The Library

Man in Universe

1963

The first chapter of the Inventory of World Resources, Human Trends and Needs publication.

Article
Added 6 days ago.
3,805 7

Christmas Sermon on Peace and Nonviolence

1967

The fifth and last lecture of the Massey Lecture series, delivered at King's home church, Ebeneezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.

Sermon
Added 4 weeks ago.
29:02 2,998 4

On Money, Guilt, and The End

A lucid examination of money—exploring topics such as technological automation and universal basic income—the origins of guilt, as well as the question: “Are we going to make it?”

Lecture
Added 5 weeks ago.
51:47 5,998 5

The Noösphere: A Cosmic Network

Alan takes us from the very small to the very large, explaining the interrelatedness of all things in the universe. Then he takes the argument a step further to examine the implications for humanity: how is networking technology reshaping human consciousness?

Lecture
Added 5 weeks ago.
01:40:41 11,942 6

My View of the World

1951

A Nobel prize winner, a great man and a great scientist, Erwin Schrödinger has made his mark in physics, but his eye scans a far wider horizon: here are two stimulating and discursive essays which summarize his philosophical views on the nature of the world. Schrödinger's world view, derived from the Indian writings of the Vedanta, is that there is only a single consciousness of which we are all different aspects. He admits that this view is mystical and metaphysical and incapable of logical deduction. But he also insists that this is true of the belief in an external world capable of influencing the mind and of being influenced by it. Schrödinger's world view leads naturally to a philosophy of reverence for life.

Book
Added 6 weeks ago.
29,735 10

From Mechanistic to Systemic Thinking

1993

Presented at the Systems Thinking in Action conference, Ackoff states that humanity is in the early stage of a transition from the Machine Age to the Systems Age. The Machine Age was characterized by belief in complete understandability of the universe, analysis as a method of inquiry, and cause and effect as a sufficient relationship to explain all. The dilemma that disrupted such beliefs was systems thinking. The Machine Age began to die when humanity gave up the principle of understandability. Gradually, it’s become accepted that there can be no complete understanding of the universe because nothing can be understood independently of its environment—all is environmentally relative. While analysis produces knowledge, it is synthesis that produces understanding. Furthermore, the Systems Age recognizes that cause and effect is just one way of looking at reality among an infinite number.

Lecture
Added 7 weeks ago.
01:12:33 11,260 3

A Weekend with Terence McKenna

1993

Recorded at the Esalen Institute in California.

Lecture
Added 10 weeks ago.
12:09:02 86,239 35

Amherst Press Conference

1971

Mr. Fuller and Maharishi came from different traditions of knowledge, but both talked about the universal basis of life, the individual, and the cosmos.

Discussion
Added 10 weeks ago.
26:05 2,510 1

On Nature and Media: A Dialogue of Effects

1978

Marshall McLuhan explains the effects of accelerating communication speeds on human society.

Lecture
Added 11 weeks ago.
01:51:43 12,421 6

The Medium is the Massage

1967

The Medium is the Massage is Marshall McLuhan’s prophetic perception on life in the age of electronic information, exhibiting his understanding of the power of media long before those in control did. The Medium is the Massage presents some of McLuhan’s most amazing insights and cognitive observations on the global village: the rear-view mirror, the invisible environment, the end of nature, and sensory impact set against the everyday imagery of mass media, consumer goods, the press, advertising, and the arts. Although originally printed in 1967, the art and style in The Medium is the Massage seem as fresh today as in the summer of love, and the ideas are even more resonant now that computer interfaces are becoming gateways to the global village.

Book
Added 11 weeks ago.
7,306 20

Conscious Evolution: Our Next Stage

2015

Presented at the 2015 International Forum on Consciousness, Barbara explored the ideas of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and the possibilty of humanity gradually giving birth to a new planetary-scale consciousness, which she called Homo universalis.

Lecture
Added 14 weeks ago.
01:00:26 7,392 6

The Spirituality of Science

2013

Is science a religion? No... but maybe it should be.

Article
Added 19 weeks ago.
3,756

Be Here Now

1971

This book is a classic text on Hindu spirituality that bloomed open like a lotus flower in the wake of the hippie movement. The seed for this book was planted in the mind of Harvard psychiatrist turned Indian mystic, Ram Dass, and was written—with the blessings of his guru Neem Karoli Baba—for a Western audience who were, for the most part, materially rich but spiritually poor. Be Here Now offers its readers and followers a drug-free alternative for attaining higher states of consciousness, while its simple message to live in the present encourages the pursuit and cultivation of inner peace.

Book
27,972 22 70

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.

Classic Literature
6,523 1 57

A True Materialist Society

Alan presents his argument that the United States—often referred to as the ultimate materialist society—is anything but: it lacks a sincere appreciation for the material world and inadvertently destroys it in an attempt to “live the good life.”

Lecture
01:02:26 7,629 7 23

Trust

Alan Watts asks whether playing the game of life is worth the effort required. The answer is, as always, simple: if you’re going to play the game, commit to it, play it well, and trust yourself to play it well.

Lecture
15:04 1,915 5 18

The Myopic View of the World

In this lecture, Alan Watts argues that we spend most of our life in a sort of myopia; that is, only perceiving a very microscopic subsection of the reality which we occupy. By mentally “zooming out,” humans can begin to see (and enjoy) the marvelous universal dance that has been unfolding since the Big Bang and is expressing itself in and through us at this very moment.

Lecture
54:04 6,980 9 17

The Power of Myth, Part 1: The Hero’s Adventure

1988

Bill Moyers and mythologist Joseph Campbell begin their groundbreaking and timeless conversation with an exploration of the classic hero cycle, including consistent and enduring hero patterns in literature, real life, and even the Star Wars films. Campbell also encourages the audience to view parts of their own lives as heroic journeys.

Television Episode
54:38 7,461 13 13

Arcology: The City In The Image Of Man

1969

In what is considered his magnum opus, visionary architect Paolo Soleri proposed a philosophy for a new kind of urban living: the arcology, a vast city-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 13 12

The Veil of Thoughts (Part 1)

1965

In this seminar, held in Sausalito, Alan describes the ways in which we have concealed truth behind a veil of thoughts. He talks about how and why we mistake symbols for reality, argues that civilization may be a misguided experiment, offers observations about the way in which abstractions have become more powerful than the realities they are referencing, and explains how we can become “unbamboozled” from these ways of thinking.

Lecture
36:45 4,260 5 11

Lecture on Zen

Lecture
5,951 11

Eros and the Eschaton

1994

Delivered in Kane Hall at the University of Washington, Seattle.

Lecture
01:58:21 12,232 6 10

The Tao of Philosophy 1: Slices of Wisdom

Highlights from the "The Love of Wisdom" radio series by Alan Watts

Lecture
25:33 3,395 1 10

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 6 9