Ep. 38 – What Is It?
4/17/202625 min
Alan Watts explores the inseparable dance between structure and formlessness, revealing why the universe can never be fully captured by words alone.
Today’s episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/alan and get on your way to being your best self.
This time on Being in the Way, Alan Watts outlines:
- Two distinct schools of thought: those who focus on structure, and those who focus on what Watts calls ‘goo’
- How fixating on practicality is like knowing all the words to a song without ever truly hearing the music
- The difference between a scientific perspective and a spiritual perspective
- Why structure and formlessness are inseparable aspects of the same cosmic process
- Understanding that the universe cannot be explained with words alone
This series is brought to you by the Alan Watts Organization and Ram Dass’ Love Serve Remember Foundation. Visit Alanwatts.org for full talks from Alan Watts.
"What is it? What is this universe? What is an atom? What is energy? The only answer that would really please me wouldn't be an ordinary answer, because it wouldn't be in words." –Alan Watts
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 10:00
[outro music] A good meditation teacher isn't just someone who meditates a lot. Guiding someone else through the experience of sitting with their own mind is a genuine skill, one that requires real training and an ongoing commitment to your own growth as a teacher and practitioner. Join renowned Buddhist teacher David Nichtern for a free online event on Tuesday, May fifth at six PM Eastern, exploring the key elements of teaching mindfulness meditation. He'll also discuss the upcoming Dharma Moon one hundred hour mindfulness meditation teacher training. You'll have a chance to ask questions, meet the teaching team, and find out whether the program might be a good fit for you. Visit dharmamoon.com/elements. That's dharmamoon.com/elements for more information and to reserve your spot for the free event on Tuesday, May fifth.
Mark Watts· Host1:01
[outro music] Welcome to Being in the Way, the Alan Watts Podcast. I'm your host, Mark Watts, and today we've got some more treats for you from the archives. These are some recordings that have not ever been distributed, including a