Ep. 6 – On Being God

Alan Watts Being in the Way

Be Here Now Network / Love Serve Remember Foundation

Being In The Way, Taoism, Self-improvement, Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality, Alan Watts, Buddhism, Society & Culture, Education, Tao, Spirituality, Dao, Eastern Philosophy, Zen

4.9 • 748 Ratings

🗓️ 30 September 2021

⏱️ 84 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In 'On Being God,' Alan shares on therapy, religion, mystical experiences, & Jesus, before playing the hilarious and light-shedding role of a clinical patient who realizes they're God.

Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/alan

Following in the fashion of the last episode (Zen Bones), Mark Watts introduces another big-hall presentation from Alan Watts which creatively and colorfully explores western therapy and religion in relationship to the eastern mystical or altered state experience. This talk, aptly titled, 'On Being God,' was recorded in 1971 in New York City at a conference for western therapy and eastern religion, and features a unique experiment in which Alan positions himself as a clinical patient who believes themself to be God, giving way to lively, hilarious, and enlightening responses to a stream of audience questions.

This series is made in partnership with the Alan Watts Organization. Discover the official Alan Watts archive at alanwatts.org

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This show is sponsored by BetterHelp.
0:04.8	With the new year here, so many of us have made resolutions about things we'd like to change.
0:11.1	But life isn't about resolutions that fade by February.
0:15.9	Life is about picking up the pen and becoming the author of your own story.
0:24.0	So what do you want your 2025 story to be?
0:28.2	Maybe you're looking to introduce a new character in the form of a romance,
0:31.3	or you're ready for a surprising plot twist.
0:34.6	Think of therapy as your editorial partner,
0:39.5	helping you write new chapters and create the meaningful story you deserve to live.
0:45.4	Working with a therapist on a regular basis is a great way to improve communication skills.
0:52.2	Learn to resolve conflict, increase self-awareness, develop healthy coping strategies, alter negative behaviors, build stronger relationships, and much more.
0:58.0	Better help is entirely online, making therapy, affordable, and convenient.
1:04.0	You'll have access to a diverse network of more than 30,000 credentialed therapists with a wide range of specialties.
1:16.1	Plus, you can easily switch therapist anytime at no extra cost.
1:18.9	Write your story with BetterHelp.
1:24.7	Visit BetterHelp.com slash Allen today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp.
1:26.6	H-E-L-P.com slash Allen. Welcome to Being in the Way with Alan Watts. I'm Mark Watts, your host. And today's talk is On Being God, which was recorded in 1971 in New York City at a conference on Western therapy and Eastern religions.
2:02.6	Like last week's talk, Zen Bones, it's a big hall presentation given to hundreds of people who attended the conference.
2:10.6	And in it my father explores both Western therapy and Western religions in relationship to the mystical experiences or
2:19.3	altered states that are the basis of Eastern religions.
2:23.3	He points out that neither Western therapy nor Western religions are particularly equipped to deal with
2:29.3	individuals who've had these experiences.
	...

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