
Sufi Thought and Action
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Narrated by:
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David Ault
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By:
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Idries Shah
About this listen
Previously published only as separate essays, Sufi Thought and Action - assembled and introduced by Idries Shah - covers an extraordinary diversity of Sufi ideas and activities in many countries and cultures.
Included in the volume are papers on Sufi principles and learning methods; ritual, initiation, and secrets in Sufi circles; and key concepts in Sufi understanding.
The volume stands as a clear and simple handbook to many facets of Sufi study and thought. Shah’s introduction begins, "The object of Sufi spiritual teaching can be expressed as: to help to refine the individual’s consciousness so that it may reach the Radiances of Truth, from which one is cut off by ordinary activities of the world."
©1990 ISF Publishing (P)2018 ISF PublishingListeners also enjoyed...
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The Sufis
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- Length: 18 hrs and 41 mins
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When it first appeared in 1964, The Sufis was welcomed as the decisive work on the subject of Sufi thought. Rich in scope, author Idries Shah explained clearly the traditions and philosophy of the Sufis to a Western audience for the first time. In the five decades since its release, the book has been translated into more than two dozen languages, and has found a wide readership in both East and West. Containing detailed information on the major Sufi thinkers, and literary characters, such as Nasrudin, it is regarded as a key work on both Sufism and Eastern Philosophy.
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The Sufis is laudable and audible and readable
- By Ulrika Eriksson on 06-24-16
By: Idries Shah
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Knowing How to Know
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- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
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Performance
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Story
Contemporary esoteric systems almost always play on the desire of mankind to seek or acquire knowledge. All but universally neglected in such systems are the often unrecognized barriers which prevent knowledge and understanding. Before learning can take place, certain conditions and basic factors must be in place, in the individual or the group.
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The Idries Shah Anthology
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The Idries Shah Anthology is a special collection of previously published work by Idries Shah, and was edited by Saira Shah. This title includes an Introduction by Saira Shah, as well as comments and annotations throughout the audio.
By: Idries Shah
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The World of the Sufi
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Assembled by Idries Shah, The World of the Sufi is a comprehensive collection of learned essays and papers on the subject of Sufi thought. One of the book’s attractions is the way that it considers central questions and areas of study from different angles. Sufi literature, the use of humour, and Sufi communities in various cultural settings are some of the many subjects discussed. In addition, experts in their fields comment on areas such as Sufism and psychiatry, Indian thought and the Sufis, and therapy and the Sufi.
By: Idries Shah
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Learning How to Learn
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Condensed from more than three million words, these conversations involve housewives and cabinet ministers, professors and assembly-line workers, on the subject of how traditional psychology can illuminate current human, social, and spiritual problems. More than 100 tales and extracts from Sufi lore, ranging from the eighth century (Hasan of Basra) to the modern Afghan poet Khalilullah Khalili, are woven into Shah’s narratives of how and why the Sufis learn what they learn and how spiritual understanding develops and deteriorates in all societies.
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bracing and illuminating
- By Nicholas Lesiecki on 09-29-21
By: Idries Shah
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Thinkers of the East
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 4 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
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Performance
-
Story
Thinkers of the East is a collection of anecdotes and "parables in action" illustrating the eminently practical and lucid approach of Eastern Dervish teachers. Distilled from the teachings of more than 100 sages in three continents, this material stresses the experimental rather than the theoretical - and it is that characteristic of Sufi study which provides its impact and vitality.
By: Idries Shah
-
The Sufis
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 18 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When it first appeared in 1964, The Sufis was welcomed as the decisive work on the subject of Sufi thought. Rich in scope, author Idries Shah explained clearly the traditions and philosophy of the Sufis to a Western audience for the first time. In the five decades since its release, the book has been translated into more than two dozen languages, and has found a wide readership in both East and West. Containing detailed information on the major Sufi thinkers, and literary characters, such as Nasrudin, it is regarded as a key work on both Sufism and Eastern Philosophy.
-
-
The Sufis is laudable and audible and readable
- By Ulrika Eriksson on 06-24-16
By: Idries Shah
-
Knowing How to Know
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Contemporary esoteric systems almost always play on the desire of mankind to seek or acquire knowledge. All but universally neglected in such systems are the often unrecognized barriers which prevent knowledge and understanding. Before learning can take place, certain conditions and basic factors must be in place, in the individual or the group.
By: Idries Shah
-
The Idries Shah Anthology
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Idries Shah Anthology is a special collection of previously published work by Idries Shah, and was edited by Saira Shah. This title includes an Introduction by Saira Shah, as well as comments and annotations throughout the audio.
By: Idries Shah
-
The World of the Sufi
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Assembled by Idries Shah, The World of the Sufi is a comprehensive collection of learned essays and papers on the subject of Sufi thought. One of the book’s attractions is the way that it considers central questions and areas of study from different angles. Sufi literature, the use of humour, and Sufi communities in various cultural settings are some of the many subjects discussed. In addition, experts in their fields comment on areas such as Sufism and psychiatry, Indian thought and the Sufis, and therapy and the Sufi.
By: Idries Shah
-
Learning How to Learn
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Condensed from more than three million words, these conversations involve housewives and cabinet ministers, professors and assembly-line workers, on the subject of how traditional psychology can illuminate current human, social, and spiritual problems. More than 100 tales and extracts from Sufi lore, ranging from the eighth century (Hasan of Basra) to the modern Afghan poet Khalilullah Khalili, are woven into Shah’s narratives of how and why the Sufis learn what they learn and how spiritual understanding develops and deteriorates in all societies.
-
-
bracing and illuminating
- By Nicholas Lesiecki on 09-29-21
By: Idries Shah
-
Thinkers of the East
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 4 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thinkers of the East is a collection of anecdotes and "parables in action" illustrating the eminently practical and lucid approach of Eastern Dervish teachers. Distilled from the teachings of more than 100 sages in three continents, this material stresses the experimental rather than the theoretical - and it is that characteristic of Sufi study which provides its impact and vitality.
By: Idries Shah
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A Perfumed Scorpion
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The "perfuming of a scorpion", referred to by the great Sufi teacher Bahaudin, symbolizes hypocrisy and self-deception: both in the individual and in institutions. In A Perfumed Scorpion, Idries Shah directs attention to both the perfume and the scorpion - the overlay and the reality - in psychology, human behavior and the learning process. Crammed with illustrative anecdotes from contemporary life, the book is nevertheless rooted in the teaching patterns of Rumi, Hafiz, Jami, and many other great Oriental sages. It deals with the need for and the path to knowledge and information.
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INTERESTING
- By JK on 06-05-24
By: Idries Shah
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The Commanding Self
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The Commanding Self, in Sufic terminology, is that mixture of the primitive and conditioned responses, common to everyone, which inhibits and distorts human progress and understanding. This audiobook was described by Shah as the key to understanding his entire corpus of work. While complete in itself as an anthology of hitherto unpublished work, it serves to illustrate and amplify Idries Shah’s preceding books on the Sufi Way.
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Fantastically relevant for our times.
- By George R. Collison on 07-28-22
By: Idries Shah
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The Magic Monastery
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 4 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Many of Idries Shah's books are comprised of tales and teaching stories taken from both written and oral sources, which illustrate the instructional methods employed by Eastern wise men for thousands of years. The Magic Monastery differs from its predecessors in that it contains not only traditional tales - mostly unpublished - but also stories specially written by Shah to complete the book as a "course in non-linear thinking".
By: Idries Shah
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Seeker After Truth
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
A treasure house of teaching materials, assembled in the Sufi manner. Seeker After Truth contains both traditional tales and stories gleaned from contemporary sources, and snippets of table talk, discussions and teachings, letters, and lectures by Idries Shah. Taken together, it constitutes a handbook of materials designed to provoke a different kind of thought.
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A treasury of wisdom for all of us
- By George R. Collison on 05-14-22
By: Idries Shah
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Oriental Magic
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Oriental Magic is recognized as a brilliant study of how, what and why people think, in territories extending from North Africa to Japan. The book is the product of years of research and fieldwork in a dozen different cultural regions. Its scholarly accuracy and genuine contribution to cultural understanding have made it a key text for anyone interested in informal beliefs and esoteric practices.
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INTERESTING
- By JK on 03-10-24
By: Idries Shah
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Wisdom of the Idiots
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 3 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In Idries Shah's Wisdom of the Idiots, the "idiots" are Sufis, called this because their wisdom penetrates to a depth which renders it inaccessible to the merely intelligent or academically knowledgeable. The stories of the Sufis are tools prepared for a specific purpose. On this level the movements of the characters in a story portray psychological processes, and the story becomes a working blueprint of those processes.
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Great Experience
- By Haresh Raichura on 01-24-18
By: Idries Shah
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Tales of the Dervishes
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Although enormously attractive as sheer entertainment, Dervish tales were never presented merely on the level of a fable, legend, or folklore. They stand comparison in wit, construction, and piquancy with the finest stories of any culture, yet their true function as Sufi teaching stories is so little-known in the modern world, that no technical or popular terms exist to describe them. The material in Tales of the Dervishes is the result of a thousand years of development, during which Dervish masters used these and other teaching stories to instruct their disciples. The tales are held to convey powers of increasing perception unknown to the ordinary man.
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Very well done on all levels
- By Geology Justin on 01-16-22
By: Idries Shah
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Caravan of Dreams
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Caravan of Dreams distills the essence of Eastern thought in a feast of Sufi stories, sayings, poems, and allegories collected by one of the world's leading experts in Oriental philosophy and Sufism. Idries Shah builds up a complete picture of a single consciousness, relating Eastern mythology to reality, illuminating historical patterns, and presenting philosophical legends in this unique anthology.
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Awesome Narrator
- By Ulrika Eriksson on 11-26-15
By: Idries Shah
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The Way of the Sufi
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The Way of the Sufi presents an unparalleled cross-section of material from Sufi schools, Sufi teachings, and classical writings as a basic course of Sufi study. The author begins with the outward aspects of the teaching most likely to puzzle the student coming fresh to the subject. He considers various attitudes to Sufi ideas and evidence of their absorption into medieval Christianity, Hinduism, Jewish mysticism, and modern philosophical teachings.
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Would Not Recommend.
- By Uniqleeme on 04-06-16
By: Idries Shah
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The Tibetan Book of the Dead
- Liberation Through Understanding in the Between
- By: Robert Thurman - translator
- Narrated by: Robert Thurman
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The so-called Tibetan Book of the Dead has been renowned for centuries as a cornerstone of Buddhist wisdom and religious thought. More recently, it has become highly influential in the Western world for its psychological insights into the processes of death and dying - and what they can teach us about the ways we live our lives. It has also been found to be helpful in the grieving process by people who have recently lost their loved ones. This authoritative translation preserves the form and spirit of the original and was prepared especially for Western audiences.
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Richard Gere version on DVD way better
- By Dr Purple on 11-18-20
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Becoming Supernatural
- How Common People Are Doing the Uncommon
- By: Joe Dispenza
- Narrated by: Adam Boyce
- Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The author of the New York Times best seller You Are the Placebo, as well as Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself and Evolve Your Brain, draws on research conducted at his advanced workshops since 2012 to explore how common people are doing the uncommon to transform themselves and their lives. Becoming Supernatural marries the some of the most profound scientific information with ancient wisdom to show how people like you and me can experience a more mystical life.
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PDFs are located in the title review summary
- By Daphine D. on 11-29-20
By: Joe Dispenza
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Modern Man in Search of a Soul
- By: Carl Jung
- Narrated by: Christopher Prince
- Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Modern Man in Search of a Soul is the classic introduction to the thought of Carl Jung. Along with Freud and Adler, Jung was one of the chief founders of modern psychiatry. In this book, Jung examines some of the most contested and crucial areas in the field of analytical psychology: dream analysis, the primitive unconscious, and the relationship between psychology and religion.
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Could have almost been an automated text reader
- By Chicken Love on 04-24-15
By: Carl Jung
What listeners say about Sufi Thought and Action
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- Bryant Barber
- 11-25-18
Thanks for the thoughts and examples of actions
I appreciated this collection of writings on Sufi thoughts and actions. It gave many insights and examples of what kinds of questions that a person should ask of him/herself, as well as, others before engaging in an activity. The focus on knowing the right time, right environment, and right actions to take made an impression upon me. It is demonstrable in our everyday activities. I wouldn’t want a doctor to give me medication if he couldn’t accurately identify the disease, the medication I needed, the dosage, or when the medication should be taken. I will look forward to relistening to this book for a better absorption of the materials. David Ault did a great job reading this book. His voice kept my attention, his pronunciation clear, and the pacing good.
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