Out of Your Mind: Tricksters, Interdependence, and the Cosmic Game of Hide and Seek by Alan Watts

“To go out of your mind once a day is tremendously important because by going out of your mind you come to your senses. And if you stay in your mind all of the time, you are over rational, in other words, you are like a very rigid bridge which because it has no give; no craziness in it is going to be blown down by the first hurricane.” Alan Watts

This book is a book on philosophy and Zen Buddhism. I came across Alan Watts thought some inspiration videos I found of his about life. The thoughts were not only inspirational but intriguing. I had to learn more, and so I found this book, that I listened to as an audio book, which is a series of lectures from Alan Watts. It is a book of awareness and awakening.

How we live our modern lives, the pressure we put on ourselves to know everything, to have everything figured out, to be happy, to have it all, and to achieve, can become a little overwhelming. I feel this pressure so much myself and is why I am passionate about philosophy on life and figuring this out. I desire to remove the unnecessary so that I can live more purposefully. And I don’t believe I am alone.

As I look around me, it is my perspective that many of us are wanting to wake up. We are all wishing to understand better who we are, what life is, to discover a greater purpose, to live more freely, fully and happily. Well maybe not all of us but I think many of us are.

There is this feeling of suffering and a knowing that there must be more meaning to this life but we wonder, is there? We sit on the edge of our seats “teasing” ourselves to this notion, to this thought, but instead of doing the work we fall into accepting. I feel we sleep through our existence wanting to wake up, but we never do.

I fear I may sound righteous however the truth is this is my goal and has been for the last several years. I am searching for the information to assist me in waking up and I do this for one reason only, and that is to make the most of this life. And to do this, I believe I need to minimise my suffering as it impacts my ability to live as fully as I can. What I have learned and what this book has reinforced is that this requires an ability to let go.

Attachment is what Buddhists refer to as Upadana or clinging. To have attachment we need a subject and an object to attach to. Why do we find it necessary to attach ourselves to anything? I guess it gives us a sense of meaning. It is also an evolutionary byproduct of survival and reproduction. It may be a consequence of craving and suffering. When we suffer we crave removal of suffering and that leads us to attachment.

Buddhism describes four types of attachment. They are clinging to pleasures, perspectives, rituals, and self. By clinging on to such things, we give our life a sense of purpose and a sense of ease. Now I am not a Buddhist or expert in this field so am limited to my understanding but in personal experience and introspection, I can relate.

In suffering I find myself clinging to things that please me. I find myself getting so caught up in my opinions and perspectives to feel that I am right but have easily found them challenged as I leave the doors open to new thoughts and perspectives. Rituals and routines bring me comfort but when the comfort is disrupted or disappears I have to search for the new. And finally, the notion of Self is something I believed was real and now believe it is nothing more than an object for me to attach myself to.

In this view, I can see how none of these things remove suffering but only give me a sense of comfort in my suffering. I believe Buddhism explains that life is suffering. A concept that I am still yet to fully understand.

What I took away from these lectures by Alan Watts is a further insight into this false illusion of Self that I am guilty of attaching to. Is this separation of the Self from the universe a hallucination or are we simply a part of the complex system of relationships that form all life? Are we one?

We all can identify with some form of Self however if it were real wouldn’t it need to exist and if so where? Just like the notion of Self so too is the concept of having a “soul” is an illusion. As far as I am aware, the word soul was originally used to refer to people or beings, but we have come to attach ourselves to an idea that each of us has a soul yet there is no evidence of this. It is an illusion but an illusion that gives us hope and meaning. I suppose there is nothing wrong with that.

I refer to the soul and Self as somewhat the same thing. And I believe, at least at this time, that it is ok to identify and relate to some form of Self if it provides us a deeper sense of happiness.

Where the problem lays is that if we attach ourselves to a particular image of self and this is proven not to be as we thought, what then? Much like having a drink to numb our pain only to find when the intoxication wears off the pain is still there.

Who I am, who I think I am, who I figured I was, seems to be always shifting. I prove this in the way I think, believe and behave. It’s changed and is forever changing. The Self like everything else is impermanent.

I like this thought because it means I can be whoever I want to be. If the Self is an illusion, a perception, a creation then why not create a sense of self that is suitable for the moment. We can. It doesn’t make it any more real, but it may just help to make better use of this time we have. And as this moment gives way to the next perhaps we can let go of this Self-identity and ego to better exist within the next moment.

Just as it’s hard to remove ourselves from the craving of pleasures because of how they make us feel so is it a challenge to remove ourselves from our attachment to a Self. However, we can learn to have more control, and when we are in control rather than being controlled, we are better enabled to create the kind of existence we wish to live.

I loved this book! It has inspired more depth into my thoughts about the Self and also thoughts as to how I can make the most of this life. If suffering is indeed life, I still am with the belief that I can relieve myself of much of this suffering by learning to let go, to stop clinging and I can only do this if I am aware and awake. Teachings like this one from Alan Watts assist me with that.

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If this book sounds of interest you can purchase Out of Your Mind: Tricksters, Interdependence, and the Cosmic Game of Hide and Seek here.

Please leave your thoughts, comments & questions below.

Peace, passion and purpose…

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