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Lorna Byrne

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Lorna Byrne
Born(1953-03-25)March 25, 1953
Dublin, Ireland
Years active2008 — present
Notable worksAngels in my Hair, Love from Heaven
Website
www.lornabyrne.com

Lorna Byrne (born 25 March 1953) is an Irish author and peace ambassador.[1] She is best known for her bestselling memoir, Angels in My Hair (2008). A Message of Hope from the Angels (2012) and Love from Heaven (2014) debuted[when?] at No. 1 on the UK Sunday Times Book Chart.[2] Her books have been translated into 30 languages and published in over 50 countries.[3] Byrne says that she sees angels and spirits physically on a continuous basis. She has featured in many media outlets, including the BBC,[4] CNN,[5] The Economist,[6] The Observer,[7] and the Daily Telegraph.[8]

Biography

Early life

Byrne was born in Dublin, and grew up in poverty in the Dublin suburbs of Kilmainham and Ballymun. She states that she has seen angels since she was a baby. She was diagnosed as "retarded" when very young.[9] Her education was also affected by dyslexia.

Marriage and children

Byrne married Joe in 1976. Their married life was spent near Maynooth, in Co. Meath. They had four children. Joe was often in poor health, and died in 2000.

Public life

Byrne began to write about seeing angels after the death of her husband. She states that she had been told in the past that she would write about them.

Writing

Angels in My Hair is a memoir of her early and married life. Stairways to Heaven (2010) is a memoir of life after the death of her husband, including the story of writing her first book and becoming a public figure. She states that it contains many details of how angels work in the world. A Message of Hope from the Angels is about the importance of hope "in these challenging times".[10] Love from Heaven introduced the topic of what she sees as a lack of love in the world today, and discusses the importance of loving oneself. She also stated for the first time that she sees the force of love as she does angels.

Byrne is also a blogger for The Huffington Post.[11]

Travel and peace work

Since becoming a well-known author, Byrne has engaged in book tours, and has spoken in other contexts to many public audiences across Europe and the United States.

She has travelled repeatedly to the United States, a country she believes is pivotal in the future of the world. In 2011, Byrne expressed her support for Occupy Wall Street.[12] In 2014, she attended the UN Climate Summit and the People's Climate March. In 2014 and 2015, much of her work has been devoted to fostering unity between Sunni and Shia Muslims in America, which Byrne believes is important in influencing American foreign policy in the Middle East. In February 2014, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Betty Williams joined Byrne at the Sufi Mosque at Tribeca for a prayer event for unity among Muslims.

Media appearances in the United States have included a 2012 interview on CNN, and interviews in 2010 and 2012 on Coast to Coast AM with George Noory.[13][14]

She states that the war in Syria has the potential to spread, and poses a great danger to the rest of the world. She has organised a day of prayer for peace in Syria.

Byrne has raised money in public-speaking events for the Irish charities Childline and A Partnership with Africa.[15]

Views and beliefs

Byrne says that she sees physically and communicates with angels on a day-to-day basis:

I have no idea why I can see them and others can’t. I am dyslectic and uneducated and have never read a book.[16]

She most strongly emphasises, and is best known to the public for saying, that everyone regardless of belief has a guardian angel, who loves the person they protect, and can be asked for help. The guardian angel can "let in" other angels to help the person in their life:

I see them as physically as I see someone standing in front of me. I have never seen anyone without a guardian angel. I see them with people of all religions and none, with people who are good and bad, with people who believe in angels and with those who don’t. I understand that for some people it’s hard to believe that there could be such a thing as an angel, or even that I can see angels. I can't prove the existence of angels, or that I see them. I wish I could. All I can do is tell you what I see and am told and then leave it up to you.[17]

Some of the angels Byrne has written about talking to are those of the Abrahamic religions: for example, Michael, Gabriel, and Elijah. She has said that she has Gabriel dressed as a biker.[18]

In Love from Heaven, she stated that most people lock the love they have inside them. She wrote that it is vital to love oneself, and that one is unable to love others if one does not love oneself.[19]

Byrne states that all religions have access to God, and no person should think theirs better than the others.[20]

Reception

Reaction to Byrne’s statement that she sees angels and spirits has been varied, ranging from scepticism and disbelief to endorsement.

In 2009, Tariq Ramadan recommended Angels in My Hair in Foreign Policy.[21] In 2014, Byrne met and was endorsed by the theologian Matthew Fox. John L. Esposito, the Professor of International Relations and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University, said, "A Message of Hope from the Angels offers a message of hope that speaks to the crises and everyday problems that many struggle with in today’s world."[22] John Carty, an endorphin release therapist, said Byrne’s ability to see energy in the human body has helped him in his work.[23]

Michael Alper, author of The "God" Part of the Brain, said in 2012, "Either a) she actually believes it, or b) she is a complete charlatan. There is no option c) – that she would be talking to angels. Human beings are simply genetically predisposed to believe in some kind of spiritual reality."[18]

Books

  • 2008 Angels in my Hair. London: Century. ISBN 1-84-605177-0
  • 2010 Stairways to Heaven. London: Coronet. ISBN 1-44-470603-9
  • 2012 A Message of Hope from the Angels. London: Coronet. ISBN 1-44-472987-X
  • 2014 Love from Heaven. London: Coronet. ISBN 1-44-478632-6

References

  1. ^ Byrne, Lorna. "Letter to American Muslims". http://www.lornabyrne.com. Retrieved 29 January 2015. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
  2. ^ "Lorna Byrne". www.huffingtonpost.com. Huffington Post. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  3. ^ "Lorna Byrne". www.huffingtonpost.com. Huffington Post. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  4. ^ "Lorna Byrne on Songs of Praise - BBC". Retrieved 29 January 2015. {{cite web}}: External link in |ref= (help)
  5. ^ "Author: I can see guardian angels". www,cnn.com. Retrieved 29 January 2015. {{cite news}}: External link in |ref= (help)
  6. ^ "Messengers in the modern world". www.economist.com. The Economist. 20 December 2008. Retrieved 29 January 2015. {{cite news}}: External link in |ref= (help)
  7. ^ Adams, Tim. "Lorna Byrne: 'I believe in angels'". www.theguardian.com. The Observer. {{cite web}}: External link in |ref= (help)
  8. ^ Stanford, Peter (17 July 2008). "Lorna Byrne: 'To me, seeing angels is natural'". www.telegraph.co.uk. London: The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 29 January 2015. {{cite news}}: External link in |ref= (help)
  9. ^ Byrne, Lorna (2008). Angels in My Hair (1st ed.). London: Century. p. 1.
  10. ^ Byrne, Lorna. A Message of Hope from the Angels. London: Coronet. p. 1.
  11. ^ "Blog entries by Lorna Byrne". http://www.huffingtonpost.com. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 1 February 2015. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
  12. ^ "Lorna visits Occupy Wall Street, NYC". www.lornabyrne.com. Retrieved 30 January 2015. {{cite web}}: External link in |ref= (help)
  13. ^ "Interacting with Angels". Coast to Coast AM. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  14. ^ "Kabbalah Secrets". Coast to Coast AM. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  15. ^ "Lorna Byrne, in conversation with Grainne Seoige, raises €20,000 for Childline". www.ispcc.ie. ISPCC. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  16. ^ Byrne, Lorna (10 June 2013). "I Have God, So Why Do I Need a Guardian Angel". www.huffingtonpost.com. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 30 January 2015. {{cite news}}: External link in |ref= (help)
  17. ^ Lorna, Byrne (12 July 2012). "'Where was the Guardian Angel When...?': A Response to Cynics". www.huffingtonpost.com. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  18. ^ a b Adams, Tim. "Lorna Byrne: 'I believe in angels' – interview". www.theguardian.com. The Observer. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  19. ^ Byrne, Lorna (2014). Love from Heaven. London: Coronet. p. 20.
  20. ^ Lorna, Byrne (8 April 2013). "Breaking Down the Walls Between Different Religions". www.huffingtonpost.com. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 30 January 2015. {{cite news}}: External link in |ref= (help)
  21. ^ Ramadan, Tariq. "The FP Global Thinkers Book Club". www.foreignpolicy.com. Foreign Policy. Retrieved 30 January 2015. {{cite web}}: External link in |ref= (help)
  22. ^ Byrne, Lorna (October 2013). A Message of Hope from the Angels (1st US Hardback ed.). New York: Atria. p. i. ISBN 978-1-4767-0033-5.
  23. ^ "What people have said about Lorna". www.lornabyrne.com. Retrieved 30 January 2015.

Official website
Byrne's blog for The Huffington Post

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