Awakening with Hafiz

The meditation of sacred poetry

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A 9-month journey of awakening through the eyes of Hafiz.
(Self-paced)

Hafiz’s poetry has a spontaneous, heart-felt immediacy and playful urgency and importance, whether it be an expression of unbridled joy, cosmic irreverent laughter, or bittersweet, heartbreaking tenderness. Hafiz invites us into our deepest nature and a life fully lived.

My hope in this course is to help you find an experiential and practical path of awakening and meditation through the eyes of Hafiz and his poetry.

We’ll explore what it means to be human, to be alive, to surrender, to love, dealing with pain and uncertainty, what it means to be radically open, creative, wondrous beings.

This course is truly a joy and a dream for me to create and offer to you. I’m excited to invite you to join me on this path of Awakening with Hafiz.

Learn to live a life of freedom and joy

In this course you'll receive:

  • 10 hand-selected poems of Hafiz for our journey of awakening, meditation, and living a life of freedom and joy.
  • In each poem I will guide you through:
    • Video teachings that unpack deeper meaning, nuance, and practical guidance in the poem.
    • Workbook that encourages you to contemplate the poem and the videos, allowing you to contextualize the teachings in a more immediate and relevant way for you personally.
    • Guided audio meditations that help you make Hafiz's poems and the teachings a lived and embodied experience in your life.
    • Contemplation of essential points - a succinct, slightly poetic summary of some of the most essential teachings from each first poem.
  • Monthly Q/A calls (live video stream). An opportunity for you to ask questions about the poem, the videos, and the meditations

I invite you to scroll down to see the course lessons, more about the selected poems, about me, and to sign up and begin your journey of Awakening with Hafiz

Early-bird enrollment through May 15, 2017
$129, full rate is $229


Course Curriculum


  Welcome to Awakening with Hafiz! Course Overview
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  Poem 1: "We have not come to take prisoners"
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  Poem 2: "Deepening the Wonder" - June 23, 2017
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  Poem 3: “When you can endure” - July 14, 2017
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  Poem 4: “If the falling of a hoof” - August 4, 2017
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  Poem 5: “Between your eyes and this page” - August 25, 2017
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  Poem 6: "Today" - September 15, 2017
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  Poem 7: "Perfect Equanimity" - October 6, 2017
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  Poem 8: "The lamp that needs no oil" - October 27, 2017
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  Poem 9: "Becoming human" - November 17, 2017
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  Poem 10: "If it is not too dark" - December 12, 2017
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Your Teacher


Ryan Oelke
Ryan Oelke

Ryan Oelke is a meditation teacher and founder of Awakening in Life. His work invites us into the extraordinary ordinary moment in front of us, to wake up as our deepest nature, and to live and respond to our lives from this presence.

Ryan teaches based on essential teachings of ancient wisdom traditions and adapts practices to our modern world. He has been a practitioner for over 17 years in the Buddhist tradition, in particular the Dzogchen lineage. He is also influenced by teachings and practices of advaita vedanta and Sufi poetry.

Ryan has an MSEd in counseling psychology, is a co-founder of Buddhist Geeks, and founder of PowerUp Productions.

Ryan makes his home in Asheville, NC and works with individuals and groups all over the world.

Read more about Ryan and Awakening in Life.


About the Poems

I have carefully hand-selected 10 poems of Hafiz out of several hundred rendered by Daniel Ladinsky. This was no easy task given the immense amount of amazing poems Hafiz wrote. And of course I’m able to do this thanks to the heart-felt, tremendous work of Daniel to bring us Hafiz’s poetry.

I focused on poems that I feel have a great deal of nuance and practical application packed inside them. Each poem could guide you for many years of practice through deep contemplation and meditation, and provide you a wellspring of wisdom and guidance for your daily life.

The poems in this course have been selected from the following works of Hafiz, used with permission from Daniel Ladinsky:

The Gift, 1999 by Daniel Ladinsky
The Subject Tonight is Love, 1996 by Daniel Ladinsky
Love Poems from God, 2002 by Daniel Ladinsky
I Heard God Laughing, 2006 by Daniel Ladinsky

Want to know more about who Hafiz is? Read this wonderful article written by Daniel.

Early-bird enrollment through May 15, 2017
($129, normally $229)

Get started now!



Frequently Asked Questions


Can I go at my own pace?
Yes! While new poems are released about ever 3-4 weeks, you can go at your own pace. Poems stay available throughout the whole course so you can watch, listen, and read whenever you want.
When does the course start and finish?
The course starts immediately, April 2017, and finishes at the end of December 2017.
How long do I have access to the course?
You will have access to the course content through January 31, 2017. You will be able to download all the audio meditations and workbooks to keep forever :)
How often are new poems and lessons released?
A new poem and all the lessons will be released about every 3-4 weeks. There are a total of 10 poems over 9 months. When a new poem is released, all the videos, workbook, and guided audio meditations will be immediately available.
Do I need to buy the books for the course?
I highly recommend you purchase the Hafiz books by Daniel Ladinsky, listed above. If you love Hafiz as much as I do, you probably already own copies :) If not I recommend you do simply because I find physically holding a copy of poetry adds another layer of experience and integration for me in my life and practice. You'll be able to have the poems in front of you while watching the videos and reflecting on the workbook.
About the interpretation of the poems
The interpretation of these poems and the teachings are my own, of course :) This is an experiential course, not a scholarly or academic course. What I teach and share is not meant to literally represent Hafiz, which I think would be impossible for anyone to say with absolute certainty. Also, nothing I say is representative of Daniel Ladinsky's work and renderings. Everything here is my own except for the renderings of Mr. Ladinsky and used with permission.
Refunds
Hopefully you'll love this exploration of Hafiz as much as I do:) If not, refunds are only possible within 7 days of purchase.