Reflections on Nature

The Four Elements

A thought-provoking and inspiring treasury of essays focusing on nature and the ancient wisdom of this earth, by the bestselling author of Anam Cara and Benedictus.

There are certain threads that run through the work of John O'Donohue. They manifest themselves with different colours and textures. The form may change for different purposes of rhythm and resonance, but the intention remains constant. It is grounded in human vulnerability and the desire, the longing, for a connection to the wonder of the divine in nature, and human life within it.

Michael D Higgins, politician and broadcaster

JOHN O'DONOHUE was born in County Clare in 1956 and lived in a remote cottage in the west of Ireland until his untimely death in January 2008. A highly respected poet and philosopher, he was awarded a Ph.D. in philosophical theology from the University of Tübingen in 1990. John wrote a number of international bestselling books: Anam Cara, Eternal Echoes, Divine Beauty and Benedictus, which he completed shortly before he died. He also wrote two volumes of poetry, Conamara Blues and Echoes of Memory. The Four Elements was originally published in separate editions in 1994/5.

In The Four Elements, poet and philosopher John O'Donohue draws upon his Celtic heritage and the love of his native landscape, the west of Ireland, to weave together a tapestry of beautifully evoked images of nature. As John explores a range of themes relating to the way we live our lives today, he reveals how the energy and rhythm of the natural world - its innocence and creativity, its power and splendour - hold profound lessons for us all. 
 
With a foreword written by his beloved brother Pat, this illuminating treasury is a unique collection of reflections inspired by the ancient wisdom of this earth.

Echoes of Memory

A masterful, moving collection of poetry - and the first published work by this much-loved, highly respected writer who, sadly, passed away aged just fifty-two in January 2008.

His taut concise pieces use words and syntax with the sort of freedom that comes after mastery

In these poems, the west of Ireland landscape and climate in all their harshness are metaphors for the emotional climate of the work

John O'Donohue, Ph.D., was born in County Clare in 1956. He spoke Gaelic as his native language and lived in a remote cottage in the west of Ireland until his untimely death in January 2008. A highly respected poet and philosopher, he lectured in Europe and America and wrote a number of international bestsellers: Anam Cara, Eternal Echoes, Divine Beauty and Benedictus, which he completed shortly before he died. He also wrote two collections of poetry, Conamara Blues and Echoes of Memory, his first published work.

In this powerful, evocative collection, master storyteller John O'Donohue explores themes of love and loss, beginnings and endings. Inspired by the ancient wisdom of the Celtic tradition and the rugged, majestic landscape of his birth, the west of Ireland, here he also creates a unique vision of a place and time, and the echo of a memory that will never fade.

A Book Of Blessings - an inspiring and comforting and deeply touching collection of blessings for every moment in life from international bestselling author John O’Donohue

Benedictus

An inspiring and comforting new work from the author of the international bestseller, Anam Cara.

The perfect gift for anyone in your life, or a wonderful source of comfort for the self - this is a wonderfully heartfelt collection of thoughts and blessings that will heal, inspire, comfort and move. When you need a poem or a blessing to find strength, whatever the occasion, this is a rich source - and something to be turned to time and time again... 
 
'This book is golden' -- ***** Reader review 
'Every family should have a copy of this book on their shelf' -- ***** Reader review 
'What a perfect companion to the challenges that come from being human' -- ***** Reader review 
'A beautiful book that I keep sharing with others' -- ***** Reader review 
'A book you will pick up time and time again for inspiration, for comfort and to be uplifted' -- ***** Reader review 
*************************************************************************************** 
'We have fallen out of belonging. Consequently, when we stand before crucial thresholds in our lives, we have no rituals to protect, encourage and guide us as we cross over into the unknown. For such crossings, we need to find new words. What is nearest to the heart is often farthest from the word. This book is an attempt to reach into that tenuous territory of change that we must cross...' 
 
In sharing words of profound grace and wisdom, master storyteller John O'Donohue - author of the international bestseller Anam Cara - offers in Benedictus blessings to shelter us as we confront the many challenges we face on our journey through life. 
 
We are living in an anxious world - a world so often dominated by unwelcome change, unhappiness, uncertainty and even despair. Now, more than ever, we need this collection of blessings and thoughts, covering areas such as Beginnings, Desires, States of the Heart, Callings and Beyond Endings - it is a vision of hope and belonging for this sometimes troubled world. 
 
There are blessings in this book - for birthdays, anniversaries, deaths and many more. Some are long, some are short but all touch the heart.

'Today, when we stand before crucial thresholds in our lives, we have no rituals to protect, encourage and guide us as we cross over into the unknown. For such crossings, we need to find new words...This book is an attempt to reach into that tenuous territory of change...' 
 
In sharing words of grace and wisdom, the poet and writer John O'Donohue offers blessings to shelter and comfort us on our journey through life. As he opens our eyes to the natural beauty and splendour of the world that surrounds us, he inspires in us a new confidence and passion for life and helps us to confront key thresholds of human experience. 
 
Guided by these blessings and by a reassuring vision of hope and possibility for the present and the future, we begin to recognize that our relationships with one another, and even the most seemingly insignificant rituals which frame our days are crucial to our emotional and spiritual wellbeing. 
 
Through his poetic blessings, John O'Donohue also ignites in us a greater understanding of our innate qualities and, perhaps for the first time, we experience a true sense of belonging in this often troubled world. 
 
Drawing on the heritage of ancient Celtic thought and imagination, Benedictus is, ultimately, a sanctuary of peace and a gentle, illuminating gift of light on our path through this world.

John O'Donohue is an Irish poet and philosopher, and the author of the internationally acclaimed bestsellers, Anam Cara, Eternal Echoes, Divine Beauty and the collection of poetry, Conamara Blues. He has degrees in philosophy and English Literature, and was awarded a PhD from the University of Tubingen in 1990. He also lectures and holds workshops across Europe and the United States, and lives in the West of Ireland.

The perfect gift for anyone in your life, or a wonderful source of comfort for the self - this is a wonderfully heartfelt collection of thoughts and blessings that will heal, inspire, comfort and move. When you need a poem or a blessing to find strength, whatever the occasion, this is a rich source - and something to be turned to time and time again... 
 
'This book is golden' -- ***** Reader review 
'Every family should have a copy of this book on their shelf' -- ***** Reader review 
'What a perfect companion to the challenges that come from being human' -- ***** Reader review 
'A beautiful book that I keep sharing with others' -- ***** Reader review 
'A book you will pick up time and time again for inspiration, for comfort and to be uplifted' -- ***** Reader review 
*************************************************************************************** 
'We have fallen out of belonging. Consequently, when we stand before crucial thresholds in our lives, we have no rituals to protect, encourage and guide us as we cross over into the unknown. For such crossings, we need to find new words. What is nearest to the heart is often farthest from the word. This book is an attempt to reach into that tenuous territory of change that we must cross...' 
 
In sharing words of profound grace and wisdom, master storyteller John O'Donohue - author of the international bestseller Anam Cara - offers in Benedictus blessings to shelter us as we confront the many challenges we face on our journey through life. 
 
 We are living in an anxious world - a world so often dominated by unwelcome change, unhappiness, uncertainty and even despair. Now, more than ever, we need this collection of blessings and thoughts, covering areas such as Beginnings, Desires, States of the Heart, Callings and Beyond Endings - it is a vision of hope and belonging for this sometimes troubled world. 
 
There are blessings in this book - for birthdays, anniversaries, deaths and many more. Some are long, some are short but all touch the heart.

The Invisible Embrace

Divine Beauty

An exquisitely written and fascinating inspirational guide to beauty, creativity and the imagination.

'A thinker who seamlessly weaves philosophy and theology, O'Donohue stops us in our tracks, reminding us that we might be alive for reasons other than productivity or consumption'

John O'Donohue was awarded a Ph.D. in philosophical theology from the University of Tübingen in 1990. He is the author of several works, including a collection of poems, Echoes of Memory, a book on the philosophy of Hegel, Person als Vermittlung, Conamara Blues, and the international bestsellers, Anam Cara, Eternal Echoes and Divine Beauty. His latest work, Benedictus: A Book of Blessings will be published in 2007. John travels widely in Europe and the US, where he lectures and holds workshops. He lives in Ireland.

In this eagerly awaited follow-up to his international bestsellers Anam Cara and Eternal Echoes, John O'Donohue turns his attention to the subject of beauty - the divine beauty that calls the imagination and awakens all that is noble in the human heart. 
 
In these uncertain times of global conflict and crisis, we are riven with anxiety; our trust in the future has lost its innocence, for we know now that anything can happen from one second to the next. In such an unsheltered world, it may sound naive to suggest that this might be the moment to invoke and awaken beauty, yet this is exactly the claim that this book seeks to explore. 
 
 
DIVINE BEAUTY is a gentle but urgent call to awaken. O'Donohue opens our eyes, hearts and minds to the wonder of our own relationship with beauty. Rather than 'covering' this theme, he uncovers it, exposing the infinity and mystery of its breadth. His words return us home to the dignity of silence, the profundity of stillness, the power of thought and perception, and the eternal grace and generosity of beauty's presence. In this masterful and revelatory work, O'Donohue encourages our greater intimacy with beauty, and celebrates it for what it really is: a homecoming of the human spirit. 
 
As he focuses on the classical, medieval and Celtic traditions, on art, music, literature, nature and language, O'Donohue reveals how beauty's invisible embrace invites us towards new heights of passion and creativity. 
 
DIVINE BEAUTY is an exquisite treasury of Forms of the Beautiful. Its surface employs narrative, image, anecdote and myth, while into the silence of its subtext are sown seeds of reflection that gradually blossom in the heart.

Conamara Blues

A new collection of poetry by the bestselling author of Anam Cara, focusing on the Conamara landscape.

John O'Donohue was awarded a Ph.D. in philosophical theology from the University of Tübingen in 1990. He is the author of several works, including a collection of poems, Echoes of Memory, a book on the philosophy of Hegel, Person als Vermittlung, Conamara Blues, and the international bestsellers, Anam Cara, Eternal Echoes and Divine Beauty. His latest book, Benedictus: A Book of Blessings, will be published in 2007. He travels widely in Europe and the US, where he lectures and holds workshops. He lives in Ireland.

Conamara in the West of Ireland has a strange and beautiful landscape - a landscape of intense contrasts uniquely dependent on light and shade. In daylight, a subtle radiance of gentle colours envelops the place. Yet on the threshold of darkness, the fading light reveals an almost haunted vista of mysterious beauty.In this exquisitely crafted collection of poetry, John O'Donohue evokes the vital energy and rhythm of the Conamara landscape, engaging with earth, sky and sea, and the majestic mountains that silently preside over this glorious region. Here too, as he draws upon the ancient memory and history of this sacred place, he focuses upon the power of language and the vagaries of human need and passion, tenderly revealing the fragile vulnerability of love and friendship. 
Written with penetrating insight and a deftness of touch, Conamara Blues offers a unique, imaginative vision of a landscape steeped in mystery and legend - a landscape of hope and possibility that is at once both familiar and unknown.

Exploring Our Hunger To Belong

Eternal Echoes

An illuminating, profoundly inspirational work which explores that most basic human desire - the desire to belong.

As diaphanous and beautiful as the spiritual reality he is portraying, Eternal Echoes speaks to the soul

Larry Dossey, author of Recovering Your Soul

John O'Donohue was awarded a Ph.D. in philosophical theology from the University of Tübingen in 1990. He is the author of several works, including a collection of poems, Echoes of Memory, a book on the philosophy of Hegel, Person als Vermittlung, Conamara Blues, and the international bestsellers, Anam Cara, Eternal Echoes and Divine Beauty. His latest work, Benedictus: A Book of Blessings will be published in 2007. John travels widely in Europe and the US, where he lectures and holds workshops. He lives in Ireland

There is a divine restlessness in the human heart today, an eternal echo of longing that lives deep within us and never lets us settle for what we have or where we are. Now, in this exquisitely crafted, inspirational book, John O'Donohue explores that most basic of human desires - the desire to belong. It is a desire that constantly draws us towards new possibilities of self-discovery, friendship and creativity. 
 
In Eternal Echoes John O'Donohue embarks upon a journey of discovery into the heart of our post-modern world - a hungry, homeless world that suffers from a deep sense of isolation and fragmentation. With the thousand-year-old shelter of divine belonging now shattered, we seem to have lost our way in this magical, wondrous universe. 
 
Here, as we explore perennial themes and gain insight from a range of ancient beliefs, we draw inspiration from Ireland's rich spiritual heritage of Celtic thought and imagination. It is a heritage of profound, mystical wisdom that will open pathways to peace and contentment, and lead us to live with creativity, honour and compassion the one life that has been given to us. 
Destined to become a timeless classic of vision and hope, this is an imaginative tour de force by one of today's most inspirational writers.

John O'Donohue

President Higgins

Pat O’Donohue

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, author of The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success

John O'Donohue is a man of the soul. His scholarly meditation on the continuing relevance of Ireland's spiritual heritage has become a publishing phenomenon... This poetic meditation has become a bestseller on both sides of the Atlantic... A lyrical prayer

Words of wisdom... a heady mixture of myth, poetry, philosophy... profound and moving

This book is a phenomenon in itself... a book to read and reread forever, its style of varied narration responds to our times

John O'Donohue's unique voice and heart and his exquisitely elevating poetic imagination are immortalised in these pages, saturated as they are with his lyrical and contagious love of life and love for people and nature. Even reading it at random is profoundly healing and affirming, especially in hard moments.

Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of Meditation is Not What You Think and the bestselling classic, Wherever You Go, There You Are

The moment I read Anam Cara... I felt like I had found a kindred spirit. I love everything John has written. It comes from such a deep, profound, wise, and insightful space.

Maria Shriver, author, advocate, and journalist

What a profound joy it is rereading Anam Cara, John O'Donohue's glorious book of teachings about nature, human life, friendship, love, and loss. Anyone who ever spent time with John came away changed, as do his readers.

Diane Ackerman, bestselling author and poet

In this twenty-fifth anniversary edition, you will find John a 'soul friend' on your own journey through life, offering support and solace, clarity, and consciousness-expanding narratives that invite you to experience relationships with people, nature, and even your inner world in new ways that nurture well-being and resilience in these challenging times.

Daniel J. Siegel, MD, bestselling author, neuropsychiatrist

With this twenty-fifth anniversary of Anam Cara, John's fervent call to dignify each other reverberates in every corner of our beautiful broken world with more urgency and presence.

Ellen Wingard, Advocate for Social Impact Leadership

A lively spiritual companion to all Celts-or to those who are Celtic in their hearts.

For almost twenty years the poetic and prophetic words of John O'Donohue have held sacred space and holy weight in my heart.

Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III, Senior Pastor-Trinity United Church of Christ (Chicago, Illinois)

Anam Cara is a radiant source of wisdom, a link between the human and the divine. This work is a blessed, rare gem.

Larry Dossey, M.D., author of Be Careful What You Pray For, Prayer Is Good Medicine, and Healing Words

John O'Donohue is an unassuming man with a grand sense of humor. . . charming.

Joy Redfield Kwapien, author of The Celestine Journal

John brightens the way for you, if you have the courage to go there--he was obviously sent here with the light.

Davy Spillane, Grammy Award-winning musician/composer at North Atlantic Music Studios (Ireland) and Producer of Anam Cara Audiobook

John O'Donohue's book of Celtic wisdom comes at you like a blast of fresh wind rushing above the din of modern noise and cynical contemporary conversations, revitalising the spirit to effectively face this turbulent world. Indeed we need John's wildly original and provocative voice more than ever.

Gail Straub, Co-Founder--Empowerment Institute, Author of The Rhythm of Compassion

From the very first sentence, Anam Cara takes us on an exhilarating journey through the human soul and its many wondrous and mysterious labyrinths, and John O'Donohue is the perfect guide to light the way--a radiant soul full of deep wisdom, true compassion, and boundless joy.

Andrew Carroll, New York Times bestselling author and co-founder, with Nobel Laureate Joseph Brodsky, of the American Poetry & Literacy Project

Anam Cara has accompanied me on my spiritual journey from its very inception. I have returned to this book often, for solace, wisdom and --most of all--to be reminded that I am not alone in what I desire for myself and for our world. John O'Donohue has been my "soul friend" for years, and his brave revelations of his mind and heart have changed my life. Get ready for a life-altering journey.

Edward L. Beck, Roman Catholic Priest, CNN Faith and Religion Commentator

In the age of social media in which we add and discard friends with the tap of a screen, we need more than ever John O'Donohue's vital words of wisdom on how the right relationships can lift a life and feed the soul. This book is about deep love, belonging, and honoring nourishing ties that crush small-minded concepts of what friendship can be. A must read for all on the spiritual journey.

Sophfronia Scott, author of The Seeker and the Monk and Love's Long Line

John blew away the dust of many years of spiritual disillusionment and blessed the world with an ancient message infused with beauty, love and divine truths. This was a man formed from the wildness of clay and rock of the West coast of County Clare. It was a privilege to know John and to witness him enliven weary souls in search of the divine spark. He was and continues to be an Anam Cara (soul friend) to those of us blessed to have known him and for all who continue to walk the path through his inspired writings.

Spiritual Wisdom from the Celtic World

"In this twenty-fifth anniversary edition, you will find John a "soul friend" on your own journey through life, offering support and solace, clarity, and consciousness-expanding narratives that invite you to experience relationships with people, nature, and even your inner world in new ways that nurture well-being and resilience in these challenging times." -Daniel J. Siegel, MD, Neuropsychiatrist and New York Times Bestselling Author 
 
A special twenty-fifth anniversary edition of the classic work of Celtic spirituality and mysticism by beloved poet and philosopher, John O'Donohue, with a new introduction by the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, an afterword by the late author's brother, Pat O'Donohue, and insightful material from O'Donohue's circle of close friends. 
 
In this revered classic, John O'Donohue excavates themes of friendship, belonging, solitude, creativity and the imagination, among many others. Widely recognized for bringing Celtic spirituality into modern dialogue, his unique insights from the ancient world speak with urgency for our need to rediscover the thresholds of the soul. 
 
With lyrical wisdom and fluency, O'Donohue encourages pathways of discovery to come home to the natural rhythm in ourselves in sacred connection with one another and the landscapes we inhabit. This timeless collection nourishes the heart and elevates the spirit. It is "a book to read and reread forever." (Irish Times)

John O'Donohue

Praise for Anam Cara

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.

John O'Donohue is a man of the soul. His scholarly meditation on the continuing relevance of Ireland's spiritual heritage has become a publishing phenomenon... This poetic meditation has become a bestseller on both ...

Words of wisdom... a heady mixture of myth, poetry, philosophy... profound and moving

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.

John O'Donohue is a man of the soul. His scholarly meditation on the continuing relevance of Ireland's spiritual heritage has become a publishing phenomenon... This poetic meditation has become a bestseller on both ...

Words of wisdom... a heady mixture of myth, poetry, philosophy... profound and moving

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.

John O'Donohue is a man of the soul. His scholarly meditation on the continuing relevance of Ireland's spiritual heritage has become a publishing phenomenon... This poetic meditation has become a bestseller on both ...

Words of wisdom... a heady mixture of myth, poetry, philosophy... profound and moving

Books by John O'Donohue

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