Customer Reviews

Learning How to Learn: Psychology and Spirituality in the Sufi Way

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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.

Essential, readable, based on common sense. Einstein had the insight that we must change how we think or destroy ourselves. This book indicates how. As one of many examples, the chapter on attention-exchange can be put to immediate practical use. The book sets a new standard of definition for the term "expertise" in the fields of psychology and the social sciences. I am guessing that this book will be treasured not just for years, but for centuries.

If I were forced to recommend one single book to practicing students of esoteric philiosophies, this would be the book. In fact, I've taught classes and workgroups using this book as the primer. I consider this Shah's masterwork, and the stimulus of a turning point in my own practice.

In this book, Idries Shah describes how peoples' basic assumptions and conditioned thinking prevent them from learning. He portrays the average person's mind as a closed system which new information can't penetrate. Fortunately, Shah also casts light on ways people can break through their customary patterns of thinking. His suggestions, rooted in an ancient tradition based on observation and experience, may surprise you, as they did me. This is more than a book about "creativity." It is about the prerequisites needed to become fully human.

The idea that higher learning is not something that automatically takes place in the presence of a teaching influence, but that how to learn may itself have to be learned before real learning can take place, may be new to many people. But on careful consideration it makes a lot of sense. For the fields of psychology, sociology and education provide us with ample evidence that such things as wrong assumptions, incorrect approaches and idées fixes can pose formidable barriers to knowledge. In this remarkable and fascinating book, Sufi author Idries Shah shows how these and other seemingly innocuous factors can be every bit as hindering as high walls and locked doors - indeed even more so, since they are far less obvious to those whom they impede. I found LEARNING HOW TO LEARN to be a breath of fresh air and - as with Shah's other books - strongly recommend it to anyone interested in the development of higher forms of understanding.

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.

With this book Shah stressed the concept that for meaningful learning to take place certain preconditions must exist. Just having the desire to learn alone does not lead to real understanding. He makes the reader examine their own learning processes to see what you are actually capable of learning. The desire for attention, self gratification and reinforcement are some of the barriers to understanding which are explored in the book. The fact that we sometimes are seeking confirmation of our views instead of answers to questions is also brought to light. It is a challenging book, but for the person who rises to the challenge the rewards are great. Although many of the concepts may be unfamiliar, the language used in the book makes them extremely accessible.

Learning How to Learn is one of Shah's most astonishing books. Reading it is both an education and an experience in Sufic thought and practical application. Shah doesn't just "tell", he "shows" subjecting the reader to a variety of stories, anecdotes, and hard facts that engage both "sides" of the brain. It's a tribute to Shah's own Sufic understanding and skill as a writer that he makes what could be difficult and complex concepts lucid, intelligible, and even inevitable. Repays repeated readings. Highly recommended.

"If you are uninterested in what I say, there's an end to it.
If you like what I say, please try to understand which previous influences have made you like it.
If you like some of the things I say, and dislike others, you could try to understand why.
If you dislike all I say, why not try to find out what formed your attitude?" - The Late Idries Shah.

IMO, genuine seekers after Truth needn't be swayed by these (negative/positive) appeals to colorization of the Shah Corpus. Sometimes the glowing reviews of Shah's work are as completely off the mark as the dimming ones.

According to an old saying "Those who taste know." I'd really suggest you read this title to find out for yourself, and should you find the need, please reserve your judgements until you've managed to discuss your assesments with a living, authentic Sufi teacher.

As for my own assesment: This title kindly exemplifies how unexamined assumptions, and unbalanced interpretations, lead toward unhealthy attitudes and cognitive disabilities that so many people are actually "self-inflicting". And, as with many of Sufi writings, I discovered many topics making better sense at later times, when the notions "get unpacked" under different circumstances.

This is an extraordinary book. It shows the reader how to approach the study of Sufism. It does so by highlighting the blocks to learning, blocks that abound in our own distorted thinking processes. But, like Shah's other's books, it does much more. It helps the reader gain access and insight into the part of her than is capable of learning. In so doing, the reader, prevented from using faulty mental wiring, is encouraged to bring the other, 'learnable' part into focus. The result is greater understanding.