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But one may say something and yet not be able to do it. Try, for instance, lifting yourself up by the bootstraps.

Idries Shah

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Idries Shah
Age: 72 †
Born: 1924
Born: June 16
Died: 1996
Died: November 23
Author
Collector Of Fairy Tales
Teacher
Writer
Simla
Arkon Daraul
Instance
May
Able
Trying
Something
Bootstraps
Lifting

More quotes by Idries Shah

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If, from time to time, you give up expectation, you will be able to perceive what it is you are getting.
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A man who believes the word of a donkey in preference to my word does not deserve to be lent anything.
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He that is purified by love is pure and he that is absorbed in the Beloved and hath abandoned all else is a Sufi.Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah.
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Many things which are called 'secrets' are only things withheld from people until they can understand or effectively experience them.
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A generous person may not have wisdom: but, unlike others, he has the means to gain it.
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The more you look at 'common knowledge', the more you realise that it is more likely to be common than it is to be knowledge. No real knowledge is common.
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From imperial, economic and ideological causes, many cultures are the inheritors, and hence the prisoners, of attitudes of scorn and disdain for other faiths – outlooks which are not ennobling to anyone.
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Do not try to be humble: learn humility.
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The sufis believe that they can experience something more complete.
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A 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.
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Sometimes a pessimist is only an optimist with extra information.
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The Sufi way is through knowledge and practice, not through intellect and talk.
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Knowledge is not gained, it is there all the time. It is the veils which have to be dissolved in the mind.
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Learn to be as analytical about things of which you are credulous as you are of those which you criticise.
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The impatient man is his own enemy he slams the door on his own progress.
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When tomorrow comes, think tomorrow's thoughts.
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Right time, right place, right people equals success. Wrong time, wrong place, wrong people equals most of the real human history.
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When the ignorant have become numerous or powerful enough, they have been referred to by a special name. This names is 'the Wise'.
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It is not important to have said a thing first, or best - or even most interestingly. What is important is to say it on the right occasion.
Idries Shah
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If you can turn a murderer into a mere thief, you are making progress.
Idries Shah