Hope.
I hope the world will change. I hope (fill in a person’s name here) understands
when I tell them….I hope I get a good grade on my test. I hope the boss
recognizes my hard work. I hope my wife, girlfriend, husband, boyfriend, (pick
one) doesn’t get mad at me when I tell her/him …. Any of this sound familiar? I
hope I can just make it to the end of this month. I hope my car holds out a
little longer. What is this song of hope that our hearts and minds play?
Hope isn’t what I thought it was. And upon
some inquiry with others, I found that hope isn’t what they believed it was
either. In our culture we are taught to revere hope. "Don’t give up
hope." "There is nothing to do now but hope and pray." Pray makes
some sense to me, but what is hope?
Let’s discover the truth about hope. Read this
paragraph and then do what is described here. I want you to think of something
that you are hopeful for. I want you to close your eyes and put yourself in a
state of hope. Fully hope for what you want. Allow that feeling of hope to fill
your body. Allow yourself time to get there completely. Once there I want you to
put your attention on what you feel. What are all the emotions that you feel in
this state of hope?
When people do this exercise, they often find
that there is fear and anxiety laced within their wishful feelings. This fear is
the apprehension around not having the outcome one is wishing for. This is
actually to "hope against hope" or to wish without any expectation of
fulfillment. This can’t really be that great attribute of hope. This is a
convoluted hope.
Some truth about hope. Hope as a verb: to
envision something not yet true, or to cherish with an expectation of
obtainment. As a noun: trust, reliance, a belief in fulfillment. There is no
mention of fear or anxiety here, which is the way we typically experience hope.
The Toltec warriors know about hope. They know
it is a big demon that can trap them in a place of inaction. The convoluted hope
can become so strong in people that they sit and hope and don’t take action to
change their lives. People can get trapped in "hoping" something in
their life will change.
To master hope is an art. The Christians call it
Faith, with it one can move mountains. To the Toltecs it is the Mastery of
Intent.
Master Toltecs can hold their attention on a vision with such belief that it will
manifest. With the power of their attention they create a whole reality, any
reality. They choose to create heaven on earth. Beyond the demon of hope, and
the tricks of fear and anxiety that it plays, heaven is possible for everyone
willing to take the journey.