4 ms·

The Library of Consciousness – Alan Watts

46 points by sva_ 3y ago

dirtyhippiefree 3y ago
Definitely hope to read more of his writing.
CalRobert 3y ago
HN hugged but you can use https://web.archive.org/web/20240112223559/https://www.organism.earth/library/author/alan-watts https://web.archive.org/web/20240112223559/https://www.organ... I really enjoy Watts' lectures and found they gave me a lot of peace about death, life, my place in the universe, etc. I particularly like the remixes by Akira the Don like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9nyWg7obj4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9nyWg7obj4 (this is _not_ an endorsement of other work by the same creator, it gets a bit manosphere-ey for me, but I still like the Alan Watts and Charlie Chaplin remixes)
tcmb 3y ago
Alan Watts was my 'gateway drug' into accessible spiritual texts, that led me further to Jiddu Krishnamurti, Ram Dass, traditional Buddhism and Advaita. To be able to search for specific topics or phrases in Ram Dass' talks, I built this little search engine that finds the search phrase in the subtitles and gives you the context and a link to Youtube: https://ramdass-search.net/ https://ramdass-search.net/
- refset 3y ago
  That's awesome! Ram Dass has been a real hero for me. I also love how excerpts from Watts and Ram Dass have been picked up by so many (very talented) musicians over recent years, e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwT7AobR2No https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwT7AobR2No
  - euroderf 3y ago
    Ram Dass was the gateway guy for me too. "The only dance there is" described how awareness brings light and peace to everyday situations.
ryandv 3y ago
> The art of meditation is a way of getting into touch with reality, and the reason for it is that most civilized people are out of touch with reality because they confuse the world as it with the world as they think about it and talk about it and describe it. For on the one hand there is the real world and on the other there is a whole system of symbols about that world which we have in our minds. > These are very very useful symbols, all civilization depends on them, but like all good things they have their disadvantages, and the principle disadvantage of symbols is that we confuse them with reality, just as we confuse money with actual wealth, and our names about ourselves, our ideas of ourselves, our images of ourselves, with ourselves. How much truer this excerpt of one of Watts' lectures [0] has become in the age where even our selves have become almost fully digitized. Many of the people you interact with will now never meet you in the flesh, only as symbols on a screen. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJYp-mWqB1w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJYp-mWqB1w
bemusedthrow75 3y ago
Ehhhhh. It’s just my experience but everyone I have encountered quoting Watts in the last two or three years follows someone like Naomi Wolf or James Delingpole or Russell Brand or Tucker Carlson on Twitter. He’s the alt-right geek’s alternative of choice for Chopra.
- _bfhp 3y ago
  i'm not alt-right but this comment just makes me want to read alan watts more
- CalRobert 3y ago
  What do you dislike about him? There's plenty to find flaw with but it would be helpful if you could elaborate.
  - bemusedthrow75 3y ago
    I have no opinion on his work other than that it’s in an entire category of work in which I have no interest. I am just saying what I am saying: that Watts quotes are now a signifier for me.
    - ryandv 3y ago
      Isn't this extremely reductive and an instance of the association fallacy? I am going to judge the complexity of your entire person based on one bit of information - whether or not you espouse the teachings of Alan Watts? Talk about confusing images and ideas of selves, with the people themselves. Quite judgmental, and dare I say, biased, or even prejudiced. For what it's worth I follow none of those people, so perhaps you ought to revisit your biases and correct some of your priors. Moreover, I began listening to Alan Watts over 10 years ago, when I was into Eckhart Tolle's "Power of Now" and all of that jazz. But thank you for exposing your innate biases and revealing your priors. It's very illuminating.
      - bemusedthrow75 3y ago

46 points by sva_ 3y ago

Definitely hope to read more of his writing.

HN hugged but you can use https://web.archive.org/web/20240112223559/https://www.organism.earth/library/author/alan-watts https://web.archive.org/web/20240112223559/https://www.organ... I really enjoy Watts' lectures and found they gave me a lot of peace about death, life, my place in the universe, etc. I particularly like the remixes by Akira the Don like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9nyWg7obj4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9nyWg7obj4 (this is _not_ an endorsement of other work by the same creator, it gets a bit manosphere-ey for me, but I still like the Alan Watts and Charlie Chaplin remixes)

tcmb 3y ago

Alan Watts was my 'gateway drug' into accessible spiritual texts, that led me further to Jiddu Krishnamurti, Ram Dass, traditional Buddhism and Advaita. To be able to search for specific topics or phrases in Ram Dass' talks, I built this little search engine that finds the search phrase in the subtitles and gives you the context and a link to Youtube: https://ramdass-search.net/ https://ramdass-search.net/

refset 3y ago
That's awesome! Ram Dass has been a real hero for me. I also love how excerpts from Watts and Ram Dass have been picked up by so many (very talented) musicians over recent years, e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwT7AobR2No https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwT7AobR2No
- euroderf 3y ago
  Ram Dass was the gateway guy for me too. "The only dance there is" described how awareness brings light and peace to everyday situations.

ryandv 3y ago

> The art of meditation is a way of getting into touch with reality, and the reason for it is that most civilized people are out of touch with reality because they confuse the world as it with the world as they think about it and talk about it and describe it. For on the one hand there is the real world and on the other there is a whole system of symbols about that world which we have in our minds. > These are very very useful symbols, all civilization depends on them, but like all good things they have their disadvantages, and the principle disadvantage of symbols is that we confuse them with reality, just as we confuse money with actual wealth, and our names about ourselves, our ideas of ourselves, our images of ourselves, with ourselves. How much truer this excerpt of one of Watts' lectures [0] has become in the age where even our selves have become almost fully digitized. Many of the people you interact with will now never meet you in the flesh, only as symbols on a screen. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJYp-mWqB1w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJYp-mWqB1w

bemusedthrow75 3y ago

Ehhhhh. It’s just my experience but everyone I have encountered quoting Watts in the last two or three years follows someone like Naomi Wolf or James Delingpole or Russell Brand or Tucker Carlson on Twitter. He’s the alt-right geek’s alternative of choice for Chopra.

_bfhp 3y ago
i'm not alt-right but this comment just makes me want to read alan watts more
CalRobert 3y ago
What do you dislike about him? There's plenty to find flaw with but it would be helpful if you could elaborate.
- bemusedthrow75 3y ago
  I have no opinion on his work other than that it’s in an entire category of work in which I have no interest. I am just saying what I am saying: that Watts quotes are now a signifier for me.
  - ryandv 3y ago
    Isn't this extremely reductive and an instance of the association fallacy? I am going to judge the complexity of your entire person based on one bit of information - whether or not you espouse the teachings of Alan Watts? Talk about confusing images and ideas of selves, with the people themselves. Quite judgmental, and dare I say, biased, or even prejudiced. For what it's worth I follow none of those people, so perhaps you ought to revisit your biases and correct some of your priors. Moreover, I began listening to Alan Watts over 10 years ago, when I was into Eckhart Tolle's "Power of Now" and all of that jazz. But thank you for exposing your innate biases and revealing your priors. It's very illuminating.
    - bemusedthrow75 3y ago