5 Profound Alan Watt’s Ideas About Life

Stop for a second and ask yourself: Who is the "you" that's reading this sentence right now? Where does that sense of "you" actually live? In your head? Your chest? Somewhere behind your eyes?

This is the kind of questions Alan Watts, English philosopher and writer, inspired by Zen Buddhism, spent his life exploring. His ideas challenge how we think about ourselves, our place in the world, and what it means to live fully. Here're five of his most powerful insights that can transform how we understand life:

1. Our Self is Just an Illusion

Watts believed that our sense of self is an illusion. He said: “We suffer from a hallucination, from a false and distorted sensation of our own existence as living organisms."

We live believing that we're a separate centre of consciousness trapped inside our bodies, looking out at a world that's fundamentally "other." This feeling of separation creates loneliness, driving us to endlessly chase validation and success. This desire to defend our identity that doesn't actually exist the way we think it does, leads to anxiety and dissatisfaction with life.

"Through our eyes, the universe is perceiving itself," Watts said. "Through our ears, the universe is listening to its harmonies. We are the witnesses through which the universe becomes conscious of its glory, of its magnificence."

We should view ourselves as part of the Cosmic Being that has always existed, living through different forms to express it in a particular time and place. To put it simply, imagine you're a small drop of water in the ocean. While you may feel like a separate entity, you're actually a part of it. So, you're not just a drop of water, but the ocean being a drop for a little while.

When we start seeing ourselves as part of the larger whole, our lives start to slowly change. We begin to recognise that our actions ripple outward, affecting everything they touch. We feel more compassion because harming others means we are harming ourselves. In turn, we can foster deeper connections with others and the world around us, dissolving barriers created by the illusion of separateness.

2. Happiness Is In The Present Moment

A foundation of Watt's philosophy is the importance of living in the present moment. He stated: “This is the real secret of life—to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.”

If we imagine playing a game, for example, and constantly thinking about the score or the next play, we miss the joy of the game itself. By fully immersing ourselves in the present, we can experience life more richly. The same is true about watching a movie while checking our phone - we miss the story, the acting, the plot. But this is the reality most of us live - half present, half stuck in thoughts about tomorrow or yesterday.

The shift in focus from past regrets and future anxieties to the here and now allows us to savour the simple pleasures of life, such as enjoying a meal, listening to music, or spending time with our loved ones. All of these seemingly small moments become richer and more fulfilling when we're fully present and appreciative. All these seemingly little things are more important and give our lives more meaning and fulfilment than crossing off our entire to-do lists, but so frequently ignored set aside as not that important. But remember, they are not distractions from life - they are life.

If you've never practised presence, you can start with simple daily meditation. Simply sitting in a quiet room, focusing on your breath, and letting go of all distractions. Through meditation, we learn to live more fully in the now, quieting the mind and cultivating awareness. This practice enables us to feel inner peace and clarity, helping us navigate life’s challenges easier. By integrating meditation into our daily routine, we develop a deeper connection with ourselves and the world around us, enhancing our overall well-being and sense of fulfilment.

3. We Are All Connected

Everything is connected. The butterfly effect isn't just a physics concept - it's how reality works. Our simple, every day actions can have far-reached impact. Something as simple as our mood can affects how we treat the cashier, which affects their day, which affects how they treat their family, which ripples outward in ways we'll never see. When we understand this, it can inspire us to act more thoughtfully and compassionately, knowing that we're part of a larger whole and our actions can lead to positive or negative consequences, even if we're not purposely planning it.

As such, it should inspire us to live more harmoniously with nature and with each other, recognising our role in the greater scheme of things. This should help us foster a sense of unity and collective responsibility, so that we work together to address global challenges, such as climate change and social injustice. We're all part of the same system, and what we do to the system, we do to ourselves.

4. We Should Live Playfully

"The meaning of life is just to be alive," Watts insisted. "It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves."

Many of us lead life like some project with a deadline - we focus all our energy to achieve career success, buy a house, find a perfect partner. We want to optimise and fix everything, forgetting to actually live.

Life is not a problem that must be solved - it has to be experienced and enjoyed. When we approach it more playfully and with more curiosity than anxiety, it leads us to a more joyous existence. We become more open to experiences and able to find delight in simple, everyday things. By approaching life with a sense of fun, we rediscover the simple pleasures and wonder that we often overlook in our pursuit of goals and achievements.

Of course, challenges won't disappear, but we learn to handle them differently. More creatively. More flexibly. We become less crushed by the weight of needing everything to be perfect.

5. Our Identity Is Fluid, Not Fixed

Watts advised against clinging to the ego: “Ego is nothing other than the focus of conscious attention.” By identifying too strongly with the ego, we lose sight of our deeper, interconnected nature, as described earlier.

He argued that our sense of identity is not static but ever-changing, challenging the traditional Western notion of the self as a permanent, unchanging core. To him, the identity is dynamic and constantly influenced by our experiences and interactions with the world around us.

So, if we think about who we were a few years ago, we can find that our interest, beliefs, and maybe even some personality traits have changed. Reshaped by experiences, books, and conversations we've had.

Various diverse influences enrich our understanding of ourselves and the world, making us more adaptable and open-minded. This, in turn, shapes and changes our identity as years go by, proving that we don't have a fixed sense of identity, but a fluid nature. Yet we cling to the idea that there's some essential "me" that needs to be protected and defended.

The identity we're clinging to right now will likely look different in a few years and that's not a problem that needs solved - it's growth. Letting go of our ego allow us to experience life more fully and authentically. We can try new things without feeling like we're betraying who we are. We become more open to changing our minds and opinions without it being a crisis.

To practice letting go of the ego, we can engage in activities that promote humility and self-awareness, such as volunteering, mindfulness practices like meditation, or simply spending time in nature. These activities can help to connect us with something greater than ourselves and remind us that we're part of something vast - something far more interesting than our fixed identity.