Alan Watts has been a cornerstone of my spiritual development for several years. He died in 1973, but not before leaving a vast library of video, audio, papers and books that make accessible his philosophies and points of view on Eastern and Western cultures, Zen, Taoism, and Christianity.
In one of his simplest videos, “A
Conversation with Myself,” Alan gives a masterful presentation of
our current culture. It is an excellent introduction for a man who has
over the last few decades amassed a growing following. Most of those who know of Alan Watts have learned of him in
the four decades since his death. Many of his current students are
young, in their twenties, thirties, and forties, born shortly before
or long after his passing. Most did not discover Watts until
the 1980s, 1990s, or 2000s, often through Sunday radio programs
airing out of San Francisco, random books given by friends, or, as in
my case, through Youtube.
What is it about Alan Watts that his
followers find so interesting? Why do his words contain so much
meaning even in our present age? The world is very different from
what it was in the 1950s and 1960s, so how can his message continue
to change people?
Alan Watts took what was very old, very
timeless, and spun it into the fabric of the twentieth century.
Because he was able to understand and communicate to the American
youth of his day, he was able to pass on knowledge better than any
guru of the last hundred years.
Other intellectuals knew more of
Chinese and Japanese history, culture, and mysticism, but they could
not communicate what they knew as well as Alan Watts could
communicate what he knew. They were either too academic (too stuffy), or
they had been born and raised in Asia and could not connect in the
way Watts could, and so attracted a very different type of person
than the hippie youth. Some came very close, but Alan Watts's ability
to understand what people wanted in the West enabled him to shape his
message and direct it specifically toward the current need of
youthful curiosity.
Spirituality and mysticism—often
connected with religion—was culturally an old person's deal.
Scholars such as D. T. Suzuki and Huston Smith were, and still are,
well-known in their circles and very influential, but not as popular or as far-reaching as
Alan Watts has been.
Alan Watts got right down in the “muck” with young
people. He sat with them. He even did drugs with them, going so far
as to experiment with LSD under the guidance of Timothy Leary. He
understood their needs, and could relate well-spoken solutions to
their metaphysical challenges. Challenges which we still face today.
Times have changed, but the message,
and the needs of people lost, have not. Many still grasp for
their place in this technological world, a topic Watts touched on
numerous times. If anything, the challenges which faced those in the
1960s are even larger now. We are buried even deeper in technology,
more separated from the natural world, and as clueless as ever as to
which way to turn.
Alan Watts has his detractors of
course, but few launch attacks against his philosophies, aiming
instead at his character flaws. He was a drinker, an
aloof father and husband, and was the first to admit that he was not
perfect. Those expecting Watts to tower over mankind like Jesus Christ have
always been disappointed to discover the truth—that he was always
one of us. His alcoholism finally destroyed him at the still
relatively young age of 57, which makes me wonder what Watts would have thought of the 1970s, -80s,
and -90s. He would have been 97 this year.
A Conversation with Myself
by Alan Watts
