Learning How to Learn
Learning How to Learn: Psychology and Spirituality in the Sufi Way
Learning How to Learn: Psychology and Spirituality in the Sufi Way by the writer Idries Shah was first published by Octagon Press in 1978. The 1981 edition published by Harper & Row in the U.S.A includes an introduction by Nobel Prize Winner Doris Lessing[1].
Summary
Written in response to enquiries about the Sufi tradition Learning How to Learn: Psychology and Spirituality in the Sufi Way presents traditional teaching stories, 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
In September 1978 Psychology Today described the book as "the watershed in studies of the mind" and elsewhere as "a textbook of method and attitude.[2]" The theory on attention presented in the book has influenced the school of psychology and psychotherapy known as the Human Givens Approach[3]. In Human Givens: A New Approach To Clear-Thinking and Emotional Wellbeing by Ivan Tyrrell & 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.
References
1. Amazon.com page on Learning How to Learn: Psychology and Spirituality in the Sufi Way
2. Octagon Press page on Learning How To Learn: Psychology and Spirituality in the Sufi Way
3. Griffin, J and Tyrrell, I (2003) Human Givens: A new approach to emotional health and clear thinking, Chalvington: HG Publishing ISBN 1-899398-31-7
External links
Official Idries Shah website ([1])
Octagon Press ([2])