The Meaning of Happiness The Quest For Freedom Of The Spirit In Modern Psychology And The Wisdom Of The East, 3rd Edition by Alan Watts

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The Meaning of Happiness The Quest For Freedom Of The Spirit In Modern Psychology And The Wisdom Of The East, 3rd Edition by Alan Watts

Author: الن واتس (Alan Watts)

Deep down, most people think that happiness comes from having or doing something. Here, in Alan Watts’s groundbreaking second book (originally published in 1940), he offers a more challenging thesis: authentic happiness comes from embracing life as a whole in all its contradictions and paradoxes, an attitude that Watts 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.

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THIS WAS FANTASTIC. In the top five books I’ve ever read. I need to go back and knock everything else on here down a star. I’ve been listening to alan watts’ lectures since I was 17 and, still, this book blew me away with wit and clarity. Not for everybody, though. If you are interested in the crossover between eastern psychology/religion and western christianity/judaism, read this book. If you like Heidegger or like making fun of Sartre, read this book. If you practice Vedanta-oriented ANYTHING, read this book. If you meditate and don’t quite get why it’s not ‘working’, read this book. If you’re really closed minded about all religion and metaphysics, don’t bother. Charlotte                                                                                                rated it: 5.0 from 5.0

I find Watts’ simplified schemas, analogies, and examples very helpful. He is good at using simplicity, not so much to simplify life but to point at it directly and help us see it without so many habitual filters. I like that there’s a lot of influence from Jung in this book. It was written at a time before Watts became somewhat disenchanted with Jung’s exploration of imagination. Lyam Christopher                                                                                    rated it: 5.0 from 5.0

This is a book to reread every now and then. What blows my mind is that this was written by a 24 yo Alan Watts. I’m definitely going to read this again later on. I love the contrasts among different perspectives, the wit, the humility and simplicity in this book Sandra Navarro                                                                                       rated it: 5.0 from 5.0