Hi,
This is Carolyn Zeele.
Thank you so much for joining me today.
I appreciate your being here.
And I'm looking forward to spending some time meditating and journaling and focusing on hope.
One of the definitions of hope is desire accompanied by expectation.
With all the turmoil we're experiencing globally and at home,
The unrest,
The unknown,
The unclear way forward,
It might be hard for some of us to find hope,
To access our hope,
To find the belief or that kernel of faith that all will be well.
But now more than ever,
We need hope.
In his book,
The Soul of America,
The Battle for Our Better Angels,
John Meacham writes,
The opposite of fear is hope.
Fear feeds anxiety and produces anger.
Hope breeds optimism and feelings of wellbeing.
Fear is about limits,
Hope is about growth.
Hope looks forward toward the horizon.
Fear points at others assigning blame.
Hope points ahead,
Working for a common good.
Fear pushes away.
Hope pulls others closer.
Fear divides.
Hope unifies.
We want to find our way to hope.
We need to find our way to hope.
We want to find our way out of the negative feelings and thoughts we might be gravitating to at this time,
Those thoughts and negative feelings that stand between us and our hope.
And once we can do that now,
During these tough,
Challenging times,
We'll be able to do it during any challenging times in our lives.
We need to feel hopeful.
There's some science I'd like to share with you around the feeling of hopefulness.
Hopefulness changes your brain.
Hope pumps those feel-good hormones,
Chemicals through us,
The chemicals that can block pain and accelerate healing,
The feel-good hormones that actually mimic the effects of morphine.
And the result is that the brain can overcome hurdles.
Hope is a doorway to fulfillment.
So not only does it bring you closer to your desires and your dreams,
It takes you into deeper beliefs and certainty.
Hope gives you a feeling of wellbeing.
Hope can strengthen our resolve.
Hope is a beacon of light.
Hope gives you the strength that you need to guide you,
To support you during your most challenging times.
Hope helps you remain committed to your desires.
Hope helps you take action.
And hope gives us all a reason and a willingness to persevere.
But hope isn't just wishful thinking.
It involves a solid commitment to seeking future outcomes.
It's actually an active process and it will drive you forward in making change.
But what happens when there's something between you and your hope?
Something standing between your feeling of hopefulness,
Like negative thoughts.
In order to feel and access your hope,
To utilize it,
To have faith,
To find your strength,
We first need to acknowledge the negative thoughts,
The negative feelings,
The negative emotions,
The negative self-talk,
Those habit loops that we might have formed that stand between you and your hope,
That actually block you from feeling hope.
And in this meditation,
We'll practice accessing those thoughts and the emotions attached to those thoughts.
And hopefully move through those thoughts so that we can access our hope.
And what you'll need is a journal,
An open heart and an open mind.
So let's get comfortable and dive into hope.
Settle into yourself.
Gently close your eyes.
And notice your breath.
And now deepen your breath.
Breathe in through your nose,
Filling your belly.
Feel it rise.
And exhale,
Feeling your belly.
And exhale,
Feeling your belly fall.
Another breath,
Belly rise,
Belly fall.
Another breath,
Filling yourself up with life force and energy.
Feeling your belly rise.
And as you exhale,
Allow your belly to fall.
And just breathe.
Notice your breath.
Notice your breath.
Set an intention to let go in this moment.
To allow.
To allow this process to be whatever it is for you in this moment.
To know that our thoughts and feelings change day by day,
Moment by moment.
And allow whatever comes up for you to just be.
And notice.
Notice your thoughts.
Notice your thoughts.
Without trying to change your thoughts,
Notice what you say to yourself.
What are you saying to yourself in this moment?
Are any of your thoughts negative?
And if one or two or more of your thoughts are negative,
Are there any emotions or feelings attached to them?
Are any of your thoughts negative?
And as you become aware of these thoughts and the emotions that are attached to these thoughts,
Notice how you feel in your body.
And notice how these emotions feel in your body.
How they show up and express themselves in your body.
When you feel ready,
I invite you to turn toward your journal and begin to write these thoughts down.
And as you write these thoughts down,
Notice your language.
What are you saying to yourself?
Notice the words that you use and notice the emotions attached to these words and these thoughts.
And you're just allowing whatever comes up to be released onto the page.
Write all of this down in your journal and know that there is no wrong way or right way to do this exercise.
I'll give you some time to write.
Thank you.
Now you've identified the thought.
How is this thought familiar?
Is this something someone used to say to you and now you say to yourself?
Write the history of this thought or these thoughts and also include any emotions attached.
Grief,
Sadness,
Anger,
Fear,
Anything attached to these thoughts.
Take a few moments and write this thought history now.
Thank you.
And notice that as you're writing and as you're observing your thoughts and the emotions attached to them,
You're actually taking charge of these thoughts because sometimes it's just in this writing practice and in this observing practice that you're able to realize that your thoughts might not even be true.
Maybe it's your brain just trying to keep you safe.
So ask yourself and journal,
What is the reason I'm having this thought?
How is this thought trying to serve me?
Does this thought have some well-meaning attached to it?
So take a few moments now that you've identified the thought and the feeling and ask yourself that question.
How is this thought serving me?
What is the intention behind this thought?
And ask yourself,
Is this thought really the reason I'm having this thought?
Is this thought true in this moment?
In this moment in time,
Is this thought true?
And in your journal,
Answer this question,
Is this a thought I have to have?
And this question,
How often do I think this thought?
How repetitive is this thought?
Now you've identified the thought and the emotions attached to the thought.
Look at this thought again and see if you can't find a need or a want or a desire in this thought.
What's underlying the emotion and the negative thought?
Is there a desire in there?
Is there something you want underneath that thought?
So look at what you've written and find the desire that lies under the thought and the emotion and write about that.
What is that?
That desire that resides under the negative thought,
Negative self-talk,
The negative emotions,
That's hope.
That desire,
That feeling of desire is your hope.
No matter if you feel it in a big way or a small way,
It's the feeling and you can nurture it.
And it's this feeling that brings more hope.
This is the bridge you walk,
Baby step by baby step,
That brings you to certainty.
And it is with this hope and this desire that you can take action.
It will give you strength and it will guide you through the darkest times.
And to amplify your hope,
I'd like you to think about how you could bring hope to someone else.
So,
Turning outward,
Giving hope to receive more hope,
It becomes a beautiful cycle.
So,
You're watering that tiny little seed of hope within you and when you water it,
It will grow.
Take a few moments and write down in your journal how you will bring hope to another human being today.
I'm going to leave you with a quote from a movie I love called The Shawshank Redemption.
And it is,
Hope is a good thing,
Maybe the best of things,
And no good thing ever does.
Thank you so much for spending some time with me meditating,
Journaling,
Accessing hope.
Wishing you hopeful blessings.
Thank you so much.
Namaste.
