Synopses & Reviews
When St. Patrick first came to Ireland in the 5th century A.D, he encountered the Celts, a unique race of people who found divinity all around them: in the rivers and hills, the sea and sky and in every kind of animal. Surviving to this day, the Celts' reverence for the spirit in all things, and their celebration of the continuous mysteries of everyday existence is a vibrant spiritual legacy unique in the Western world, one that has captured the imaginations of thousands of Americans rediscovering the wisdom of the past.
In Anam Cara (Gaelic for "soul friend"), O'Donohue takes readers into a world where God's passionate side is celebrated and the Fates are not feared. Drawing on the wisdom of the Celts and their Druid shamans; the imbas (inspirational sagas) of the wandering bards; and the sacred fountainhead of the Christian monasteries, Anam Cara goes beyond traditional religious programs to provide an intuitive and truly accessible approach to spirituality. Exploring themes such as the divinity of solitude, the spirituality of the senses, the mystery of friendship, the beauty of aging and the concept of death in the Celtic tradition, it helps readers reconnect with the world around them and awaken the power hidden in their souls.
Synopsis
Anam Cara is a rare synthesis of philosophy, poetry, and spirituality. This work will have a powerful and life-transforming experience for those who read it. --Deepak Chopra
John O'Donohue, poet, philosopher, and scholar, guides you through the spiritual landscape of the Irish imagination. In Anam Cara, Gaelic for soul friend, the ancient teachings, stories, and blessings of Celtic wisdom provide such profound insights on the universal themes of friendship, solitude, love, and death as:
- Light is generous
- The human heart is never completely born
- Love as ancient recognition
- The body is the angel of the soul
- Solitude is luminous
- Beauty likes neglected places
- The passionate heart never ages
- To be natural is to be holy
- Silence is the sister of the divine
- Death as an invitation to freedom
About the Author
John O'Donohue is the author of the award-winning and international bestseller
Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom and
Eternal Echoes: Exploring Our Yearning to Belong. He also is the author of a book on Hegel's philosophy,
Person als Vermittlung, published in Germany in 1993, and a collection of poetry
Echoes of Memory published in 1994.
He is an Irish poet and Catholic scholar whose acclaimed writings reveal an original thinker rooted in an unorthodox blend of Irish heritage, German philosophy, and an intimate relationship with the wild, luminous landscape of his Connamara home. A gifted and delightful speaker, John O'Donohue lectures and leads seminars throughout the U.S. and Europe, encouraging audiences to become artists of their own deepest possibility.
His other works include a series of monographs on the four elements: Stone as Tabernacle of Memory; Water: The Tears of the Earth; Fire: At Home at the Hearth of Spirit; and Air: Breath of God.