Notes on the Founding Virtue of Hope - (3373)

About this Post

This post is a complied set of succinct notes on the virtue of hope.

General

Hope, faith and charity are the three fundamental virtues of the Christian faith.

Hope is a virtue that is one of the foundations of the human experience. It is present as a foundation to many human endevours and to spiritual life and its endevours.

All creatures have their hopes...

Perhaps unaware to you it is your hope that is moving you, keeping you going, keeping your trying and fighting...

Hope is powerful as you will read later on in this post.

Definition

Hope is a wish set into the future.

To hope is the act of wishing for something. Wishing for something to come true, to attain something, to be something, to have something, to know something, to see something etc.

Usually what we hope for is something that is currently out of reach. But in the future could be within reach.

What we hope for is something that is difficult to reach but possible. Many of our hopes in the spiritual field fall under this category.

Hope naturally ends once what we hoped for is reached/achieved.

No one in the spiritual studies is devoid of hope. Hope in some form or another is always present. This is because it is part of our spiritual foundation.

What Hope Does

Hope has the function of lifting a human being up.

Hope comes to effect when we are low, failed, disappointed, depressed, sad, lonely, etc.

Hope calls and brings forth our forces to try once again. Hope comes from the background into the foreground motivating and moving us.

Hope clears the slate and gives us a new chance.

Hope transforms negative failed pessimistic emotions into positive forward emotions.

Hope is the thought that the past can be forgotten and overcome, and victory captured.

Hope gives us a chance. It opens a possibility for us to get up and fight for.

Hope gathers the will we have in our yearnings and propels us forward.

Antidote

Hope is certainly an antidote to the low internal psychological states. Such as depression, self-defeat, self-pity, self-compassion, humiliation and fear in some cases.

When we are low, sad, disappointed, depressed, bitter from betrayal, have just suffered a break up or a nervous break down then the virtue of hope will act to sustain us and inch us forward.

Works in Combination

Hope unlike other virtues usually works in combination with other virtues. It is very co-operative, this is because it is a base upon which the other virtues exist.

Hope comes to maximum effect when it is combined.

Hope can not exist without yearnings. We must have yearnings to really have hope.

Formula of Hope

Hope + Work =  Reality

We mostly miss the work aspect of this equation.

If we work we are guaranteed to see results.

In fact the work is our true hope.

Place of Hope

The place of hope is in the heart.

Find a hope and see how it comes to life within the heart.

Hope has the emotions as a center of gravity. It aligns with emotions, it is not intellectual nor instinctive.

Hope as Gift

Hope is a gift that comes down from 'above'. Our Being put hope into our heart so that we would come to Gnosis, and this hope sustains us.

When the Being wants something It instills hope into our essence. 

If we are aligned with what the Being wants it is a tremendous gift as it will fuel our movement forwards. 

Note, for those people who are not currently interested in the spiritual work they are not given this spiritual kind of hope. If they received it they will begin searching very intensely.

Hope when we can not realise it is suffering.

Its Nature

By nature hope is daring, persistent, constant and strong.

When we have hope we dare to wish for new positive circumstances.

Hope does not leave a person so quickly. It stays in our system for a long time, silently propelling us to seek the wish of hope.

Hope makes a person strong and resistant. 

Because hope is constant and wishes not to give up, it makes the person ever stronger, a fighter. It imparts the never give up spirit.

A virtue that is persistent and constant is nothing but strong by nature.

Alignment of Hope

Hope is of the Being, as it always aligns with that which is of the Being. That which is positive, edifying, dignifying and proper.

Hope does not function as it is meant to function when what we are hoping for, is something malign. 

To hope for something malign will not allow the magical results of hope to surge forth within us and help us.

Give Hope, Take Hope

We can give hope to others and we can take hope from others.

Be on the side of giving hope. Every Gnostic instructor's role is to give hope.

It is bad business to destroy a person's hope when there is no reason to do so.

Hope in Work, Hope in Essence, Hope in Being

Hope gives power to the Divinity. Have you thought of your Being as your hope. Your Intimate Christ as your hope. Your Divine Mother as your hope.

Do we have hope in our essence?

We have hope in the things of life, in a person, in humanity, in the Gnostic people, in Gnosis etc. But rarely do we have hope deposited in our inner Being.

This is the first and most real place that we must deposit hope.

The main obstacle to hope in our essence or Being is self-deprecation. Ignorant self-deprecation closes the door for us to hold hope in our essence.

Conscious and Unconscious Hope

There is both conscious and unconscious hope.

When we hope for something just not possible hope turns against us and harms us.

When we apply too much hope, this wasted effort hurts us.

We have to know how to wisely apply our virtues and hope is no exception.

The conscious use of hope implies to know where to put it and how much of it to invest.

Hope is Reciprocated and Paid back

Hope is never lost. It is a currency and it is noticed by the masters and the Being and it is recorded and taken into account. The Masters and Being then hope with us and help us to realise it.

This is because hope is a real value of cosmic 'Being-life' value. It represents the intimate side of the person that dwells close to the Intimate Being of a person.

To see a person's hopes is to see the nobility of their heart, the innocence of their heart and the love of the heart, the Being dwelling in their heart...

Hope Opens Doors

When we hope we open a door internally right in front of the Masters, so that they know what we want. Then they can help us.

Practical Use

Hope because it is so constant and persistent can be used to help us to remember our inner Being. 

When we hope actually we are kind of remembering our essence, our work and our Being.

Hope can be shared and the hope within a group for example amplifies individual hope. Other virtues can not be shared or made into a collective vortex. But hope certainly can.

How Hope is Killed

We must know how each and every virtue is brought to life and cultivated. Because we if know this we won't destroy the virtue.

When we lose sight, when we lack imagination, when we lower the sight of hope then we begin to diminish our hope. 

When what we hope for is not lofty, is not of benefit to others and our spirit then hope begins to diminish. Because it loses the support of the Masters and the it is not of the Being within us.

End (3373).