Rating: 
Summary: Ten Easy Steps to Enlightenment, Success and Fulfillment...
Review: ...is NOT what this book is about. So, if that's what you're in search of, you may want to look elsewhere.If, however, you're interested in a book that will provide you with some eye-opening insights into life on this planet, give you a totally different perspective on your own life, and also on occasion make you laugh out loud, then give "Knowing How to Know" a read. This is among the last written works of Idries Shah Sayed, and was posthumously published. An ancient description of the Sufi way of life tells us that: "Man is destined to live a social life. His part is to be with other men. In serving Sufism he is serving the Infinite, serving himself, and serving society. He cannot cut himself off from any one of these obligations and become or remain a Sufi." Knowing How to Know provides some direction on how a 21st century person who aspires to serve the Infinite, serve himself, and serve the society that he or she is a part of, might proceed in order to realize these aspirations.
Rating: 
Summary: Begs The Question
Review: I have come to almost despair that anyone really wants to know anything. Almost all people seem content with the hazardous situation of driving blindfolded. They seem satisfied with their imaginations or stuff fed to them by others. If I bring up the possibility of knowing anything, they appear bored. Many people laugh and say they left that back in their college dorms. At best, they seem only to want information (or even misinformation) that will help them become more successful. The rest be damned. KNOWING HOW TO KNOW is for folks, of either gender, who want to know--and who kind of like reality. The first thing I learned from KNOWING HOW TO KNOW was that knowing how to know is different than I thought it was. I was disappointed by every page. I was looking for a golden key or something, and it wasn't there. But there was a sensation that the author did know how to know, so I stuck with it. Here's an example of what I found (page 149): "Exposure to teaching can improve man. If it has made him worse, it is the absence of knowledge on the part of the teacher, who has exposed him to study materials before correcting the inner tendencies of the man. In this case, effectively, there has been no teaching and no learning. If the man has been studying on his own, there has been no studying and no teaching. Hope of imporvement is not a substitute for capacity to improve. Some who have studied and worked may learn more than those who have not." It all seemed obvious, until I realized that I had to read it again. I began to realize that my opinion of myself, that I loved learning, was phony. I had read recently (In Thomas Thompson's THE MYTHIC PAST) that the "fear of God" which is "the beginning of wisdom," (according to the biblical "Proverbs") is tantamount to recognizing one's own ignorance. Ah, perhaps things were not as bad as I thought. Could I be at the "beginning of wisdom"? I was certainly left with the knowledge that I am ignorant. Was it unpleasant? Yes. And, no. It was unpleasant in the sense of being lost, but it was blissful finding myself in something like a charmed forest. If I've gotten as far as to know that I don't know, well, that's something I think anyone who reads KNOWING HOW TO KNOW will get, so it's nothing to be particularly proud of. Still, it is beyond a doubt better than NOT knowing that I don't know. I know something, at least. I'm glad I read KNOWING HOW TO KNOW. I'll have to read it again, I think. If I've attained the first step towards knowing, perhaps....
Rating:
Summary: Insightful and Incisive
Review: In many ways, this book continues themes the author expressed and evoked in Learning How to Learn: differences between emotionality and spirituality, real and false teachers, real and false students, preparatory work, the never-ending struggle of sufism to overcome humanity's "herd instinct." Idries Shah employs essays, parables, lists, logic, and question-and-answer seamlessly.
If you're interested in sufism, or spirituality in general, this book is likely to disturb you as well as fascinate you. Sharp critiques of common illusions (and even delusions) are juxtaposed with rare subtleties. Either way, there are plenty of ideas worth contemplating. The short chapter on Exercising Power, for example, explains how the motif "Do this or I will make you uncomfortable" applies to both the superior and inferior parties in any power transaction.
Rating:
Summary: An insightful (and direct) view of Sufi thought & action
Review: In nearly two dozen previous books on the subject, Idries Shah has shown Sufism to be something quite different from what one might expect. Thanks to his efforts, the reader can see that it is neither a cult (though many cults have appropriated its name) nor a collection of woolly-headed idealists, but rather a surprisingly sophisticated and practical science that is constrained by its own laws and principles in much the same way as is, say, physics or medicine. And like physics and medicine - and any other practical discipline - Sufism must maintain a tough-minded rigor to avoid being distorted by subjectivity and overrun by poseurs and wannabes. Among Shah's books, I find this tough-mindedness to be nowhere so apparent as in the posthumously published Knowing How to Know. While he has never struck me as an author particularly given to mincing words, Shah seems here to take an even more direct approach than in the previous works upon which this one builds, as he focuses on the barriers that prevent understanding in both the individual and the group. The result is a book that is something of a wake-up call, with an effect at once bracing and edifying. It's my guess that, no matter what your background or pet beliefs, Knowing How to Know will not leave you indifferent.
Rating:
Summary: A Book for Building and Rebuilding
Review: Knowing How to Know by Idries Shah I started reading this book before our house burned down. Once the smoke had cleared and the ashes settled a bit I bought a fresh copy and continued reading, now a displaced person in the Village of Elora in Southern Ontario. The time honored "dog ear" method of reference was chosen to help make my way through the book and back again.
Again Shah has written a book extraordinarily rich and meaningful: a book on being human in society ... and sometimes missing chances to do so. For me, it started slowly: no turned down pages for the first 80. But by the end, I had marked 37 pages, stories and sections to re-read. This book jogs the memory, tweaks the emotion and exercises the mind. At the end one has gained new perspectives as well as an appreciation of the deep gentleness and generosity of the man and the teaching. For a taste, here's a portion of Shah's account of a Q. & A. Session:
Q: Then how do you explain the following Sufi story.....?
The Frogs
There were once two frogs, which jumped into a pail of milk. The first was a logical one, and realising that he could not get out he calmly gave up and drowned. The second, though he did not know how to get out, went on struggling for hours. In due course, the milk turned to butter in sufficient quantities for the surviving frog to jump out. A: As is usual, you have been told the story in a defective version. It does not end there. The end of the story is: `The turmoil engendered by the surviving frog's struggles had alerted a crane, which, as soon as the frog jumped out of the pail, pounced on it, impaled it on his beak and made a dinner out of it'. Q: Then? A: There was, in fact, a third frog in the tale. He knew how butter is made. When the crane had gone away, he jumped in, made butter by flailing around, called in friends to give the dead frog a decent burial, and they ate the butter. Q: But what about the poor owner of the milk - he lost it . . . A: You can't have everything at once: he turns up in another story. For a taste, here's a portion of Shah's account of a Q. & A. Session:
Q: Then how do you explain the following Sufi story.....?
The Frogs
There were once two frogs, which jumped into a pail of milk. The first was a logical one, and realising that he could not get out he calmly gave up and drowned. The second, though he did not know how to get out, went on struggling for hours. In due course, the milk turned to butter in sufficient quantities for the surviving frog to jump out. A: As is usual, you have been told the story in a defective version. It does not end there. The end of the story is: `The turmoil engendered by the surviving frog's struggles had alerted a crane, which, as soon as the frog jumped out of the pail, pounced on it, impaled it on his beak and made a dinner out of it'. Q: Then? A: There was, in fact, a third frog in the tale. He knew how butter is made. When the crane had gone away, he jumped in, made butter by flailing around, called in friends to give the dead frog a decent burial, and they ate the butter. Q: But what about the poor owner of the milk - he lost it . . . A: You can't have everything at once: he turns up in another story.
Rating:
Summary: A Book for Building and Rebuilding
Review: Knowing How to Know by Idries Shah I started reading this book before our house burned down. Once the smoke had cleared and the ashes settled a bit I bought a fresh copy and continued reading, now a displaced person in the Village of Elora in Southern Ontario. The time honored "dog ear" method of reference was chosen to help make my way through the book and back again.
Again Shah has written a book extraordinarily rich and meaningful: a book on being human in society ... and sometimes missing chances to do so. For me, it started slowly: no turned down pages for the first 80. But by the end, I had marked 37 pages, stories and sections to re-read. This book jogs the memory, tweaks the emotion and exercises the mind. At the end one has gained new perspectives as well as an appreciation of the deep gentleness and generosity of the man and the teaching. For a taste, here's a portion of Shah's account of a Q. & A. Session:
Q: Then how do you explain the following Sufi story.....?
The Frogs
There were once two frogs, which jumped into a pail of milk. The first was a logical one, and realising that he could not get out he calmly gave up and drowned. The second, though he did not know how to get out, went on struggling for hours. In due course, the milk turned to butter in sufficient quantities for the surviving frog to jump out. A: As is usual, you have been told the story in a defective version. It does not end there. The end of the story is: 'The turmoil engendered by the surviving frog's struggles had alerted a crane, which, as soon as the frog jumped out of the pail, pounced on it, impaled it on his beak and made a dinner out of it'. Q: Then? A: There was, in fact, a third frog in the tale. He knew how butter is made. When the crane had gone away, he jumped in, made butter by flailing around, called in friends to give the dead frog a decent burial, and they ate the butter. Q: But what about the poor owner of the milk - he lost it . . . A: You can't have everything at once: he turns up in another story. For a taste, here's a portion of Shah's account of a Q. & A. Session:
Q: Then how do you explain the following Sufi story.....?
The Frogs
There were once two frogs, which jumped into a pail of milk. The first was a logical one, and realising that he could not get out he calmly gave up and drowned. The second, though he did not know how to get out, went on struggling for hours. In due course, the milk turned to butter in sufficient quantities for the surviving frog to jump out. A: As is usual, you have been told the story in a defective version. It does not end there. The end of the story is: 'The turmoil engendered by the surviving frog's struggles had alerted a crane, which, as soon as the frog jumped out of the pail, pounced on it, impaled it on his beak and made a dinner out of it'. Q: Then? A: There was, in fact, a third frog in the tale. He knew how butter is made. When the crane had gone away, he jumped in, made butter by flailing around, called in friends to give the dead frog a decent burial, and they ate the butter. Q: But what about the poor owner of the milk - he lost it . . . A: You can't have everything at once: he turns up in another story.
Rating:
Summary: Still Reading It, Again
Review: Knowing How to Know seems like a library of wisdom distilled into a guidebook, essentialized like the packets of dehydrated stroganoff you might take on a camping trip. Open the page and add the "water" of the reader's attention, and there is nutrition there, of one kind or another. A lot to digest, the book bears reading and rereading.
Rating:
Summary: Crisp guidance for life
Review: Shah frequently prescribes a dose of humility and self assessment, which can be uncomfortable since they tend to deflate the ego - mine anyway. But along with such correctives Shah also serves up thought provoking, disarming humor and many excellent lessons for conducting a productive life. The entry on Pashtun sayings is a riveting blend of practical country wisdom (with many touches of humor) and profound observations on the mind, spirit, and society. This is a great book.
Rating:
Summary: Teaching man to see himself as he really is
Review: Ted Hughes once referred to the Sufis as probably "the biggest society of sensible men there has ever been on earth". During his lifetime, Idries Shah, who died in November 1996, published over 30 books containing Sufi teaching materials presented in a format suitable for the needs of modern Western society. Using extracts from the classical Sufi masters, teaching tales, personal observation and responses to questions asked by students and correspondents, he made it his task to take the romance, and the rubbish, out of our ideas of spiritual development. Knowing How to Know" is Shah's first posthumous work. The title refers back to "Learning How to Learn", an earlier volume in which he outlined the factors inhibiting the learning process which is an indispensible part of human development. "Knowing How to Know" describes the complex of human characteristics which prevent our perceiving that knowledge is not the reward of virtue, but the unvarnished truth about the human condition.Sufism is not about making people feel good; it is about making people see themselves as they are really are, and "Knowing How to Know" is not a book for the faint-hearted, or for those who prefer not to examine their own motivations and assumptions. But for those who are prepared to invest a measure of effort and to let go of their prejudices, it is a rich and rewarding book, and one which may permanently change their way of thinking about the world.
Rating:
Summary: Improve your thinking
Review: The book is exceptionally concentrated. Innocent paragraphs may reveal important meanings normally concealed from normal experience. Attentive reading combined with careful observations may contribute to produce important revelations about yourself and the world. The result is an enrichment of perceptions and more sophisticated patterns of thought. This book can help discover hidden aspects of human nature, including the social aspects of daily life. It provides important clues to recognize certain pitfalls in day-to-day living. The material cannot be absorbed in one reading though. Like powerful medicines it must be taken drop by drop, with a proper rest in between. Like other Sufi material it is intended to operate in "layers". Each reading removes certain barriers to understanding, thereby exposing something previously concealed from view. This book provides an overall picture of Sufism not often seen elsewhere and it has the potential to "activate" undigested information. Those unfamiliar with the author or contemporary Sufism will be amazed by the quality of thinking and will probably want more.
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