Simon Kidd

“There are currently very few writers in either East or West who demonstrate much understanding of mystical ranges, and hence the values here are largely in abeyance. The typical 'Western Mysticism,' of the modern variety, is an excuse for narcissism and banality. Its vaunted therapy is sometimes classified, appropriately enough, as Neo-Reichian. It is arguably suitable fare for an increasingly illiterate audience who are narrowing down their alternatives to one only: ignorance of real values.”
― Kevin R.D. Shepherd, Meaning in Anthropos

“For those who are pedantic about classifications, it is perhaps best to describe Meher Baba as a neo-Kaivani, just as the Kaivanis can be termed neo-ishraqi in their departure from Islamic idioms. The gnostic dynamic does not stand still in its intercultural avenues of expression, and indeed, if it does so in a mono-cultural guise, it is likely to be no longer a dynamic but merely petrified conditioning. The easiest thing for anybody to do is to repeat secondhand material; the consequence is generally unenlightened dogmatism, not to mention distortion.”
― Kevin R.D. Shepherd, Meher Baba, an Iranian Liberal

“There are no significant shortcuts to intellectual competence. Domain-specific knowledge and long practice are essential to consolidating a skill in long-term memory. Neither computers nor general critical-thinking techniques can circumvent those arduous requirements.”
― E.D. Hirsch, Why Knowledge Matters: Rescuing Our Children from Failed Educational Theories

“All philosophies are mental fabrications.”
― Nagarjuna Erik Hoogcarspel