Hope

This longer session will guide the listener through nonjudgemental awareness of themselves and into a place of hope. Hope is a gift, a presence, to be welcomed from without and known within. This may be a Divine Presence as the listener is free to choose.

A journal and candle will be used during the session so please have these things with you.
Enjoy. Find Hope.

Transcript

I really hope you enjoy this and believe that it will enable you to know more hope in your lives.

So I've got four meditations for us today and the first two are going to help us to notice and listen to ourselves,

Where we are right now and how we are.

And so a level of honesty with ourselves that's going to be completely anonymous or completely confidential.

You won't have to share anything as you just recognise what is going on within yourself.

And then the second two meditations are going to focus outwards on hope,

Hope beyond that comes to us as a gift.

And so find a comfortable position where you're supported and upright but comfortable.

And close your eyes or lower your gaze.

And we're just going to do an awareness meditation just to check in with ourselves,

Body,

Mind and soul to see where we're at.

And so as you have your eyes closed just bring your attention to your breath.

Just observe your breath at this point.

Noticing the rhythm.

Noticing the length of each breath.

Noticing any irregularities.

And you'll probably find just by having brought your attention to your breath that you're already feeling a little more settled.

So just keep your attention on your breath,

Drawing your senses inward to this ongoing function.

And with each in-breath just hold a moment at the still point before you exhale.

And again at the point when you've finished your exhalation before you take another in-breath.

Just have a slight pause at those moments.

And be aware of that stillness at those points.

You might notice that the air when it comes in through your nostrils is cooler and the out-breath,

The air slightly warmer.

Just observe these things.

And whilst you're bringing your attention to your breath you may be aware of distractions around you,

Noises or distractions in your own mind or niggles in your body.

And all these things are part of your human experience right here and now.

I encourage you not to fight them,

Not to put energy into avoiding them,

Just allow them to be.

But bring your attention back to my voice or back to your breath when those distractions take you away.

Don't worry about them.

And so I imagine that your breath is now deeper and longer and you're more settled in this place that you're in right now,

Wherever you're sitting in your own home.

And we're going to check in a little more with our bodies.

Our bodies tell us so much about how we are.

So we're going to do a quick body scan.

You might just want to generally scan throughout your body,

Just feeling your presence,

Feeling the weight of your body,

The existence that it just is as it sits on the chair.

And then let's be a little more particular.

Bring your attention to the top of your head and scan down your face and down the back of your head.

Bring your awareness to any sensations that are there.

You don't need to move.

You don't need to do anything.

Just observe.

And then bring this awareness to your neck and shoulders and back,

Just scanning along to see where any areas of tension might be held.

Just observing them.

And then bring your awareness down the top of both arms,

Down past the elbows,

The lower arms to the hands,

Feeling the contact that your hands make with whatever they're resting on,

The temperature around them in the air.

And do the same with the front of your body,

Aware of inner niggles or pains,

Aware of softness,

Aware of any feelings in your entire core that are positive as well.

You might notice as you scan your limbs,

There are a place that we can hold energy.

And so we're just being aware.

Let's bring that attention to our seat and allow it to travel down our legs,

Scanning,

Bringing awareness to the weight of our legs,

The sensations that they might hold as they rest on the chair,

Down through our knees,

Our calves,

Our shins,

To our feet.

Again,

Aware of the contact that they make with the floor.

And just spend a few breaths just being present to your body,

Being in your body and being present to your body.

And then bring that awareness to your mind,

To the things that have been coming into your mind.

What's in your mind right now?

What state is it in?

Is it in a place of stillness and peace?

Is it full of thoughts,

Disjointed thoughts,

One particular thought,

When left to its own devices?

Mindfulness,

Which is what we're practicing now,

Is not always about emptying the mind or trying to avoid what's naturally there.

In fact,

It can be the opposite.

Mindfulness is being aware of what is there.

And so just give yourself that space to acknowledge,

Not try to change,

Not try to fight or to be disappointed with yourself,

But just to acknowledge the thoughts that want to be there,

That are often there,

Recognising that this is part of you.

And then thirdly,

Let's bring our attention to our heart space,

To our emotions,

Our emotional core.

And the emotions,

We talk about them being located in the heart,

Not literally the physical heart,

Although that can be a place where we store emotion,

But that whole area within our core.

And be aware of emotions that might be there.

What's there at the moment?

And are those emotions located anywhere in particular in your body,

In your core?

And do they have a tangible presence?

We talk about them having butterflies or knots of anxiety.

Perhaps you just notice those things and again,

Just observe.

And then take three more breaths.

And gently open your eyes.

And now we're going to reflect.

Meditation or contemplation can involve reflection.

And so this next section,

We're going to do exactly that,

Reflect on ourselves as the site of hope or the place that needs hope.

So take your journal.

And as I mentioned,

You're not going to have to share this with anyone.

This is just for yourself.

I want to ask you,

What is causing you to lose hope at the moment?

That is the question that I pose to you and to myself.

Where are we experiencing a lack or a loss of hope?

And so just write those things down,

Just observing them again,

Being mindful of what's already there.

And very often those things that cause us upset are not far beneath the surface and it's part of the human experience.

But there's a wonderful saying that Jesus of Nazareth said,

Which is,

When you know the truth,

The truth will set you free.

And whilst Jesus said these words about himself and Christians believe that this man God is the embodiment of truth,

We find this principle is also located in Buddhist teachings and in secular mindfulness.

That as we see things as they are,

As we acknowledge reality,

This enables us to live in a place that's honest.

And in time,

This can set us free.

This can be a way of finding freedom,

Freedom from the desires,

The anxieties that wage war in us.

So be courageous as you face these things within yourself.

And I just want to do a short lecture on those words which you've just heard about the truth.

And so this second time I read these words again,

Reflect on them,

On the hope they offer.

When you know the truth,

The truth will set you free.

Reflect on how those words resonate with you,

What stands out.

This third time is a time you can respond to this wisdom.

When you know the truth,

The truth will set you free.

And so perhaps you find it harder to be honest with yourself.

You might want to make a response within yourself to be brave,

To acknowledge in order to be set free.

And this fourth time of reading it,

Rest in these words,

What they offer you.

When you know the truth,

The truth will set you free.

And I now want to take this principle of Lectio Divina,

Which traditionally is a way of reading wisdom,

Reading sacred writings,

Scripture.

And I want to do this with ourselves so that we are reading ourselves,

Which is what we've been doing in this exercise as you've been journaling.

So firstly,

We're going to read ourselves in light of what we've been doing.

Just observe what you have noticed from the last exercise.

What is there that is not full of hope?

Just be aware of those things in your mind.

Maybe they're written on the page of your journal.

And then the second time of reading yourself or reading the words on the page of your journal,

We're going to reflect,

Reflect on the reality of these things,

That they exist.

That they're present in your life right now.

And as we move into our third phase,

Which is the time when we respond,

This is a time of choice,

A time of empowerment and a time of hope that as you have acknowledged and reflected on those parts of your life that aren't full of hope at the moment,

You're able to make a response.

You've listened to them and acknowledged them.

And this time,

As you make response to them,

I invite you to let go of the hopelessness,

The anxiety,

The fear.

While situations may remain the same,

Allow yourself to let go of the emotion of hopelessness.

Choose to let go of anxiety.

Choose to let go of fear.

And you can express this in different ways.

I'll give you a couple.

You could write down in your journal,

I choose to let go of the anxiety surrounding whatever it is.

I choose to let go of hopelessness.

And a second way can be to just breathe out those emotions that are negative,

That are unhelpful,

I should say.

They exist.

And yet we can make a response.

This third stage,

Do respond to those emotions.

You've listened to them,

You've heard them,

And now you can make a choice to respond to the degree that you want to just let go of those emotions,

Breathe them out.

Make a conscious choice and write it in your journal if you want.

And finally,

The final stage of Lettio Divina is resting.

And I want us to rest in a place of gentle hope.

Rest in the freedom that can come by being real.

Thomas Merton,

A philosopher,

Thinker and 20th century monk,

Taught that when we face our reality,

Our selves,

We can then go beyond this version of the self and find a greater liberation,

A greater truth,

And even find God.

So just allow yourself to rest in a place of hope that despite situations that are ongoing in your life,

That there is more,

There is freedom,

There is hope.

And the hopelessness that can arise doesn't need to be the strongest presence in your heart.

And take a few more breaths.

And we can end this meditation.

And so put your journal to one side and find a comfortable position as we're going to move into the second phase of reaching out for and inviting hope into our hearts and minds and allowing it to grow within us.

Hope is also part of the human condition that we always long for something more.

So close your eyes or gently lower your gaze and take a few breaths to settle you back into that still place.

And I want you to imagine that you are out at sea on your own in a small boat and you know it's been night time.

It's quite dark around you.

And yet you know that morning has to come.

You've been out in this place in a small boat for a while and you felt lost and you felt uncertain and unclear as to where you are.

The waves have been there and perhaps without feeling this too strongly just allow the image to form in your mind.

Maybe this represents some of those things that we've been reflecting on in the previous exercise because life can be like this.

But this scene is beginning to change just like the seasons on earth change.

Spring follows winter.

The storms clear.

And as you're in this boat you think that dawn is coming.

You see light emerging at a point that must be the horizon.

And as you wait and watch this sign of hope grows and grows.

And it starts to bring a calm to the environment you're in.

And you're aware in this little boat that you're in that you can hear the gentle lapping of the waves.

There's a calmness to the sea that has come with the dawning of the light,

The morning sun.

And the sun climbs higher.

Burning through,

Gently burning through the mist.

Bringing some beautiful colours.

Bringing a warmth to the air.

And allow this warmth to penetrate your skin and you enjoy the sunlight that is around you in contrast to that darker stormy night.

There's a gentleness in the sun's warmth and light that you feel on your skin.

And the sound of still waters brings a peace to you.

And you realise that the land that you were distanced from in the night is much closer than you thought.

And you find your small vessel is floating towards the land.

This land which is a symbol of hope.

And you just fix your eyes on the land,

A symbol of a hope,

A future,

A place of stability.

Allowing the sun to warm your body.

Again a symbol of life and energy that gives new life and hope.

And you find your small boat is nearly at the land which drops gently into the sea by way of big boulders,

Beautiful big boulders that are semi-submerged.

And your boat finds a place to come to rest in between a couple of these big boulders.

And you get out of this boat.

And you clamber over one or two of the boulders until you find one that has a large flat space where you can lie down.

And you breathe in the warm fresh air.

You can smell some kind of sea salty smell coming off these big boulders.

And you sit and then lie down on this particular boulder that you've chosen.

You run your hands over the surface of this rock.

Feeling its texture.

Feeling its solidity.

Feeling its warmth through the skin on your hands but also recognising that your body is being gently warmed by this beautiful flat boulder.

And you allow that warmth to gently permeate through you.

And as you're lying on this boulder you're aware you're held.

You're held.

You're held at the side of the sea.

The place that has been a time of trial for you.

A time of loneliness.

And you've wondered where land and stability help and hope.

You wonder where it's been but you've found it right now.

As you lie on this strong solid boulder that's able to withstand the pressures of the sea.

Maybe you can hear the gentle waves lapping nearby.

But you know this boulder that you lie on would be here in whatever storm you were in.

Would be able to withstand anything.

And so as you sink into the ground.

This boulder can be a symbol of hope.

That grounds you.

Offers you stability.

Refuge.

A place to rest.

And takes stock and finds yourself.

Perhaps you could understand this as the ground of all being to use an oft used term.

Or perhaps it represents something more articulate.

Like God's presence.

So however you perceive it,

Allow this symbol of this wonderful boulder.

This strong presence that holds you.

Holds you secure and holds you safe.

Allow it to impart its strength.

Its stability.

Its refuge.

Allow it to impart these things to you.

Allow yourself to feel held.

And breathe into this experience inviting this presence of hope.

Stability.

Strength.

Inviting it into the core of your being.

Whilst perceiving it through your senses.

And so for these last two minutes.

I invite you to go to whichever part of this meditation was most helpful.

Just linger in that place bringing your attention to your breath or to your sensory experience.

Thank you.

Allow the presence of hope.

To present itself to you.

Allow yourself to receive that.

To feel that.

To breathe that.

To feel that.

And then take three more breaths.

And open your eyes.

As we move into our final meditation on hope.

And we're going to start this last meditation by some reflection.

And so you might want to take your journal.

If you enjoy journaling or you might just want to think.

And there's just one question that I want to pose to you.

Which is what symbols speak hope to you?

What symbols speak hope to you?

And just so that makes sense.

The visualization meditation that we've just done.

Had various symbols of hope.

It had the light of the dawn.

It had the warmth of the air.

It had the stability of the boulder.

And so spring is a place you might want to mine.

But think of those things that speak about hope for you.

And they could be anything.

It could be planning a wonderful holiday.

Planning a Christmas time.

Thinking about a house move.

Or just redecorating a room.

Or it might be a colour.

Something a little more abstract that's more symbolic.

A colour that speaks of hope.

Or a flower.

So as you think about these things.

Some of them will have a concrete value to them.

They'll be a thing.

And others won't.

Some things will be from nature.

Some things will be from human experience.

A human construct.

Some may be drawn from religious imagery.

There are many things in this world that can speak hope to us.

And I remember a particular time when my husband was very ill from his brain tumour several years ago.

And I happened to be in a car park.

Having done my supermarket shop.

And I saw somebody smile.

And they were smiling at me.

But there was something in that smile that reminded me that hope existed.

And I could see hope in that other person.

And that gave me great hope.

That if hope can exist in some form on this earth.

However that may be.

Then that means it can exist for me.

And so as you look at those symbols of hope.

Those things that indicate hope to you.

Be reassured that hope exists.

Hope can be known.

Hope can have a presence.

And at this point I hope you've got your candle near you.

And I want you to take a light.

And I want you to light your candle.

A candle is a very typical symbol of hope.

Used by people who meditate.

People who are religious.

And people who are not.

People who just love candles.

Because they bring joy.

And I believe they bring joy and hope.

And that is why so many people like them.

And put them in their homes.

To remind us of hope.

And so with your candle lit.

Just bring your attention to this symbol of hope.

As you gaze at it.

Allow this little flame of light.

To be hope.

To minister hope to you.

In a sense to be a portal.

For greater hope.

Rowan Atkinson,

Sorry not Rowan Atkinson.

Rowan Williams speaks.

About symbols.

Not just reminding us of something else.

That's like the symbol.

But the symbol actually being.

The thing that conveys the truth to us.

It being the thing.

So allow this hope.

This candle to be hope to you right now.

As that light travels from the flame.

To your eye.

To your retina.

To the brain conveying.

The truth of this light.

Allow the truth of hope to travel.

Into your inner being.

And for these last few minutes.

I invite you to do one of two things.

To either keep your attention with your eyes open.

On your candle of hope.

Allowing it to convey hope and light to you.

Or alternatively you might want to close your eyes.

And visualize and feel.

The presence of this candle.

The presence of this flame of hope within you.

Either way.

Whether you're looking at your candle.

Or whether you're seeing it in your mind's eye.

And holding it within you.

I invite the presence of hope to gently fill your being.

Breathe that hope in.

Breathe hope into your mind.

Into your head space.

Invite the presence of hope into your heart space.

Whilst the sea may rise up again.

Whilst dusk and night time may fall.

Whilst situations in your own life may persist or come anew.

The presence of hope can always be with you.

The presence of hope can be the presence that fills your heart and mind.

Regardless of external circumstances.

And this presence is a gift.

And I invite you to take five more breaths.

Breaths of hope.

And then when you're ready you can gently open your eyes.

And carry with you today,

This week.

The presence of hope within yourself.

Reviews

What a powerful & rejuvenating meditation💯 Wow Also appreciated your quoting of Jn8:32🙌🏻TYVM

I feel a lot more hopeful and was certainly reminded of God's stability and Jesus' love and everlasting presence. The verse "When I know the truth, the truth will set me free" is so good and really speaks to me!
Thank you very much Olivia (love the fact we share the same name too 🤩)

What a wonderful gift.
I will make this journey again :)

Thank you ❤️

This meditation was impactful and powerful. I am grateful for the layers of the process. I feel peace, hope and possibilities - so much lighter than when I began. Thank you. Namaste.

Excellent meditation. Exactly what I needed.

Thank you for the space you helped create within me. Just what I needed.

thank you for this precious experience. This meditation helps me to reconnect with beautiful past experiences and also contribute to remind the simple but meaningful things in life

Hope forever 🙏🏻

Olivia, what a beautiful and inspiring contemplation. I frequently listen to your short meditation on hope. And this took me so much deeper. Thank you

Thanks for taking time to give us as well thought out meditation do you meditate by