This month’s blog is a review by Helena Regan of Pierre’s book The Gentle Art of Blessing, published July 19, 2025, on Goodreads.com. Years after its initial publication, this book continues to touch and change lives. Thank you for this lasting gift to humanity, Pierre. We’ve also included a blessing from 365 Blessings to heal myself and the world, Sending Love to Those Who Need it.
Reading The Gentle Art of Blessing felt less like reading a book and more like receiving a quiet, heartfelt lesson in kindness that stays with you long after the last page. Pierre Pradervand invites us into a practice that’s deceptively simple yet profoundly transformative: the act of blessing others not just in ritual or prayer, but in everyday moments, with intentional goodwill.
What struck me most was how universal the message is. Pradervand draws from an array of spiritual traditions Taoism, Hinduism, the Bible, the Koran to show that the core of blessing is about recognizing the humanity in others and sending them love, peace, or healing, no matter the context. He emphasizes that a blessing isn’t about changing others; it’s about changing our own perception, approaching the world with compassion instead of judgment.
Throughout the book, I found myself pausing to reflect on people I’d passed by without thinking, on moments when I could have reacted with frustration but chose patience instead. There’s a gentle, almost meditative rhythm to the writing, and real life examples ground the message in daily reality. Whether it’s blessing a rude driver during traffic or sending love to someone you disagree with, the practice shifts how you show up in the world.
This book isn’t just theory, it’s deeply practical. I’ve started applying the blessings during simple moments, and I can genuinely say it has softened how I navigate tough days and deepened my sense of connection with others.
If you’re feeling spiritually restless or overwhelmed by negativity around you, The Gentle Art of Blessing offers a quiet, meaningful path forward. It doesn’t preach; it gently teaches. And in a world that often feels divided, this practice might just be one of the most radical forms of activism we can choose.
Helena Regan
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6601222/reviews
Sending Love to Those Who Need It
The blessing below is adapted from a text on love and prayer from John O’Donohue’s book Anam Cara so it may read as a blessing:
May we offer the warmth of our love as a blessing for those who are damaged and unloved and those who are pushed to the very edge of life.
May we send that love out into the world to people who are desperate, to those who are starving, to those who are trapped in prison, in hospitals, and into all the brutal terrains of bleak and tormented lives.
May we know that when that love is sent out from the bountifulness of our own love, it reaches other people and that this love is the deepest power of prayer – prayer being the act and presence of sending this light to other people to heal, free, and bless them.
https://pierrepradervand.com/365-blessings-to-heal-myself-and-the-world/
