Long story short, I want to find a specific Alan Watts lecture based on the jokes Monks play on each other. Like asking for a knife, then handing the blade side to them instead of the handle. I liked the enlightening banter and witty jokes they played on one another but have no clue what to search.

I recall AW saying that Krishnamurti explained that even when people give charity, they do it for selfish reasons. Does anyone know which talk or book he was referring to?

It seems I cant slow down without drugs, I've tried meditation and it's like my monkey brain takes over and does something else.

With electronics,internet and , would it be unwise to say Alan is getting a little outdated.

But I have a very d dissociated view, and I just can't knock it. I talk to my self as you, I don't say I I say you as if I am some seperate entity from my body, I treat my body as separate from me and while what I believe may hold some merit on account of the merit that allows us to form these words and all agree on things we consider objective.

Obviously we are the universe, if your here I am sure you have accepted that but for me, my ego can't handle this. I have become completely in my head I can't snap out of it. I feel like I am observing myself, and I hate the person my monkeh body is, I'm so retarded, Im not like ughhhhh I hate myself and I want to die, my life is fine and I am fine I at peace with everything as much as I can be I don't struggle like before, say at least fundamentally and I'll be just fine but I am very annoyed with myself. I hate how dissociated my perception of reality is and I hate some of the things I do and the way my brain works at times. It's like my consciousness is just clenching itself, not allowing me to live normally.

I'll be fine, I need to stop smoking weed, that is all I do and I've been cutting back, but the thing is I'm high right now, only when I am high am I able to feel meditative.

Idk, sorry for this schizo ass post lmao I appreciate if u read it. I'll be fine, just had to let this out

How do I meditate and do all of this, I let's talk Turkey... what do you do to not lose your mind and balance? Do you have to give up fun? I like things that likely disturb my balance but idk.

Hi all,

Where is the best place to start with AW? I have seen videos on YouTube but like someone said on another post it's been cut up and Ai'd.

Thanks in advance.

I have struggled greatly with mental illness for a long time. But I've had an epiphany. I see now I was obsessed with past and future. But I see it now. I was letting noise control me. I see this moment. The present. And that I have much to be grateful for. It feels like a peace I have not formerly known. I wanted to let people know because I am sincerely joyful.

... can we just agree to report those (yt) channels in one way or another as a collective action to see if that shit gets removed?

... i love the mixups of original voice over landscape / movie imagery but.... it has to be original voice imho - there is something special in the chuckle, the laughter, the lightness under the weight.

... i hate to see some fucknut making money from his old speeches and texts. pardon my klatchian

​

... there was a zen thing i meant to share, but i forgot.

I don't know why every video is saturated with music in the background. It adds nothing. I just want to hear the message sans music. Anything out there?

Does anyone know what lectures the clips in this video compilation come from? It sounds like it could be two or three different sessions based on the audio quality of the different clips and he covers some of the ideas at the start of the video in the Zen lectures but so far i haven’t found these exact audios

https://youtu.be/D7CH9cRN8Rg?si=nKBWWVnWim1vJB4d

I know that psychedelic and ketamine related therapies are being researched, but have we had anyone who has taken up the role of theo-botanist?

It seems like Alan's time lives on in the idea that we hold on to life and torture people to their last, with a few exceptions of machines that will allow you to die, and recently the idea of euthanasia roller coaster.

Has anyone combined psychedelic or divine plant research and metaphysical philosopher death research and psychiatric care? I'd be very interested. Thanks team.

Alan Watts had a way of putting the ego on blast like no one else. Ten minutes into his lecture, and your ego starts sweating, realizing it’s nothing more than a construct—just a bundle of thoughts desperately trying to convince you it’s real.

Watts didn’t just challenge the ego; he obliterated it with humor, wisdom, and piercing clarity. He reminded us that clinging to the ego is like holding on to a wave, believing it’s separate from the ocean. The joke’s on the ego—it’s not the boss; it’s just along for the ride.

This meme perfectly captures that existential panic when Watts pulls the rug out from under everything you thought you knew about yourself. But on the other side of that discomfort? Liberation.

📸 Image: IG @alanwattsquote

I'm not from a Christian background, far from it.

I've probably had four such experiences over 50+ years that have suddenly hit me, the first was pre school.

These things are.. how to convey? burned into one's core being.

They were utterly profound but also mysterious.

As to why? Why me? Is my first thought.

What Alan describes absolutely resonates with myself & much more (over the 4 experiences & their after effects & meanings, years later not only on me but related to others, who've got deeply emotional on telling them of this).

Have a listen to this by Alan speaking about the mystical experience (he had his own) profound & insightful.

He's an inspiration to any searching for answers to the deep questions of life & existence itself.

We are all passengers on this great journey that is life..

Only 9 minutes

Find a quiet place or put your headphones on

https://youtu.be/BKbbTm3LGzo?si=OXbJ5_q6d1X2dUGn

A couple years ago I was listening to a talk (can't remember if it was the be here now version of the podcast or the old alan watts experience), and Alan was talking about how people revv engines of motorcycles or fast cars because they need to be making a "great vibration" to know they're alive.

Can anybody locate this talk? Thanks in advance!

Good Saturday, friends.
Just wanted to recommend the latest episode of the Alan Watts Being in the Way podcast. Not sure where it's available other than on Spotify, but it should be on Youtube sooner or later too, I think.
Anyway, curious about people's thoughts on the emergence of AI in general and they way it's used to generate Alan Watts stuff. I have my gripes with it, for sure.

The episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2aO2greV67YxQpldhpEtf1?si=5ea0f5f8eba24789

emergence**

I've found some people linking this quote to Alan Watts, but couldn't confirm. Does anyone know the source?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw91B732I0M

I dont understand the concept. Why would something bad result from planning action.like if I want to do something I have to do it without thinking? I really enjoy alan watts but this concept really went over my head. Alan watts has always been a source of inspiration. But I don't understand how to change my life. It seems like the answer is basically "don't bother". Is that true?

https://youtu.be/HOeoOSmW4hw?si=-ukvdRxNitl11A3K

Full lecture? I love this one…

I was listening to Ep 20 - Man is a Hoax on the alanwatts.org site yesterday, and this passage really resonated with me. However, I’m having a difficult time unpacking what Alan meant and how it applies to everyday life.

Edit: Thanks a ton for the awesome responses, guys <3

Here’s my poorly paraphrased version of the quote: 😂

The reason why breathing is so important in meditation is that you can understand through the practice of breathing that there really is no differentiation between the involuntary experience and the voluntary experience. But when you set up game rules where you identify all that you do voluntarily with 'you,' and all that happens involuntarily with 'the other' (what happens to you), you create a gulf between these two things, not realizing that self and other are inseparable.

Here’s a more similar quote I found elsewhere, which touches on the same concept:

The curious thing about breath is that it can be looked at both as a voluntary and an involuntary action. You can feel, on the one hand, 'I am doing it,' and on the other hand, 'It is happening to me.' That is why breathing is a most important part of meditation: because it will show you—as you become aware of your breath—that the hard and fast division we make between what we do and what happens to us is arbitrary. As you watch your breathing, you’ll realize that both the voluntary and involuntary aspects of your experience are all one happening.

My questions are:

1. What do you take from this quote? Specifically, as a constant overthinker, I find that the lines (or gulf) between voluntary and involuntary actions feel hardcoded in my subconscious, making this differentiation difficult to understand through breathing.

2. What are some other examples where this concept applies to help clarify the idea?

3. What do you dig about this quote?

Thanks,

Josh

What lifts the leaf in the air. - Wind. But where does it come from?

Wishing all of you a very grounded and sincere day

https://preview.redd.it/j6u2yxnpr62e1.jpg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5caf25b7a6cac9b1af92c3d227c29263b8e734c7

Sometimes all it takes is one reminder to shift your perspective entirely: "You are the universe experiencing itself." Alan Watts had a knack for flipping the script on how we see ourselves, dismantling the illusion of separateness and showing us that we're not just in the universe—we are the universe, unfolding uniquely in this moment.

This meme perfectly captures the humor and depth of Watts' teachings. One second, you're asking for a little motivation to start your day; the next, you're confronted with the infinite. It's funny, profound, and slightly unsettling all at once—because deep down, you know it’s true.

Watts invites us to stop identifying with the small, isolated "me" and instead embrace the flow of existence, the wave within the ocean. It's both freeing and terrifying: if you're the whole universe, what's left to fear?

Image credit: Source.

Dear friends,

Something beautiful struck me while reading through our discussions here. Isn't it wonderful how Alan's talks still bring us together? But as I was listening to his laughter in some old recordings today, I had this warm realization:

Perhaps the greatest gift Alan gave us wasn't his words at all, but those little moments when he made us pause and just... be. Those moments when his laughter broke through our serious spiritual seeking and reminded us that what we're looking for is right here, right now.

You know those times when you're so caught up in a Watts lecture that you forget you're listening to a lecture? When his words fade and suddenly you're just aware of being aware? That's the real magic, isn't it?

Maybe we could try something together: Next time we feel the urge to quote Alan or analyze his teachings, we could just pause instead. Take a breath. Feel the aliveness of this moment. Listen to the sounds around us. Feel the weight of our bodies in our chairs. Notice the space between our thoughts.

Because isn't that what Alan was really pointing to? Not his words about reality, but reality itself - this magnificent, present, obvious thing that's happening right now.

Just a thought that wanted to be shared. Thank you all for being here, for seeking together, and maybe sometimes for forgetting to seek at all.

With warmth,
A fellow swimmer in the cosmic soup