Watts Up...November 3, 2006 27 out of 28 found this review helpful
Being a "wannabe" Hippie, I kew that eventually I would have to read this book because this book was once considered a very subversive text. Nowadays, books by Wayne Dyer, Marrianne Williamson, and Deepak Chopra are writing books left and right with the same kind of stuff that Alan Watts wrote about in the late 50s, early 60s. And even though I appreciate the works of Dyer, Williamson, and Chopra, their words don't seem to carry as much as a "punch" as the words of Watts. I don't know why that is. Maybe it's just my own interpretation of the material. Maybe it's because I used to listen to him late at night on the far left-end of the dial on a publically sponsored radio station listening and reading everything that I knew my dad would "hate" and "dissaprove" of. The ironic thing is, is that he read and listened to Watts long before I did but like a lot of us, he got caught up in Life and put some things aside and focused on changing diapers instead of minds, rasing a family rather than raising consciousness, and yet he still held onto a few "jewels" of Truth that he wanted to impart with me, and me, being an idiot as well as a teenager (aren't they synonomous) thought and felt that somehow he was trying to be the boss of me.
When I read these essays now, I am comforted by Watts' brilliant way of making the abstract, a little more "user friendly". The essay, 'How To Be A Genuine Fake' was most helpful as I was studying to become a spiritual counselor (a practitioner)for my church. It seemed as though everyone was holding themselves in some glorious light of what they were doing. It became a new game that they were playing with themselves. "Oh, when I get this practitioner license I will be this and I will be that..." And yeah, I fell for it, too, but after reading this essay a few billion times I remembered that with or without a "practitioner license" I will still be spiritual. Taking a class doesn't make you spiritual. Reading a book, going to a lecture, listening to audio programs don't make one "spiritual". Even meditation and prayer don't make us Spiritual. What makes us spiritual is knowing that we already are spiritual and here's the tricky part, EVERYONE IS. Not just some, but all. Even "Charlie" the smelly drunk that likes to go to my Monday night class. I have a feeling he is an undercover angel so even though people complain about him, I let him stay.
My copy is underlined and reunderlined, it is stained with coffee and food stains, it has notes in the margins and little doodles. It is being held together by a rubber band and maybe one day I will give it to my kid or one of my nephews or nieces so they can say, "Eh, what does Uncle Johnny know about life, anyway?"
Not much...not very much...
Know that the seen and the unseen are One; that black dissolves into white and white dissolves into black, that your soul is part of the same soul of everyone you meet; that you are no worse than or better than anyone else. Afterall, it's one thing to read these incredible words and it is quite another to live them out. But don't punish yourself if you don't and don't reward yourself if you do.
Everything is just as it needs to be.
Peace & Blessings, to all.
A unique adventure into the ground of an individual's identityJuly 2, 2006 15 out of 15 found this review helpful
The Book by Alan Watts is a unique adventure into the ground of an individual's identity. I do not think that there is another book quite like it in Western literature. Written in everyday language, Alan Watts takes us on a ride that is sure to surprise and maybe even shock some people. The author starts out by explaining the Hindu Vedanta philosophy in thoroughly modern terminology. This philosophy says in short that the world is God's play, and that we are all God playing at being the world. God has lost himself in the world, and now it is his great fun to find himself. Another theme that Watts explores is that all opposites are connected. He then shows the amazing implications of this. For example, if you are a person who is passionate about a cause, this is ok, as long as you realize that your passion depends upon the very situation you are trying to set right. This allows the person of passion to also be a person of com-passion, even for a person or situation that may be on the opposite side.
There are many great lines and insights in this book, all very well written in a lively and clear style. Watts states that The Book that he would like to write would be so well written that the reader will only need to read it once and then be done with it. However, on this point, I have a different take. For me, The Book is so well written with so many important ideas and insights, that you will want to read it again and again, just for the sheer fun of it.
Most Certainly Not THE BookJune 5, 2006 18 out of 74 found this review helpful
I first read this book when I wore the cloths of a younger man and thought it was the worst book I had ever read. At the time I thought it was 176 pages of Alan Watts repeating the phrase "I'm right and you're wrong" ad nauseam. Many years later I decided to give The Book a second chance but couldn't get past reading a few pages before getting sick to my stomach. I can't say I know what exactly The Book is about, except trying to depress people. None of the author's arguments are carried out to any conclusions. For example Watts argues that since you can't know anything except being alive when you die you'll experience being alive again. What does this mean? Is he suggesting time is a loop and you're forced to live the same life forever, or is there some sort of reincarnation, or is this a case of solipsism and when you die the universe disappears along with everyone in it? His arguments are clouded with an infinitely thick veil of ambiguity so he seems right no matter what interpretation is used. Watts expects you to impose your own interpretations onto his skeleton of linguistic gymnastics, reaffirming your own beliefs. I couldn't get passed interpreting part of The Book as meaning though you die other people will live and if you pretend they're you before you die you'll feel better about it, though the author doesn't personally believe in an afterlife of any kind. Excuse me, Mr. Watts, but you're not making any sense and you're ignoring the facts of survival of consciousness. I fear giving this book away as it might contaminate someone else.
The Book is The Book to BuyFebruary 24, 2006 3 out of 14 found this review helpful
One of the best books I ever owned; I have to make my kid read it when he is older. Everyone should read this at least one time. It's like the Alan Watts bible!
The most important of booksJanuary 24, 2006 10 out of 11 found this review helpful
Written with courage and clarity, THE BOOK changed my whole attitude about God and started me on my deeper spiritual journey. Watts presents a believable and sensible alternative to the absolute nonsense being peddled by established religion. In the first chapter: God is not an old white guy with super powers and a short fuse. We do not own a separate "self" independent of others. And, no matter what we do or believe in as individuals, we are all on a journey back to God. We can't really mess anything up. We are safe. The most important of books.
