I left college over 20 years ago because I realized it was NOT about Higher Education, but rather about Indoctrination. I live in a very small house. And my "new" car is 23 years old. I don't have cable/satillite TV. I read books from the public library. I am the Hermit on the hill Alan is talking about. I feel sorry for those trapped in the ratrace. Even though they condemn me at every chance. Yet they refuse to give up their luxury for a simpler life. The "prison" they complain of is all of their own making! I saw this long ago, & stepped aside. My family thinks I'm nuts, as do most people. I just don't care what the masses think. I work a few days a week, & observe people everyday. VERY FEW are truly happy. You can free yourself IF you choose to. It is solely up to you. Nor do you have to do it overnight. Down-size slowly. Stop buying new cars every year. Go to a cheaper cable package, etc. Next year, down-size a little more. If you haven't used something in over a year, you clearly don't need it. Sell it!!! See what it cost new, & get half that out of it. I may have taken it further than you can, but it's not a contest. You can live a simple life. I know some that live in tents! And love it! I don't go that far. But most people call my house a "shack". Well, it is small. But it's warm, dry, & my property tax comes out to pennies a day. And I have a Freedom I never knew before. So can anyone who chooses to do the same. Btw, I discovered Alan Watts only a few months ago! When I heard this commentary, I thought he was talking about me. Life can be funny on such matters. Good Luck to everyone, no matter what path you choose.
Beam Me Up well said. It seems that if people gave up their luxury for a simpler life then they would start to be able to think for themselves and start to wake up and gain wisdom on what truly matters in life
Beam Me Up I'm 37. Living in a homeless shelter in Boise Idaho. Going to work in Alaska next month. 18 to 20 hour days, 7 days a week. I'm doing it to bale myself out of debt as well as get and stay out of the rat race. I've known people like you since childhood. I was never brave enough. Though I remember how simple life was to grow up in a rural county in N.Y. I can barely wait to get up there, and wish I'd started out years ago.😃
I have been becoming a hermit more and more..i feel like this is all a money game and i don't want to play. Also people drain me..most are so shallow and rude and there is no empathy or love.
im in the same boat as u. I'm only 22 but everyday i observe more and more shallow human beings. it hurts to know this world lacks so much love. all i want to do is isolate myself from everyone. i dont want to be a sheep and follow the rest of the herd anymore.
White Panther i completely feel you. i get irritated very quick and it’s hard to do certain things such as meditate/study around people for me. i think minimal human interaction is good though, i wouldn’t completely cut out everyone as humans are put onto earth to communicate and form relationships. just remember that you’re never truly alone. 🤞🏼
White Panther that’s understandable. that’s what buddha did. i hope you get what you want in this lifetime. remember to live fully in every moment of the now. 🌸
I worked part-time throughout my career. I earned less than $15,000 per year and raised 2 daughters without child support. We just learned to go without. Really enjoyed my time off. Comfortably retired. I lived as a minimalist long before it became popular.
What time range are we talking about? 15k in 1985 is considerable, and only part time? Fuck. I made like 5k in 2015 working at Mcdonald's about 25 hours a week
@@darkblade3897 I started working 40 hours. With each annual raise, I cut back my hours. Thereafter, I worked 40 hours with 32 hours every other week. Thereafter, I worked 32 hours with 24 hours every other week. Thereafter, I worked 24 hours with a vacation day every other week.
@@darkblade3897 I lived on the cheap side of town. As a minimalist, I had one set of kitchenware, 2 sets of linens, 2 weeks of clothes and minimal furniture. Never really felt deprived. No loans. No credit card. Used cars. Saved for retirement.
I'm a hermit at 36 to a large degree . I prefer to stay away from the cayouse of so called society. I have found that living in a rural setting allows me to observe and enjoy things much more so without being judged or forced to judge nearly as much . I have my goals, but they are my goals for my purposes and enjoyment , not to impress others but rather myself . I believe the main purpose in life , or the most important point , is to truly open your eyes and think . I believe many don't do this until on their death bed due to the fact that it requires a great deal of isolation at times so you can realize who you are . Your biggest critic should be you , look from the top down at yourself and ask what do I see.
Nothing quite like coming down after a psylocibin trip with a peaceful background music and Alan Watts to bring you wisdom and laughter, a truly beautiful soul. You are missed but left us so much. ONE LOVE
You have to have balls to check out. The initial period can be very intense and discouraging if you have any doubts. A lot of people end up conforming to societies definition of a non-conformist and thus fail. Checking out is just being yourself and not letting idiots manipulate or control you. The idiots WILL attack you frequently but that just shows you how little most people think but you will also meet cool genuine people and that is the biggest reward. Stay true to yourself.
I agree with your comment, but would add... ...People who attack you are either afraid of you, or they resent you for doing what they know they lack the courage to do. I see many comments here about people choosing to smoke pot. That is their free choice. I chose not to. That is my choice. Some would condemn them for smoking pot, some condemn me for not! ("Dude, thought you were cool....") I laugh at this. Everyone wants everyone else to conform to "their" way of living. From the trenches of World War 1 came some good advice we all SHOULD follow..."Live, and let Live." Pax Vobiscum.
It's thrilling to find ways not to get caught up in it all, especially if you have been in the past. I live comfortably on $1300 a month. I have tons of time to myself, do yoga, go hiking. Half of my expenses are for rent....if I didn't have rent, I would be comfortable on $700. And that INCLUDES an entertainment budget, usually a cup of tea or coffee out with a friend. I live almost entirely on vegetables steamed in an Instapot I was given for Christmas. My hikes and my yoga are free. My car is paid for in cash from when I was in "the game". My health insurance is covered by the state since I make nearly no money. It's not as hard as you think.
i really believe that an aware mind could not be born in a worse age , it looks like i have to face a life of complete loniless and live the life of buddha and the one of a real man to fullfill my nature or be in a society like everybody but constantly being nothing , full of fear anxiety . Serious this is the struggle of the game of our age , and we are all in it . It takes courage.
Antonio Marinella natural law is real and undeniable. Man's law is always a perverse denial of freedom. Property? Imaginary. Marriage? Invented. Economies? Unreal. Leave the game and live in happiness and they will hunt you down and throw you in a cage. They can allow no example of a truly free being achieving happiness and fulfillment outside of their prescribed path. Because others would follow until there is no one left to control.
Leave those beliefs and just be aware of who is aware of these thoughts, and stay there...and you won't have any problems. All problems are just thoughts made by your mind, stop entertaining them and they become just like a movie on the screen and you become the watcher of movie. You feel lonely for example because you're comparing yourself with a idea that we should have a partner, you're thinking of that and creating that loneliness for yourself...it's impossible to feel lonely or sad if you simply stop believing your thoughts...they are not your friend man. Try it and you will see!
@@MikaelMahsudjan but life isnt about being alone in the dark. Life is about experiencing the world, if you living like a hermit, you are kinda wasting your life. It isnt society problem with their opression, but lack of oportunity of different people to fit in. Life is about connection with reality, especially people, if you dont do that, you are failing life. These thoughts are important, you should hear them, we crave intimacy, there is no justification for accepting loneliness and living like crap all day lying to yourself that you CANNOT FEEL THAT.
Just what I needed. Alan Watts has helped me through so many hard times in my life. Especially with all the craziness in society right now. Now I understand more and realize that although I’m a Non Joiner I can have compassion for society and help others realize there is more than government 💜
You're not alone. Lost, possibly, but you're only really lost if you're out of time. I'm just like you. I couldn't stand the way things are, and I couldn't be ok with living in a way that contributed to it. So I stopped. I looked for a niche and ran with it. I sold all my stuff, am currently trying to build a portable tiny house, and plan to leave for the mountains. Just a whisper on the wind. Not because I have to, but because I want to. I see the game, but I just don't feel it's worth playing.
"In the US everyone must play the game, its a conformist society. Watch out for conformist societies, they can turn to fascism on a dime." -Alan Watts. RIP Alan, it happened.....
@@xmikeox because conformists are also self righteous, virtue signalling snitches. They love to conform, follow orders and demand everyone else does also.
I am the Outcast but wouldn't have it any other way! I feel sorry for the rest of civilization all running around with their head cut off all serious playing this game called life all serious and rude!!
I've been entertaining Alan Watt's ideas and reflections for many many years now and I have a lot to thank him and the people who inspired his thoughts. Truly a great Man!
I came home today and passed by someone that lives in my community. He says "I never see you, hey look honey it's that guy". Rather than acknowledge and greet me as a fellow human being, he labels me as some "thing" rather than a person. On one hand I was incredibly insulted, but then I thought how irrelevant it was what he thinks anyway. What is wrong with choosing to live away from "the game"? I'm a social person, around the right people, but why are people forced to be part of the sheep, and ostracized if they happen to be or think different? I can think of no better example than present society, look at what America has become. Its disgusting to realize how far our society has progressed in technology, medicine, etc. but we still haven't learned how to treat each other with common decency.
I'm leaning more towards becoming hermit like. I will live in between being a modern day hermit and participating in society. I can earn money online, and I can socialize on rare occasions, while still living in modern society. Online shopping makes it so I don't have to go out and be around people much at all.
I'm hoping to step up from recluse to hermit. Not only to escape the endless, meaningless conflicts and entanglements society considers a 'relationships' and not only to draw closer to God. The great and growing impetus pushing me out and away is this dammed addictive cell phone and the evil, destructive interweb. I'm intrigued by the idea of living without money. I pray for the courage and resourcefulness to do what our ancestors did for millenia or die trying
If you truly don't know, and are honest about it, then you've just begun your journey :) Honestly with yourself is the base off all spiritual growth. Only when we can admit our flaws, can we make progress in that area of our life. Blessings, and good journey to you, my friend.
it’s tough maintaining the freedom of your soul/spirit in this society/system. but I’m going to figure it out, somehow. I know it’s all a game, anyways.
We may be scattered, but we are here. Barely hanging on at times, but that is not the fault of life, its seeing the human race wasting its time. "Life's a joke that's only funny if you take it way too seriously." "Simplicity is the purest form of confusion." Quoting no one. It's good to know there are More out there. Namaste.
My father is a hermit, all on his own… and he chose to be that’s way to an extent, I worry about him immensely, and I love him more than he’ll ever know unfortunately. I hope he’s content.
yeah, I don't want to be forced to by health insurance just because I am alive. I am going to take the penalty because I don't want to play the game either.
I was in the military when the urinalysis was forced on troops. I rebelled not because I was a user at the time but because it is wrong. Not many made the connection. I am surprised, even today, how people don't see this invasion of privacy.
@tigoldbitties1 Me too, i left everything i had back in the UK, i now live with nothing apart from my wife in HK, my way of thinking is if you cannot be happy with very little, then you are never going to be happy.
hmmm... maybe you're right. There's definitely an intangible nature to what he says (and maybe that's the point). All I know is that I feel better after listening to him... kind of the same way I feel after listening to good music.
conformity has to exist to some degree so laws and some sense of civility are followed but beyond that - living for ostentatious displays of success and wealth/fame - you are living to please someone else and that means you are working a 2nd job and doing it without pay unless you count social approval as a paycheck. i find it terrible that impressionable minds of all ages see images on social media and are fascinated without realizing that it is all a curated and artificial world.
He recognized the dangers of suburbanization and the tilt toward xenophobia and fascism long before anyone else did. Those who recognize it today are still in the minority. It's tempting to think that it's such a shame that he's gone, if only someone would step into his shoes, but it's like the buddha said at the end, we must be our own light.
Xenophobia will never leave, neither will fascism they are natural... Multiculturalism will always poke and prod the xenophobia out of people and yes I notice this comment is from 8 years ago
Keep in mind the hermit he's discussing is on a house on the hill. Note the word house. They aren't free unless you build it yourself. Your time at duke may give you the cash to pay for that house and THEN take on the hermit lifestyle you were looking for. But starting life out without a ticket to grab a job very easily, you may have some trouble.
You know. I moved from Sweden to Amsterdam, Holland, and I recognise exactly that which he is talking about. Sweden is an incredibly democratic country but at the same time a country full of sheep. An outsider is simply not welcome. Be it that you question an opinion or behave in a way that is not the norm. In Amsterdam on the other hand, each and everyone is welcome. Of course, when you put it in a relative perspective, one is because of the other. Needless to say, what he is
"Everyone becomes a crook - everyone becomes equally inferior" Alan, in today's society we are known as domestic terrorists...you should see what's happening in the airports.
Am an ex hippie who dropped out. I really thought it was meaningful at the time. We were changing the world. Only damn thing that changed was when I dropped back in.
It's probably more the fact that in most people's eyes the term "security" categorically trumps the term "privacy". They don't have a concrete idea of privacy but security or "safety" is established very early when you wear a helmet even though it's uncomfortable, or when you parents insist on using pedestrian crossings instead of saving time.
From the regime of aggressive political correctness to the regime of aggressive nationalism. We waste our freedom embracing this or that notion one after the other thinking it's opinions when it really are obsessions. We need to go to the bottom of the problems we are upset about without taking the morale high ground and blaming eachother. Lecturing about the state of things or writing about it on Internet is not enough. There need to be real physical networks that can face the ongoing and coming challenges we stand before if we hope for any progression. It needs to be in the form of a political project and not only a spiritual/existential one. Western Buddhism is just a response on the helplessness people feel in their daily life and not a solution of the problems. But the population is so divided, fearful, angry and intolerant towards one another that we can't even talk to eachother. Divide and conquer... We have to go outside, take our eyes off of the screens. Stop spending so much time on self-image. Talk to strangers. Listen. Communicate, co-operate. If we continue to be passive the violent actionable persons of the world are going to make their cause real valid for each and everyone of us. If we don't go down to the bottom of the problems we're going to go down a bottomless pit.
Noooooooooooooo! There can't be something more than government. Government knows all. What would the world be like if we thought for ourselves? Noooooooooooooooo!
3:00 This applies perfectly to the so-called hipsters and their false sense of individuality. Weird shit isn't weird when everyone does it and "retro" wasn't invented by these people. It's actually the most obvious trend of the last decade. The reason most adults, no matter how progressive, at some point stop adapting to current fads is not that they don't understand them, it's that they have finally understood them. Unfortunately for me I did as a child.
@mitchtheman28 These adults that adapt to things like workplace clothing conventions have atleast accepted that they cannot break free from the herd. Hipsters and anyone else trying to coin new "fashion" pursue a "false sense of individuality" in that they think they can escape from the herd by wearing the same piece of clothing 300,000 other people also bought. I believe that true individuality can exist but only in your mind, not in the form of fabric wrapped around you.
If we were all to stand naked in a storm, we would quickly return to the purpose of clothes. Not to seek a purpose within a response others will reciprocate based on a preconceived notion of style or cultural trend. Worry less, just undress.
I knew in my twenties I did not want a life consumed by career and work…and I embraced this in my early thirties. I live a simple, happy life. I’m soooo glad to not be a part of the rat race.
On another occasion, a group of wealthy Athenians at a banquet began throwing bones at Diogenes, insulting him and calling him a dog. Diogenes then responded to this by lifting his leg and urinating on the banqueters.
Many accounts depict him walking the streets with a lantern and shining it into the faces of passersby, apparently looking for an “honest man” or a “human being”.
He got rid of his belongings, and maintained a diet of just onions. One day he saw a child cupping his hands to drink water, after that he threw away his own cup, remarking something along the lines of “A child has beaten me in plainness of living.”
People are cool one on one but as soon as they are around work associates or friends they need to put on a show or wear a mask. They treat you differently according to who they are around. Can like you alone but not so much with others. It's comfortable being alone.
One thing he is correct about, is that conformist societies are always one small step away from fascism. The societies that last the longest are a balancing act to maintain order. Why else do you think we have a two party system that forces you to take a side and often adopt the same ideology as everyone else in your group? The true non-conformist will not vote Republican or Democrat even though they know full well that any other choice has no chance of being elected. Republican and Democrat are two sides of the same coin of perceived liberty under strict control and conformity. The sad thing is, even though you may outwardly signal your free thinking and individualism, inwardly you are content to be conditioned and herded.
I don't like how society works either and it's getting worse, especially in the US. I am very worried about what's happening to the US, they're getting police state action being put in hard and fast, having dissidents arrested or institutionalized as terrorists or "crazy people", including military veterans!! Not a good sign!!!
I left college over 20 years ago because I realized it was NOT about Higher Education, but rather about Indoctrination.
I live in a very small house. And my "new" car is 23 years old. I don't have cable/satillite TV. I read books from the public library.
I am the Hermit on the hill Alan is talking about. I feel sorry for those trapped in the ratrace. Even though they condemn me at every chance. Yet they refuse to give up their luxury for a simpler life. The "prison" they complain of is all of their own making!
I saw this long ago, & stepped aside. My family thinks I'm nuts, as do most people. I just don't care what the masses think.
I work a few days a week, & observe people everyday. VERY FEW are truly happy.
You can free yourself IF you choose to. It is solely up to you. Nor do you have to do it overnight.
Down-size slowly. Stop buying new cars every year. Go to a cheaper cable package, etc.
Next year, down-size a little more. If you haven't used something in over a year, you clearly don't need it. Sell it!!! See what it cost new, & get half that out of it.
I may have taken it further than you can, but it's not a contest. You can live a simple life. I know some that live in tents! And love it! I don't go that far. But most people call my house a "shack". Well, it is small. But it's warm, dry, & my property tax comes out to pennies a day.
And I have a Freedom I never knew before.
So can anyone who chooses to do the same.
Btw, I discovered Alan Watts only a few months ago! When I heard this commentary, I thought he was talking about me. Life can be funny on such matters.
Good Luck to everyone, no matter what path you choose.
Beam Me Up I agree with you on everything you're saying. Thank you for the suggestion.
Just follow your inner way
Beam Me Up well said. It seems that if people gave up their luxury for a simpler life then they would start to be able to think for themselves and start to wake up and gain wisdom on what truly matters in life
Beam Me Up I love your comment. Just reading it calmed me in an odd way. Thank you for posting it.
Beam Me Up I'm 37. Living in a homeless shelter in Boise Idaho. Going to work in Alaska next month. 18 to 20 hour days, 7 days a week. I'm doing it to bale myself out of debt as well as get and stay out of the rat race. I've known people like you since childhood. I was never brave enough. Though I remember how simple life was to grow up in a rural county in N.Y. I can barely wait to get up there, and wish I'd started out years ago.😃
I have been becoming a hermit more and more..i feel like this is all a money game and i don't want to play. Also people drain me..most are so shallow and rude and there is no empathy or love.
A JAX I’m with you 100%.
im in the same boat as u. I'm only 22 but everyday i observe more and more shallow human beings. it hurts to know this world lacks so much love. all i want to do is isolate myself from everyone. i dont want to be a sheep and follow the rest of the herd anymore.
White Panther i completely feel you. i get irritated very quick and it’s hard to do certain things such as meditate/study around people for me. i think minimal human interaction is good though, i wouldn’t completely cut out everyone as humans are put onto earth to communicate and form relationships. just remember that you’re never truly alone. 🤞🏼
Do you have an Instagram?
White Panther that’s understandable. that’s what buddha did. i hope you get what you want in this lifetime. remember to live fully in every moment of the now. 🌸
I worked part-time throughout my career. I earned less than $15,000 per year and raised 2 daughters without child support. We just learned to go without. Really enjoyed my time off. Comfortably retired. I lived as a minimalist long before it became popular.
What time range are we talking about? 15k in 1985 is considerable, and only part time? Fuck. I made like 5k in 2015 working at Mcdonald's about 25 hours a week
@@darkblade3897 I pursued a 2-year Associates Degree in Nursing with a financial aid grant from a college. I graduated in 1986.
@@darkblade3897 $15,000 was after taxes and insurance.
@@darkblade3897 I started working 40 hours. With each annual raise, I cut back my hours. Thereafter, I worked 40 hours with 32 hours every other week. Thereafter, I worked 32 hours with 24 hours every other week. Thereafter, I worked 24 hours with a vacation day every other week.
@@darkblade3897 I lived on the cheap side of town. As a minimalist, I had one set of kitchenware, 2 sets of linens, 2 weeks of clothes and minimal furniture. Never really felt deprived. No loans. No credit card. Used cars. Saved for retirement.
Non joiner here and happy for it.
I'm a hermit at 36 to a large degree . I prefer to stay away from the cayouse of so called society. I have found that living in a rural setting allows me to observe and enjoy things much more so without being judged or forced to judge nearly as much . I have my goals, but they are my goals for my purposes and enjoyment , not to impress others but rather myself . I believe the main purpose in life , or the most important point , is to truly open your eyes and think . I believe many don't do this until on their death bed due to the fact that it requires a great deal of isolation at times so you can realize who you are . Your biggest critic should be you , look from the top down at yourself and ask what do I see.
Nothing quite like coming down after a psylocibin trip with a peaceful background music and Alan Watts to bring you wisdom and laughter, a truly beautiful soul.
You are missed but left us so much.
ONE LOVE
Damn right
He was such an amazing gift to humanity. What a brilliant man
This man was ahead of his time and feels like a time traveler.
He is fascinating for sure however he did work for the cia and was basically a puppet unfortunately
It's not like you're listening to a caveman...
Non-joiners. I like that. I'm not a hermit, I'm a non-joiner!
Just discovered this channel...omg.im home! Lol
You have to have balls to check out. The initial period can be very intense and discouraging if you have any doubts. A lot of people end up conforming to societies definition of a non-conformist and thus fail. Checking out is just being yourself and not letting idiots manipulate or control you. The idiots WILL attack you frequently but that just shows you how little most people think but you will also meet cool genuine people and that is the biggest reward. Stay true to yourself.
I agree with your comment, but would add...
...People who attack you are either afraid of you, or they resent you for doing what they know they lack the courage to do.
I see many comments here about people choosing to smoke pot. That is their free choice.
I chose not to. That is my choice.
Some would condemn them for smoking pot, some condemn me for not! ("Dude, thought you were cool....")
I laugh at this. Everyone wants everyone else to conform to "their" way of living.
From the trenches of World War 1 came some good advice we all SHOULD follow..."Live, and let Live."
Pax Vobiscum.
It's thrilling to find ways not to get caught up in it all, especially if you have been in the past. I live comfortably on $1300 a month. I have tons of time to myself, do yoga, go hiking. Half of my expenses are for rent....if I didn't have rent, I would be comfortable on $700. And that INCLUDES an entertainment budget, usually a cup of tea or coffee out with a friend. I live almost entirely on vegetables steamed in an Instapot I was given for Christmas. My hikes and my yoga are free. My car is paid for in cash from when I was in "the game". My health insurance is covered by the state since I make nearly no money. It's not as hard as you think.
hermite life is just as good as any other extravagent life
Ken Novoa say it again brother !
Ken Novoa if the extravagant or hermit smell the roses in downtown metropolis, its too late anyways; if bugs or men smell pine birch etc.. the better
Just how is a Hermit living "extravagant". By very definition, it is living simply.
Ken Novoa
Until you become depressed
@@sacr4450 I'm a loner. I only get depressed when someone else enters my space with all of their problems.
i really believe that an aware mind could not be born in a worse age , it looks like i have to face a life of complete loniless and live the life of buddha and the one of a real man to fullfill my nature or be in a society like everybody but constantly being nothing , full of fear anxiety . Serious this is the struggle of the game of our age , and we are all in it . It takes courage.
Antonio Marinella natural law is real and undeniable. Man's law is always a perverse denial of freedom.
Property? Imaginary. Marriage? Invented. Economies? Unreal.
Leave the game and live in happiness and they will hunt you down and throw you in a cage. They can allow no example of a truly free being achieving happiness and fulfillment outside of their prescribed path. Because others would follow until there is no one left to control.
what is life like now?
Leave those beliefs and just be aware of who is aware of these thoughts, and stay there...and you won't have any problems. All problems are just thoughts made by your mind, stop entertaining them and they become just like a movie on the screen and you become the watcher of movie. You feel lonely for example because you're comparing yourself with a idea that we should have a partner, you're thinking of that and creating that loneliness for yourself...it's impossible to feel lonely or sad if you simply stop believing your thoughts...they are not your friend man. Try it and you will see!
@@MikaelMahsudjan but life isnt about being alone in the dark.
Life is about experiencing the world, if you living like a hermit, you are kinda wasting your life.
It isnt society problem with their opression, but lack of oportunity of different people to fit in.
Life is about connection with reality, especially people, if you dont do that, you are failing life.
These thoughts are important, you should hear them, we crave intimacy, there is no justification for accepting loneliness and living like crap all day lying to yourself that you CANNOT FEEL THAT.
Just what I needed. Alan Watts has helped me through so many hard times in my life. Especially with all the craziness in society right now. Now I understand more and realize that although I’m a Non Joiner I can have compassion for society and help others realize there is more than government 💜
You're not alone. Lost, possibly, but you're only really lost if you're out of time. I'm just like you. I couldn't stand the way things are, and I couldn't be ok with living in a way that contributed to it. So I stopped. I looked for a niche and ran with it. I sold all my stuff, am currently trying to build a portable tiny house, and plan to leave for the mountains. Just a whisper on the wind. Not because I have to, but because I want to. I see the game, but I just don't feel it's worth playing.
"In the US everyone must play the game, its a conformist society. Watch out for conformist societies, they can turn to fascism on a dime." -Alan Watts. RIP Alan, it happened.....
@@xmikeox because conformists are also self righteous, virtue signalling snitches. They love to conform, follow orders and demand everyone else does also.
It didnt though.
@@Nature_Consciousness step outside
@@GlitchGhostYoda It isnt nearly as comparable as fascism was.
But it was complete BS. Because he was only talking about FASCISM. Not SOCIALISM and COMMUNISM!
I am the Outcast but wouldn't have it any other way! I feel sorry for the rest of civilization all running around with their head cut off all serious playing this game called life all serious and rude!!
Thank you ALan Watts, You brought light to this world.
Only a very few in each generation. ❤
simplify,simplify,simplify ! Henry David Thoreau .
I've been entertaining Alan Watt's ideas and reflections for many many years now and I have a lot to thank him and the people who inspired his thoughts. Truly a great Man!
Alan WATT brought me here... But Alan Watts is also right about what he preaches.
Wow! I thought I was crazy looking for this stuff! I didn't know I was not alone!
It all started when I broke through on DMT
I came home today and passed by someone that lives in my community. He says "I never see you, hey look honey it's that guy". Rather than acknowledge and greet me as a fellow human being, he labels me as some "thing" rather than a person. On one hand I was incredibly insulted, but then I thought how irrelevant it was what he thinks anyway. What is wrong with choosing to live away from "the game"? I'm a social person, around the right people, but why are people forced to be part of the sheep, and ostracized if they happen to be or think different? I can think of no better example than present society, look at what America has become. Its disgusting to realize how far our society has progressed in technology, medicine, etc. but we still haven't learned how to treat each other with common decency.
I'm leaning more towards becoming hermit like. I will live in between being a modern day hermit and participating in society. I can earn money online, and I can socialize on rare occasions, while still living in modern society. Online shopping makes it so I don't have to go out and be around people much at all.
I was just thinking this after seeing the date of his death. Very very true on nearly all of the lectures I've seen thus far.
Beautifully said.
I'm hoping to step up from recluse to hermit. Not only to escape the endless, meaningless conflicts and entanglements society considers a 'relationships' and not only to draw closer to God. The great and growing impetus pushing me out and away is this dammed addictive cell phone and the evil, destructive interweb. I'm intrigued by the idea of living without money. I pray for the courage and resourcefulness to do what our ancestors did for millenia or die trying
that was simply beautiful
If you truly don't know, and are honest about it, then you've just begun your journey :)
Honestly with yourself is the base off all spiritual growth. Only when we can admit our flaws, can we make progress in that area of our life.
Blessings, and good journey to you, my friend.
It gets harder to escape this open prison every day.
it’s tough maintaining the freedom of your soul/spirit in this society/system.
but I’m going to figure it out, somehow.
I know it’s all a game, anyways.
Rebelliousness is a virtue.
We may be scattered, but we are here. Barely hanging on at times, but that is not the fault of life, its seeing the human race wasting its time. "Life's a joke that's only funny if you take it way too seriously." "Simplicity is the purest form of confusion." Quoting no one. It's good to know there are More out there. Namaste.
" . . . you get a parody of mysticism . . . "
steelyman08 you also get a parody of "scientific" self righteous (3dimention) suicide
@@gentbar7296nope
IT's nice to find someone who likes us hermits, yay!
Individualism always leads to conformism.....true
How so? Any concrete examples?
Dont you mean that individualism leads to non- conformity? The last thing we want is to be like everybody else.
agreed . . . this is one of the few things that has a bright future . . .
My father is a hermit, all on his own… and he chose to be that’s way to an extent, I worry about him immensely, and I love him more than he’ll ever know unfortunately. I hope he’s content.
Total anarchist-Nonconformist here in a global prison of 2020...bad times for any true freedom lover.
Fantastic!
thanks dude you make so much sense
Best speech ive ever heard!
@meowskull "There is something more than government" (quoted from the end of the vid) sums it up nicely.
He's right about insecure societies being intolerant. And US society is very insecure
yeah, I don't want to be forced to by health insurance just because I am alive. I am going to take the penalty because I don't want to play the game either.
I was in the military when the urinalysis was forced on troops. I rebelled not because I was a user at the time but because it is wrong. Not many made the connection. I am surprised, even today, how people don't see this invasion of privacy.
BE FREE...SIMPLIFY
@tigoldbitties1 Me too, i left everything i had back in the UK, i now live with nothing apart from my wife in HK, my way of thinking is if you cannot be happy with very little, then you are never going to be happy.
I definitely second all of that my man
F*ck the game. I don't want to play this rigged game.
The game of life is the most rigged ultimate game of all. Unfortunately you have to play your not even permitted to die to escape.
Well said
this is gem
Truly is
hmmm... maybe you're right. There's definitely an intangible nature to what he says (and maybe that's the point). All I know is that I feel better after listening to him... kind of the same way I feel after listening to good music.
Insecure societies are the most intolerant of those who are non joiners... ...... Interesting quote
Imagine what Alan would say about Covid.
I am a hermit.
conformity has to exist to some degree so laws and some sense of civility are followed but beyond that - living for ostentatious displays of success and wealth/fame - you are living to please someone else and that means you are working a 2nd job and doing it without pay unless you count social approval as a paycheck. i find it terrible that impressionable minds of all ages see images on social media and are fascinated without realizing that it is all a curated and artificial world.
Who's listening to this guy during covid?
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
He recognized the dangers of suburbanization and the tilt toward xenophobia and fascism long before anyone else did. Those who recognize it today are still in the minority. It's tempting to think that it's such a shame that he's gone, if only someone would step into his shoes, but it's like the buddha said at the end, we must be our own light.
Xenophobia will never leave, neither will fascism they are natural... Multiculturalism will always poke and prod the xenophobia out of people and yes I notice this comment is from 8 years ago
Why would anyone dislike any Alan Watts talk/video?
Thanks for this video.
Guess what "Society." I WILL NOT PLAY.
Keep in mind the hermit he's discussing is on a house on the hill. Note the word house. They aren't free unless you build it yourself. Your time at duke may give you the cash to pay for that house and THEN take on the hermit lifestyle you were looking for. But starting life out without a ticket to grab a job very easily, you may have some trouble.
we quit high school too
Hermit in the 4th house, represent!
You know. I moved from Sweden to Amsterdam, Holland, and I recognise exactly that which he is talking about. Sweden is an incredibly democratic country but at the same time a country full of sheep. An outsider is simply not welcome. Be it that you question an opinion or behave in a way that is not the norm. In Amsterdam on the other hand, each and everyone is welcome. Of course, when you put it in a relative perspective, one is because of the other. Needless to say, what he is
one can always count on Watts to save the day ...
This is amazing.
I'm checking out.
"Everyone becomes a crook - everyone becomes equally inferior" Alan, in today's society we are known as domestic terrorists...you should see what's happening in the airports.
Being an Aspie Hippie, I am a way outsider.
Am an ex hippie who dropped out. I really thought it was meaningful at the time. We were changing the world. Only damn thing that changed was when I dropped back in.
Im a joiner but also a non-joiner
There is no need to feel this way, Infact if you realized it, you should feel the Complete opposite, not lost, not alone.
Oh i didn’t realise there were other non-joiners! ❤
Thank you Rippley Ripples
I love his laugh. Lol
It's probably more the fact that in most people's eyes the term "security" categorically trumps the term "privacy". They don't have a concrete idea of privacy but security or "safety" is established very early when you wear a helmet even though it's uncomfortable, or when you parents insist on using pedestrian crossings instead of saving time.
HMMMMM...........VERY.............VERY.............INTERESTING !!!
Awesome
The world is mad always has been but it can't touch the real you.
From the regime of aggressive political correctness to the regime of aggressive nationalism. We waste our freedom embracing this or that notion one after the other thinking it's opinions when it really are obsessions. We need to go to the bottom of the problems we are upset about without taking the morale high ground and blaming eachother. Lecturing about the state of things or writing about it on Internet is not enough. There need to be real physical networks that can face the ongoing and coming challenges we stand before if we hope for any progression. It needs to be in the form of a political project and not only a spiritual/existential one. Western Buddhism is just a response on the helplessness people feel in their daily life and not a solution of the problems. But the population is so divided, fearful, angry and intolerant towards one another that we can't even talk to eachother. Divide and conquer...
We have to go outside, take our eyes off of the screens. Stop spending so much time on self-image. Talk to strangers. Listen. Communicate, co-operate. If we continue to be passive the violent actionable persons of the world are going to make their cause real valid for each and everyone of us.
If we don't go down to the bottom of the problems we're going to go down a bottomless pit.
I didnt finish high school in the last fourth year. I could finish it but it is not my path.
@God Speed and what did you do then, and what do you do know ...cause I am Young and still Stuck with the game of Life, of society6 that we must play
Dropped out , live as ANGELS
The content man is rich
Noooooooooooooo! There can't be something more than government. Government knows all. What would the world be like if we thought for ourselves? Noooooooooooooooo!
Fuck me, this is some great talk.
3:00 This applies perfectly to the so-called hipsters and their false sense of individuality. Weird shit isn't weird when everyone does it and "retro" wasn't invented by these people. It's actually the most obvious trend of the last decade.
The reason most adults, no matter how progressive, at some point stop adapting to current fads is not that they don't understand them, it's that they have finally understood them. Unfortunately for me I did as a child.
Hey this dude is telling my current life story. How did he know this? Lol, because it's the same story repeating its self.
The self and the ego doesn’t really exist
not necessary, but quite helpful.
@Wulfgar12
He has written many books, just google him
@mitchtheman28 These adults that adapt to things like workplace clothing conventions have atleast accepted that they cannot break free from the herd. Hipsters and anyone else trying to coin new "fashion" pursue a "false sense of individuality" in that they think they can escape from the herd by wearing the same piece of clothing 300,000 other people also bought. I believe that true individuality can exist but only in your mind, not in the form of fabric wrapped around you.
Didn't this guy become a Monk?
If we were all to stand naked in a storm, we would quickly return to the purpose of clothes. Not to seek a purpose within a response others will reciprocate based on a preconceived notion of style or cultural trend.
Worry less, just undress.
I knew in my twenties I did not want a life consumed by career and work…and I embraced this in my early thirties. I live a simple, happy life. I’m soooo glad to not be a part of the rat race.
I play every day...
What do you do during your day?
learn to live on lentils so as not to be subservient to kings ! Diogenes of Sinope .
On another occasion, a group of wealthy Athenians at a banquet began throwing bones at Diogenes, insulting him and calling him a dog. Diogenes then responded to this by lifting his leg and urinating on the banqueters.
Many accounts depict him walking the streets with a lantern and shining it into the faces of passersby, apparently looking for an “honest man” or a “human being”.
He got rid of his belongings, and maintained a diet of just onions. One day he saw a child cupping his hands to drink water, after that he threw away his own cup, remarking something along the lines of “A child has beaten me in plainness of living.”
Lentils contain purines, which contribute to inflammation and arthritis.
deano dog if you have olive oil, an onion, and some garlic and some salt and pepper. You can make a meal for cheap that’s delicious 😋
People are cool one on one but as soon as they are around work associates or friends they need to put on a show or wear a mask. They treat you differently according to who they are around. Can like you alone but not so much with others. It's comfortable being alone.
This is excellent; the parody of democracy.
interesting
One thing he is correct about, is that conformist societies are always one small step away from fascism. The societies that last the longest are a balancing act to maintain order. Why else do you think we have a two party system that forces you to take a side and often adopt the same ideology as everyone else in your group? The true non-conformist will not vote Republican or Democrat even though they know full well that any other choice has no chance of being elected. Republican and Democrat are two sides of the same coin of perceived liberty under strict control and conformity. The sad thing is, even though you may outwardly signal your free thinking and individualism, inwardly you are content to be conditioned and herded.
I don't like how society works either and it's getting worse, especially in the US. I am very worried about what's happening to the US, they're getting police state action being put in hard and fast, having dissidents arrested or institutionalized as terrorists or "crazy people", including military veterans!! Not a good sign!!!