Isabel Portnoi

I have always thought of life as a series of steps.

Step one: you learn to walk.Step two: you say your first word.Step three: you make your first friend.Step four: you learn to read and write.Step five: you score your first goal.Step six: you experience your first heartbreak.Step seven: you graduate high school.Step eight: you go to college.Step nine: you choose a major, take some classes and then comes step 10.

It seems that the next logical step would be to graduate, followed by getting a job, making money, starting a family, all eventually leading up to retirement. While looking at life through this lens is grossly oversimplified, that doesnt eliminate its truth.

Think about it. Steps, whatever yours may be, are the driving force of everything you have ever done and everything you eventually want to do.

Today I:Step 1: woke up.Step 2: brushed my teeth.Step 3: went to class.I followed the same steps yesterday, and Im sure I will tomorrow.

But during step three, I had a conversation with British Philosopher Alan Watts. He compared life to playing music, and said, Its the same with dancing. You dont aim at a particular spot in the room because thats where you will arrive. The whole point of dancing is the dance.

How strange it would be, if dancing was a way to get from point A to point B, from step one to step two. I began to chuckle to myself, almost before I could realize that I see out of a lens even stranger than the one I previously imagined.

As a college student, my job is to think, which I ironically hardly have time to do. These four precious years are more often than not seen as a means to an end the trampoline that will get me from step one to step two.

But what if I listened to Watts and thought of these four years as a dance? Where I began and where I ended would be the last things on my mind. Instead, I would focus on everything that happened in between.

And what exactly is that in-between part? That would be life. Thats the part that we all too often sprint through, instead of dance through.

This is not to say that steps are bad. Theres a reason they exist in the first place: they reel in my wandering imagination and give focus to my scattered thoughts. They ensure that I get to where I need to be. There is no question that this is important, but the more I think about Watts, the more I think of this as a hollowed-out version of lifes potential.

To abandon these steps completely is scary scratch that terrifying. I wish that I could close my eyes and thrust myself into his ideologies, but I cant. To go straight from sprinting to dancing seems daunting I must learn to walk somewhere in the middle.

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Edit desk: I hope you can dance, focus in between the steps - The Brown and White

No valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now.

British philosopher Alan Watts said that. And he wasnt lying.

Theres a grain of truth in that statement, and we all know it. Most of us seem to carry this notion that life is about planning and preparing for tomorrow. I, too, have been guilty of thinking the same way:

When I turned 18, I began writing down my hopeful bucket list. Long story short, it was a list of all the goals I wanted to achieve before I turned 20. I made a solemn vow to myself that I would achieve every single goal on that list, no matter what.

I crossed off many goals during this process, but there was one problem: I was constantly planning for the future, micromanaging every single hour of my days, never resting from the climb towards my goals.

I was constantly thinking about what I wanted to achieve ten months, five months, two years down the line.

I was not living for the moment. I was a sucker living for the future.

Whenever I conquered one goal, I would instantly be on the hunt for the next goal. I never gave myself time to appreciate the moment. I was constantly thinking about the other goals I wanted to achieve down the line.

And, perhaps, thats our problem right there.

We take all of our moments for granted. Our eyes are so focused on whats to come, that we forget to look around at whats already here.

We go out in search for those firefly sparks of good moments, and whenever we do catch one spark, we never hold on to it. We just drop it and run out in chase for other sparks:

To let go of the future, you need to first let go of the climb. Because the truth is that the climb will never end.

Life can sometimes feel as though it is a ladder. In life, were always climbing upwards, rung by rung, obstacle by obstacle, until we reach a higher level. When your eleven years old you need to climb your way up to secondary school. Then when you graduate secondary school you need to climb your way up to University. And then, of course, when youre done and dusted with University there is still a great climb that lies above you:

You need to tussle and compete with other candidates for the most desirable jobs.

Theres always a climb, but when will it ever end?

The only finish line is death. When you arrive at that last checkpoint, youll feel cheated if all the time you had was spent focusing on the future, and ignoring the present.

There is no use planning for a future, which when you get to it and it becomes the present, you wont be there. Youll be living in some other future which hasnt yet arrived Alan Watts

Although we might be quite comfortable and happy in our present circumstances, if there is not a guarantee, not a promise of a good time coming tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, we are at once unhappy, even in the midst of pleasure and affluence. And so we develop a kind of chronic anxiety about time . . . We want to be sure more and more that our future is assured. And for this reason the future becomes of more importance to most human beings than the present Alan Watts

We want to be sure that our future is assured. We want to be promised security. That is why we constantly worry about the future so much and plan our lives way ahead of schedule.

The unknown is the scariest monster under our beds, and we want to be prepared for it.

You dont know whether or not youll lose your job tomorrow. Whether or not youll be able to pay your rent and bills. Whether or not youll be able to come home safely. In life, there are many blank canvases, and with that terrible uncertainty comes anxiety.

The antidote to his worry is to let the future be.

By all means, we should plan for the future, but we need to also remember to come back and settle in the present.

There needs to be an equilibrium, a balance, a counterpoint. I dont believe that we should out rightly disregard the future. Its good to have a solid life plan, a blueprint which you can follow, so that you know roughly where you are and where you are headed.

But, I also believe that we should not spend all of our time and mental energy worrying about the trivialities of tomorrow. That will only deprive us of todays joys.

For unless one is able to live fully in the present, the future is a hoax. There is no point whatsoever in making plans for the future which you will never be able to enjoy Alan Watts

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Dont Chase The Future. Youll Never Catch Up With It. - Thrive Global

The Untitled Goose Game has become incredibly popular. It seemed to come out of nowhere in September and quickly climbed the charts of the Nintendo Switch game sales. It has garnered memes, fan art, and essays about how its simplicity is so enjoyed by the gaming community. Fans have loved it for its main protagonist, the goose, and its chaotic ways. The best word for what the goose is "impish" as you do not hurt anyone, but you will annoy them to the ends of the earth. What fun!

Unfortunately, there are not a lot of games similar to the Untitled Goose Game. However, its popularity will likely get us similar titles in the future. Until then, try some of the games on this list that we have found.

Related: Pokmon: The 10 Best Normal Type Pokmon, Ranked

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This first-person game has you playing as a pesky cat and your goal is to knock down as many things onto the floor as possible. There are various game modes, some with a timer and others that are free play mode. There are also a lot of unlockables such as different kinds of cats, cat photos, and power-ups.

Of all the titles on this list, Catlateral Damage has the most in common with the Untitled Goose Game. You are an animal just making a mess like a natural. It is simple, funny, and it's fun.

Katamari Damacy is very strange and pretty addicting. You play these alien creatures that make planets by just collecting everything they can into a sticky ball. You usually have a time limit and sometimes a set of rules of what kinds of items you must collect. The art style is similar to the Untitled Goose Game in terms of the people and towns.

Also you are really doing a chaotic deed without really hurting anyone. That's right, you can pick up animals and people but it does not hurt them. They mostly just wiggle and scream in confusion and terror.

Related: 5 Reasons To Play The Sims on PC (& 5 To Play On Console)

In this open-world indie game, you play a bird that is looking for twigs to build a nest. A weird factor is that you are living in a city facing total political turmoil.

As a bird, you do not really do anything about the totalitarian regime but you can explore the world and overhear the humans talk about what is going on in the world. It is pretty refreshing to have the world do its own thing with you playing just as a witness. Don't worry about the politics, just collect twigs and relax while being your little bird self.

In this cute game, you steal people's trash and throw it into a hole. In fact, you play as the hole! Well, you actually play a raccoon who is controlling the hole. The story is that raccoons have taken over the area by creating remote-controlled trash-stealing holes.

Collecting various items can create combos, which is a ton of fun. You get to explore character homes and devour everything. A lot of fans say it is like a reverse Katamari Damacy. A common complaint though is that the game is too short for its price.

Related: The 10 Best Game Sequels For Xbox One (According To Metacritic)

This is the only other game created by House House, the same company that gave us the Untitled Goose Game. And this title that came out in 2016 is very weird, but fun. You get to play as two noodle-like bodies with heads at both ends (sort of like Cat-Dog) and both ends fight over a ball. You can do two and four-player modes.

Besides playing, it is also fun to actually watch. It is to entities in one body fighting over a ball. There is also a secret unlockable mode that lets you play as wiener dogs.

If you want a long adventure game with similar elements to the Untitled Goose Game, then look no further than Okami. It certainly is far more than a simple be a jerk to humans and do little tasks, but you do play a wolf and can annoy people. For example, you can bite people, animals, drag them around, bark, dig, and really mess with people using your god powers. That's right, you are also a god.

Of course there is a huge story involved, which is the biggest difference Okami has. Also, you are kind of supposed to be a good person. Still, the game does allow you to be a jerk if you want to be.

In this game, you play a slice of bread that wants to become toast. Your goal is to get to the toaster. The physics and movement of the bread is the funniest and fun aspect of the game. Why? Because it is so hard. It is such a difficult game with a high learning curve.

If you are not sure about playing it, at least watch a video of someone playing this game, because it is a total trip. In terms of simplicity and humor, this game is a lot like the Untitled Goose Game.

Related: The 10 Most Immersive Open World Games

Everything may seem like a strange title, but is actually about everything. You can be anything from a simple dog to a bush to a planet to a micro-organism. Every object in the universe is a playable character.

It looks pretty uncanny and silly at first with how everything moves. However, the game really takes an existential turn with its soundtrack and its narrator. You get to collect inspiring philosophy speeches of Alan Watts while taking on the perspective of everything in the universe.

Tokyo Jungle lets you play as a lot of animals, except the humans are all gone. You start off as Pomeranian in Tokyo who has to hunt on its own. However, you can start a family and then play an entire pack of Pomeranian. However, you can also be hunted. There are lions, wolves, and even dinosaurs lurking about.

You get to unlock more and more animals and discover slowly about what happened to all the humans by finding hints and documents as you play. See how long you can survive!

Tags:Touch My Katamari,Untitled Goose Game

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10 Games To Play If You Love Untitled Goose Game | Game Rant - GameRant

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Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVVk67UZMJ0

"If the universe began in the past, when that happened it was Now. And it trails off like the wake of a ship from Now and just as the wake fades out, so does the past. Things aren't explained by what happened in the past. They're explained by what happens Now"
-Alan Watts

Download copy from here alan-watts-captivated-by-the-drama.mp4

Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDkshlpok-4

We invited a chorus of artists, writers, musicians, broadcasters, sports stars, and more to contribute to Now Were Talking, a mental health campaign, run in partnership with Lyons Tea and Pieta House.

As the late great writer Toni Morrison said, "Definitions belong to the definers, not the defined." So how do you define 'Mental Health'? Is it a spectrum so broad that there can be a multitude of interpretations and reactions to it? Is it just a buzz phrase we see everywhere now? That a magazine can build an issue around?! (I jest).

While this era is known for its individualism, I also believe mental health is an individual thing. So for me, I'll define it as kindness. You can and obviously should be kind to yourself. I know this can be easier said than done, sometimes. Also, the beauty in being kind to ourselves is, we'll learn to help others. Kindness requires empathy, patience and forgiveness. I'm learning to forgive myself all the time (not that I do awful things all the time!). I know now I've learnt the most in my aloneness: in a sense, facing into my darkness has allowed me to be more empathetic towards others.

However I must admit, I fail at this all the time! I need to relearn, re-remember - it can be one step forward, two steps back. So maybe you shouldn't listen to my faux-sage counsel... While I'm a great guru for others, sometimes practising what you preach can be the hardest. I've been tested a few times along the way: 2007 and 2015 were particularly hard years for me. I had to relearn how to be kind to myself again; there is a vulnerability in even having to admit to yourself in the first place, to know you are being untrue to yourself, that fucked me up a bit.

Firstly what I needed to do was to take more control over my life, So I gave up alcohol and meat, and I started to do some simple yoga/meditation each day. After a month, I'd lost weight, was in less debt and felt much healthier. I then set myself a goal to run the Dublin marathon in 2016, which I did just about (so now I'll boast about it! I should also have learnt to temper my ego a bit more as you can see). I've learnt if I don't have a goal, I lack focus and I'll go inwards. Now, however, one of the struggles I find is getting balance right - sometimes I might have too much on and I can be overwhelmed. If something doesn't make you feel alive, it's too small for you - the irony being that the smallest things are often the most worthwhile.

I've learnt how to be OK with feelings of disappointment, hurt and anger, to hold it and to know it'll pass. I say this safe in the knowledge I'll fail with these feelings again, then I'll remind myself about needing to forgive myself. Knowing feelings pass is so apparent, yet it certainly can be a comforting realisation. The transience of life is humbling.

Yet all this learning requires patience - not a virtue I'm blessed with in truth. But I'm far more self-reflexive and happier with who I am now than I was three years ago. There are probably a lot of musicians/creatives reading this issue, and something I see amongst my peers is an inadequate feeling artists can have. We can be pitted against each other in our own minds and we strive for 'success', but as the saying goes "comparison is the thief of joy." Nobody truly knows what anyone has gone through to create what they have. I wish we could all be less quick to judge. Don't define others by an action without knowing the context, then hopefully that kindness can be extended to you. We have all made mistakes, and will again. Don't be the crab in the bucket, focus on amplifying art you like instead of bitching about what you don't. It can be easy to get lost in paranoia, but you're only hurting yourself.

Then there are the cliches; it's OK not to be OK, don't be afraid to ask for help, talk to someone, find solace in friendship, etc... And you know what? Most cliches are fuckin' true! Bowie said that, so I'm not going to argue with him!

Go and create, it's cathartic. For me personally, it helps me to find meaning in this 'crazy' world of ours. If you don't feel like being creative, volunteer your time with a cause you believe in. I've been volunteering with First Fortnight for almost 10 years now. This gives me a sense of meaning and helps me to feel part of a caring community. Ask courageous questions of yourself, wait, listen to your heart's answer - and know these truths are how you connect to the deepest you. In finding your deepest self a healing can begin.

Lastly, I am convinced that reading David Whyte's book Consolations and listening to Alan Watts saved my life in 2015, so they might be worth checking out. Also, all of what I've said above can be summed up far more eloquently in Mary Oliver's poem 'Wild Geese' - go and read it immediately!

Now We're Talking 2019A partnership between Lyons Tea, Pieta House & Hot Press.Lets break the stigma and take the dialogue about mental health issues onto a new level#NowWe'reTalkinghotpress.com/now-we're-talking

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Voices for Mental Health: Stephen James Smith, on being kind to yourself - hotpress.com

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In this compelling lecture by Alan Watts, we take a cosmic perspective on reality to make sense of our existence.

Soundtracks by PBO & Lockjaw

Alan Watts Quotes on Everyday power Blog! No this is the not the entire 3 hour lectureall of which I lovethese are just the quotes! Enjoy!

These Alan Watts quotes were taken from his writing, lectures and notes.

Watts was a world-renowned author, speaker, and philosopher, wellknown for interpreting the beliefs of the East with the way we live in the West.

Alan wrote over 25 books and is best known for his bestselling classic, The Way to Zen.

These Alan Watts quotes represent some of his most important philosophies regarding living a successful, happy life. We recommend analyzing these quotes and absorbing their wisdom.

We recommend viewing some of his speeches and reading his books.

Simply type in Alan Watts Youtube in Google or Alan Watts books. He bridged the east and the west by informing people about some of the Easts best philosophies regarding living and has helped thousands of people improve the quality of their life.

When you read Alan Watts quotes, watch his videos or read his books you will be inspired by his views on essential truths about life.

For me, its so powerful how his work with so many ancient texts is still so relevant to todays modern life. Whether youre a teacher, lawyer, secretary or entrepreneur; we can benefit from the wise and powerful words of Alan Watts!

1.) Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone. Alan Watts

Sometimes we just have to let time do its thing. Sometimes the best way to solve a problem is to leave it alone and not put any energy into it.

2.) Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth. Alan Watts

Fire cannot burn fire. Water cannot get itself wet. The thing cannot define the thing. It will always be extremely difficult for us to define ourselves, since we are always changing, learning, experiencing and growing.

3.) What I am really saying is that you dont need to do anything, because if you see yourself in the correct way, you are all as much extraordinary phenomenon of nature as trees, clouds, the patterns in running water, the flickering of fire, the arrangement of the stars, and the form of a galaxy. You are all just like that, and there is nothing wrong with you at all. Alan Watts

All the systems of nature work perfectly. Nothing rushed, nothing judgedbut yet, it all works perfectly. Every single time. You are nature and you work perfectly!

4.) We seldom realize, for example, that our most private thoughts and emotions are not actually our own. For we think in terms of languages and images which we did not invent, but which were given to us by our society. Alan Watts

Many of our thoughts, habits and behaviors arepassed down from our family, society and culture. Before we take ownership of certain traits and thoughts, lets be mindful of what is really ours.

5.) But Ill tell you what hermits realize. If you go off into a far, far forest and get very quiet, youll come to understand that youre connected with everything. Alan Watts

When we turn off the TV, cell phone and other distractions; we can see, feel and hear all the natural life around us. We are a part of that life. Its what we were born into.

6.) If you say that getting the money is the most important thing, youll spend your life completely wasting your time. Youll be doing things you dont like doing in order to go on living, that is to go on doing things you dont like doing, which is stupid. Alan Watts

Dont be afraid to hop off the hamster wheel. If you love what you do and you earn a living with it you are living the dream! If you hate your job and are just in it for the money, it might be time to reevaluate how you spend 40-60 hours of your life a week.

7.) 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

Having faith doesnt mean having control. Having faith means letting go and still believing it will all work out!

8.) Philosophy is mans expression of curiosity about everything and his attempt to make sense of the world primarily through his intellect. Alan Watts

Without a guiding belief of how things work, it becomes difficult to put meaning to things. The meaning we put to things is much more important than the thing itself.

9.) 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. Alan Watts

When we engage deeply in our work, it is no longer work. When we have a singular focus on the present everything is alive, everything is fun.

10.) The menu is not the meal. Alan Watts

Weve all been to restaurants that have an outstanding menu and below average food. Talk is cheap. Dont let your life fall into that trap!

11.) The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance. Alan Watts

Stop trying to figure change out and just go with it! See where it takes you.

12.) You are a function of what the whole universe is doing in the same way that a wave is a function of what the whole ocean is doing. Alan Watts

I love this one. We are all a part of something much bigger than ourselves. Lets live accordingly!

13.) The more a thing tends to be permanent, the more it tends to be lifeless. Alan Watts

Life is constant change. Life is full of ups and downs. Life is always moving. Anything else is dead.

14.) Try to imagine what it will be like to go to sleep and never wake up now try to imagine what it was like to wake up having never gone to sleep. Alan Watts

I really love this one, too! What would life be like if we were asleep, unconscious and a money chasing zombie the whole time? Now, what would life be like, to live consciously, awakeand stay that way!

15.) Things are as they are. Looking out into the universe at night, we make no comparisons between right and wrong stars, nor between well and badly arranged constellations. Alan Watts

Stop trying to label and judge. Peace is when we are able to accept (and find the beauty in) things the way they are.

16.) A scholar tries to learn something everyday; a student of Buddhism tries to unlearn something daily. Alan Watts

The way of Buddha is to let go.

17.) Problems that remain persistently insoluble should always be suspected as questions asked in the wrong way. Alan Watts

The better the question, the better the answer.

18.) When we attempt to exercise power or control over someone else, we cannot avoid giving that person the very same power or control over us. Alan Watts

When we give someone all that time and energy, we also give them our power.

19.) But the attitude of faith is to let go, and become open to truth, whatever it might turn out to be. Alan Watts

Faith = the art of letting go.

20.) No work or love will flourish out of guilt, fear, or hollowness of heart, just as no valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now. Alan Watts

Everything we want to do right, needs to come from a place of good intentions and close attention to the present.

21.) So then, the relationship of self to other is the complete realization that loving yourself is impossible without loving everything defined as other than yourself.Alan Watts

We can only love ourselves for who we are, when we love ourselves for who we are not.

22.) Never pretend to a love which you do not actually feel, for love is not ours to command. Alan Watts

23.) Love is not something that is a sort of rare commodity, everybody has it. Alan Watts

24.) Everyone has love, but it can only come out when he is convinced of the impossibility and the frustration of trying to love himself. Alan Watts

25.) Everything that happens, everything that I have ever done, everything that anybody else have ever done is part of a harmonious design, that there is no error at all. Alan Watts

26.) You can only be on the in in relation to something that is out. Alan Watts

27.) The positive cannot exist without the negative. Alan Watts

28.) We cannot be more sensitive to pleasure without being more sensitive to pain. Alan Watts

29.) We notice only what we think noteworthy, and therefore our visions highly selective. Alan Watts

30.) Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun. Alan W. Watts

31.) You are an aperture through which the universe is looking at and exploring itself. Alan W. Watts

32.) Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth. Alan Watts

33.)To be free from convention is not to spurn it but not to be deceived by it. Alan Watts

34.)I have realized that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is. Alan Watts

35.)The problem is to overcome the ingrained disbelief in the power of winning nature by love, in the gentle (ju) way (do) of turning with the skid, of controlling ourselves by cooperating with ourselves. Alan Watts

36.)The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves. Alan W. Watts

37.) Every intelligent individual wants to know what makes him tick, and yet is at once fascinated and frustrated by the fact that oneself is the most difficult of all things to know. Alan W. Watts

38.) What you are basically, deep, deep down, far, far in, is simply the fabric and structure of existence itself. Alan Watts

39.)Much of the secret of life consists in knowing how to laugh, and also how to breathe.-Alan W. Watts

40.) Words can be communicative only between those who share similar experiences. Alan W. Watts

41.)If you cannot trust yourself, you cannot even trust your mistrust of yourself so that without this underlying trust in the whole system of nature you are simply paralyzed. Alan W. Watts

42.) 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. Alan W. Watts

43.) Technology is destructive only in the hands of people who do not realize that they are one and the same process as the universe. Alan W. Watts

44.) In the more intimate sphere of personal life, the problem is the pain of trying to avoid suffering and the fear of trying not to be afraid. Alan W. Watts

45.) Our pleasures are not material pleasures, but symbols of pleasure attractively packaged but inferior in content. Alan W. Watts

46.) People who exude love are apt to give things away. They are in every way like rivers; they stream. And so when they collect possessions and things they like, they are apt to give them to other people. Because, have you ever noticed that when you start giving things away, you keep getting more? Alan W. Watts

47.) Your soul is not in your body; your body is in your soul. Alan W. Watts

48.) Meditation is the discovery that the point of life is always arrived at in the immediate moment. Alan Watts

49.) We do not come into this world; we come out of it, as leaves from a tree. As the ocean waves, the universe peoples. Every individual is an expression of the whole realm of nature, a unique action of the total universe. Alan W. Watts

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Alan Watts Quotes Celebrating Life, Love and Dreams

Alan Watts was an orator and philosopher of the 20th century. He spent time reflecting on Personal Identity and Higher Consciousness. According to the critic Erik Davis, his "writings and recorded talks still shimmer with a profound and galvanising lucidity."[1]These works are not accessible in the same way as his many books.

The following lectures can all be obtained at alanwatts.org[1].

Watts proposes a thought experiment of imagining that one has total control over the content of each night's dreams. He uses this thought experiment to make a case for the self as the ultimate reality.[2]

Watts argues that there is less difference than generally supposed between what one would want to do if money were no object, and what one should do under actual circumstances. He proposes that the question "What do I desire?" should be given greater emphasis, even under actual circumstances.[3]

Watts makes a case for quieting the mind by leaving it alone. He argues that we are "addicted to thoughts" and want to avoid ourselves, and that this quest for self-avoidance leads to a "vicious circle" of worry.[4]

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Note: ISBNs for titles originally published prior to 1974 are for reprint editions.

Link:
Works by Alan Watts - Wikipedia

A prolific author and speaker, Alan Wilson Watts is credited with the interpretation and introduction of Eastern philosophyto theWesternaudience.

As his mothers students were children of missionaries to Asia, Watts began to be fascinated by Asian art, literature, and philosophy; so in time, he learned Chinese and started to explore the fundamental beliefs and practices of religions and philosophies of India and East Asia.

After a rigorous research in Zen Buddhism, Watts published one of the first books on the topic The Way of Zen introducing the burgeoning youth culture to it. Due to all the wisdom it embodies, Watts even suggested that Buddhism could be presented and taught as a form of psychotherapy, and not only as a religion.

Alan Watts is the author of more than 25 books on various topics such as philosophy, Eastern and Western religion, natural history, semantics, cybernetics and the anthropology of sexuality.

Watts was a man who tried and explored all that he could on mystical insight. Here are 25 Alan Watts quotes to help you become more aware of yourself and your surroundings.

Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth.

We seldom realize, for example that our most private thoughts and emotions are not actually our own. For we think in terms of languages and images which we did not invent, but which were given to us by our society.

Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the Gods made for fun.

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.

Just as true humor is laughter at oneself, true humanity is knowledge of oneself.

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.

You are an aperture through which the universe is looking at and exploring itself.

Every intelligent individual wants to know what makes him tick, and yet is at once fascinated and frustrated by the fact that oneself is the most difficult of all things to know.

A scholar tries to learn something everyday; a student of Buddhism tries to unlearn something daily.

No one is more dangerously insane than one who is sane all the time: he is like a steel bridge without flexibility, and the order of his life is rigid and brittle.

Problems that remain persistently insoluble should always be suspected as questions asked in the wrong way.

When we attempt to exercise power or control over someone else, we cannot avoid giving that person the very same power or control over us.

One is a great deal less anxious if one feels perfectly free to be anxious, and the same may be said of guilt.

The world is filled with love-play, from animal lust to sublime compassion.

What we have to discover is that there is no safety, that seeking is painful, and that when we imagine that we have found it, we dont like it.

Words can be communicative only between those who share similar experiences.

If you cannot trust yourself, you cannot even trust your mistrust of yourself so that without this underlying trust in the whole system of nature you are simply paralyzed.

The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.

Technology is destructive only in the hands of people who do not realize that they are one and the same process as the universe.

Hospitals should be arranged in such a way as to make being sick an interesting experience. One learns a great deal sometimes from being sick.

Normally, we do not so much look at things as overlook them.

Our pleasures are not material pleasures, but symbols of pleasure attractively packaged but inferior in content.

It is hard indeed to notice anything for which the languages available to us have no description.

Its better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing, than a long life spent in a miserable way.

Society is our extended mind and body.

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The 25 Best Alan Watts Quotes of All Time - Goalcast