Alan Watts

Alan Watts

Interpreter of Eastern philosophies.

A British writer and speaker known for his interpretations of Eastern philosophy for Western audiences. His works on topics such as Zen Buddhism, Taoism, and the nature of reality have introduced many to Eastern thought. Watts explored the interconnectedness of life and the nature of consciousness, often using humor and accessible language to make complex spiritual concepts relatable. His insights into the nature of existence and the self continue to inspire and inform contemporary spirituality.

Alan Watts Quotes about Senses

  • When one speaks of awakening, it means de-hypnotization; coming to your senses. But of course to do that, you have to go out of your mind.
  • To go out of your mind once a day is tremendously important, because by going out of your mind you come to your senses. And if you stay in your mind all of the time, you are over rational, in other words you are like a very rigid bridge which because it has no give; no craziness in it, is going to be blown down by the first hurricane.
  • To go out of your mind at least once a day is tremendously important. By going out of your mind, you come to your senses.
  • We suffer from a hallucination, from a false and distorted sensation of our own existence as living organisms. Most of us have the sensation that "I myself" is a separate center of feeling and action, living inside and bounded by the physical body—a center which "confronts" an "external" world of people and things, making contact through the senses with a universe both alien and strange.
  • We all need to go out of our minds at least once a day. When we go out of our minds we quickly come to our senses.
  • To define is to limit, to set boundaries, to compare and to contrast, and for this reason, the universe, the all, seems to defy definition....Just as no one in his senses would look for the morning news in a dictionary, no one should use speaking and thinking to find out what cannot be spoken or thought.
  • Paradoxical as it may seem, the purposeful life has no content, no point. It hurries on and on, and misses everything. Not hurrying, the purposeless life misses nothing, for it is only when there is no goal and no rush that the human senses are fully open to receive the world.
  • By going out of your mind, you come to your senses