Alan Watts is one of the most fascinating minds of the 20th century. I still recall discovering his books, for the first time, several years ago; starting with This is It and later The B∞k: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are. Of all of the books I have read over the years, these two have some of the most profound influences on my relationship with reality.

His work is very powerful. Once you connect with it, it infuses with your very being and becomes a new facet of your awareness.

Alan has several foundational concepts, which he utilizes in his work. There is this idea that, what we think of as “our self” is not really who we are; but is instead an ego, or an entity that attaches to the self and tricks itself into thinking that it is the self. This ego gives itself the idea that everything in life fits into neat little boxes, simplified concepts, that causes us to act more rigidly; thus constraining our behavior and limiting our possibilities.

One of the biggest casualties of the ego, is not being able to fully exist in the moment. That is the theme of This is It; the notion that what is most important is being here, right now; in this body that is holding you. Yet the general tenancy is to escape the now for something that is to happen sometime in the future.

Opening up the mind to these new concepts of reality is one of the most edifying experiences. It really helps you to re-think this idea we call truth. It opens up a world of infinite inter-connectedness and inter-dependence.

A 1971 television recording with Alan Watts walking in the mountains and talking about the limitations of technology and the problem of trying to keep track of an infinite universe with a single tracked mind. Video posted by Alan’s son and courtesy of alanwatts.com.

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The need for diversity is often overlooked in our culture. We’ve become quite accustomed to standardization of all things. Most people want to be comfortable, knowing that they will get precisely what they expect, no matter where they are. If they go to a Barnes & Noble and get a coffee at the Starbucks, they know that it will taste the same as the coffee at any other Starbucks and so forth.

Surely it seemed like a good idea to do this, at first; but this trend towards standardization steadily eliminates possibilities, due to its viral nature. Just look at all of the Wal-Marts, McDonalds, etc… What innovations have these stores done, that has benefited mankind? Sweat shops? Rain forest beef? Hydrogenated oils?

At this point in the progression of events, our culture is so deeply absorbed by this hyper-standardization paradigm, that many of us don’t know of alternative ways of conducting our affairs, nor are we likely to ever be exposed to such alternatives during the normal course of our lives. It has gotten to be so extreme, that many of our people are not even willing to the thought of acting in a novel way, that has not been laid down by the authorities.

Standardization, when done to the extent that it is in our society, tends to take the personal touch out of things. Consequently, most of the food is bland and tasteless, and everything is catered towards the least common denominator in a one-size-fits-all fashion; but its really, one-size-fits-some, since we all have our own unique physical and spiritual needs, though we often ignore this.

Cultural and spiritual diversity opens and expands our lives into a myriad of possibilities, so that we may grow into more aware beings.

by Tool

A groan of tedium escapes me,
Startling the fearful.
Is this a test? It has to be,
Otherwise I can’t go on.
Draining patience, drain vitality.
This paranoid, paralyzed vampire act’s a little old.

But I’m still right here
Giving blood, keeping faith
And I’m still right here.

Wait it out,
Gonna wait it out,
Be patient (wait it out).

If there were no rewards to reap,
No loving embrace to see me through
This tedious path I’ve chosen here,
I certainly would’ve walked away by now.
Gonna wait it out.

If there were no desire to heal
The damaged and broken met along
This tedious path I’ve chosen here
I certainly would’ve walked away by now.

And I still may … (sigh) … I still may.

Be patient.
I must keep reminding myself of this.

And if there were no rewards to reap,
No loving embrace to see me through
This tedious path I’ve chosen here,
I certainly would’ve walked away by now.
And I still may.

Gonna wait it out.

Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are going in this ocean of chaos, it has been the authorities — the political, the religious, the educational authorities — who attempted to comfort us by giving us order, rules, regulations, informing — forming in our minds — their view of reality. To think for yourself you must question authority and learn how to put yourself in a state of vulnerable open-mindedness, chaotic, confused vulnerability to inform yourself.

— Dr. Leary

Our most important responsibility, as human beings, is to be a designer of our own realities; because, when we design truly unique realities, then we are adding something beautiful and unique to enrich the whole of existence, which in-turn encourages others to do the same in their own unique way.

In today’s world, however, this responsibility has largely been abdicated. Everywhere we turn, someone is trying to sell us a designer reality. Whether it be a media personality, a television show or a form of organized religion; these realities are not at all unique, and they aren’t even designed by the individuals who are trying to sell them.

The mind-set of today’s world best resembles that of a Parrot, which blindly repeats that which it hears most frequently. Of course the Parrot does not understand the true meaning of what it is saying or the implications, but it repeats it nonetheless. This being the case, the Parrot does not have any real control over its expression, so it therefor has little power to change anything.

If we can transform this Parrot mindset into that of the highly intelligent Human Beings, which we all possess the potential to be, then the world will change into a much more novel place very quickly; but first we are going to have to learn to communicate on a deeper level. We need to move beyond mere language and communicate in a more direct way, because so much is lost in translation otherwise.

That doesn’t mean that we have to stop using language, instead we need to change our relationship with language, so we truly understand what we are saying as well as what is being said. We need to learn to practice philosophy in small groups, so we have a rich understanding of our ideas. We also need to study etymology so we understand where the words we use come from, so that we, like the Parrot, are not using words we do not understand.

Its all about learning to operate your brain independently, so you are not co-opted by forces outside of your control, because the highest level of creativity and ingenuity comes from individuals who have chosen to blaze their own trail and reach their own conclusions.

How to Operate Your Brain

This is an experiment in mind formation, in-formation, forming, controlling, operating your mind and your brain, using digital techniques to overload, scramble, confuse, unfocus your mind.

The natural state of the brain is chaos. We’re dealing with a complexity of in-formation. The first thing to do is to overwhelm your focused mind, your linear mind, by overloading signals, digital patterns, clusters of photons and electrons which produce a pleasant state of confused chaos. This is the state of the brain when it is ready to be informed, that is, to be reprogrammed.

The human brain contains one hundred billion neurons, each neuron is as powerful as a large computer, and each neuron has around ten thousand connections with other neurons. Within our foreheads there is a chaos, inside our brains there is a galaxy of information, which is incomprehensible to our linear minds.

This contrasts and compares perfectly with the chaos without. We’re living in a universe, which has one hundred billion galaxies, each galaxy with star systems, planets, a complexity, again, which to our minds right now is chaotic, incomprehensible.

Chaos is beautiful. Now many times we are afraid because we want order. We can’t deal with the confusion and disorder. We want form. We want rules. Yes, throughout human history there have been people?religious leaders, political leaders?who will give you order. They will give you rules and commandments.

But chaos is basically good. Relax. Surf the waves of chaos and learn how to redesign your own realities. Sit back. Flow. Open your eyes. Turn off your minds. Unfocus, and let the waves of chaos roll over your brain. Float. Drift, Zoom. Design. Create new order, your order, your style from chaos.

Yes. Yes. Chaos. Yes, yes, chaos . . .
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Every day is exactly the same…. There is no love here and there is no pain…. Every day is exactly the same…

I remember when my life was like this. No love… No pain… But now that is all over.

When we live for today… experience today’s pain and/or pleasure… then every day will be its own miracle.

But oh so many of us remain trapped in this sort of reality.

I believe I can see the future
Cause I repeat the same routine
I think I used to have a purpose
But then again
That might have been a dream
I think I used to have a voice
Now I never make a sound
I just do what I’ve been told
I really don’t want them to come around

Oh, no

Every day is exactly the same
Every day is exactly the same
There is no love here and there is no pain
Every day is exactly the same

I can feel their eyes are watching
In case I lose myself again
Sometimes I think I’m happy here
Sometimes, yet I still pretend
I can’t remember how this got started
But I can tell you exactly how it will end

I’m writing on a little piece of paper
I’m hoping someday you might find
Well I’ll hide it behind something
They won’t look behind
I’m still inside here
A little bit comes bleeding through
I wish this could have been any other way
But I just don’t know, I don’t know what else I can do

I believe I can see the future
Cause I repeat the same routine
I think I used to have a purpose
But then again
That might have been a dream
I think I used to have a voice
Now I never make a sound
I just do what I’ve been told
I really don’t want them to come around

Oh, no

Every day is exactly the same
Every day is exactly the same
There is no love here and there is no pain
Every day is exactly the same

I can feel their eyes are watching
In case I lose myself again
Sometimes I think I’m happy here
Sometimes, yet I still pretend
I can’t remember how this got started
But I can tell you exactly how it will end

I’m writing on a little piece of paper
I’m hoping someday you might find
Well I’ll hide it behind something
They won’t look behind
I’m still inside here
A little bit comes bleeding through
I wish this could have been any other way
But I just don’t know, I don’t know what else I can do

One of the things has become apparent to me, over the past year or so, is how we often take ourselves and our world views too seriously.  This tends to be especially true when the notion of “spirituality” is involved.   It is certainly important to do what we feel is best, but it needs to be done with the humility of knowing that there are other ways that are equally as valid and a willingness to understand why everyone approaches life in their own way.

As important as spirituality is, it is equally as important to realize that acceptance of diversity is also an important part of spiritual growth.  After all, if we were all the same, there wouldn’t be much of an opportunity to grow and learn.  When we try to shut out the things that we refuse to accept, we are in effect, limiting our expressive capacity.

So-often spiritual seekers get the idea that they know something that nobody else knows, which in turn makes almost everyone else an outsider.  This means that the “outsiders” will not be truly accepted until they acquiesce to the beliefs of the supposed seeker.  Therein lies the seeds of divisiveness that have plagued this planet for thousands of years.

Experiences in my life have lead me towards a more light-hearted approach than I had previously embraced.  I have begun to accept that people are the way they are because they need to learn what it is like to exist in that particular configuration.

So we simply express ourselves based upon where we are in our journey and life then gives us what we need, so we can learn the lessons that someone in that phase of existence needs to learn.  If this is really is the case, then there really is no reason to make everyone like our selves; because to do so would likely delay their progression.

Each of us fits perfectly into the tapestry of life.  We grow or decay as we see fit.  The universe has a set of wonderful mechanisms to balance and sort things out.  Nobody needs to be made to do anything, since everything is at its finest spontaneously.  That is the beauty of the whole thing; treat masterpieces are coming together without effort.

I was laying down today, letting the thoughts stream through my mind.  There were two internal forces vying for control of my intention.  One of the forces sought to judge and label what I saw, while the other force sought merely to experience it and accept it as part of the infinite whole.

When I made a conscious decision to embrace the accepting force, ecstatic waves of comfort and beauty flowed through my being, lulling me into deeper and deeper levels of lucid experience.  I would much rather have more of this sort of experience, as I have grown weary of experiencing the stagnant and limited energy that is otherwise present.

<i>”Nothing lasts, but nothing is lost… Nothing is wrong…. Everything is on track” ~Terrence McKenna</i>

The universe has a purpose, though its not what you may have been sold. It simply gives us what we ask for, while the rest has been left, for each of us to decide. If we should choose to fear, then that is what we will be given, until we achieve the destruction that we so woefully fear. But if we should choose to love, then that is what we will be given, until we achieve the creation that we so ardently love.

Whatever we decide to make our focus, will manifest itself in the myriad things around us, so long as we choose to maintain such a focus. We are much more than simple passengers, along for a boring ride into a certain fate. No, we are powerful too, co-creators, gods in our own right; as powerful as any being who ever lived.

The only thing that can be our un-doing, is that which is of our own choosing. Not some wrathful God who judges its creation from afar, like an angry father with his charged rod of iron, with a mighty white beard, he throws an spiteful bolt, at whatever he fears, to prevent it from becoming something on its own that he cannot control, like robotic mindless servants.

Just look at any “organized” form of religion and you will plainly see, that they are selling the same damn thing. Could it be any more awfully obscene? To see these learned men peddling infantile fears, preaching annihilation towards all who refuse to submit themselves blindly.

It doesn’t matter what they call it, what rituals they pursue, or how many followers they have saved, from the evil scourge self-hood. Evil to these men is deviation, from the organizations on which the followers depend.

Surely, they say, this trend towards individuation, will someday be our annihilation. So we must rid our selves of the spark to create; and fear anything that we haven’t been shown by the bearers of the stamp of approval.

Simply reduce it to its components, and it will be evident that their tactics are quite simple, when you look beyond the facade of virtue and righteousness. Virtually every manner of group-think is based upon the fear of annihilation and self-punishing guilt. Without these two techniques, these awful organizations will have no base of followers, no-one would seek their shelter.

They lure you in, with a false sense of security, then they transform you into precisely that which you fear. Because without this paradigm, they have created, you will be certain to experience the annihilation that you so fear.

So it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Since their control paradigm is weak and riddled with holes, it will one day collapse, leaving you exposed. Since you chose to believe, that without fear as your only master, that you shall truly perish, vanishing into the void, then that is what you shall have whenever the fateful day arrives. This focus on annihilation will manifest itself as you so desire.

I was Frustrated with the world, since as anyone can see, it is a vacuous place and its easy to feel forgotten and discarded. I wanted to know more, so I could finally understand, where I truly belong in this ungodly awful sham.

You see, it seems that all I get from this world is the same old thing, just an image of my life, that’s nothing, but unreal. Its as plain as day, to anyone who wishes to see, who they want me to be is not to be me.

So along came this guru, who says he can lay on a bed of nails. He says that I know nothing, and that my hands are firmly tied.

So then I got involved, and I later found that I don’t have the ability, nor could I ever, to find an answer inside. It seems I am just too corrupt and awful inside, but all I have to do to turn it around, is live the life that he tells me to.

So I’ll just drop everything, that I ever felt I should do, turn my back on my friends, and leave it all behind. They have no real value, as I have been told, since they are merely bags of waste; so I will just follow him down, into the dark hole of certainty. Read the rest of this entry »