“Tarikatuna sohbah wal hayri fi jamiyah.” Discourses refer to the ‘sohbahs’ or associations with the sheykh. He speaks extempore, tapping into the Divine Source, spiritually connecting to his sheykh to speak on a matter that concerns those present. These discourses are always fresh and alive. Although the words may seem simple, there are at least seven levels of understanding. Perfect manners in listening increases the ability to understand the discourses in more than one level and not only from a basic intellectual level. When reading the discourses we are advised to be in a state of ritual purity and to free ourselves from any distraction that may interrupt the reading. -http://www.nakshibendi.com
Sohbets of the awliya are a powerful medium for personal change, if they are listened to with the abandonment of heedlessness. One of the manners of sohbet is to pay clear and undistracted attention to the Sheykh. Taking notes in itself is completely discouraged in sohbet.
I wrote about the modern invention of taking notes in sohbet here:
http://www.yursil.com/blog/2007/09/sufi-notes/
On the other hand, after finishing the sohbet, immediate reflections on ones heart are indeed powerful. Often after listening to a Sohbet we are asked to summarize it instantly. Mureeds are then able to, from one listening (and without notes) give an accurate summary, often quoting parts of the sohbet verbatim, and include points of personal meaning.
One blogger writes about personal reflections immediately upon reading or listening to a sohbet at http://sohbetjournal.wordpress.com/. A site that is also a departure from the concept of ‘notes’ but rather one of living immediate post reflection.
the truth on 
m.a.kidwai,CME/IND.RLY.(retd.) on 
Salam brother Yursil,
this is completely unrelated to your post but I incorporated a lot of pictures from your flickr page into creating the theme for me blog and wanted to ask for your permission in using them.. I apologize for not asking before doing this as that would’ve been more proper.
Keep this one in your dua inshaAllah.
masalam.
*my
BismillahirRahmanirRahim
Alaykumsalaam
Certainly, thats fine
BismillaharRahmanirRahim
selam alaykum. This is a good post, mashaAllah! I recall in one of my first private moments with Shaykh Abdul Kerim Hazretleri, I brought along with me a little folded up piece of paper with a number of scribbles. The scribbles were all of the wonderful questions that I was going to ask my shaykh! I had been waiting for that moment for so long, the moment to ask all of the questions that I’d pondered through the day (thinking back on this makes me laugh out loud).
When the opportunity finally came later that day, I pulled out my little piece of paper (hehe). Seyh Efendi looked at me very patiently and asked, ‘what do you have there?’ I told him I wrote all the things down that I was concerned about. He smiled and offered an advice, he calmly told me to put away the notes, and asked me what it was that I was concerned about? We spoke a long while and he answered all of my questions without actually asking any of them! He merely talked to me and everything I needed to know was explained to me.
The end result was that I realized that the real shaykh’s, those like Shaykh Abdul Kerim, are not working in ways that fit to our previous experiences in the American or European educations systems. Likewise, the exchange of knowledge works differently. I can safely say from this experience with Shaykh Abdul Kerim that I also realized that notes, in the way I was accustom to taking in the University setting, would only be an albatross to the spiritual progress that occurs as result of an association with one’s shaykh.
Though I did blog on some of the things I discussed with my shaykh over that weekend.
-Saifuddin
BismillahirRahmanirRahim
Assalamu alaykum,
This post is very beneficial. May Allah reward you.