''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 Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

(1985, 1993, 1996) include an introduction by

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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 Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

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 book is dedicated entirely to Shah's theory on the human need to give and receive attention.

Reception

The theory on attention presented in the book has influenced the school of psychology and psychotherapy known as the Human Givens Approach. In ''Human Givens: A New Approach To Clear-Thinking and Emotional Wellbeing'' by Ivan Tyrrell and Joe Griffin, the authors state that in their view Shah's theory represents "a profoundly more subtle understanding of the importance of attention than found in Western psychology till now" and go on to quote in full the 21 principles of attention that Shah considered worthy of study. Richard Smoley and Jay Kinney, writing in ''Hidden Wisdom: A Guide to the Western Inner Traditions'' (2006), described ''Learning How to Learn'' as one of Shah's best works. They noted that the book provided a solid orientation to Shah's "psychological" approach to Sufi work and added that Shah, at his best, provides "insights that inoculate students against much of the nonsense in the spiritual marketplace." In September 1978 ''

Psychology Today ''Psychology Today'' is an American media organization with a focus on psychology and human behavior. The publication began as a bimonthly magazine, which first appeared in 1967. The print magazine's reported circulation is 275,000 as of 2023. ...

'' described the book as "the watershed in studies of the mind" and elsewhere as "a textbook of method and attitude."Octagon Press page on ''Learning How To Learn: Psychology and Spirituality in the Sufi Way''

References

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External links

Official Idries Shah website
Sufi literature Sufi psychology Books by Idries Shah 1978 books Psychology books Octagon Press books