Sometimes I get this strange feeling when I see people completely revolve their existence around being “a girl” or “a man.”

Like everything becomes about being pretty enough, masculine enough, desirable enough, aesthetic enough, alpha enough.

And honestly, I understand why it happens. Identity makes existence feel more structured. It gives certainty in a very uncertain life. Humans want to feel seen, wanted, and like they belong somewhere.

So this is not hatred toward people at all. I see the pain and conditioning underneath it.

But still, something in me feels sad seeing humans reduce themselves to a role so deeply that they stop seeing themselves beyond it.

You are not just a girl.

You are not just a man.

Before all of that, you are a living being experiencing existence itself.

I don’t know. Maybe this sounds abstract, but it gives me this bittersweet feeling.

has anyone ever heard about the wisdom age?

its gonna be an age where the world will collectively or at least in many parts of the world people will start to look inside of them for once and that they will pause and start to live more consciously , not all at once , not by sudden magic turn , but by collectively entering the state of mind they once avoided completely.

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?

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.

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!