Is life like a dream?

According to the Buddhists, "individuals consist of a 'bundle' of habits, memories, sensations, desires, and so forth, which together delude one into thinking that he or she consists of a stable, lasting self.

"This false self hangs together as a unit, and even reincarnates in body after body.

"In Buddhism, as well as in Hinduism, life in a corporeal body is viewed negatively, as the source of all suffering.

"Hence, the goal is to obtain release.

"In Buddhism, this means abandoning the false sense of self so that the bundle of memories and impulses disintegrates, leaving nothing to reincarnate and hence nothing to experience pain."

Buddhist Afterlife Beliefs

...

According to certainBuddhist thinkers:

"When we see houses and fields in dreams, we think of them as being external objects that are not created by the mind, even though they are nothing other than projections of our mind.

"All that we see when we are awake is also nothing other than a creation of the mind."

Footnote on a guru - The New York Times

Englishman Alan Watts (1915 1973), a fan of Eastern religions, wrote books about religion and philosophy.

Watts had a "far-reaching influence on the American intelligentsia." (Alan Watts - Wikipedia)

As a child, while ill with a fever, Watts claimed to have had a mystical vision.

While living in London, Watts got to know theosophists like Alice Bailey, some of whom believed that the 'divine' can be found in everyone.

The theosophists are a mixed bunch and their ideas are controversial.

Alice Bailey wrote of the Jews as a race, with group karma, characteristics, and behaviors.

She believed Jews embody the characteristics of "materialism, cruelty and a spiritual conservatism" and the "separative, selfish, lower concrete mind." [124][125]

Bailey said that "The Jews, by their illegal and terrorist activities, have laid a foundation of great difficulty for those who are seeking to promote world peace."[147])

Bailey stated that all religions originate from the same spiritual source, and that humanity will eventually come to realize this, and as they do so, the result will be the emergence of a universal world religion and a "new world order." [151][152]

In the 1930s, Alan Watts took an interest in Zen Buddhism.

In 1938, he got married to Eleanor Everett.

Watts entered an Anglican/Episcopalian Theological Seminary, in Illinois, USA.

There he attempted to work out a blend mystical Christianity and Asian philosophy.

In 1945, Watts became an Anglican/Episcopalian priest.

He then had an extramarital affair.

Watts's marriage was ended and Watts ceased to be a priest.

Watts developed a strong interest in Hinduism and Quantum Physics.

Watts began to dabble in mescaline given to him by Dr. Oscar Janiger, a University of California Irvine Psychiatrist who was best known for his LSD research.

Watts tried LSD several times.

"Many of the seminal figures of the counterculture were first introduced to LSD ... by scientists and physicians who were conducting CIA-funded research and attending conferences funded by CIA-front foundations.

"I met the Menlo Park researcher who gave Ken Kesey his first dose of acid and the Los Angeles psychiatrists who gave the drug to Henry and Claire Booth Luce, Anais Nin, Alan Watts, Cary Grant, and a host of other luminaries.

"All were part of the CIA-enabled network."

...

Watts became more influenced by Hinduism.

He wrote about how 'opposites' such as 'good' and 'bad' are essentials of human life and human evolution.

Watts claimed that the universe consists of a 'self' which becomes all the things, living and non living, in the cosmos.

In other words, Watts, inspired by Hindu ideas, wrote that God plays all the parts in the drama of life.

God plays the part of Hitler and the part of Mother Teresa.

We personally find it difficult to believe that 'God' plays the part of Hitler, at the point at which Hitler is planning genocide.

Now, of course, the CIA, and certain Hindu fascists, might like us to believe that God played the parts of the shooters in the Mumbai Attacks of 2008.

Alan Watts was married three times. (Alan Watts - Wikipedia)

"Laden with social and financial responsibilities, he struggled increasingly with alcohol addiction."

He died at the age of 58.

~

The rest is here:
Aangirfan: LIFE IS A DREAM; ALAN WATTS

The Alan Watts Organization is a descendant of the Electronic University, which Alan and his son Mark Watts co-created shortly before Alans deathin 1973. Our goal is to perpetuate Alan Watts legacy by providing a definitive online resource for information about Alans written and recorded works.

We also maintain and curate the vast collection Alan Watts audio and video works. Theses recordings were created by Alan, and recorded by Alan, Mark Watts, and American sound artist and humorist, Henry Sandy Jacobs. In addition to the original lectures, Mark and his father crafted audio courses guiding listeners throughAlans recordings, and were presently working to complete our digital archive by converting reels, cassettes, VHS, and early digital formats produced by the original Electronic University.

Moving forward, our efforts will go into making Alans work more accessible bycontinuing to develop public synopses, robust search functionality, and linked samples of his recordings. Overall we hope to make Alans work more widely available, and to further enhance the archive that has been maintained since the mid-1970s through remastering and creative derivations.

More here:
Alan Watts - Official Site

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YOLO a term used often these days, and while I get the sentiment its trying to get across, I still say: Says who?

What would your life be like or how would it change if you knew for sure that you would reincarnate into another intelligent being whether on this planet or another?

Reincarnation is an argued topic and for an understandable reason, how can we know FOR SURE materialistically whether or not its true? We dont have undeniable proof, yet but we do have intriguing anecdotal accounts that could certainly cause anyone to question whether or not reincarnation is possible.

University of Virginia psychiatrist Jim Tucker is arguably the worlds leading researcher on the topic of reincarnation. In 2008, he published a review of cases that were suggestive of reincarnation in the journalExplore.

Jim describes a typical reincarnation case as something where the subject reports having a past life experience. Interestingly,100 percent of subjects who report that they remember a past life are children and on average begin recallingtheir past life at around 35 months. The children can recall descriptions of events and experiences from theirpast life with remarkable detail. Tucker has pointed out that these children show very strong emotional involvement when they speak about their experiences; some actually cry and beg their parents to be taken to what they say is their previous family.

According to Tucker:

The subjects usually stop making their past-life statements by the age of six to seven, and most seem to lose the purportedmemories. This is the age when children start school and begin having more experiences in their current life, as well as when they tend to lose their early childhood memories.

You can read more about 6 extraordinary cases of reincarnation here.

Going back to the early question in this article about how life would be if we all knew reincarnation was real, I want us to truly think about how our lives and world would be different. Would we take small things that cause so much suffering as seriously? Is it the fact we think this is our only life that causes some of us to take things so seriously? Or is it something else? I ask because this question helps us to discover the root of so much of the self imposed suffering that we place upon ourselves in life.

I think this is important to reflect on because I ultimately believe that we have the power to live our lives in a state of peace. Maybe not 100% of the time in our current world, but most of the time. I believe it is our lack of understanding of ourselves, our thoughts, and our ego that stops us from moving beyond suffering. The stories we tell ourselves about why we do the things we do play a huge role as well.

I ultimately feel that if we knew we reincarnated we could still make the most of our experience here. It ultimately comes down to how aligned we are with our souls purpose, as opposed to what our minds are programmed to do. So often we chase things or do things based on what our minds are convinced to do from societal pressures, parental conditions, ideas built from wanting material things etc. When we dont get aligned with who we truly are and what we are here to do we often dont feel great within. This causes us to struggle a lot, make different choices, and ultimately not feel fulfilled. This is where the lack of purpose, what we call laziness and so forth, comes from. The very thing we might fear would happen to us if we all knew reincarnation existed and suddenly wed all sit around and do nothing.

I feel this is important to reflect on. Alignment and self awareness key.

Probably one of the most powerful thoughts Watts drops in this video is this: We live in a culture where it has been rubbed into us in every conceivable way that to die is a terrible thing. And that is a tremendous disease from which our culture in particular suffers.

Your life path number can tell you A LOT about you.

With the ancient science of Numerology you can find out accurate and revealing information just from your name and birth date.

Get your free numerology reading and learn more about how you can use numerology in your life to find out more about your path and journey. Get Your free reading.

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Alan Watts Powerful Insight Will Change Your View ...

The truth is, we know so little about life, we dont really know what the good news is and what the bad news is, Kurt Vonnegut observed in discussing Hamlet during his now-legendary lecture on the shapes of stories. But this idea was first articulated by British philosopher and writer Alan Watts (January 6, 1915November 16, 1973), who began popularizing Eastern philosophy in the West during the 1950s and 1960s. Fusing ancient wisdom with the evolving insights of modern psychology, Wattss enduring teachings addressed such concerns as how to live with presence, what makes us who we are, the difference between money and wealth, the art of timing, and how to find meaning in meaninglessness.

Although he wrote beautifully and authored a number of books, Watts was a remarkably charismatic speaker and delivered some of his most compelling ideas in lectures, the best which were eventually published as Eastern Wisdom, Modern Life: Collected Talks 19601969 (public library).

In a talk titled Swimming Headless, Watts explores the psychological dimensions of Taoist philosophy and its emphasis on cultivating the mental discipline of not categorizing everything into gain and loss. Learning to live in such a way that nothing is experienced as either an advantage or a disadvantage, Watts argues, is the source of enormous empowerment and liberation.

He illustrates this notion with an ancient Chinese parable, brought to life in this lovely animation by Steve Agnos and the Sustainable Human project:

The whole process of nature is an integrated process of immense complexity, and its really impossible to tell whether anything that happens in it is good or bad because you never know what will be the consequence of the misfortune; or, you never know what will be the consequences of good fortune.

In the book adaptation, the parable makes the same point in slightly more refined language:

Once upon a time there was a Chinese farmer whose horse ran away. That evening, all of his neighbors came around to commiserate. They said, We are so sorry to hear your horse has run away. This is most unfortunate. The farmer said, Maybe. The next day the horse came back bringing seven wild horses with it, and in the evening everybody came back and said, Oh, isnt that lucky. What a great turn of events. You now have eight horses! The farmer again said, Maybe. The following day his son tried to break one of the horses, and while riding it, he was thrown and broke his leg. The neighbors then said, Oh dear, thats too bad, and the farmer responded, Maybe. The next day the conscription officers came around to conscript people into the army, and they rejected his son because he had a broken leg. Again all the neighbors came around and said, Isnt that great! Again, he said, Maybe.

The farmer steadfastly refrained from thinking of things in terms of gain or loss, advantage or disadvantage, because one never knows In fact we never really know whether an event is fortune or misfortune, we only know our ever-changing reactions to ever-changing events.

Complement Eastern Wisdom, Modern Life with Watts on death, the difference between belief and faith, and what reality really is, then revisit philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti and physicist David Bohms immensely stimulating East/West dialogue on love, intelligence, and how to transcend the wall of being.

HT Open Culture

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The Yin-Yang of Fortune and Misfortune: Alan Watts on the Art ...

Alan Watts is considered as the foremost interpreter of Eastern disciplines for the contemporary West. He had an astonishing and an indescribable way of writing the unwritable.

Among all the qualities of this great orator and writer, he hadan unique gift of expressing complex thoughts in the form of simple and illustrated thoughts. The simple way he exemplified and expressed all his reflections made him and universal philosopher, someone that could be comprehended by the vast majority of the people. Lets see some of Alan Watts magic and awakening quotes.

It is no news that we humans take things too seriously. We over think to the point where we become anxious. We over analyze and overvalue things to the point of depression.

If there was something that Mr.Watts wanted us to do is to enjoy life and live it as a joyous dance. We are a tiny spot in an enormous, out-of-our-eyes universe, no need to take things too seriously! Go out and enjoy this beautiful experience!

This quote makes reference to the reverse effortprinciple. What Mr.Watts simply wants to say is to dont force things, dont create tension. Sometimes things work out better if we let them flow and simply happen.

Just as floating in the water, it is not about the effort we put into floating but about letting go! Flow as water!

3. To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you dont grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float. Alan Watts.

This quote does much reference to the former one. Trust, as some people wrongly conceive, is not about holding on to things or people, it is about letting go and having faith in the process.

In life, we cant hold on to fears, over constructed thoughts, or plans. Any of this security searching habits and trust habits will only impede us from moving forward and really enjoying life. Let go and trust the waters!

A common seen reflection in the Eastern philosophies is the thought that lifes essence is the impermanence we find in it, something which is certainly true. Life is all about the process between life and death, creation and destruction, change.

Everything changes every moment. Cells multiply, plants grow, universe expands. Everything which is alive will be in constant motion, and this is the beauty of life. It is always passionate to change and it always brings something new to us! We have to acknowledge this as our nature, for it is!

Mr. Watts made a lot of emphasis on the inefficient word system we use. Words exist thanks to a contrast with other words. Right exists because there is wrong to contrast with.

Alan Watts saw this system of naming meaningless, for there is no bad or good, negative or positive. Ultimately everything is the same, just a different side of the same coin. To live life fully and with no restrictions, we have to acknowledge that any experience is just an experience and a learning process. If we constantly oppose to one side of the coin we will never see life as it really is, a color pallet with many different colors and shades.

Rigidity is just a synonym of boring, unnaturaland narrow vision. In life it is essential to flow as water, this is why so many Eastern philosophers refer to water as a great teacher.

Life is wiggly and spontaneous, being rigid in life will only lead us to a boring, narrow path in life. We wont enjoy fully and at the end of the curse we will notice that we have wasted all of our time. Belike water!

One of the greatest problems of society that Alan Watts pointed out isthe intense separation between man and nature. Human beings tend to see themselves as aliens that came to Earth.

We have a constantwill to change, destroy and manipulate nature. We, forgetting that we are alsonature,are subjects to all the consequences of our acts. Global warming, total destruction of our resources, water pollution There will arrive the moment were all of us notice that we are connected to this world and universe, just as the roots of a tree are connected to earth. We cant keep going like this! Earth dies, we die!

Doubtlessly, what makes this world a beautiful experience is, the impermanence and mutability of all things. This world will always have a mysterious andunpredictableway of flow.

Everything is changing and it is necessary that we acknowledge that and livewith it. We are organic to this world, an so, we are submit to change too. We cant oppose to our nature, we have to admit and flow with this beautiful dance.

Alan Watts held a firm point of view were he saw all life as something undefinable and with a sole purpose of experiencing it. He always said that this universe cant be defined by worlds and that the harder we try to do this the more we separatefrom the real experience.

To live this experience we have to see the object that we point at with our finger, not our finger. In other words, we have to live each experience and not try to define it!

Alan Watts was clearly a follower of an Eastern philosophy type of view. Something that any Eastern philosophy pushed on was the fact of living in the present.

It is more than true that only by living in the present we really enjoy all the pleasures of live, and more so, we eliminate any fear of the future, anxiety or depression. Making plans for the future is only useful for those who know how to enjoy this future when it arrives. It is useless to live for a future when we dont live it when it arrives. Learn to enjoy the now and you will be able to enjoy everything else that comes at you!

All problems have a solution, problems are soluble in solutions, and solutions areinexhaustible. We have powerful minds which work by creativity and logic, we certainly have the power to create solutions.

Alan Watts, with his positive mindset, had a great ability to pose problems and find theirsolutions. We all can do this, it takes breathing, calming down and concentrating! Sometimes it is all about how we approach the problem!

Continue reading here:
11 Quotes From Alan Watts That Will Change Your Life.

Alan Watts was a famous British philosopher known for his Zen teachings and interpretations of Eastern philosophy. Read more about this great philosopher in the following article.

Quick Facts

Famous as:

Philosopher, Writer & Speaker

Nationality:

Birth Date:

Died At Age:

58

Sun Sign:

Capricorn

Born in:

Chislehurst, Kent, England

Spouses/Partners:

Eleanor Everett (Marriage - 1938), Dorothy DeWitt (Marriage - 1950), Mary Jane (Marriage - 1964)

children:

He had 7 children, two with his 1st wife, Joan Watts and Anne Watts; five with his 2nd wife, Marcia (Tia) Watts, Mark Watts, Richard Watts, Lila Watts, and Diane Watts

Died on:

place of death:

Mt. Tamalpais, California, USA

Personality:

Founder/Co-Founder:

The Alan Watts Electronic University

More Facts

education:

Seabury-Western Theological Seminary

Image Credithttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xAZChlaArE

Alan Watts was a well-known British philosopher, writer and speaker, best known for his interpretation of Eastern philosophy for Western audiences. Born to Christian parents in England, he developed interest in Buddhism while he was still a student at Kings School, Canterbury. Subsequently, he became a member of Buddhist Lodge, where he met many scholars and spiritual masters, who helped him to shape his ideas. He was a prolific writer and began writing at the age of fourteen. Many of his early works were published in the journal of the Lodge. At the age of twenty three, he migrated to the USA, where he first received training under Zen master, but left before he was ordained. He then studied Christian scriptures and functioned as a priest at Chicago for six years before leaving for San Francisco to pursue an academic career. Simultaneously, he started giving talks on Eastern philosophy and soon developed a wide audience both at home and abroad. Apart from writing more than 25 books, he has also left an audio library of nearly 400 talks, which are still in great demand.

Alan Watts

Childhood & Early Life

Career

Major Works

Personal Life & Legacy

See the events in life of Alan Watts in Chronological Order

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Alan Watts Biography - Facts, Childhood, Family Life ...

The Alan Watts Organization is a descendant of the Electronic University, which Alan and his son Mark Watts co-created shortly before Alans deathin 1973. Our goal is to perpetuate Alan Watts legacy by providing a definitive online resource for information about Alans written and recorded works.

We also maintain and curate the vast collection Alan Watts audio and video works. Theses recordings were created by Alan, and recorded by Alan, Mark Watts, and American sound artist and humorist, Henry Sandy Jacobs. In addition to the original lectures, Mark and his father crafted audio courses guiding listeners throughAlans recordings, and were presently working to complete our digital archive by converting reels, cassettes, VHS, and early digital formats produced by the original Electronic University.

Moving forward, our efforts will go into making Alans work more accessible bycontinuing to develop public synopses, robust search functionality, and linked samples of his recordings. Overall we hope to make Alans work more widely available, and to further enhance the archive that has been maintained since the mid-1970s through remastering and creative derivations.

Go here to read the rest:
AlanWatts.org

Dorothy Brewer Delafield Watts died Aug. 20, 2017.

She was born July 28, 1922 in Linekin, daughter of Fred and Mabel Brewer.

She graduated from William Hall High School in West Hartford, Connecticut and the Golden School of Beauty Culture in Portland, Maine.

She married James Delafield of Duquesne, Pennsylvania, who died in World War II. She later married Ralph Watts of Boothbay Harbor.

Dorothy was a 50-year member of the Eastern Star and American Legion Auxiliary.

She and Ralph loved vacationing in the islands, including Hawaii, and a trip to Spain with the Kora Shriners group. Her really special times were spent with family and friends at their camp on Damariscotta Lake for 45 years. She enjoyed water-skiing, swimming and cruising around the lake and watching the loons on her Seadoo until the age of 81. She also enjoyed dancing, collecting lighthouse figurines and watching the Red Sox.

Dorothy was employed at Logans Village Store for 23 years, and she also worked at J.C. Penney and Bradlees in Topsham, retiring at age 70.

She was predeceased by her husband, Ralph, after 59 years; daughter, Louise Delafield; son-in-law, Vincent Balzano; brother, Clayton; sister, Jean Howell; and her special pet, Meg.

Dorothy is survived by her son, Alan Watts; daughter-in-law, Ruth Watts; cousin, Gertrude Lukas and family; special niece, Trista Lowell and husband Ernie Brooks; brother-in-law, Robert Lowell; special friends, Donna and Ron Morey, Dorothy Alwood, Judy Shannon and Jackie Lessard.

At her request, there will be no service.

Memorial donations in Dorothys name may be made to: MCCM/New England Cancer Specialists, 100 Campus Dr., Scarborough, ME 04011; Goswell Memorial Hospice Home, Hunnewell Road, Scarborough, ME 04011; or Lincoln County Animal Shelter, P.O. Box 7, 27 Atlantic Highway, Edgecomb, ME 04556.

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Dorothy B. Watts - Wiscasset Newspaper

Today, serious heresy, and rather peculiarly in the United States, is a deviant state of consciousness. Not so much deviant opinions as having a kind of experience which is different from "regular" experience. And as Ronald Lang..has so well pointed out, we are taught what experiences are permissable in the same way we are taught what gestures, what manners, what behavior is permissable and socially acceptable. And therefore, if a person has so-called "strange" experiences, and endeavors to communicate these experiences, because naturally one talks about what one feels, and endeavors to communicate these experiences to other people, he is looked at in a very odd way and asked "are you feeling all right?" Because people feel distinctly uncomfortable when the realize they are in the presence of someone who is experiencing the world in a rather different way from themselves. They call in question as to whether this person is indeed human. They look like a human being but because the state of experience is so different you wonder whether they really are. And you get the kind of.. the same kind of queasy feeling inside as you would get if, for example, you were to encounter a very beautiful girl, very formally dressed, and you were introduced, and in order to shake hands she removed her glove and you found in your hand the claw of a large bird. That would be spooky, wouldn't it?

The Value of Psychotic Experience

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Alan Watts Lectures and Essays - deoxy.org

TEDDY bears of all shapes and sizes were brought out to enjoy a picnic with their owners in Haworth's Central Park on Saturday. (August 19)

Organised through the Friends of the Park group, and Haworth Village Hall and Community Hub, the event took place from noon to 4pm and included a teddy bear treasure hunt, teddy tombola, Scouts' barbecue and stalls.

There were prizes to be had and plenty of refreshments.

The event was held as a family fun day for the village and was followed upyesterday with a well-attended concert at the park's bandstand.

Haworth resident Gill Hill, chairman of the Friends of Haworth Park, had first put forward the idea for the Teddy Bears' Picnic.

She said the occasion had been a success, though did not attract as many people as had been hoped due to some indifferent weather on Saturday.

"It was our first attempt at this, though we didn't get the numbers we wanted because of the weather," she said.

"But those people who did come really enjoyed themselves and we've had some very positive feedback.

"This was mainly about having fun in the park and getting as many children as possible involved.

"The teddy treasure tail was a huge success and we were able to give away three home made teddies as prizes they were made by a lady who lives in Riddlesden.

"Councillor Rebecca Poulsen, who is a staunch supporter of the park, was a great help. She and her two daughters ran the teddy tombola.

"Councillor Gary Swallow, chairman of the parish council, judged the best dressed teddy competition. We had one clear winner in this contest, but every child who took part got a prize."

Mrs Hill said the afternoon also featured a children's dance competition, a raffle for the adults, a bouncy castle and a name the teddy contest.

Ian Howard, from Oxenhope, led a family jam session at the bandstand where youngsters could try their hand at percussion and other instruments.

And Alan Watts brought out his selection of children's music CDs to offer some additional musical accompaniment.

Mrs Hill said the following afternoon included a popular concert at the bandstand staged by GMC Jazz Band.

She explained this was one of a series of concerts organised by Bradford Council and supported by the friends group, which is in charge of preparing the bandstand.

She said this coming Sunday, (August 27) from 2pm to 4pm, will feature more music at the same venue performed by Bradford Metropolitan Concert Band.

"It's been a good summer for events in the park, we've had all sorts going on," she said. "Hopefully we'll put the Teddy Bears' Picnic on again next year."

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Fun at teddy bears' picnic in Haworth Central Park - Keighley News