Is living a life of harmony, balance and ease important to you? Or…be honest, do you get a little bit of a charge from some chaos and disruption? If you’re keepin’ it real with a little bit of both then this is your article –  read on.

I like the idea of “harmony”. The word itself has a nice ring to it and certainly sounds like something that I want in my life. The formal definition of harmony is agreement or a pleasing arrangement of parts. Again, those words seem to fit the life that I’m trying to live. So the real questions are “how do I create more harmony in my life” and “is that really what I’m looking for”?

What’s Harmony?

At its essence, harmony is what feels good to each of us individually. Consider a song for example. For some of us there is nothing more wonderful than the beautiful complexities of sound that an orchestra produces when playing Beethoven. For others the chords of a simple guitar or piano put them immediately into a state of ease and flow. Clearly what feels good for everyone is not the same. Therefore harmony or feeling good is different for everyone.

Your Harmony

Assuming that what’s stated above is true about harmony, each of us would need to define what feels good for us personally. But wait, if everyone is different, and harmony is agreement, then how can it work? And what about all the people and situations in life that stop you from feeling good? How can you possibly have harmony in your life with all the distractions and stressors? Yikes!

The Magic Formula

I don’t think that you’ll be surprised about The Magic Formula. It’s through my own journey of self discovery that I’ve come to both believe and see the truth of this formula. Its simplicity is profound.

And for the big reveal….Inner World = Outer World.

Yep right back where we always land, responsible for ourselves.

But here’s something that might be new to you…being responsible for yourself isn’t hard, it’s a habit.

Inner World versus Outer World – The Basics

• Inner world is all you. Your mind, emotions, heart and soul.
• Outer world is what is external to you. People, things and situations.
• We have absolutely no control over our outer world.
• We have complete control over our inner world.
• Dang! Back to the responsible for self piece again.

How To Make the Magic Formula Work For You

There are 3 steps to The Magic Formula.

1. Decide and Define – The Challenge

• Decide what you really want regarding harmony. What feels good for you personally?
• Make a list of the moments within the last week where you felt good. Notice when these occurred and how you were feeling specifically. Do the same with the reverse (when you didn’t feel good). This will give you a solid baseline of how you define harmony in your life.

2. Contain and Channel – Self-Awarness

• Some chaos is energizing. It gets us motivated to problem-solve and explore our creativity. This kind of disruption may be outside of your immediate comfort zone but without harmful impact.
• Remember that chaos has the ability to be contained and channeled for your greater good. Use it to keep life interesting and stimulating. But steer clear of situations and energy that bring about stress, unhappiness and drama.
• If you step into the space of not feeling good, you know that you’re headed out of “harmony”. Stop, reassess and come back to your baseline.

3. Get a Practice – The Most Critical Step

• Bringing harmony to your inner world is just as personal as defining it. There are an infinite number of practices or disciplines that you can tap into. Here are a few examples: meditation, yoga, prayer, a gentle exercise routine such as walking or stretching daily, journaling, sitting and observing nature, using a guided visualization or using some simple mindfulness techniques such as these.
• What’s nonnegotiable is that you find a practice(s) and stick with it. Teaching our brain to find a sense of stillness in order to create harmony is how The Magic Formula comes together. Create a habit that allows you to access your space of harmony.
• Find what works for you and be consistent. Over time you will find that you have the ability to stay in a state of harmony even when your outer world is not in that place.  Remember that your inner world dictates how you feel  – which is exactly what you are shooting for here.

The Magic Formula may take a few tries to get right, but it’s well worth the time and effort.

Drop me a line and let me know what your practice is – how do you contain the chaos and bring peace and harmony to your inner world?

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