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The Commanding Self
''The Commanding Self'' is a book by the writer Idries Shah first published by Octagon Press in 1994. A paperback edition was published in 1997. Shortly before he died, Shah stated that his books form a complete course that could fulfil the function he had fulfilled while alive. As such, ''The Commanding Self'' can be read as part of a whole course of study. Shah stated that ''The Commanding Self'' was "the key to understanding his entire corpus of work." Content ''The Commanding Self'' builds on the foundations laid in Shah's previous publications, ''Learning How to Learn – Psychology and Spirituality in the Sufi Way'' and ''Knowing How to Know''. "The Commanding Self" (Arabic ''Nafs-ul-Amara'' اﻟﻧﻔﺲﻻﻣﺎﺮﺓ) is Sufic terminology for the "mixture of primitive and conditioned responses, common to everyone, which inhibits and distorts human progress and understanding". The opening pages of the book expand on this definition: "The Commanding Self ... can be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Idries Shah
Idries Shah (; hi, इदरीस शाह, ps, ادريس شاه, ur, ; 16 June 1924 – 23 November 1996), also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el- Hashimi (Arabic: سيد إدريس هاشمي) and by the pen name Arkon Daraul, was an Afghan author, thinker and teacher in the Sufi tradition. Shah wrote over three dozen books on topics ranging from psychology and spirituality to travelogues and culture studies. Born in British India, the descendant of a family of Afghan nobles on his father's side and a Scottish mother, Shah grew up mainly in England. His early writings centred on magic and witchcraft. In 1960 he established a publishing house, Octagon Press, producing translations of Sufi classics as well as titles of his own. His seminal work was ''The Sufis'', which appeared in 1964 and was well received internationally. In 1965, Shah founded the Institute for Cultural Research, a London-based educational charity devoted to the study o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Octagon Press
Octagon Press was a cross-cultural publishing house based in London, UK. It was founded in 1960 by Sufism, Sufi teacher, Idries Shah to establish the historical and cultural context for his ideas. The company ceased trading in 2014. Description Octagon Press published many of Shah's later works. In addition, the publishing house has produced translations of Sufi classics and titles by other notable authors, focusing on the fields of the humanities, cultural geography, literature, poetry, folklore, psychology, travel and philosophy. Shah used Octagon Press to increase the availability of information on Afghanistan, aware that there would be a need for such information after the country's recent history. Two of his books, ''Darkest England'' (1987) and ''The Natives are Restless'' (1988), "traced affinities between the English and Afghan peoples". For many years Octagon Press sold the academic monographs published by the London Institute for Cultural Research, now sold directly b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hardcover
A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or occasionally leather). It has a flexible, sewn spine which allows the book to lie flat on a surface when opened. Modern hardcovers may have the pages glued onto the spine in much the same way as paperbacks. Following the ISBN sequence numbers, books of this type may be identified by the abbreviation Hbk. Hardcover books are often printed on acid-free paper, and they are much more durable than paperbacks, which have flexible, easily damaged paper covers. Hardcover books are marginally more costly to manufacture. Hardcovers are frequently protected by artistic dust jackets, but a "jacketless" alternative has increased in popularity: these "paper-over-board" or "jacketless" hardcover bindings forgo the dust jacket in favor of printing the cove ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paperback
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, leather, paper, or plastic. Inexpensive books bound in paper have existed since at least the 19th century in such forms as pamphlets, yellow-backs, yellowbacks, dime novels, and airport novels. Modern paperbacks can be differentiated from one another by size. In the United States, there are "mass-market paperbacks" and larger, more durable "trade paperbacks". In the United Kingdom, there are A-format, B-format, and the largest C-format sizes. Paperback editions of books are issued when a publisher decides to release a book in a low-cost format. Lower-quality paper, glued (rather than stapled or sewn) bindings, and the lack of a hard cover may contribute to the lower cost of paperbacks. Paperb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Learning How To Learn – Psychology And Spirituality In The Sufi Way
''Learning How to Learn: Psychology and Spirituality in the Sufi Way'' is a book by the writer Idries Shah that was first published by Octagon Press in 1978. Later editions by Harper & Row (1981) and Penguin Books (1985, 1993, 1996) include an introduction by Nobel Prize Winner Doris Lessing. Shortly before he died, Shah stated that his books form a complete course that could fulfil the function he had fulfilled while alive. As such, ''Learning How to Learn: Psychology and Spirituality in the Sufi Way'' can be read as part of a whole course of study. Content Written in response to enquiries about the Sufi tradition, ''Learning How to Learn: Psychology and Spirituality in the Sufi Way'' presents traditional teaching stories and anecdotes and articles from newspapers to illustrate prerequisites to Sufi learning. One such prerequisite is that the learner should organise their basic human needs so as to be able to give adequate attention to their studies. The second section of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Knowing How To Know
''Knowing How to Know'' is a book by the writer Idries Shah published posthumously by Octagon Press in 1998. A paperback edition was published in 2000. Shortly before he died, Shah stated that his books form a complete course that could fulfil the function he had fulfilled while alive. As such, ''Knowing How To Know'' can be read as part of a whole course of study. Content ''Knowing How To Know'' builds on the foundations laid in Shah's previous publications Learning How to Learn: Psychology and Spirituality in the Sufi Way and The Commanding Self. Some of the themes addressed in the book include the often unrecognised barriers which prevent knowledge and understanding and the necessary conditions and factors which must be present for learning to take place. Reception In a ''Sunday Telegraph'' review, Nobel Prize winner Doris Lessing wrote of ''Knowing How To Know'' that it "needs attentive reading, if only because some of its contentions are startling and need time to think ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston, 2011. Having emerged in the 1st century, it is named after the Arabs, Arab people; the term "Arab" was initially used to describe those living in the Arabian Peninsula, as perceived by geographers from ancient Greece. Since the 7th century, Arabic has been characterized by diglossia, with an opposition between a standard Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige language—i.e., Literary Arabic: Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) or Classical Arabic—and diverse vernacular varieties, which serve as First language, mother tongues. Colloquial dialects vary significantly from MSA, impeding mutual intelligibility. MSA is only acquired through formal education and is not spoken natively. It is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ritualism, asceticism and esotericism. It has been variously defined as "Islamic mysticism",Martin Lings, ''What is Sufism?'' (Lahore: Suhail Academy, 2005; first imp. 1983, second imp. 1999), p.15 "the mystical expression of Islamic faith", "the inward dimension of Islam", "the phenomenon of mysticism within Islam", the "main manifestation and the most important and central crystallization" of mystical practice in Islam, and "the interiorization and intensification of Islamic faith and practice". Practitioners of Sufism are referred to as "Sufis" (from , ), and historically typically belonged to "orders" known as (pl. ) – congregations formed around a grand who would be the last in a chain of successive teachers linking back to Muha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfred Nobel was a Swedish chemist, engineer, and industrialist most famously known for the invention of dynamite. He died in 1896. In his will, he bequeathed all of his "remaining realisable assets" to be used to establish five prizes which became known as "Nobel Prizes." Nobel Prizes were first awarded in 1901. Nobel Prizes are awarded in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace (Nobel characterized the Peace Prize as "to the person who has done the most or best to advance fellowship among nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and the establishment and promotion of peace congresses"). In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden's central bank) funded the establishment of the Prize in Economi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doris Lessing
Doris May Lessing (; 22 October 1919 – 17 November 2013) was a British-Zimbabwean novelist. She was born to British parents in Iran, where she lived until 1925. Her family then moved to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where she remained until moving in 1949 to London, England. Her novels include ''The Grass Is Singing'' (1950), the sequence of five novels collectively called ''Children of Violence'' (1952–1969), ''The Golden Notebook'' (1962), '' The Good Terrorist'' (1985), and five novels collectively known as '' Canopus in Argos: Archives'' (1979–1983). Lessing was awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature. In awarding the prize, the Swedish Academy described her as "that epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny". Lessing was the oldest person ever to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature.Marchand, Philip"Doris Lessing oldest to win literature award" ''Toronto Star'', 12 Oc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sufi Literature
Sufi literature consists of works in various languages that express and advocate the ideas of Sufism. Sufism had an important influence on medieval literature, especially poetry, that was written in Arabic, Persian, Turkic and Urdu. Sufi doctrines and organizations provided more freedom to literature than did the court poetry of the period. The Sufis borrowed elements of folklore in their literature. The works of Nizami, Nava'i, Hafez, Sam'ani and Jami were more or less related to Sufism. The verse of such Sufi poets as Sanai (died c. 1140), Attar (born c. 1119), and Rumi (died 1273) protested against oppression with an emphasis on divine justice and criticized evil rulers, religious fanaticism and the greed and hypocrisy of the orthodox Muslim clergy. The poetic forms used by these writers were similar to the folk song, parable and fairy tale. Background Sufi literature written in Persian flourished from the 12th to 15th centuries. Later major poets linked with the Sufi tra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sufi Psychology
There are three central ideas in Sufi Islamic psychology, which are the Nafs (self, ego or psyche), the Qalb (heart) and the Ruh (spirit). The origin and basis of these terms is Qur'anic and they have been expounded upon by centuries of Sufic commentaries. Overview Nafs is considered to be the lowest principle of man. Higher than the nafs is the Qalb (heart), and the Ruh (spirit). This tripartition forms the foundation of later, more complicated systems; it is found as early as the Koranic commentary by Ja'far al-Sadiq. He holds that the nafs is peculiar to the zalim (tyrant), the qalb to the muqtasid (moderate), and the rūh to the sābiq (preceding one, winner); the zālim loves God for his own sake, the muqtasid loves Him for Himself, and the sābiq annihilates his own will in God's will. Bayezid Bistami, Hakīm at-Tirmidhī, and Junayd have followed this tripartition. Kharrāz, however, inserts between nafs and qalb the element tab', "nature," the natural functions of man. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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