Anam Cara friendships

anam cara

According to Celtic spiritual tradition, the soul shines all around the body like a luminous cloud. I understand this; it is one of the ways we attract friends (and lovers). As our souls shine, we send out a light that is recognized by others with a similar light. That light attracts other souls like us. We converse and recognize each other and a friendship is sparked. Those kinds of friends, soul friends, cut across convention; those kinds of friends cut across age, race or religion. Those kinds of friends are often true, lasting friends … or “Anam Cara”, the Celtic term for “soul friends” An Anam Cara friend is a friend with whom you have a deeply felt bond.

According to John O’Donohue, the author of Anam Cara: A Book Of Celtic Wisdom,

“The Anam Cara was a person to whom you could reveal the hidden intimacies of your life. This friendship was an act of recognition and belonging. When you had an Anam Cara, your friendship cut across all convention and category. You were joined in an ancient and eternal way with the friend of your soul,”

What is so special about the Anam Cara relationship is you can be who you truly are and you each accept each other as you truly are; cradling each other in beauty, knowing each other as light. With your Anam Cara, you can share your innermost self; you can share your mind and your heart. And, as your relationship grows, your friendship assists you in awakening your awareness of your truest and highest self and helps you experience a greater joy in being with others.

This friendship is akin to the friendship of soul mates. In such a friendship, you willingly open yourself and your life to another. With trust and courage you allow this person permission to walk, with love and care, into the deepest temples of your spirit... your special, serenity spaces within. You allow them to share the sacred ground of you. In essence, you allow your presence and life to become their ground and they allow their presence and ground to become yours.

John O’Donohue tells us that in everyone’s life, there is a great need for an Anam Cara. For in this love you are understood, without mask or pretension. And this understanding is precious. It allows you to have a sense of belonging you’ve never known before, a deep sense of special companionship and all your needs for barriers, walls and shields tumble down and your protective distances disappear. Once a bond of this nature is created between friends, it is indestructible. We do all need anam caras in our life. Here’s to you finding yours.
-- written by asd --