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FOREWORD Grace. It is such a simple and beautiful word—a word that tends to lighten our mood and inspire us when we hear it.
Grace is not “a thing.” It is not something we can touch, although we may feel touched by it. It is not something we can see, although we may very well see the effects of Grace on ourselves and others. It is not something that we can hear, yet we may feel called by it. And it is not something we can taste, yet there is some particular sense to it, and some tastes may remind us of its presence.
Further, Grace is not an emotion, although it may produce many emotions—even profound states of feeling. It is not a thought, though when we have experienced it, we are likely to have a lot of thoughts about it! It is not a sensation, although the action of Grace may well produce many sensations in our body. We begin to realize that what we are seeking to understand is beyond the usual categories of objects and sensory experiences by which we usually navigate the world. To find the realm of Grace, we need to look deeper.
Its presence is unmistakable—and we do indeed learn to recognize the sensory signals that let us know we are in the proximity of this mystery. And even then, it takes a long time to really understand how to dance with this inner partner—how to surrender to its profound and astonishing influence.
Second, The Way of Grace shows us the tremendous blessings and benefit that come from contact with our essential nature. It is a huge relief when we discover the gentle and expansive qualities of our essential being. It holds our difficulties with patience, compassion, and loving kindness, and we learn to trust that this inner fountain of benevolence is always available. We merely forget its existence in the daily preoccupations of our ego and its agendas. Yet in a breath, a pause, a single moment when we are willing to notice and sense into the deeper layers of our being, this miraculous quality of blessing is always present, waiting for us.
Thirdly, Miranda helps us see that it is this blessing of Grace that actually transforms us, both psychologically and spiritually. To understand this, it is useful to think of our Self as being a dynamic relationship between our usual sense of self—what is commonly called our ego consciousness—and the deeper ground of essence of which we were just speaking. We learn that Grace is not a bypass of our egoic life and its attendant suffering; rather, Grace brings light and compassion to our pain and difficulties and actually transmutes them into something useable for our growth. Grace gives us the capacity to be with our experiences so that they can be digested and integrated into our soul’s greater purpose. There is no “spiritual bypass” here. We are bringing loving awareness to our distress—not denying its existence. Grace gives us the grounded presence and lightness of heart that lets us stay, even with our historic pain and fear. It is this vital distinction that helps us live the truths we are learning and make them part of our lived lives.
As Miranda mentions in this book, realizations can happen in a moment, but learning to integrate them in a way that supports our…
Grace teaches us to slow down, to enjoy the ongoing discoveries and flavors of our existence while growing in our sense of love and service in this world. It teaches us to meet our shame and fear and anger with consciousness and tenderness. We stop berating ourselves for our apparent lack of progress and get interested in what is arising in our consciousness moment by moment. Really, Grace teaches us to live in two worlds at the same time, and ultimately, to see that they really are one. We learn to embody the essential qualities of our consciousness and discern the meaning of the spiritual advice “to be in the world but…
And we understand this is not a race with a finish line; we will be dancing with Grace and realizations of deeper aspects of ourselves for the rest of our lives. Participating in this…
We eventually discover that we do not decide to surrender. If we still think of it as a decision that we can choose or not, we have not yet fully understood what surrender is. We come to see that surrender is not an action we can take—it is really found more in seeing a greater truth. When we open to the deeper dimensions of our experience while we are engaged in the day-to-day challenges of life, we start to see that we are not directing our lives in the way we may…
AI Summary
The Way of Grace by Miranda Macpherson presents key insights from the contemplative tradition. The 10 passages above capture the essential teachings.
Core Themes:
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Key Passages: Highlights 1, 3, and 10 are particularly representative.
This entry was generated from Readwise highlights. Expand with additional context as appropriate.