Quotes From "Knowing How To Know: A Practical Philosophy In The Sufi Tradition" By Idries Shah

In a village where everyone has only one leg, the...
1
In a village where everyone has only one leg, the biped will hop about more lamely than anyone else, if he knows what is good for him. Idries Shah
2
It is as true as anything else which can be spoken to say that all knowledge is really available everywhere. Idries Shah
3
Do not think that your magic ring will work if you are not yourself Solomon. Idries Shah
4
You must improve yourself on a higher level if you are to be able to help people, and not just weep over them. Idries Shah
5
There is something in man which can detect real love. We rub it out, or muffle it, by substitute-love. Idries Shah
6
If you do not understand, you cannot love. You can only imagine that you love. Idries Shah
7
People talk about ‘service, effort, love, knowledge’. But with knowledge you know what love is, and what it is not. Idries Shah
8
Sufi Teachers are not, as you might hope, people who make you feel peace and harmony. Idries Shah
9
In the modern world we are in a paradoxical situation; because although in theory man knows that he can extend his attention to something and then remove it, he very often does not do so. In many areas he does not look at something and then detach from it, and look at something else. Once he has found something to interest himself in, he cannot detach himself from it efficiently, and therefore he cannot be objective. Note that, in most if not all languages, we have words like 'objectivity' which leads people to imagine that they have it, or can easily use it. That is equivalent (in reality if not in theory) to saying 'I know the word “gold”, so I am rich. Idries Shah