H.O.P.E. IS STILL THE SAME - JUST A NEW LOOK

 

If you are a frequent (or occasional) visitor to H.O.P.E.'s website, you will notice that our look is a little different... and will be a whole LOT different within a few weeks! If this is your first visit, our temporary pages here will provide you with a good idea of what we're all about, and also contact information to find out more. Please DO contact us if you have ANY questions.

HOPE, Healing of Persons Exceptional® is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that has, since its inception, provided supportive services to individuals facing life challenges that a citizen of Maine might describe as "getting caught one-upside-the-head with a cosmic two-by-four."

 

Welcome to H.O.P.E.—Healing of Persons Exceptional...

 

where you find out who you really are... where we know that at the core of our being all humans strive to be healthy and whole—a process called healing; all of us are persons; and because no two of us are alike, we are all exceptional.... Moreover, an intense, indomitable curiosity about life, health, and our spirituality has brought us to see that we are alive because the whole marvelous Universe is alive, and It's not in the business of repeating Itself... we are, as Pierre Teilhard de Chardin told Jean Houston just before he died in 1955, "spiritual beings immersed in the human condition!"

And, as others like Wayne Dyer and Henri Nouwen have said, we are not what we have, what we've done, or what others think of us; rather, we have been called into this life by Life, Itself. Because that call comes from the sacred Source of Life, it is a blessing. And that blessing may look very much look like a breaking—a curse, if you will—and it doesn't matter how you look at it; Life has a piece of its story it needs you

to work on healing and making better, so it has given you certain gifts for you to use in doing the work that becomes a gift to Life in return for the gift of life given you before you were born.

H.O.P.E. began in February, 1987, in the practice of a rural general surgeon who brought twelve years of devoted study of human potential that he shared with his patients as "the doctor who listens" into a self-help group for his patients with cancer to help them get on with their lives (an instruction to him and his classmates in the opening lecture of his second year in the McGill University Faculty of Medicine).... He helped them choose to focus on helping each other find their resources for living life fully rather than focusing on the label of their disease—their diagnosis—and they uncovered a Universal meaning, value, and purpose for living that forced their disease to take a second place where they could trust their healthcare providers to work on with them.

 

Active HOPE Groups:

 

1. Portland, Maine; Guides, Liz and Gary; Location, Haven House, 997 Washington Ave; Sundays 6:00-8:00, Contact Tel. (727) 420-2964

2. Portland, Maine; Guide, Liz; Location, Irish Heritage Center, 34 Gray Street (enter through rear door off Danforth Street); Wednesdays 5:30-7:30, Contact Tel. (727) 420-2964

3. Norway, Maine; Guide, Ken; Location, The Progress Center, 35 Cottage St.; Thursdays 4:00-6:00; Contact tel. (207) 890-3673

4. Hallowell, Maine; Guide, Ken; Location, St Matthews Episcopal Church, 20 Union St. (Parking off Academy St); Wednesdays 6:30-8:30; Contact tel. (207) 890-3673

 
 

H.O.P.E.'s Prime Directive:

 

First of all, do no harm; second, do some good, benefit someone; and third, help them get on with their lives. Here we find the basis for safe, ethical conduct of these small communities, any violation of which can be successfully met by the simple exercise of 'the rule of two feet.' This means: 'Take care of yourself by getting up and walking out; even going so far as to discontinue the group meetings.' In the end, it is all about loving, compassionate, forgiving, and nurturing work with each other to attain a higher purpose for self and others.

 
Copyright ©H.O.P.E., Inc. 2012