Alan Watts

The Essence of Alan Watts
by Alan Watts
© 1974, 1977 by Celestial Arts

Thoughts Going In

I have been listening to (recorded lectures by) Alan Watts, as of late. I find his voice soothing. And listening to him can bump me out of anger. Of course, doing almost anything other than attending to my anger and listening to the voices in my head can bump me out of anger. But I have been able to listen to him, which is more than I can say about most Self Styled Gurus.

Running Thoughts

You know, the thoughts that went through my head as I read this book, which by definition were triggered by the book, but were not necessarily of the book.

• I recognize the face.
• I find his voice soothing.
• Let us begin.
• A personalized inscription.
• I wonder if she ever read it?
• A ferryboat.
• He lived (in part) on a ferryboat.
• In my mind, I see a steamboat paddler.
• Not so much by (I presume), as based on the audio recordings of.
• Nine lectures.
• I mean, books.
• No. I mean, lectures.
• I react to the bio.
• It was put together by a fan.
• We could, also, say Alan Watts studiously avoided manual labor, took keen advantage of the situation, and curated a philosophy that held popular appeal.
• Breathing in, breathing out is easier when one lives on a ferryboat, after all.
• My reactions are all the more ironic, as I am not supporting him.
• I get his words for free.
• I question whether I am capable of paying for words, anymore.

Note: notes like these and books like this are antithetical to Being in The Now, as The Now is word free.

Ego & God

• More than just Naked Torso Guy.
• In space.
• No doubt, in time, as well.
• I don't believe he knows physics.
• It is easy to get nitpicky.
• I like that the pages are short.
• Divided by pictures.
• This is air.
  • Soothing air.
  • Nothing but fluffy content.
• In the beginning was the word.
• And the word was all.
• And in the end, all you have is your word.
• He's less convincing in the printed form.
• Way less.
• Though, it's not like all of his recordings hit the spot.
• He's thought about this a lot.
• They are interesting points of views.
• Facts.
• But they are hardly arguments in and of themselves.
• It's very much a structured argument.
• Or unstructured one.
• And out of Order came The Void.
• And The Void was all.
• Which is hardly the sort of behavior one expects out of a void.
• I missed the chapter transition from the Chapter on Ego to the Chapter on God.

Meditation

• And the bell tolls.
• Or should that be and the clock strikes one?
• But I like the former better.
• There may be nothing like reading a book on meditation to inspire one to meditate.
• Or a program of note taking to cause one to stop.
• Filling one's senses seems a straightforward enough goal.
• It's happening.
• No boundaries.
• No control.
• And thus, we end.

Incense

• A chapter not listed in the Table of Contents.
• I don't care for incense for about the same reason I don't enjoy staring straight into a flood light.
• Also, it's hard to breathe.
• And I find breathing far more important.
• It's not interesting.
• It's errata regarding a subject about which I do not care.
• In the end, it is simply personal preference.

Nothingness

• This will be an uphill climb.
• It is wordplay.
• And wordplay alone.
• Nothing is not the opposite of something.
• Nothing is nothing.
• It is the placeholder for that which does not exist.
• But any such placeholder is a lie for nothing is not there.
• Nothing is not nothing.
• Nothing is nothing.
• But if it is something, then it is not nothing.
• Because only nothing is nothing.
• Even if that something purports to be nothing in the first place.
• Got it?

∅ ≠ ∅

Because ≠ is the defining feature of ∅.

Well, actually, not is the defining feature of ∅, but it comes down to the same thing.

∅ does not.
∅ is not.

And as such, virtually anything said about ∅ is wrong.

Or in other words, I have given a lot of thought about ∅. And I'm not willing to grant superior knowledge about (The Void or anything else that does not exist) to anyone else.

• I think maybe he was joking.
• Or insane.
• Or so unimpressed with the mainstream nonsense, he came up with some of his own.
• Well now, this could be interesting.
• A flickering lack of attention.
• For something that is not there.
• I don't find it so much profound.
• As simply wrong.
• This essay did not work.
• For me.
• At all.

Death

• I question how much I care about his Why's.
• His explanations for it all.
• It was the How that drew me in.
• Little tricks of the trade.
• Bathing in The River Styx has its appeal.
• Its time and place.
• Empty what-ifs.
• A true belief in which would lead one to a hedonistic lifestyle.
• Which I'm guessing most of us have.
• Titties.
• A logical fallacy in that it does not address the concern.
• I would posit that most folks die well before they are sick and tired of themselves.
• But maybe, that's not the yardstick.
• It's when the Universe gets sick of you.
• What would it be like to haunt this moment?

Time

• I have a desire to kill my mind.
• And as the lyrics go, turn off time.
• But still be here enough to enjoy the singing of birds.
• Don't knock the obvious.
• Be strong enough to look away.
• Perhaps, true.
• Definitely, meaningless.
• It falls on its face.
• It's just flat out wrong.
• One might say thought or emotions reside in the totality of now.
• But where I now am depends on where I have been.
• Unless one is arguing discontinuity.
• It's an argument that leads nowhere.
• It has no use.
• Unless it is happiness that one finds elusive.
• But then, one needs not a reason to be happy.
• It's fast becoming a tale of I don't care.
• Gads, I'm glad that chapter is over.
• Why did I ever start writing?
• Because even I can write claptrap better than this.

The Nature of Man

• Such a hippy.
• Or poser.
• Too hippy-like and one is clearly a poser.
• Not enough and one is neither.
• Dance through life.
• Running is not a game.
• It's an easily organized activity that requires little equipment.
• Personal note taking glitch.
• Not all that thrilled with Mr Watts.
• This book might be the last of him for me.
• Just breath.
• Listen.
• Let go.
• To which I would add.
• Laugh.
• Fake it till you make it.
• It's all a game of will.
• You versus everyone.
• You versus yourself.
• Which to Alan, apparently, means the same thing.
• Turning into such crap.
• He needs to say I.
• And leave off the we.
• Yes! Yes!
• When I think of that thing I never think about, his is the first name that comes to mind.
• I'm just waiting for the chapter to end, now.
• And now WE are completely off track.
• Killing time.
• Filling up space.
• Women get to decide what they want in a man.
• Men get to decide what they want in a woman.
• I could care less about LGBT-QRS.
• But if you do (or are), please amend as appropriate.
• Is the pertinent point that his balls hang low?
• The real reason is functionality.
• But carry on.
• Phooey.

The Cosmic Drama

• "I am not looking forward to this."
• I think, as I sit down to read.
• I do believe I am close to the end.
• Of the book.
• And seeking any further input from Alan Watts.
• Can he redeem?
• If I am the godhead (the eyes of the universe), then I can do no wrong.
• A feast of the flesh being the beginning and the end.
• Now, that is a hedonistic doctrine.
• And Alan does strike me as a hedonist.
• If you are happy, wealth is more likely to come.
• But more importantly, if you are happy, you are less likely to care when it does not.
• OK.
• Fine.
• Redeemed.
• Even if think the preceding is mostly my construction.
• I got there with him.
• Through him.
• Jumping ahead and summarizing the point which I would be making given his words.
• This is a good thought-line.
• In that, I've gone down the same (similar) road and reached the same (similar) conclusion.
• Doesn't mean it mirrors reality.
• But it is a cohesive train of thought.
• Bingo!
• We have lift-off.
• He's afraid.
• And here I am thinking this mental con is an ego based game.
• The metaphor is repeated.
• Well, I do that, as well.
• I consider it a sign of a disorganized mind.
• Going out of its depth.
• 1-2-3-4.
• Yeah, I can count, too.
• Only I do it faster.
• Odd how I'm critical of another being self-indulgent.
• I am all.
• The center of the storm.
• The worst part.

Philosophical Fantasies

• I would have spelled it Phantasies.
• For the alliterative effect.
• I want more flavor in my fluff.
• He's taking too long to get to the point.
• See?
• And that's beautiful.
• He got (along with others, I imagine) to the logical consequences of an AI Singularity, before the term was even coined.
• Some things never change.
• Specifics of the wrong type.
• Not enough style.
• Simple accuracy is not enough.
• She's getting mar-ried in the... Morn-ing!
• Keep the ball in motion for the pure joy of it all.
• On the other hand, getting there was pretty boring.

Summation

• Hedonism!
• Popular Solipsism!
• Serene Acceptance!

Best Takeaways

• Body Awareness.
• Breath.
• Body.
• Sensory Awareness.
• Sounds.
• Scents.
• Mental Awareness.
• Thoughts.
• Feelings.
• No! That is not it.
• It's, also, acceptance.
• And awareness that it is all a game.
• Though, I am really keen about that happiness insight.
• The more happy.
• The more there is to be happy about.
• I have no idea how much of this I would agree with.
• And perhaps, the victor is whoever can stare into The Void the longest.
• The heart of another.
• The Heart of Darkness.

Final Debriefing

So, I think I will re-iterate a few of those Summary Points, once again.

Let us (meaning I) assume that meditation and awareness are one and the same. Where there is not thought, there is immersion in the moment... a Oneness with the Universe. Of course, One is part of the Universe, so awareness of the self, the mind, and the ego is acceptable... but not the end-all... merely part of a greater whole.

A good place to start is to experience one's breath... to open one's senses to the world around... and within... all while not losing sight of the other... the vastness beyond.

The second insight is that Philosophy, Religion, Politics, and what not are Games of Ego. If you are sure, sure of yourself, you have won the game. That is the game. And if you are not sure of yourself, others will push you aside and take root in your soul. Oh, not the cleverest of words, but that's the gist. Can you stare a Con Man down?

Finally, not only is Happiness its own reward, but is the easiest path to additional rewards.

You are happy?
How?
Please, show me how.

But they will never believe that you simply willed yourself to that state of mind... in careless disregard... of anything else.