All right I think we've all heard this before, let's stick to Alan Watts pleez.

You can't know for sure if it did or didn't exist, I just happen to know from my own self reflection.

Don't assume to know me, you DO NOT know my self esteem levels. That is your opinion if you think that I need to be controlled by God, however, that is completely wrong. God can not physically control us, merely spiritually guide us.

I'm not in any way trying to prove to you that he exists, I am only stating the way he has touched my life. I don't understand why you are trying to tell me I'm living a sham when it doesn't affect you in the slightest.

If you fully endorse selfishness then good for you, I am proud to be someone who thinks of others other than myself at times, religious or not. Do you know your point of existence on this earth?

Finished that and now I know why I haven't been allowed to know who I am.
I've just moved on to this one..

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I don't have a problem with Christianity or Theism, I'm not a member of any religion but I believe in a higher power. Still, I do take issue with several kids my age stressing over college not because their worried about what there doing with their lives, but whether or not God "wants" them to do that. Using religion as a crutch to avoid making decisions, and than saying God told you when they finally do is a blemish on human society. We weren't put on Earth and supposedly given freewill by God to live our lives according to his every whim. Are we really simple playthings in God's play he created out of boredom?

I'm sorry... wait... teeheehee that's funny

This part diverges on a topic of class today, of the metaphysical process, wonder, reflection, and articulation.

"In the type of metaphysical or mystical experience which we
are discussing, this feeling of wonder—which has all kinds of
depths and subtleties—is one of two major components. The
other is a feeling of liberation (the Hindu Moksha) which attends
the realization that an immense amount of human activity is di-
rected to the solution of unreal and purely fantastic prob-
lems—to the attainment of goals which we do not actually desire."

I just laughed pretty hard at that.

So I read his collection of essays about spiritual experiences..
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And after reading three of his books I decided to read his autobiography..
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And now I learn that the man died relatively young due mainly to chronic alcoholism. Interesting.

there is something interesting about the alcoholism, despite his carefree demeanor you can sense an underlying current of despair in his writing. which makes him all the more endearing to me, the sort of "life is a game everything is jolly" pseudo-spiritual attitude really bugs me sometime, you only get to the life is a game stage when you realize that trying to make life more than a game leads to despair...

Yea - Watts was a product of his time for sure. Wise and contermplative as he was, he was still stuck in a certain time and place. In his case the place was in the body if a person with a talent for social skills and for earning money with his words and physical presence. It was also in mid-century America which is now so far away that Watts' gripes with the world seem practically ancient. In other words, the jolliness was pretty much expected by someone like him..and he was all but encouraged to completely forget about any real-life responsibilities. It's was a perfect scenario for him to become a functioning drunk with good connections and to live happily ever after.

True, and Watts certainly knew this - it's what justified his 'sensualism' I think. Did he stay drunk because he was too entrenched in his own personal history and Westernization to admit that life is a game?