Description from PBPF:

No matter where we are in our spiritual development, we all have questions that need clarification about our practice and what we are experiencing — both the challenges and openings. We need trustworthy answers that go deeper than those available in the many general books on the inner life, useful though they may be.

Paul Brunton here helps with three fundamental areas of the spiritual path: meditation, self-examination, and the unfolding of awakening. Guiding you with insight and care through each stage of meditation, including advanced states that deepen one’s inner life, he explains how meditation is the art and practice of introverting attention, of freeing oneself for a period of time from thoughts, sensations, and feelings and allowing the soul to reveal itself out of the quiet that one has created. He explains the goal of each meditative stage and the obstacles you are likely to face, and he examines the need for spiritual dependency on any particular guru, teaching, or practice, showing that following your intuition can bring spiritual success.

Exploring the process of self-examination and emotional purification, P.B. shows how life’s challenges are moments by which we can make real progress in our surrender to a higher life. He shows how to break free from the ego, follow your intuition to align with your ideals, and tap into the inspiration flowing from within. He also examines the development of transcendental insight, the cornerstone of compassionate wisdom in action, which allows us to become a source of inspiration to all we encounter.

Comprised of writings devloped by the Paul Brunton Philosophic Foundation after his death, this guide offers transformative wisdom to aid our understanding of what the spiritual journey entails, help point the way when the way is uncertain, and learn and grow from the challenges that arise as you develop spiritually.

An earlier version of this book was published in 1984 as Essays on on the Quest. This edition is revised, with some of the original essays replaced by others, and language edited throughout for gender inclusivity.

"A truly comprehensive and authoritative work that should be read by sincere seekers and advanced adepts alike. Paul Brunton's work demonstrates a real mastery of the intricacies of spiritual life. His sagely conclusions on a number of key topics rarely covered elsewhere in spiritual literature provide an important contribution to our contemporary understanding of awakening and enlightenment. . . . We are very fortunate that his writings are available."   —Stephen D'Amico, author of Heaven on Earth and The Incredible State of Absolute Nothingness

To see all our Paul Brunton titles, scroll down to The Complete Paul Brunton Opus below.

Paul Brunton helps us hear the melody behind the medley of today's "spiritual marketplace." His late writings raise the bar for what we can expect of spiritual teachings and teachers, and what we can do for ourselves. Born in London in 1898, he soon became a leading pioneer of much of what we now take for granted. He traveled widely throughout the world (long before it was fashionable) to meet living masters of various traditions with whom he then lived and studied. His eleven early books from 1934–1952 shared much of what he learned, and helped set the stage for dramatic east-west exchanges of the late 20th century. Paul Brunton left more than 10,000 pages of enormously helpful new work in notebooks he reserved for posthumous publication, much of which is now available as The Notebooks of Paul Brunton. See "The Complete Paul Brunton Opus" in blue below to see his many works available on this site. You can also search on Paul Brunton in the search bar to browse the selections, or click on a link below for specific connections.

Click here for an article about Paul Brunton.

Click here for The Notebooks of Paul Brunton.

To access small theme-based books compiled from Paul Brunton's writings, scroll down to Derived from the Notebooks below.

To access Paul Brunton's early writings, published from 1934–1952, scroll down to Paul Brunton's Early Works below.

To access commentaries on Paul Brunton and his work by his leading student, Anthony Damiani, as well as other writings about Paul Brunton and/or his work, scroll down to Commentaries and Reflections on Paul Brunton and His Work below.