Out of Your Mind: Essential Listening from the Alan Watts Audio Archives

I was thrilled to discover this set of recordings, which are both informative and entertaining. I don't know that someone with little or no knowledge of eastern religions and/or Buddhism would benefit as much as someone who does have some background because the talks were recorded specifically for those with an assumed familiarity to the subject. Still, for me, they not only helped clarify and expound upon some teachings, but also offered historical reasoning. I enjoyed hearing Alan Watt's speak. He has a great sense of humor, a very easy to follow way of teaching and expounding on each subject, and the material presented here is fairly comprehensive. I've listened to the entire set and intend to do so again. It's perfect for long distance air travel, or any kind of travel (since you can load the CDs onto your iPod, or your car stereo, etc.). But if you copy them to your iPod, you'll have to be careful to add a preface numbers and Disc titles in your iTunes playlist so that all the lectures play back in their proper order (001.01 for Disc One, talk one, etc.) and will advance automatically through the series. Don't let the fact that these lectures were recorded in the late 1960's deter you if you have an interest in Eastern religions. The material is timeless. And in some ways, I think the Watts lectures stick closer to the base teachings better than a lot of the newer books available today that can only focus on specific subjects one at a time (like Mindfulness, or the Four Noble Truths, etc.). This library is a WEALTH OF INFORMATION for those seeking to learn about or expand their knowledge of ethic based philosophies/religions. Mr. Watts not only addresses Buddhism, but also Hinduism, and other Eastern and Western religions, and how they differ and compare to/from one another. This series of lectures is an excellent resource.

This is my favorite book by Alan Watts! Just such an insightful, accurate read of the universe!

Its hard to believe these lectures are 50+ years old. There is absolutely no sense of these tracks being dated in any way. I can listen to the same lecture/episode/track over and over again; like others, I just like listening to his voice. I was already familiar with AW as I used to have some of his tapes in my car in a previous era.Very few lemons in this bunch, in fact, perhaps only two or three out of the 100+ sections. Best investment I've made in some time.Its difficult to summarize the content. Perhaps a simple table of contents would be useful (sure wish amazon would make a habit of publishing these!).CD 1. The nature of consciousness, Part 11. Intro2. Our image of the world3. The myth of the ceramic construct4. The myth of the automatic universe5. A wiggly world6. A game that's worth the candle7. An independent system8. Whose game is it?9. The world as a dramaCD 2. The nature of consciousness, Part 21. Intro2. Being aware of awareness3. Captivated by the drama4. The game of hide and seek5. Consciousness beyond awareness6. How do we define ourselves?7. What it is to see8. The road to here9. A re-examination of common senseCD 3. The web of life, Part 11. Intro2. What did you forget?3. A spontaneous life4. Seeing beyond our separateness5. Intervals between what happens6. Existence as a function of relationship7. Understanding the unitive world8. An implicit agreement9. To be aware of the melodyCD 4. The web of life, Part 21. Intro2. Web as mutuality3. The nature of selfishness4. A perfectly genuine act5. The sound of rain needs no translation6. What game would you like to play?7. Is is serious?8. An invitation to actCD 5. The inevitable ecstasy, Part 11. Intro2. Undifferentiated vs. differentiated awareness3. The marriage of an illusion to a futility4. The awareness of a baby5. The fallacy of misplaced concreteness6. The sensation of the happening7. Of pain and suffering8. Must life go on and on?9. A natural satori10. The aversion to death11. The eroticism of pain12. The spectrum of vibrationsCD 6. The inevitable ecstasy, Part 21. Intro2. Seeing beyond the game3. A conspiracy we play on ourselves4. The illusion of the ego5, The meaningless life6. This is the game7. So what is the problem?8. Every incarnation is this one9. The state of nothing10. The line of least resistanceCD 7. The world as just so, Part 11. Intro2. To say what can't be said3. Zen's appeal to the West4. Direct pointing5. The origins of Zen6. The golden age of Zen7. No mind, no deliberation8. Who are you?9. Disturbing confusions of the mind10. Who is the thinker behind the thoughts?CD 8. The world as just so, Part 21. Intro2. Escaping the tangle3. The in defines the out defines the in4. The Japanese Zen monastery5. Entering the temple6. Answering the koan7. Seeing past the illusion8. The decline of modern temples9. The truth of the birthless mindCD 9. The world as self, Part 11. Intro2. The totality of all being3. Awareness of the self4. The fundamental I5. Self as play6. The rhythmic dance7. Rules of the game8. The Hindu Yogas9. Western difficulty with Hindu mythologyCD 10. The world as self, Part 21. Intro2. The human world as self3. Stages of citizenship in India4. Shedding the masks5. The limits of self-awareness6. The role of the trickster7. The journey to where you already are8. Fear of enlightenment9. The Yoga Sutra10. How not to use the mind11. Gamesmanship in spiritual practice12. A place for the hermitCD 11. The world as emptiness, Part 11. Intro2. The essence of Hinduism3. The Four Noble Truths4. The cause of suffering5. The Eight-Fold Path6. The Five Good Conducts7. Presence of mind8. A finger point at the moon9. The nature of change10. The mystery of change11. Peaks and valleys go together as oneCD 12. The world as emptiness, Part 21. Intro2. The Buddhist attitude of change3. Willing to die4. A happy death5. Raising the alarm6. The world as Void7. Voiding the Void8. Consider death now9. Thunderous silenceSome of the titles give a concrete idea of the content, others give no idea of the content, and others are just pure poetry and wordplay.How to say what cannot be said!

Came fast and as promised.

Excellent philosophical work from one of my favorite authors on the philosophy of religion. He has Western and Eastern perspectives that seem to provide a balanced look at each to form a complete paradigm shift for the reader. I recommend this for Zen students especially.

I spent about as much time reading this book as pondering Alan Watt's explanations for several profound qualities of reality and conscious experience. The first 3 chapters alone have several hours worth of deep conversation on perception and mental models, and they alone are the most complete and resonant story of society and reality I've heard yet.Alan Watts has such a unique and clear way of explaining things that there are dozens of paragraphs worth highlighting, sharing, and re-visiting later. He also has a refreshingly "outside" view on Eastern philosophy and often stops to recount a few funny stories about the "games" that Zen schools or Hindu gurus play on their students in order to teach lessons. Alan keeps a few of the more valuable story-driven explanations, but he clearly sees little value in speaking excessively in riddles at the expense of his readers' understanding of Buddhist and Hindu philosophy. Anyone who doesn't already have experience with Eastern philosophy or hasn't already come to a conclusion on their life purpose would benefit from reading this book.

I am a huge Alan Watts fan. Mostly i listen to his lectures on You Tube, but sometimes they are only 10 minute fragments. This collection is wonderful!! You can hear the complete lectures exactly as they were recorded. This is a must for any fan of his work. I have read most of his books but when you hear his actual voice expressing the same thoughts it is a more satisfying complete experience.

Very beautiful book brings you closer to god and truth

Alan watts is a great teacher... there's no doubt about it. The book will take you through deep contemplations about yourself and god...the universe. The chapters are profound

pero la calidad es excelente

In diesem Buch sind sechs Vorträge von Alan Watts zusammengefasst.Die Themen reichen von Mythen und Modellen zur Entstehung der Welt, über das Ego und dem Streben nach Erleuchtung bis zu Buddhismus und Hinduismus."The ego is nothing other than the focus of conscious attention. It’s like radar on a ship — it’s a troubleshooter. Conscious attention is a designed function of the brain to scan the environment for trouble. And if you identify yourself as the troubleshooter, you define yourself as living in a perpetual state of anxiety. The moment you cease to identify with the ego and become aware that you are the whole organism, you realize how harmonious it all is."Watts erläutert in einfachen Worten und eingängigen Beispielen das Selbst und das 'höhere Selbst', Nirvana, Absichtslosigkeit, Unbeständigkeit und das Wesen von Gedanken, um einige Beispiele zu nennen."People who think that in order to be awakened you have to be heartless and beyond feelings — that you couldn’t possibly lose your temper or feel annoyed or depressed — those people haven’t got the right idea at all."Bevor man sich in Konzepten und Interpretationen verliert, sollte man dieses Buch lesen.

Amazing. Simply unplug your mind, let it flow.IT IS CONFUSING, it will leave you questioning life, but let it settle in your mind and it will make sense in a few days after putting the book down.Flip your inside outside, and get wiggly with it