Welcome to this Advent Meditation on hope.
My name is Joy and I will be your guide through today's meditation.
Today we will be taking a moment to find our hope in this season.
So as we find our way into a seated position,
Allowing the body to find comfort,
Allowing ourselves to become aware,
Closing our eyes and finding that internal gaze and allowing the external body to support us and allowing it to rest and relax during this time that we open the awareness in our mind.
Allow the body to settle,
Finding those last little movements to allow comfort.
Slide the body into place and breathe.
This season of Advent is a time we wait and pray and hope in God.
This is a time we focus on the hope this Christmas season brings.
Allow the body to feel the warmth and relaxation as you breathe deeper into the belly,
Expanding and as you exhale,
Allowing the body to soften,
Surrender just a little more.
This is a time to focus on your faith,
Leaving behind the busyness of the holiday season,
Leaving behind the expectations and allowing yourself to find that deeper spiritual connection.
Allow the body to release stress as you continue to follow the inhale and the exhale.
This first candle during the Advent is the candle of hope.
It is the prophecy candle.
The purple represents the hope.
It represents an anticipation that was felt as the prophets waited for the Messiah's birth and the anticipation that we now feel again waiting for the return.
Breathing slowly,
Exhaling and releasing.
We can now visualize the flicker of the candle's flame as it glows.
Watch as it dances.
Continue imagining this flame as you continue to soften and surrender.
Our hope is a feeling of expectation.
It is a desire for a specific outcome.
What is it that you are hoping for?
What do you long for in this season of life?
As you continue to breathe,
Focus on these hopes and dreams.
Focus on the flame,
The melting wax,
The heat and the light.
Heavenly Father,
As we give these hopes as prayers to you,
We lift them up to you.
We offer them to you for your consideration,
In your blessed timing,
For your continuing to visualize the flame and the hope it brings,
Inhaling His goodness,
Releasing and letting go of any bits of tightness and tension that are holding you back.
As we come to the close of our practice,
As we come to the close of this meditation,
Bring the full awareness back to the external parts of the body.
Begin to gently move fingers and toes,
Gentle movements,
And as we allow the eyes to begin to flutter open,
I would like to leave you with Romans 15,
13.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,
So that by the power of the Holy Spirit,
You may abound in hope.
Have a beautiful day filled with peace and blessings.
