As living breathing beings, we are all currently engaged in playing The Game of Life.  How we play this Earth game depends on our choices. And Hope is the spark that enables us to make new choices, to grow beyond where we already are into new and more joyous dimensions of this game. Expansion and creation are the goals. Without a new vision generated by hope, we will repeat our same story over and over, never changing.

Once we imagine what we want the next phase of our life to include, it is time to put our feet into motion. Never forgetting to be grateful to Spirit who gave us our vision, and continuing to deepen our vision daily through quiet time with Spirit, we also need to act.

The new game strategy is in essence a Research Project! Our passion is the driver, and hope is the spark that leads us forward. This research project includes interviewing and consulting with experts through dialogue, reading, and attending conferences. It also involves collecting notes from our experiences and information sources, then organizing all of this data in a new and interesting way that shifts our consciousness and brings us insight that expands our field of view.

Though we have a goal in mind, we don’t necessarily know how we will get there. That is the fun of it. The journey itself is the point. For the secret is – we never get there. We are never finished, we are not done until we release ourselves from this life cycle and return to Source. But I doubt that we are done then either…

I’m thinking that these 3 first steps can evoke the beginnings of Hope!

1)   Imagine your life as the new image of yourself that you have created.

2)   Own your desire and determination to live into this image – feel an inner powerful “Yes”.

3)   Know for certain that it will be so.

What action might we take to get there? Here are some ideas that have occurred to me.

• Seek out good role models and walk in their shoes
• Travel to new places
• Consult with others who know something of what you are envisioning
• Learn skills you don’t yet have that you will be needing
• Ask a lot of questions
• Seek encouragement from others
• Challenge your own beliefs about what you think is “true”
• Release old beliefs that no longer serve you
• Take a risk. Let go of your need for security and comfort
• Listen to your inner guidance (1)!
• Listen to your inner guidance (2)!
• Listen to your inner guidance (3)!
• Acknowledge your courage and bravery
• Give yourself many kudos!
• And offer constant gratitude to the people and spiritual guides helping you along the way

What do we gain by playing this game? Is it worth it?   Hope is the juice that makes the difference between a “nice idea” and a living creation. Hope breeds excitement for life, a reason for being, and leads us to a life of fulfillment and satisfaction – inner joy resting in knowing we have truly achieved our own greatness, whatever that means to each of us individually. Joy, love, a deep sense of satisfaction – they are the prize, and we can all be winners.

After we have accomplished our vision, then what? As one of my teachers, Abraham, has so often said, we are never finished, we will always remain “incomplete”. There will always be a desire for more, for that is the nature of life itself. Without desire, there is no life.

Funny thing, even if we think we have no desire left in us, if we listen closely, we’ll find we have a desire to rest, or a desire to let go of our struggles, or something else. It is very hard to want nothing. Obviously wanting nothing is also a desire. So I challenge you to think of a circumstance where desire is absent! I seriously can’t think of any possibilities.

This week you are invited to let yourself dream and imagine. Visualize something you’d like to bring into your life. Let your imagination run wild. Go beyond the limits of your own belief system to what could be. Then know that it is yours, and love it into being!