Alan Watts

I recently found myself diving deep into the world of Alan Watts, and honestly, it's been a game-changer for how I view life and consciousness. There’s this one quote that really stuck with me, the one about trusting yourself to the water. 'To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don't grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float.' Isn't that just brilliant? It instantly clicked for me. We spend so much energy trying to control everything, trying to grasp onto certainty, just like grabbing the water. Watts often spoke about how this instinct to control, this constant striving, actually separates us from the natural flow of life. It makes us feel like we’re separate from everything, when in reality, we're deeply interconnected. This idea of 'relaxing and floating' isn't about being passive or giving up; it's about understanding the nature of reality and our place within it. It’s about letting go of the ego’s need to constantly be in charge and instead, allowing ourselves to be part of the larger dance. This concept really ties into his exploration of consciousness. He'd often explain how our perception of a separate 'self' is a bit of an illusion. We think 'I' am distinct from 'the world,' but he argued that we are fundamentally part of the same process. When you truly embrace that, it brings a profound sense of peace. You stop fighting the current and start moving with it. It reminds me of the beauty in uncertainty, and how much wisdom there is in simply observing and experiencing, rather than constantly analyzing or judging. His work, drawing heavily from Oriental Philosophy, especially Zen Buddhism and Taoism, offers such a refreshing perspective. It's not about finding some complicated answer, but about simplifying, about seeing things as they are. This 'trust the water' philosophy applies to so many aspects of life – career, relationships, even just daily worries. Instead of panicking and struggling, what if we tried to relax, observe, and trust that things will unfold? It’s a practice, for sure, but one that promises a lot more serenity. For anyone feeling overwhelmed or perhaps too rigid in their thinking, I highly recommend exploring Alan Watts. His talks, like 'The Relevance of Oriental Philosophy' where that quote comes from, are full of these digestible, yet deeply transformative insights. It’s not about finding a guru, but about unlocking a different way of seeing your own consciousness and place in the universe. Learning to 'float' instead of 'drown' has been a powerful lesson for me, and I hope it resonates with you too!