{"id":45,"date":"2009-09-01T10:11:16","date_gmt":"2009-09-01T15:11:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/karencasey.wordpress.com\/?p=45"},"modified":"2009-09-01T10:11:16","modified_gmt":"2009-09-01T15:11:16","slug":"hope-can-be-cultivated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=45","title":{"rendered":"Hope can be cultivated. . ."},"content":{"rendered":"

Exciting news, every one. \u00a0My newest book: Cultivating Hope<\/a><\/strong>, is being shipped to stores as I write this. \u00a0You can call Hazelden too, at 800-328-9000 or go on amazon.com where you can see inside the book. \u00a0I am so happy it’s getting released a bit earlier than expected. Current economic conditions for many of us make the cultivation of hope even more necessary. \u00a0I want to give you a “taste” of the kind of essays you will find in the book so I am including one here for you to ruminate on:<\/p>\n

NO ONE IS ON OUR PATH ACCIDENTALLY<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n

How often do you look, with focused intention, at the people you see in the halls at work or in line at the grocery or on the street as you wander by?\u00a0 If you\u2019re like most of us, you probably see most people but quite unconsciously.\u00a0 We need not be ashamed of how easily we dismiss the presence of others.\u00a0 It\u2019s usually not intentional.\u00a0 We are simply self-absorbed.\u00a0 But we can cultivate the belief that each person is offering us an opportunity to connect, in fact to connect on a spiritual level.\u00a0 Joining with each person in this way, by making intentional eye contact, has an immediate healing effect on us and them too.<\/span><\/p>\n

Seeking to see the Spirit<\/em> in others, strangers as well as friends, which is what we are doing when we intentionally make eye contact, is the first and very necessary step to actually becoming aware of that spirit<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 Looking into the eyes of those people who are sharing our path is the highest honor we can pay them, in most cultures. Our commitment to doing this, increases our peace of mind while showing them that they matter to us too.\u00a0 We may not be inclined to honor others in this way, but if they have crossed our path, it\u2019s worth considering that that\u2019s what we have been called to do.<\/span><\/p>\n

Take a few moments right now to think of a handful of difficult people you have had to experience in your life, perhaps recently.\u00a0 Not all of our meetings are pleasant, and that\u2019s the point. They are all vastly important however.\u00a0 Are you able to glean the lesson that was being offered in any encounter that comes to mind?\u00a0 It may not have felt very nurturing.\u00a0 Many of them don\u2019t.\u00a0 But all lessons make up the points on our journey that are nudging us forward.\u00a0 And if we aren\u2019t moving forward, we are stuck in the past where God can no longer reach us. <\/span><\/p>\n

Each of those people we met has been kept alive by the same spiritual flame that keeps us alive.\u00a0 Remembering this can let us recall the experiences and the people with a different level of acceptance.\u00a0 We are on an equal footing.\u00a0 Any one who wanders toward us is seeking to be both teacher and student within the encounter we are about to share.\u00a0 As mentioned earlier, perhaps we will ignore the presence of someone, but if there\u2019s an important lesson to be shared between us, the encounter will happen again.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s possible you have had experiences you resist thinking of as necessary lessons.\u00a0 I have some in my past too.\u00a0 But what I have decided is that I don\u2019t have to understand why an experience had value for me to believe that it did.\u00a0 What I do know is that I now travel a peaceful path most days, and I have not had to deny any experience that occurred.\u00a0 I know that the painful ones were teaching me something important that I needed to pass along to some one else.\u00a0 We never know how we are being used by the God of our understanding.\u00a0 We only know that we are being used<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 That gives me great relief. <\/span><\/p>\n

We certainly don\u2019t know what the day may bring but we can be certain that God is part of what unfolds.\u00a0 Any experience will be used many times, and not just by us.\u00a0 That\u2019s the hopeful reality.\u00a0 Whatever comes to us will be shared many times to the benefit of others.\u00a0 Our presence is the key to the unfolding of the mystery<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Exciting news, every one. \u00a0My newest book: Cultivating Hope, is being shipped to stores as I write this. \u00a0You can call Hazelden too, at 800-328-9000 or go on amazon.com where you can see inside the book. \u00a0I am so happy it’s getting released a bit earlier than expected. Current economic conditions for many of us […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[111,124,193],"class_list":["post-45","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-your-experience-strength-and-hope","tag-hope","tag-joining","tag-spirit"],"yoast_head":"\nHope can be cultivated. . . | Karen Casey<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=45\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hope can be cultivated. . . | Karen Casey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Exciting news, every one. \u00a0My newest book: Cultivating Hope, is being shipped to stores as I write this. \u00a0You can call Hazelden too, at 800-328-9000 or go on amazon.com where you can see inside the book. \u00a0I am so happy it’s getting released a bit earlier than expected. 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