  Spiritual
This week: Spiritual Literacy Alphabet:H for Hope Edited by: Sophy  
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Hi, I'm Sophy ~ your editor for this edition of the Spiritual Newsletter. In this holiday season, when many religions celebrate light breaking into darkness, we'll explore the spiritual practice of hope.
The Rev. Scotty McLennan, author of the book "Finding Your Religion," compares humanity's innate need for spiritual searching to climbing a mountain. In his view, we are all endeavoring to climb the same figurative mountain in our search for the divine, we just may take different ways to get there. In other words, there is one "God," but many paths. I honor whatever path or paths you have chosen to climb that mountain in your quest for the Sacred.  |
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H is for Hope
Prayer is hope's breathing. When we stop praying, we stop hoping.
~ Dom Pedro Casaldaliga ~
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,
~ Emily Dickinson ~
Continuing our occasional series based on the Alphabet of Spiritual Literacy by Frederick and Mary Ann Brussat, we move to the spiritual practice of the letter H for Hope, which is described on the Spirituality and Practice web site as follows:
Hope is a positive and potent spiritual practice with the power to pull us through difficult times. It is usually described with light metaphors - a ray, a beam, a glimmer of hope; the break in the clouds; the light at the end of the dark tunnel. It is often discovered in unexpected places. Hope can be learned with practice. Certain attitudes support it. One is patience, an ability to tolerate delays, a willingness to let events unfold in their own time. The other is courage, an attitude of confidence even when facing the unknown. A third is persistence, the determination to keep going no matter what happens. We have hope when we can say, all will be well, and we mean it..
Here in the northern hemisphere as our days grow shorter and colder, it's a perfect time to celebrate the "light in the darkness" of Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, and Christmas. Images of light and darkness for the spiritual journey are profound and plentiful. Expressions such as "a light at the end of the tunnel" and "it's always darkest before the dawn" attest to the common experience that sometimes, when challenging situations become most threatening, we find hope in the possibility of a better future that only begins to reveal itself in small and subtle ways, such as the smallest glimmer of light.
That said, hope can be one of the more challenging and difficult spiritual practices for us, especially when we are experiencing our own "dark nights of the soul." When we are experiencing extreme emotional or physical pain for instance, it's hard for us to feel hopeful. Or when we lose a loved one and are in the depths of grief, hope is often the last thing on our minds or in our hearts. Despair, anguish, turmoil, and sadness -- those are the feelings that dominate our attention. But if we allow ourselves even the smallest flicker of light in the midst of our darkness, most of us know that it is that light, that hope, that ultimately pulls us through.
Many years ago I attended a Christmas Eve Candlelight service at my church. A family in our congregation lost their father/husband to cancer just a week earlier, and those of us who knew and loved them were so sad for his wife and children, especially because the timing had ruined Christmas for them. Imagine our surprise when the family came to the service that night. Instead of staying home grieving their losses, they came to that sanctuary to be with us, their spiritual community. And as they sang the carols with us, tears were streaming down their faces but they were was there, fortified by those who loved them and inspired by the hope of the season in spite of the darkness of their own world.
Cultivating hope more intentionally as a spiritual practice may be a challenge at times, but is usually always beneficial. One of the ways we can do that is by journaling about hope. For instance, on the top line of a journal page write the line, "I hope for ..." and then create a list of things you are hopeful about or for. Some suggest writing it with your non-dominant hand to access your less expressed feelings. The Chinese have a saying, "If you keep a green bough in your heart, surely the singing bird will come." From that comes another writing exercise -- writing how and where can you make a place for hope in your life by describing specific opportunities.
Wishing you all a joyous and blessed holiday season, in whatever way you celebrate,
Sophy
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Below you'll find some offerings from other WDC members about hope. Please let the folks know if you read their piece by leaving a thoughtful comment or review.
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Now for a few comments from my last Spiritual Newsletter, "Spiritual Newsletter (November 16, 2010)" :
From Budroe 
It is always a great pleasure to read your newsletters, Soph. When I see my own work highlighted by you, it is always a humbling joy. Thank you.
Awww, thanks so much for the kind words.
  
From twon721
Gratitude is an act our world needs more of. We can't show gratitude until we smile.
Amen!
From hbar
Good newsletter, I actually read the entire thing.
There is an elderly lady at church (age only) whose standard answer to how are you is, "I am thankful." Standard answer isn't actually right sorry, it is the answer she always gives and she is always sincere. I decided a few weeks ago I need to be like her and have started to answer the same question the same way.
Considering the people that ask me that question my answer garners some rather, um,... amusing looks. But you know, like smiling and gratitude it works. I received one of those stupid forwarded emails that I was able to avoid for years and am now inundated with with from too many people. The email was of course meant to be funny, it was but it was also very true because the alternative to theses things was rather dire so indeed these aged maladies are things to be thankful for.
Anyway I am sure you wanted to know all this stuff so that's why I told you. Sorry. Very good newsletter.
John the ogre
No need to be sorry, I enjoyed your sharing, and appreciate your taking the time to write in and comment.
From saheli
Your lovely news letter reminds me of the school prayer that we used to say before having lunch:
Thank you God for the food we eat, Thank you God for the birds that sing, Thank you God for every thing.
Thank you sophy for a great newsletter.
Great prayer, and thank you so much!
From wccronin
"In his view, we are all endeavoring to climb the same figurative mountain in our search for the divine, we just may take different ways to get there. In other words, there is one "God," but many paths."
This is a lie, and I resent it. Jesus said NO man comes to the Father except by Him.
It might be helpful to note that this is not the "Christian" newsletter but the Spiritual Newsletter, and as one of its editors I try to be respectful of a variety of spiritual paths and not focus on just one religion. My words are not a lie -- I do value many paths, which is my truth.
From Jay's debut novel is out now! 
Sophy, I really enjoyed this newsletter and the greater message within it.
I have found that acting the way you want to feel does wonders, too, and isn't anywhere near as fake as it sounds.
Gratitude for what we have can be difficult in trying times, but it's important to remember what we do have especially when so many others are struggling right now. Reaching out and saying "thanks!" --through prayer, meditation, through caring for others in our communities by donating what we can...
Exactly, J -- and thanks for sharing.
From Christine Cassello
Thank you for this reminder of the gratitude journal. I had heard of it and tried it before but got away from it. I think I will give it another try now.
Good luck with it!
Please keep your comments and suggestions coming, they are greatly appreciated!
Sophy |
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Spiritual: December 14, 2010 Issue [#4130]
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