definitley been a lifesaver for many of us, maybe not here but alan watts has dug me and many others out of despair. truly a gift from God. i remember the low part of my life without a dollar to my name and listening to alan watts words as i stared at the ceiling made me laugh and keep living.
@Bored Af Fate and Free Will, do not necessarily exclude one another, they could work together, just Fate knows what your choice will be, it is simple notion, yes?
I let my entire life slip into a bottomless hole and then I tried to put it back together by force. I ended up even more depressed and anxious. Couldn't take the pressure of having to try three times as hard to make it up for all the time I had wasted to be where I thought I was ''supposed'' to be in life at that time and eventually burned out. Remember this... No matter how hard it is for you right now things will get better. I used to think that you have to just keep moving but now I've learned that all you have to be is yourself. Let go, allow yourself to go wherever you need. And only when I stopped I saw things for what they really were. It's simply not true that those who don't work hard don't 'make it'. You will make it either way. Hard work should only and only come if it's a natural part of being in a state of Dao. All you have to be is simply yourself and you will make it.
it might be true of simply existing . but for synchronicity to happen with goals its not the case. to make a goal you need some vision of what it is what the end is
This is why so many relationships either fail or are broken. Far too many people think they have to rush to get married or start a family when they’re still very young. We compare ourselves to others which is dangerous. Next thing you know you have two people basically forcing a relationship that turns ugly in the long run. People have affairs, get divorced, or check out mentally from the relationship altogether. True love doesn’t work that way. True love hits you naturally when you least expect it
Well, if they have a shared life goal, e.g. a religious goal and incentive to have children etc, it may still work out, and the love may come after the marriage
But what is "true love" and who defines it? Being mentally checked out could be part of it. And if it "fails" there are still things you learn about yourself from the other. Was it a failure?
I’ve always tried forcing friendships with people that I can’t relate to...now I’ve fully accepted and am patient when it comes to finding real tangible relationships. Love this principle, have to stay true to ones self! 🙏
Wherever we are at in our lives can only attract to us the people we need to grow so being a good place see you in end up with someone has to teach you a lesson but better yet someone that Flo's with you and your life by having a flowing life
Same here. I've tried to force old friendships when I'm a completely different person and no longer relate to them. I've had to allow myself to let them go so that people I do relate to can show up. Patience.
@@iliveinsideyourhouse3943 yeh i can relate to that Im alone. But I understand Alan.Its destiny for Alan destiny for me, but things are always changing, are we big enough to watch the changes and not argue about them?
It is a good explanation after only watching this video. May you also think about Wu Wei as a way to present your life with calm wisdom and knowledge of various logic. In another word, a human with ultimate wisdom and behave with no influence from outside. People may see you as doing nothing, but you have done much by doing less.
@@venusbonjour9303oh what is the natural processes of a baby coming out? I thought giving birth would naturally demand a great amount of work considering the size and pain of the child coming out. Dont hospitals ask the woman to keep calm and slow her down?
As Alan says the children are inquisitive, my 5 year old asked me "daddy where does the dark go when you switch on the lights" and he also asked if a person is born blind and deaf what language do they think in,
@@peglegnoid6139 she actually wasn’t born blind or deaf... she got sick when she was a baby and her memory of the word water was what helped her learn to make connections to language.
We are so bombarded with concepts, the five principles of this or that, the idea of being empty, the many 'good books', that we end up totally confused. Living today as curious childlike beings, yes. 🤗
Never forced a thing in my life, since I was ostracized from my family , who tried to entice me back with money. After meeting a sidhu/ holy man in India , he touched me as I gave him a few rupees, he touched my arm and said , ‘let it go, it will all be ok’. Looking back 25 years since then , it’s all been good, I met my ‘Swan’ , married her and have had a child . All this after drifting and just not forcing anything, what will be , will be. Look at it this way, in a 100 years no one will even remember you. Your just passing through, enjoy every moment.
I've been trying to improve myself, working on myself. But in the end, I was the same person but more mentally tired. So I stopped. I awaited for the right timing. Nothing happened, not a thin ray of improvement I saw. Then I let go, and then everything I wanted started happening, out of nowhere. Little did I know that it had been with me the whole time. I was already the best version of myself. The self-help, improvement is the greatest lie. Do not compare yourself to others.
It's interesting, because by not trying to improve yourself, you still end up doing things that 'improve' you as a person. But you do them because it makes sense to do them, not out of some dogmatic idea about you must always be improving yourself otherwise you're wasting your life or whatever. And this way you also end up being more of an individual rather than another clone of those intolerable and uptight self- improvement obsessed types lol.
Yes. "not forcing" is the best translation for wu wei 无为. "Not forcing" requires a great deal of discernment, judgment, and action-taking. It is not for the lazy and unthinking. You still must make the effort while not forcing your way.
thanks James, what do you mean action taking... as in trying to be a passive observer, continuing your activities without thinking? Placing no opposition?
@@julieferrone1311 I could be wrong but let me give an example. Do you think a great wood carver or sculptist forces as he makes his cuts? Maybe he applies more or less force at times, but most certainly many or most of his movements will be very very refined, skilled, careful, discerned. You can't un-carve a piece of wood. So you don't force, but you go with the flow, the grain of the wood as you carve. You don't carve passively, or lazily. That's how you end up with a total mess and a horrible work. You can apply effort without forcing. Maybe you should look into a martial art like jiu jitsu or judo, sometimes applying something physically can help you understand the philosophical elements behind it.
If anyone is searching for the orignal, full lecture, as I was, you will find it by searching "Alan Watts ~ Close Your Eyes". That lecture is the last of a four part series you can access all of from the description of the video I just titled. Cheers!
I have “let go” and been enjoying my days with my wife during COVID-19 shut down. “Not forcing” or “working hard”, gave me more joy and restful than following the old method taught to us - work really hard to get what you want. Don’t force the nature to do its duties. Nature/God/Universe knows what to do for us better than we know ourselves..
A quote that really put this all into perspective for me when I was younger that I read in some book on Buddhism goes something to the effect of "The tree that learns to sway in the storm survives; while the stern tree that resists the winds breaks over and dies."
Since Covid lockdown in the UK two years ago, my wife and I have stayed in our village, St. Keverne in Cornwall, and feel we have discovered true contentment.
what arises in me as I watch this video is just how much pain I'm in... suicidal grief and homicidal rage. nothing to live for. it all seems devastatingly hopeless. the past rapes and haunts me... the future paralyzes me with fear. and I only feel overwhelming shame in the present.
I feel you. The only solution i know is to live (or go) in a place that is surrounded by nature or is in nature. Your surroundings form you. Learn survival or become selfsufficient. This is the only way out of this sick society and can be a goal in live as there are probably really bad times ahead of us (if we are not already in them), you'll learn beautifull things and become aware of many things as nature is the basis of everything. Wild animals and flora can teach more things than humans ever will...
At least you can write pretty good poetry about it haha. I don't buy the 'nothing to live for' bit though. You're telling me that there is nothing in life at all that you enjoy even just a little bit? Music? TV shows? Video games? Sex? Good food? The sound of the birds? You're telling me that there isn't any skill that you like to learn? Martial arts? Guitar? Drums? You might not realise it, but being in a suicidal state (assuming you actually are) can be super liberating. Because now you are free to live the life you want, without giving a F what anyone else thinks. Just try not to be too much of a dick to those other people.
Words yes, they can truly obscure things even when they intend to say them. However, there's something about words spoken.. such as in this A. Watts lecture, that communicate something else beyond "words". He helps make this clear, when at the end, he suggests to let go and listen. Must've been a mesmerist too 😏
It’s really as if we know everything - everything we need to know- the moment we are born, and then the “teachings” of the material world blind us, because they mean nothing
Rather than meaning nothing, they really are just distraction from the truth, and then we think we know more and more, when we are really going farther and farther from the truth
"Try not. Do." - Yoda. In all seriousness, this is the truth, no matter who said it. A co-worker tries SO HARD to be "the funny guy", but he's just so annoying.
Anyone notice his space? It's funny, he speaks so much about the many concepts surrounding wu-wei and of wu-wei itself, but all the while he is demonstrating it. Every word is thought not too hard but not too light, all natural, but with as much space as is needed or is not needed. Without knowing the language he is speaking, you could get a takeaway message. I love that.
Brian Randall I just complained about those gaps lol I get he’s thinking because he’s a prophet and can’t say something wrong but come on man spit it out like twista and nos lol!
People forget one thing in their pursuit of wealth and achievements - the more you want, the more people you have to deal with - and the more people you deal with, the greater the risk of engaging with individuals who can make your life an absolute misery, which can in turn leave you with less than you originally had !
"The way, cannot be forced." I remind myself of this often. I try to implement this philosophy into my every day life. Nothing good comes from anything that is forced. There is only one way. One true way. There is only 'The' way. Everything in life should be allowed to happen at it's own pace, and at the right moment, naturally, and without force. This is something which governments and politicians will never, ever truly understand.
@@KatyVLOGS12 literally EVERYTHING good in this world came from something forced. People struglling against the 'impossible'. This is just someone trying to find a niche for thier bs.
Ali once said that he hated every moment of training in his life. But that training and suffering is what made him a world champ. Most of the worlds best athletes say similar things... Taoism has nice perspectives on some stuff in life, but people just take it too literally. You don't have to agree with something 100%, you can still argue against some of the outdated stuff while accepting what inspires you in it
Not to force, Bruce lee would say “I do not hit, it hits all by itself” *looks down at his clenched fist* He says this because he has gone through disciplined technique & training, just as the archer goes through learning to draw and fire a bow, only to get to a point where he no longer needs to think about doing the action, when you transcend beyond your technique, you open yourself to action without action, wu wei, not forcing, I LOVE this life principle
"Life is the result of the struggle between dynamic opposites. Form and chaos, light and dark, substance and oblivion, and all the infinite variations of Yin and Yang. When the pendulum swings in favor of one, eventually it will swing back in favor of its opposite - and thus the balance of the Universe is maintained."
This is AMAZING ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I find this very helpful, for as a once celebrated visual artist , now a senior citizen who moved from LA to a small farm town in the Midwest to an inherited home. EARTHQUAKE I am in the “not doing “ stage. I force and fail. I’ve always said “ I live my life like a leaf on the wind”. It’s always worked before, but it’s in the damned waiting that anxiety hits and our brains are off and going, and depression can set in. I say now to my situation “This too, shall pass” Namaste
the Source manifests itself through this man in such a unique way.... it is a true gift to be able to listen to his thought processes... I Am truly Grateful...
Taking cold showers has helped me understand this practice. To have your nerves be overwhelmed with stimulation and then just letting go. It is one of the hardest things to do in the morning. But each time i do it, i become one with the river, and i become wider and deeper each time. I can now relax by remembering the cold shock and letting go, only with more practice will i make this an involutary habit. But i let go of any goal associated. I let go of any "reward". Becausr its all here. The reward is all here in the moment. That elusive omnipotent silent creature that overlays my experience is always present. It takes only practicing nothing to reveal its raw wiggle. It is constant, and to be with it always you must constantly be aware of that joker. That serious and not serious little game.
Real shit. Cold showers did the same for me as well. The cold is the greatest teacher. Learning to surrender to the cold and the sensations it brings translates to life directly. By not trying to force to breathe a certain way or to fight the cold, you can do what is natural and breathe how we are supposed to and surrender to the cold (life) .
I like cold showers in the summer but during the winter man idk if that’s even healthy. Definitely warm showers in the winter are great for your body. Cold showers in the winter make me so tense and tight. It does calm inflammation for sure always good to finish a shower with cold water
conner Nolan I agree but I work outside in the cold so I don’t know. I go home and take a really hot shower on my body and warm and cold water on my face and hair. The hot seriously helps my muscles from cramping from the cold but it really dries out my skin. Also hot water absorbs better and there’s a bunch of chemicals in tap water
It’s great to hear this because all I do is force. Even when I’m not consciously forcing, I know I’m forcing something. Forcing is fear. You’re afraid of what’s going to happen if you don’t take action. Meanwhile all you do is row, when you could be sailing. It’s also like treading water when you could be surfing. You’re fighting against the current.
Perfectly said "Forcing is fear". I love it. I've definitely fallen into this trap: "You’re afraid of what’s going to happen if you don’t take action."
This is one of the channels that gave me the courage to start my RU-vid channel 5 months ago about self development. Now I have 301 subs and almost > 100 hours of watch time. I know it’s not comparable with others but I’m still proud I started because I’ve been learning so many lessons that I couldn’t have learned without getting started in the 1st place.
This is a concept that I've felt my entire life and have struggled but failed to put into words that others could understand. It feels nice to discover that there are others on the same page.
This is exactly what I’ve had an enlightenment on when trying to understand the true meaning of life and true nature of reality. The powerful energy of love that every living thing on earth puts out has been mankind’s key to evolution since the beginning. The compassion in connection with all things through love and understanding that one is no different from 2, giving a specific meaning to every thing, meaning I am just as equal, just as priceless as any tree or plant in the jungle. In true reality, seeing past the vanity seeming superior, when the only difference between them and us, is choice and ignorance. That is not superior. That is a confused state of things, leaving most wandering off their true path early early on, making it very difficult to find later on when trying to fulfill your meaning in life. The perceived state of reality in which most have, I hope will change soon. Give thought to the true meaning of life, with no aspects of religion, government, or knowledge given. Listen to knowledge experienced and try to find the lesson and true meaning in the action. In doing so, you find an almost perfect reaction to what you have done. Finding true meaning to actions and sounds around you can you then start to perceive, I believe the true nature in reality, with every piece of enlightenment gained changing the whole meaning of the knowledge your trying to understand, seeming like a never ending puzzle of equations. Still, the more you think, the less you judge, the more you think outside the box, the faster and faster the puzzle pieces come together.
Go with the flow, take advantage of the flow, maintain balance and tranquility. One of the very few chinese cultural teachings i still keep with myself.
Spiritual is space and Material is matter. ☯️ The Tao is the path and you are the Tao. Be the path and you will find your compass just as the river stream flows from the mountain peak. By doing nothing, we can be like the glacier that with time even seeps into the desert. We are like the endless beginning watching the play of the end of each day with wonder and wishing for what tomorrow may bring. Even though I speak this magically melody into existence, it has lost its purpose because that is wu wei of the Tao.
Somehow I knew that all the time, but I was thinking that was because of my passive nature. And then I tried to compensate by forcing things. I just felt guilty for not being proactive. But whenever I tried to force things, they never yielded satisfying results and they always turned into something no one really wanted. Then I realized I was trying to live someone else's life and to compare myself by someone else's standards. And today, I met Taoism and Wu Wei.
After learning from Lao Zi when he said “practice doing nothing and everything will fall into place “ “with a mind that is still the universe will surrender” I did nothing and effortlessly, i was calm and my wife returned home after she left me and my daughter alone 🧘🏿♂️
Dear Watts... these past few years have been so strange. Many experiences have unfolded in my life, and with them came waves of nostalgic warmth.. And I now understand that the greatest blessings are experiences... which feel so dream like sometimes, that one may confuse them with an actual dream.
Me too, I'm not blowing my own horn but everything Alan says makes complete sense to me. It's how I've thought and been since I had a near death experience as a child. Alan is far better at putting it into words but I'm proud to say I have a lot in common with this man
what comes before the fall ? PRIDE, noun 1. Inordinate self-esteem; an unreasonable conceit of one's own superiority in talents, beauty, wealth, accomplishments, rank or elevation in office, which manifests itself in lofty airs, distance, reserve, and often in contempt of others. webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/pride#
@@servantprince can't say I agree with that explanation of what pride means. If I'm proud of myself for reacting a certain way to a situation I am really just happy with myself, there is no superiority or contempt of others at all... maybe some use the word a little differently to the dictionary definition. I'm proud of my daughter being brave during her treatments in hospital but that doesn't fit the dictionary at all
Human male #3985696311 vanity, all is vanity. look how many times you use the word 'i' and 'my-self', it's all about you. galatians6:3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait, be quiet, still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet. Franz Kafka
Kafka was very unhappy person all his Life. He desired to live a Life in a country and he never moved a finger to Do It, he Just stayed sitting on his chair in the office of an insurance Company which he hated. It's a nice frase anyway, ironicly he was stucked in an unhappy existence, being blocked by his fears.
This is something that is easier said than done for most, but this is the ultimate test of our human self. Can we allow and not force? Can we just be instead of control? Always channeling and connecting to the frequency of Alan Watts
"there is a tide in the affairs of men which taken at its flood leads on to fortune" - Yup. Learning to feel those tides on all its levels of frequency comes with great duty and responsibility.
Its all about flowing with everything...if being pushed.. We must pull.. If being pulled.. We must push. We must move with grace while under any circumstance difficult or easy..
Authenticity is another way to understand this. Stay in your lane, be exactly what you are. That is your Tao or nature. For some people, their nature is aggressive. To be passive is to deny your inner nature. Some people are passive, to be aggressive would lead to harm. Strive only to be 100% you
Its always interesting when Western and Eastern ideas overlap. Or should I say when Western science validates the more intuitive ideas of the east. And there is overwhelming evidence in psychology that we do indeed have a nature, with the differences best exemplified by the Big 5 personality traits (look into Steven Pinker and Jordan Peterson). And while nature is also a factor, and while we can stretch our personality to an extent, we can only stretch it so far and we will pretty always be pulled back to our baseline (or close to it). And by understanding our true nature, and living in accordance with it as much as possible, rather than trying to conform to societies expectations of what we should be, I predict we can all live more fulfilling lives. Also, one of the key concepts in Existentialist philosophy known as authenticity, which is pretty self- explanatory.
Go with the flow as I was told recently , make it happen and stand out of the way and let it happen, Alan was so perfect 👌 at explaining these amazing concepts if you are ready to receive the meaning
I met some fellow backpackers at a Deadmau5 concert in Vegas…crowd was lame so we ending talking about some undiscovered rock country they were headed to. Wound up spending 6 days under the stars off a blm road in Nevada desert…with total strangers. One of the guys handed me a book and told me to sign it when I’m done and pass it on to someone else. It already had like 50 signatures. So I’m paying it forward online because more people need to know about it: It’s called “Man Being Volume 1: The Transmission”. It covers everything from time travel, dreams, death, the afterlife, reincarnation, extraterrestrials, portals and gateways, Vatican and Renaissance secrets, Ancient civilizations, Lemuria, Atlantis, Jesus, Sinai, Egyptians and the Pyramids, Hebrew letters, etc. Wild read. Best I’ve had in years. Highly recommend it.
I allowed my life coaching to grow without forcing results. I've helped so many people better themselves now I can handle the amount of people I coach😣 abundance comes when you let go of expectations 🙌🏾
@@stephenhughes5156 I agree the title is cringe, but I think of them as the active antithesis of most therapists and counselors, lol. Instead of just living in the pain and talking it to death, you guide people to DO and allow and live.
End was really great Mr. Alan says just close your eyes and listen, it's like classical music and the funny part is I kept listening without realising video has ended 😇
