Via OpenCulture.
Alan Watts was such a badass. From alanwatts.com :
After teaching at the Academy of Asian Studies in San Francisco he became Dean, and began to give regular radio talks on KPFA, the Berkeley free radio station. In 1957 he published his bestselling Way of Zen, and in 1958 returned to Europe where he met with CG Jung. He was an early subject in pioneering psychedelic trials, and after recording two seasons of the public television series “Eastern Wisdom and Modern Life” traveled to Japan several times in the early sixties. By the late sixties he had become a counter culture celebrity, and traveled widely to speak at universities and growth centers across the US and Europe.
The above video is a sort of introduction to meditation; in it, Alan Watts explains why it’s necessary to shut your mind off, stop talking to yourself, and make a daily effort to apprehend reality in its purest form. Something I can’t manage to do myself, but will definitely be giving a try more often.
I love seeing this post! I stumbled across Alan Watts sometime last year and have been hooked on the audio recordings of his lectures ever since. Another similar teacher of meditation and philosophy with a rockstar/badass image in the world of Eastern Philosophy is Osho. Both guys had cr-azy personal lives which I find really fascinating. xo
ReplyDeleteHey there... thanks again for the technical error tip! I left a comment on my blog but wanted to reply to your Alan Watts question here in case you forget to check over there. So, lectures I would recommend... Well interestingly enough there is a free Alan Watts podcast series you can find via Itunes music store that is great for lectures on the go. There are lots posted to Youtube, My favs include:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERbvKrH-GC4 (animated by the South Park guys who are big Watts fans)
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aufuwMiKmE&feature=related "A Conversation with Myself" 3 Part Series
Its really hard to choose, there are so many good ones posted on Youtube.
As far as Osho, I would suggest his books more than his lectures but here is a lecture sample: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mb5LhNgnKL4&feature=relmfu His books on Courage, Creativity, and Meditation are among my favs.
xo Bisous!