Bigger than Hope !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bigger Than Hope
by Alan Cohen
Last summer, I set out with a group of friends on a sailboat excursion
to camp on the mystical island of Molokai. En route we met a tropical storm
during which we treaded water for an hour amidst imposing swells. Quite a
few of our retinue made pilgrimages to the rail, and by the time the squall
abated and we reached shore, numerous would-be sailors had waxed green-faced
and swore to take a plane next time.

Fortunately, the weather improved and we went on to enjoy a
magnificent sojourn on the exotic isle. As we prepared to leave the next
day, several people were anxious about the prospect of hitting bad weather
again. Someone suggested we gather for a group prayer for easy passage, and
I spoke a strong affirmation that peace was indeed with us. Together we
visualized a smooth, easy, and delightful trip, and we came into the
vibration of positive expectation until the anxiety had lifted.

As soon as we opened our eyes, a young man in our midst, new to the
spiritual path, blurted out, "Yeah, and let's hope we don't hit any more
storms!" His statement crashed awkwardly against the vision we had just
co-created. Afterward I took the fellow aside and explained to him an
important principle:

Once we have prayed for something, we must step fully into the new
vibration and not go backward into thoughts, words, or actions that affirm
the condition we were praying to heal. We are always affirming what we want
or what we don't want, and everything we think, say, or do is directing our
energy in one direction or another.

When I was studying with master healer Hilda Charlton, during a class
we prayed for a woman named Loni who was seeking to be healed of a
particular disease. After the prayer session a man approached Loni and
suggested she try a certain herbal treatment. At the following week's class
Hilda passionately admonished the fellow and the group: "How dare you undo
the healing work we did! We spent a long time and a lot of energy bringing
this woman into the consciousness of wholeness, and you speak to her as if
she needs help! If she is not sick, as we declared her to be, why would you
tell her what to do to erase her illness? Don't you ever do this again!"

Hilda was not against medicine (on many occasions she recommended that
students take it), and she was extremely compassionate with people who were
suffering. That night Hilda was using the incident to underscore an
important point, one which has stayed with me and helped me immensely over
many years: To be an effective healer, speak to the place in your client
that is whole, and treat each person as if they are already who they would
like to be. As Dale Carnegie advised, "Give them a reputation to live up
to."

In the famous biblical story, God advised Lot and his family to leave
Sodom because the city was about to be destroyed; God told the family to
leave quickly and not look back. On their road to freedom, Lot's wife turned
to see what was happening back there, and she turned into a pillar of salt.
Certainly this did not happen physically -- the story is a metaphor, a grand
piece of advice for all times: Don't get involved with what you are leaving
behind. Your past may be loaded with pain, suffering, and difficulty, but
you are trying to build a new life. Leave the past where it was, and turn
your attention fully toward where you are going. Jesus advised simply, "Turn
the other cheek."

This is the time of rebirth, signified in the legends of our major
religions. In Judaism we commemorate Passover, representing the ascension
from slavery to freedom. In Christianity we celebrate the resurrection of
Christ. We have paid far too much attention to scenes of slavery and
crucifixion; we have played them out time and again. Now it is time for us
to focus on what happens next. The more we delve into how we got where we
are, the more we stay where we were. The more we analyze what is not
working, the more things do not work. And the more we consider how we would
like it to be, the more things become as we would have them. The choice is
ours.

Real spirituality is beyond hope. Hope means there is a chance things
may turn out as we wish, and if we are lucky we may get what we want. Inner
knowing, on the other hand, proceeds from the awareness that love is present
now, well-being is our natural state, and all is really well.

Yes, we may have hit a storm on way over, but that does not mean we
have to hit one on the way back. Our history is not our destiny, and our
destiny begins now.

Shared with Love and Light, Rosalie xo