Cloud-hidden, Whereabouts Unknown

Author: Alan Watts
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 030780786X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 225

Book Description
Over the course of nineteen essays, Alan Watts ("a spiritual polymatch, the first and possibly greatest" —Deepak Chopra) ruminates on the philosophy of nature, ecology, aesthetics, religion, and metaphysics. Assembled in the form of a “mountain journal,” written during a retreat in the foothills of Mount Tamalpais, CA, Cloud-Hidden, Whereabouts Unknown is Watts’s meditation on the art of feeling out and following the watercourse way of nature, known in Chinese as the Tao. Embracing a form of contemplative meditation that allows us to stop analyzing our experiences and start living in to them, the book explores themes such as the natural world, established religion, race relations, karma and reincarnation, astrology and tantric yoga, the nature of ecstasy, and much more.

The Book

Author: Alan Watts
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0679723005
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 169

Book Description
A revelatory primer on what it means to be human, from "the perfect guide for a course correction in life" (Deepak Chopra)—and a mind-opening manual of initiation into the central mystery of existence. At the root of human conflict is our fundamental misunderstanding of who we are. The illusion that we are isolated beings, unconnected to the rest of the universe, has led us to view the “outside” world with hostility, and has fueled our misuse of technology and our violent and hostile subjugation of the natural world. To help us understand that the self is in fact the root and ground of the universe, Watts has crafted a revelatory primer on what it means to be human—and a mind-opening manual of initiation into the central mystery of existence. In The Book, Alan Watts provides us with a much-needed answer to the problem of personal identity, distilling and adapting the Hindu philosophy of Vedanta.

Play to Live

Author: Alan Watts
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 108

Book Description

Nature, Man and Woman

Author: Alan Watts
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0679732330
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 226

Book Description
From “perhaps the foremost interpreter of Eastern disciplines for the contemporary West—and an author who ‘had the rare gift of ‘writing beautifully the unwritable’” (Los Angeles Times)—a guide that draws on Chinese Taoism to reexamine humanity’s place in the natural world and the relation between body and spirit. Western thought and culture have coalesced around a series of constructed ideas—that human beings stand separate from a nature that must be controlled; that the mind is somehow superior to the body; that all sexuality entails a seduction—that in some way underlie our exploitation of the earth, our distrust of emotion, and our loneliness and reluctance to love. Here, Watts fundamentally challenges these assumptions, drawing on the precepts of Taoism to present an alternative vision of man and the universe—one in which the distinctions between self and other, spirit and matter give way to a more holistic way of seeing.

Tao

Author: Alan Watts
Publisher: Pantheon
ISBN: 0394733118
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 161

Book Description
Drawing on ancient and modern sources, "a lucid discussion of Taoism and the Chinese language [that's] profound, reflective, and enlightening." —Boston Globe According to Deepak Chopra, "Watts was a spiritual polymatch, the first and possibly greatest." Watts treats the Chinese philosophy of Tao in much the same way as he did Zen Buddhism in his classic The Way of Zen. Critics agree that this last work stands as a perfect monument to the life and literature of Alan Watts. "Perhaps the foremost interpreter of Eastern disciplines for the contemporary West, . . . Watts begins with scholarship and intellect and proceeds with art and eloquence to the frontiers of the spirit."—Los Angeles Times

There Is Never Anything but the Present

Author: Alan Watts
Publisher: Pantheon
ISBN: 0593316037
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 128

Book Description
A giftable collection of inspiring, uplifting, and enlightening words of wisdom from one of the most important voices in spirituality and self-help "The perfect guide for a course correction in life." —Deepak Chopra Here is an indispensible treasury of uplifting and enlightening quotations for guidance, support, and spiritual sustenance. In his classic works of philosophy, Alan Watts shared timeless wisdom with readers worldwide. In this book are some of his most thought-provoking words to live by, to reflect upon, and to read for inspiration, knowledge, and growth.

How to Do Things Right

Author: L. Rust Hills
Publisher: David R. Godine Publisher
ISBN: 9780879239695
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 276

Book Description
Obsessively-detailed, and very funny, instructions on nearly everything in life you are very possibly doing all wrong. Help is here! From how to eat an ice-cream cone to developing "principles" when you have none, the author's mission is to elevate, and ennoble, those fleeting instincts we all harbor to get our lives in order. "Hills is preoccupied primarily with the little things," Nora Ephron wrote in the New York Times"and he writes about them deliciously." This volume includes three titles previously published individually: How To Do Things Right, How to Retire at 41, and How to Be Good. They have been edited, revised and combined into one volume and the contents will have you laughing out loud, thinking hard, and at least temporarily rearranging your frazzled life. Hills is wise, witty, and very, very funny. But behind the humor, Hills remains a deeply sage and serious writer. This is his best advice, from years of experience, served up from the heart of one of the most charming humorists to grace the American scene.

What Is Tao?

Author: Alan Watts
Publisher: New World Library
ISBN: 1577318161
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 98

Book Description
Alan Watts — noted author and respected authority on Far Eastern thought — studied Taoism extensively, and in his final years moved to a quiet cabin in the mountains and dedicated himself almost exclusively to meditating and writing on the Tao. This new book gives us an opportunity to not only understand the concept of the Tao but to experience the Tao as a personal practice of liberation from the limitations imposed by the common beliefs within our culture. The philosophy of the Tao offers a way to understand the value of ourselves as free-willed individuals enfolded within the ever-changing patterns of nature. The path of the Tao is perhaps the most puzzling way of liberation to come to us from the Far East in the last century. It is both practical and esoteric, and it has a surprisingly comfortable quality of thought that is often overlooked by Western readers who never venture beyond the unfamiliar quality of the word Tao (pronounced "dow"). But those who do soon discover a way of understanding and living with the world that has profound implications for us today in so-called modern societies. The word Tao means the Way — in the sense of a path, a way to go — but it also means nature, in the sense of one's true nature, and the nature of the universe. Often described as the philosophy of nature, we find the origins of Taoism in the shamanic world of pre-Dynastic China. Living close to the earth, one sees the wisdom of not interfering, and letting things go their way. It is the wisdom of swimming with the current, splitting wood along the grain, and seeking to understand human nature instead of changing it. Every creature finds it's way according to the laws of nature, and each of us has our own inner path — or Tao.

The Fish Who Found the Sea

Author: Alan Watts
Publisher: Sounds True
ISBN: 1683642902
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
A rediscovered treasure for a new generation: the first and only story for children ever written by Alan Watts. Alan Watts, beloved for bringing a childlike wonder to the spiritual journey, once wrote a story for children. The Fish Who Found the Sea brings this delightful and wise parable to life for a new generation. Presented with new art from award-winning illustrator Khoa Le, here is a story as timely as it is entertaining—sharing a key message about getting into harmony with the flow of life. In this tale of a tail, we meet a fish with a curiously familiar problem—he’s gotten himself so mixed up that he spends all his time chasing himself in circles! Only the Great Sea knows how to help our poor fish get out of the mess he’s created with his own runaway thoughts. Here is a parable that perfectly captures the wit and wisdom that have made Alan Watts a timeless teacher we will never outgrow.

Weather Wise

Author: Alan Watts
Publisher: Sheridan House, Inc.
ISBN: 1574092669
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 21

Book Description
Weather Wise gives you the tools to answer the questions we always ask about the weather. As well as giving us the ins and outs about seasons, cloud formation, rain, wind, hill and mountain weather, thunder, and the development of storms and hurricanes, this handy book will enable you to make your own predictions - what is coming, when it will arrive, and how severe it will be.