Many of us feel we are not living life to the full, or living it as we should. Haunted by anxiety, we long for lifelines that can lift us out of the mundane into what Seamus Heaney called ‘the marvellous’. If you feel like this then The Awakening may be for you. Drawing on the wisdom of ancient Ireland and using the symbol of the Celtic Cross as an image for how to live, Dr O’Connor shows us that we inhabit both a vertical and a horizontal life, which intersect where the eternal breaks into the everyday and ordinary activities are infused with an extraordinary purpose. Taking you beyond mindfulness and introducing delightful new concepts like ‘Mind-Flight’, this book uncovers the sparkling jewels buried in the rubble of life’s indifference. You can turn a tiny space into a palace, a misfortune into an opportunity, a disability into a blessing and fly when life expects you to fall. The Awakening, like the first light at Newgrange, will illuminate the hidden blessings in what may seem to be your darkened life.  ‘This book is a healing gift from a prophetic poet. Colm weaves magic with his words and casts a spell that heals the hurts of the world.’ Fergus Hogan, Director, Centre for Social and Family Research, Waterford IT ‘The Awakening takes us on a breathtaking journey where Colm’s deep appreciation of the human condition permeates every sentence. With echoes of Jung and Yeats, psychology meets spirituality, poetry and mythology on an expansive quest for a life well lived.’ Michael Burke, Clinical Director, Family Centre, Castlebar ‘This is a truly wonderful and beautiful book. It takes us on a spiritual adventure through what has made Ireland such a spiritually captivating place, and is a revelation as to why enchantment is a necessary response to our mortal existence in a wonder-filled universe.’ Dr Eoin O’Flynn, Rochestown, Cork