The Wisdom of Alan Watts

Whenever I am feeling a little out of sorts or a little frustrated in life, I turn to any book written by Alan Watts and I find that it inevitably cheers me up. He had an eloquent means of bringing to the fore the simplest explanations for the most complicated questions in life. Today I happened to pick up Become What You Are and was reminded of the illusion of self-mastery in the process of self-discovery. By that I mean the idea that we can transcend ourselves by something our self actively does. As Watts points out, "the part of ourself that wants to change ourself is the very one that needs to be changed, but it is as inaccessible as a needle to the prick of its own point" (page 4). That may sounds a little odd but here's his further elucidation:

I have always found that the people who have quite genuinely died to themselves make no claims of any kind to their own part in the process. They think of themselves as lazy and lucky. If they did anything at all, it was so simple that anyone else could do the same - for all that they have done is to recognize a universal fact of life, something as true of the weak and foolish as of the wise and strong (Page 5).

I like to meditate and practice yoga among other activities that calm my mind and let me linger in a stillness, like walking in nature, painting, or sometimes when listening to music. Yet, I sometimes fall victim to the very illusion Watts discusses thinking if only I were to practice more, meditate more, live more calmly, that my actions would 'change' the undercurrent of anxious thinking frenzy that is also a part of me. When I find myself thinking that way, a little Watts wisdom always brings a smile to my face or a laugh out loud moment as he notes the inevitable repetition of this way of thinking wherein we lose ourselves only to find ourselves again and again. He likens it to a perpetual game of hide and seek.

The random moments of 'death' of the self or times of self-transcendence must seem to arise beyond oneself because they are by definition outside oneself (see previous post). Such moments may arise in a brush with death, in a moment of inspiration, amidst a mother-child interaction, on a summer's night along a wide-open beach, or perhaps when sitting in silence. We may practice exercises to enhance the likelihood of letting go of the self (the 'death' that Watts describes) but the arising of that experience is beyond our control.

Comments

[joebaggadonuts]

I have great power to imagine things.

Many times I imagine I am in control of myself, and when I am doing that, I find that many things happen that I seem to want done. Focus, discipline, action, and luck, all bring what I want. However, in my experience that only lasts for a short time, perhaps two days or so, before something else inside (or perhaps outside) comes to the fore and controls what I am doing. That goes on for awhile, perhaps a week or perhaps only a day, before I begin to imagine I am in control again.

I think of this cycle as discipline temperament. I imagine that if I can see it clearly, that I can control it. But that too, is probably just a meta cycle or perhaps a meta manifestation of the same thing.

[Arithrianos]

to me the secret lies in an old story about a black magician(c­ontrol/ego­) having a race with a enlightened being(Self). The race was to a cave at the top a a distant mountain. The black magician reached out, grabbed the top of the mountain and pulled the mountain to him, and stepped into the cave, where the enlightened master was waiting for him. The point is everything is already accomplished, the only thing "control" brings is suffering when things go "bad".

[onlyThis]

Love me some Alan Watts. Ever try Adyashanti or david carse?

[CrankyCurmudgeon]

I have read "The Wisdom of Insecurity" three times. Each time it has changed my life. Alan Watts was a genius. Although I don't listen to him now, he still "lives" at KPFK, Pacifica Radio - 90.7 FM in Los Angeles or KPFK.org online.

[Arithrianos]

i have made a promise to Tulku Thupten R. to never from that day on to do anything at all, so this is important stuff to me, i call upon reality to always let me know when i fall prey to the illusion of volition, just remind me whatever it takes. Luckily for me it just gets easier and easier to be "lazy" and let stuff flow, like this comment, i am not writing it i am just experiencing the writing, and enjoying the process, but there is no supervisor ordering things, it just comes to me and i let my fingers type. All i "do" is relax, and that is not doing anything either, you cannot force yourself to relax, you can only set the conditions by dropping demands. It also helps with my job, i let my fingers type while i watch and listen to music, it is so easy.

[onlyThis]

I don't mean to be a jerk but isn't the purposeful doing of nothing actually a doing of something? Bottom line is Life has a "you", you do not have a life. You and "your life" are the physical manifestation of Being, you are be-ing, the be-ing of what some would call Infinite Potential others call God. In other words you are a verb not a noun. Just a thought.

[Arithrianos]

The point is to hold the correct view, and whatever helps to hold that correct view is to be valued. For me it is valuable to keep in mind that there is no "i" doing, there is just the doing itself, the i is not needed, it is a distraction. Of course "doing nothing" is somewhat tounge in cheek, i always keep in mind that when a liberated beings says something, it is most likely at least in part a joke or play on words, they are so funny but dangerous to take too literally. And i call Being the Great Perfection, since it is already perfect, everything is already in proccess, and the proccess is perfect, so even though there is no reality, reality is the Great Perfection, because there is no is outside of isness itself, all reflection, no beginning.