Out of Your Mind ─ Tricksters, Interdependence, and the Cosmic Game of Hide-and-Seek

“In order to come to your senses,” Alan Watts often said, “you sometimes need to go out of your mind.” Perhaps more than any other teacher in the West, this former Anglican priest and self-described spiritual entertainer was responsible for igniting the passion of countless wisdom seekers for the spiritual and philosophical delights of Asia and India. For the first time in print, Out of Your Mind brings readers some of Watts’ pinnacle teachings for expanding our awareness and appreciation of the Great Game unfolding all around us.

Born from recordings of Alan Watts’ captivating live presentations and adapted by his son and archivist Mark Watts, this new book captures the true scope of this incomparable teacher in action. Follow this brilliant and lively thinker down the cosmic rabbit hole as he explores what happens when we transcend the illusion of being a skin-encapsulated ego, how embracing chaos can reveal our deepest purpose, the miracle that occurs when we stop taking life so seriously, and much more.

Alan Watts (1915–1973)

For spiritual seekers of many generations, Alan Watts earned a reputation as one of the most accessible—and entertaining—interpreters of Eastern philosophy in the West. Beginning at age 16, when he wrote an article for the journal of the Buddhist Lodge in London, Watts would develop an audience of millions who were enriched through his books, recordings, radio broadcasts, and public talks. In all, Alan Watts wrote more than 25 books, including such classics as The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are and This Is It: and Other Essays on Zen and Spiritual Experience.