The Wascally Wisdom of Watts

While searching for Alan Watts stuff on iTunes, I happened across several wonderful lectures and tributes I had never heard before.

This is pretty incredible, when you realize what kind of an impact Watts has had on me. I like to think I am pretty well versed on the guy. I've read at least twenty books of his, not to mention endless collections of essays. I've also listened to dozens of audio lectures and countless podcasts. So when I find something new, that is quite an event.

Or at least enough of an event to warrant a blog post.

So if any Watts lovers are out there, you might want to check out what I managed to dig up on a groovy podcast known as The Psychedelic Salon.

While I am not, nor have I ever been, nor do I expect to be in the future, a far-out, consciousness-cooking kinda guy, I do find the early experiments with psychedelic drugs in the sixties rather fascinating. Particularly when the type of people taking those first timid steps into altered levels of awareness were people like Alan Watts and Aldous Huxley. In other words, those with a philosophical background that could enable them to understand, interpret, and eloquently express the inexpressible states of consciousness such medicines often produced.

With that in mind, I highly recommend that any wisdom seekers out there take in at least a few shows that our good host Lorenzo has managed to put together for us.

Posted back on August 15th, show number 193 is an absolute gem. As far as I'm concerned, it's the crown jewel of them all. If you haven't heard about the legendary "Houseboat Summit" back in 1967, well, this is it. It features not only Watts, but also Gary Snyder, Allen Ginsberg, and Timothy Leary.

Show number 207 is also about as rare a podcast as I've heard. Posted back in December, it's truly a Christmas gift. It's called a "Tribute to Alan Watts," and features an entire crew of like-minded seekers and philosophers recalling their experiences with Alan months after he had died. Watts' daughter Anne is featured for a brief segment, and Aldous Huxley's wife is also on there.

Speaking of Aldous Huxley, I would be remiss if I didn't bring up show 209 from the beginning of January. "An Audio Collage of Aldous Huxley" is fabulous. It is a collection of clips from interviews and things that Huxley did back in the fifties and sixties. This is the only time I've ever heard him speak, and his accent is fabulous.

And last but not least, show 213 belongs to Watts. It is called "The Alchemy of LSD," and offers not only Watts feeling on the possibilities of the drug, but also an eloquent summary of his own philosophy. I highly recommend that, no pun intended.

In short, any time you have an opportunity to listen to Alan Watts, take it. As brilliant as he was on paper, the rhythms of his voice and the cadence of his laughter really captures him as much as anything can. I always come away smiling and a little bit more enlightened than I had been beforehand.

All the shows are available here, and if you have any interests in such things at all, you won't be disappointed.

In closing, I would also like to remind everyone that Mark Watts does an excellent job hosting the official Alan Watts podcast every week, which is available for download here.