Dense, heady memoir, the first in a projected four-volume set, tracks the years Zabor spent getting involved with a spiritual commune in the '70s and caring for his dying parents in the 1980s. PW starred review.

G.I. Gurdjieff (d. 1949) remains an important, if controversial, figure in early 20th-century Western Esoteric thought. Born in the culturally diverse region of the Caucasus, Gurdjieff traveled in Asia, Africa, and elsewhere in search of practical spiritual knowledge. Though oftentimes allusive, references to Sufi teachings and characters take a prominent position in Gurdjieff's work and writings. Since his death, a discourse on Gurdjieff and Sufism has developed through the contributions as well as critiques of his students and interlocutors. J.G. Bennett began an experimental 'Fourth Way' school in England in the 1970s which included the introduction of Sufi practices and teachings. In America this discourse has further expanded through the collaboration and engagement of contemporary Sufi teachers. This work does not simply demonstrate the influence of Gurdjieff and his ideas, but approaches the specific discourse on and about Gurdjieff and Sufism in the context of contemporary religious and spiritual teachings, particularly in the United States, and highlights some of the adaptive, boundary-crossing, and hybrid features that have led to the continuing influence of Sufism.

Investigating sufi-inspired spirituality in the modern world, this multi-faceted and interdisciplinary volume focuses on Beshara, a spiritual movement that applies the teachings of Ibn ‘Arabi in a non-Muslim context. It traces the movement's emergence in sixties Britain and analyses its major teachings and practices, exploring through this case-study the interface between sufism and the New Age, and the encounter between Islam and the West. Examining from a global perspective the impact of cultural transformations associated with modernization and globalization on religion, this timely volume concludes by tracing possible futures of sufi spirituality both in the West and in the Muslim world.

Some time ago, Rafi Zabor sat down to write a brief account of 1986. gt;That was the year after his parents died, the year he intended to leave Brooklyn for good, buy a used car, and drive it across Europe back to his golden destination, Istanbul. But like Zabor's journey, this 'brief account' took on a direction of its own - through the shell of his father's childhood, via the music of John Coltrane, in the company of a raggle-taggle collection of chancers, dreamers, misfits and magicians. Sitting in the passenger seat, the reader is taken on a mad, exhilarating, beautiful drive, encountering life and death, and a little piece of what lies beyond.