You're It!: On Hiding, Seeking, and Being Found

It was while reading Watts ('The Wisdom of Insecurity') that it finally dawned on me what 'the experiencer is the experience' meant and 'felt' like. For those of us who need this kind of stuff explained to us...I haven't heard anyone put it any simpler than Watts (to me he goes well with J. Krishnamurti and Ram Dass). 'You're it!' can definitely point the way to being 'unstuck'. I don't have 'a way with words' like Alan does, so all I can say is listen to Alan and see for yourself.

I love this format as Alan Watts is so easy to listen to. He explains what are potentially complex issues in really straight forward terms and he can compare the western and eastern points of view in simple clear language. This is what makes the difference between him and other people I have listened to. The set itself takes a bit of time to get through as most of the 10 CD's are around 75 minutes long but for Alan Watts fans I don't think that would be a problem.

Alan Watts is very fond of quoting William Blake's aphorism "A Fool Who Persists in His Folly Will Become Wise," as a means of explaining Zen philosophy to western students. If you're already a fan of Alan Watts, that quotation sums up this lecture series perfectly.Out of Your Mind is a much more thorough, and thoughtfully compiled set than this one is (MP3 download is available at significant savings: Out Of Your Mind: The Nature of Consciousness I). I do not regret the purchase in the least and have enjoyed listening to this presentation. However, it doesn't bear comparison with Out of Your Mind.Much of this is similar to lectures given on the Out of Your Mind lecture series. Many are different recordings from different times, yet are nearly word for word. Sometimes this will lead Watts onto a different vignette of thought that contain tasty morsels of hitherto unheard wisdom.This is a philosophical casserole containing left over bits that have been pieced together by the philosophers of capitalism over at SoundsTrue Media. I'm sorry to report that the same spaced-out obnoxious announcer and lame corporate mystic sounding guitar intros from the Out of Your Mind series is ever present on this collection.All the same, I enjoyed the collection and would recommend it to anyone *after* they have listened to the Out of Your Mind lecture series. I've listened to the Out of Your Mind collection so many times, I tune it out now because I always know what Watts will say next. So in light of that, it's been wonderful to hear it all again, in a different order with a new bit here or there to spice it up and secure my attention.So if you didn't get it the first time, keep on keeping on and eventually we'll all reach enlightenment!Namu Myoho Renge Kyo :)

Alan Watts has a fantastic wry sense of humor and wonderful insights about religion, psychology, history and life in general. It is a pleasure listening to him and I am sad every time one disc ends knowing I am closer to running out of "new" Watts recordings. However, this collection of lectures has too many moments where the same story or nugget of wisdom is repeated almost verbatim from a CD earlier in the set. Out of Your Mind is more varied and expansive journey start to finish. I don't regret buying this and I certainly don't dislike it but I would suggest Out of Your Mind as a higher quality alternative.

If you are an Alan Watts fan this is a must have! This is lots of material and can take some time to wade through. The twelve hours seem to be carefully laid out in a somewhat logical progression. Although with Alan Watts you can kind of poke in and out from CD to CD and still pick up jewels. I put it on my iPod.

Alan Watts delivery is so entertaining you almost forget that you are learning. The rhythm and style in which he presents the material makes you feel like you're listening to a symphony rather than a lecture. I highly recommend this to anyone.

If your mind is open and you're ready for "answers" this is for you. As the person who recommended this to me said, "Are you ready to have your mind blown?"

The big problem here is that this is a compilation of talks that...for whatever reason, rather than have each talk as an individual chapter.. they are broken up in the middle.. so chapter 1 is one talk and then half of the next.. chapter 2 is the other half and half of the next... and so forth.. Why they didn't cut the chapters by talk is frustrating..But the content is fantastic... I love Alan Watts and love listening to this audiobook. He really had a profound knack for packaging and delivering big concepts in articulate and digestible ways. Highly recommend Alan Watts.. but be warned about how the chapters are broken up.

I love sitting back to listen to Alan Watts' astonishing insights into existence. Nobody lectures quite like him, in a lingo so natural and full of humour, delivering surprising but - when you reflect on them - quite obvious facts about life and the living, and about the Universe as our extended body. I can't recommend him enough.