--- title: "17 Alan Watts Quotes by 13 authors" description: "Browse 17 Alan Watts quotes by 13 authors. Discover the best Alan Watts sayings and thoughts." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be7/alan-watts-587_quote_you-don-t-have-to-let-go-because-there-s_1920531.jpg" --- > [“You don't have to let go, because there's nothing to hold onto. --Alan Watts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/you-don-t-have-to-let-go-because-there-s-nothing-to-hold-onto-alan/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be7/alan-watts-587_quote_you-don-t-have-to-let-go-because-there-s_1920531.jpg) > [Alan Watts, the Buddhist scholar, proposed the existence of a mental faculty he called forgettory, which is the flip side of memory.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-dossey/alan-watts-the-buddhist-scholar-proposed-the-existence-of-a-mental/) [Larry Dossey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-dossey/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/231/larry-dossey-28155_buddhism_alan-watts-the-buddhist-scholar-proposed_1179433.png) > [“the philosopher Alan Watts used to refer to as “the backwards law”—the idea that the more you pursue feeling better all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-manson/the-philosopher-alan-watts-used-to-refer-to-as-the-backwards-law-the/) [Mark Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-manson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d3/mark-manson-537_feeling-better_the-philosopher-alan-watts-used-to-refer_1460472.jpg) > [It wasn't until after I'd been around Timothy Leary, Aldous Huxley and Alan Watts, that I started to reflect about issues like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/it-wasn-t-until-after-i-d-been-around-timothy-leary-aldous-huxley-and/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/ram-dass-784_conscious_it-wasn-t-until-after-i-d-been-around-ti_809421.png) > [The late British-born philosopher Alan Watts, in one of his wonderful lectures on eastern philosophy, used this analogy: "If I draw a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/the-late-british-born-philosopher-alan-watts-in-one-of-his-wonderful/) [Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/636/eric-weiner-1843_analogies_the-late-british-born-philosopher-alan-w_1032569.jpg) > [“it is again: that Hindu belief that all of life is maya, illusion. Once we see life as a game, no more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/it-is-again-that-hindu-belief-that-all-of-life-is-maya-illusion-once/) [Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f92/eric-weiner-1843_belief_it-is-again-that-hindu-belief-that-all-o_2601661.jpg) > [“The desire for more positive experience is itself a negative experience. And, paradoxically, the acceptance of one’s negative experience is itself a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-manson/the-desire-for-more-positive-experience-is-itself-a-negative/) [Mark Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-manson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53e/mark-manson-537_desire_the-desire-for-more-positive-experience_1415574.jpg) > [“The philosopher Alan Watts, were he alive today, would nod knowingly when told of that experiment. Watts once said, “Only bad music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/the-philosopher-alan-watts-were-he-alive-today-would-nod-knowingly/) [Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae8/eric-weiner-1843_bad-music_the-philosopher-alan-watts-were-he-alive_1373453.jpg) > [“Alan Watts famously said: Forget the money, because if you say that getting the money is the most important thing, you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vishen-lakhiani/alan-watts-famously-said-forget-the-money-because-if-you-say-that/) [Vishen Lakhiani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vishen-lakhiani/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14c/vishen-lakhiani-4651_doing-things_alan-watts-famously-said-forget-the-mone_680723.jpg) > [Just remember your thoughts are not yours. They're influenced by society and the opinion of other people. Remember, your thoughts came from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/just-remember-your-thoughts-are-not-yours-they-re-influenced-by/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10f/jeremy-limn-301_ask-yourself_just-remember-your-thoughts-are-not-your_746367.jpg) > [“I’ll give you a minute to unpretzel your brain and maybe read that again: Wanting positive experience is a negative experience; accepting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-manson/i-ll-give-you-a-minute-to-unpretzel-your-brain-and-maybe-read-that/) [Mark Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-manson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/mark-manson-537_feeling-better_i-ll-give-you-a-minute-to-unpretzel-your_2296674.jpg) > [Love is the movement within life that carries us, that enables us, that causes us to break out of what Alan Watts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/love-is-the-movement-within-life-that-carries-us-that-enables-us-that/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/376/huston-smith-2415_break_love-is-the-movement-within-life-that-ca_2939350.png) > [“For Kerouac, the embodiment of American Zen was Gary Snyder, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Buddhist poet and essayist, who he fictionalized as Japhy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-dinerstein/for-kerouac-the-embodiment-of-american-zen-was-gary-snyder-the/) [Joel Dinerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-dinerstein/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/joel-dinerstein-78375_alan-watts_for-kerouac-the-embodiment-of-american-z_2467642.jpg) > [“According to Freudian psychology, the ego is that part of us that allows us to correctly perceive external reality and function well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislav-grof/according-to-freudian-psychology-the-ego-is-that-part-of-us-that/) [Stanislav Grof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislav-grof/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/340/stanislav-grof-7540_day-life_according-to-freudian-psychology-the-ego_861541.png) > [“the ten thousand things To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-louis/the-ten-thousand-things-to-study-the-self-is-to-forget-the-self-to/) [Miriam Louis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-louis/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c67/miriam-louis-154753_buddhism_the-ten-thousand-things-to-study-the-sel_1192480.jpg) > [“Around his celestial home Indra had flung a vast net—a web stretching out infinitely in all directions. Each vertex, or node, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-cope/around-his-celestial-home-indra-had-flung-a-vast-net-a-web-stretching/) [Stephen Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-cope/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afa/stephen-cope-39822_early-morning_around-his-celestial-home-indra-had-flun_2665460.jpg) > [“The Copenhagen Interpretation is sometimes called "model agnosticism" and holds that any grid we use to organize our experience of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/the-copenhagen-interpretation-is-sometimes-called-model-agnosticism/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/588/robert-anton-wilson-1198_concepts_the-copenhagen-interpretation-is-sometim_628526.jpg) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alan-watts/#itemlist", "name": "Alan Watts Quotes", "numberOfItems": 17, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You don't have to let go, because there's nothing to hold onto. --Alan Watts”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Watts" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/you-don-t-have-to-let-go-because-there-s-nothing-to-hold-onto-alan/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be7/alan-watts-587_quote_you-don-t-have-to-let-go-because-there-s_1920531.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be7/alan-watts-587_quote_you-don-t-have-to-let-go-because-there-s_1920531.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be7/alan-watts-587_quote_you-don-t-have-to-let-go-because-there-s_1920531.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You don't have to let go, because there's nothing to hold onto. --Alan Watts” — Alan Watts", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Alan Watts, the Buddhist scholar, proposed the existence of a mental faculty he called forgettory, which is the flip side of memory. There are times, Watts maintained, when we need to forget things, to let them slip away into the unremembered past.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Larry Dossey" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-dossey/alan-watts-the-buddhist-scholar-proposed-the-existence-of-a-mental/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/231/larry-dossey-28155_buddhism_alan-watts-the-buddhist-scholar-proposed_1179433.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/231/larry-dossey-28155_buddhism_alan-watts-the-buddhist-scholar-proposed_1179433.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/231/larry-dossey-28155_buddhism_alan-watts-the-buddhist-scholar-proposed_1179433.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Alan Watts, the Buddhist scholar, proposed the existence of a mental faculty he called forgettory, which is…” — Larry Dossey", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“the philosopher Alan Watts used to refer to as “the backwards law”—the idea that the more you pursue feeling better all the time, the less satisfied you become, as pursuing something only reinforces the fact that you lack it in the first place.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Manson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-manson/the-philosopher-alan-watts-used-to-refer-to-as-the-backwards-law-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d3/mark-manson-537_feeling-better_the-philosopher-alan-watts-used-to-refer_1460472.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d3/mark-manson-537_feeling-better_the-philosopher-alan-watts-used-to-refer_1460472.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d3/mark-manson-537_feeling-better_the-philosopher-alan-watts-used-to-refer_1460472.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“the philosopher Alan Watts used to refer to as “the backwards law”—the idea that the more you pursue feeling…” — Mark Manson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It wasn't until after I'd been around Timothy Leary, Aldous Huxley and Alan Watts, that I started to reflect about issues like the evolution of consciousness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ram Dass" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/it-wasn-t-until-after-i-d-been-around-timothy-leary-aldous-huxley-and/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/ram-dass-784_conscious_it-wasn-t-until-after-i-d-been-around-ti_809421.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/ram-dass-784_conscious_it-wasn-t-until-after-i-d-been-around-ti_809421.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/ram-dass-784_conscious_it-wasn-t-until-after-i-d-been-around-ti_809421.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It wasn't until after I'd been around Timothy Leary, Aldous Huxley and Alan Watts, that I started to reflect…” — Ram Dass", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The late British-born philosopher Alan Watts, in one of his wonderful lectures on eastern philosophy, used this analogy: \"If I draw a circle, most people, when asked what I have drawn, will say I have drawn a circle or a disc, or a ball. Very few people will say I've drawn a hole in the wall, because most people think of the inside first, rather than thinking of the outside. But actually these two sides go together--you cannot have what is 'in here' unless you have what is out there.' \" In other words, where we are is vital to who we are.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eric Weiner" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/the-late-british-born-philosopher-alan-watts-in-one-of-his-wonderful/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/636/eric-weiner-1843_analogies_the-late-british-born-philosopher-alan-w_1032569.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/636/eric-weiner-1843_analogies_the-late-british-born-philosopher-alan-w_1032569.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/636/eric-weiner-1843_analogies_the-late-british-born-philosopher-alan-w_1032569.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The late British-born philosopher Alan Watts, in one of his wonderful lectures on eastern philosophy, used…” — Eric Weiner", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“it is again: that Hindu belief that all of life is maya, illusion. Once we see life as a game, no more consequential than a game of chess, then the world seems a lot lighter, a lot happier. Personal failure becomes “as small a cause for concern as playing the role of loser in a summer theater performance,” writes Huston Smith in his book The World’s Religions. If it’s all theater, it doesn’t matter which role you play, as long as you realize it’s only a role. Or, as Alan Watts said: “A genuine person is one who knows he is a big act and does it with complete zip.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eric Weiner" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/it-is-again-that-hindu-belief-that-all-of-life-is-maya-illusion-once/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f92/eric-weiner-1843_belief_it-is-again-that-hindu-belief-that-all-o_2601661.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f92/eric-weiner-1843_belief_it-is-again-that-hindu-belief-that-all-o_2601661.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f92/eric-weiner-1843_belief_it-is-again-that-hindu-belief-that-all-o_2601661.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“it is again: that Hindu belief that all of life is maya, illusion. Once we see life as a game, no more…” — Eric Weiner", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The desire for more positive experience is itself a negative experience. And, paradoxically, the acceptance of one’s negative experience is itself a positive experience…It’s what the philosopher Alan Watts used to refer to as “the backwards law” - the idea that the more you pursue feeling better all the time, the less satisfied you become, as pursuing something only reinforces the fact that you lack it in the first place.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Manson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-manson/the-desire-for-more-positive-experience-is-itself-a-negative/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53e/mark-manson-537_desire_the-desire-for-more-positive-experience_1415574.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53e/mark-manson-537_desire_the-desire-for-more-positive-experience_1415574.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53e/mark-manson-537_desire_the-desire-for-more-positive-experience_1415574.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The desire for more positive experience is itself a negative experience. And, paradoxically, the acceptance…” — Mark Manson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The philosopher Alan Watts, were he alive today, would nod knowingly when told of that experiment. Watts once said, “Only bad music has any meaning.” Meaning necessarily entails words, symbols. They point to something other than themselves. Good music doesn’t point anywhere. It just is. Likewise, only unhappiness has meaning. That’s why we feel compelled to talk about it and have so many words to draw upon. Happiness doesn’t require words.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eric Weiner" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/the-philosopher-alan-watts-were-he-alive-today-would-nod-knowingly/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae8/eric-weiner-1843_bad-music_the-philosopher-alan-watts-were-he-alive_1373453.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae8/eric-weiner-1843_bad-music_the-philosopher-alan-watts-were-he-alive_1373453.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae8/eric-weiner-1843_bad-music_the-philosopher-alan-watts-were-he-alive_1373453.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The philosopher Alan Watts, were he alive today, would nod knowingly when told of that experiment. Watts…” — Eric Weiner", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Alan Watts famously said: Forget the money, because if you say that getting the money is the most important thing, you will spend your life completely wasting your time. You’ll be doing things you don’t like doing in order to go on living—that is, to go on doing things you don’t like doing. Which is stupid. Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vishen Lakhiani" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vishen-lakhiani/alan-watts-famously-said-forget-the-money-because-if-you-say-that/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14c/vishen-lakhiani-4651_doing-things_alan-watts-famously-said-forget-the-mone_680723.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14c/vishen-lakhiani-4651_doing-things_alan-watts-famously-said-forget-the-mone_680723.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14c/vishen-lakhiani-4651_doing-things_alan-watts-famously-said-forget-the-mone_680723.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Alan Watts famously said: Forget the money, because if you say that getting the money is the most important…” — Vishen Lakhiani", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Just remember your thoughts are not yours. They're influenced by society and the opinion of other people. Remember, your thoughts came from nothing like the universe did. Also remember you're born into this world, but your thoughts are something more than words. Your consciousness is uncontrollable at times right? You worry over the worrying. Ask yourself the question who owns these thoughts. The universe owns the thoughts, because you came from nothingness. Influenced by Alan Watts.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeremy Limn" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/just-remember-your-thoughts-are-not-yours-they-re-influenced-by/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10f/jeremy-limn-301_ask-yourself_just-remember-your-thoughts-are-not-your_746367.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10f/jeremy-limn-301_ask-yourself_just-remember-your-thoughts-are-not-your_746367.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10f/jeremy-limn-301_ask-yourself_just-remember-your-thoughts-are-not-your_746367.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Just remember your thoughts are not yours. They're influenced by society and the opinion of other people…” — Jeremy Limn", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I’ll give you a minute to unpretzel your brain and maybe read that again: Wanting positive experience is a negative experience; accepting negative experience is a positive experience. It’s what the philosopher Alan Watts used to refer to as “the backwards law”—the idea that the more you pursue feeling better all the time, the less satisfied you become, as pursuing something only reinforces the fact that you lack it in the first place.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Manson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-manson/i-ll-give-you-a-minute-to-unpretzel-your-brain-and-maybe-read-that/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/mark-manson-537_feeling-better_i-ll-give-you-a-minute-to-unpretzel-your_2296674.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/mark-manson-537_feeling-better_i-ll-give-you-a-minute-to-unpretzel-your_2296674.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/mark-manson-537_feeling-better_i-ll-give-you-a-minute-to-unpretzel-your_2296674.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I’ll give you a minute to unpretzel your brain and maybe read that again: Wanting positive experience is a…” — Mark Manson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Love is the movement within life that carries us, that enables us, that causes us to break out of what Alan Watts calls the “skin-encapsulated ego.” Without love, we are self-centered, but love enables us to move the center of our lives outside our ego. Therefore it expands our lives and, needless to say, enriches it. Any human being would give anything to love or be loved. When it really happens, it is like heaven on earth.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Huston Smith" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/love-is-the-movement-within-life-that-carries-us-that-enables-us-that/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/376/huston-smith-2415_break_love-is-the-movement-within-life-that-ca_2939350.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/376/huston-smith-2415_break_love-is-the-movement-within-life-that-ca_2939350.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/376/huston-smith-2415_break_love-is-the-movement-within-life-that-ca_2939350.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Love is the movement within life that carries us, that enables us, that causes us to break out of what Alan…” — Huston Smith", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 13, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“For Kerouac, the embodiment of American Zen was Gary Snyder, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Buddhist poet and essayist, who he fictionalized as Japhy Ryder in The Dharma Bums. Snyder was a practicing Buddhist and a translator of classic Chinese texts before Kerouac met him. He was the Zen guru of the Beats at the same time that Alan Watts popularized Buddhism for middle-class Americans in best-selling books and magazine articles of the late 1950s. Snyder had studied with Watts for a while but thought him 'square.' 'He was cool in relation to the people around him,' Snyder once said, referring to 'middle class, needy' Americans, but he was 'never actually cool.' Then Snyder added with a wink, '[and] you know what I mean, as the Big Bopper says,' invoking the rock-and-roll classic 'Chantilly Lace' for those hip and in-the-know.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joel Dinerstein" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-dinerstein/for-kerouac-the-embodiment-of-american-zen-was-gary-snyder-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/joel-dinerstein-78375_alan-watts_for-kerouac-the-embodiment-of-american-z_2467642.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/joel-dinerstein-78375_alan-watts_for-kerouac-the-embodiment-of-american-z_2467642.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/153/joel-dinerstein-78375_alan-watts_for-kerouac-the-embodiment-of-american-z_2467642.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For Kerouac, the embodiment of American Zen was Gary Snyder, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Buddhist poet and…” — Joel Dinerstein", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 14, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“According to Freudian psychology, the ego is that part of us that allows us to correctly perceive external reality and function well in everyday life. People who have this concept of the ego frequently look upon the ego death as a frightening and tremendously negative event--as the loss of ability to operate in the world. However, what really dies in this process is that part of us that holds a basically paranoid view of ourselves and of the world around. Alan Watts called this aspect, which involves a sense of absolute separateness from everything else, \"skin-encapsulated ego.\" It is made up of the internal perceptions of our lives that we learned during the struggle in the birth canal and during various painful encounters after birth.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stanislav Grof" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislav-grof/according-to-freudian-psychology-the-ego-is-that-part-of-us-that/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/340/stanislav-grof-7540_day-life_according-to-freudian-psychology-the-ego_861541.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/340/stanislav-grof-7540_day-life_according-to-freudian-psychology-the-ego_861541.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/340/stanislav-grof-7540_day-life_according-to-freudian-psychology-the-ego_861541.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“According to Freudian psychology, the ego is that part of us that allows us to correctly perceive external…” — Stanislav Grof", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 15, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“the ten thousand things To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by the ten thousand things. – Eihei Dogen If one is very fortunate indeed, one comes upon – or is found by – the teachings that match one’s disposition and the teachers or mentors whose expression strikes to the heart while teasing the knots from the mind. The Miriam Louisa character came with a tendency towards contrariness and scepticism, which is probably why she gravitated to teachers who displayed like qualities. It was always evident to me that the ‘blink’ required in order to meet life in its naked suchness was not something to be gained in time. Rather, it was clear that it was something to do with understanding what sabotages this direct engagement. So my teachers were those who deconstructed the spiritual search – and with it the seeker – inviting one to “see for oneself.” I realised early on that I wouldn’t find any help within traditional spiritual institutions since their version of awakening is usually a project in time. Anyway, I’m not a joiner by nature. I set out on my via negativa at an early age, trying on all kinds of philosophies and practices with enthusiasm and casting them aside –neti neti – equally enthusiastically. Chögyam Trungpa wised me up to “spiritual materialism” in the 70s; Alan Watts followed on, pointing out that whatever is being experienced is none other than ‘IT’ – the unarguable aliveness that one IS. By then I was perfectly primed for the questions put by Jiddu Krishnamurti – “Is there a thinker separate from thought?” “Is there an observer separate from the observed?” “Can consciousness be separated from its content?” It was while teaching at Brockwood Park that I also had the good fortune to engage with David Bohm in formal dialogues as well as private conversations. (About which I have written elsewhere.) Krishnamurti and Bohm were seminal teachers for me; I also loved the unique style of deconstruction offered by Nisargadatta Maharaj. As it happened though, it took just one tiny paragraph from Wei Wu Wei to land in my brain at exactly the right time for the irreversible ‘blink’ to occur. I mention this rather august lineage because it explains why the writing of Robert Saltzman strikes not just a chord but an entire symphonic movement for me. We are peers; we were probably reading the same books by Watts and Krishnamurti at the same time during the 70s and 80s. Reading his book, The Ten Thousand Things, is, for me, like feeling my way across a tapestry exquisitely woven from the threads of my own life. I’m not sure that I can adequately express my wonderment and appreciation… The candor, lucidity and lack of jargon in Robert’s writing are deeply refreshing. I also relish his way with words. He knows how to write. He also knows how to take astonishingly fine photographs, and these are featured throughout the book. It’s been said that this book will become a classic, which is a pretty good achievement for someone who isn’t claiming to be a teacher and has nothing to gain by its sale. (The book sells for the production price.) He is not peddling enlightenment. He is simply sharing how it feels to be free from all the spiritual fantasies that obscure our seamless engagement with this miraculous thing called life, right now.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Miriam Louis" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-louis/the-ten-thousand-things-to-study-the-self-is-to-forget-the-self-to/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c67/miriam-louis-154753_buddhism_the-ten-thousand-things-to-study-the-sel_1192480.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c67/miriam-louis-154753_buddhism_the-ten-thousand-things-to-study-the-sel_1192480.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c67/miriam-louis-154753_buddhism_the-ten-thousand-things-to-study-the-sel_1192480.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“the ten thousand things To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by…” — Miriam Louis", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 16, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Around his celestial home Indra had flung a vast net—a web stretching out infinitely in all directions. Each vertex, or node, of this net was held together by a glittering jewel. There were infinite nodes, and so there were infinite jewels. What does it mean? Just this: Each gem in the net represents a human soul. And though each of these jewels is unique (has its own fingerprint!) it also reflects in its polished surface the image of all the other jewels. American philosopher and psychologist Alan Watts imagined this web as a multidimensional spiderweb. He said, “Imagine this web in the early morning, covered with dewdrops. And every dewdrop contains the reflection of all the other dewdrops. And, in each reflected dewdrop, the reflections of all the other dewdrops in that reflection. And so on ad infinitum.” Each jewel in Indra’s net represents both itself as a particular jewel, and, at the same time, the entire web. So, any change in one gem would be reflected in the whole. Indeed, the individual gem is the whole. In the words of Indologist Sir Charles Eliot, “Every object in the world is not merely itself but involves every other object and in fact IS everything else.” It is, therefore, the sacred duty of every individual human soul to be utterly and completely itself—to be that jewel at that time and in that place, and to be that jewel utterly. It is in this way—merely by being itself—that one jewel holds together its own particular corner of Space and Time. The action of each individual soul holds together the entire net. Small and large at the same time.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Cope" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-cope/around-his-celestial-home-indra-had-flung-a-vast-net-a-web-stretching/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afa/stephen-cope-39822_early-morning_around-his-celestial-home-indra-had-flun_2665460.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afa/stephen-cope-39822_early-morning_around-his-celestial-home-indra-had-flun_2665460.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afa/stephen-cope-39822_early-morning_around-his-celestial-home-indra-had-flun_2665460.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Around his celestial home Indra had flung a vast net—a web stretching out infinitely in all directions. Each…” — Stephen Cope", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 17, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The Copenhagen Interpretation is sometimes called \"model agnosticism\" and holds that any grid we use to organize our experience of the world is a model of the world and should not be confused with the world itself. Alfred Korzybski , the semanticist, tried to popularize this outside physics with the slogan, \"The map is not the territory.\" Alan Watts , a talented exegete of Oriental philosophy, restated it more vividly as \"The menu is not the meal.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Anton Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/the-copenhagen-interpretation-is-sometimes-called-model-agnosticism/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/588/robert-anton-wilson-1198_concepts_the-copenhagen-interpretation-is-sometim_628526.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/588/robert-anton-wilson-1198_concepts_the-copenhagen-interpretation-is-sometim_628526.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/588/robert-anton-wilson-1198_concepts_the-copenhagen-interpretation-is-sometim_628526.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The Copenhagen Interpretation is sometimes called \"model agnosticism\" and holds that any grid we use to…” — Robert Anton Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alan-watts/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alan-watts/", "name": "Alan Watts Quotes", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alan-watts/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be7/alan-watts-587_quote_you-don-t-have-to-let-go-because-there-s_1920531.jpg" }, "description": "Browse 17 Alan Watts quotes by 13 authors. 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