These axioms have expressed themselves in hundreds of ways in the twenty-plus years of H.O.P.E.’s existence. They stand on the author’s twelve years of study of the practical and beneficial clinical effect of helping people learn that every one of them can live a life that comprises a unique, personal “worthy ideal.” They are the basis of all H.O.P.E. work.

You and I have been promised this life since the beginning of time, which is the reason there are no accidents--it is all “synchronicity.”
We are spiritual beings (called souls) immersed in the human condition (Teilhard de Chardin).
Souls bring with them experiences from other times that need to be examined through the lens of love.
Each one of us comes here with the innate ability to create unique experiences of universal value.
We are to create these experiences in the context of love.
We are “collaborators in creation” (Teilhard de Chardin).
All action proceeds out of thought.
The simpler any thought or action may be, the more difficult it is to achieve.
The purpose of all feelings, physical and emotional, is to evaluate the external physical and mental environment, and our internal environment of thoughts, feelings, and actions that relate to it.
We are taught how to feel--first with physical feelings and next with emotions--in the first five years of our lives… the basis of all of our perceptions and misperceptions.
Misperceptions can be corrected and our perceptions broadened; the resource for the correction is love.
Whereas experience always changes, love simply is; both are indestructible and increase as we share them.

HOPE’rs Thoughts about HOPE

"HOPE is different from conventional cancer support systems. We all agree it is far superior and extremely successful. The general consensus among us is that HOPE means something different to each of us. We all agree there is no simple way to identify what is unique or special, but we share the feeling of quality."
"There is a separation from both religious and medical connotations. HOPE is something further. HOPE is felt to often contain a spiritual experience, which is a sense of being a part of something that is larger than any of us and yet within us at the same time."
"There is a "family" atmosphere that can be lost in large groups. Family atmosphere without the "family fear". Maybe I should call it the family terror." Everyone in the group has in one way or another experienced the fright of a diagnosis of a serious illness. The concept of taking care of someone with an incapacitating illness of any kind gets very complicated even with the most loving families."
"HOPE is the process of taking a step beyond conventional treatment." The author of this comment conceived of it as ‘balance’ in the approach to illness. By this he meant that while HOPE recognizes the very important biological aspects of illness, the psychological aspects were important, too…and so were the spiritual. To this person, "spiritual" didn’t necessarily mean "God", rather it meant "Universal".
Another participant said she sees hope as a way to live, and HOPE goes beyond the treatment of the disease to a whole way to live one’s own life. HOPE is, to many, many of its participants, an ongoing way of life.
Many others have repeatedly pointed out that HOPE groups function in an atmosphere of unconditional love. People are accepted as they are, and they tend to let go of the need to judge each other and themselves. This makes a HOPE group a very safe place where there are no "shoulds".