The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of AnxietyAn acclaimed philosopher shows us how—in an age of unprecedented anxiety—we can find fulfillment by embracing the present and living more fully in the now. He is "the perfect guide for a course correction in life" (from the Introduction by Deepak Chopra). The brain can only assume its proper behavior when consciousness is doing what it is designed for: not writhing and whirling to get out of present experience, but being effortlessly aware of it. Alan Watts draws on the wisdom of Eastern philosophy and religion in this timeless and classic guide to living a more fulfilling life. His central insight is more relevant now than ever: when we spend all of our time worrying about the future and lamenting the past, we are unable to enjoy the present moment—the only one we are actually able to inhabit. Watts offers the liberating message that true certitude and security come only from understanding that impermanence and insecurity are the essence of our existence. He highlights the futility of endlessly chasing moving goalposts, whether they consist of financial success, stability, or escape from pain, and shows that it is only by acknowledging what we do not know that we can learn anything truly worth knowing. In The Wisdom of Insecurity, Watts explains complex concepts in beautifully simple terms, making this the kind of book you can return to again and again for comfort and insight in challenging times. “Perhaps the foremost interpreter of Eastern disciplines for the contemporary West, Watts had the rare gift of ‘writing beautifully the unwritable.’” —Los Angeles Times |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
able actually Age of Anxiety agnostic agnosticism Alan Watts animal anxiety atheism aware become begin belief body brain called cling conflict confusion conscious conventions death define desire discover divine grace eardrum escape eternal everything existence fact faster fear feel fixed frustration futile future give happy human ideas illusion impossible judo kind ligion live logical look meaning memory ment metaphysical morality move mysterious myth nature ness Neurosis never notion organism Ouroboros ourselves pain past perience philosophy pleasure predictions present experience problem real world reality realize reason religion religious resist sage seems sensation sense separate shock absorber simply spiritual stand stop supernatural symbol things thinker thought tion traditional treme true truth trying tween uncon understand undivided mind universe unknown Upanishads Vedanta vicious circle vision Watts whole Wisdom of Insecurity words Zen Buddhism