Suicide Dictionary: The History of Rainbow Abbey [Paperback]

Last month I got to meet Paul Lonely, author of what he calls a "contemporary Upanishads" - Suicide Dictionary.

If you move in Integral circles and/or read the blogs of Ken Wilber or Stuart Davis, you already know that this first-time author is much touted as the visionary Integral artist-in-waiting. But whether you've heard of him or not - this book is a must read for anyone interested in poetry, religion, literature and the possibilities of a spiritual next-stage as intuited and mapped-out by Integral Theory. It's also a really fun, trippy, exciting read!

Don't let the title put you off - this is no depressing journey into the void - it refers rather to a deep embrace of what I think of as the many deaths of our ego-defenses along the road of revelation.

Paul explained to me that the story takes place in Rainbow Abbey and that most of the text follows the conversations between the Quantum monks of a secret religious order dedicated to the vast project of understanding the underlying unity-in-diversity of the world's spiritual traditions - and these conversations and meditations are written in sonnet form!

This is Sonnet A:

Tangible angels we are One and All,

Under and over and inside the flesh;--

There is no frontier for World-centric to draw,

If truly world-centric the angel has meshed.

A Stupa was built on the sands of Iran,

Each native said prayers and accepted its worth;

They all remained Muslim and nothing was gone,

But added to Islam was Buddhism's birth.

Allah as a Baby was from Jewish men,

Which leaked to Muhammad who Journeyed at Night;

The Prophet was tested but mastered zazen,

And now simply twirls as a Dervish in white.

A relic of Buddha in Mecca will stand,

When Islamic integrals...open this Land.

Oh yeah and the chapter headings follow a dictionary form in which each sonnet and description of life at Rainbow Abbey relate to an evolving lexicon of words - Paul plans to spend his life working on the "A's" and invites other Integral writers to help him complete the alphabet.... He's also collaborating with a visual artist Todd Norman Guess on getting his sonnets paired with stunning images.

Sound heavy going?

Well it's not - it's as luminous as it is serious, as playful as it is brilliant and as down to earth as it is mystical. I am only a third of the way into the book and plan a full length review of this masterpiece before the month is out - but I wanted to recommend it to you as a gift for yourself or the Integralist/poetry-lover/mystic in your life. My Mom is an inter-faith minister and I sent it to her in anticipation of her deep appreciation! It's available through Amazon here.

The radiance of the text gives off James Joyce as much as Dylan Thomas, Arundhati Roy as much as Ken Wilber, Allen Ginsberg as much as William Shakespeare - but in the end it's all Paul Lonely and he is a rare find indeed.

I've been long awaiting the publication of Suicide Dictionary. In Paul Lonely we find one of the true creative geniuses of our time. The pages of Suicide Dictionary overflow with life as they offer us a glimpse of today's leading edge of spirituality. Anyone curious about creative endeavors surrounding human potential and the evolution of consciousness will find deep resonance with Paul Lonely's language, approach, and artistic expression. Completely versed in the works of Wilber, Aurobindo, and the wealth of knowledge contained in our world's religious traditions, Paul Lonely is firmly embedded in and dedicated to the newly emerging Integral Awareness. Lonely's ability to transmit universal wisdom in brilliant strands of poetic eloquence, leaves the reader satiated after every entry. SD provides one of the first examples of a truly Integral Wisdom Book. I highly recommend it.

Dustin DiPerna

Author of The Infinite Ladder

www.InfiniteLadder.com

Suicide Dictionary engaged every sense available to this reader and at a high altitude of consciousness. And yet it proved accessible to lower altitudes as well, winding its way up and down an ascending descending staircase as if heaven were on its merry way to earth. Dizzying, to be sure, yet there are rails for holding on.

At one level the author, Paul Lonely sets out to tell the history of a fictional 15th century monastery, complete with monkish characters, and a story line that sounds made-up but with a set-up involving a true-to-life Pope Nicholas V. The first Renaissance pope, it was said of Nicholas by a contemporary who rose to pope after him, "What he does not know is outside the range of human knowledge." Respecting Mr Lonely, it might be said, what he does not know about words, may well be outside the range of the English language.

As if to prove the saying, the story Mr Lonely tells is just one level of a multi-story construction involving a series of delightful sonnets, playful acrostics, and rare poems of such simplicity and elegance and economy, they pass the test of the best literary science. The wording is so tasty it melts in the reader's heart, sending electricity across the skin. And the brain just has a field day with subject matters that include and transcend history, philosophy, the sciences, the arts, and spirituality at its utmost expression, the contemplative schools of various spirit traditions.

Did I mention that the aforementioned feat is carried out under the bare guise of a collegiate dictionary, 'A' section, be it said. That's right, Mr Lonely turns to the common literary appliance for inspiration in ordering his uncommon wording. Word by word, the first 100 A's supply the scaffolding for the author's distinctive style that, when all is said and done, dares not just to take the reader's breath away, but actually to breathe for the reader. When I finished my initial reading I felt ready to join-up with the monk-poets of Rainbow Abbey.

The book cover carries this endorsement by Ken Wilber: "a startling work of sheer genius . . . highly recommended, if you can handle it." I made my way to its end feeling I was the handle. Riddle by riddle of this masterful work lures the reader to see with clarity and conviction that the reader is the riddle, and at book's end, to feel less tied in knots, free to soar. Unlike any book I can recall reading in my 62 years, this one makes me want to live another 62. I have copies upstairs, downstairs, and one for the car, so I should live so long.