biography of Paramahansa Yogananda (7:17)
Powerful OM Meditation by Paramahansa Yogananda (9:43)
What have you done to achieve “peace and harmony”, lately?
Peace XVIII
by Khalil Gibran
The tempest calmed after bending the branches of the trees and leaning heavily upon the grain in the field. The stars appeared as broken remnants of lightning. But now silence prevailed overall as if Nature’s war had never been fought.
At that hour a young woman entered her chamber and knelt by her bed sobbing bitterly. Her heart flamed with agony. But she could finally open her lips and say, “Oh Lord, bring him home safely to me. I have exhausted my tears and can offer no more, oh Lord, full of love and mercy. My patience is drained and calamity is seeking possession of my heart. Save him, oh Lord, from the iron paws of War; deliver him from such unmerciful Death, for he is weak, governed by the strong. Oh Lord, save my beloved, who is Thine own son, from the foe, who is Thy foe. Keep him from the forced pathway to Death’s door; let him see me, or come and take me to him.”
Quietly a young man entered.
He wrapped head in a bandage soaked with escaping life.
So he approached her with a greeting of tears and laughter, then took her hand and placed against it his flaming lips. And with a voice which bespoke past sorrow, and joy of union. And uncertainty of her reaction, he said, “Fear me not, for I am the object of your plea. Be glad, for Peace has carried me back safely to you, and humanity has restored what greed essayed to take from us. And be not sad. But smile, my beloved. Do not express bewilderment. For Love has a power that dispels Death; a charm that conquers the enemy. I am your one. Think me not a specter emerging from the House of Death to visit your Home of Beauty.
“Do not be frightened, for I am now Truth, spared from swords and fire to reveal to the people the triumph of Love over War. I am Word uttering introduction to the play of happiness and peace.”
Then the young man became speechless and his tears spoke the language of the heart, and the angels of Joy hovered about that dwelling, and the two hearts restored the singleness which had been taken from them.
At dawn, the two stood in the middle of the field contemplating the beauty of Nature injured by the tempest. After a deep and comforting silence, the soldier said to his sweetheart, “Look at the Darkness, giving birth to the Sun.”
Achieving peace and harmony is not as easy as I believe it’s made out to be. It take a lot of thought and self-searching because peace and harmony can not be universally defined for each person, it is based solely on perception. My perception of peace and harmony may not align with everyone else’s and so for myself, I realize that my peace and harmony comes from a balance of whom I spend my time with and take time for. This past week I have been spreading myself thin with spending so much time desperately trying to talk to all the friends I can, spending a good part of my day worrying about who I might not be able to talk to and then scheduling a time in my brain to talk to them again. I also take time to myself, but even some of that time is preoccupied by thoughts of hanging out with friends, however, there is one group of people I truly need to start delegating my time to- my family. We are always there for each other and we are all stuck in the same house, but we rarely do things together as a family, which I feel I should be more vocal about and begin creating a time segment for that as well and finally have a balanced schedule. My peace and harmony have come from times where I’ve done all three in the same day, for example, yesterday I’ve never felt better as I was able to talk with friends for a little bit, took a lot of time to chill out by myself, and then play a card game with my family. This is how I achieve my peace and harmony and of course, I am not very good at achieving it yet but with enough time, I and everyone else can achieve there ideal peace and harmony.