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Book reviews for "Shah,_Sayed_Idries" sorted by average review score:
Caravan of Dreams
Published in Paperback by Viking Press (1972)
Author: Idries, Sayed, Shah
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Caravan of Dreams
This is a wonderful book. It's not only very enjoyable but it also contains many layers of insight which appear to unfold with every re-reading. Like other works by Idries Shah, it seems to operate in a 'scattered' yet coherent manner -keeping you mentally on your toes, encouraging flexibility and the capacity to look at usual things in unusual ways, with new clarity. This diversity includes teaching stories, sayings of the Prophet, proverbs, and the fascinating account of the author's trip to Mecca.

A book of Extraordinary Tales
The first time I encountered this book was one Thursday night nearly thirty years ago when friends read The Story of Mushkil Gusha (one of the many stories it contains). Despite numerous readings (and tellings) of that story, one keeps finding more that is in it. Like the book itself, it gets better and richer in meaning, the better one gets to know it. Other tales in this extraordinary book do, too. The Magic Horse and The Tale of Melon City come immediately to mind. This is a most remarkable book to read oneself and to share with others. Read aloud the Story of Mushkil Gusha with friends some Thursday night and discover, for yourself, what riches it contains!

Caravan of Dreams Contains an Indefinable Nutrition
The best way I can describe this marvelous work is to say that it enables what Shah has elsewhere described as 'interior movement of the mind.' By submitting to the work, and reading it in the spirit of learning from it, one is able to observe how prejudices creep into the effort even when one thinks that such is not the case. The attachment to bias weakens, and one is able to read with a mind that is more free. The book is therefore an astonishing tool-astonishing to me because there is so much more to it than meets the eye. The reader can therefore enjoy 'Caravan of Dreams' for its entertainment and educational value, as well as deriving benefit from this other, indefinable nutrition. The book, for these reasons, is strongly recommended.

Reflections.
Published in Paperback by Viking Press (1972)
Author: Idries, Sayed, Shah
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Powerful Punch
Despite its diminutive size, this book packs a powerful punch and is probably unlike anything you have read before. Although it is well-written and entertaining, it is by no means a comfortable or easy read. Be prepared to be taken in different directions and to be confronted with unaccustomed perspectives. There is a passage from the book which gives an indication of its effect: "A pungent thought is a corrective to deterioration of the thinking: like cold water helping slack muscles to work again..." This book is full of such pungent thoughts...

Plenty to reflect on . . .
Aptly titled, "Reflections," is a collection of fables, aphorisms, and statements that challenge the conditioned, assumptive manner we use when thinking of and interacting with others and ourselves. These reflections-whose effect is similar to being shaken out of sleep-offer insight on many levels.

The most insightful comment about this collection appears in the book's forward, written by Idries Shah: "Do you imagine that fables exist only to amuse or to instruct, and are based upon fiction? The best ones are delineations of what happens in real life, in the community and in the individual's mental processes."

A delightful tonic for the brain
In its own quiet way, this pocket-size gem of a book offers something that's often claimed but rarely found: a true means of rousing the sluggish brain from its customary, comfortable state of automatic-pilot torpor. Comprised of bite-size sayings and stories, it avoids the emotional, the obvious and the sententious in favor of an entirely different approach that nudges the attentive reader in new and unexpected directions, chipping away at assumptions and habitual thought-patterns that screen us from seeing things the way they really are. I found it thought-provoking, bracing and a pleasure to read as well as a real eye-opener. Its size and format also make it an ideal gift.

Dermis Probe
Published in Paperback by E P Dutton (1971)
Author: Idries Sayed Shah
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Mad Cow Disease and The Dermis Probe
One of the many gems in this book is "The Legend of The Cattleman". The cattle expert arrived in a country where the local specialists in cows and oxens reported "such animals become sick and die very frequently, in spite of all our science". He asked them how did they feed and treat the animals. In the end he had to feed the cattle what the local people considered right but secretly he also fed the cattle what they really needed. Could some of these old stories anticipate contemporary science?

Great stories, and something more.
Those not already familiar with the works of Idries Shah have a real treat in store, a treat that includes an entirely new way to understand the sources and uses of stories. This collection is certainly entertaining--by turns hilarious and thought provoking. In addition, it provides readers with the chance to determine for themselves if carefully crafted material like this can also develop new capacities for non-linear thinking. Enjoy!

The Dermis Probe Contains a Kind of 'Magic'
The Dermis Probe offers its readers a chance to look at the way they look at things. In so doing, restrictions that hamper thought and vision become readily apparent, and an opportunity to use the mind in a way that bypasses these restrictions becomes available. So The Dermis Probe is more than just another book one dips into to derive entertainment and enjoyment. Although the stories, extracts and commentaries are certainly enjoyable and interesting, they carry within them a kind of 'magic' that works on the mind to expose itself to itself so that it can work better and more efficiently. The Dermis Probe therefore recommends itself to any reader who wishes to explore the terrain of himself or herself to arrive at a greater understanding.

Learning How to Learn: Psychology and Spirituality in the Sufi Way
Published in Paperback by HarperCollins (paper) (1981)
Authors: Indries, Sayed Shah and Idries Shah
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Essential Information
We in the West tend to have a sort of "Minifest Destiny" attitude toward spirituality. "All that's required is to spend the time, make the effort, and all my goals will be achieved". In Learning How to Learn Idries Shah shows how unproductive such an attitude can be. On the Sufi path, as well as many aspects of ordinary life, certain prerequisites are required before learning can take place. The book, also subtitled Beginning to Begin, provides essential information that allows the reader to arrive at a place where higher learning can begin. An essential book and key to the Shah corpus.

Introductory overview of Sufism, learning & consciousness

Learning How to Learn is for those who wish to learn more about Sufism or eastern psychologies, or who simply wish to have a better grasp on their own consciousness. It presents a fresh viewpoint on human psychology, learning and spirituality. The author illustrates that much of what we consider to be human thought is in reality little more than chains of habit or conditioning. Much of the book is in a question and answer format, presenting a comprehensive introduction to Sufic thought.

As with all of Shah's books, this one is provocative. You begin to see the operation of automatic assumptions in your life, and you start to ask yourself some challenging questions: Am I really interested in learning, or or am I more interested in gaining attention, approval, reassurance, recognition, power, comfort, etc.? Shah presents illustrations, stories and anecdotes that help you see yourself more clearly. For example, "If you want to assess someone, look at what he does, and ignore his protestations of 'being serious' - at least for the moment. If he is acting seriously, you will be more inclined to accept his claim to be serious. If he is only saying it, no matter how strongly he may believe it, we can only conclude that he has little or no idea of what he is really doing, and ... he is first in need of elementary instruction in straight thinking."

One of Shah's goals is to present the many sidedness and relevance of Sufic thought. He points out that Sufic instruction is highly individualized: What may be useful for one person, at a given time, in particular circumstances may well be inappropriate or even damaging for someone else, or at a different time, or in different circumstances. This may be contrasted with guruist approaches where one exercise or course of study is recommended for all comers.

Shah is not trying to sell us a new set of rituals. He presents no panacea. He is not recruiting people to become dervish dancers or eastern scholars. He is not calling anyone to come and sit at his feet (rather the reverse, actually), nor even to send their money.

Here he is presenting an overview of knowledge that is needed to become able to see fully, think clearly, act wisely, and attain one's full human potentiality. He illustrates that there often is considerable distance between those who actually are prepared to learn and those who merely believe they are. A first step in getting control of your learning is taken by recognizing the automatic assumptions and habitual reactions we all have that interfere with our growth and development. After we learn how to observe these, we can begin to break free from them.

What Looks After You
Humor, history, beauty, mental teasers: here are challenges to habitual and defensive thought. We must turn the stone over and examine its several sides. Shah can be compared to Socrates in his benevolent probing into our cherished but unexamined patterns of thought and action.
Here Shah has translated and assembled a most considerate introduction to Sufi literature and practice. The way of the Sufi includes chapters on Sufism in the West, classical authors, Sufi masters, teaching stories and other topics. But this book is not just about the Sufi way, it forms a part of the Sufi Way in our time. Read with energy and an open (but not glib) mind, it can be an avenue for experiential learning.
Enlightening, entertaining, engrossing, The Way of the Sufi just might affect the way you look at things and what you do.

Exerpts:
The Seed of Sufi Knowledge
The true seed was made in Adam's time. The miracle of life, existence.
It germinated in the period of Noah. The miracle of growth, rescue.
By the time of Abraham it had sent forth brsanches. The miracle of fruit.
The time of Jesus was that of the ripening of the yield. The lmiracle of tasting, joy.
Mohammed's time saw the pressing of clear wine. The miracle of attainment, transformation. Bayazid Bistami

What Looks After You
Knowledge is better than wealth. You have to look after wealth; knowledge looks after you. Ali

The Thief and the Blanket
A thief entered the house of a Sufi, and found nothing there. As he was leaving, the dervish perceived his disapppointment and threw him the blanket in which he was sleeping, so that he should not go away impty-handed.

Oriental Magic
Published in Paperback by Arkana (1993)
Authors: Sayed Idries Shah and Idries Shah
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Good
i was very interessed in chapter irianian magic i think this book gives you a very realistic idea about magic in iran .i would like talk to people how are interessed or practicing eastern magic

Shah works his magic
I have been reading works by Idries Shah for many, many years, and have a much older version of this work, which I am glad to say did not cost me what this edition retails for by half! I am constantly amazed by the scope of this authors superlative treatment of the spiritual life of the East. Idries Shah is for me in many ways the Robert Graves of Eastern philosophy and spirituality and in his work 'Oriental Magic' he has in a lesser (in size only) volume given us the equivalent of Graves' 'The White Goddess'.

Shah is the esoteric anthropolgist par excellence and covers just about every Eastern society and group, their pagan beliefs and their occult and esoteric practices from the ground up. I would highly recommend this work to anybody interested in Occult anthropology or those coming from a Theosophical or comparative religious background, as you will find yourself returning to it for many years to come.

Thinkers of the East
Published in Paperback by Penguin USA (Paper) (1991)
Author: Idries, Sayed Shah
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Spiritual Freudianism
Sufism is a depth psychology like the largely discredited systems of Freud and Jung. It similarly maintains we have a "hidden depth," and that our development depends on recognizing and integrating with it. In this case, the story goes, we all have an "essential self" which is buried under layers of social conditioning and emotionalism. Sufis therefore say they know people better than they know themselves, and that they can "prescribe" for others in a variety of ways which strike me as highly manipulative (lying, or at least withholding information, is not uncommon according to Shah's accounts). This is almost the very definition of condescending; Sufis will not treat you as if you exist--according to them, you barely do. That's a great pretext for gaining an almost hypnotic control over certain people.

As an example, anger is considered prehuman. If I were to become angry at Mr. Shah for trying to pull a fast one on me, it would only demonstrate how immature I was from the (correct and enlightened) Sufi perspective. Yet the basis of such assumptions is not anything like real scientific study, but rather certain a priori religious beliefs which are not discussed directly in Shah's book.

The title "Thinkers of the East," is attractive because one would like, coming from a pluralistic background, to understand different kinds of people. Insofar as this book presents a strikingly different point of view, one can use it in that way. However, don't approach Sufis expecting them to extend the same courtesy to you, since they are unavoidably patronizing and authoritarian, for the reasons stated. If they seem otherwise, you can safely assume it's a bait and switch.

I'll Make You Remember
These tales encompass beauty, humor, teaching situations, fantastic adventure and even occasional sadness. They provoke me to re-examine my own experience to understand the implications of a tale. Some remain puzzling.
Shah wrote this book of 'Eastern practical philosophy' for those who want to enlarge and enrich their perception and experience of what it is to be human. He states in the preface, "This book contains, arranged in a manner commanded by the tradition.... the materials belonging to the Sufi teaching, selected in accordance with the needs of the time. It might be termed applied specific experientialism."
Enjoy the stories for their obvious content. Then re-read them for possible other qualities and effects. Sometimes a second interpretation will jump out at you. Sometimes a smile or a sense of wonder or possibiliy will lodge in your heart.
Sample story:
I'll Make You Remember
One day Latif the Theif ambushed the commander of the Royal Guard, captured him and took him to a cave.
'I am going to say something that, no matter how much you try, you will be unable to forget,' he told the infuriated officer.
Latif made his prisoner take off all his clothes. Then he tied him, facing backwards, on a donkey.
'You may be able to make a fool of me,' screamed the soldier, 'but you'll never make me think of something if I want to keep it out of my mind.'
'You have not yet heard the phrase which I want you to remember,' said Latif. 'I am turning you loose now, for the donkey to take back to town. And the phrase is: I'll catch and kill Latif the Thief, if it takes me the rest of my life.'

A Must Read for Self-Understanding
Anyone interested in a new way of understanding their mind and culture couldn't do better than begin with this book. Shah has distilled the collected teachings of more than a hundred eastern sages from three continents all in one slim volume, presented for our time. In a clear and entertaining style, it covers subjects such as learning, knowledge, mysticism, human motivation, and the "Sufi Secret." Many of the stories are layered -- that is, they may be read simply as amusing tales. At another level they reveal facets of our thinking we must address if we wish to be free of the cognitive errors found in many social psychology textbooks. Although centuries old, many of these stories uncannily anticipate current ideas. Fans of Edward De Bono may be pleasantly astonished to find stories paralleling his "lateral thinking" technique or, in the words of Shah, "problem-solving using non-linear methods." Ancient or not, these stories provide a vital introduction to the current thought of the Sufi tradition.

The Subtleties of the Inimitable Mulla Nasrudin,
Published in Paperback by E P Dutton (1973)
Author: Idries, Sayed Shah
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Nasrudin ain't what he used to be...
Shah's renderings of the stories of the folk character, Nasrudin (aka Nasruddin) were much more charming in the early editions when they were illuminated by the clever pen-and-ink illustrations of the animator Richard Williams. Without those illustrations, these editions are dry and pedantic.

Ancient Wisdom Disguised
Idries Shah is the most articulate of those writing about the tradition and work of the Sufis. Should you read other of his books, you will learn that Nasrudin is much more than the town clown or the butt of the ordinary man's humor. In the Sufi sense that "wisdom is hidden" from those who lead somewhat superficial lives, Nasrudin's form of wisdom is especially obscure. You see, according to Shah, Nasrudin IS a joke! He is not the object of jokes nor the teller of jokes. Rather, as the Court Jester of another era, the FOOL is the only one in many situations who is able to see the "truth." By understanding Nasrudin, the seeker adds a deeper grasp of reality, the way things really are, to his or her own perception. Failing that, the reader simply has a ball reading these wonderful anecdotes. It is not Nasrudin who is revealed in this book. It is the reader. Because there are even better stories in other of Shah's books, I rate this collection "Four Stars" rather than five. Who knows, the laugh may be on me?

A blast of a read!
The trend during the last few years towards stories about stupid people brought us such non-classics (but entertaining reads) as "The 776 Stupidest Things Ever Said", "The Darwin Awards", and others. But what few people know is that such stories were circulating 1000 years ago in the Sufi storytelling tradition.
These stories are the equivalent of our "Urban Legends". Oddly enough, as I read this, I wish that I could view the world in such simple ways as the Mulla Nasrudin, who is the character in all these stories. His views, often twisted, very often completely at odds with his surroundings, are also very pragmatic, and make perfect sense in his mind.

These stories are tremendous fun, and rather thought-provoking.
Enjoy!

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