Message from the Sparrows

About the Book

Message from the Sparrows is principally an introduction to esoteric ideas, those ideas at the periphery of most of our thinking: Who am I, really? Do I believe all of the things that have been handed down to me? Have I discovered things for myself or has it been a matter of being told what to think? What have I gained from my own experiences? Are these discoveries things I can talk about or do they seem too different from what everyone around me thinks? People are always saying, ‘Be yourself’! But what does that mean, exactly? We’re back to the first question, ‘Who am I’? And how can I discover what that is? The book looks at all of these questions in an amusing and engaging way. From another angle the book is a launching pad for any questioning person in the form of a course given to ten quite different young people and their teacher. The background is an intro-duction to Sufism and twelve classic and provocative tales and the discussion surrounding the tales, as well as any number of examples from the storehouse of a teacher who has taught for thirty years, has walked and traveled through most of the known world, has worked at more than a hundred different jobs, and has brought up five children and three step-children. Gradually, the reader discovers that he/she too is part of the class and that the whole group, including the teacher, is on a journey, the destination of which is oneself.

About the Author

Taylor Morris grew up in New Orleans -- a world bounded as much by jazz, tradition, voodoo, and Mardi Gras as by the mighty river and the inland sea of Lake Pontchartrain. His dreams of flying were realized in World War II as a Marine Corps pilot of Dive Bombers and Night Fighters. After the war he graduated from Tulane and then gained an M.A. from Columbia. He spent six years in Mexico, writing and teaching English. On his return he taught English at Hunter College and then, with five children and wife, moved to New Hampshire for a long stay at The MacDowell Colony followed by a teaching career at Franklin Pierce College, where he has led fourteen long-distance walks with students across most of Europe. In addition to Sparrows he is also author of The Walk of the Conscious Ants, and numerous stories and articles.