Article - The Teaching Story
from Awareness Journal, Vol III, No 1, Fall 1994
Please discuss telling the Teaching story and what is going on. What kinds of responses are received. How does one get into it when wanting to tell it to a stranger or someone not in the Work?
From previous conversations we have had, I presume you are talking about the Mushkil Gusha story and its equivalents. For those who don't know about this, see Caravan of Dreams by Idries Shah. The Story of Mushkil Gusha is said to contain the Teaching and to affect people deeply (past their junk directly to Essence) when told at the right time, place and circumstance and by and to the right people. Now that's a tall order, determining right time, place, circumstance not to mention right people. But is it traditional to tell this story anyway on Thursday evening (the eve of the Muslim Sabbath), and readers of Shah's version are admonished to do so every Thursday night from first reading.
After a few weeks of telling Shah's particular version, I shortened it -- actually Rhondell and I shortened it together: "When your need is great enough and your want is small enough, Mushkil Gusha will appear and remove all difficulties." This is all I usually say to people on Thursdays ... to waiters and clerks, maybe family, not just anybody, but almost. The idea is not to "convert" anyone but to "keep the fire burning," by committing to telling the story. I don't think I have ever gotten any response other than a wrinkled forehead or a "Yeah, ain't that the truth." But who knows what seeds are planted? The abbreviated version is straight to the point and maybe something someone might remember one day.
If your question is prompted by a lack of response, I would say question your expectations in telling it. What is your purpose? If it is to convert anyone, forget it. We sow but do not necessarily reap the same harvest. If it is just to keep the flame, continue.
Idries Shah's books are full of these stories. Or maybe we should make up some new ones, maybe American versions? Or the fairy-tale variety, like the original. It would take some heavy Work to do this, of course, because one would have to completely understand the mechanism within the Mushkil Gusha story in order to duplicate it in different versions. Are you up to that? It would be an excellent School for you to make a stab at it.
