Alan Watts Being in the Way artwork

Alan Watts Being in the Way

30 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 months ago - ★★★★★ - 576 ratings

Take a deep dive into the collected recordings of Alan Watts with Alan’s son, Mark Watts. 

Being in the Way is a podcast series that explores the Alan Watts Archive’s 100-hour tape collection - including recordings not heard in 40 years. We will meet some of the people being influenced by the works of Alan Watts today and learn a little of the history behind how these remarkable recordings were made. 

Mark and his guests offer reflections on Alan’s ideas— ideas that were radically innovative and groundbreaking in the sixties and seventies, and yet seem to have come of age today.

Being in the Way is brought to you by the Alan Watts Organization, in partnership with Ram Dass' Be Here Now Network.

Check out all of the Alan Watts Organization's offerings at alanwatts.org


Philosophy Society & Culture Religion & Spirituality Spirituality taoism eastern philosophy spirituality zen dao alan watts being in the way tao buddhism philosophy
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Episodes

Ep. 28 – Limits of Language

February 06, 2024 18:13 - 53 minutes - 49.4 MB

Taking a trip through the constructs of form and labeling, Alan Watts philosophizes about the limits of language. This series is brought to you by the Alan Watts Organization and Ram Dass’ Love Serve Remember Foundation. Visit play.alanwatts.org for full talks from Alan Watts. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/alan This time on Being in the Way, Alan Watts philosophiz...

Ep. 27 – Love Of Waters

January 15, 2024 17:47 - 23 minutes - 21.1 MB

In celebration of the waters that bring life to all things, Alan Watts reflects on the separation between human civilization and the natural world. This series is brought to you by the Alan Watts Organization and Ram Dass’ Love Serve Remember Foundation. Visit play.alanwatts.org for full talks from Alan Watts. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/alan In this unique and ...

Ep. 26 – Relevance of Eastern Philosophy

November 22, 2023 15:12 - 1 hour - 56.4 MB

Using wisdom from Eastern philosophies, Alan Watts explains why Westerners should let go of any preconceived notions of God. This series is brought to you by the Alan Watts Organization and Ram Dass’ Love Serve Remember Foundation. Visit Alanwatts.org for full talks from Alan Watts. This Alan Watts lecture features a discussion on: Comparative studies on religion The absurdity of Christian imperialism Superiority and lack of faith The difference between faith and belief Blasp...

Ep. 25 – Religion and Sexuality

September 15, 2023 15:45 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MB

Bringing awareness to ecstatic grace, Alan Watts enlightens us on the sexual archetypes formed by religion. Two cultural icons. Two unique perspectives... One understanding of the presence of the way. Ram Dass' Love Serve Remember Foundation and the Alan Watts Organization invite you to open your mind, open your heart, and tap into the living truth of Alan Watts and Ram Dass. Learn more about this special 4-week Virtual Course:"The Presence of the Way: The Dharma of Alan Watts and...

Ep. 24 – Myth of Myself

August 02, 2023 13:19 - 43 minutes - 40.2 MB

This time on the Being in the Way Podcast, Alan Watts delves into questions of identity, purpose and buying into the ‘Myth of Myself’. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/alan In this episode, Alan Watts explores: The question of our own identity and our place in the world Myths of the self handed down through history Viewing ourselves and the world with a “floodlight...

Ep. 23 – Out of the Trap Pt. 2

June 23, 2023 16:11 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MB

Picking up from our last episode, Alan elucidates faith versus belief, and how our individual existence is connected with the totality of the universe. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/alan From his houseboat in Sausalito, CA, Alan Watts explores: The two great myths which underly our Western sense of identity: the Judeo-Christian myth of an overly intelligent univer...

Ep. 22 - Out of the Trap Pt. 1

May 24, 2023 19:01 - 31 minutes - 29.2 MB

Delving into the historically complicated human relationship to divinity, Alan Watts describes the trap of separateness.  Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/alan In this episode, Alan Watts explores: The sensation of our own existence  Jewish Christian mythology  Identifying with the tribe Universal law and the roots of justice Freud and the energies of the psyche ...

Ep. 21 – Joyous Cosmology

March 13, 2023 13:42 - 1 hour - 63.7 MB

Offering us the possibility of waking up, Alan Watts contemplates the joyous cosmology that we are God playing the roles of ordinary people. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/alan In this episode, Alan Watts explores: If there could be a theory of the world that justifies and makes worthwhile the difficulties and suffering that we undergo The contemplation that an in...

Ep. 20 – Man is a Hoax

January 30, 2023 17:51 - 34 minutes - 31.5 MB

Sifting down behind the cultural myth of man as separate, Alan explores how we are all actually Earth, the Universe, and the Big Bang. In this episode of Being in the Way, Alan takes us on a journey from childhood to adulthood, highlighting how we are trained into separation from a young age, and forced to focus on the never-arriving “future,” rather than being present in the moment. Through this lens, he further spelunks the “hoax of man” and offers insight into how this sense of ...

Ep. 19 – Improbable and Magical: A Tribute To G.K. Chesterton

December 26, 2022 06:00 - 44 minutes - 40.9 MB

In this unique episode of Being in the Way, Alan Watts offers tribute to the life, humor, magic and ‘nonsense wisdom’ of writer, G. K. Chesterton. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/alan This series is brought to you by the Alan watts organization and Ram Dass’ Love Serve Remember Foundation. Visit Alanwatts.org for full talks from Alan Watts. “I read G.K. Chesterton’s...

Ep. 18 – The Unpreachable Religion

November 14, 2022 20:15 - 29 minutes - 26.9 MB

Exploring modern culture as actually anti-materialistic, Alan tackles matters of sedentariness, sensuousness, isolation, work, play, God, and sexuality. Host, Mark Watts, returns to introduce another thought-provoking talk from his father, Alan Watts. In this powerful lecture—one of his earlier field recordings, entitled ‘The Unpreachable Religion,’—Alan turns our common idea of modern materialism on its head. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off yo...

Ep. 17 – Learning the Human Game

October 17, 2022 20:11 - 43 minutes - 40 MB

Alan Watts pulls back the veil of ‘the human game,’ digging into language, ethics, finding balance, and the art of the controlled accident.  Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/alan In this episode, Mark Watts introduces Alan Watts in ‘Learning the Human Game’ – originally recorded at a seminar at the University of Michigan. In this lecture, Alan explores the connection ...

Ep. 16 – A Coincidence of Opposites

August 11, 2022 17:54 - 41 minutes - 37.8 MB

Contemplating the coincidence of opposites within the 'human game,' Alan ponders the simple yet thought-provoking question: is existence serious? Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/alan In this episode of Being in the Way, Mark introduces a lecture from his father Alan Watts called 'Coincidence of Opposites' – the first talk in a seminar called 'Learning the Human Game,...

Ep. 15 – Changes: The Houseboat Summit with Alan Watts, Timothy Leary, Allen Ginsberg, Gary Synder, & Allen Cohen

July 11, 2022 14:37 - 1 hour - 65.8 MB

Timothy Leary, Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, & Allen Cohen join Alan Watts on his houseboat to discuss change, the evolution of society, and the practicality of 'dropping out.' Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/alan In this episode of Being in the Way, Mark Watts introduces a truly legendary discussion featuring his father Alan Watts, Timothy Leary, Allen Ginsberg, Gary...

Ep. 14 – Aesthetics and Mystical Vision

June 15, 2022 18:05 - 1 hour - 58.8 MB

In this recording from 1972, Alan Watts lectures on mystical vision via art, aesthetics, and Buddhist and Daoist philosophy. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/alan This series is made in partnership with the Alan Watts Organization. Discover the official Alan Watts archive at alanwatts.org “You and I have all conspired with ourselves to pretend that we are not really ...

Ep. 13 – Psychology of Mystical Experience

May 18, 2022 23:34 - 1 hour - 55.1 MB

Binding contrast into paradox, Alan takes us on a journey through the psychology of mystical experience in relation to life and death, followed by a jaunt through the power of nothingness. In this episode of Being in the Way, Mark Watts opens the door to the vault, introducing two rare recordings from his father, Alan Watts. The first lecture, entitled Psychology of Mystical Experience, stems from March 5th, 1972 at San Jose State exploring the paradox of life and death. Recorded o...

Ep. 12 – Cosmic Drama

April 06, 2022 18:36 - 59 minutes - 54.7 MB

This time on the Being in the Way podcast, Alan Watts explores the concepts of identity and consciousness, looking at the role we play in the greater 'Cosmic Drama'. Before the talk from Alan, we invite you to listen to an insightful conversation between Mark Watts and his guest, Cory Allen, about getting in touch with the core ideas of Alan Watts’ teachings. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional th...

Ep. 11 – Essential Teachings from the Gita w/ Ram Dass & Alan Watts

March 08, 2022 17:55 - 47 minutes - 43.3 MB

Ram Dass joins Alan for a look at the tools that the Bhagavad Gita offers us to face life's challenges head-on. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/alan This series is made in partnership with the Alan Watts Organization. Discover the official Alan Watts archive at alanwatts.org See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art...

Ep. 10 – Veil of Thoughts: Money, Relationships & Desire

January 29, 2022 17:30 - 1 hour - 66.4 MB

Alan Watts explores the 'veil of thoughts' in money, civilization & progress; before shifting gears to the 'divine madness' of marriage & falling in love. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/alan This series is made in partnership with the Alan Watts Organization. Discover the official Alan Watts archive at alanwatts.org “If you say that getting the money is the most im...

Ep. 9 – Inevitable Ecstasy

January 06, 2022 00:10 - 1 hour - 55.5 MB

Illuminating the truth of the relationship between awareness and self, Alan Watts naturally opens us to the inevitable ecstasy of surrender. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/alan This series is made in partnership with the Alan Watts Organization. Discover the official Alan Watts archive at alanwatts.org "There are states of consciousness in which you can listen to s...

Ep. 8 – Man and Nature

November 25, 2021 04:02 - 58 minutes - 53.4 MB

In this intimate session, Alan Watts shares distinctive philosophical vantage points outlining humankind's relationship to nature. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/alan Welcoming listeners into a seminar session from SMU in 1965, Mark introduces the pivotal Alan Watts lecture, 'Man and Nature,' which he describes as one of his father's most engaging talks, positively ...

Ep. 7 – Drugs: Turning the Head or Turning On

October 29, 2021 21:09 - 1 hour - 58.3 MB

Can you get mysticism in a bottle? Alan Watts explores the drug question, in this psychedelically infused episode of Being in the Way. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/alan In this talk at San Jose State during the counterculture bloom and LSD peak of the mid-1960s, Alan shares a nuanced and well-rounded approach to the psychedelic experience, sharing personal antidot...

Ep. 6 – On Being God

September 30, 2021 00:51 - 1 hour - 73.7 MB

In 'On Being God,' Alan shares on therapy, religion, mystical experiences, & Jesus, before playing the hilarious and light-shedding role of a clinical patient who realizes they're God. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/alan Following in the fashion of the last episode (Zen Bones), Mark Watts introduces another big-hall presentation from Alan Watts which creatively and ...

Ep. 5 – Zen Bones

September 02, 2021 15:01 - 56 minutes - 51.9 MB

Alan Watts illuminates the nuances of Zen and the Unspeakable World in this dynamic 'Zen Bones' talk adorned with Buddhist chanting, chimes, and gongs. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/alan Mark Watts introduces a classic talk entitled, 'Zen Bones,' a remarkable public lecture that Alan gave in 1967 at the Avalon Ballroom (usually the scene of wild rock concerts) for ...

Ep. 4 – Our Place In The Universe

August 09, 2021 16:10 - 44 minutes - 40.7 MB

Uncovering how we arise mutually with all things, Alan Watts examines our place in the universe and how very natural it is to be human. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/alan Continuing the last episode's dharma talk on Taoism, relativity, and the connections between you and not-you; Mark introduces part two of his father's classic talk, Being in the Way – a fundamenta...

Ep. 3 – In Your Own Way

July 19, 2021 22:26 - 47 minutes - 43.3 MB

Alan Watts illuminates the connections between Taoism and relativity, technology and human evolution, culture and separation, Saints and rascals, you and not-you, as well as difference and unity. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/alan Furthering outlining his father's storied life and works, Mark shares his perspective on Alan's early literary successes, radio work, an...

Ep. 2 – Dropping Out From Karma

June 29, 2021 02:20 - 1 hour - 63.9 MB

In the second episode of Being in the Way – an Alan Watts podcast exclusively on the Be Here Now Network – Alan's son, Mark Watts, shares background on Alan's early life, before introducing two of his father's specially curated dharma talks: Taoist Way of Dropping Out From Karma (Part III), and Wisdom of the Ridiculous. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/alan "The whole...

Alan Watts - Being in the Way - Ep. 1 - Following the Taoist Way

June 07, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 56.2 MB

Being in the Way is a podcast series that explores the Alan Watts Archive’s 100-hour tape collection. Hosted by Alan's son, Mark Watts, Being in the Way features curated talks from Alan Watts and conversations with guests who continue to be inspired by Watts' work today.

Ep. 1 - Following the Taoist Way

June 07, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 55.8 MB

Being in the Way is a podcast series that explores the Alan Watts Archive’s 100-hour tape collection. Hosted by Alan's son, Mark Watts, Being in the Way features curated talks from Alan Watts and conversations with guests who continue to be inspired by Watts' work today. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/alan This series is made in partnership with the Alan Watts Organ...

The Official Alan Watts Podcast is Coming to the Be Here Now Network!

June 02, 2021 17:45 - 3 minutes - 2.9 MB

The Alan Watts Organization and Be Here Now Network have come together to bring you a new podcast series that dives deep into the Alan Watts Archive’s 100-hour collection of talks - from the most popular talks lighting up the Internet today to recordings not heard in 40 years.  This Monday, June 7th, discover for yourself why Alan Watts has continued to inspire generations of seekers with the Alan Watts Being in the Way podcast.  This exciting new series is hosted by Mark Watts, A...