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The Hope

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“Every age has its teachers, who keep the eternal truths alive for all of us,” writes Marianne Williamson, the best-selling author of The Age of Miracles. “In the case of Andrew Harvey, the light he sheds is like a meteor burst across the inner sky.”

In The Hope, Andrew Harvey offers not only a guide to discovering your divine purpose but also the blueprint for a better world. It consists of the necessary elements that can inspire greatness in each of us. Based on Harvey’s concepts of Sacred Activism, a global initiative designed to save the world from its downward spiral of greed, pain, and self-destruction, the book is an enlightening text that reflects our world today, while in turn, shapes our future.

There are seven laws of Sacred Activism that have the potential to transform our world. Each law, in its own unique way, promotes love above all other impulses. Sacred Activism is about finding gratitude, forgiveness, and compassion; it is about opening yourself up to the kindness within you, letting go of pain, and making a conscious choice to help heal the world.

Learn how to incorporate a spiritual practice into your life, transform anger into positive energy, and take part in a global community. Reclaim a world that for too long has been driven by selfishness and hatred. Discover the infinite joy of giving. Turn away from everything you have been and done and believed, and dive into the consciousness of a divine love that embraces all beings. While the future may appear bleak, The Hope provides practical advice to all those who want positive change.

258 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

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About the author

Andrew Harvey

205 books91 followers
Andrew Harvey is an author, religious scholar and teacher of mystic traditions, known primarily for his popular nonfiction books on spiritual or mystical themes, beginning with his 1983 A Journey in Ladakh.

From Wikipeadia

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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
Profile Image for Wade.
194 reviews21 followers
December 12, 2010
Despite the cover (which looks like it's about Left Behind / Christian Armageddon), this guide leads you through Andrew Harvey's vision for a world transformed by spirituality in action - internally and externally. He raises alarms about the state of the world - ecologically, economically, emotionally, culturally, and all - and then critiques the way that spirituality often neglects outward/global action and the way activist movements often neglect the spiritual dimensions of changing the world. Drawing on (and translating) ancient wisdom from a variety of spiritual strands, the author proposes a step-by-step model for activating the spiritual fire and faith that sustains social change and for turning on the spigot of action that arises from sustained spirituality that engages the world. He also draws significantly on his own experience (often the difficult sides of his own journey in spirituality and activism) and the stories of others (famous and neglected) who inspire him. I hope to see more of this in the future, and I am inspired to make small steps on my own toward this goal: I am trying to start a spirituality group for people working in social services (Oakland, CA). Join me!
Profile Image for Virginia Bryant.
99 reviews
March 28, 2012
The thesis of this book is that humanity on this planet is undergoing a "dark night of the soul" before either total annihilation or transformation, which is congruent with the mood of this time.

Consider, "“When you are brave enough to allow yourself to experience the DEATH (all aspects of the collective dark night of the soul) simultaneously, the only sane, human, and useful action is heartbreak. This, of course, is the reaction we all fear the most, because we are all afraid that actually waking up to what is really happening will either kill us or drive us mad. But the truth the mystical systems tell us- one we deeply need to hear- is that if we can create a container of trust strong enough, this neccessary heartbreak will not only not destroy us, it will open us to unprecedented graces of energy and transformation.” We hope.

This is a little too sweet to swallow, “Knowing that your body is sacred leads to several interlinked initiations in the heart of ordinary existence: it makes you grateful for the blessing of being alive, conscious that all life is the glowing manifestation of spirit, aware of the holiness of other sentient beings, and more alert to the divine splendor of creation”- a way of being experienced in our better moments, that seems to rise and fall as the sun does, or at least this is my experience, so far.

The newer (new to me) biblical translations around now resonate more clearly, such as this from Father Bede Griffiths “This birthing of a Divine Humanity on a large scale is the real meaning of what some people call the second coming: the Christ does not need to return as a person, Jesus in time and history opened this path for us: now what I believe will happen is that the Christ consciousness, or if you prefer, the Divine-Love consciousness, will be born on a massive scale in hundreds of thousands of people. This is a miracle greater then any “outer” rescuing by God could ever be. We are going to be rescued from “within” through a massive alchemical process in which the whole of history will take part as a midwife of the new.”

and, ever more optimistically, “Humanity has come to the moment when it will have to choose between trying to play God, with the catastrophic results we see all around us, and trying to become what all the true mystical traditions know we can become-one with God through grace in life. This is a dangerous and yet wonderful and hopeful moment because if enough of us can choose the latter, the birth of a wholly new kind of human being, and so of a new world, is possible.”

Profile Image for Linda Abrams.
8 reviews5 followers
March 18, 2015
This is a practical source of inspiration and guidance for those who are seeking to integrate activism and mysticism. Andrew Harvey's passionate engagement in personal and social transformation inform the illuminating practices and perspectives he offers here. This is a great resource for those of us who wish to cultivate the gifts of our humanity and divinity in service to the world.
Profile Image for Glistening.
5 reviews
June 4, 2012
Inspiring, grounded spirituality. Andrew issues a clarion call to action, to an embodied spirituality that serves the benefit of all beings and for a coming together to support one another as living beings in this time of civilisational transformation.
Profile Image for Connie Howell.
Author 14 books57 followers
June 24, 2017
I got a lot of inspiration from The Hope. Andrew Harvey writes passionately about how we can all make a difference if we are willing to look at the ways we act and feel. By connecting with the Divine Feminine we can help to bring about the change needed to birth a new way of being before it is too late.
Profile Image for Vanessa Davis.
1 review
July 12, 2018
a wonderful call for all those hurting by the suffering in our own lives and in the world around us.
Profile Image for Dee Stinnette.
1 review2 followers
December 19, 2021
Excellent read. I learned so much from this book. It is Inspirational, intelligent, transformational and shares many practical ways to live our lives.
Profile Image for Michael Graber.
Author 4 books11 followers
Read
September 26, 2011
In The Hope, the prolific and profound Andrew Harvey makes his most inspiring and prophetic call-to-action for humanity to redeem itself, the planet, and each other. The Hope brings together a totality of Harvey's vast learning, experience, and mystical intuition. Any one who either longs to be an activist or a contemplative or to function in one of those modes must read this manifesto, which gives new voice to the timeless wisdom that truth must co-exist with love. Harvey goes further, implying that truth without love is dead, but truth without the recognition of the beauty (as the Divine Feminine) leads to yet more destruction. Yes, the world is at a critical juncture, but hope coupled with whole-hearted action presents the planet the chance of helping to midwife a new, better integrated era of healthy living. Bless you, Mr. Harvey. Most sensible advice: follow your heartbreak; there is your bliss through service.
Profile Image for Stephanie Barko.
218 reviews186 followers
Want to read
April 12, 2010
South Austin Spiritual Book Group chose this book for its 2010 reading list. It got the third highest number of votes, so we're reading it in March.

In 2005 at Red Corral Ranch near Boerne TX, Andrew Harvey held a gathering focused on The Sacred Feminine. Andrew had just returned from a life-changing sojourn to India and was full-out engaging. Andrew is so dynamic and wild in person that his energy is contagious and hard to contain. I cannot think of a better evangelist for mother earth and the feminine spirit during this period of tremendous anguish for our physical planet.
Profile Image for Joyce.
129 reviews3 followers
October 22, 2014
A clear, well written guide to living and acting in the world with hope.

Simple steps and ideas for how to begin immediately appear in the first chapter.

At a time when it seems the whole world is in chaos, there is hope for now and the future.

A good guide for anyone who wants to make the world a better place and/or who wants to help move our course from distraction to wholehearted living.

4 reviews8 followers
October 7, 2010
This book offers much-needed insights to communities loosely associated with the New Age, Human Potential Movement, and the like. Thank you, Andrew, for striving to reach these communities so members can put their insights to use in the world.
Profile Image for Mary.
830 reviews19 followers
December 9, 2014
Harvey is a very spiritual man. The book seems to be aimed at seekers who are feeling a nudge to become activists. I was at a retreat at The Grail in Cornwall-on-Hudson with women like this. The book didn't seem to have much effect on them.
Profile Image for Ellen.
Author 4 books5 followers
February 1, 2013
This book is indeed hopeful, as the title implies. While heavy on references to famous historical spiritual figures, particularly quotes from them, Harvey manages to combine the esoteric and the practical in helpful ways. At times I shivered while I read. A slow read as it requires thought.
12 reviews
October 21, 2011
Very good, Andrew Harvey is a wordsmith and an old soul..
Profile Image for April.
834 reviews
November 11, 2013
Fantastically transformative book! It took me a while to read simply because I wanted to absorb it all. Thank you Andrew Harvey for writing.
19 reviews
February 24, 2014
some content was OK but found the author smug and the writing tiresome
3 reviews1 follower
February 4, 2010
This book was gifted to me by a friend. I hadn't heard of it before.
Profile Image for Brad Dienst.
5 reviews8 followers
November 17, 2014
some of the Farthest~Reaching & Stirring Soul Epiphanies i've ever Encountered
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews

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