Caravan of Dreams

People often ask which of Idries Shah's books they should read first. While you can dive in almost anywhere in his 30 or so books, you can do as I did, by happy accident: read CARAVAN OF DREAMS. Here you'll find excerpts from the Hadith: "Trust in God--but tie your camel first." Shah's pilgrimage to Mecca is included. Jalaludin Rumi is represented with quotes such as "The man of God is not an expert made by books." Omar Khayyam is here: "Religionists do not know Thy mercy as we know it." You'll find a multitude of Sufi "teaching stories": "A father said to his double-seeing son: 'Son you see two instead of one.' 'How can that be?' the boy replied. 'If I were, there would seem to be four moons up there in place of two.' Twelve jokes of the Mulla Nasrudin show wisdom in mirth: "O people!" shouted Nasrudin, running through the streets of his village, "know that I have lost my donkey. Anyone who brings it back will be given the donkey as a reward!" "You must be mad," said some spectators to this strange event." "Not at all," said Nasrudin; "do you not know that the pleasure which you get when you find something lost is greater than the joy of possessing it?" And there is the "table talk" of Idries Shah himself: "Before you learn to meditate, you must unlearn what you think meditation might be." And there is much, much more in this slim volume of just 207 pages. If you are touched by the samples above, you will love this book much more so.

This is a wonderful book. It's not only very enjoyable but it also contains many layers of insight which appear to unfold with every re-reading. Like other works by Idries Shah, it seems to operate in a `scattered' yet coherent manner -keeping you mentally on your toes, encouraging flexibility and the capacity to look at usual things in unusual ways, with new clarity. This diversity includes teaching stories, sayings of the Prophet, proverbs, and the fascinating account of the author's trip to Mecca.

The first time I encountered this book was one Thursday night nearly thirty years ago when friends read The Story of Mushkil Gusha (one of the many stories it contains). Despite numerous readings (and tellings) of that story, one keeps finding more that is in it. Like the book itself, it gets better and richer in meaning, the better one gets to know it. Other tales in this extraordinary book do, too. The Magic Horse and The Tale of Melon City come immediately to mind. This is a most remarkable book to read oneself and to share with others. Read aloud the Story of Mushkil Gusha with friends some Thursday night and discover, for yourself, what riches it contains!

This book has some interesting cultural information on Mohammend and Mecca that might be of interest to Westerners. There are also some fabulous stories, most of them with an Eastern flavor. The Caravan of Dreams refers to a story from the Arabian Nights where Maruf the Cobbler imagines and then describes a caravan of great riches on its way to him. According to the introduction this led not to his disgrace, but to the caravan materializing and arriving. Shah adds: "May your Caravan of Dreams find its way to you." A sentiment that pervades this charming book. Idries Shah spent much of his life bridging and building bridges for two cultures. The stories and narratives here add to that process. Shah was also a Sufi Teacher, so there is much instructional material here. Teaching Stories and suggestions about how to best utilize them. At a time in our human history where people seem sometimes to be separating themselves into smaller, less tolerant groupings; books like this refer back to our common humanity, the narratives and characteristics that have persevered through both time and changing cultures. Modern people tend to think of themselves as different than those people who came before them; those people whose efforts in many ways bequeathed to us the lives we now enjoy. A book like this gives one a sense of the timelessness of our human heritage.

The stories collected in _Caravan of Dreams_ are the finest fruits of Sufism, a mystical philosophy of which Shah was a prominent scholar. Individualy, each story is masterfully crafted. Memories of Shah's images will linger in your mind for years, resurfacing with the vividness of your own experiences. Taken together, the stories form a living blanket that you will find a pleasant companion on chilly nights