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Just So

An Odyssey Into the Cosmic Web of Connection, Play, and True Pleasure

Audiobook (Includes supplementary content)
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

If you were God,” asked Alan Watts, “what kind of universe would you create? A perfect one free of suffering and drama? Or one filled with surprise and delight?”
 
With Just So, the celebrated philosopher and self-described “spiritual entertainer” invites us to explore the hidden dimensions that shape both the cosmos and our personal experience of it.
 
From the 1950s to the 1970s, Eastern spiritual philosophies ignited in the West profound new ways of perceiving ourselves and the mysteries of life. And from the beginning, Alan Watts was at the forefront—sparking insight after insight at live gatherings and radio broadcasts. Today, Alan Watts’ books and recordings bring perennial delight to new readers and listeners of all ages and beliefs.
 
Here, the luminary author and speaker explores three often-overlooked yet essential universal dynamics: connection, play, and pleasure. This exceptional collection of sessions includes three complementary seminars:
 
The Cosmic Network—a journey into the interconnected web of the personal and the infinite
Ecological Awareness—reflections on how humanity and nature evolve through discovery and “purposeless” play
The Pursuit of Pleasure—how a true materialism connects us fully through our senses with others and to the natural flow of the cosmos.
 
Along the way, you’ll explore many other themes, at turns humorous, prophetic, and more relevant today than ever. What unfolds is a liberating view of life that arises from possibility and the unpredictable—perfect and “just so” not in spite of its messy imperfections, but because of them.

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    • Publisher's Weekly

      January 20, 2020
      Five lectures from self-proclaimed “philosophical entertainer” Watts (1915–1973) are collected in this comprehensive, approachable work. Though the language is sometimes delightfully dated—Watts is very concerned about “hang-ups” and calls those who cannot withstand the uncertainty of life “squares”—his general ideas (developing a relationship with the vagaries of the universe, as discussed in his lecture “Going With,” or, in “What Is So of Itself,” learning to trust the intuitive “unborn mind”) still resonate. However, Watts’s idolization of Chinese approaches to technology and nature feels rose-tinted, and Watts’s hopes that transportation technology would eliminate war and that electronic connectivity would connect people in a way that would allow one to “give up all worries concerning ownership” and eliminate the impact of “dirty little secrets” are naive in retrospect. Statements like “when we are adequately fed and sheltered, there isn’t anything missing” remind readers to keep life simple in order to find solace. While those new to the ideas of Western Zen will probably find contemporary authors more to their taste, this insightful survey will appeal to Watts’s fans.

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  • English

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