Anam Cara

For the past several weeks I have had this phrase pop up in my spirit that I have never heard before. It is the phrase Anam Cara. My spirit kept whispering to me that I would be found by Anam Cara. Of course, this led me to research what this meant. It is a Gaelic word meaning “Soul Friend.” As soon as I read these two words my eyes got teary. It was the very thing that I had craved for so very long. It is the very thing I believe that we all need. I went on to read about the Anam Cara for several hours.

An Anam Cara, a soul friend, is a person who unconditionally holds space for you, for your thoughts, your feelings, and your needs. They accept you for who you truly are, and it is as though your souls flow together as one. This soul friend, or soul mate, while it may be a lover, could also be a friend. It is simply the person with whom your soul meets and has a very open, appreciative, and trusting relationship. It cuts across all of time and space. It is said that your soul friend knows you before you meet, they are from ancient times past. My spirit was moved with a great overwhelm of emotions when I read the last sentence about this soul mate. It said that essentially once a person finds their Anam Cara they have found the most sacred place, home.

Many lament that they feel like they do not belong and that they do not fit in anywhere. Perhaps it is that they have not found their Anam Cara. Apart from finding your soul friend, you are like a body without a head. It isn't easy to know ourselves without them. The Anam Cara is like “midwifing the soul” of another. You leave the place of facades and are called to push yourself into who you were born to be. It is real, raw, and authentic. Once you begin to awaken you can never go back to the old patterns of your past because of the birthing pains your Anam Cara pushes you through. The soul friend helps us into alignment with what we need by being an honest open mirror to us. They do not see you by your past, but they see you for your expanse. There is something very powerful about being able to see your worth reflected by another person. It is a spiritual practice to be an Anam Cara to another. It is with your soul friend you enjoy wonderful adventures and see each other for your truth. Yet, to fully receive the gift of having a home in your Anam Cara it requires us to be loving and to keep our hearts open towards them. This is not about fixing the other it is about the person being able to tell you where they are today and your Anam Cara lovingly accepting you for where you are at. You do not need to be different or successful you only need to be who you are now. When we are understood and seen in the now, we can fully be ourselves. The ability to be fully ourselves is to be home.

The Anam Cara sees your beauty and your light. They see what you carry within you. The space between you is both near and far as you accept and love one another without control or criticism. I realize now that the lover and friendship that we all long for, the Anam Cara, begins with Jesus. It is in Him we are home. It is in Him our soul flows. It is with Jesus we can be open, appreciative, and trusting. It is in Jesus that we are understood. Jesus has held space for our thoughts, cares, worries, and concerns without judgment. This realization brings hope that if Christ is this to us we too can be this for one another. We can hold space for another without judgment or criticism. We can be the midwife of another’s soul encouraging and loving each other through the pain of birthing of our soul's transcendence. The meditation that I ask of you today, as believers in Christ, is to meditate on the ways you have given as an Anam Cara or been gifted with an Adam Cara that you have turned away. My prayer for you is that if you have not found your Anam Cara, your soul friend, your home, Christ will continue to sustain you as he aligns your soul friend. My prayer is that he will unveil both of your eyes to see each other in all of your light and goodness. That you freely flow together as one bright light. After all, we are one body, one body in Christ, and we do not stand alone. My love and prayers to you all. May you be filled with peace today. May you be void of suffering. May you connect with the divine being of Christ and open yourself to receive your Anam Cara. Amen.