Sufi Psychology Association®

All that you have heard or seen or known
is not even the beginning of what you must know.

Farid ud-Din Attar

The Sufi Psychology of M.T.O. Shahmaghsoudi is a process of learning and cognition. The techniques and methods used have been refined over a period of more than a thousand years. Innumerable books testify to their effectiveness in helping people develop extraordinary capabilities.

The first step is deceivingly simple. Defending himself at his trial, Socrates explained why the Oracle at the Temple of Delphi had said there was no one more learned than Socrates. Socrates knew he did not know, and he concluded that the Oracle must have meant that the most learned man was the one who was willing to confess his own lack of knowledge. So first of all, one must recognize that he or she does not know.

Our everyday learning occurs through the five physical senses. This is useful in dealing with everyday functioning in this life. The ordinary person learns from knowledge acquired through the five physical senses. Societies teach their members how and what to perceive as a necessary basis for accepting the social consensus of reality. This type of learning deals with physical appearances and the physical level, but is not enough for ultimate reality. "Knowledge based on physical observation is the greatest veil in the discovery of truth." 1 To attain true cognition, this physical level of learning and cognition must be set aside. The Sufis and the devout receive knowledge from the Source of Existence, which is eternal. "Knowledge is not acquired through study, but is a light which God shines in the heart of whom He wills." 2

Let us use an analogy in terms of science. In ordinary life, we see or feel an object --- a chair or a table --- and learn it is separate, solid, and motionless. We also learn to see ourselves similarly. Yet when we later read of particle physics and quantum mechanics, we learn our perception was inaccurate. We discover every atom contains constantly changing subatomic particles. These particles are not independently existing entities. A particle "is, in essence, a set of relationships that reach outward to other things." 3 These subatomic particles are constantly in motion ---- mass is changing to energy, and energy to mass. Every subatomic interaction consists of the annihilation of the original particle and the creation of new subatomic particles. The theory which describes this "is a successful physical theory, yet it is based on the assumption that physical reality is essentially non substantial. Fields alone are real. They are the substance of the universe and not 'matter'. Matter (particles) is simply the momentary manifestation of interacting fields." 4

It is not easy for us to "let go" of our brain's construct, to break the boundaries of our well-learned limitations. It is not easy to realize the physical world is "...not a structure built out of independently existing analyzable entities, but rather a web of relationships between elements whose meanings arise wholly from their relationship to the whole." 5

Jesus tells us that in order to enter the kingdom of Heaven, we need to become again as a little child. In other words, we need to let go of all our pre-conceived notions, all the ideas of others we have accepted as our own, all our assumptions about ourselves and the world, all we have been taught, and simply open ourselves to the experiential learning presented by the prophets. Those cherished creations of our mind, our thoughts, keep us from receiving and cognizing the truth; we mistake mental imagination and illusion for truth. The young child is not so hampered. Not even the most sophisticated, logical, analytical reasoning deduced by our mental faculties can find truth for us.

The most important factor in cognition is the desire to know, a deep and sincere seeking for Truth. If we want to cognize Truth, we must stop thinking. We must learn to listen ----- without any past or future ---- without any memory or any prospect, drawing no conclusions. All the salek has to do is to hear, to really listen. To do that, and nothing else. It is not possible to listen if our own brain is chattering. We have to really listen in utter internal quiet, and to be tuned into the correct wavelength. This is essential to M.T.O. Shahmaghsoudi Psychology. God is always speaking, but we are not listening

1 Angha, S.M.S. (1986). Al Rasa'el. Lanham, MD. University Press of America. p. 80.
2 Ibid, p. 80.
3 Zukav, Gary. (1979). The Dancing Wu Li Masters. NY: Bantam. p.71.
4 Ibid, p. 200.
5 Ibid, p. 72