The Library of Consciousness
The Library
of Consciousness
of Consciousness
We grow out of this world in exactly the same way that the apples grow on the apple tree.
1965
Ontology is a branch of philosophy concerned with the study of being or existence. Ontology seeks to describe or posit the basic categories and relationships of being or existence to define entities and types of entities within its framework. A key question ontology grapples with is determining what entities and phenomena exist or can be said to exist.
Some key concepts in ontology include universals and particulars. Universals refer to general entities or types of things while particulars refer to concrete individual entities. Other ontological topics look at issues like dependence, composition, identity, properties, space and time. Ontology also intersects with other branches of philosophy like metaphysics and overlaps conceptually with fields such as semantics in linguistics. Its study helps frame philosophical questions about the nature of reality and existence through systematic conceptualization. While controversial, ontology provides a structured conceptual foundation to analyze assumptions about what is in theoretical terms.
A Beautiful Loop
An Active Inference Theory of Consciousness
Laukkonen and Chandaria propose that consciousness arises from a recursive brain process involving three key elements: a reality model, competitive inferences reducing uncertainty, and a self-aware feedback loop. This framework explains various states of awareness, including meditation, psychedelic experiences, and minimal consciousness. It also offers insights into artificial intelligence by connecting awareness to self-reinforcing predictions. The authors’ theory suggests that consciousness emerges when the brain’s reality model becomes self-referential, creating a “knowing itself” phenomenon. This recursive process underlies different levels of conscious experience and potentially informs AI development.
A Calendar for the Goddess
(Ecology of Souls)
Beginning with a comparison of reason and logic to intuition, Terence works his way towards exploring the idea of a purposeful goal in the universe which evolution is progressing towards, and humanity's role in this journey. Next, in a nod to the solstice which occurred at the time of the lecture, he plays with the idea of a precessional calendar and argues that it would remind us of the one constant in life, which is flux. Q&A topics include future social myths, morphogenesis, globalization, and psychedelic encounters with the dead.
A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace
A widely distributed early paper on the applicability (or lack thereof) of government on the rapidly growing Internet. Commissioned for the pioneering Internet project 24 Hours in Cyberspace, it was written by John Perry Barlow, a founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and published online. It was written primarily in response to the passing into law of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 in the United States. The audio recording of Barlow reading the Declaration was made in 2013 by the Department of Records.
A Note on Progress
A cosmic battle rages between those who proclaim “We are moving!” and the immobilists who insist “Nothing changes.” Pierre Teilhard de Chardin passionately argues that the universe progresses through mankind’s collective evolution of consciousness. For him, Christianity’s future lies in recognizing this biological genesis unfolding—the cosmos physically realizing its psychic fulfillment through humanity striving to form one united Body of Christ.
A Symbiotic View of Life
We Have Never Been Individuals
For animals, as well as plants, there have never been individuals. This new paradigm for biology asks new questions and seeks new relationships among the different living entities on Earth. We are all lichens.
A Weekend with Terence McKenna
“Healing the inner elf through trance, dance, and diet”—the session for true McKenna enthusiasts: twelve hours with the bard himself, in which he touches upon practically all of his trademark topics.
Accent on Form
According to Whyte, the next major advance in science will consist in the use of formal principles, meaning concerned with spatial form, as contrasted with individual constituent parts. This theme is developed in a crescendo from atoms to the creative power of the human intellect with disarming eloquence and elegance, with frequent taunts agsint the neglect of formal and formative principles in present-day science.
Adventures of Ideas
A mind-bending odyssey through the realms of human thought and civilization, Whitehead’s Adventures of Ideas dissects the evolution of ideas, from ancient Greece to modern times, unveiling the intricate tapestry of philosophical concepts that shape our world. He unravels the interplay between science, philosophy, and culture, challenging readers to embark on an intellectual adventure like no other.
Appreciating Imagination
Join Terence McKenna in this weekend workshop as he takes us on an imaginative journey into the depths of human creativity. He explores psychedelics, virtual worlds, and shamanic states of consciousness, saying how an embrace of our imagination allows us to envision and manifest alternate realities beyond cultural conditioning. By cultivating our creative faculties with mathematical reasoning, intuition, and immersion in nature, he guides us toward transcending ideological limits into an enlightened future of compassion. Ultimately, breaking boundaries through the power of imagination will inspire us to reach new heights of understanding and connectivity.
At Home in the Universe
At Home in the Universe explores the profound role of human consciousness in the shaping of reality. Wheeler delves into quantum physics, cosmology, and philosophy, proposing that observers play a critical part in the universe's existence. He introduces ideas like "participatory anthropic principle" and "it from bit," suggesting that reality is information-based and that the act of observation helps bring the universe into being. The book blends science with deep philosophical inquiry.
Awakening to Archaic Values
A weekend workshop in which Terence encourages humanity to return to harmonic habits which have been lost in the tide of time.
Beat Zen, Square Zen, and Zen
A classic essay on the many ways in which Western cultures have misunderstood and misapplied the essence of this profound and subtle understanding of life. Provides a core understanding of what Zen isn’t, which significantly contributes to an appreciation of the value of Zen in one’s life. A short but highly rewarding read.
Buddhism as Dialogue
Zen: the art of catching yourself in a cosmic game of tag! Watts unveils how Zen masters craftily set up double-binds, pushing seekers to chase their tails in pursuit of authenticity. It’s a merry-go-round of “be spontaneous!” and “don’t try!” until—pop!—the illusion of a separate self bursts like a soap bubble. In this whimsical dance of paradoxes, Watts reveals that the ultimate punchline of Zen is realizing there was never anyone there to get the joke in the first place!
Clarity of Mind
Watts reveals a simple truth to his audience at the University of California: the mind's incessant chatter is the root of all that ails a mortal's soul. By silencing its din one can get to know life's mystery.
Cloud-Hidden, Whereabouts Unknown
A Mountain Journal
Over the course of nineteen essays, Alan Watts ruminates on the philosophy of nature, ecology, aesthetics, religion, and metaphysics. Assembled in the form of a mountain journal, written during a retreat in the foothills of Mount Tamalpais in California, Cloud-Hidden, Whereabouts Unknown is Watts’ meditation on the art of feeling out and following the watercourse way of nature, known in Chinese as the Tao. Embracing a form of contemplative meditation that allows us to stop analyzing our experiences and start living into them, the book explores themes such as the natural world, established religion, race relations, karma and reincarnation, astrology and tantric yoga, the nature of ecstasy, and much more.
Collective Intelligence
Mankind's Emerging World in Cyberspace
The number of travelers along the information superhighway is increasing at a rate of ten percent a month. How will this communications revolution affect our culture and society? Though awed by their potential, we’ve feared computers as agents of the further alienation of modern man: they take away our jobs, minimize direct human contact, even shake our faith in the unique power of the human brain. Pierre Lévy believes, however, that rather than creating a society where machines rule man, the technology of cyberspace will have a humanizing influence on us, and foster the emergence of a “collective intelligence”—a meeting of minds on the Internet—that will validate the contributions of the individual.
Consciousness and Rhythm
This seminar explores consciousness as an intrinsic rhythmic interplay with reality. Watts challenges notions of separateness, asserting that individuals are not detached witnesses, but instead fundamentally unified with the cosmos. He encourages transcending ego and dualistic thinking to harmonize with the underlying patterns and dance that all differentiated experiences, including our own being, arise from. The goal is realizing our inherent interconnectedness with the seamless whole.
Contemplative Ritual
Alan Watts critiques sermonizing verbosity and champions contemplative rituals as paths to oneness with cosmic energy. Casting aside guilt and intellect, he beckons participants to listen, breathe, and hum into profound awareness. Meditation, he says, isn’t about effort but about letting thought dissolve into silence. Through sound, breath, and presence, he invites all to transcend ego and words, glimpsing the eternal present—a hymn to the harmony of self and cosmos.
Cosmic Consciousness
A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind
Cosmic Consciousness explores the profound, transformative experience of heightened awareness that transcends ordinary perception. Richard Bucke reveals glimpses of a deeper, universal truth, where time and space dissolve, and individuals feel a deep connection to all of existence. Those who attain this state are filled with peace, love, and enlightenment, moving beyond the self to embrace the infinite. He offers hope that humanity’s evolution may one day lead to a collective awakening, unlocking boundless potential for spiritual growth and unity.
DMT and Integrated Information Theory
Neuroscientist Christof Koch’s 5-MeO-DMT experience, marked by self-dissolution and “terror and ecstasy,” sparks a deep discussion on consciousness, Integrated Information Theory (IIT), and reality. IIT suggests consciousness is non-computable and may exist beyond individual brains, potentially forming higher-order minds. Koch inquires whether his psychedelic journey was a mere brain state or a glimpse into a universal mind.
Developing an Inclusive Consicousness
Renowned yogi, mystic, and visionary humanitarian Sadhguru addresses points and concerns around inclusiveness raised by a panel of VPs and Google employees, explaining how individuals can create a quality of inclusiveness within themselves. By elaborating how such an attitude can impact our work places, homes, and communities, he provides practical thoughts and tools to create a more inclusive consciousness—the most important aspect that’s needed in the world today.
Diamond Way
Watts beckons us to peer past the veil, where remembering and forgetting engage in a cosmic dance. Traverse the paradoxical streams of jiriki and tariki, self-power and other-power, until the very concept of “I” dissolves like a dewtopped lotus. Prepare to be unshackled and uninhibited, for in the quest for nothingness lies the quintessence of everythingness.
Man and Nature
Eastern Wisdom and Modern Life (Episode 1)
Alan Watts speaks on the contrast between classical Chinese and historic Western attitudes in regard to man's place in nature. Do we see ourselves as nature's conquerors or collaborators?
Things and Thinks
Eastern Wisdom and Modern Life (Episode 2)
Alan Watts presents an explanation of the East Indian idea of māyā: the division of the world into separate things and events is a work of human thought and not a fact of nature. Watts examines the disastrous consequences of confusing thought with fact.
Time
Eastern Wisdom and Modern Life (Episode 3)
This program looks at the East Indian concept of time and the illusion of living for the future as the tomorrow that never comes. Plans for the future are only useful for those able to live fully in the present.
The Void
Eastern Wisdom and Modern Life (Episode 4)
Buddhism symbolizes its basic spiritual experience as a void, but Alan Watts explains this must not be taken literally. Watts explores the void as a symbol of freedom and of a world feeling which can be described poetically though not logically as the "absolute rightness" of every moment.
The Silent Mind
Eastern Wisdom and Modern Life (Episode 5)
One who talks all the time can never hear what others say. And one who thinks all the time has nothing to think about except thoughts. Alan Watts examines the value of silent-mindedness or the practice of meditation in Hinduism and Buddhism.
On Death
Eastern Wisdom and Modern Life (Episode 6)
Alan Watts explores Buddhist ideas of the value of death as the great renovator, including the Wheel of Life, and the idea of reincarnation as it is understood by philosophical Buddhists.
On Being Vague
Eastern Wisdom and Modern Life (Episode 11)
The idea of clear-cut "definiteness" reflects as a sharp and somewhat hostile attitude to life. In this talk, Alan Watts shows the value of the vague and gentle approach reflected in Far Eastern poetry and painting.
Zen in Fencing and Judo
Eastern Wisdom and Modern Life (Episode 17)
A demonstration how the Taoist influence in Aikido and Judo also influenced swordsmanship.
Buddhism and Christianity
Eastern Wisdom and Modern Life (Episode 18)
Watts brings his expertise to bear in this presentation of Mahayana Buddhist and traditional Christian world views (he was once an Episcopal priest), and how to bring the two together.
Elements of a Philosophy of Technology
On the Evolutionary History of Culture
A visionary study of the human body and its relationship with the world that surrounds it. At the book’s core is the concept of “organ projection”: the notion that humans use technology in an effort to project their organs to the outside, to be understood as “the soul apparently stepping out of the body in the form of a sending-out of mental qualities” into the world of artifacts. Kapp applies this theory of organ projection to various areas of the material world—the axe externalizes the arm, the lens the eye, the telegraphic system the neural network. From the first tools to acoustic instruments, from architecture to the steam engine and the mechanic routes of the railway, Kapp’s analysis shifts from “simple” tools to more complex network technologies to examine the projection of relations. What emerges from Kapp’s prophetic work is nothing less than the early elements of a cybernetic paradigm.
God
Essential Lectures, Program 4
To many of us the image of God as a gray-bearded omnipotent and omnipresent supreme being has become implausible, yet the common sense notions of divine authority surrounding that image persist.
Time
Essential Lectures, Program 6
Here Alan Watts points out that our insistence that the past determines the present is nonsensical.
Death
Essential Lectures, Program 8
Alan Watts comments on the circle of life and our response to the surprising event of being born in the first place.
Conversation with Myself
Essential Lectures, Program 12
While walking in a field above Muir Woods, Alan Watts points to humankind's attempts to straighten out a wiggly world as the root of our ecological crisis.
Following the Middle Way
Awaken and find peace. Alan illuminates the path out of suffering with Buddhist philosophy as our guide. Through practicing the Noble Eightfold Path of skillful understanding, action, meditation, and concentration, we walk the Middle Way to freedom from clinging and awaken to our interconnected nature.
Four Ways to the Center
Can an ego overcome egocentrism? Can a self become selfless? Is there even any value in this pursuit, and if so, how should one approach it? Through renunciation and repentance, or through acceptance and merging into it? Many consciousnesses encounter this conundrum on the brisk seas of being, and Alan invites us to take a closer look at our so-called individuality.
From Being to Becoming
Time and Complexity in the Physical Sciences
How has order emerged from chaos? In this book, intended for the general reader with some background in physical chemistry and thermodynamics, Ilya Prigogine shows how systems far from equilibrium evolve elaborate structures: patterns of circulation in the atmosphere, formation and propagation of chemical waves, the aggregation of single-celled animals. In an effort to understand these phenomena, he explores the philosophical implications of the work for which he received the 1977 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. From Being to Becoming explains how order can develop and offers a new approach to the asymmetry between past and future—the irreversibility of time. Prigogine presents an evolving rather than static world. This imaginative work is sure to arouse controversy and may change the way that the reader sees the laws of science and the world that those laws seek to explain.
Future of Communications
Part 1
Our seeming separation is but a trick of the light, for in truth we are all one, connected like dewdrops on a spider's web. As technology traverses the illusory distance between us, it leads us back to the recognition of our inherent unity. Communication, once imagined as bridges between islands, dissolves as we awaken to find ourselves a sea; not separate, but an oceanic communion. We return home.
Future of Communications
Part 2
Watts suggests that the essence of communication lies not in its content, but in its style—a joyous dance akin to music. He argues that the seemingly irrelevant and meaningless aspects of life, so cherished by children, may hold the key to true wisdom. By embracing the absurdity and spontaneity of existence, we can rediscover the art of living and find delight in the grand cosmic play.
Gödel, Escher, Bach
An Eternal Golden Braid
By exploring common themes in the lives and works of logician Kurt Gödel, artist M. C. Escher and composer Johann Sebastian Bach, this book expounds concepts fundamental to mathematics, symmetry, and intelligence. Through illustration and analysis, the book discusses how self-reference and formal rules allow systems to acquire meaning despite being made of 'meaningless' elements. It also discusses what it means to communicate, how knowledge can be represented and stored, the methods and limitations of symbolic representation, and even the fundamental notion of 'meaning' itself.
Hard Problem of Consciousness
Philosopher David Chalmers on the combination problem, dualism, and panpsychism.
Having Archaic and Eating it Too
Feeding back to the psychedelic community of Los Angeles, Terence McKenna delivers colorful and astounding visual transformations. He weaves a galactic tapestry of art-tickled articulations of the history and future of psychedelic alchemy, the government/culture clash, and the surging general ordering of chaos from UFOs to archaic shamanism. This recording will amuse anyone interested in subjects ranging from eco-tourism to techno-junkies.
Homo Deus
A Brief History of Tomorrow
Yuval Noah Harari envisions a not-too-distant world in which we face a new set of challenges. He examines our future with his trademark blend of science, history, philosophy, and every discipline in between. Homo Deus explores the projects, dreams and nightmares that will shape the twenty-first century—from overcoming death to creating artificial life. It asks the fundamental questions: Where do we go from here? And how will we protect this fragile world from our own destructive powers? This is the next stage of evolution.
How to Grow Old
In this essay (written for his book Portraits From Memory And Other Essays), Russell uses his logical thinking to lay out his advice for achieving a successful old age.
I Am A Strange Loop
Douglas Hofstadter examines in depth the concept of a strange loop to explain the sense of "I".
I Am That
In the heart of Mumbai’s bustling streets, a humble beedi shop owner named Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj delved deeply into the nature of existence, emerging with profound insights that have since captivated spiritual seekers worldwide. I Am That is a collection of his dialogues, where complex metaphysical concepts are unraveled with startling clarity and simplicity. Through conversations steeped in Advaita Vedanta, Maharaj guides readers beyond the illusion of individuality to the realization of their true, unbounded self. Each page invites you to question, reflect, and ultimately transcend the confines of the mind, offering not just philosophical musings, but a transformative experience that promises to change the very way you perceive reality. If you're seeking a profound spiritual awakening, I Am That is not just a book—it's a portal to understanding your true nature.
In Search of the Original Tree of Knowledge
Terence shares his “Stoned Ape” theory—that psilocybin mushrooms drove human evolution by enhancing cognition and fostering social cohesion. He explores psychedelics’ power to dissolve the ego, open the Gaian mind, and guide us towards transcendence. McKenna also delves into the fractals of time, the Santa Claus-Amanita connection, and the radical implications of his Timewave Zero theory. A captivating look at psychedelics, consciousness, and the mysteries of the universe!
In the Valley of Novelty
Journeying through multiple dimensions of psychedelic consciousness, Terence McKenna's visionary weekend workshop invites us on an entheogenic voyage to the frontiers of the mind and its imminent conquering of matter. Blending scientific insights with shamanic wisdom, McKenna argues that natural plant medicines like psilocybin and DMT provide portals into mystical realms and alien dimensions, catalyzing revelations about nature, reality, and the human psyche. He urges us to courageously explore these consciousness-expanding substances, seeking the gratuitous beauty and truths they unveil. For McKenna, the psychedelic experience holds secrets to our world and ourselves—if only we dare lift the veil.
Inner Perspective
Ernst Mach's illustration of the subjective visual experience.
Interview with John Hazard
Terence McKenna describes Novelty Theory to director John Hazard with an elaboration of its core principles involving hyper-complexification and the compression of time. He holds forth on the correspondences between the structure of the DNA molecule and the Chinese I-Ching, then shows how his notion of an archaic revival leads from the theories of mind and the art movements of the early twentieth century to the shaman as the quintessential figure of the twenty-first century, with psychedelic substances being the bridge between these worldviews.
Life and the Planets
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin explores the concept of complexification in the universe, focusing on the ever-increasing combination of smaller elements into larger structures, and then extrapolates this behavior to humanity's current situation. What if the human species is an intermediary evolutionary stage, and what would the next rung on the ladder look like? Teilhard suggests that it will involve the merging-together of all humanity into a divine, planetized consciousness.
Light of the Third Millennium
Speaking at the Whole Life Expo in Palmer Auditorium, Terence says our task is to surf the accelerating wave of novelty to dissolve cultural delusions. Psychedelics and technology can download new perspectives, stripping away outdated assumptions. Through imagination, language, and art we can meet the eschaton: the transcendental object at the end of time. Our task is liberate ourselves, take responsibility for our ideas, make visionary art, and find community without fear.
Limits of Art and Edges of Science
Terence McKenna proposes a radical view of history as a self-limiting process, driven by an attractor pulling us toward a transcendent, alien encounter that will transform human experience. He advocates the transformative power of psychedelics to unlock our collective potential, urging a forced evolution of language and consciousness to navigate the looming collapse of civilization and embrace the cosmic destiny of our species.
Linear Societies and Nonlinear Drugs
Speaking on the first day of the 1999 Palenque Entheobotany Conference at the Chan Kha Hotel, Terence McKenna probes the mind-blowing philosophical revelations of psychedelics. He contends these consciousness-expanding substances can shatter Western rationality, unveiling mystical realities beyond mainstream paradigms. Psychedelics may hold the key to reimagining society's connection with nature and technology. McKenna passionately argues these drugs can catalyze new ways of thinking, fueling an intellectual revolution to change the world.
Macrocognition
A Theory of Distributed Minds and Collective Intentionality
Bryce Huebner develops a novel approach to distributed cognition and collective intentionality, arguing that genuine cognition requires the capacity for flexible, goal-directed behavior enabled by integrated representational systems. It posits that collective mentality should be ascribed where specialized subroutines are integrated to yield group-relevant, goal-directed behavior. The approach reveals that there are many kinds of collective minds, some more akin to those of honeybees or cats than humans. It challenges traditional notions of collective intentionality, suggesting that groups are unlikely to be "believers" in the fullest sense, shedding new light on questions of collective intentionality and responsibility.
Man and Nature in Chinese Philosophy
For the Chinese, particularly Taoists, nature isn’t something to conquer—it’s something we’re inseparable from. While Westerners see the world as a construction needing explanation (who built it?), the Chinese view it as a spontaneous process, like a ship creating its wake. We mistakenly think the wake moves the ship, just as we think the past controls the present. But nature, including human nature, flows by itself—no builder required! Our challenge isn’t controlling it, but learning when to let go.
Matter and Consciousness
A Contemporary Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind
In Matter and Consciousness, Paul Churchland clearly presents the advantages and disadvantages of such difficult issues in philosophy of mind as behaviorism, reductive materialism, functionalism, and eliminative materialism. Churchland organizes and clarifies the new theoretical and experimental results of the natural sciences for a wider philosophical audience, observing that this research bears directly on questions concerning the basic elements of cognitive activity and their implementation in real physical systems. (How is it, he asks, that living creatures perform some cognitive tasks so swiftly and easily, where computers do them only badly or not at all?) Most significant for philosophy, Churchland asserts, is the support these results tend to give to thereductive and the eliminative versions of materialism.
Metamorphosis
Join McKenna, Sheldrake, and Abraham on an imaginative journey into nature's creativity. Surfing the chaotic waters of psychedelic states, they catch glimpses of the Gaian mind behind Earth's being. Here, in imaginal realms beyond rationale, novelty is born. By relinquishing egoic control and surrendering to an unknowable creative force, we tap into the divine imagination—the eternal wellspring of nature's endless becomings. Immersing ourselves in this flow, we reunite with the cosmic creative essence.
Mind over Mind
Alan unravels the myth of self-improvement through willpower alone and exposes the fruitlessness of exerting control over one's own mind. He points to another way: let go of straining, soften your grasp of yourself, and watch experience unfold with impartial awareness. In releasing the fantasy of domination, he says, our natural essence emerges freely. A thought-provoking exploration of the boundaries of self-mastery and the grace of acceptance.
Mr. X
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.
On Self-Organizing Systems and Their Environments
An adaptation of an address given at The Interdisciplinary Symposium on Self-Organizing Systems in Chicago, Illinois. Von Förster argues self-organizing systems don't exist in isolation but require an environment to draw energy and order from. He defines measures of order and mechanisms whereby order arises, including via internal "demons" that decrease system entropy and external "demons" that increase maximum possible entropy. Overall, some noise helps systems remain adaptable.
The Nature of Consciousness (Part 1)
Out of Your Mind 1
A seminar about “what there is.” Watts weaves together keen insights from science and spirituality to propose that existence is more like a game of hide-and-seek where we pretend not to recognize how self and other are interconnected.
The Nature of Consciousness (Part 2)
Out of Your Mind 2
Alan Watts suggests the sole identity with our egoic thoughts limits our consciousness, and that existence is an interdependent web in which consciousness plays a game of pretending to be separate. We must recognize the fundamental unity of self and world; that consciousness encompasses all experience. He provides various techniques aimed at dissolving illusory boundaries of the ego. Watts maintains that enlightenment requires no striving, since we already live in eternal presence and are manifestations of the divine reality, pretending forgetfulness for the adventure of self-discovery.
The World As Self (Part 2)
Out of Your Mind 10
The journey of self-realization follows the winding path inward, to the place where you already are. As the egoic illusion falls away, the universe unveils your true face. Trust in the guru's skillful means, which trick the mind into its own liberation. Embrace each stage of life with sincerity, not forcing but allowing insight to dawn in its own time. Know yourself to be That, the eternal Self of all that is.
Physics of Life, Time, Complexity, and Aliens
Sara Walker and Lex Fridman explore life’s grand mysteries, touching on the nature of existence and the origins of life to the potential of artificial intelligence and the future of consciousness. Walker’s unique perspective challenges conventional wisdom, inviting us to reconsider our place in the cosmic dance.
Polar Thinking
This talk explores how Zen flips everything on its head—it creates religion by abandoning it, finds the sacred in the ordinary, and sees the whole universe in simple things like a fan or bamboo painted in the corner of a page. It’s about discovering freedom through discipline and wisdom through jokes, where every small moment contains everything else.
Power of Space
Weaving connections between Eastern thought and modern science, Alan Watts explores the wonder of space. For him, space is no mere emptiness but a cosmic tapestry integral to existence. He draws parallels between space and the Buddhist void, seeing both as the interwoven ground of being that allows consciousness to emerge.
Pursuit of Pleasure
Where does pleasure come from? What are we trying to achieve in our frantic day-to-day activities? Why are we in such a hurry? And why do all of our efforts to pin the universe down and bring it under our control dial up the misery?
Reasons and Persons
Challenging with several powerful arguments some of our deepest beliefs about rationality, morality, and personal identity, Parfit claims that we have a false view about our own nature. It is often rational to act against our own best interests, he argues, and most of us have moral views that are self-defeating. We often act wrongly, although we know there will be no one with serious grounds for complaint, and when we consider future generations it is very hard to avoid conclusions that most of us will find very disturbing.
Reviving the Archaic
A New View of Evolution
Terence McKenna unveils an “archaic revival” that could save humanity and our planet. He makes the controversial claim that psychedelic plants catalyzed the emergence of human consciousness, language, and our fertile imaginations eons ago. McKenna advocates reviving the shamanic practices and partnership values of our prehistoric ancestors to transcend the isolated ego and re-establish a symbiotic relationship with nature’s “great piece of integrated linguistic machinery.” His boundary-dissolving ideas shatter conventional thinking about our past, present, and the transformative possibilities for our collective future.
Seeing Through The Illusion
Ram Dass reveals how our senses and thoughts dupe us about the essence of reality. By liberating our consciousness from clinging to the body and mind, we can plunge into the primal energy coursing through all form. This raw perception exposes our supposed detached self as a fantasy.
State of the Stone
In this talk, McKenna gives one of his more hopeful presentations about love and the state of humanity at the end of the millenium.
Steps to an Ecology of Mind
Here is the book which develops a new way of thinking about the nature of order and organization in living systems, a unified body of theory so encompassing that it illuminates all particular areas of study of biology and behavior. It is interdisciplinary, not in the usual and simple sense of exchanging information across lines of discipline, but in discovering patterns common to many disciplines.
Still the Mind
Here Alan explores meditation and finding inner peace through watching your breath, chanting nonsense syllables, and generally chilling out. No goals, no force, just be. Let things flow through you. Some far-out stuff for sure, but Alan's as sincere as they come. Give it a listen if you're seeking something deeper.
Swimming Headless
Watts explores the Taoist concept of Te, or virtue, as a kind of natural excellence arising when one lives in harmony with the Tao. He examines how this spontaneous virtue contrasts with contrived virtue, relating it to wu wei and the power that comes from flowing with rather than against the river of existence.
Talk on Non-Self (Anattā)
Ajahn Brahm uses the metaphor of a lotus flower to describe the path of meditation leading to enlightenment. He guides the listener inward, petal by petal, until reaching the very heart—the ultimate truth of non-self and emptiness. With his characteristic wit and wisdom, he reveals how all phenomena are impermanent processes devoid of a permanent essence. Though initially confronting, Brahm suggests this teaching contains the song of freedom itself, destined to liberate those who have heard it.
Taoist Way
This talk explores the Taoist philosophy of living fully in the present moment without attachment to the past or future. According to Watts, following the Tao involves acting spontaneously and effortlessly without forcing, appreciating the interconnected nature of all things, and seeing through illusions of the ego and continuity of self across time. The goal is to experience each instant purely without getting caught up in intellectualizations.
TechGnosis
Myth, Magic, and Mysticism in the Age of Information
How does our fascination with technology intersect with the religious imagination? While the realms of the digital and the spiritual may seem worlds apart, esoteric and religious impulses have in fact always permeated (and sometimes inspired) technological communication. Erik Davis uncovers startling connections between such seemingly disparate topics as electricity and alchemy; online role-playing games and religious and occult practices; virtual reality and gnostic mythology; programming languages and Kabbalah. The final chapters address the apocalyptic dreams that haunt technology, providing vital historical context as well as new ways to think about a future defined by the mutant intermingling of mind and machine, nightmare and fantasy.
The Anthropic Cosmological Principle
Since Copernicus, science has moved humanity from the center of Creation. However, The Anthropic Cosmological Principle suggests that intelligent observers determine the Universe’s structure. Its radical form asserts that intelligent life must emerge and never die out. Cosmologists John Barrow and Frank Tipler explore the Principle’s implications, from the definition of life to quantum theory. Covering fields like philosophy and astrophysics, this work connects the existence of life with the vast cosmos, engaging a broad audience.
The Archaic Revival
Speculations on Psychedelic Mushrooms, the Amazon, Virtual Reality, UFOs, Evolution, Shamanism, the Rebirth of the Goddess, and the End of History
In these essays, interviews, and narrative adventures, McKenna takes us on a mesmerizing journey deep into the Amazon as well as into the hidden recesses of the human psyche and the outer limits of our culture, giving us startling visions of the past and future.
The Atomism of Spirit
Teilhard de Chardin argues that human plurality mirrors the multiplicity of atoms and stars. Just as matter progresses in complexity from subatomic particles to living cells, so consciousness evolves through increasing unification, culminating in the “Omega point”—supreme consciousness and union.
The Birth of a New Humanity
Terence McKenna explored themes of accelerating complexity, impending radical shifts in human reality, and the continuity between our changing relationship with Earth and a new cosmic modality transcending our fragile ecosystem. He posited history as a self-limiting 25,000-year process reaching its climax, suggesting individual acts of “midwifery” can ease this epochal transition. He also cautioned about combining psychoactive compounds without proper expertise.
The Book
On The Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are
At the root of human conflict is our fundamental misunderstanding of who we are. The illusion that we are isolated beings, unconnected to the rest of the universe, has led us to view the “outside” world with hostility, and has fueled our misuse of technology and our violent and hostile subjugation of the natural world. In The Book, philosopher Alan Watts provides us with a much-needed answer to the problem of personal identity, distilling and adapting the ancient Hindu philosophy of Vedanta to help us understand that the self is in fact the root and ground of the universe. In this mind-opening and revelatory work, Watts has crafted a primer on what it means to be human—and a manual of initiation into the central mystery of existence.
The Edge Runner
A presentation revolving around the question: what is going on in the universe? Special emphasis is given to the human condition, the accelerating complexification of the cosmos, and options for the human collectivity as it faces the future.
The Individual as Man/World
Originally delivered as an impromptu lecture for the Social Relations Colloquium at Harvard University, this essay explores incompatible views of human identity—are we free agents or passive products of external forces? Watts argues we should see ourselves not as isolated egos nor as puppets, but as interdependent “organism-environment fields,” inseparable from our context. This view, he suggests, could bring science and subjective experience into alignment.
The Meaning of Happiness
The Quest for Freedom of the Spirit in Modern Psychology and the Wisdom of the East
Deep down, most people think that happiness comes from having or doing something. Here, Alan Watts offers a more challenging thesis: authentic happiness comes from embracing life as a whole in all its contradictions and paradoxes, an attitude he calls the “way of acceptance.” Drawing on Eastern philosophy, Western mysticism, and analytic psychology, Watts demonstrates that happiness comes from accepting both the outer world around us and the inner world inside us—the unconscious mind, with its irrational desires, lurking beyond the awareness of the ego. Although written early in his career, The Meaning of Happiness displays the hallmarks of his mature style: the crystal-clear writing, the homespun analogies, the dry wit, and the breadth of knowledge that made Alan Watts one of the most influential philosophers of his generation.
The Natural State, Part IV
U.G. Krishnamurti emphatically denies the existence of self, spirit or mind, asserting that only the physical body and natural world exist. He states all human experience and understanding derives from acquired knowledge, not direct perception, and attempts to free oneself through spiritual or intellectual means are futile, as thought itself is a product of the conditioned mechanism. Krishnamurti advocates leaving the body's natural functioning alone, without interference from the conceptualizing mind.
The Phenomenon of Life
The Nature of Order, Volume 1
Christopher Alexander examines why certain built environments possess more “life” than others. Central to his theory is the concept of “centers”—distinct, coherent parts within a larger whole that influence each other’s intensity. He argues that life can be objectively sensed and measured, supported by 15 fundamental geometric properties found in nature and traditional architecture. Alexander contends that these properties, which foster human well-being, have largely vanished in modern design, impacting our connection to built spaces.
The Old and the New Vision
Herbert Günther reveals how ancient Tibetan Buddhist texts offer insights into consciousness that parallel modern scientific discoveries. The Tibetans viewed humans not as isolated beings, but as expressions of universal intelligence, describing three levels: the physical body, an experiential “phantom-like” body, and a mysterious deep structure. Their texts suggest that the universe itself is conducting a grand experiment through human consciousness—playfully creating new possibilities and evolving toward higher forms of order.
The Omega Point as Eschaton
Answers to Pannenberg's Questions for Scientists
Frank Tipler presents an outline of the Omega Point theory, which is a model for an omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, evolving, personal God who is both transcendent to spacetime and immanent in it, and who exists necessarily. The model is a falsifiable physical theory, deriving its key concepts not from any religious tradition but from modern physical cosmology and computer science; from scientific materialism rather than revelation. Four testable predictions of the model are given. The theory assumes that thinking is a purely physical process of the brain, and that personality dies with the brain. Nevertheless, he shows that the Omega Point theory suggests a future universal resurrection of the dead very similar to the one predicted in the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition. The notions of “grace” and the “beatific vision” appear naturally in the model.
The Message of the Myth
The Power of Myth, Part 2
Bill Moyers and mythologist Joseph Campbell compare creation myths from the Bible and elsewhere, and talk about how religions and mythologies need to change with time in order to maintain their relevance in peoples’ lives.
The Primacy of Direct Experience
In this, the closing session of a June 1994 workshop, Terence McKenna tells us directly what he thinks this human life is actually about: the primacy of direct experience; a focus on the present-at-hand.
The Psychedelic Experience
Alan says psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin can provide religious insight, but should be used with spiritual discipline to integrate the mystical experience into everyday life. He critiques psychiatry’s lack of metaphysical grounding and calls for medical and religious professionals to work together on psychedelics. Watts emphasizes psychedelics’ potential as a bridge between mystical and ordinary consciousness, while warning against spiritual inflation or romanticizing substances. Overall he presents a balanced perspective, exploring psychedelics as tools for self-knowledge that require wisdom in application.
The Psychedelic Explosion
Alan talks about the upcoming revolution in which Western society will have to come to grips with the existence of the psychedelic/mystical experience, and how to integrate it into our culture in a productive, fulfilling, and responsible manner. Included are personal recollections of DMT and LSD trips experienced by Watts himself, why the utilization of psychedelic drugs should be seen as a tool, his vision of a psychedelic campus for guided mystical experiences, and why prohibition is doomed to failure.
The Religion of Man
The Religion of Man is a compilation of lectures by Rabindranath Tagore, edited by him and drawn largely from his Hibbert Lectures given at Oxford University. A Brahmo playwright and poet of global renown, Tagore deals with the universal themes of God, divine experience, illumination, and spirituality.
The Smell of Burnt Almonds
Watts recounts a woman's experience of mystical insight under anesthesia and her yearning to regain it. He suggests not seeking the experience, but realizing one's ordinary state is still part of the universal harmony glimpsed then. Like the disciple who ignored the mahout's warning because all is Brahman, we should heed our present feelings too as part of the whole.
The Supreme Identity
An Essay on Oriental Metaphysic and the Christian Religion
One of the most influential of Alan Watts’s early works, The Supreme Identity examines the reality of civilization’s deteriorated spiritual state and offers solutions through a rigorous theological discussion on Eastern metaphysic and the Christian religion. By examining the minute details of theological issues, Watts challenges readers to reassess the essences of religions that before seemed so familiar and to perceive Vedantic “oneness” as a meeting ground of all things—“good” and “evil.” In addressing how religious institutions fail to provide the wisdom or power necessary to cope with the modern condition, Watts confidently seeks the truth of the human existence and the divine continuum.
Images of God
The Tao of Philosophy 2
Alan Watts talks on the impact of various models of the ultimate reality, and the contrasts between male and female symbolism.
Coincidence of Opposites
The Tao of Philosophy 3
Alan Watts explains the sense in nonsense and how to enjoy the playfulness of life while sincerely participating in the human game.
Seeing Through the Net
The Tao of Philosophy 4
In a talk given to the IBM Systems Group, Alan Watts describes the wiggly world of nature and the net we cast over it.
Symbols and Meaning
The Tao of Philosophy 7
Alan Watts joyfully upends assumptions about reality, using wit and wisdom to reveal how existence is a dazzling, musical mystery beyond language—not a problem to be solved but an unfolding to be experienced.
The Ultimate Unity for Thought is the Society of Minds
This lofty philosophical treatise passionately argues that the pinnacle of thought and being is a divine society of free spirits in fellowship, whose joyful self-realization through mutual service and growth comprises the final purpose of all creation. Our supreme hope is participation in this Community of Minds.
The Watcher, the Knower, the Spirit Self
Swami Sarvapriyananda discusses the Advaita Vedanta understanding of consciousness, which sees it as the fundamental, non-dual reality behind all experience. He contrasts this with scientific theories that try to explain consciousness in terms of brain activity, arguing that such approaches cannot account for the subjective, first-person nature of consciousness. He also touches on the Vedantic views on consciousness after death, rebirth, and the relationship between spirituality and emerging technologies like AI.
The World and its Double
This workshop, held at the Nature Friends Lodge, revolves around how psychedelics dissolve boundaries, connect us to the transcendental, and reveal the novel realities underlying our perceived mundane existence. Terence explores how shamanic techniques give access to higher dimensions of consciousness, and describes history as an ever-accelerating process approaching an eschatological transformation or singularity.
This Is It
and Other Essays on Zen and Spiritual Experience
Six revolutionary essays exploring the relationship between spiritual experience and ordinary life—and the need for them to coexist within each of us. With essays on “cosmic consciousness” (including Alan Watts’ account of his own ventures into this inward realm); the paradoxes of self-consciousness; LSD and consciousness; and the false opposition of spirit and matter, This Is It and Other Essays on Zen and Spiritual Experience is a truly mind-opening collection.
Transcending Duality
An exploration of the male and female symbolism in Tantric yoga and the unity of polar opposites as a form of resonance.
Transformation of Consciousness
Alan discusses the different states of consciousness which the human mind can attain, and some of the chemical compounds which may serve as tools to reach these mental realms.
Turning the Head, or Turning On
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.
Virtual Reality and Electronic Highs
On Becoming Virtual Octopi
Terence discusses virtual reality technology, which allows people to have immersive experiences in digital worlds. He describes the state of VR in the 1990s and speculates on its future implications, both positive and negative. He reflects on how VR could lead to new forms of communication and imagination, but also trivial entertainment. If used thoughtfully, he concludes, VR holds tremendous transformative potential.
Walking Out of the Ordinary
(Speech at Sunshine Gardens)
Journey with Terence McKenna into the mystical depths of the psychedelic experience, where alien dimensions beckon and unseen vistas await. McKenna describes fantastical realms beyond ordinary conceptions of reality—worlds that hold promise for expanding human consciousness. He argues persuasively that plant medicines like psilocybin can serve as a key not only to self-knowledge, but to rediscovering our cosmic belonging. McKenna's uncanny ability to articulate the ineffable allows him to initiate audiences into the revelatory power of psychedelic states. Join him on this quest, and you too may glimpse the infinities within.
Ways of Being
Animals, Plants, Machines: The Search for a Planetary Intelligence
What does it mean to be intelligent? Is it uniquely human, or shared with other beings—animals, plants, machines? As AI advances, it becomes a strange, even alien force, challenging our place in the world. Meanwhile, other intelligences—natural systems we’ve overlooked—reveal their agency and complexity. In Ways of Being, James Bridle explores these intelligences through biology, physics, and art, urging us to rethink our technologies and societies for a more equitable coexistence with the nonhuman world. Bold and thought-provoking, it’s essential for our survival.
What I've Learned from Psychedelics
McKenna describes his encounters while in the DMT state, theorizing that the beings he met are ancestor souls communicating from beyond death, offering reassurance about the afterlife to ease anxiety over mortality. He says psychedelics catalyze an expanded consciousness, unfolding awareness into a higher dimension where one can behold this ecology of souls, and sees this expanded awareness as helping to midwife humanity’s transition to a new stage of being.
What is it Like to be a Thermostat?
Commentary on Dan Lloyd, “What is it Like to Be a Net?”
Could a simple thermostat possess consciousness? Philosopher David Chalmers believes it's possible. He compares connectionist networks to mundane thermostats, finding uncanny similarities in how they process information. This suggests thermostats could model basic conscious experience, if we accept certain criteria. Chalmers argues complexity alone cannot explain awareness. Though advanced artificial networks mimic consciousness, some essence eludes. He concludes we must look beyond connectionist models, seeking deeper laws not yet conceived, as we continue our quest to unveil the very essence of consciousness.
Why Is Anything Conscious?
This paper tackles the hard problem of consciousness by exploring how biological systems evolve to interpret the world. The authors argue that natural selection makes organisms self-organize into systems that feel, learn, and act—starting with basic self-awareness and climbing to complex human-level understanding. Their bold claim? Consciousness isn't an add-on but a deep, essential part of how life adapts to survive.
Wider Than the Sky
The Phenomenal Gift of Consciousness
How does the firing of neurons give rise to subjective sensations, thoughts, and emotions? How can the disparate domains of mind and body be reconciled? The quest for a scientifically based understanding of consciousness has attracted study and speculation across the ages. In this direct and non-technical discussion of consciousness, Dr. Gerald M. Edelman draws on a lifetime of scientific inquiry into the workings of the brain to formulate answers to the mind-body questions that intrigue every thinking person. Concise and understandable, the book explains pertinent findings of modern neuroscience and describes how consciousness arises in complex brains. Edelman explores the relation of consciousness to causation, to evolution, to the development of the self, and to the origins of feelings, learning, and memory. His analysis of the brain activities underlying consciousness is based on recent remarkable advances in biochemistry, immunology, medical imaging, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology, yet the implications of his book extend farther―beyond the worlds of science and medicine into virtually every area of human inquiry.
World as Play
Watts presents a core Eastern philosophy of the world as a dramatic illusion, and that it exists for no other reason except to be experienced in a playful manner.
You Are Not What You Look Like
Harding invites us to investigate who we really are, beyond appearances. He argues we are not the body we see in the mirror; rather, the mystics say we are the unseen awareness peering out. So look within and discover you are not merely a mortal form, but the deathless source beholding this mirage called “life.”
Youniverse Explorer
Douglas Harding demonstrates his “Youniverse” educational toy, which visually depicts the process of investigating one’s identity, starting from the outer viewpoint of galaxies and zooming in to the innermost center.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
An Inquiry into Values
A father and son embark on a motorcycle road trip across the U.S., blending personal reflection with a deep philosophical exploration of life. The narrative examines the concept of “Quality,” a unifying idea that bridges art, science, and human values. Through vivid travel experiences and flashbacks to the narrator’s past, it questions the balance between rational thinking and intuition, the meaning of technology, and how people find purpose in their work and lives. It’s a journey of self-discovery and timeless insight.