According to Socrates, humans have nothing more to learn because we already know everything we need to know. We have simply forgotten it. A true teacher is one who can help us to remember forgotten knowledge. The great Michelangelo perceived his unique creations in rough and uncultured stone blocks. He said that to see the finished sculpture, one only needs to eliminate the unnecessary particles and debris. Just like these stone blocks, we all possess hidden and forgotten wisdom. To live our true nature, we need to separate ourselves from our limited beliefs and understandings. This is the very essence of the book you have in your hands.

"Rhythm Alchemy" is full of insights from ancient times and from our deepest self. The book synthesizes the ancient knowledge of numbers, the heartbeat, the rhythm of breathing and our personal situation within the bigger, universal vibrations, as well as our interactions with people and nature around us. "Rhythm Alchemy" offers invaluable knowledge about ourselves and the unique harmony between the human being, his or her inner world, his or her rhythm and the surrounding reality.

We may not realize how often we use musical terms like rhythm, melody and harmony to refer to things which happen to us in our daily lives: the rhythm of our heart, how our feelings soar in space, the melody of our personal inner voice trying to interweave with the harmony of other voices around us. We are constantly seeking and wanting to write the composition of our "happiness". When we compose this work, even though we tirelessly seek inspiration from outside us, our score often stays blank. This is because we do not pay sufficient attention to the true inspiration which lies within us. In order to reach this inspiration, we need to rebuild the bridges linking us to the roots of our true nature - rhythm. When we begin the intimate dance with the vibrations of our existence and begin to experience the real flavor of each wave which colors our emotions, then we will attain the creative power of the composer expressed in what we call "happiness".

Martin Ivanov's book "Rhythm Alchemy" provides us with the spiritual and physical parameters of our cosmic score. It will guide us to our place in the composition and provide us with the ideas and knowledge we need to participate fully in both - how to compose our life and fulfill our innermost dreams.