The Magic Monastery
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The Magic Monastery
''The Magic Monastery'' is a collection of teaching stories from the Sufi mystical tradition, by the writer Idries Shah, together with some stories by the author himself. The work was first published by the Octagon Press in 1972. ISF Publishing, sponsored by The Idries Shah Foundation, published a paperback edition on 2017, followed by the e-book version which can be read online at the ISF official website. Shortly before he died, Shah stated that his books form a complete course that could fulfil the function he had performed while alive. As such, ''The Magic Monastery'' can be read as part of a whole course of study. Summary ''The Magic Monastery'' with the subtitle ''Analogical and Action Philosophy of the Middle East and Central Asia'', contains traditional teaching stories as well as pieces composed by Idries Shah. The author writes in the preface: "It consists of a representative cross-section of Sufi teaching which constitutes a harmonized whole rather than a selection ...
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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 ...
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Encounter (magazine)
''Encounter'' was a literary magazine founded in 1953 by poet Stephen Spender and journalist Irving Kristol. The magazine ceased publication in 1991. Published in the United Kingdom, it was an Anglo-American intellectual and cultural journal, originally associated with the anti-Stalinist left. The magazine received covert funding from the Central Intelligence Agency after the CIA and MI6 discussed the founding of an "Anglo-American left-of-centre publication" intended to counter the idea of Cold War neutralism. The magazine was rarely critical of American foreign policy and generally shaped its content to support the geopolitical interests of the United States government. Spender served as literary editor until 1967, when he resigned.. The revelation of the covert CIA funding of the magazine occurred that year. He had heard rumours but had not been able to confirm them. Thomas W. Braden, who headed the CIA's International Organizations Division's operations between 1951 and 1954 ...
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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 ...
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Hansom Books
Hansom Books was a British publisher founded in 1950 by Philip Dosse to produce the magazine ''Dance and Dancers''. Magazines in a similar format were then founded to cover other arts, so forming the Seven Arts Group. The other titles were ''Art and Artists,'' '' Books and Bookmen,'' '' Films and Filming,'' ''Music and Musicians,'' ''Plays and Players,'' and ''Records and Recording Hansom Books was a British publisher founded in 1950 by Philip Dosse to produce the magazine ''Dance and Dancers''. Magazines in a similar format were then founded to cover other arts, so forming the Seven Arts Group. The other titles were ''Art ....'' In 1956, the young Australian journalist Val Wake worked for ''Plays and Players'' as a junior play reviewer. The editor at the time was Frank Granville Baker. Another Australian Evan Senior was editor of ''Music and Musicians''. At the time the editorial team for all six titles was accommodated in the basement of a building near Victoria Station, Lo ...
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Colin Wilson
Colin Henry Wilson (26 June 1931 – 5 December 2013) was an English writer, philosopher and novelist. He also wrote widely on true crime, mysticism and the paranormal, eventually writing more than a hundred books. Wilson called his philosophy "new existentialism" or " phenomenological existentialism", and maintained his life work was "that of a philosopher, and (his) purpose to create a new and optimistic existentialism". Early life Wilson was born on 26 June 1931 in Leicester, the first child of Arthur and Annetta Wilson. His father worked in a shoe factory.Colin Wilson, ''Dreaming to Some Purpose'' (Arrow, 2005) At the age of eleven he attended Gateway Secondary Technical School, where his interest in science began to blossom. By the age of 14 he had compiled a multi-volume work of essays covering many aspects of science entitled ''A Manual of General Science''. But by the time he left school at sixteen, his interests were already switching to literature. His discove ...
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The Evening News (London Newspaper)
The ''Evening News'', earlier styled as ''The Evening News'', and from 1889 to 1894 The Evening News and Post, was an evening newspaper published in London from 1881 to 1980, reappearing briefly in 1987. It became highly popular under the control of the Harmsworth brothers. For a long time it maintained the largest daily sale of any evening newspaper in London. After financial struggles and falling sales, it was eventually merged with its long-time rival the ''Evening Standard'' in 1980. The newspaper was revived for an eight-month period in 1987. Early history The newspaper was founded by Coleridge Kennard and Harry Marks. The first issue appeared on 26 July 1881. It was the first popular evening paper in London. It was priced at one halfpenny, distinguishing itself from the more serious penny papers such as ''The Times''. The first issues were printed on light blue paper, and later editions on yellow and green paper. The rivalry between halfpenny papers in the late 19th ce ...
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Huddersfield Daily Examiner
The ''Huddersfield Daily Examiner'' is an English local daily evening newspaper covering news and sport from Huddersfield and its surrounding areas. History The first edition was published as a weekly, starting on 6 September 1851, as the ''Huddersfield & Holmfirth Examiner,'' although the 'Holmfirth' was dropped from the title two years later. The newspaper has been published as a daily since 28 January 1871 when journalists on the title worked all weekend in order to forestall a rival and become the town's first daily paper. Since 1999 it has been part of the Trinity Mirror group, which is now known as Reach plc and is the largest newspaper publisher in the United Kingdom. The ''Examiner'' lays claim to a notable first in regional British journalism, as the first provincial UK newspaper to employ a woman journalist, in 1888. Recent developments ''Examiner'' journalist Adrian Sudbury was given recognition during his battle with terminal leukaemia between 2006 and 2008. Hi ...
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Worcester News
The ''Worcester News'' is a local newspaper, and the only daily newspaper in Worcester (UK), reporting on breaking news and local matters covering the City of Worcester and surrounding areas within the county. It was previously named ''Worcester Evening News'' until it was rebranded in July 2005. The newspaper is published Monday to Saturday at its offices in Redhill House, Worcester. The newspaper is owned by Newsquest Media Group, which was acquired by USA-based Gannett in 1999. The ''Worcester News'' was named Midlands Best Local Newspaper of the Year in 2010. Sections The ''Worcester News'' has dedicated sections throughout the week: * Wednesday Edition: Jobs pages * Thursday Edition: Property Supplement * Friday Edition: Motoring Section * All editions: News, events, reviews, opinions. References External links ''Worcester News'' website@worcesternewson Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American co ...
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Royal Society For Asian Affairs
The Royal Society for Asian Affairs (RSAA) is a learned society based in London (United Kingdom). Its objective is to advance public knowledge and understanding of Asia through its worldwide networks, its public events, its publications and its support to research. It is independent of governments and political bodies and does not take institutional positions on issues of policy at its meetings or in its publications. The Society was founded in 1901 as the Central Asian Society to "promote greater knowledge and understanding of Central Asia and surrounding countries". The geographical extent of the society's interest has since expanded to include the whole of Asia. Taylor & Francis publishes the society's journal, ''Asian Affairs'', which has been in print since 1914. History The society was founded in 1901 to promote greater knowledge and understanding of Central Asia and surrounding countries. But although Central Asia dominated the Society’s early interests, from the outs ...
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Asian Affairs
''Asian Affairs'', the journal of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs, has been published continuously since 1914 (originally as the ''Journal of the Central Asian Society'', and from 1931 to 1969 as the ''Journal of the Royal Central Asian Society''). It covers a range of social, political, and historical subjects linked to Asia, with a particular focus on current affairs and more recent history. It also is a major source of book reviews. The Journal provides a forum at the interface between learned interest, scholarship, journalism and personal experience. There are also two magazines called ''Asian Affairs'', one published for the past decade or so from Hong Kong, and another from Delhi. It has recently published special issues in collaboration with the Wilson Centre for Scholars in Washington DC and King's College London. In the Norwegian Scientific Index CRIStin (Current Research Information System in Norway) is the national research information system of Norway, and is o ...
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The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. History Origins The first issue, published on 4 December 1791 by W.S. Bourne, was the world's first Sunday newspaper. Believing that the paper would be a means of wealth, Bourne instead soon found himself facing debts of nearly £1,600. Though early editions purported editorial independence, Bourne attempted to cut his losses and sell the title to the government. When this failed, Bourne's brother (a wealthy businessman) made an offer to the government, which also refused to buy the paper but agreed to subsidise it in return for influence over its editorial content. As a result, the paper soon took a strong line against radicals such as Thomas Paine, Francis Burdett and Joseph Priestley. 19th century In 180 ...
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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 ...
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