
The Idries Shah Anthology
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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
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.
Each section includes a selection from the works of Idries Shah on topics such as Sufism, Nasrudin, fables, poetry, proverbs, and teaching stories. It includes methods of the masters and themes for study and contemplation.This new compilation of excerpts from the classic texts of Idries Shah will leave you with a new perspective on his work.
From the introduction:
In his writing about Sufism, Idries Shah did some revolutionary things. Critically, and almost alone, he said that it was possible to divorce the essence of Sufi philosophy from what he insisted were secondary accretions of islamic culture and religion. Moreover, he said, in making this material available to the West, you could not only do this, you must do it. This is because, he believed, you can only absorb materials that are designed for your own time and place. Sufism as an essence may be "truth without form" but, in order to penetrate into the human mind, it must be delivered in a package shaped to fit the receiving culture.
"When something new enters a culture, there is a period where, like a new object being thrown into the chimpanzee pen at a zoo, all the chimps rush over to touch it, throw it on the floor, fight over it and so on", he once told me. "We must wait until the dust settles; only then will people be in a position to assess this material".
"My father died in 1996 and the dust is settling fast. He leaves a body of work behind and, on this work alone, he believed, he should and would be judged. This anthology is intended to provide a basic sample of his work, an essential listener, to allow people to do exactly what he would have wished them to do: to think for themselves and to make up their own minds. (From the Editor’s Note, by Saira Shah)
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Thanks for the thoughts and examples of actions
- By Bryant Barber on 11-25-18
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INTERESTING
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Caravan of Dreams
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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
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The Commanding Self
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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.
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A Veiled Gazelle
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- Length: 2 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
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Performance
-
Story
A Veiled Gazelle, as the great mystic Ibn Arabi explains in his interpreter of desires, is a subtlety, an organ of higher perception. Sufi experientialists refer to the activation of these centres of awareness as the awakening of real knowledge of truth beyond form. A Veiled Gazelle considers the symbolic and instrumental employment of its literature in Sufi studies. Seldom didactic, and never meant only as entertainment, such works are regarded as some of the world’s greatest and most important writing.
By: Idries Shah
-
Sufi Thought and Action
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Thanks for the thoughts and examples of actions
- By Bryant Barber on 11-25-18
By: Idries Shah
-
The Magic Monastery
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 4 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
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
-
Oriental Magic
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
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.
-
-
INTERESTING
- By JK on 03-10-24
By: Idries Shah
-
Caravan of Dreams
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
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.
-
-
Awesome Narrator
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By: Idries Shah
-
The Commanding Self
- By: Idries Shah
- Narrated by: David Ault
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
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.
-
-
Fantastically relevant for our times.
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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.
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Very well done on all levels
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bracing and illuminating
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