Books by Alan Watts

The last work by Alan Watts, Tao is the culmination of a lifetime's study and thought.

In this new edition of his acclaimed autobiography - long out of print and rare until now - Alan Watts tracks his spiritual and philosophical evolution. A child of religious conservatives in rural England, he went on to become a freewheeling spiritual teacher who challenged Westerners to defy convention and think for themselves. Watts's portrait of himself shows that he was a philosophical renegade from early on in his intellectual life. Self-taught in many areas, he came to Buddhism through the teachings of Christmas Humphreys and D. T. Suzuki. Told in a nonlinear style, In My Own Way combines Watts's brand of unconventional philosophy with wry observations on Western culture and often hilarious accounts of gurus, celebrities, and psychedelic drug experiences. A charming foreword by Watts's father sets the tone of this warm, funny, and beautifully written story. Watts encouraged readers to "e;follow your own weird"e; - something he always did himself, as this remarkable account of his life shows.

A series of Alan Watts' most engaging teachings on how to break through the limits of the rational mind and expand your awareness.

'The perfect guide for a course correction in life' Deepak ChopraFor decades, people have turned to the inspiring words of pioneering Zen scholar Alan Watts for guidance, support and spiritual sustenance. In this thought-provoking collection of aphorisms and quotations, Watts reminds us all to slow down, to recognize we are not the universe but part of it and to enjoy each moment that composes our lives. This is a timeless work to reflect upon, to live by and to read for inspiration, knowledge and growth.

A classic account of the psychedelic experienceThe Joyous Cosmology is Alan Watts's exploration of the insight that the consciousness-changing drugs LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin can facilitate "when accompanied with sustained philosophical reflection by a person who is in search, not of kicks, but of understanding.” More than an artifact, it is both a riveting memoir of Watts's personal experiments and a profound meditation on our perennial questions about the nature of existence and the existence of the sacred.Includes Watts's article "Psychedelics and Religious Experience”

Mark Watts compiled this book from his father's extensive journals and audiotapes of famous lectures he delivered in his later years across the country. In three parts, Alan Watts explains the basic philosophy of meditation, how individuals can practice a variety of meditations, and how inner wisdom grows naturally.

The groundbreaking third book by Alan Watts, originally published in 1940 and out of print for years

The fourth edition of this bestselling book explains how to combine professional weather forecasts with information from self-assessment of the signs in the sky, as well as from websites and apps, to arrive at a local forecast of coming weather. The Weather Handbook is the essential guide to how the weather is formed, providing readers with the ability to look at the sky and interpret its signs. This handbook has been the standard reference for over 20 years for skippers and crews of cruising and racing yachts. The fourth edition has been updated and expanded with new photos and explanatory text, addressing new sources of weather information. There are countless websites and apps providing forecast data, and The Weather Handbook guides users in how to use and interpret this information for themselves, taking a general forecast for a wide area to provide a local forecast for a specific location."The perfect introduction to understanding weather" - Practical Boat Owner

With a rising demand for the work of Alan Watts from new generations, "Psychotherapy East & West", originally published in 1961, explores the relationship between Eastern and Western psychologies. A counterculture icon, Alan Watts is the author of more than twenty books.

Color photographs of cloud formations and their groundbreaking explanatory text enable readers to read the sky, pick up the clues and predict what the weather will do.With its winning formula of 24 clear color photographs of cloud formations and their accompanying explanatory text, Instant Weather Forecasting enables the reader to read the sky, pick up the clues, and predict what the weather will do.This revised and updated 5th edition takes into account the new ways users can receive professional weather forecasts, factor them into their own cloud observations, and develop an even better understanding of how the weather will change.This bestselling gem of a book will continue to be invaluable to anyone participating in outdoor activities, from farming, gardening, and walking to riding, golfing, flying, sailing, and fishing.

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.

A fervent, lifelong student of Zen, Alan Watts shows us that it is both an experience - a singular, powerful moment of realization - and a simple way of life, with an awareness that affects every moment of every day. Adopted by mainstream America in a way that carries only a vague association of its roots in Zen Buddhism, Alan Watts makes it clear that any exploration of Zen must understand and embrace its roots as a form of Buddhist practice derived from its Chinese and East Indian sources. Examining the background of Zen in East Indian religion, Watts shows us its evolution through the religion of China. Zen is a synthesis of the contemplative insight of Indian religion and the dynamic liveliness of Taoism as they came together in the pragmatic, practical environment of Confucian China. Watts gives us great insight into the living moment of satori and the release of nirvana, as well as the methods of meditation that are current today, and the influence of Zen culturally in the arts of painting and pottery.