Top Four Alan Watts Quotes To Free Your Mind

“You are the Universe experiencing itself.” — Alan Watts

I sat down in the back of the bookstore’s open patio at a table tucked in the corner. I was peacefully alone with my new used book. An older gentleman sat near me and glanced at the cover of my book: The Gospel of Buddha by Paul Carus.

He mentioned that he had read that book and asked about my interest in it. I recently went to my first Buddhist service for a world religion class in my sophomore year. I had to write a paper on my experience and I wanted to know more about the teachings.

He asked me to rip a piece of paper out of my notebook for him. He took a pen out from his pocket and started jotting down a few titles.

One title that stuck with me was a video on Youtube, Alan Watt’s Conversations with Myself.

From then on, I went down the rabbit hole of Alan Watt’s talks. Some are pretty well thought out. My favorite is the drawing aligned with his talk from After Skool’s video, Life is NOT a Journey.

Thanks to the random guy in the bookshop, now I have some new insights on life.

Here are the top 4 Alan Watts quotes to free your mind:

“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.”

We need to embrace change with an open mind. We should not invite change with hostility. The change should be sought as a friend. There will be times when Change knows what is best for us. When things change for the better. Or there will be times when you do not agree with the change, making it incredibly hard for you to move on. But, this does not mean you should reject it. It will come when it is its time too. When it does come — join the dance.

“To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don’t grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead, you relax, and float.”

This is one of my favorite analogies. When you start to swim, it becomes harder to go against the water. Life is as fluid as the water and something that we cannot totally grasp. So, instead lay back and float with the water's current. Literally, go with the flow.

“Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth.”

When we try to define ourselves, there is no linear way of defining ourselves. We will live a thousand lives. We are a different face to each person, and even different from what we believe ourselves to be. Sure, you can define yourself as a writer, a lover, a sister, or a brother. But, these are not who you truly are. You are more then what you define yourself as. You are the moon and stars. Then, you are the Sun and its light. Embrace all that you are.

“Things are as they are. Looking out into it the universe at night, we make no comparisons between right and wrong stars, nor between well and badly arranged constellations.”

This is my favorite quote by Alan Watts. When we look into the stars we do not judge them by how they appear. They are nature and the universe’s beauty no matter how it comes. When we view one another, we should make the same inference as we do with the sky, the ocean, and mountains. We are part of the earth’s creation. Each one of us is as unique in our own way, similar to the stars and its constellations.