Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Vintage Books (1968), Edition: First Thus, 160 pages
Description
Drawing from Eastern philosophy and religion, Watts argues that is only by acknowledging what we do not and cannot know that we can find something truly worth knowing.--From publisher description.
User reviews
LibraryThing member gbill
What can possibly be the “wisdom” of insecurity? Watts says it’s the truth that lies behind some of our deepest anxieties, the sense that there is no higher order, and no larger meaning to life. Rather than attempt to deny the feeling of existential angst, the feeling of ‘why are we
The dilemma, as he puts it, is this: “Man, as a being of sense, wants his life to make sense, and he has found it hard to believe that it does so unless there is more than what he sees – unless there is an eternal order and an eternal life behind the uncertain and momentary experience of life-and-death.”
What are the coping mechanisms he suggests? First, recognize that we’re all part of a larger whole, and our individual selves are all a bit illusory. Next, stop worrying about trying to define a meaning; trying to grasp the meaning of life is as pointless as trying to pinch water between one’s fingers. Instead, be in this moment, and live in this now. Let go. Let go of your ego, let go of your clinging to conventional morality and religion, and let go of the past. Connect to a higher meaning by no longer seeking a meaning. Connect to one’s self by releasing it, and embracing everything around you.
Watts puts it much more eloquently and profoundly than that. :) He was ahead of his time in writing this in 1951, and his message is just as true today as it was 61 years ago.
Quotes:
On God:
“The modern scientist is not so naïve as to deny God because he cannot be found with a telescope, or the soul because it is not revealed by the scalpel. He has merely noted that the idea of God is logically unnecessary. He even doubts that it has any meaning. It does not help him to explain anything which he cannot explain in some other, and simpler, way.”
On living in the now, and happiness:
“The art of living in this ‘predicament’ is neither careless drifting on the one hand nor fearful clinging to the past and the known on the other. It consists in being completely sensitive to each moment, in regarding it as utterly new and unique, in having the mind open and wholly receptive.”
On morality:
“Nothing is really more inhuman than human relations based on morals. When a man gives bread in order to be charitable, lives with a woman in order to be faithful, eats with a Negro in order to be unprejudiced, and refuses to kill in order to be peaceful, he is as cold as a clam. He does not actually see the other person. … But there is no formula for generating the authentic warmth of love. It cannot be copied. … This conviction will not come through condemnations, through hating oneself, through calling self-love all the bad names in the universe. It comes only in the awareness that one has no self to love.”
On religion:
“’Most atheists and agnostics are neurotic, whereas most simple Catholics are happy and at peace with themselves. Therefore the views of the former are false, and of the latter true.’
Even if the observation is correct, the reasoning based on it is absurd. It is as if to say, ‘You say there is a fire in the basement. You are upset about it. Because you are upset, there is obviously no fire.’ The agnostic, the sceptic, is neurotic, but this does not imply a false philosophy; it implies the discovery of facts to which he does not know how to adapt himself.”
And:
“That is why all philosophical and theological systems must ultimately fall apart. To ‘know’ reality you cannot stand outside it and define it; you must enter into it, be it, and feel it.”
On security:
“Belief clings, but faith lets go. In this sense of the word, faith is the essential virtue of science, and likewise of any religion that is not self-deception.
Most of us believe in order to feel secure, in order to make our individual lives seem valuable and meaningful. Belief has thus become an attempt to hang on to life, to grasp and keep it for one’s own. But you cannot understand life and its mysteries as long as you try to grasp it. Indeed, you cannot grasp it, just as you cannot walk off with a river in a bucket.”
On transience:
“Perhaps the most exasperating thing about ‘me,’ about nature and the universe, is that it will never ‘stay put.’ It is like a beautiful woman who will never be caught, and whose very flightiness is her charm.”
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here?’, Watts starts by embracing these feelings as valid. The dilemma, as he puts it, is this: “Man, as a being of sense, wants his life to make sense, and he has found it hard to believe that it does so unless there is more than what he sees – unless there is an eternal order and an eternal life behind the uncertain and momentary experience of life-and-death.”
What are the coping mechanisms he suggests? First, recognize that we’re all part of a larger whole, and our individual selves are all a bit illusory. Next, stop worrying about trying to define a meaning; trying to grasp the meaning of life is as pointless as trying to pinch water between one’s fingers. Instead, be in this moment, and live in this now. Let go. Let go of your ego, let go of your clinging to conventional morality and religion, and let go of the past. Connect to a higher meaning by no longer seeking a meaning. Connect to one’s self by releasing it, and embracing everything around you.
Watts puts it much more eloquently and profoundly than that. :) He was ahead of his time in writing this in 1951, and his message is just as true today as it was 61 years ago.
Quotes:
On God:
“The modern scientist is not so naïve as to deny God because he cannot be found with a telescope, or the soul because it is not revealed by the scalpel. He has merely noted that the idea of God is logically unnecessary. He even doubts that it has any meaning. It does not help him to explain anything which he cannot explain in some other, and simpler, way.”
On living in the now, and happiness:
“The art of living in this ‘predicament’ is neither careless drifting on the one hand nor fearful clinging to the past and the known on the other. It consists in being completely sensitive to each moment, in regarding it as utterly new and unique, in having the mind open and wholly receptive.”
On morality:
“Nothing is really more inhuman than human relations based on morals. When a man gives bread in order to be charitable, lives with a woman in order to be faithful, eats with a Negro in order to be unprejudiced, and refuses to kill in order to be peaceful, he is as cold as a clam. He does not actually see the other person. … But there is no formula for generating the authentic warmth of love. It cannot be copied. … This conviction will not come through condemnations, through hating oneself, through calling self-love all the bad names in the universe. It comes only in the awareness that one has no self to love.”
On religion:
“’Most atheists and agnostics are neurotic, whereas most simple Catholics are happy and at peace with themselves. Therefore the views of the former are false, and of the latter true.’
Even if the observation is correct, the reasoning based on it is absurd. It is as if to say, ‘You say there is a fire in the basement. You are upset about it. Because you are upset, there is obviously no fire.’ The agnostic, the sceptic, is neurotic, but this does not imply a false philosophy; it implies the discovery of facts to which he does not know how to adapt himself.”
And:
“That is why all philosophical and theological systems must ultimately fall apart. To ‘know’ reality you cannot stand outside it and define it; you must enter into it, be it, and feel it.”
On security:
“Belief clings, but faith lets go. In this sense of the word, faith is the essential virtue of science, and likewise of any religion that is not self-deception.
Most of us believe in order to feel secure, in order to make our individual lives seem valuable and meaningful. Belief has thus become an attempt to hang on to life, to grasp and keep it for one’s own. But you cannot understand life and its mysteries as long as you try to grasp it. Indeed, you cannot grasp it, just as you cannot walk off with a river in a bucket.”
On transience:
“Perhaps the most exasperating thing about ‘me,’ about nature and the universe, is that it will never ‘stay put.’ It is like a beautiful woman who will never be caught, and whose very flightiness is her charm.”
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LibraryThing member DRFP
A tract that started out with some promise which soon headed in a disappointing direction in terms of its argument. Not to mention that perhaps this piece is a little out of date now.
The book is quite easy to read but perhaps needed to be 50 pages shorter.
The book is quite easy to read but perhaps needed to be 50 pages shorter.
LibraryThing member bodhisattva
I picked up this book after reading Pema Chodron's Start Where You Are, as she references the book on page 18. I think her book title The Wisdom of No Escape also originates with Watts.
Many themes here are picked up by other authors: Eckhart Tolle (Power of Now), Ken Wilber (Marriage of Sense and
The book is very dated (1951) in language and assumptions, however.
Watts' intended audience is clearly white, Christian, and male.
It can be a challenge to get past his somewhat surprising implicit racism:
"The white man fancies himself as a practical person who wants to get results" (p. 105)
"Nothing is more inhuman than human relations based on morals. When a man gives bread in order to be charitable, lives with a woman in order to be faithful, eats with a Negro in order to be unprejudiced, and refuses to kill in order to be peaceful, he is as cold as a clam." (p. 132)
Many themes here are picked up by other authors: Eckhart Tolle (Power of Now), Ken Wilber (Marriage of Sense and
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Soul), and Deeprak Chopra (The Book of Secrets) all seem to have roots here. The book is very dated (1951) in language and assumptions, however.
Watts' intended audience is clearly white, Christian, and male.
It can be a challenge to get past his somewhat surprising implicit racism:
"The white man fancies himself as a practical person who wants to get results" (p. 105)
"Nothing is more inhuman than human relations based on morals. When a man gives bread in order to be charitable, lives with a woman in order to be faithful, eats with a Negro in order to be unprejudiced, and refuses to kill in order to be peaceful, he is as cold as a clam." (p. 132)
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LibraryThing member senafernando
This is an excellent introduction to spirituality and philosophy for the non-academic reader. If you read it with understanding, you will be able to lead a happier life without fear. I have given it only 4 stars because there is some unnecessary repetition.
LibraryThing member stephmo
Written nearly sixty years ago, some of Watts's wisdom can seem outdated (the metaphor where he notes electrons have never been seen fails today) on the surface, but this is only if you expect it to change you in great ways while reading this short treatise. In today's post-70s guru-saturated,
Watts is not offering concrete plans, he is not offering three keys to being more successful, nor is he even offering a real path to stand on for any type of success, happiness or other -ess. Instead, this is a mix of eastern philosophy, a backing of science as a companion to faith, and a clear-cut difference between faith and belief. There is some guidance on how not to implement these ideas, but for the most part, it is designed to be thought-provoking.
In today's age of guaranteed quick-fixes that fall short, something that's simply thought-provoking may just be the thing we need.
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post-EST, seminar-flooded, self-help-flooded society with any number of tools designed to help you fix what is wrong with you, Watts can actually seem downright counterintuitive.Watts is not offering concrete plans, he is not offering three keys to being more successful, nor is he even offering a real path to stand on for any type of success, happiness or other -ess. Instead, this is a mix of eastern philosophy, a backing of science as a companion to faith, and a clear-cut difference between faith and belief. There is some guidance on how not to implement these ideas, but for the most part, it is designed to be thought-provoking.
In today's age of guaranteed quick-fixes that fall short, something that's simply thought-provoking may just be the thing we need.
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LibraryThing member HankIII
Found it in a used book store; ragged and worn; was drawn by the title; a great book that offered much solace, and still does--so many inspiring gems in this one treasure chest.
LibraryThing member JerryColonna
Breathtaking. I bought this years ago and never read it. Very few books have seemed so clear, so concise, and so clear to me. I think I'm going to recommend this to every coaching client I have.
LibraryThing member KatieBrugger
Alan Watts is my favorite writer. In clear, concise language he bridges the gap between eastern and western metaphysics. In this book he explains why we should loosen our grip on our lives, why we should stop trying to control everything. In fact he says, our anxieties largely stem from our
I draw on this book in my book, We Are ALL Innocent by Reason of Insanity. There is a passage in Wisdom of Insecurity about the ability of flexible willow trees to survive a snowstorm, where a more rigid tree's limb will break under the weight of the snow. I made “bend like a willow” my mantra, which means, “bow to the reality of whatever is before me.”
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desperate attempt to control everything. If we learn to let go, we will find peace.I draw on this book in my book, We Are ALL Innocent by Reason of Insanity. There is a passage in Wisdom of Insecurity about the ability of flexible willow trees to survive a snowstorm, where a more rigid tree's limb will break under the weight of the snow. I made “bend like a willow” my mantra, which means, “bow to the reality of whatever is before me.”
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LibraryThing member margaret.pinard
I have to say I was into the first half much more than the second; whether this was due to other circumstances is highly likely... Interesting framework to understand the past, present, future, as well as the whats and whys of life...
LibraryThing member dazzyj
A stunningly lucid exploration of how we should live.
LibraryThing member MargaretPinardAuthor
I have to say I was into the first half much more than the second; whether this was due to other circumstances is highly likely... Interesting framework to understand the past, present, future, as well as the whats and whys of life...
LibraryThing member CountryCache
I first read this book in the 1960s. I think of it periodically still, and at times quote passages. I have both print and electronic versions. I find the electronic more useful, because of the keyword search capability.
LibraryThing member Kronomlo
The book, "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle, was released in 1997 and is still a very popular book on spirituality. "The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety" came out in 1951, and this book is basically the same as "The Power of Now", only a bit more complicated and in-depth
This is a great book, and if you've ever listened to any of Alan Watts' lectures then this work will be a review of what he talked about.
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with philosophy. This is a great book, and if you've ever listened to any of Alan Watts' lectures then this work will be a review of what he talked about.
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LibraryThing member questbird
The solution to a life spent chasing one's own tail and a futile death? Live in the moment. Realise that there is no "I" separate from the universe. Stop trying to make permanent what is impermanent.
LibraryThing member jbaty
I don't know who this book is for, but it's not me. It felt like the same 4 sentences about how the past and future don't matter and avoiding the "divided mind" repeated with a splash of eastern religions thrown in.
In sum: Live in the moment.
In sum: Live in the moment.
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1951
Physical description
160 p.; 7.23 inches
ISBN
0394704681 / 9780394704685