References Welcome Etudes Traditionnelles Namj ud-Din Kubra Corbin, The Man of   Light Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan Awakening: A Sufi   Experience In Search of the   Hidden Treasure That Which Transpires   Behind That Which   Appears Dr. David Bohm Unfolding Meaning William C. Chittick The Sufi Path of   Knowledge Henri Corbin Creative Imagination Bhikhu Geshe Gyatso Clear Light of Bliss Muhyiuddin Ibn al-'Arabi The Wisdom of the   Prophets [Fusus   al-Hikam] Whoso Knoweth Himself,   from the Treatise   of Being Hazrat Inayat Khan Esoteric Papers Gathas Githa (I, II, III) Healing and the Mind   World In an Eastern Rose   Garden Mastery Through   Accomplishment Philosophy,   Psychology,   Mysticism Sangathas Sangithas Social Gathekas Spiritual Liberty Sufi Teachings Supplementary Papers The Alchemy of   Happiness The Art of Being and   Becoming The Awakening of the   Human Spirit The Bowl of Saki The Complete Sayings The Inner Life The Mysticism of Sound   and Music The Smiling Forehead The Soul, Whence and   Whither The Unity of Religious   Ideals Volume I: The Inner   Life Volume II: The   Mysticism of Sound Volume X: The Path of   Initiation Edited by Pirzade Zia Inayat Khan A Pearl In Wine M.R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Asma'ul Husna: The 99   Beautiful Names of   Allah Sufi Order International Introductory Pamphlet E.H. Whinfield Shabistari, Gulsham i   Raz: The Mystic   Rose Garden Hazrat Inayat Khan: Philosophy, Psychology, Mysticism            Go back Mysticism, Psychology When people take the spiritual path they begin to interest themselves in psychology, occultism or some other exciting subject, believing that it is the same as mysticism or esotericism; but real mysticism or esotericism begins simply with the first step, with looking outside. And at what does one look outside? At two things. One thing is that a person asks himself how all he sees affects him and what is his reaction to it all; how does his spirit react to the objects or the conditions he encounters, to the sounds he hears, to the words that people speak to him? And the second thing is to see what effect he himself has on objects, conditions, and individuals when he comes in contact with them. After this comes the inner process, looking within; and this is a most wonderful process. By looking at one's spirit one can analyse how all that one says, thinks and feels acts upon one's spirit, and also how the spirit reacts. In this way one's life is analysed more and more; it seems like churning one's spirit, and by this churning one brings out the cream of the spirit, and that cream is wisdom.—Hazrat Inayat Khan The meaning of philosophy has changed in modern times. People generally understand by philosophy that which one finds in the books written by European philosophers and which are read and studied at universities. But spiritual philosophy is different; it is a different kind of knowledge, an understanding of the origin, the nature, and character of things and beings. It necessitates the study of human nature, the study of conditions of life. It is the deeper insight into life which makes one a philosopher. Psychology is a science of human nature, human tendencies, human inclinations, and human points of view; and the more a man touches the depths of this science the more it enlightens him, making life more clear to his vision. The word psychology is not used here in the sense in which it is generally understood today, as a branch of modern medical science; what I mean by psychology is the point of view of the thinkers, the way of the wise of looking at life, the manner of the thoughtful, the ideas of those who know life more fully. Mysticism is neither taught nor learned. A mystic is born; it is a temperament, it is a certain outlook on life, it is a certain attitude towards life that makes a man a mystic. His chief characteristic is that he knows the meaning of every action, whether it is by intuition or by accident, although to a mystic nothing is an accident. Every action, every condition, everything that happens has a meaning and a purpose.—Hazrat Inayat Khan Published by Barrie and Jenkins of London for the International Headquarters of the Sufi Movement, Geneva © 1964, 1972 ISBN 0 214 15778 4