Become what you are
"Life exists only at this very moment, and in this moment it is infinite and eternal. For the present moment is infinitely small; before we can measure it, it has gone, and yet it exists forever.... You may believe yourself out of harmony with life and its eternal Now; but you cannot be, for you are life and exist Now."--from Become What You Are In this collection of writings, including nine new chapters never before available in book form, Watts displays the intelligence, playfulness of thought, and simplicity of language that has made him so perennially popular as an interpreter of Eastern thought for Westerners. He draws on a variety of religious traditions, and covers topics such as the challenge of seeing one's life "just as it is," the Taoist approach to harmonious living, the limits of language in the face of ineffable spiritual truth, and the psychological symbolism of Christian thought.
Stats for nerds
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100% recommend
What Hacker News says
- Data Intensive Applications
This and Object Prototypes (You Don't Know JS Series)
Fall: Or Dodge in Hell
Fortress Marin
Count Zero
Become What You Are (Alan Watts)
Swords and Circuitry
Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth
The High Sierra of California
Trees of Power
I highly recommend Data Intensive Applications, as have many others on HN.
If you live around San Francisco, and don't know the history of the shore batteries across the Bay, Fortress Marin is a nice, short, illustrated history of California's coastal defenses. There are good places to go hiking / camping in that area around the old fortifications.
I'm into planting trees and gardening, so I thoroughly enjoyed Trees of Power by Akiva Silver.
- Great quote, Watts is truly inspirational. What a happy surprise when Ctrl+F takes you right to the first comment ;)
If anyone doesn't have the time or attention span to commit to a full-blown book, The Joyous Cosmology [0] and Become What You Are [1] present some of Watt's ideas in a more condensed format. The former is a ~30 page essay freely available online. The latter is a collection of ~15 very short essays (1-12pg each) - a perfect replacement for smartphone scrolling when confronted with 5-10 minutes of free time.
https://holybooks-lichtenbergpress.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content...
https://www.amazon.com/Become-What-You-Alan-Watts/dp/1570629...
