Gardens of Vision and Initiation (Paperback) | Released: 27 Jul 2020

Sufi Murshid, Zen Master, Environmental and Peace Activist, Missionary to the Hippie Generation, Founder of the Dances of Universal Peace....Drawn from his own voluminous writings, A Garden of Vision and Initiation allows us to hear Samuel Lewis's story and teaching in his own words, the authentic voice of a spiritual original and pioneer."Here is the story of a mystic, a gardener, a Sufi, a Zen student, a true human being. Samuel Lewis' spiritual practice was deepened through his meetings with Hazrat Inayat Khan, but his teaching, his wisdom, came from his own visionary nature. Garden of Visions and Initiation takes us on the inner and outer journey of this remarkable man, who left us with the gift of the Dances of Universal Peace, and the living grace of a soul who embraced both love and pain in service to God."--Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, Ph.D., author, Love is a Fire, the Sufis Mystical Journey Home."The reader of Dr. Neil Douglas-Klotz's sensitively selected and annotated writings of Murshid Samuel Lewis (1876-1971) is taken on the tumultuous spiritual journey of a truly universal being; a voyage propelled throughout his life by the quest for Truth, whether through the teachings of Sufism, Zen Buddhism or any other divinely revealed path. The reader grows with Sufi Sam as he explores with sincerity the inner and outer world, experiences hope and disappointment, and dances through this earthly life with his trademark flashes of spiritual humour and love for all. A collection of writings that will be of particular interest for those westerners who, like Lewis himself, find their path through the teachings of the east."--Muneera Haeri, author of The Chishtis, A Living Light, co-author with Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri of Sufi Encounters."Whether you have known Lewis or are new to his work, it is illuminating to experience, in his compelling first person prose, how his determination to rise above the vicissitudes of his early years became fully realized in the form of an extraordinary capacity for healing the world."--W. A. Mathieu, author of The Listening Book and Bridge of Waves."Sufi Vision and Initiation (1986) was always for me a reference for chronology regarding the life of Sam Lewis. Now comes what could be described as an autobiography par excellence. Sam Lewis wrote in The Lotus and the Universe (1963): "This is not an autobiography, although one may come sometime." This book, Gardens of Vision and Initiation (2020) is as close to an autobiography as we will have. This updated chronology of Lewis's writings, dowsed from the files by the editor, is a labor of love." --Mansur Johnson, author of Murshid: A personal memoir of life with American Sufi Samuel L. Lewis and compiler and editor of Big Tales: All the stories in the 12 volumes of The Sufi Message of Hazrat Inayat Khan."Everytime I remember Sam, I end up laughing at myself. That's pretty good work for a dead-rascal-saint."--Ram Dass, author of Be Here Now and Still Here."I have no fonder memory of the 60's than the appearance of this strange-looking man, who said things which made me first laugh, then smile, then later pause in a preciation of a spiritual original, a pioneer."--Dr. Jacob Needleman, author of The New Religions and Lost Christianity."As much of a wonder-filled reading experience it is to dive into this 'map', this description of the territory, I'm sure that Murshid Sam would have encouraged the reader to go out and have some direct experiences, traveling the territory and leaving behind any concepts about it. Gardens of Vision offers us the opportunity to witness what a life of dynamic transformation lived through direct experiences and encounters looks like."--the Rev. Tasnim Hermila Fernandez, co-founder of the International Network for the Dances of Universal Peace.