Awakening to Its Presence
Paul Brunton
Larson Publications 12/11 Paperback $10.95
ISBN: 9781936012275
Reviewed by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat for Spirituality and Practice magazine
Paul Brunton (1898-1981) was a pioneer of interspirituality. He published 11 books during his lifetime and is the author of the 16-volume posthumously published Notebooks of Paul Brunton series in which he presents a world-encompassing spirituality. Sam Cohen, who collated and edited the material in this sturdy and edifying little volume, is a director of the Paul Brunton Philosophic Foundation.
The Gift of Grace consists of a wide-ranging collection of quotations on this great mystery which is at the heart of all spiritual paths. Here are a few of Brunton’s initial definitions of grace:
• “By grace I mean the manifestation of God’s friendliness.”
• “Grace is either a gift from above or a state within, a help of some kind or an experience reverently felt.”
• “There is a power which inspires the heart, enlightens the mind, and sanctifies the character. It is the power of Grace.”
Brunton marvels at the unpredictability of the Divine gift of grace: “It does not necessarily follow the lines set by human expectation, prayer, or desire.” Not all the action is from outside: “Grace needs a prepared mind to receive it, a self-controlled life to accept it, an aspiring heart to attract it.” For Brunton, this gift brings us what we need: “It is grace which inspires our best moves, and which enables us to make them.”
Grace is the medicine that enables us to subjugate our ego and to relish the pleasures and delights of spiritual progress. Here is an enlightening book that every seeker will cherish and want to add to his or her collection and return to, again and again, for inspiration.
