All about H.O.P.E.

Blue SquareGetting to know all about Healing of Persons Exceptional

We in H.O.P.E. want you to know all about our name, Healing of Persons Exceptional, what it means, the powerful traditions it grows on, how you can use it in your own lives, and how you can help others find the “worthy ideal” that we are all born with (from Earl Nightingale: www.nightingale.com). We have been shown, time and time again, that serving it is the essence of health and healing.

H.O.P.E’s mission and purpose is help human beings get on with their lives and to trust in life’s possibilities through the discovery of the meaning, value, and purpose in their lives. This is what hope means. Hope heals. We believe it is everyone’s right to find hope and to heal… to become whole.

“So,” you may ask, “who can benefit from participating in a H.O.P.E. Group?” In response, we ask you consider those enduring virtually any form of suffering; for we have met them in our experience with 6,000+ two-hour H.O.P.E. Group meetings over the last 30 years. Consider the lives of those with serious illness… fear, pain, uncertainty, and despair often fill their days. Consider the lives of those facing the loss of loved ones; what fills their days? Consider the lives of alcoholics; what fills their days? Consider the behavior of many of today’s children; what fills their days? Consider the lives of those behind prison walls; what fills their days? Consider the impact of loss on the lives of those we know and love; what fills their days? They have sought and found relief through the salutary experience of taking part in H.O.P.E. Group meetings.

The wholeness of healing is the integration and balance of the four elements of Being: Body, Mind, Soul, and Spirit. It is an inner personal – individual – process. We see every one of us as a unique set of experiences that is not inherently broken, needing to be “fixed”, but inherently whole, even though wounded by the painful forces of change that are a natural part of life. We believe it is our birthright to be able to heal these wounds.

We believe in persons; we have our human–ness in common, and an innate ability to remember our wholeness through all of our sufferings. Our power and strength lie in this ability.

No two of us are alike, so we are all exceptional in relation to all others… not “special”… simply an exception in the community of human beings, where every member is an exception to all others… never superior or inferior to another. It is not an accident that the Creation made us in this way. It is our obligation to find why It did. No two of us have the same knowledge and experience, and we have the innate ability to remember it and communicate it to others – to share it.

We want to share our experience – that which we believe to be true. However, the sharing can only succeed if we do not expect others to change as a consequence. We offer our truth for others to use as they see fit, without condition or obligation.

We know that the ego function of fear blocks our ability to make sense out of life. We know that hope has the power to restore that ability. Whereas fear expects chaos, meaninglessness, and nonsense, hope promises that things can make sense. Hope expects nothing; it makes everything possible.

Ego examines the painful past with the lens of time and projects to a painful future with the same lens. Soul lives in the present moment without projection and examines life through the lens of hope and finds love thereby. H.O.P.E. Groups take problems above the level at which they were created, making possible their solution. The experience of this shift in time builds the finest, richest feelings of which we are capable. H.O.P.E. Groups help us to recognize that part of “self” we call the soul, to acknowledge that part of “self” we call the ego, and to invite the two into dialog. We know that the resulting collaboration contributes profoundly to the overall health of the “self.”

We have come to realize that love is, indeed, that which “makes the world go ’round.” It is the tie that binds all things… it puts everything in relationship. When we base our actions on love, the power of the heart comes into play, and one’s service is compassionate and unconditional – the attitudes that make the action of forgiveness possible. Now we come to accept our uniqueness, let down our barriers, and share our lives with each other.

We know that what we would have happen to us depends greatly on what we give to others. As we choose to free ourselves of guilt and fear; so we choose the way of compassion and forgiveness. We come to let go of the past and of the future and live in the present moment where our entire lives expand into creative dimensions we never before dreamed possible. As hope and love become our individual, personal knowledge, they become our experience, and society and the world are changed.

Blue SquareActive H.O.P.E. Groups

…have their own page in this web site so we can maintain its dynamic nature and include contact information for those groups open to new members. Click here for that page.

Green SquareH.O.P.E.’s Prime Directive:

First of all, do no harm; second, do some good, benefit someone; and third, help them get on with their lives. Here we find the basis for safe, ethical conduct of these small communities, any violation of which can be successfully met by the simple exercise of ‘the rule of two feet.’ This means: “Should you find yourself in an unsafe, predatory environment, take care of yourself by getting up and walking out; even going so far as to discontinue the group meetings.” In the end, it is all about compassionate, forgiving, and nurturing work with each other to attain a higher purpose for self and others.