I attended an interesting but far too short lecture entitled, "Anam Cara: A Life's Journey", given by Rev. Andrew MacAoidh Jergens (I assume he is a Rev. somewhere in Cincinnati, but am not sure where). The lecture was only a half-hour long, and didn't begin to cover all that was in the accompanying handout. I could have listened to this for an hour or two, at least. Anam cara, for those who aren't familiar with the concept, means "soul friend" in Irish gaelic. Rev. Jergens' definition is, "A friend who is an equal who shares your spiritual journey."

Here, from the handout, are the Seven Qualities of the Soul Friend Tradition:
1. Great affection; a personal relationship, rather than a professional or technical one.
2. Mutuality, non-hierarchical, a relationship of mutual blessing. Sometimes there were elements of the master-disciple relationship, but the persons involved considered themselves as companions along the way.
3. Common values and common vision of reality.
4. Challenge, or accountability. A willingness to challenge one another, springing from the trust and affection of deep friendship, rather than from an unequal relationship.
5. God-centered, God being the soul friend in whom all other friendships are united. True soul friends do not depend on each other alone, but root their relationship in God.
6. Transcends geographical separation, the passage of time, even death. For the Celt, who saw the border between this world and the next as very thin indeed, even death could not break the bond established in soul friendship.
7. Value both companionship and solitude.

Does any of this sound familiar?

| posted by #Debi | 2:18 PM | |