Audiobooks by Idries Shah

The Natives Are Restless chronicles some of the amazing, amusing, and thought-provoking adventures of the Afghan traveller and writer, Idries Shah, among members of what he calls the ‘English tribe’. It is an enthralling sequel to his bestselling Darkest England, the narrative illustrating his practised eye as an anthropologist. Shah observes how the English see themselves, and contrasts it with how the rest of the world views this eccentric island race. He also speculates on the likely continuing effect of Englishness on the future development of global society, offering unsuspecting parallels between English attitudes and Oriental wisdom.

Idries Shah (Author), David Ault (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Englishman's Handbook

The Englishman’s Handbook is the third book in Idries Shah’s best-selling trilogy on why the English are as strange as they are. He examines the ‘baffling phenomena of the British and Britishness’, presenting a manual of handy tips on how to muddle through while visiting English shores. An illuminating and often hilarious read, the book is just as valuable to the British as it is to foreigners. It contains all sorts of extraordinary information on how to confuse foreigners with sheer Englishness, if any do manage to break through the barriers.

Idries Shah (Author), David Ault (Narrator)

Audiobook

Darkest England

In his best-selling Darkest England, Idries Shah asserts that the English hail from a little-known place called ‘Hathaby’, but their roots go back much farther, perhaps to the distant Asian realm of Sakasina. Once a nomadic tribe of warriors, the English fled westward, bringing with them epic tales, traditions, and an Oriental way of thought. Shah charts the genius of the English in adopting and adapting ‘almost anything spiritual, moral or material’ for their own use – a faculty that has transformed them from warrior nomads into successful diplomats, businessmen, thinkers and scientists.

Idries Shah (Author), David Ault (Narrator)

Audiobook

Las hazañas del incomparable Mulá Nasrudín

El Mulá Nasrudín, el tonto sabio del folklore oriental, ostenta en los estudios Sufis un lugar especial. Los Sufis, que creen que la intuición profunda es la única guía verdadera hacia el conocimiento, usan los cuentos humorísticos de las aventuras de Nasrudín, casi como si fuesen ejercicios. Ellos piden a las personas que elijan un par de cuentos que les atraigan especialmente, y que los den vuelta en sus mentes, haciéndolos propios. Los maestros Sufis dicen que de esta forma puede efectuarse un avance hacia el conocimiento superior. Un solo cuento puede trabajar en muchos niveles, desde el humor hasta ser iniciador de pensamiento profundo.

Idries Shah (Author), Matías González (Narrator)

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La exploración dérmica

Una mirada seria – pero al mismo tiempo entretenida – a los obstáculos presentes en el pensamiento actual que impiden el desarrollo de ciertas formas de comprensión entre las personas. El cuento que da título al libro fue convertido en un galardonado film con guión de Idries Shah, el cual fue elegido como Film Destacado del Año (Outstanding Film of the Year). La exploración dérmica consta de una colección de extractos tomados tanto de la tradición oral como escrita, creada y transmitida por grandes pensadores de Oriente. En su prefacio, Shah comenta: 'En este libro podrás encontrar descripciones de algunas de las peculiaridades del pensamiento predominante en cualquier país de este mundo actual, observadas por sus habitantes y por aquellos que se autodenominan visitantes.'

Idries Shah (Author), Matías González (Narrator)

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The Idries Shah Anthology

The Idries Shah Anthology is a special collection of previously published work by Idries Shah, and was edited by Saira Shah. This title includes an Introduction by Saira Shah, as well as comments and annotations throughout the text. Each chapter includes a selection from the works of Idries Shah on topics such as Sufism, Nasrudin, fables, poetry, proverbs, and teaching stories. It includes methods of the masters and themes for study and contemplation. This new compilation of excerpts from the classic texts of Idries Shah will leave you with a new perspective on his work. From the introduction: In his writing about Sufism, Idries Shah did some revolutionary things. Critically, and almost alone, he said that it was possible to divorce the essence of Sufi philosophy from what he insisted were secondary accretions of islamic culture and religion. Moreover, he said, in making this material available to the West, you could not only do this, you must do it. This is because, he believed, you can only absorb materials that are designed for your own time and place. Sufism as an essence may be ‘truth without form’ but, in order to penetrate into the human mind, it must be delivered in a package shaped to fit the receiving culture.‘When something new enters a culture, there is a period where, like a new object being thrown into the chimpanzee pen at a zoo, all the chimps rush over to touch it, throw it on the floor, fight over it and so on,’ he once told me. ‘We must wait until the dust settles; only then will people be in a position to assess this material.’My father died in 1996 and the dust is settling fast. He leaves a body of work behind and, on this work alone, he believed, he should and would be judged. This anthology is intended to provide a basic sample of his work, an essential reader, to allow people to do exactly what he would have wished them to do: to think for themselves and to make up their own minds.— From the Editor’s Note, by Saira Shah

Idries Shah (Author), David Ault (Narrator)

Audiobook