Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Alan Watts - What It Means To Be Truly Alive
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Alan Watts - What It Means To Be Truly Alive
Alan Watts often described being truly alive as being completely present — awake to the moment without trying to control, improve, or escape it.
Here are the main elements of his definition, distilled from his talks and writings:
🌿 1. Living in the Present Moment
Watts said that life only exists now — the past is memory, the future is imagination.
“This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now.
And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.”
Being truly alive, then, means no longer postponing your life for later. It’s to experience this instant fully — the taste of your coffee, the breath in your lungs, the sound of the rain — without mentally running elsewhere.
⚡ 2. Letting Go of Control
He often contrasted living with trying to live correctly.
Watts taught that life flows like water: when we stop forcing it, it moves naturally.
“You do not look out there for God, something in the sky; you look within.
When you stop trying to hold on, you begin to flow with the universe.”
To be truly alive, then, is to surrender the illusion of control and trust the spontaneous movement of existence.
🎶 3. Life as a Dance or Music
Watts loved metaphors of art, music, and dance to describe aliveness:
“We thought of life by analogy with a journey, with a pilgrimage… But it was a musical thing, and you were supposed to sing or to dance while the music was being played.”
True living isn’t about arriving at a goal — it’s about dancing the moment, playing the note for its own sake.
🌌 4. Oneness and Ecstasy of Being
For Watts, real aliveness arises when you sense your unity with everything — the trees breathing with you, the stars moving through you.
“You are an aperture through which the universe is looking at and exploring itself.”
This realization dissolves the separation between “you” and “life.” In that recognition, every act — breathing, walking, laughing — becomes sacred.
✨ Summary
To be truly alive, in Alan Watts’s view, is to:
Be fully awake to the present moment.
Flow with life rather than resist it.
Dance with existence instead of marching toward an end.
Feel the unity of self and universe.
Or as he put it most simply:
“The meaning of life is just to be alive.
It is so plain and so obvious and so simple.
And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.”
#CompassionateLiving
Spotify AlbumsMantras to Quiet the Soul
(This is a link to one of my albums on spotify A Place Called Peace)
https://open.spotify.com/album/7bMZqxq0TTw53NzK4akLrv?si=YpgZNBrfRmWDMq8T-RmYtA
(This is a link to one of my albums on spotify Just Breathe) See my coloring books! They are so awesome:)
https://open.spotify.com/album/7bMZqxq0TTw53NzK4akLrv?si=co15_qSeQjiIHTk0u5dUrw
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mettastateofmind/
Coloring Books:
Mindful Mandalas: An Adult Coloring Book
https://a.co/d/fnkFI0p
Angels are Among Us Coloring Book
https://a.co/d/7DomvY1
#CompassionateLiving #Mindfulness #LovingKindness #MindfulnessMusic
Disclaimer - Important Notice: The content provided on this channel, including but not limited to meditations, sound therapy, mindfulness practices, and general advice, is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Specific Music is from RaggetySam Creations, CAPCUT, or one of my youtube channel videos.
Credits & Attributions: RaggetySam Creations
YouTube Channels:
https://www.youtube.com/@raggetysam
https://www.youtube.com/@MettaMotivationDrWillow
https://www.youtube.com/@PearlsofWisdomAngelsAreAmongUs
https://www.youtube.com/@MettaStateofMind
Thank you for listening!
#CompassionateLiving
Spotify AlbumsMantras to Quiet the Soul
(This is a link to one of my albums on spotify A Place Called Peace)
https://open.spotify.com/album/7bMZqxq0TTw53NzK4akLrv?si=YpgZNBrfRmWDMq8T-RmYtA
(This is a link to one of my albums on spotify Just Breathe) See my coloring books! They are so awesome:)
https://open.spotify.com/album/7bMZqxq0TTw53NzK4akLrv?si=co15_qSeQjiIHTk0u5dUrw
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mettastateofmind/
Coloring Books:
Mindful Mandalas: An Adult Coloring Book
https://a.co/d/fnkFI0p
Angels are Among Us Coloring Book
https://a.co/d/7DomvY1
#CompassionateLiving #Mindfulness #LovingKindness #MindfulnessMusic
Disclaimer - Important Notice: The content provided on this channel, including but not limited to meditations, sound therapy, mindfulness practices, and general advice, is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Specific Music is from RaggetySam Creations, CAPCUT, or one of my youtube channel videos.
Credits & Attributions: RaggetySam Creations
YouTube Channels:
https://www.youtube.com/@raggetysam
https://www.youtube.com/@MettaMotivationDrWillow
https://www.youtube.com/@PearlsofWisdomAngelsAreAmongUs
https://www.youtube.com/@MettaStateofMind
Thank you for listening!
View all episodes
By raggetysamAlan Watts often described being truly alive as being completely present — awake to the moment without trying to control, improve, or escape it.
Here are the main elements of his definition, distilled from his talks and writings:
🌿 1. Living in the Present Moment
Watts said that life only exists now — the past is memory, the future is imagination.
“This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now.
And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.”
Being truly alive, then, means no longer postponing your life for later. It’s to experience this instant fully — the taste of your coffee, the breath in your lungs, the sound of the rain — without mentally running elsewhere.
⚡ 2. Letting Go of Control
He often contrasted living with trying to live correctly.
Watts taught that life flows like water: when we stop forcing it, it moves naturally.
“You do not look out there for God, something in the sky; you look within.
When you stop trying to hold on, you begin to flow with the universe.”
To be truly alive, then, is to surrender the illusion of control and trust the spontaneous movement of existence.
🎶 3. Life as a Dance or Music
Watts loved metaphors of art, music, and dance to describe aliveness:
“We thought of life by analogy with a journey, with a pilgrimage… But it was a musical thing, and you were supposed to sing or to dance while the music was being played.”
True living isn’t about arriving at a goal — it’s about dancing the moment, playing the note for its own sake.
🌌 4. Oneness and Ecstasy of Being
For Watts, real aliveness arises when you sense your unity with everything — the trees breathing with you, the stars moving through you.
“You are an aperture through which the universe is looking at and exploring itself.”
This realization dissolves the separation between “you” and “life.” In that recognition, every act — breathing, walking, laughing — becomes sacred.
✨ Summary
To be truly alive, in Alan Watts’s view, is to:
Be fully awake to the present moment.
Flow with life rather than resist it.
Dance with existence instead of marching toward an end.
Feel the unity of self and universe.
Or as he put it most simply:
“The meaning of life is just to be alive.
It is so plain and so obvious and so simple.
And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.”
#CompassionateLiving
Spotify AlbumsMantras to Quiet the Soul
(This is a link to one of my albums on spotify A Place Called Peace)
https://open.spotify.com/album/7bMZqxq0TTw53NzK4akLrv?si=YpgZNBrfRmWDMq8T-RmYtA
(This is a link to one of my albums on spotify Just Breathe) See my coloring books! They are so awesome:)
https://open.spotify.com/album/7bMZqxq0TTw53NzK4akLrv?si=co15_qSeQjiIHTk0u5dUrw
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mettastateofmind/
Coloring Books:
Mindful Mandalas: An Adult Coloring Book
https://a.co/d/fnkFI0p
Angels are Among Us Coloring Book
https://a.co/d/7DomvY1
#CompassionateLiving #Mindfulness #LovingKindness #MindfulnessMusic
Disclaimer - Important Notice: The content provided on this channel, including but not limited to meditations, sound therapy, mindfulness practices, and general advice, is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Specific Music is from RaggetySam Creations, CAPCUT, or one of my youtube channel videos.
Credits & Attributions: RaggetySam Creations
YouTube Channels:
https://www.youtube.com/@raggetysam
https://www.youtube.com/@MettaMotivationDrWillow
https://www.youtube.com/@PearlsofWisdomAngelsAreAmongUs
https://www.youtube.com/@MettaStateofMind
Thank you for listening!
#CompassionateLiving
Spotify AlbumsMantras to Quiet the Soul
(This is a link to one of my albums on spotify A Place Called Peace)
https://open.spotify.com/album/7bMZqxq0TTw53NzK4akLrv?si=YpgZNBrfRmWDMq8T-RmYtA
(This is a link to one of my albums on spotify Just Breathe) See my coloring books! They are so awesome:)
https://open.spotify.com/album/7bMZqxq0TTw53NzK4akLrv?si=co15_qSeQjiIHTk0u5dUrw
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mettastateofmind/
Coloring Books:
Mindful Mandalas: An Adult Coloring Book
https://a.co/d/fnkFI0p
Angels are Among Us Coloring Book
https://a.co/d/7DomvY1
#CompassionateLiving #Mindfulness #LovingKindness #MindfulnessMusic
Disclaimer - Important Notice: The content provided on this channel, including but not limited to meditations, sound therapy, mindfulness practices, and general advice, is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Specific Music is from RaggetySam Creations, CAPCUT, or one of my youtube channel videos.
Credits & Attributions: RaggetySam Creations
YouTube Channels:
https://www.youtube.com/@raggetysam
https://www.youtube.com/@MettaMotivationDrWillow
https://www.youtube.com/@PearlsofWisdomAngelsAreAmongUs
https://www.youtube.com/@MettaStateofMind
Thank you for listening!