Authors: Alan W. Watts
ISBN-13: 9780394719047, ISBN-10: 0394719042
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Date Published: March 1973
Edition: (Non-applicable)
The six essays in this volume all deal with the relationship of mystical experience to ordinary life. The title essay on "cosmic consciousness" includes the author's account of his own ventures into this inward realm. "Instinct, Intelligence, and Anxiety" is a study of the paradoxes of self-consciousness; "Spiritually and Sensuality," a lively discussion of the false opposition of spirit and matter; and "The New Alchemy," a balanced account of states of consciousness akin to spiritual experience induced by the aid of lysergic acid. The collection also includes the text of Watts' celebrated pamphlet, "Beat Zen, Square Zen, and Zen."
Preface | 11 | |
1 | This Is It | 15 |
2 | Instinct, Intelligence, and Anxiety | 41 |
3 | Zen and the Problem of Control | 59 |
4 | Beat Zen, Square Zen, and Zen | 77 |
5 | Spirituality and Sensuality | 111 |
6 | The New Alchemy | 125 |
Bibliography | 155 |