Idries Shah, Reflections Quotes

When the human being says:'It is not true...'He may mean:'I don't know about it, so I think it is untrue.'Or:'I don't like it.

You can keep going on much less attention than you crave.

The proverb says that 'The answer to a fool is silence'. Observation, however, indicates that almost any other answer will have the same effect in the long run.

If you want to strengthen an enemy and make him exult - hate him.

None should say : 'I can trust, ' or 'I cannot trust' until he is a master of the option, of trusting or not trusting.

Two people can illustrate crudity to you.The first is the crude man, whom you see perceiving the diamond as a stone.The other is the refined man, who makes clear to you the crudity of the first one.

A man is deficient in understanding until he perceives that there is a whole cycle of evolution possible within himself: repeating endlessly, offering opportunities for personal development.

It is not only a matter of not caring who knows - it is also a matter of knowing who cares.

Because there is a word for perfection, people will always imagine that they know it.

I have heard all that you have had to say to me on your problems.You ask me what to do about them.It is my view that your real problem is that you are a member of the human race.Face that one first.

Advice is priceless: when it becomes interference it is preposterous.

The laziness of adolescence is a rehearsal for the incapacity of old age.

Opinion is usually something which people have when they lack comprehensive information.

Banality is like boredom: bored people are boring people, people who think that things are banal are themselves banal.Interesting people can find something interesting in all things.

Knowledge is something which you can use.Belief is something which uses you.

None should say: ‘I can trust, ’ or ‘I cannot trust’ until he is master of the option, of trusting or not trusting.

Please, not again what you studied, how long you spent at it, how many books you wrote, what people thought of you - but: what did you learn?

The lightning said to the oak tree: ‘Stand aside, or take what is coming to you!

Enemies are often former or potential friends who have been denied - or think that they have been denied - something.

It is not 'Have I got a chance?' It is more often: 'Have I seen my chance?

If a Manx cat tells you that it is trying to preserve its long, beautiful tail, you don't have to believe it - especially if you have eyes.

Almost every day I am reminded of Saadi's reflection that there is no senseless tyranny like that of subordinates.

Talent is the presence of ability and absence of understanding about the source and operation of knowledge.

The stupidest man I ever met had a favourite saying.It was:'What do you think I am, stupid, or something?

Have you noticed how many people who walk in the shade curse the Sun?

People are always trying to understand.There is only one way to do that.It is to discover < + i + >why< + i + > you want to understand.

You are still adrift while you still think that a means is an end.

Learn to be as analytical about things of which you are credulous as you are of those which you criticise.

History is not usually what has happened. History is what some people have thought to be significant.

Who is the wrong person to criticise?You

Water shrinks wool, urgency shrinks time.Shrinkage may be an advantage or the reverse, according to expectation.

The existence of relative truth does not prove the non-existence of universal truth.

What is sometimes thought to be clever is, significantly often, merely an advanced form of foolishness.

Sometimes a pessimist is only an optimist with extra information.

People cannot handle prejudice because they try to deal with the symptom. Prejudice is the symptom, wrong assumptions are the cause.'Prejudice is the daughter of assumption.

Laziness - The laziness of adolescence is a rehearsal for the incapacity of old age.

From time to time ponder whether you are unconsciously saying:'Truth is what I happen to be thinking at this moment.

We are adjured not to burn the candle at both ends.But how many people have verified that physically possible?

When the ignorant have become numerous or powerful enough, they have been referred to by a special name. This names is 'the Wise'.

None should say: 'I can trust' or 'I cannot trust' until he is a master of the option, of trusting or not trusting.

People used to play with toys.Now the toys play with them.

Knowledge is something which you can use. Belief is something which uses you.

EXPECTATION If, from time to time, you give up expectation, you will be able to perceive what it is you are getting.

Teach honesty by all means - you do know what it is, don't you?

If, from time to time, you give up expectation, you will be able to perceive what it is you are getting.

Prescribing hard work for the soft, or easy work for the hardy, is generally nonsense. What is always needed in any aim is right effort, right time, right people, right materials.

To 'see both sides' of a problem is the surest way to prevent its complete solution. Because there are always more than two sides.

You say that this society will come to an end, because societies always have done so. I wonder whether they have ended because they were not really societies at all.

Presence and AbsenceA certain person may have, as you say, a wonderful presence: I do not know. What I do know is that he has a perfectly delightful absence.

The stupidest man I ever met had a favourite saying. It was: 'What do you think I am, stupid, or something?