Philosophy Quote by Alan Wilson Watts — Inspiring Words on Life, Love & Wisdom

“What we have forgotten is that thoughts and words are conventions, and that it is fatal to take conventions too seriously. A convention is a social convenience, as, for example, money ... but it is absurd to take money too seriously, to confuse it with real wealth ... In somewhat the same way, thoughts, ideas and words are "coins" for real things.”

“when somebody plays music, you listen. you just follow those sounds, and eventually you understand the music. the point can't be explained in words because music is not words, but after listening for a while, you understand the point of it, and that point is the music itself. in exactly the same way, you can listen to all experiences.”

“In reality there are no separate events. Life moves along like water, it's all connected to the source of the river is connected to the mouth and the ocean.”

“There is nothing at all that can be talked about adequately, and the whole art of poetry is to say what can't be said.”

“I have always thought that all philosophical debates are ultimately between the partisans of structure and the partisans of "goo.”

“For the former, activity, any kind of activity, was an end in itself; for the latter, activity was but a progress toward the true end, which was rest, and peace of mind. Action was to be undertaken only when equilibrium was disturbed.”

“To will is to stir up paradoxes”

“The Shadow-maker shapes forever.”

“Well, on some level, it’s similar to the psychological phenomenon of helplessness, where the will to try is lost. You get to the point where you just assume that your spontaneous call to a friend will go to voicemail or an assistant, and you decide not to bother.”

“All is mystery; but he is a slave who will not struggle to penetrate the dark veil.”

“Which came first, the mind or the idea of the mind? Have you never wondered? They arrived together. The mind is an idea.”