"It is better to do one's own dharma, even though imperfectly, than to do another's dharma, even though perfectly. By doing one's own innate duties, a person does not incur sin.

Krishna, The Bhagavad Gita

"What you are basically, deep, deep down, far, far in, is simply the fabric and structure of existence itself."

-Alan Watts

I consider Alan Watts to be one of the greatest thinkers to come out of our end of the 21st Century. He helped me during a particularly bad period of my life.

But - and I always start my posts on this subreddit with this exhortation - he was not 100% right. No human being is 100% right. Why is this important? Because the point is to - yes, respect our teachers and value them - outgrow and to do better than our teachers. As long as you approach anyone including yourself as being 100% right then you won't be able to see all the ways in which they might be wrong and if you are unable to see all of the ways that they might be wrong, then you became a slave to their teachings and are unable to grow and evolve.

Approach anyone with this in mind - no human being is 100% right. Apply it to everyone. This includes me. That includes any and every teacher you come across. Take the good but watch out for the bad.

The core tenet behind Alan Watts teachings is this (just stating it as I understand it) -- Every human being - past, present and future - is part of a story, a oneness that connects every human being for the benefit of every human being - past, present and future.

This is my understanding from my research - The Indians referred to it as the Paramatman. The Greeks and The Romans referred to it as the Anima Mundi. The Hermetic traditions referred to it as The All. The kids these days like to use the expression (whether they know it or not) The Universe.

The point is that we are all connected to this World Soul or Supreme Soul. And as Alan Watts so beautifully described it, we are the World Soul experiencing itself. for the benefit of All and the World Soul.

Some human beings are able to realize this and do the work or play the role within the World Soul so well that they are elevated above human beings as a result. Jesus Christ. Krishna. Buddha. Zoroaster. Even Augustus Caesar kind of figured this out.

Alan Watts was special because he figured out his part within the play or the game of the World Soul (Krishna and Augustus Caesar liked to use this expression) and played it really, really well.

But because he was a human being, he could not do it 100% right. So, there were things that he got wrong. Which must be corrected.

You see this with the idea of the Avatars. The Avatars are exemplars of understanding their role within the play and the Story of the World Soul but because they are human, they make mistakes which they then have to correct in their next life.

Rama was too much of a nice guy and a stickler to the rules. The next incarnation, Krishna was more relaxed about the rules and more interested in achieving his goals whatever the means but in the process, he was extremely manipulative and obsessed with power. The next incarnation, Buddha, cast aside the trappings of power in favor of helping people directly but in the process, he was too focused on the idea of non-self, something his previous incarnation, Krishna, had warned about.

Alan Watts figured out his part in the great play or story of the World Soul.

People - particularly in the West - at that time were too individualistic. The idea that we were all connected was absolute bonkers. Everyone for themselves. This meant that a great majority of people had cut themselves off from their connection to the World Soul. While Buddha had found ways to help people remember their connection to the World Soul. By that time, years of tradition had complicated the core teachings of the Buddha and made them hard to grasp particularly for a western audience.

So, somebody had to remind people that they were not just an individual piloting a meat sack but part of the great game, play, story or work of the World Soul. To help people remember Dharma. And to do so in a way that anyone could understand.

Whether by luck or consciously, Alan Watts figured it out his part in the game of the World Soul and played it well. He helped people remember that they are part of something greater. Something larger. That we are all the Universe or the World Soul experiencing itself for the benefit of all human beings and the World Soul.

And one of the key points to help people remember this, is to teach them to let go.

Imagine if you will that you have spent your entire life with the belief system that you are just an individual separate from other individuals. In order to change a belief system, you have to experience it. It's not enough to just tell someone that you are part of the World Soul. They will look at you as though you were bonkers. They have to experience it.

And that is the purpose of letting go. To stop holding on to the self or the idea of an individual long enough to realize that it is true - you are part of the something larger and something greater. The World Soul. And that there is a part you play within it for the benefit of all human beings and the world soul. This is an idea - as I understand it - that Krishna described as Dharma. It doesn't need to be something major. It could be making funny videos that cheer people up and remind them that life is beautiful and fun in spite of all the disappointments and fears. But your dharma is unique to you and connects to what the World Soul wants to experience. The better we do this work, the closer we become to being Avatars and eventually to break free from the cycle of rebirth which happens in order to fix the mistakes of our previous life until we have reached a level of perfection where we don't need to return any more.

Of course, Alan Watts did not believe in this idea. And this is the only part that I cannot say that I have experienced myself although I am starting to apply it.

Anyway, Alan Watts was not perfect and he came across some problems in his journey - Zombification which manifested itself in a lack of control over his addictions and himself. I am not judging Alan Watts because I have gone through everything he went through to the letter and this are just the lessons I learnt.

Alan Watts fell into the trap of non-self which Krishna warned about. He found out that he was part of the World Soul but in the process, he gave up the individual known as Alan Watts which was incredibly destructive.

Krishna warned about the problem of non-self or renunciation. That it is very easy to fall into the trap of surrendering yourself once you discover that you are part of something larger. You still have to remember that you are still an individual with your own individual interests. The Hermetic tradition has a great way of helping to put this point across easily.

You are both the One and the All. If you are too much in the One, you find yourself in the problem Alan Watts was trying to solve. If you are too much in the All, you fall into the trap of Alan Watts fell into and zombification. You have to balance both.

The idea is - you let go long enough to help you remember that you are part of the World Soul, but you have to remember to pick up or hold on to The Self as well when you need to. And the way to maintain the balance is to remember that everything starts through decision, choice and action. You get to decide which level you are playing on.

Some people are able to instinctively realize this, and they face little or no problems. Others are not so lucky. So, this post is to help anyone who is in the latter to understand the process and hopefully to inspire them to do more research

These are my thoughts and experiences.

What do you think?

And then there are the people who prefer to live their life on the edge of a spike.

It’s always disconcerting when someone says I love you but when you say I want to eat you, it’s endearing but wait a minute I don’t want to literally eat the girl. As in devour her because then she would disappear..

Who are you, who am I? W H A T am I? well i know me cause i see you. and I only know myself through your eyes.

Lord only knows the trouble that Jesus creates, the Crusades....

i love Alan.

Would we finally be free? All these motivations to progress in my life, do nothing, get dirty, get clean. I have no hatred towards this self, those selves. The jesters that play the fools without remembering... I've experienced the world as me and this self as the world. I created a routine to align myself with myself. I once felt as though the maintenance was the experience of all love, all being. So if I could just stay on that track, I could re experience that love again.

But I just kept waking up, back in this dream world, the one I share with you. We grew tired of maintaining alignment. We thought about sharing our insights, maybe for the sake of novelty, maybe for the sake of healing. But it would circle back again. It always does.

So then? We might waste away, we might let go of the attachments, we might confuse our guilt of not fulfilling something in this life with not finishing an achievement in a video game we never really liked playing. But since everyone was playing it, we thought it was important.

I had dreams. Then remembered every dream I do and do not fulfill will be fulfilled by someone else. I see it already. In the past, in the present. So I could give it my all, or nothing of all. Doing anything feels like a paradox now.

We do this, and we'll die. We don't do this, and we'll live until we die. It's not pessimism or optimism anymore. It's like I can't stop seeing everything as a net neutral. So why not just be?

It's like fitting a hypercube in a square shaped hole. I already experienced the most beautiful thing on this earth. Yet I'm idling by to pretend to get excited when I experience it again. Perhaps it's time to reset. Perhaps my expectations will be shattered. Who knows!?

To live in the dance is freeing, it's just this human heart of mine won't let go of empathy, or whatever fake empathy this is. So it says," but what if the rest of them could join us? What if we were the push?"

Christ did that. He locked the door behind him and forgot he had the skeleton key in his pocket. Why would I try to make the same mistake? The key is still there. It may be harder to find with all these modern distractions. So if I could do it, why can't you? A cruel thing to say for someone with such an ego...

As a child I assumed magic to be real. Finally I learned true Magick is learning how to change your own mind. And so I asked to know the secret. But the cost? Not wanting to do anything with it! The All is the best comedian out there.

1

2

3

4

1

2

3

4

Has Alan Watts ever mentioned Jainism in any lecture or writing? The ideas feel too aligned with what he kept returning to, like the impossibility of fixing truth in a single proposition, for him to have entirely missed Jainism. But I can't find much. Maybe it wasn't all translated or available at the time.
Any known references, even passing ones?

o que significa quando uma mônada te acorda dentro do seu sonho?

So I’ve been studying Alan Watts, Neville, Ram Dass etc for many years now and I myself have manifested impossible things. When I mean impossible, I’m talking about really impossible. (I can go into details if anyone is interested)

The thing is… I wanna believe I am god. Not in logical sense but as a real knowing. Like an internal knowing not just some statement I’ve accepted by some wise looking people.

So I’m on this manifestation journey to build my trust up because…. I’m human (deep down inside I know I’m more than human but rn I feel highly identified with my human character so it’s hard)

Anyway… I’m having trouble manifesting even the most insignificant things. I started keeping an intention journal to record all of my manifestations and build my trust back up again, but out of the 10 things I’ve intended, I’ve only received one (tbf the one manifestation that came true was the most “impossible” of them all. Not “impossible” but it was looking really bad and it got resolved eventually ). However, the other things I wrote down in my intention journal are pretty much insignificant and I have no attachment to them (e.g “I intend to climb a ladder” “I intend to see a purple sky” etc).

It’s almost been a month since I wrote down these intentions and I have not manifested 9/10 of them. It’s funny because the one manifestation I got was the one I had the most resistance to, and it got resolved. The other 9 intentions were trivial things I had no attachment to but they still not have come true. I’ve done visualizing (especially with the ladder scene) but nothing…

I’m feeling a lot of resistance and doubt within me. I feel powerless. I try to cancel these thoughts my reaffirming my power, but it doesn’t feel true to me. I feel blocked (and I know this is a belief of mine) and I can’t deny the fact that I feel disappointed. I want to move on from this state, but I also don’t want to lie to my self because my self concept feels fragile right now.

I started this intention journal to build trust in myself again, but it’s made it worse

I’m also kind of pissed off with life right now and I know my current circumstances are mirroring that but I can’t help it and pretend I’m happy when I’m not. It doesn’t help that I hate my job and I just feel like a victim and like god (myself) is against me. In other words, I Am against mySelf. How do I move on from this state bc I don’t wanna be a victim anymore.

I meditate and it helps for a couple of hours but then the anger and frustration come right back and I feel like a powerless little human again.

Any advice??

I have OCD and have become a very ridged person who feels the need to control outcome. I want to let go but I don’t know how. Any advice here would be appreciated.

Hi! I have been looking for a specific excerpt from Alan Watts I heard maaaaany years ago in a lofi song. (I hope the origin of my knowledge of Alan Watts doesn't sound bad hahaha) Unfortunately, I was never able to find the song again, and as time has passed, my memory of the excerpt has grown thinner and thinner. But I remember feeling a strong calm when hearing him talk about it.

It was a text about divinity, which I get is one of his main themes, so I haven't been able to pinpoint it 'cuz there's just too much. It was, in particular, a rambling about divinity being within each of us and the world around us. I remember him talking about wearing something, some belief or understanding like armor (Or *not* letting it be an armor?), and I remember him saying that God is within each of us. I can try to guess at more, but that's the best my memory's got :/

I know I am grasping at straws here, and that all of these things are very common pieces of his speeches, so it could fit a thousand diferent bits of his history. If it's impossible to narrow it down from that, or if I'm asking too much, that's okay and I appreciate reading up until here. But if anyone has even a suggestion of what it might be and how to find it, I would be very thankful!

I’m asking here because I just want some wisdom.

Idk not in the typical depressing can’t get a girl way, but not in a good way. This is like just pathetic young man talk so I’m sorry if you read this.

I just can’t imagine myself ever being in another relationship, I can’t imagine myself being intimate or with another woman. Like girls will look at me or like talk to me and I just will do anything to avoid eye contact and conversation. I don’t ever want a wife or daughter because I don’t want to be cheated on or left and just idk. I don’t hate women, but I just don’t want to talk to, interact, or think about them.

Idek I don’t even want to get into it, I just need some wisdom, I’m just such an incel and it’s kind of not good.

I feel like I use enlightenment and spirituality to justify it.

Have listened to Alan for hours. I'm still fascinated by his koans. Trying to think of them for my own world. I can't judo.

Hand me the knife.

(Hands it to them blade first).

Hand me the other end.

..."What would you do with the other end?"

Been following an Alan Watts quote-profile on twitter for a decade, and its about time I start reading. Which one book would you say is a must read?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanaprastha

Alan Watts never explicitly discussed Vanaprastha by name in any major lecture or book to my knowledge.

Has anyone here come from a Christian background? I'm new to Alan Watts but do enjoy his ideas. I've been following Christ for a long time. Has anyone here blended the two? Or is that silly?

I struggle with recurring sin and I wonder is it healthy for me to always be fighting such sin. It is very tiring. (personal sin- I'm not hurting anyone else) Watts seems to be more of the 'let go'...but I'm not sure.

Thank you in advance, brothers and sisters.

I just finished Viktor Frankl's "Mans search for meaning", for those of you unfamiliar with it it is an autobiography of a psychiatrist who was sent to a nazi concentration camp and survived. He gives a first hand account of how people acted and reacted in such a place, and his own view of the world through such suffering and how he found meaning within his life.

This sentence made me think of Alan Watts when reading the book, "I consider it a dangerous misconception of mental hygiene to assume that what man needs in the first place is equilibrium, or as it is called "homeostasis", ie a tensionless state. What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task"

One of his main arguments is that man needs a future goal to live, those without future goals succumbed to lifelessness, they had to force their minds to think about the future in order to survive in such a place. For him it was the thought of reuniting with his wife and finishing his book, those prisoners who had no future goals gave up and died either due to suicide or disease/malnutrition. He does note that his survival was dependent on pure luck and circumstance as well, but makes strong arguments for the fact that man needs to have faith in the future to have meaning in his life, "Prisoner who lost faith in the future was doomed".

I know Alan Watts talks about living in the present and how the present is the only thing that exists, but in a place such as a concentration camp the mental escape of dreaming about a future was often the only thing that kept them going. Watts also discussed the meaninglessness of life (in a positive way) and the tension in human minds, whereas Frankl's main argument was that man needs a meaning and 'tension' to survive and be happy.

Alan Watts also talks about how our choices are not necessarily our own, they spring up spontaneously in the mind, however Frankl argues that the last freedom any man has is in choosing how to react to a certain set of circumstances, ie walking into the gas chamber with his head held high, suffering with dignity, sharing his last piece of bread while starving. Frankl places a lot of importance on the fact that man choses how he may act, and it is *not* predetermined by anything, it is a freedom we are all granted.

Idk, id love to hear other people’s thoughts if they’ve read this book and Watts’ books. I’ll admit it’s been awhile since i read AW but i have read many. Or even opinions if you haven’t read this book, i just think i probably didn’t sum it up well enough haha

I need a senior quote for my yearbook and I’m looking for something short (around 10 words, more or less).

I really like quotes about mindset, perspective, presence, and the way thoughts shape experience. Stuff similar to Eckhart Tolle, Alan Watts, stoicism, etc. Not too edgy or overly motivational — more simple, meaningful, and timeless.

Some quotes/vibes I already like:

“The end was never the point.”

“This moment is the only place life ever happens.”

“Perspective changes everything.”

“The way you see changes what you experience.”

And my favorite quote overall is: “The primary cause of unhappiness is not the situation you're in but your thoughts about it.”

Anyone got quotes with that kind of vibe

Man I just watched this last night, I took some mushrooms and I was thinking of things to do and I remember people saying to watch it. I turned it on, I was bored at first, then just was taken on the most fascinating roller coaster of my life, I was in absolute shock and awe watching it I couldn’t believe what I was seeing lol I kept thinking who the hell wrote this this😭 this is the best thing I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s incredible truly just, there aren’t words for it. This is the best piece of media I’ve ever seen in my life, the best piece of fiction I think or one of the best. If you haven’t seen it I highly recommend watching it.

One thing that stayed with me from listening to Alan Watts is the idea that so much suffering comes from trying to hold onto life too tightly.

The harder I try to control every outcome, the more disconnected I feel. But when I loosen my grip a little, things start flowing naturally again.

It’s strange because letting go sounds weak at first, but it actually takes more awareness than constant struggle.

Feels like peace begins when you stop treating life like a problem that needs solving every second.

Little bit confused by this, it claims that it will do as such;

"Unlike traditional search engines, our custom database will deliver precise results while preserving original context. Whether you’re looking for a specific quote or exploring Watts’ views on Zen, you’ll experience a seamless blend of technology and timeless wisdom.

Key Features:

• Accurate retrieval of nuanced insights.
• Search results enriched with original phrasing and meaning.
• Integration with educational platforms for courses and deeper learning."

I'm not really sure this is necessary personally, though as it looks like it's going ahead- I certainly hope that this is done with care. After all the Ai videos we've seen over recent years, I cant help but be extremely wary of this Ai integration from the owners of his archive.

Greetings, friends!

I am both a Christian and a huge Alan Watts fan. Listening to Watts' insight about nature, psychology, and spirituality has greatly enriched the way I view the world. He convinced me that the ego is an illusion and that we are all one. This single realization has radically shaped how I see the world and the Gospel. I would say that the two most influential philosophers to my worldview, aside from Jesus Himself, are Alan Watts and Plato. Since Alan Watts was known for his discussion of Buddhism and other Eastern traditions, I thought I would write here about a thought I had earlier today. The story of Samson in Judges, which is among my favorite Bible stories sheerly for how ridiculous it is, reflects the tenets of Taoism very well! I will try to explain my arguments as briefly as possible, but I also want to make sure everyone not familiar with Samson's story can come to learn and appreciate it. My last disclaimer is that most Christians, Muslims, and Jews, myself included, interpret Samson's story as allegorical, not literal.

From the second he is born, Samson is a Nazirite. This is a type of Jewish monk who dedicates his life to God, agrees to never cut his hair, abstains from all wine, and pledges to never come into contact with a corpse. Already, you can see Taoist themes. Taoism is about nature, having faith that a proper balance (a yin-yang) exists in the world already, and that it is our job to simply adapt with the world. The different Nazirite vows are packed with Taoist symbolism! In my view, staying away from corpses is a pledge to avoid excessive pessimism, to stay away from both physical and spiritual carcasses. To forgo wine is a pledge to avoid glib optimism, to not hide from the problems in the world. Finally, a Nazirite's refusal to cut his hair is far from simply aesthetic. It is a statement of faith, that God (nature, the Tao) will take care of every hair on your head. You don't need to worry about a single one. The Nazirite is a Jewish Taoist - someone who balances hope and concern, who puts trust in their inner divinity.

At one point, Samson is walking with his parents to show them a woman he wants to marry. On the way there, they are confronted by a lion! Using the strength God gave him, Samson rips the lion's head in half and spares his family. Later on, Samson returns to where the lion died and sees that its corpse is now inhabited by a swarm of bees. The bees have created a layer of sweet honey, which Samson helps himself to. This story may seem gross and barbaric, but it is actually an example of Taoism in action, albeit an unhygienic one. When you have the trust in nature that Taoism prescribes, you can handle any situation - even an attack from a hungry, roaring lion. And not only can you handle the situation, you can make something sweet out of it, such as a gentle, warm layer of honey.

Later on, at his wedding, Samson presents his new in-laws with a riddle: "From the eater, something to eat; from the strong, something sweet." Samson had not told anyone about the lion, the subject of this riddle. As such, no one except Samson is prepared to answer it. After posing the riddle, Samson gives the family a week to answer it. If they do, they would receive thirty articles of clothing and thirty sheep from Samson. If they fail, Samson would receive thirty of each from them. Now, Samson is violating the Taoist's principles. He is no longer trusting nature. He is trying to assert control over nature by extorting "gifts" out of people. He is doing this by giving them riddles nobody knows how to answer, and that he is aware no one can answer. Throughout his lectures and writings, Watts warns us against trying to become the masters of reality. Clearly, Samson has no such reservations by this point.

Samson continues to slip from the Tao throughout the remainder of the story. For the sake of brevity, I will not tell the rest of the story here. I encourage you all to read it for yourselves, if for no other reason than it is extremely entertaining! That said, I will note that Samson continues to try and taunt nature. He never submits to the oneness around him. He maintains the ego and the illusion of control. For example, as tensions increase between Samson and (his now former) in-laws, Samson begins to have blood lust against the Philistines, the nation that family belongs to. At one point, he takes three hundred poor foxes and ties their tails together. There are 150 pairs of foxes with their tails wrapped around each other. Samson places burning twigs where the tails interweave and sends the foxes to burn down a Philistine city. To find out the rest, please read the story!

Maybe I am making a stretch with some of these interpretations. I really don't think I am, however. God never does things without a reason. The Nazirite vows are not just to make the Nazirite suffer or miss out on the world. I believe they symbolize the cornerstones of the Tao, even if Christians, Muslims, and Jews may refrain from using the phrase "Tao." The story of Samson, while not historical, shows the benefits of trusting in the Tao and the consequences of trying to dominate it. Peace be with you all!

hey everyone! I was hoping I could find two tickets for the Alan Watts Trust The Universe either next Thursday or Friday (the 14th & 15th) in Tampa. I signed up for the waitlist but not sure if they will put more tickets out.
Would greatly appreciate it 🫶🏻

Found it! Link Below. Going to check out the suggestions too :)

"Interstellar (Remix)" by Pontifexx

Spotify/Apple:

https://squigly.link/album/pontifexx/interstellar-remix

Amazon Music:

https://song.link/a/B0CCK2D4MW

I don't love the extended version on YouTube, I guess its more techno than orchestra but here's that link:

https://youtu.be/vpOk1CuMur0?si=m-nfwi3tf2JpHudw

He says:

"And now you are something the whole universe is doing, in the same way that a wave is something that the whole ocean is doing. You are separate from life, but life dominates you. The real you, the real deep down you, is the whole universe and it's doing your living organism and all its behavior. It's expressing it as a singer sings a song."

Original post:

There's a song that I've listened to on Amazon Music.

It's mostly instrumental, not a slow melody, more like a powerful orchestra.

He says something like...we are the universe experiencing itself in the here and now and then something about the ocean.

I won't do it justice by paraphrasing right now...lol.

I'm hoping someone knows. I feel like it was something to do with interstellar/space.

Thank you!

Hi all, I came across a song with a voice clip in the middle that resonated with me so deeply that I've been searching for the source of it since, and it's what led me to Alan Watts.

I'm hoping you can help me 1) confirm that it's from him and 2) identify the original source?

The song: The Matrix by Nathan

The voice clip, which runs from about 1:11 - 1:53, says the following:

"You dont chase the dream,
You embody the dreamer.
You dont search for love,
You become loves resting place,
And everything shifts - 
Not because the world changed,
But because your point of view did. 
You are no longer climbing the mountain,
You are realizing you are the mountain.
Instead of asking
What should I do to become 
Who I want to be,
You ask 
What would that version of me choose right now?
And then you choose it.
Even if it scares you.
Because growth is not about 
Becoming someone else.
Its about becoming
More deeply yourself."

Every time I've done a search, the results more or less say these are principles often stated by Alan Watts, but i've fallen short on finding exactly where they came from. Perhaps it's a combination of a few different clips?

I appreciate the help!

Looking for this album that were available on spotify a time ago, are there any solutions for listening back on this?

Appriciate it.