Harnessing Hope

In this solo episode, I take you on a heartfelt exploration of my evolving relationship with hope.

I share that we're not talking about the grasp-y, wishful thinking kind, of hope, but the solid, grounded, spiritually aligned energy that helps us move through uncertain times and create the ideal futures we desire. 

I share how hope has shown up in my business and romantic life, the moments when it felt almost impossible to hold, and the moments it worked for me. And, I describe "solid hope" the kind of hope I'm working to cultivate where hope is a deeper, more embodied sense of trust in what’s unfolding, even when I can’t yet see the proof.

I also talk about hope and its impact from a scientific, quantum physics based perspective. 

Next, I share how hope requires trust: in ourselves, in Spirit, and in the greater plan that’s always at play. I explore archetypes like the Magician, lessons from RuPaul’s Drag Race (yes, we talk drag delusion, lol!), and how we can believe fully in what we’re creating without clinging tightly to specific outcomes.

I also share a beautiful image I’ve been working with that was given to my mom by her healer- of a candle of hope burning in the heart. Some days the flame is small, other days it roars, but the practice is to keep it lit.

Join me as I reflect on the power of hope as a spiritual force, a guiding star, and an energetic match to the future we’re calling in. Whether you’re in full trust or just trying to keep your flame alive, this one’s for you. 

Learn more about the upcoming Awakened Hearts retreat I'm hosting in Joshua Tree May 15 - 18th! https://www.wil-fullyliving.com/events

Transcript

Hello beloveds, and welcome back to another episode of queerly beloved today is a solo podcast, and we are gonna get into the magical, juicy, beautiful and sometimes elusive topic of hope. Yes, beloveds, H, O, P, E, hope. So why hope? Well, this has been a recurring theme in my life. Recently, I find myself exploring what it really means to cultivate a relationship with hope, and not just any hope, but solid hope, and also given these chaotic End of Times vibes that we're currently living in, it feels really essential to talk about hope. I think it might just be one of the most powerful tools that we will need to really use to navigate our way through these challenging, seemingly darker and darker times. So today episode, we're going to unpack what hope truly is. We're going to explore its value and discuss how we can anchor and harness this powerful energy in a grounded and even embodied way. So right at the top, I just want to acknowledge that I'm still very much exploring this myself. So think of this episode less as like a definitive thesis where I'm just stating how it is, and more of like a backstage pass into my process as I continue navigating my own relationship with hope. So let's start by defining hope. For me, hope isn't just wishful thinking, like crossing your fingers and just waiting for something good to happen instead. Hope is a proactive, resilient belief, an expectation that something positive is unfolding or going to happen. It's trust in the unseen that says, yes, my reality may appear a certain way at this present moment, but in my heart, in my mind, in my soul, there's a reality that I desire that is going to happen in the future. And listen, if time is just a construct, then in a way, it's actually happening right now. So I want to share a little more about why hope is valuable and, in my opinion, straight up magical.

Unknown Speaker  2:26  
I believe that hope can function as a sort of North Star for our ideal future vision. It holds the potential to be, in this way, directional energy, and hope can keep us connected to the energy of the outcome we desire, which allows the universe to intuitively guide us on a course of that creation. Going back to this idea that the ideal future is happening now, hope can enable us to tap into the frequency of that reality in this moment, and when we do, the universe lines up to make it so it's like plugging into this energetic blueprint of a future that we're seeking. And listen, I believe that we're co creating with the universe in every moment. And so by doing this, by CO creating the with the universe and using the energy of hope to declare, this is where I'm headed, right? This ideal future, that's where I'm headed. Well, then the universe listens. Our belief in that vision creates an actual impact on the way the events unfold. It influences the puzzle pieces to move into place in a way that you desire. Let's just geek out on this for a moment and get kind of sciency talking about quantum physics. Okay, so in the realm of quantum physics, we understand that reality isn't fixed. Instead, it's made up of infinite possibilities, like this giant menu of timelines, outcomes and reality all existing simultaneously in potential. These possibilities they live in what's called the quantum field, which is essentially an invisible field of energy and information that connects all things. Now this is where it gets really trippy and relevant to this conversation about hope. So our thoughts, feelings and beliefs, they interact with this field, with this quantum field. And when we hold a consistent emotional and energetic state, like the grounded, trusting energy of solid hope that I'm talking about here, we begin to collapse the wave of possibilities into a particular outcome influencing the future. So we quite literally start making an impact on which version of reality is most likely to manifest, kind of like we're making our own puzzle. And I want to reiterate that this is a co-creation. 
So I'm not talking about telling God, Spirit, the universe, how everything has to be and demanding it like, like an entitled Karen ordering a very particular meal. It's more like you're connecting with your God given desire, and then you're powerfully bringing that desire into the field. Now hope, it becomes a vibrational match to the timeline we desire. It's a signal we send out to the field. It's kind of like hope is your soul's way of casting a vote into that field saying I'm in alignment with this version of reality that I believe in, and I trust that it's unfolding, and then universe listens. So I also want to acknowledge that not all hope and versions of hope are created equal. So the kind of hope that I really want to embody, that I'm calling in and I'm learning how to cultivate, is what I'm calling solid hope. And I'm defining solid hope as grounded optimism. It's not this graspy, anxious, filled with hope, fingers crossed, just kind of maybe something good wil happen. Rather, it's a steady, confident and clear thought idea belief. It's optimism wrapped in certainty. It's a feeling that the possibility you desire is inevitable. This is the type of hope I'm working on. So in the past, what I thought was hope was actually more of this graspy wishfulness. For instance, in my coaching business, I'd find myself having all these fear thoughts come up, like I'll never get another new client, or no one's ever going to sign up for my retreats. And amidst those fears, I try to insert tiny hopeful thoughts, but truthfully, they were more like momentary pauses amidst this overwhelming sea of doubt, and they sounded like, oh, man, I hope this terrible outcome I'm envisioning isn't actually true, and that's not very inspiring. It doesn't leave me with much to hang on to. And then it wasn't until my reality actually did have something positive happen that I could start to muster up something that started to resemble the hope I'm talking about, right? So it was dependent on external events or circumstances that I was able to actually start to connect to hope. Now solid hope, it doesn't rely on external proof. Solid hope thrives even without immediate evidence of the reality you're wanting to move towards. This reminds me of the magician archetype from Robert mul and Douglas Gillette's King, lawyer, magician, lover framework. So the magician embodies the energy of unwavering belief in possibilities on scene. The magician holds confidence in a vision yet to materialize. For example, when I was manifesting my romantic partnership with Jamie. It was the magician's deep trust, this solid hope, that led me to intuitively meeting him. I believed wholeheartedly it was happening, even without evidence. And then the intuitive guidance started coming, and then the synchronicity started happening, which, by the way, we're really epic, and I should definitely do a whole episode about that. So it was this intuition and these synchronicities that all lined up to bring me and Jamie together, and it all started from this place of solid hope. But again, I'm no master at this game that I'm describing, and admittedly, it's easier said than done. So I want to share a couple strategies, and I want to start by talking about trust, because I believe that trust is the foundation of solid hope. Solid hope requires us to have trust in ourselves, in our worthiness, in our capacity to receive trust in our abilities and then trust in the universe, trust in spirit source God. That spirit source God has our back. That spirit source God wants us to move towards this ideal future we desire. Wants us to receive what we desire, right? That spirit, source, God, has our best and highest intention in mind. So without that, trust, solid hope is difficult to cultivate and to sustain and listen. Trust doesn't just happen out of nowhere. It happens when we choose it consciously, and then we have to choose it again and again. And this practice requires intentionally releasing any anxious or doubtful thoughts and choosing instead to come back to these trusting thoughts which helps us anchor into our optimistic certainty and so.
When a doubtful thought comes up, we acknowledge it and we gently release it and recommit ourselves to thoughts rooted in trust. I trust myself, I trust in universe. I trust that good things are unfolding, and then to back up that trust with action that matches the reality we desire. So in addition to the thoughts and the actions, we also need to pay attention to emotions and feelings in this process. So one strategy is to act as if meaning, to act as if what you desire is inevitable, or, better yet, act as if it's already true now and when you allow yourself to feel the frequency of your ideal outcome, like right now in this moment. Then hope, solid hope it becomes a tuning fork, and when you strike that note inside yourself, the universe starts to harmonize with it. It says, like, Oh, I see what song you're playing. Let me play along. So again. Hope it becomes a a portal to living into the frequency of the future. You're calling in right here in the present moment, and again, from that place, the intuitive guidance flows. The next step becomes clearer. The synchronicities start to happen. You say yes to an invitation you wouldn't normally say that. You would normally say no to because you get this quick, intuitive hit. Actually, I think I should be there, and then you run into the right person, and then the next thing happens, and then the next thing happens, and this magical unfolding occurs. All right, now I want to totally switch gears, and I want to bring up a pop culture example of this unwavering hope, but it's going to come up in a expression called drag delusion that we have heard on Ru Paul's drag race. I imagine there's a bunch of my listeners who also are fans of drag race. If you're not, that's okay. I'll explain. So, yeah, there's Queens like Valentina, or more recently, Susie toot, who are famous for their unshakable self belief. They've been called out for being overly confident or having drag delusion, right? This overconfidence can border on delusion where you're not living in reality, and that seems like problematic, right? But we've seen those queens and others really thrive in this competition, in a way, not allowing the reality that everyone else has experienced, and just staying in your reality of overconfidence and unshakable trust that you wil succeed. It fuels bold, confident action, and it draws in positive outcomes. Now, using dragged illusion as an example, I also want to acknowledge the shadow side of this right, which could also be seen as the shadow side of being off balance with hope, or the over confidence that could come with hope, right? So extreme confidence can lead to an annoying attitude in drag race. We can see that as the annoying attitude in the work room, where fellow contestants and fans might clap back at your attitude, right? And for us, we also can acknowledge that if we are overly confident in an external expression that could also impact how we are being perceived. So just bringing mindfulness, self awareness and some humility to this process now, the other potential pitfall of dragged illusion or being off balance with solid hope is that it could potentially lead to complacency or lack of effort, because if you're assuming success is so guaranteed, then you could assume that you don't have to do anything about it. So we need to recognize that even though we are wholeheartedly believing that the ideal future is coming, we need to continue to back that up with our actions. The other potential pitfall is that having that deep sense of determined hope could potentially lead to devastating disappointment if the actual outcome differs from the expectation. So we need to recognize that there is a balance that needs to be struck throughout this process. So not only are we meant to hold on to this certainty, but we also need to somehow find a way to be somewhat unattached to the outcome, and to recognize that although we know this is going to happen, if it doesn't, we will be okay. And by being somewhat unattached, it allows our hope and our trust to not be. Shattered. Instead, we remain open to something even greater happening. And so speaking of that, I want to acknowledge that you know, if disappointment arises, which inevitably sometimes disappointment happens, returning to trust in a larger divine plan can really help. So it's understanding that even if this particular piece of your story doesn't go as you anticipated and hoped for, something greater or more profound may be at play. There may be a really important lesson that you're meant to learn, or maybe this is going to unfold in a way that's even greater than what you were able to desire. So those are the other pieces to this puzzle that I want to share. And now, as we start to move towards wrapping up this episode, I want to share one last piece, which is around a practice that really resonates with me. So some of you may know that my mom was recently diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, and it's been really challenging for her, as her health has been declining somewhat rapidly, and it's had her get into victim mentality and to this feeling of powerlessness and hopelessness. But fortunately, she is able to work with a really remarkable healer, Micaiah duel, who you may have heard in a previous podcast not that long ago. If you haven't heard that, please check it out. He is an incredibly wise man with so much to offer. So I'm so grateful that he works with her and what he has helped her in this feeling of powerlessness, this feeling of hopelessness, he's helped her visualize a candle of hope burning steadily in her heart. And he acknowledges that some days that flame May May flicker dimly, and other days it may shine brightly, but the key is to always keep it lit, even if it's just a little and it's helped her tremendously. I've seen her mindset shift. I've seen her body actually start to improve in accordance with this hope that she's holding on to. So that's my invitation to you, even if you aren't fully embodying solid hope that I'm talking about that unwavering certainty that what you desire is happening, even if you're not yet there yet, as I'm not quite there yet, I'm working towards cultivating it too. I'd invite you to keep the candle lit even at 10% keep the candle of hope lit at all times. Choose trust.
Act as if it's going to happen or it's happening already. Lean into hope. See if you can make that light shine even brighter, make that candle burn even bigger, and see what unfolds from there. I'd really love to hear how your exploration of cultivating and sustaining solid hope goes so please, if you feel so moved, reach out. You can connect with me via the show notes and yeah, by the way, I've got a spot left in my awakened hearts retreat on May 15. So if you're ready to connect with gbtq men who love exploring topics like the one we just explored, please hit me up and we can have a conversation to see if awakened hearts is a good match for you. As always, I'm sending you so much love and also sending you solid, unwavering hope for that beautiful future of your dreams. Until next time my beloveds be Wil.