Any fans of Allan Watts here?

[multigraincracker]

Just saw a Buick Commercial on tv with his voice from his talks and writings about “if you could dream any dream you wanted.”
I read that thought from him back in the 70s. Very powerful.

[Ocelot II]

1. Why has he sold himself to a car commercial?

[multigraincracker]

3. He passed away many years ago.

But, if you herd the complete talk, you might find it very interesting.

It goes kind of like this.
If you could dream anything you wanted when you went to bed. Like being very rich or some super talent and that dream would be very vivid and seem real. After a while and you have dreamed living all of your wishes, you’d get very bored. Then you might want to dream a surprise. That might be what you are doing now.

[SarahD]

4. A bit incongruous?

Not sure how many potential Buick purchasers would be Watts fans.

[multigraincracker]

6. I'm sure most will never tie them together.

I just find it interesting.

[SarahD]

15. Now that I think of strange juxtaposition.

The Cramps singer, Lux Interior, took his stage name from a car ad, and I think.it was Buick.

[SarahD]

2. Takes me back.

Watts was one of the foremost promoters of getting high to think better thoughts. I always thought it should be the other way around. "OK we settled on the meaning of life. Let's get stoned."

[multigraincracker]

5. Were those drug trips real or not.

What is reality and what isn’t?

Now mushroom therapy is a thing, and appears to help those face death now.

Things seem to go in circles.
Wow.

[Doc Sportello]

10. If I remember right he was being given psycheledics at the end

To ease his passing, or transition, if you believe in that. A remarkable man and thinker. Videos of his talks are available on Youtube for those who prefer that to reading his works.

[Biophilic]

7. Once upon a time Alan Watts set me off on many thoughtful journeys.

I believe I still have a copy of The Wisdom of Insecurity. Yup, just went looking. Nope, not my original copy. 🤣 That poor thing fell apart many years ago. I’m laughing because I realized that I’m insecure enough to want to keep a copy of The Wisdom of Insecurity. How classic.

[codfisherman]

8. Television

One of his books dealt with mystical religious experiences, and how television mimics and cheapens these. I'm sure he's having a good laugh about this turn of events.

[2naSalit]

9. My eldest sister...

Studied philosophy in college in the 1960s and she had his first book. We used to talk about the content.

And I recognized that voiceover in that commercial but I was having trouble placing it. Haven't heard the voice in some time.

About eight or nine years ago I met Watts' eldest daughter, just as she was beginning to work on the book with his letters. She just passed away last month. She was a painter and avid flyfishing lady who loved Montana and was a donating Democrat. She was a grand lady without the pomp. Didn't know her really well but I liked and respected her and was thankful she took time to visit with me when the opportunity arose. I was more friends with her husband, a musician and movie industry retiree, but that was also more of an acquaintance though he did hold on to my instruments at their home while I was homeless.

One of my favorite Alan Watts talks was the one where he instructs us to never even look at a teevee.

[multigraincracker]

11. He turned me onto the Tao te Ching.

I’m still stuck on “words are symbols and not the thing”. We are still going to war over symbols
Like flags, Boarders and Gods.
I cling to meditation to clear my brain, what little of it there is.

[2naSalit]

16. I came to...

Meditation through a circuitous route, all based on Tao te Ching. I meditate when I get tense, when I can. It's great therapy.

[Doc Sportello]

12. Love these personal anecdotes

I never met him so someone like Watts can seem a bit god-like, especially when you are in your teens or 20s when I first discovered him. Thanks for the post that reminds that he was a person too.

[2naSalit]

17. He was...

Interestingly, Joan was very much like a living example of the wisdom he extolled, her personality was quite unique in many ways. She did say that she and her sister were adopted when very young so he was the only father they knew. She never mentioned her mother in any of our conversations, I never really dug into her personal story, only discussed what she had to offer which were things like politics, art and when the next flood was coming.

I can relate to the intensity of being drawn to someone who opened a door or two in your mind, it can be addictive in that you want to keep discovering on that path. The older one gets, the more experience one has to draw upon for rationalizing things.

[usonian]

13. Heard his taped talks in the Boston area

Many college stations.

Fun stuff.

Books came later.

[mitch96]

14. I remember listening to many cassettes of his teachings. I was looking into Buddhism at the time

It never really stuck but helped put Tim Leary/Richard Alpert (BaBaRamDas) and others into something I could "grok"... One thing that stuck with me was the idea of "Be Here Now"... dat woiks fa me..
m

[sanatanadharma]

18. Alan Watts spoke of many things, nature, man, woman, making non-zens of of our sense of what is

Alan Watts spoke of many things, nature, man, woman, love, science; making non-zens of of our sense of what is, as he taught the simplicity of knowledge of the infinite Tao, rather than the impossibility of acquiring knowledge of an infinity of worldly finite things.
He was good at presenting the ideas of various points of views (traditions) and conveying to the reader new ways to grok the weltanschauung that explains it all.
I consider his one title, "The Book" to be an excellent entry into the philosophical depths of 'manifest non-dual reality'.

[BootinUp]

19. Recently acquainted with

by some social media posts. Always find his mental exercises to be helpful.

[Basic LA]

20. He opened the door to Eastern religions for many.

His recorded talks were informative, entertaining, & fun.
One thing that struck me in one of his talks was the question of Being Here Now.
Laughing (he laughed a lot), Watts said it was impossible NOT to be here now.
Try it, he said. You can't.

[OAITW r.2.0]

21. The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are

I read this back in the 70's and it has had a profound impact on how I perceive the world and my interaction with it. As did, Doors of Perception (A. Huxley) and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Robert Pirsig).