The Power of Grace: Recognizing Unexpected Gifts on Our Path

by David Richo

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 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 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.

Genres: Spirituality, Nonfiction, Self Help, Psychology

193 pages, Paperback

First published October 14, 2014

About the author

David Richo, PhD, is a therapist and author who leads popular workshops on personal and spiritual growth.

He received his BA in psychology from Saint John's Seminary in Brighton, Massachusetts, in 1962, his MA in counseling psychology from Fairfield University in 1969, and his PhD in clinical psychology from Sierra University in 1984. Since 1976, Richo has been a licensed marriage, family, and child counselor in California. In addition to practicing psychotherapy, Richo teaches courses at Santa Barbara City College and the University of California Berkeley at Berkeley, and has taught at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, Pacifica Graduate Institute, and Santa Barbara Graduate Institute. He is a clinical supervisor for the Community Counseling Center in Santa Barbara, California.

Known for drawing on Buddhism, poetry, and Jungian perspectives in his work, Richo is the author of How to Be an Adult in Relationships: The Five Keys to Mindful Lovingand The Five Things We Cannot Change: And the Happiness We Find in Embracing Them. He has also written When the Past Is Present: Healing the Emotional Wounds that Sabotage our Relationships, Shadow Dance: Liberating the Power and Creativity of Your Dark Side, The Power of Coincidence: How Life Shows Us What We Need to Know, and Being True to Life: Poetic Paths to Personal Growth.

Richo lives in Santa Barbara and San Francisco.

Reviews

[Hilary Whatley]

This book has an interesting topic: grace - in this context, meaning gifts from the divine; a form of luck. I have long thought that luck is more than just coincidence or happenstance, but has a spiritual element. There is a reason some people seem to "have it all," are just lucky, etc. It does not have to do with being special, but rather, with being open/receptive to the positive energy of grace; with being in alignment with love.

Although all beings are granted graces, there are things that can get in the way of our receiving them. Divine grace cannot reach you if you are locked into your ego, focus too much on your effort alone, or are preoccupied with how awful your life is.. Divine grace goes hand in hand with humility and an open heart.

Furthermore, it does not manifest in ways that are not important to us, or to our happiness. If we do not value material things, we will not be "lucky" in this way. It could be something as simple as making a connection with someone you found nearly impossible to understand. This is a grace.

Another interesting facet of grace is that it goes with a freedom from expectations. We cannot feel that we "deserve" something (which has negative emotions/energy attached), or are owed it, but rather, we understand this is a gift. Nothing kills grace more than taking it for granted.

Great book. I enjoyed it.

[Shradhdha.]

This volume was recommended by a friend whose son is living with an auto-immune disorder. We decided to begin the book at the same time and discuss interesting themes as we went along.

It was a wonderful experience! The lay-out of ideas leads one to questioning the degree of contentment in every area of living. So much remains unquestioned - solutions, happiness, contentment can so close, but out of sight due to limited vision!

I would recommend the Kindle edition since once can reflect on digital markers by other readers and store ones notes on the cloud. Other books by this author have been wonderful as well.

[Susan]

I find David Richo’s work insightful and meaningful in general and this topic particularly interested me at this time of my life. He was able to articulate what can be an ephemeral yet very real experience of grace that we often have tucked in, unidentified or unappreciated, in our lives. I found it quite remarkable that he was able to capture the experience and describe all the conduits through which grace arrives. Other reviewers have stated that the book deserves to be read slowly - I would echo that and add that, aside from the faster flowing front section, I was unable to read the book quickly. I had to read it in small chunks and used my Kindle to highlight as I read - I will print out the highlights and re-read as there was lots to digest. The writing is very dense and economical so some sections were dense in highlights.

[Susan]

I started this book, maybe reading a page or two at a time. Then I put it down for a few months but over this last three months have read more consistently and finished it. I watched some of the author’s YouTube presentations and that helped me connect to him .It is intense writing and I believe deserves to be read slowly. David Richo has a beautiful command of the English language. I have a feeling that I will go back to this book. It encapsulates much of his particular teaching and writing to date. I enjoyed his brief exploration of the Buddhist five precepts and eightfold path which comes in the last chapter.