The Sufi Book of Life: 99 Pathways of the Heart for the Modern Dervish Paperback – February 22, 2005

Was recently teaching some yoga teacher training workshops in West Africa and knew that we would have Sufi Muslim students interested in mantra meditation practice. Meditation mantras in the Sufi tradition come principally from this text. I had left my paper copy at home and was delighted to find a Kindle edition that I was able to download in about one minute!Douglas-Klotz is a wonderful interpreter of the text traditions of Aramaic, the linguistic precursor of both Arabic and Hebrew. As a result, his commentary of the 99 names is able to show the common spiritual roots of both Judeo-Christian and Islamic tradition so that their deep connections are clear, however muddy and troubled their modern relationships may be. He has in many other books done serious Christians a great service in helping them to understand Jesus as a first century person of Aramaic culture (Prayers of the Cosmos, Blessings of the Cosmos, The Hidden Gospel) and by introducing them to the importance of Jesus in Muslim tradition and particularly in the Sufi path. This book goes into the linguistic roots of names more than other translations I have seen of the text and so makes it more accessible to readers who come to the text from outside Islam. I fell in love with Sufi path of pure Divine love which has very little of the technical focus that is so common in yoga practice. A fantastic read whether or not you are a Sufi and a wonderful peek into the devotional world of Islam.

As a tool for daily reflection, this book is beautiful

There are many ways to read this book, but I think it's nice to pick one chapter (pathway) a day so that you have a chance to properly reflect upon the information and truly enjoy the book as a whole. Each pathway is insightful and meaningful. Highly recommended.

This is perhaps one of my favorite books by Neil Douglas-Klotz. The gives a series of meditations on each of the 99 names of Allah. It is one of the better books out there on the subject, but not quite the best. I would recommend Physicians of the Heart. It has much more detailed information; and more in depth usage. I find that "The Sufi Book of Life" is more of a supplement for the other book as far as how I use it. The meditations are fairly simple in this volume in that he does not teach how to pair various names together. For example, Al-Rahman and Al-Rahim are often used together. Likewise, Al-Ghaffar and Al-Ghafur are also used together. This book does not present that info. Instead he gives a brief commentary on each name and a brief suggestion for its practice. If anyone is familiar with the "body prayers" that he teaches in his other books/CDs, then this will be right up your alley.

Currently on the 24th name of the Divine and I must say it gets better and more powerful by the day, they have become my life Mantra.Would highly recommend it to anyone seeking to connect with the divine and feel the power of his presence daily. I assure you the effects of the meditation lingers for a long time and reshapes ones feelings, thoughts and perspective.

You have to really be "into" Sufism to understand this; someone interested in Christian mysticism or even interspiritual mysticism might not appreciate the concept of divine names as being very important. Still, I did gain a lot of insight into mysticism as practiced by the ancients; I find it helps me clear out all the "baggage" that comes with current culture. I'm always amazed at how many Sufi writings ignore the Prophet just as in Christianity some of us are tending to downplay "Christ as Man" in favor of "Christ as God". Mystics seem to know the harm our human manifestations of God are causing us.

I am not a Muslim, but I am a frequent reader of Sufi literature, and this is one of the better books. It is definitely not a book of scholastic or academic theory about Sufism, but rather more like a combination of applied practice, psychotherapy, prayer book, and meditation book all rolled into one. And the author definitely has strong credentials to be teaching this material. I recommend this book to anyone, regardless of faith. It might even be in the category of "Books to Have on a Deserted Island." These kinds of things are not often made available to Westerners, and so it's a blessing to have this book.

I first encountered this book as a loan from my sister, and after having her copy for about 3 months, I HAD to purchase my own. I love the way this book is setup so you can flip to a random page, and the order doesn't matter so much. I especially like the way each of the 99 pathways is set up, with a description, a little story/poetic verse to signify its orgins and then its exact linguistic orgin is provided. A fun, llight-hearted spiritual read that doesn't attempt to shove any hardcore religious perspective down your throat. Truly for the modern dervish :)