idries-shah

the-sufis

mulla-nasrudin

<div class="at-above-post-homepage addthis_tool" data-url="https://blog.lareviewofbooks.org/essays/beacon-sanity-age-polarity-contemporary-sufism-works-idries-shah/"></div><p>By <a href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/contributor/john-zada/">John Zada</a></p>
<p>With the Internet and social media offering everyone an instant voice and platform, it sometimes feels as if we’ve all become standard bearers of a cause, or a medley of them. The ease with which we can publicly air our viewpoints everyday, even many times a day, has created a ruckus of opposing perspectives that is staggering in its intensity and breadth. We are exposed to many different ideas and points of view, which is a good thing. But what we fail to see in all the exciting rabble-rousing is that we’re also engendering a toxic culture of disputation that is seeping into all areas of life. <a href="https://blog.lareviewofbooks.org/essays/beacon-sanity-age-polarity-contemporary-sufism-works-idries-shah/#more-3385" class="more-link">Read more</a></p>
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A Beacon of Sanity in Our Age of Polarity: On Contemporary Sufism and the Works of Idries Shah

The Attention Merchants

<strong>John Bell is director and founder of the Conciliators Guild, an initiative dedicated to highlighting the role of underlying human motivations in politics. He is also a diplomat and a mediator with over 25 years experience in Middle East politics and diplomacy.</strong>

John Bell

<strong><a href="https://www.johnzada.com">John Zada</a> is a freelance writer, photographer, and journalist. He is also&nbsp;a founder and director of The Conciliators Guild, an initiative dedicated to highlighting the role of underlying human motivations in politics.</strong>

John Zada

The Great Attention Heist

"You can't ignore politics, no matter how much you'd like to." — Molly Ivins

Politics

"The nineteenth century believed in science but the twentieth century does not." — Gertrude Stein

Science &amp; Technology

The Sacred Headwaters

"For a long time now I haven't been I."
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">— Fernando Pessoa, <em>The Book of Disquiet</em></p>

Around the World

Red Nile

When a River Is a World: Twigger on the Nile

"There is nothing more poetic and terrible than the skyscrapers' battle with the heavens that cover them." — Federico García Lorca

Nonfiction

Timbuctoo

The Timbuktu Delusion: On the Famous, Far-Flung City

<a href="https://www.johnzada.com">John Zada</a> is a freelance writer, photographer, and journalist. He is also&nbsp;a founder and director of The Conciliators Guild, an initiative dedicated to highlighting the role of underlying human motivations in politics.