Aloha,
I'm Reverend Cindy Palos and today I'd like to talk about the power of hope,
Which holds in it the power of positivity,
The power of yes,
The power of the possible,
Even in the impossible situations.
I wrote a bunch of poems on hope and I did a CD release this year called The Gift of Hope because I was feeling,
Even last year,
That the country was going through a lot of changes and challenges and many people I knew,
Including myself,
Have been very tested by life situations.
And of course,
When we're all together in this practice of doing meditation and looking inside,
We realize that we have to go through these times to learn the lessons we need to become who we fully can become.
And I found some real inspiration in some quotes from Mahatma Gandhi.
He said,
When every hope is gone,
When helpers fall and comforts flee,
I find that help arrives somehow,
From I know not where.
Supplication,
Worship,
Prayer are no superstition.
They're acts more real than the acts of eating,
Drinking,
Sitting,
Or walking.
It's no exaggeration to say that they alone are real and all else is unreal.
I was so inspired by those words.
Mahatma Gandhi was a great teacher,
A great being that brought about great change with his power to believe and have hope when everything else around him seemed like it was failing.
But it's not just having hope and it's not just praying.
It's also how we deal with situations we encounter that challenge us.
I got a beautiful note from my teacher,
Bill Kwong Roshi.
The fire was all around them a couple of years ago in Santa Rosa and they fought hard and they were able to save the Sonoma Mountain Zen Center.
And then they had more challenges because their permits had become,
Well,
Not up to date and they had to rebuild the entire retreat center and make a lot of changes which cost millions of dollars.
And in this note,
My dear friend Bill Kwong Roshi said,
Working with our difficulties wholeheartedly we will immediately be liberated from our daily suffering.
Returning to our original nature right here and right now,
Our basic humanity naturally arises and the difficulty we face goes beyond the difficulty itself and transforms into the spirit of compassion that we bring into our everyday lives.
And through our lives we do learn this,
This amazing compassion and the pain and suffering that people go through in life.
I go into some prayers and meditation here about how we can actually turn inside and have that hope restored and that positive energy restored.
I wrote this,
I get up each day and pray and take a look at what's inside that drives my state of mind.
And I do an alignment with the light to get beyond what blocks that I find.
Have you found this yourself?
When you go into meditation you don't even sometimes realize that you aren't going to really where you want to connect with your soul,
That there's some blocks or some fears that come up.
Is there anything blocking your enlightenment right now,
Blocking your connection to be one with God?
Sometimes we do experience it and sometimes we just accept that it's not there that day.
But I've learned to sit down and meditate anyway and not to doubt and not to dismiss or fear the moments when the presence is not there or there.
When the presence comes you feel that smile and the blocks fall away and everything's clear and you understand your purpose and you become full of inspiration.
And you know there's such a real need in life for all of us to share the power of this love and light.
So many teachers,
So many wonderful people out there who are trying to do good and are working for kindness.
That gives me hope and faith.
The world is going to be a better place and there's so much work for all of us to do.
But for all of the ones who really care and that are doing their best every day,
For all the people who are listening here,
I just want to say don't give up.
Take some time.
Find a way to love and care each and every day.
Everything does work out okay in the bigger picture.
I had this vision and I love visiting cathedrals in Europe.
I live on Maui,
We don't have big cathedrals like that.
But I'm sure you might have had the opportunity to be in some amazing cathedrals.
I had a chance to go to Notre Dame before it burnt.
I was there for an Easter Mass and I got in early and I lit a candle and this came to me.
The light of a thousand candles.
The presence of one who sees.
The presence of hope enlightens us.
To all of life's great possibilities.
And if you can imagine right now a cathedral with the light of a thousand candles,
Each lit with a prayer.
Each lit with a hope that there will be answers there.
Take a moment and open your heart to the power of those candles lit.
Thousands and thousands of candles all around the world being lit in prayer.
And let's send our hope and our light and our love to all of those who are in despair.
Let's send light out to the world and say a prayer.
For there are those who have gone through many challenges and many storms.
And when we go through those times it's hard for us to see that light.
But we're the ones who must stay strong.
We always need to remember,
And one of the keys here is being grateful and counting your blessings.
Just counting your blessings and know how much you really have been giving.
To take time to be grateful all of you 100% for all the gifts you've been giving.
Because we really are the ones here.
We're the bringers of the new dawn.
We can't be brought down by the forces that are fighting the transformation of light.
Hope always prevails.
The soul never ever fails.
And there is this amazing light,
This infinite brilliant light that comes.
And it can embrace us with that love that God has,
That amazing grace that comes when we're most in need.
I'll read one more quote here from Mahatma Gandhi and then we'll go into a meditation.
Mahatma Gandhi also said,
When I despair,
I remember that all through history,
The way of truth and love have always won.
There have been tyrants and murderers.
And for a time they can seem invincible.
But in the end they always fail.
Think of it.
Always.
Now let's go into a meditation and breathe in the light of hope.
Breathe deeply in and hold your breath in that light.
And now as you breathe out,
Send that light throughout all of your emotional body,
Your physical body,
And to your mind and your heart.
And then again,
Going deeper into that light of hope and bringing it into your very being.
Go deeper and deeper and deeper into the heart and soul of who you are.
Go into your heart of hearts.
See if there's any pain.
If there's been anything there that's blocked you.
If there's anything there that needs to be released right now.
Breathe in the power of light and bring light to whatever may be there that you wish to release right now.
Recognize it.
Thank it for the lessons.
And let it go.
Let it be free.
Release it.
And breathe in its place the great love for the lessons you've learned and for the strength and courage you've had to carry on through any hard times.
Breathe in hope.
Feel the light of that presence.
The light of the truth of hope.
The light that Mahatma Gandhi understood.
That even in times of darkness,
There is a candle burning bright.
There is someone praying.
And there is a greater force that's present.
That God holds for us to recognize.
See that candle burning now,
Deep there in your soul.
Watch the flame flicker and glow.
And see that there's a presence there,
That spark that's always alive.
The eternal flame that can never be put out,
No matter how many challenges and hard times you have.
You have that gift of hope.
That eternal light.
That torch inside.
Let that light fill you now.
Let that light illuminate your entire being.
See that light chasing away any darkness with its brilliance.
And now find that light of light.
That light from the one source,
Brighter than a million suns.
Behold that light from your creator.
Let that light come to you and fill you with your wonderful power,
Alive in your soul.
The power of unconditional love.
The power that sees you through any challenges and hard times.
That light that knows the purpose of why you're here.
And what lessons you need to learn.
Be grateful for all the wonderful lessons you have learned.
Be grateful for those who have supported you on the way,
As you were learning the lessons.
Be grateful for the angels and the guardians and the guides.
Be grateful for the Christ light alive,
Eternally.
And know that you can overcome any challenge you're facing.
You can learn with every lesson.
And that there's a silver lining beyond the darkest night.
You can see that there's always this blessed light,
A new dawn that arises.
And that dawn shines upon you right now.
And it inspires you and lifts your heart and soul.
Be in that moment of enlightenment.
Be here now.
Accept the true light and love that you are.
Breathe it in.
Breathe it in deeper.
And give thanks for it.
And know that it is so.
I'll close with the Aramaic Lord's Prayer.
Avun de Boshmaia.
Ni degedah shishamah.
Te te maokuta.
Nwe te sevinakakana de Boshmaia o baraha.
How long lakma de sumkanin yamana.
Vashvokan habayin aykanat apanyin shwa kin alayyabayin.
Ula talan al nisi yona.
Elapisan min bisha.
Me tal deleki maokuta.
U haila utish bakta.
La'alam amin.
Amen.
I want to thank you one and all for listening.
I appreciate you listening and being there and I send all my heart and soul blessings of light and love to you always.
