Sufi Teaching Stories, Old and New

Although told in a largely refashioned manner, a number of the following stories are very loosely based upon either time-honored stories of the mystics or are built around various, essential spiritual insights drawn from their teachings. Other stories appearing in this volume are wholly original but are still rooted in a traditional, spiritual perspective. In either case, the names have been changed to protect the innocent, and, as well, considerable poetic license has been taken in the telling and/or re-telling of some of these spiritual tales.

The author is neither a shaykh nor a guide, but he did have the opportunity to serve and work closely with an adept of Islamic mysticism, and, as a result, was exposed to a variety of principles, values, and teachings of the Sufi path. The stories are being given expression in the present volume because they might have something of value to offer to anyone who cares to engage them and reflect on what is being said.