The Power of Grace Recognizing Unexpected Gifts on Our Path

by Richo, David

• ISBN13: 9781611801460
• ISBN10: 161180146X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2014-10-14
• Publisher: Shambhala

Summary

The universe supports you and is offering to help you—in very concrete ways. Best-selling self-help author Dave Richo shows how to recognize this help that's all around us—Grace—and how to access it.

     Grace is the term Dave Richo uses to describe any of those events in which help comes your way unexpectedly: when the solution to a perplexing problem just suddenly pops into your head; when you suddenly find the strength to rise to an occasion you didn't think you could endure; when the next phase in your spiritual path becomes plain as day. Moments of Grace usually come as surprises, but, Richo shows, we can learn to expect them—for Grace is a resource any of us can access. He begins by showing where to look to recognize the Grace that surrounds you: in nature, in religion/spirituality, in relationships, in yourself. He then provides practical exercises for learning how to manifest Grace in your life--to recognize and claim the help the universe is constantly offering you.

Author Biography

DAVID RICHO, PhD, is a psychotherapist, teacher, and author who leads popular workshops around the US at venues such as the Esalen Institute, New York Open Center, and Spirit Rock Meditation Center.

Table of Contents

Introduction
1 What is Grace?
How Do We Know it is Grace?
Grace and Graces
Three Arrivals of Grace
What Is Transcendence?
The More That We Are

2 How Effort Fits In
Too Much
Not Enough
Does Merit Matter?

3 Destiny, Fate, and Luck
Destiny
Fate
Luck
After Luck, What?

4 The Gift of Synchronicity
Trusting Opportunities
Choice and Chance
When Synchronicity Comes as Inspiration
Calling and Coincidence

5 Grace in the Feminine
The Materialist Questions
A More-Inclusive Alternative
Three Realities
The Shadow of the Feminine

6 Graces on the Dark Paths
Calamity
Void and Chaos
In the Face of Evil

7 Grace in Religion
Ancient Religion
Other Traditions
A Christian Perspective
Gift , State, and Means of Transformation
Patriarchy and Limits
Two Helpful Images

8 Grace in Buddhism
Resources on the Buddhist Path
The Pure Land Tradition
Power From Self, Power from Other

9 Grace in Nature
Flow and Field
Time and Space
Comfort in Nature
Our Natural-Spiritual Challenge

10 The Graces in Ourselves
The Gift in Our Inadequacies
More Than Self-Help
How Transformation Happens

11 Graces in Relationships
Intimate Companions
Discovering the Metaphor
When Conflicts Arise
The Graces of Mature Love in a Relationship

12 Spiritual Practices that Help Us Open to Grace
Showing Gratitude
Accepting the Givens of Life
Cultivating Serenity, Courage, and Wisdom
Letting Go of Self-Centeredness
Following The Eightfold Path

Epilogue: The Grace in Being Human
About the Author