On the Verge of the Verb

An Autobiographical Fiction of Prophetic Sorts

Gabriel Meyer

Paperback
978-1-960090-84-3
US $24.00 Amazon Barnes & Noble Bookshop
eBook available
March 2025

On the Verge of the Verb is an epic quest leading to a radically creative and healing celebratory surprise, culminating in the ancient cities of Hebron and Jerusalem. As Meyer retells his life stories, he works through his shadows. He shares tales of his nomadic life with co-adventurers, throughout the world. As the story unfolds, they engage luminaries and guides of humanity to dismantle the archetypal elements of patriarchal, colonial, and capitalist realities—leading to a systemic world-changing climax. The personal and global blend into one storyline in this re-envisioned, embodied version of the prophetic traditions.

Gabriel Meyer is a “radical flexitarian minstrel,” musician, poet, and spiritual activist, born and raised in Cordoba, Argentina. The son of human rights champion and seminal disciple of A.J. Heschel and Martin Buber, the late Rabbi Marshall T. Meyer and Naomi Meyer, co-creator of the Argentinian Jewish youth summer camp where Gabriel was born. 

Gabriel was initiated into the “Order of Disorder” by the late Zen Roshi Bernie Glassman, and was ordained “a true representative of the Jewish People” by the late Rabbi Zalman Schachter Shalomi, Through his peace work he had the honor of the support, and a private audience with HH Dalai Lama. He is an active core member of the global alliance of spiritual activists “Defend the Sacred,” which was inspired by Standing Rock and is currently based in NYC, caring for his dear mom.

“Some books come from a person, and some books come through a person. The former are like dried fruit whose wisdom is preserved and always available. They have no expiration date. The latter are like fresh fruit so ripe they must be eaten or lost. Their expiration date is always Now. Gaby Meyer’s On the Verge of the Verb is the latter. Eat it Now or its Wisdom will be lost.” —Rabbi Rami Shapiro, author of Zen Mind, Jewish Mind

“In this engaging and charming text, Gabriel Meyer uses non-fiction fiction to embark us on a journey, weaving together the real and the utopia on an autobiographical portrait. The book is a play on the mysterious border between the dream as ‘illusion’ and the dream as ‘project,’ as a vision for the future. Meyer uses this with politics, spirituality, and love. A tour through space, from Argentina to India, Jerusalem, and beyond, and through intergenerational time. From his parents’ dream—Gabriel is the son of the visionary rabbi blending human rights with ethics and the spirit—to the son’s dream, manifested in song, joy, and sacred activism.”—Rabbi Nilton Bonder, bestselling author and member of the Brazilian Academy of Literature, founder of Midrash Cultural Center

“On the Edge of the Verb is a critical contribution to our collective imaginary. It is one of the most relevant pieces of visionary fiction at a time when our culture is bereft of alternative cosmologies and worldviews that can orient us in times of breakdown and renewal. Meyer’s life experience as an activist, musician, organizer, and sacred scribe brings to bear a kaleidoscope of possibility, hope, and presence in the midst of transition.” —Alnoor Ladha, co-founder of The Rules, Tierra Valiente, and Culture Hack Labs; co-author of Post Capitalist Philosophy: Healing wealth in the time of collapse

“Intriguing, as a journey should be, like a map of the heart, responding to the imagination of reality.” —Tiokasin Ghosthorse, Mnikhówožu/Itázipčo Lakȟóta

“This is a brave book about sacred activism, with a stunning vision at its center so persuasive that, after reading, you will say: I want to know this man. I want to meet his friends. I want to hear his music; I want to have his life.” —Roshi Eve Myonen Marko, founding teacher, Zen Peacemaker Order

“You must read this book. A common songline for peace-activists, connecting with the spring and the river finding their way back home to the ocean, and facing the reality of war but never giving up the love to the tender secret of peace and life.” —Sabine Lichtenfels, co-founder of Tamera Peace Reesearch EcoVillage

“In his passionate spiritual odyssey, Gaby Meyer dances at the nexus of indigenous, Hebraic, Sufi, and other-worldly mystical wisdom, unfolding stories from a rich lifetime of travel at the edge of the possible. Hilarious, surprising, provocative, and full of longing, the reader cannot resist joining the magic of the adventure.” —Rabbi Tirzah Firestone, author, Jungian psychotherapist, and Jewish scholar and teacher

“From Buenos Aires to New York, Jerusalem to Portugal, Gabriel takes you on an inner and outer journey in search of the Big Vision. And in the course of his travels, life is always unfolding. Nothing is static—all is in movement, and the destination is collective liberation.” —Stephen Apkon, Co-Founder/Executive Director of Reconsider, Executive Producer of Fantastic Fungii and  producer of Disturbing the Peace

“You do not want to put this book down. Gabriel takes you on a journey of imagination through multiple dimensions. He invites you to expand your perception of what we think we know by inviting you to enter the realm of lucid dreaming. He reminds you that peace making is about bringing heart, soul and creativity together. This books needs a genre of its own.” —Sami Awad, Palestinian Peacemaker, founder of The Holy land Trust, spiritual coach, currently Co-Director of Nonviolence Internation