About
Who is Alan Watts?
A prolific author, speaker, and self styled 'philosophical entertainer', Alan Watts was one of the first to interpret Eastern wisdom for a Western audience - tasking himself with the near impossible, putting that which is unknowable into words. He wrote more than 25 books and articles on religion and philosphy. His lectures also found posthumous popularity with many now available online.
Watts didn't ask for you to follow any creed, or to look to him as a guru or any other self-defeating, self-help drivel. He simply asked just for you to be. His books and lectures cover a number of different topics — a messenger of Zen, Watts bridged the gap of understanding between the East and West — and paint a full picture of a well-lived life in a whimsically poetic way. One that compels you to gaze within yourself and the cosmos around you.
BOOKS
My favorite books
The Book on the taboo against knowing who you are
Many wonder which Alan Watts book they should read first. A centerpiece in the collection this piece is usually referred to just as The Book. It is here where Watts sets out to discover what he believes to be the fundamental misunderstanding of who we really are. The idea of the “ego” or self as an isolated being not connected to the rest of the universe has given us a hostile view of the world “outside of ourselves.” Watts works to do away with all these arbitrary division and craft a new way to view self and universe together.
Notable Quote
“How is it possible that a being with such sensitive jewels as the eyes, such enchanted musical instruments as the ears, and such fabulous arabesque of nerves as the brain can experience itself anything less than a god.“
Out of your mind
Drawn from Watt's most notable lectures, this book invites us to delve into his favourite pathways out of the trap of conventional awareness: discover art of the 'controlled accident' - what happens when you stop taking life so seriously and start enjoying it with complete sincerity. Embrace the chaos to discover your deepest purpose and transcending the illusions of the 'the myth of myself'. As Alan Watts himself says 'Sometimes to come to you senses, you have to go out of your mind'.
Notable Quote
“This is the real secret of life-to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.”
The Joyous Cosmology: Adventures in the chemistry of consciousness
The Joyous Cosmology joins the ranks of some of the best psychedelic books ever written. Continuing the tradition as philosophical seeker and not one just out for recreational fun — Watts saw the true worth of psychedelic exploration. He believed true insight could be found “when accompanied with sustained philosophical reflection by a person who is in search, not of kicks, but of understanding.” This book argues for the protection and right to our own brains and nervous systems.
Notable Quote
“Yet could anything be more obvious than that the past follows from the present like a comet's tail, and that if we are to be alive at all, here is the place to be?”
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Other popular books by Alan Watts
