A Perfect Mirror

By Staff Writer, *If ever there were a definitive book on the cultural life of Sufism, THIS is it.* - PRLog Free Press Release - USA; Monday, December 6, 2010

Galleys now available for our spring title 'Sufism and the Way of Blame: The Hidden Sources of Sacred Psychology'!
Quest Books • March 2011 • Isbn 978-0-8356-0864-0 • $16.95 pb • 280 pp • 6 x 9

Originating in ninth-century Persia, the “way of blame” (Pers. malamatiyya) is a little-known tradition within larger Sufism that focused on the psychology of egoism and self-critique.

Later, this term referred to those Sufis who shunned Islamic literalism and formalism, thus being worthy of “blame.”

Dr. Yannis Tousullis may be the first to explore the relationship between this controversial movement and the larger tradition of Sufism, as well as the broader relationship between Sufism and Islam throughout history up to this present day.

Dr. Tousullis explains Sufism as the lifelong practice to becoming a “perfect mirror in which God contemplates Himself.”

He draws on contemporary interpretations by G. I Gurdjieff, J. G. Bennett, and Idries Shah, as well as on Frithjof Schuon, Martin Lings, and Seyyed Hossein Nasr.

Tousullis includes personal research conducted with one of the last living representatives of the way of blame in Turkey today, Mehmet Selim Ozich. The closing chapters present the paradigm of psychospiritual development currently used by classically oriented Sufis who practice a human-centered approach to spiritual transformation.

Praise for Sufism and the Way of Blame...

Sufism and the Way of Blame cuts through many of the myths that have attached themselves to popular presentations of Sufi ideas. It provides not only a readable summary of the multifaceted history of Islam and Sufism, but also a previously inaccessible understanding of the working model of spiritual growth associated with the "Way of Blame." If you've ever been attracted to the teachings associated with Sufism, G.I. Gurdjieff, J.G. Bennett, or Idris Shah, you will benefit from reading this book.
—Jay Kinney, author of The Masonic Myth, co-author of Hidden Wisdom

Dr. Toussulis sees Sufism as a "multiplex phenomenon," placing it in its proper social and historical context. But he also recognizes that the psychological aspects of Sufism need to be explored, and this section of the book contains the most innovative insights of this compelling volume. For readers who want to avoid both "New Age" and dogmatic approaches to this topic, Sufism and the Way of Blame surpasses any book on the topic currently in print. This is an authoritative volume, and one badly needed at this time.
—Stanley Krippner, Ph.D., Recipient, Ashley Montague Award, Professor of Psychology, Saybrook University, and co-author of Personal Mythology

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Yannis Toussulis, Ph.D. is the current director of The Center for Human Inquiry in Emeryville, California where he teaches and conducts research in the practice of cross-cultural negotiation, leadership skills, and contemplative practices. In this and other endeavors Dr. Toussulis combines academic qualifications in intercultural psychology and human science research with practical expertise gained from his thirty-year long experience in Mental Health Services.

He conducts a separate private practice as a family psychotherapist (M.A., LMFT #11962) in Emeryville, Califronia.

Dr. Toussulis earned his doctoral degree in Psychology with an emphasis in human science research from the Saybrook Institute (1995). His dissertation was entitled Faith as A Lived-Experience: A Phenomenological Study.

Dr. Toussulis also holds an M.A. in Psychology with an emphasis in Existential Counseling and Psychotherapy from Lone Mountain College (1975). While teaching Psychology, Mythology, Comparative Religion, and Culture Studies at Antioch University/West for over fourteen years, Dr. Toussulis served five of those years as the Co-Director of the Consciousness Studies Program in the Graduate Department of Psychology.

For the past ten years he taught the psychology of intercultural conflict as an Adjunct Professor at the Graduate School of International Policy Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies, and he has also served as an Associate Faculty Member at the Starr King Divinity School at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California.

Dr. Toussulis has over twenty-five years experience in designing and directing workshops and seminars. His offerings have been sponsored by Esalen Institute, the Association for Humanistic Psychology, the Association for Transpersonal Psychology, and numerous other organizations. He has held led traveling workshops in Greece, Turkey, Egypt, and Indonesia.

Dr. Toussulis has also lectured for organizations as diverse as The United Nations Development Project, the University of California Extension Program, Global Majority (a non-violent conflict resolution group) and the Egyptian Society for Scientific Research (Cairo). Today Dr. Toussulis resides in Emeryville, CA.

[Visit Dr. Yannis Toussulis Website]