HARMONY

Definition of Harmony:
The state of being in agreement or concord.

Synonyms of Harmony:
Agreement, peacefulness, fellowship, solidarity, unison, etc.

These notes are from recovery in AA and/or related 12 step programs. Readers are encouraged to click external links for more detail. We hope you find them helpful.

Love in fellowship.

When we are right with the Great Spirit, we are right with all things. I
t is impossible to be out of harmony with anything or anybody when we are in harmony with the Great One. –Elder’s | More…

When we lose sight of interconnectedness, separation, possessiveness, and infighting results. We are connected to all things. We must think in harmony, balance and integrity. We must see our relationship to the great whole and conduct ourselves accordingly. –Elder’s | More…

The Medicine Wheel teaches about change. It says that which is created will fall apart; that which is loose, will be used to create new. In other words, everything on Earth is participating in a constant change that is being directed by an order of laws and principles which were originated by the Great Spirit.  We need to know ourselves and we need to know how we work inside to enable us to change naturally. –Elders | More….

Sometimes we say we’re getting our lives together. Together with what? With our selves. The Twelve Steps help us clean up the mess we’ve made. We’re fixing our mistakes.

We’re looking at ourselves closely—at what we believe, what we feel, what we like to do, who we are. We’re asking our High Power to help us to be our best. –Keep It Simple | More…

We forget so we consider ourselves superior. But we are, after all, a mere part of the creation and we must consider to understand where we are and we stand somewhere between the mountain and the Ant.

Every human being gathers information from the center of a circle. If we are not careful, we soon think we are the center of all things.

Therefore, it is easy to become self centered.The universe is all connected.

Each part is here to do something special and according to its design. We are here to honor and respect the job of each part. We are neither above nor below anything. –Elders | More…

Let me remember that HP is in charge. If I get upset at another person today, let me remember that the most important thing I can do is to first talk to HP because when I am right with HP, it is impossible to be out of harmony with my brothers and sisters. –Elders | More…

There are two worlds – the Seen World and the Unseen World, or the Physical World and the Spiritual World. We need information from both of these worlds in order to live our lives in a harmonious way.

The most difficult way is to figure things out by ourselves and leave the Great Spirit out of it. When we do this, we are making decisions with information only from the Physical World.

This can be called reliance on self. If we ask the Creator to help us, we then get information from the Unseen World or the Spiritual World.

The Spiritual World is where we get our power. When we do this, we are God-reliant. –Elders | More…

Harmonizing is more than live and let live. It’s living together. It’s compatibility, being on the same page. It involves enough self-awareness to be ourselves, and enough adaptability and flexibility to fit that self into different situations. Harmonizing means opening up, listening, letting go of self-will, practicing non-resistance, and extending tolerance. –52 Weeks of Conscious Contact/Melody Beattie | More…

The outside is merely a reflection of our insides. My mind is designed to tell me that I’m not crazy for thinking what I am thinking.

Even if I have angry thought, my mind is giving me excuses and reasons why it is OK to think what I’m thinking. I need to be knowledgeable about the laws of harmony and balance.

I cannot twist the laws to serve me but I can adjust my life to serve the laws. This is the law – I am here to serve the earth. The earth is not here for me to misuse and abuse. –Elders | More…

The Medicine Man is a role model of what it is like to live in harmony and balance with the Creator. It takes a long time, a lot of sacrifice and discipline to become a Medicine Man.

A Medicine Man is humble and never crass about anything. He knows he lives to do the will of the Great Spirit.

He knows he is to help the people. He lives very low key – the more low key he lives, the more people seek him out – and such is life.

The more one serves the people and is quiet about it, the more he is sought out. The quieter he is, the more powerful is his medicine. –Elders | More…

It’s time Indians tell the world what we know… about nature and about God. So I’m going to tell you what I know and who I am. You guys better listen, you have a lot to learn. –Mathew King, LAKOTA

A long time ago the Creator came to Turtle Island and said to the Red People –  You will be the keepers of the Mother Earth.

Among you I will give the wisdom about nature, about the interconnectedness of all things, about balance and about living in harmony.

You Red People will see the secrets of nature. You will live in hardship and the blessing of this is you will stay close to the Creator.

The day will come when you will need to share the secrets with the other people of the earth because they will stray from their spiritual ways.  The time to start sharing is today. –Elders Meditations | More…

If we keep everything in balance, we are in harmony with ourselves and are at peace. We need to keep ourselves in balance.

We must be careful to not get too hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. We must know the times – time to work, time to rest, time to play, time to sleep, time to pray, time to lighten up, time to laugh, time to eat, time to exercise. We need to take care of ourselves.

You cannot give away what you don’t have. –Elders | More…

With prayer and good intentions, we make our lives sacred and come into balance –Don Jose Matsua.

Only through prayer can we make spiritual changes that are permanent.

You have told us that all life is sacred.
Let me see today with a sacred eye.
Let me see beauty in all things. –Elders | More…

Once you have achieved this oneness, when you talk, God talks; when you act, God acts. The more I am free of doubt, jealousy, judgment, selfishness, anger, the closer I am to this oneness.

When I am right with the Creator, nothing can touch me. When I am right with the Creator I always say the right things.

When I am right with the Creator, my thoughts are always good. When I am right with the Creator, my actions are always good. –Elders Meditations/White Bison | More…

We are no longer living in harmony. Focusing on the material only leads us from the path of the Creator.

We must now pray for ourselves and the people in a pitiful way. We must be humble and ask the Great Spirit to intervene because if we don’t, our children will continue to have troubles.

They are acting out our behavior as adults.
Today is a good time to start.

We need to get the spiritual way back into our lives.
We need to focus on the spiritual. –Elders | More…

When I give up the losing battle of trying to run my life in my own way, I gain abiding peace and deep serenity. Eventually, however, we understand that there are only two wills in the world, my will and God’s.

Whatever is within my direct control is my will; whatever is beyond my direct control is His Will. So I try to accept that which is beyond my control as God’s will for me. Am I beginning to realize that by surrendering my will to the Divine Will, I am for the first time living without turmoil and without anxiety? –A Day At A Time | More…

Harmony exists everywhere, as an entity of itself.
Our personal attitudes bring the disharmony to a situation.

An attitude of love can bless all situations and all people. We can trust the company of our higher power and know that every situation is contributing to a harmonious outcome if we’d but lend a trusting attitude. –Each Day a New Beginning/Karen Casey | More…

You should strive for a union between your purposes in life and the purposes of the Divine Principle directing the universe. There is no bond of union on earth to compare with the union between a human soul and God. That oneness of purpose puts you in harmony with God and with all others who are trying to do His will. –24Hours | More…

Our grandfathers knew how to live in harmony. They did not create poisons or technologies that destroyed things.

They did not make their decisions based on greed or for selfish reasons. They did not take more than they used.

Their thoughts and actions were about respect. The Elders conducted themselves in a respectful way. We need to consider our actions around respect for Mother Earth. –Elders | More…

We have slips in A.A.
It has been said these are not slips but premeditated drunks.

You can get away from the misunderstanding of others by retiring into your own place of meditation. But from yourself, from your sense of failure, your weakness, your shortcomings, whither can you flee?

Only to the eternal God, your refuge, until the immensity of His spirit envelopes your spirit and it loses its smallness and weakness and comes into harmony again with His.  –24 Hours | More…

The Sweat Lodge and the ceremonies are sacred. They represent the womb of Mother Earth. The Great Spirit gave these things to us to help us.

He taught us to do the ceremonies in harmony with Mother Earth. We need to know and understand these things. –Elders | More…

You must concentrate on your spiritual teachings. Don’t be side-tracked. When we go off track the Elders say, return to the teachings!

The teachings tell us how to live in harmony with the Laws and principles of the Great Spirit. Living means life, a good life, a happy life.

Many of us have grown up without the teachings and the culture, that is why we don’t know how to live. To improve  we need to live by the old teachings again. –Elders | More…

Inside every human being is a need to dance. We dance to music. Have you even wondered why people are moved when they hear an Indian Drum? The drum is the heartbeat of the Mother Earth. Every Indian dance is for a purpose and a reason. Every Song is for a reason. The beat of the drum makes our bodies, minds, and spirits join together in harmony. It allows us to connect to Mother Earth and to each other. The dance aligns our minds to think spiritual thoughts. Dancing to the drum is healthy. –Elders Meditations |More…

There are certain powers that the human being has no choice but to obey. We cannot negotiate or barter with this power. Our choice is either to conform or to live out of harmony. If anyone plants a seed, the seed will grow. The Earth treats everyone equally. The human cannot interfere, only obey. We should all show great respect for the Earth and Her powers. –Elders Meditations | More…

Harmony exists everywhere, as an entity of itself. Our personal attitudes bring the disharmony to a situation. An attitude of love can bless all situations and all people. –Each Day a New Beginning | More…

We are no longer living in harmony. Focusing on the material only leads us from the path of the Creator. We must now pray for ourselves and the people in a pitiful way. We must be humble and ask the Great Spirit to intervene because if we don’t, our children will continue to have troubles. They are acting out our behavior as adults. Today is a good time to start. We need to get the spiritual way back into our lives. We need to focus on the spiritual. –Elders Meditations | More…

If we keep everything in balance, we are in harmony with ourselves and are at peace. We need to keep ourselves in balance. We must be careful to not get too hungry, angry, lonely, or tired.
We must know the times – time to work, time to rest, time to play, time to sleep, time to pray, time to lighten up, time to laugh, time to eat, time to exercise. We need to take care of ourselves. You cannot give away what you don’t have. –Elders Meditations | More…

It’s time Indians tell the world what we know… about nature and about God. So I’m going to tell you what I know and who I am. You guys better listen, you have a lot to learn. –Mathew King,

A long time ago the Creator came to Turtle Island and said to the Red People – You will be the keepers of the Mother Earth. Among you I will give the wisdom about nature, about the interconnectedness of all things, about balance and about living in harmony. You Red People will see the secrets of nature. You will live in hardship and the blessing of this is you will stay close to the Creator. The day will come when you will need to share the secrets with the other people of the earth because they will stray from their spiritual ways. The time to start sharing is today. –Elders Meditations | More…

The Medicine Man is a role model of what it is like to live in harmony and balance with the Creator. It takes a long time, a lot of sacrifice and discipline to become a Medicine Man. A Medicine Man is humble and never crass about anything. He knows he lives to do the will of the Great Spirit. He knows he is to help the people. He lives very low key – the more low key he lives, the more people seek him out – and such is life. The more one serves the people and is quiet about it, the more he is sought out. The quieter he is, the more powerful is his medicine. –Elders Meditations | More…

Harmony exists everywhere, as an entity of itself. Our personal attitudes bring the disharmony to a situation. An attitude of love can bless all situations and all people. We can trust the company of our higher power and know that every situation is contributing to a harmonious outcome if we’d but lend a trusting attitude. –Each Day a New Beginning | More…

If everything is connected, we cannot disconnect. To disconnect is not a real choice. This is why we are always spiritual no matter what we do. Every alcoholic is spiritual. All our brothers and sisters are spiritual. We may not be behaving correctly, but nevertheless, we are spiritual. Our choice is to live out of harmony with spiritual ways or in harmony with spiritual ways. Everything is spiritual. –Elders Meditations

The outside is merely a reflection of our insides. My mind is designed to tell me that I’m not crazy for thinking what I am thinking. Even if I have angry thought, my mind is giving me excuses and reasons why it is OK to think what I’m thinking. I need to be knowledgeable about the laws of harmony and balance. I cannot twist the laws to serve me but I can adjust my life to serve the laws. This is the law – I am here to serve the earth. The earth is not here for me to misuse and abuse. –Elders Meditations | More…

The Medicine Wheel teaches about change. It says that which is created will fall apart; that which is loose, will be used to create new. In other words, everything on Earth is participating in a constant change that is being directed by an order of laws and principles which were originated by the Great Spirit. We need to know ourselves and we need to know how we work inside to enable us to change naturally. –Elders Meditations | More…

We are moving, together and alone, into new images of ourselves. There is a healing power that comes from moving, from sharing one’s ideas and changing one’s self. And it is by trusting ourselves and trusting others that we bring harmony, thoughtfulness, and courage to all our actions. As we listen to and support one another, we encourage the necessary changes in others. As one is healed, we are all healed. –Each Day A New Beginning | More…

Once you have achieved this oneness, when you talk, God talks; when you act, God acts. The more I am free of doubt, jealousy, judgment, selfishness, anger, the closer I am to this oneness. When I am right with the Creator, nothing can touch me. When I am right with the Creator I always say the right things. When I am right with the Creator, my thoughts are always good. When I am right with the Creator, my actions are always good. –Elders Meditations | More…