Does hope actually have a useful role in new-thought living?

One of my first reference tools for the study of consciousness and manifestation was the book

The Game of Life and How to Play It; by Florence Scovel Shinn. She did most of her metaphysical writing in the early 1900’s.

In regards to the concept of hope, she felt that it carried too much of the element of uncertainty and doubt. She used the example of a hope chest. Back in her day women would get a hope chest and gather different items to prepare for her future marriage.

Shinn felt that if a person only had hope for a future event or desired reality that it may be lacking the conviction and determination one would need to actually create change.

Hope may hold to much wiggle-room for failure.

New understandings of the Law of Attraction and a person’s power to manifest life using energetic principals have since emerged. I feel this brings hope back up to the ranks of a much more useful tool.

The new school of thought feels that life is going to be what it is destined to be, but we have the power to chose our experience. It is true that what we focus on expands in our reality.

This includes prosperity or lack thereof.

The experience of walking through the unknown paralyzed by fear and stress is a very different experience than if we have faith that things will work out. In the times when we cannot see the different possible outcomes, hope will get us through.

I have seen many times when my end result is better than what I was striving for. Life knew better than I did what was best for me at the time. Hope hold space for much greater possibility because it is less descript.

Many times a person will try to use these principals and practices to escape the the more challenging parts of their soul’s life journey. This will not work. The hard times are there for the purpose of our evolution.

Many of life’s lessons are there to inspire a greater level of trust and faith. During these lessons, we experience dark and desolate times when there seems to be nothing positive to focus on. The darkness of the situation during these times can be so profound that a person could even lose their will to live.

This is when the element of hope can be a literal life saver. i.e. I believe that my life will get better and that there is more for me here in the world. Hope becomes the segway that can bridge the Dark Night of the Soul and much better days. It is a demonstration that the person is

truly learning the lesson at hand.

in the midst creating change, it is true that wishy-washiness has the ability to keep us stuck. Certainty and determination are powerful and necessary components while decision making.

Hope will get us through the darker times when humility is the only thing available to experience.