“You're not alone in feeling this way,” says Reverend Jeffries. “Everyone is feeling this crunch of what can I do?” The truth is unless you are a diplomat, an international statesman, or maybe Miss America, you're probably not going to single-handedly bring about world peace. But there are some things you can do in your own life to be more peaceful and start a little chain reaction of peaceful feelings… just like that old commercial, you'll tell two friends and so on and so on.

• The best place to start is at home. Get rid of anything in your house that makes you feel uneasy, including clutter! It's hard to be peaceful if your space looks like a war zone. Toss things that you don't need anymore—holding on to possessions that you don't need, don't like, or have outgrown is the same as holding on to outmoded ideals and ideology—if the shoe doesn't fit—throw it out!

• Be mindful of your speech. This is really important. So often we are completely unconscious of the weight behind our words. How many times have you said something like “I could have killed her”? Of course you don't mean you'd actually become a machete wielding serial killer. But the truth is, just like everything else in our world, words carry energy. And words like that carry a lot of negativity. When we are mindful of our speech, we bring more positivity into the world.

• Smile. It's true, smiles, like yawns, are contagious! I smile at you, you smile at the next person you pass and it can spread throughout the entire city. Remember if you want world peace it's gotta start somewhere. Why not with a smile to the bus driver, or the guy who gets your coffee at the deli?

• Meditate. Meditation is probably the single most important thing you can do to make your world more peaceful. By sitting quietly and learning to listen to your inner voice (yes, it's there, really!) you can learn to bring that peacefulness out into the world. By meditating you can learn to recognize peace and let it know that it is welcome in your life anytime. Try this one out: Sit in a quiet, relaxing space, close your eyes and repeat to yourself I am at Peace. As you inhale say it and then say it again on the exhale. Do this for five minutes. That five minutes can take you from chaos to calm and then you'll be more likely to be more peaceful to everyone you come in contact with!

• Be Peaceful! Once you've done your meditation, take that peaceful feeling out into the world. Even if it's just a few minutes of peaceful breathing on the bus or subway, you are changing the energy in yourself and everyone around you will benefit. Practice silently to yourself sending peacefulness to everyone on the bus, the driver, the lady sitting next to you, the baby three rows back, everyone. In your mind just think to yourself, ‘I am sending you peace.' It might sound crazy but try it out. It works.

With these suggestions from Reverend Jeffries, Girlawhirl knows that even if world peace may not be in her near future, subway peace or peace in her apartment can be part of not just today, the International Day of Peace, but every day!

Reverend Maureen Jeffries is an interfaith minister, meditation teacher, writer, lecturer, and mother of two young sons. She has been leading meditation workshops for the past three years. For more information email her at meditationformoms@hotmail.com.