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.
Interpretation
Embracing moments of irrationality is essential for mental well-being and adaptability.
In this quote, Alan Watts emphasizes the importance of stepping outside the confines of rational thinking. He suggests that balancing rationality with moments of 'craziness' or spontaneity allows for greater flexibility and resilience in life. Rigid, over-analytical thinking can lead to mental stagnation and vulnerability, much like a bridge that cannot withstand a storm due to its lack of adaptability. By encouraging a break from conventional thinking, Watts advocates for a more holistic approach to mental health and decision-making.
In practice
This quote could be used in a mental health seminar to encourage participants to embrace creativity.
Jesus Christ knew he was God. So wake up and find out eventually who you really are. In our culture, of course, they’ll say you’re crazy and you’re blasphemous, and they’ll either put you in jail or in a nut house (which is pretty much the same thing). However if you wake up in India and tell your friends and relations, ‘My goodness, I’ve just discovered that I’m God,’ they’ll laugh and say, ‘Oh, congratulations, at last you found out.
What we see as death, empty space, or nothingness is only the trough between the crests of this endlessly waving ocean. It is all part of the illusion that there should seem to be something to be gained in the future, and that there is an urgent necessity to go on and on until we get it. Yet just as there is no time but the present, and no one except the all-and-everything, there is never anything to be gained - though the zest of the game is to pretend that there is.
There is only this now. It does not come from anywhere; it is not going anywhere. It is not permanent, but it is not impermanent. Though moving, it is always still. When we try to catch it, it seems to run away, and yet it is always here and there is no escape from it. And when we turn around to find the self which knows this moment, we find that it has vanished like the past.
Many people never grow up. They stay all their lives with a passionate need for external authority and guidance, pretending not to trust their own judgment.
There are two specific objections to use of psychedelic drugs.First,use of these drugs may be dangerous.Howev er,every worth-while exploration is dangerous-climb ing mountains,testi ng aircraft,rocket ing into outer space,or collecting botanical specimens in jungles.But if you value knowledge & the actual delight of exploration more than mere duration of uneventful life,you are willing to take the risks.
The Godhead is never an object of its own knowledge. Just as a knife doesn't cut itself, fire doesn't burn itself, light doesn't illuminate itself. It's always an endless mystery to itself.
In the realm of ideas everything depends on enthusiasm... in the real world all rests on perseverance.
Your word is the power that you have to create
For everything that you find dreadful, there's usually something that is rather marvelous as well.
When what you read elevates your mind and fills you with noble aspirations, look for no other rule by which to judge a book; it is good, and is the work of a master-hand.
A spoonful of honey will catch more flies than a gallon of vinegar.
He is no wise man who will quit a certainty for an uncertainty.
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