Aug 20 2018
Book Announcement: This Dance of Bliss
It’s ready! I am so happy to announce the publication of the latest Poetry Chaikhana anthology:
 |
|
This Dance of Bliss is a new collection poems by beloved classical sacred poets along with a few modern visionaries — accompanied by my own thoughts, meditations, personal stories, and commentary.
The new anthology will officially be available in late September through Amazon and Barnes & Noble, as well as by request through your local independent bookstore.
But I wasn’t planning on making you wait that long.
For the Poetry Chaikhana community, I am offering a special pre-order deal on This Dance of Bliss. If your purchase a copy directly through the Poetry Chaikhana before September 1st–
- You will receive a discounted price of $12.95 (rather than the regular retail price of $16.95 USD)
- I will personally autograph your copy
- You will receive a special extra or two, like a Poetry Chaikhana bookmark
- Most importantly, you will be helping me greatly by making sure we cover initial publication expenses
|
“This book is a treasure, a feast, an oasis. Ivan M. Granger’s profound gift for selecting the kind of poetry that lights up the cave of the heart and melts the boundaries between the soul and the Divine is fully met by his lucid reflections on the soul-transfiguring power of each piece in this magnificent collection.”
~ MIRABAI STARR, author of God of Love: A Guide to the Heart of Judaism, Christianity & Islam
To purchase a special pre-order copy of This Dance of Bliss click here or the ‘Purchase’ link above for payment through PayPal.
If you prefer to pay by check or money order, you can mail it to:
Poetry Chaikhana
PO Box 2320
Boulder, CO 80306
(Payments should be made in US funds to “Poetry Chaikhana.”
And please don’t forget to include your mailing address.)
All pre-order copies will be shipped as soon as they are available, which will be at the beginning of September.
|
|
Here is a small sampling from This Dance of Bliss.
You can read more by clicking here: Read More:
Table of Contents + Introduction + Sample Poems
A hundred flowers in spring, the moon in autumn,
the breeze in summer, in winter snow.
When the mind is unclouded,
this is the best season of life.
Wu Men
IMG
A hundred flowers in spring, the moon in autumn,
the breeze in summer, in winter snow.
The shifting seasons against the living canvas of the world invite us to notice the cycles of life, how everything flows and changes and returns again. Because the world is filled with life, nothing remains the same. Everything grows and changes and comes around again renewed.
When the mind is unclouded…
Watching that flow, we witness such beauty. But we can only truly see it we let the mind quiet and become clear.
In such moments, a fullness of the soul overwhelms us. We become creatures of silent delight, content and complete in ourselves as we watch the parade of life’s seasons move past, leaving us fully alive in this very moment.
…this is the best season of life.
The sum total of our life is a breath
spent in the company of the Beloved.
Abu-Said Abil-Kheir
English version by Vraje Abramian
I find it intriguing that “breath” and “life” and “spirit” are synonyms in many languages. When you read sacred writings and the word “spirit” is used, substitute the word “breath” and see how the meaning changes and expands.
The relationship between breath, life, and spirit is more profound than the observation that the living breathe and the dead do not.
We think in terms of borders and boundaries, constantly noting what separates ourselves, mentally and physically, from everything else. But the reality is that there is a constant flow of awareness across those borders. Every one of us has the unseen movement of the breath. Through the breath, what is outside comes inside. What is non-self becomes self. And what was self is released again out into the world. This is communion, nothing less.
That inbreath of yours is the outbreath of another. The air we breathe is the breath of all.
A deep breath opens the chest and expands the heart. A full breath requires us to feel. We feel ourselves, and we feel others. Feeling, too, is communion. When feeling is shut down, the breath is shut down, and life has become limited.
The current of the breath continuously teaches us that the boundaries of self exist only in the mental map. In reality, we flow out into the universe, and the universe flows back in. The only way to secure our borders is to stop breathing, which is, of course, death. Life requires breath, and we live in each other, within the same shared breath.
When we really breathe, we might just come to the same conclusion as the poet: An individual’s lifetime may be brief or long, the experiences of life may be lasting or fleeting, but this communal breath-life-spirit in which we participate is the very breath of the Beloved.
Whoever finds love
beneath hurt and grief
disappears into emptiness
with a thousand new disguises
Rumi
English version by Coleman Barks
“Ivan M. Granger writes as though God is looking over his shoulder. He inspires appreciation of the literature of awakening as he inspires the reader’s own heart awakening. This anthology features poetic masterpieces from around the world, each one revealing the profound interconnectedness of all things. The comments accompanying each selection are direct and engaging, unfolding layers of meaning, further enhancing the themes of union, interconnection, and non-separation.”
~ JERRY KATZ, editor of One: Essential Writings on Nonduality
|
|
 |
Consider purchasing a pre-order copy of This Dance of Bliss in support of the Poetry Chaikhana!
And thank you to everyone for all of the encouragement and support along the way! Ivan |
Dear Ivan
Thank you for doing this superb work. I love the cover image. Can’t wait to enjoy the whole collection. I’ve valued being on the email serve for years.
Greetings and gratitude
Bob G
Sincerely Congratulations, Ivan!
Perfectly done work!
Appreciation and Gratitude!
I feel all words in this introduction page
are flowing in such a coherence, harmony,
balance, peace, humility, joy and goodness,
like in the Bliss music of the
dervishe’s dance…
…and really what amazing
adventure…and a lot of challenges….
It’s all worth it!!!
~
I was smiling a lot, reading your
“Introduction”…
I never told you I know you from
probably that time, around 2000 year.
I met you at a nonduality forum, I can’t remember
which one, it was probably Jerry Krahz’s or Leo Hartong’s
nonduality forum.
There I was stunned from your posts about fasting and
all your rules about spiritual discipline…lol
I thought then “This man is absolutely crazy!”:)
But I also felt how well-hearted really you are,
indeed…
Ohhhh, It was soooooooo long time ago…
Like in past life…
We both have irreversible changed.
Our personal stories have ended, indeed…
But another door has opened …
As our lovely Rumi said :
“I have lived on the lip
of insanity, wanting to know reasons,
knocking on a door. It opens.
I’ve been knocking from the inside.”
Anna