Learning How to Learn: Psychology and Spirituality in the Sufi Way Paperback – January 1, 1996

Quite a few years ago my neighbor, who happened to be from Egypt, mentioned that he was writing a book on Sufism. “What’s that?” I asked, having never heard of it before. He changed the subject, would not say anything more about it, and I could not get him to elaborate further with several questions. Somewhat irritated, I said to myself, “OK, well I’ll just find out about it on my own!” A day or two later I visited a local bookseller (we had plenty of them in those days), and I found this book, Learning How to Learn and another by a different author with “Sufism” in the title. I read them both. I was interested in what I read, and I continued to read other titles by Shah and by the other author. After reading a few books by each I had the vague sense that there was something in Shah’s books that didn’t seem to be in the other’s, so I stopped reading his and continued with Shah’s. Over the years I have read and reread Learning How to Learn several times, and with each reading I seem to get something more from it, as well as from his other publications. As other reviewers have mentioned, “He (or she) who tastes knows.” Learning How to Learn is an excellent place to start tasting. Read it. Pay attention to how you react. If the impact seems beneficial, then you will be pleased to know that there are many more of his books to experience. If you find nothing there of value, then that is perhaps an end to it. If you hate it, love it, get depressed, react with some other emotion, or even just feel confused, you may wish to see if you can figure out why you are reacting in that way. In my experience the impacts of this and of his other books vary with each subsequent reading, giving you more opportunities to examine your reactions and learn more about yourself and how you operate. Generally, we all know that books say things. Shah’s books, in the experiences of many, tend to do things. When you read Learning How to Learn, and perhaps others of his books, I hope that you will find even more benefit from his life’s work than I have. Shah, particularly now that he has died, is not to be regarded as a guru or “master,” rather he has something to do with the development of human consciousness. With modern advances in psychology, anthropology, sociology, and so forth, what he writes has a relevance to “scientifically-minded” individuals that was not possible in the past. Even some theologically-oriented individuals may find much of value here. I believe the Sufic stream has always been well accepted by the practically-minded, but now may appeal to and be worthwhile for an even wider audience.

Learning How to LearnA friend pointed this out to me, “Learning How to Learn” is unique among books written by Idries Shah in that he answers questions posed by contemporary students in Sufism. Almost all the other books that Shah wrote contain teaching stories that leave a reader to work things out. In this volume, Shah provides some guidance for those students unsure of themselves. Here Shah shows a would be Sufi where they can go off the rails, in a manner of speaking.For me, one of the most significant problems a novice faces is that they are educated. Let me express this another way, the methods and techniques that lead to success in learning say economics or mathematics do not necessarily apply to Sufi learning. The subject of a Sufi education is the self. In this sense, it doesn’t matter whether you are an astrophysicist or plumber. (In fact, Shah might suggest that plumber has an advantage in that he doesn’t think of himself as well educated already, so he is more open to learning.)And that gets us to the main power of “Learning How to Learn,” this book shows us how our conditioned mind acts as a barrier to perceiving our true nature. Here is a short excerpt that illustrates this point:Q: What is the compatibility, if any, of the Sufi book and the Sufi teaching beyond books?A: Many people say that they cannot learn from books.INSTRUMENTAL FUNCTIONOf course, they cannot: because they have first to learn that, correctly guided, they can learn from books, or from grasshoppers, or from anything.A book, for the Sufis, is an instrument as much as it is something to give information. Information and action are both necessary.The key is the teacher. If he says: “Read this book,” then you should read it.If your answer is: “I cannot learn from books,” then you are in fact refusing his teaching. If you refuse teaching, do not be surprised if you do not learn anything.Shah, Idries. Learning How to Learn. ISF Publishing. Kindle Edition. As I read this book, I continually got the sense that I was seeing myself. I kept hearing myself say, ‘Gosh, I’m like that. That is me.’ Along with this sense of seeing myself came the realization that if I wanted to learn I had to change. Learning was changing.I won’t deny that at times I found reading “Learning How to Learn” overwhelming. Coming face to face with my own conditioning was not always a pleasant experience. Ultimately though, I found the book liberating. I began to develop the ability to observe my mind operating. This ability allowed me to see choices that I had not perceived before. I began to get the sense that I was more than my conditioning. Perhaps you will too.

Others already praised this and other Shah books enough, including what Nobel Laureate Doris Lessing wrote in the introduction.What I personally saw nowhere else is p.41 and ff. on how the internal change can be performed.And then you may want to look at p.247 The Number of Reading of a Book - which does not appear more improbable than the discovery of microbes, so ridiculed before Pasteur's findings became accepted. (Some "people" still believe that the moon landings never happened or that there is no evolution, that the days of creation were not long periods but actual days).Remember: Sufi books are not to TELL you secrets. They are there to change you so that you become capable of seeing what is in plain view but you are blind. You need to cure your blindness first. And they tell you how.There is also Idries Shah Foundation and the Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge, if you want to go further. They do ordinary human things, and very efficiently so.They are NOT for people who are not viable units of the society. They are not for crazies, not for seekers of excitement.They are not for those who want to regress but for those who want to go forward to transcend social conditioning and animal passions.This and other Shah books is not about the history and anthropology of Sufism. It is about real, live and kicking system which brings results if you are honest. Shah was an actual Sufi, many other writers, probably most, are popularizers - perhaps well-meaning but still not the real thing, not speaking from personal experience, not capable of helping others to undergo transformation because they themselves were never transformed.

To say that this is an important book is a mega-understatement. As an individual, reading it with attention can benefit you more than you will ever know. But Shah also identified blind spots in our culture which have far reaching effects on our ability to solve the many problems which beset us.One of these is disguised gratification-seeking – believing you are doing something useful when you are only entertaining yourself.‘This is a most important technical problem. It can be solved certainly in the case of some people. But first it must be observed. No culture of today provides any generally applicable theoretical or practical method of drawing attention to it, let alone doing anything about it. And yet it remains one of the major stumbling blocks to human progress.’Has anything changed since 1978?Forty years ago Shah also drew attention to attention, devoting five pages of ‘Learning How to Learn’ to the ’Characteristics of Attention and Observation’.‘Study the attracting, extending and reception, as well as the interchange, of attention’ because, he wrote, ‘One of the keys to human behaviour is the attention-factor.’To see how our attitude to attention has changed I recommend reading the blog on Attention theory on the Idries Shah Foundation website.

Stunning means 'causing, capable of causing, or liable to cause astonishment, bewilderment, or a loss of consciousness'. Learning How to Learn did this for me in spades and has for the many people I know who have absorbed its powerful content since it was first made available. It is astonishing, bewilders the conditioned brain and allows you to let go of ordinary trite consciousness so as to glimpse something richer, more meaningful that's set in a universal context.

Throughout history, the Sufis have made a truly astonishing range of scientific and psychological discoveries. In many cases, these predate western scientific discoveries. This, the Sufis say, is due to the operation of special form of cognition, linked with human development. If you want to learn something about how these discoveries were made, then this book is for you.

This book elucidates why so many of us have assumptions about how to learn, and rarely veer from them. We rarely give a thought that we may not have a clue how to learn, especially about higher, spiritual matters. This series of tales and extracts from traditional Sufi lore helps us define a new track of learning, and perceive the world in a new light.

Idries Shah’s work has been part of my life for fifty years. Many times I have found the stories and themes both helpful and a salve to modern living. Despite their ancient pedigree they are relevant to modern times.