Not What Should Be, But What Is

Alan reminds his audience that our mental image of the world is just an internal fairy tale loosely related to the truth of reality. Paying attention to our sensory experiences can therefore help us lift this thought-tainted veil, an action which reveals the magic of being far better than any words ever could.

Lecture
Added 2 days ago
50:00 6,567 13

Understanding the Chaos at History's End

1989

Delivered at the end of McKenna’s first month as scholar-in-residence at Esalen, when he began a new phase in his public speaking career. This weekend workshop provides an early glimpse at Terence’s description of the looming “transcendental object at the end of time,” and the psychedelic insights which led him to become an oracle.

Workshop
Added 4 weeks ago
05:21:23 37,468 13

Modes of Thought

1938

Whitehead believed that reality consisted of organic processes within processes, all interrelated and overlapping. These processes are the basis on which human experience, conscious and otherwise, becomes an ongoing center of integrated and novel freedom. In this collection of lectures he urges us to consider “Importance” as an ultimate notion underlying our impulse to create the various modes and sub-generalities of thought which guide our planning and acting.

Book
Added 7 weeks ago
49,421 42

Imagination in the Light of Nature

1987

Terence claims that “the boundless creativity of the human mind will be tapped into and come to our aid.” His bold statement is followed by an inspirational pep-talk about how miraculous the appearance of consciuosness in this universe is, and what a valuable potential humans represent in future cosmic evolution.

Lecture
Added 7 weeks ago
01:37:04 11,030 13

Turning the Head, or Turning On

1966

Talking to an audience at San José State University, Alan Watts recounts the first time he tried consciousness-altering substances after meeting Aldous Huxley. He argues that Western society largely isn’t ready for the mystical experience which can be triggered in these mental states, but nonetheless advocates for them, as they may arouse positive transformation in the human collectivity.

Lecture
Added 9 weeks ago
53:01 6,321 8

The Next Development in Mankind

1944

This searching examination of human development provides new perspectives on the moral, political, scientific, emotional, and intellectual divisions of our time. A physicist by profession, Whyte looked beyond the boundaries of specialization for creative ways to approach the basic problem facing modern Western civilization: Why are we so competent technically and yet unable to order our own affairs, socially and personally? He takes the reader with him on a journey that is nothing less than a new interpretation of the general development of human consciousness.

Book
Added 9 weeks ago

Crafting Destiny, Exploring the Unknown

2021

Academy Award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey asks Sadhguru about karma, crafting one’s destiny, the connection between yoga and religion, and exploring the unknown. Sadhguru offers insights on how we should not confuse our lifestyle (a consequence of the times we live in) with life, the real thing!

Discussion
Added 12 weeks ago
01:01:13 9,512 22

How I Made Friends With Reality

2018

With her signature wit and wisdom, Emily Levine meets her ultimate challenge as a comedian/philosopher: she makes dying funny. In this personal talk, she takes us on her journey to make friends with reality—and peace with death. Life is an enormous gift, Levine says: You enrich it as best you can, and then you give it back.

Workshop
Added 13 weeks ago
15:42 1,898 1

Thusness

Seminar
Added 18 weeks ago
02:48:48 22,232 18

Clarity of Mind

1973

Delivered at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Lecture
Added 20 weeks ago
44:08 4,304 10

Tao Te Ching

506 B.C.E.

Written more than two thousand years ago, the Tao Te Ching is one of the true classics of spiritual literature. It is a guide to cultivating a life of peace, serenity, and compassion. Through aphorisms and parable, it leads readers toward the Tao, or the “Way”: harmony with the life force of the universe. (This version was translated/interpreted by Stephen Mitchell in 1988.)

Classic Literature
6,523 1 81

Arcology: The City In The Image Of Man

1969

Visionary architect Paolo Soleri challenges us to think of cities as biological entities, and introduces us to a philosophy for a new kind of urban living: the arcology, a city-sized organism designed to exist in harmony with nature. Split into two sections, the book first explains the moral and economic necessity for humanity’s transition to arcological urban landscapes, and proposes that the general purpose of life is aesthetogenesis: the universe progressively complexifying and interconnecting, consciously reshaping itself into compassionate structures. In the second section, Soleri showcases 30 potential arcologies (including one space habitat) through the use of incredibly detailed diagrams, and explains how each was carefully designed to integrate itself economically and ecologically into the world.

Book
42,122 15 22

Cosmic Network

Alan takes us from the very small to the very large, explaining the interrelatedness of all things in the universe as a vast network which weaves us into a united yet unnamable divinity.

Seminar
03:27:08 25,400 24 17

Out Of Your Mind 03: The Web Of Life (Part 1)

Seminar
56:16 6,308 6 16

The Joker

One of Alan’s most popular seminars, and for good reason—in The Joker, listeners will find out why every society needs fools in order to remind itself not to take life so damn seriously.

Seminar
03:08:18 20,436 14 15

Spectrum of Love

1969

Lecture
26:54 3,576 3 15

Out Of Your Mind 02: The Nature of Consciousness (Part 2)

1969

Seminar
01:03:55 8,270 16 14

Do You Do It Or Does It Do You?

Alan explores the meaning of personal free will in the context of core tenets in Eastern mythology: how is it possible to control anything when preexisting conditions outside of our influence determine our present situation? It is a realization of the hidden unity behind our apparent diversity and a relinquishing of obsessive control that enables us to unlock a pathway leading out of the conundrum and towards a celebration and reverence of life.

Seminar
02:37:23 19,089 24 14

Mr. X

1969

Written under the pseudonym Mr. X to avoid the heavy social stigma associated with marijuana consumption at the time, Carl Sagan documented his personal experiences with cannabis in this essay in order to dispel common misconceptions about the drug. It was later published in the 1971 book Marihuana Reconsidered by Lester Grinspoon. Sagan enjoyed cannabis on a regular basis for the rest of his life, but never spoke of it publicly.

Essay
2,946 7 13

Game Theory of Ethics

Is playing the game of life is worth the effort required? Alan turns the question upside-down and investigatates the alternative, allowing us to appreciate the gamble with fate every being takes upon birth.

Lecture
56:03 6,518 14 13