1 Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth. – Alan Watts
One should always be accepting and try not to live in denial. Defending your own self will be equivalent to keeping yourself in the dark.
2 Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the Gods made for fun.- Alan Watts
Never get too serious in life about things which are supposed to be fun. Enjoy life and live to the fullest with least regrets.
3 Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.- Alan Watts
You don’t try to clean something which can do it on its own. You leave there as it is and give it time to settle down and become better.
4 Words can be communicative only between those who share similar experiences.- Alan Watts
Sharing with someone who knows and understands what your going through feels different and better. They give you better opinions because they’ve already learnt from their experiences.
5 The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.- Alan Watts
Talking about change won’t bring about any. To bring change into the society, one needs to change himself in order to bring about a bigger change.
6 Normally, we do not so much look at things as overlook them.- Alan Watts
Human tendency is such that we try to ignore or avoid the truths which don’t benefit us. We notice only those things which are likable by us.
7 Society is our extended mind and body.- Alan Watts
Society is nothing but a group of like minded people coming together as a whole. It is an advanced version of an individual.
8 No valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now.- Alan Watts
If one keeps in worrying about the future, and forgets to enjoy and live in the present, will always repent in life.
9 Never pretend to a love which you do not actually feel, for love is not ours to command.- Alan Watts
Love is a very strong emotion which is not to be taken for granted. If one doesn’t feel it and can’t reciprocate it, he should be true to himself as well as others and free them of it.
10 You don’t look out there for God, something in the sky, you look in you.- Alan Watts
God isn’t in the skies, nor in the deepest of the oceans. God is in whatever you believe them to be in. God is in you, which helps you out in the form of your inner voice.
11 This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.- Alan Watts
Always be fully engaged in whatever you’re doing. Consider it as a hobby or that you might learn something new out of it. Be more accepting and live life happily.
12 You are a function of what the whole universe is doing in the same way that a wave is a function of what the whole ocean is doing.- Alan Watts
Just like a wave is a part of the ocean, similarly we as individuals are a small part of this gigantic world and perform our respective duties to keep it going.
13 The more a thing tends to be permanent, the more it tends to be lifeless.- Alan Watts
Permanency is boring and a sign of accepting one thing for life. One should experience the most he or she can to make the most out of the time they’ve got.
14 Problems that remain persistently insoluble should always be suspected as questions asked in the wrong way.- Alan Watts
Problems come into our lives when God knows we’re ready for them. If we still aren’t able to find their solution, then they are just in a twisted manner and all we need to do is search for a different approach.
15 If we cling to belief in God, we cannot likewise have faith, since faith is not clinging but letting go.- Alan Watts
Believing and clinging onto something are two different things. Believing in god is good but clinging onto him is a disrespect to faith as it’s the art of letting go.
15 Best Quotes by British Writer Alan Watts
1. Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth. – Alan Watts
2. Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the Gods made for fun.- Alan Watts
3. Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.- Alan Watts
4. Words can be communicative only between those who share similar experiences.- Alan Watts
5. The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.- Alan Watts
6. Normally, we do not so much look at things as overlook them.- Alan Watts
7. Society is our extended mind and body.- Alan Watts
8. No valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now.- Alan Watts
9. Never pretend to a love which you do not actually feel, for love is not ours to command.- Alan Watts
10. You don’t look out there for God, something in the sky, you look in you.- Alan Watts
11. This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.- Alan Watts
12. You are a function of what the whole universe is doing in the same way that a wave is a function of what the whole ocean is doing.- Alan Watts
13. The more a thing tends to be permanent, the more it tends to be lifeless.- Alan Watts
14. Problems that remain persistently insoluble should always be suspected as questions asked in the wrong way.- Alan Watts
15. If we cling to belief in God, we cannot likewise have faith, since faith is not clinging but letting go.- Alan Watts