Anam Cara ( Soul Friend) - A celtic Sense of Presence

Anam Cara - Soul Friend

A Celtic Sense of 

PRESENCE 

 and Friendship 

The Celtic people had a deep spirituality that pre-dated the arrival of St Patrick by about 1500 plus years. One of their many inspiring ideas is that of an Anam Cara ( Gaelic for Soul Friend)

Before looking at this in greater depth it is important to outline the basic principle on which  the Celts based their belief and understanding of the Mystery they called Blessed Presence.

 John O Donoghue, an Irish Poet and Author of Anam Cara, states this in the following way

“The Celtic mind was not burdened by dualism. It did not separate what belongs together. Celtic imagination articulated the inner friendship which embraces nature, divinity, underworld and human world as one”

This rejection of dualism is similar to the Eastern Tradition of Advaita ( Not- Two) and is in stark contrast to the Greco-Roman, and Western, tendency to separate everything into a false either: or choice.

O Donoghue goes on to develop this and lead towards an understanding of the Anam Cara as follows

“ The dualism which separates the visible from the invisible, time from eternity, the human from the divine was totally alien to them“

This idea leads on to the sense of a gift , granted by God’s Grace, of a special friendship and this is termed the ‘ Anam Cara’  When you had an Anam Cara , this friendship cut across all boundaries of race, gender, culture etc. It was a pure gift of a Soul Friend, to whom 

 “ you could reveal the hidden intimacies of your life”

This concept of the Anam Cara, is based on a sense of Blessed Presence, one of the 4 great Ps of the Celtic Tradition. The other 3 are ; sacredness of Place, the all embracing and everyday place of Prayer and finally, the power of Pilgrimage; both the Inner and Outer Journey through life.

For a further and deeper  at Anam Cara see the book

John O Donoghue  - Anam Cara  Spiritual Wisdom from the Celtic World

and 5 short reflections Echoes of Creation   to be found in the resources section of www.satsang-companionship.org.uk

Knowledge & Experience - Vital to Discern

The Importance of Lived Experience

or

BEWARE OF 'EXPERTS '!

We live in turbulent times. Many believe humanity is undergoing a shift in Consciousness. This can be challenging and anxious times. Very often we can tend to look for certainty in 'experts' . This can be dangerous and often they have little lived experience and sometimes have their own power and control agenda.

This is nothing new as the following teaching from the Buddha illustrates. He gives very wise advice.

 

BUILD BRIDGES NOT WALLS BETWEEN PEOPLES

BUILD BRIDGES NOT WALLS

Where the Mind is Without Fear '

We live in a world where fear and prejudice is on the rise. Many who seek power use our pre-disposed mental tendency towards anxiety and fear. They appeal to our anxiety by focusing on difference . They suggest that the only way we can survive is to build walls and keep out the stranger. We see this in the modern world of politics

There is nothing new in this. It is ancient news!.   I find this poem by the Indian Poet & Mystic to be helpful. He composed this in the face of  prejudice and fear that some sought to inflame in India during the early part of the last century. Its message rings true today.
 

B

Paradox of Mystery Part 1

The PARADOX of MYSTERY Pt1

We live in a world where human understanding is going through a major paradigm shift. In all branches  of Science there is an explosion of new understandings, concepts and theories. In the past 50 years  we have learned more about  both the origins of the Cosmos and about our brain, than in the previous 5000 years.

Yet paradoxically we also live in an age where many  want certainty and certitude, hence the growth of fundamentalism of all kinds, both secular and religious. We avoid and are fearful of mystery and also of silence and stillness. We pretend that mystery is something we cannot understand. However, this is not true.

The following quote is used to set the scene for a much longer reflection on the Mystery at the heart of creation.

Compassion - Buddhism

The Importance of Loving Kindness

The Spiritual Traditions both of the Original and Ancient peoples and the main Faith Traditions of the past 5000 years, all emphasise the importance of Compassion. 

Compassion is not just Empathy, although it includes this . Compassion is a 'verb' it is empathy and presence in action. In Buddhist Terms it is the Practice of Loving Kindness towards self,all others and our World.  

Our task is to begin the work of integrating our Heart and Mind. To both recognise and challenge our tendency to identify with our False or Ego Self  and thus to find  our True Self. 

One of the main 'signposts' on this journey or pilgrimage is to find and understand  the source of true happiness

The following is a wonderful and wise quote from the Dalai Lama on the .

 

Responsible Co- ~Creators ?

 CARING FOR OUR HOME 

Domination or Co- Creation ?

“Our duty, as men and women, is to proceed as if limits to our ability did not exist. We are collaborators in creation.” 
― Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

There is a current struggle between those who believe that ( due to humanity's misuse and abuse  of our planet), our Blue Planet  faces an environmental crisis  and those who  refuse to acknowledge this. Whilst the former are supported by the majority of leading scientists, the latter still hold a powerful sway in mainstream politic and commercial  life. 

Until very recent times, the vast majority of the pollution and damage has been caused by Western Societies. This, in part , is both  strongly routed routed in a fundamentalist interpretation of the Judaeo- Christian Scriptures and the massive expansion of Industry in the past 400 years. 

A major text used by fundamentalist Christians  is found in Genesis 1:28 . This is often quoted  and used to  justify  'man's ' ( because its mainly males and not females) right to do almost  anything they want to the rest of creation.This quote from Genesis is often referred to as the Dominion Mandate.  A common translation from the original Hebrew is as follows:

Then God blessed them, and God said to them,

 “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; 

have dominion over the fish of the sea, 
over the birds of the air, 

and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

This interpretation is quite different from the earlier roots of Christianity. In addition, with the advances in Science we now know far more both about the Cosmos and Creation and humanity's influence on the environment. The quote from Teilhard De Chardin ( probably the most influential Christian Scientist & Mystic of the past 500 years )  has more in common with St Paul's view of  followers of the Christ   ( See 1 and 2 Corinthians) .

De Chardin has developed a view of Spirituality and Christianity that integrates with our understanding an knowledge of modern science and the on the Cosmos and Creation. Thankfully, an increasing number of leading Christians have challenged and  are challenging the  Dominion Mandate interpretation . Recently  Pope Francis , in his Encyclical Laudate Si  commented on this in the following way..

 

This is a powerful reminder that the Christian message has deep routes in respecting the environment. These reach all the way back to its foundations. Many of the early Mystics taught that we were co-creators with  God in this on-going creation. 

A recent post on creation  , which explored Creation and Spirituality, shared examples from Hinduism, Native American and the Celtic Traditions.  These are similar to De Chardin's concepts and are shared by the continuation of St Francis' examples and teachings.   They reflect  on  the ongoing development and expansion of Creation and our responsibilities as Co- Creators in Creation.

Sharing my own roots and Tradition , an example of a 1st Century b.c.e Poem was given. Fast forward to the 21st Century and the work of John O Donoghue, an Irish Celt and Scholar of Spirituality  and wee find the following extract from his wonderful Poem In Praise of Earth .  It is a long but wonderful poem and 4 verses are shown below.

IN PRAISE OF EARTH

Let us bless
The imagination of the Earth,
That knew early the patience
To harness the mind of time,
Waited for the seas to warm,
Ready to welcome the emergence
Of things dreaming of voyaging
Among the stillness of land. 

Let us thank the Earth
That offers ground for home
And holds our feet firm
To walk in space open
To infinite galaxies. 

Let us ask forgiveness of the Earth
For all our sins against her:
For our violence and poisonings
Of her beauty.

That we may awaken,
To live to the full
The dream of the Earth
Who chose us to emerge
And incarnate its hidden night
In mind, spirit, and light.

John O Donoghue

Ultimately, we each have the responsibility to face up to the challenge of Mature Spirituality and to play our unique part  as Co- Creators. This is best summed up by  Gandhi a famous saying of the Hindu Saint and Father of Modern India .

 Gandhiji expresses this challenge  succinctly and clearly below

 

Caring for the Earth - True Spirituality

Creation & Environment - Revelation of the Mystery

  

We live on a small Blue Planet on the edge of a vast Galaxy which is part of an even vaster Cosmos.The ancient and aboriginal wisdom traditions understood that the Source of this Creation was a Mystery. The great spiritual teachers of the world's Faith Traditions reflecting deeply on this Source or Mystery began to understand that this Mystery encompassed everything and thus  there was a  Oneness at the heart of Creation.

 Spiritual traditions from both East and West suggest that we can have some access to  understanding this Mystery through creation. The Aboriginal Peoples, the ancient Celts and many Christian Mystics ( to name but a few) understood that Creation and Nature were revelations of the Mystery we call God. What we do to the Earth, to each other and to ourselves is  very important.

NOTE :   It is important  to be Compassionate with  yourself about ONENESS. It can be  a difficult 'concept' for the Ego Self to grasp. Our modern Western  Culture has helped to form our Ego and thus the Ego 'sees' the world as EITHER : OR and not as ONE.  

Oneness is based on Advaita ( Hindu Philosophy)  or Non- Duality  i.e. Not Two  but One. All the great   Spiritual Teachers teach about ONENESS but often from different cultural angles or perspectives. 

Creation and particularly Nature can sometimes help to calm and still the Ego Mind. It can also help if we let the HEART ( a symbol of LOVE ) gently lead the MIND into both SILENCE and STILLNESS . Then in those moments of STILLNESS, where we can be in touch with the wonder and beauty of Nature and Creation,  we can gracefully be open to  'glimpses' of  this ONENESS.

 

Our Sacred Duty - Caring for our Home

We have both a sacred duty and responsibility to make greater efforts to care for our Home - our Blue Planet.  However, in the past 300 years, particularly in the West, we have entered a new phase in our relationship with the Earth. We seem to have lost contact with nature and have adopted a culture of ab-use and mis-use of the Earth , its natural resources and, in some cases, its peoples.

 The Aboriginal peoples of the world not only respect the Earth but intuitively realise that, as Co- Creators, it is their sacred duty to care for nature and the environment. They intuitively understood that Nature and Creation can be 'gateways' into understanding and relating to the Mystery. In other words they are essentially our 1 st Book of Revelation and that  our future is intrinsically bound up with the Earth. Whatever we do to it, we do to ourselves. 

This short reflection will briefly explore our Sacred duty to look after creation and give three different examples from three traditions. First from the Hindu Tradition,  then from , my own, the Celtic Tradition and finally the Native American Tradition.

The Indian ( Hindu) Tradition

Hinduism is the oldest of the existing Faith Traditions,  It has a rich and very deep tradition of Advaita or Non- Duality. Its sages, saints and teachers have developed a rich seam of teachings about the inter- connectedness of all creation. 

The following is an ancient Indian quote which is a challenging and wonderful statement CONCERNING our Universal Inheritance.  If reflected upon and heeded we may be able to reverse the current looming catastrophe and bequeath a better future to our descendants. 

Am

 The Celtic Tradition


The Ancient Celts had a deep spirituality that emphasised the importance of Creation and the environment. This  spirituality existed before the arrival of Christianity in the 1st Century  c.e. (  long before St Patrick arrival in the 5th Century), This spirituality of the sacredness of the Earth and Nature was then incorporated into Celtic Christianity. This has continued with the Christian Rhineland Mystics and the legacy of Francis of Assisi. ( 12th & 13th Century).

Celtic Spirituality is often compared to that of the East. The reflection ( below) has similarities with the Hindu Upanishads ( a part of their rich written spiritual literature) and shows a deep reverence for, and understanding of , the Indwelling Presence of the MYSTERY in all creation.  It is similar to many of the verses in both the Rig Veda and the Scriptures like the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads.

It is a poem attributed to a 1st Century ( b,c.e) Celtic Prince named Amergin

Amergin’s Praise of God

I am the wind which breathes upon the sea,

I am the wave of the ocean,

I am the murmur of the billows,

I am the ox of the seven combats,

I am the vulture upon the rocks,

I am the beam of the sun

,

I am the fairest of plants,

I am the wild boar in valour,

I am a salmon in the water,

I am the lake in the plain,

I am a word of knowledge,

I am the point of the lance in battle,

I am the God who created the fire of thought.

Who is it that throws light

Into the meeting of the mountains?

Who tells the ages of men

Who points to the sun’s resting place,

 If not I ?

From the Leabhar Gabhala – Book of Invasions

The Native American Tradition

The Native American Tradition is very diverse.    However, like all the Aboriginal Traditions,  it too has a deep  sense of   the  Indwelling presence and the inherent sacredness of all : – Earth, environment, nature plants, animals and humans. 

Like the Celts, Native Americans had prayers for all occassions and understood that the 'fruits' of the natural world were gifts and not to be ravaged. Before killing anything for food, they would pray with gratitude.

The reflection below is typical of this Tradition. It is a prophesy about a shift in consciousness that is urgently required if humanity is to take up its sacred role as Co- Creators in this Cosmic Creation.