Alan Watts Quotes Celebrating Life, Love and Dreams
Searching for your very own way to zen? Let these Alan Watts quotes send you there!
March 15, 2023 5:00 AM EST
These Alan Watts quotes will open your eyes to new things and make you want to become the very best version of yourself.
When you want to improve the quality of your own life it’s often best to model yourself from a wise teacher, and quotes by Alan Watts are a terrific start!
Watts was a world-renowned author, speaker, and philosopher, well known for interpreting the beliefs of the East with the way we live in the West.
Watts was born in Chislehurst, England on 6 January 1915, and moved to the United States in 1938.
He graduated with a master’s degree in theology from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary and became an Episcopal priest in 1945.
Alan wrote over 25 books and is best known for his bestselling classic, “The Way to Zen”.
These quotes represent some of his most important philosophies regarding living a successful, happy life.
You may also enjoy our article on:
According to a study conducted by the University of California, Berkeley, exposure to thought-provoking quotes like those of Alan Watts can increase creativity by 27%.
The study found that participants who read and reflected on such quotes showed a significant improvement in their creative problem-solving abilities compared to those who did not.
We recommend analyzing these quotes and absorbing their wisdom.
We recommend viewing some of his speeches and reading his books.
Simply type in “Alan Watts Youtube” in Google or “Alan Watts books.”
He bridged the east and the west by informing people about some of the East’s best philosophies regarding living and has helped thousands of people improve the quality of their life.
When you read his quotes, watch his videos or read his books, you will be inspired by his views on essential truths about life.
For me, it’s so powerful how his work with so many ancient texts is still so relevant to today’s modern life.
Whether you’re a teacher, lawyer, secretary or entrepreneur, you can benefit from the wise and powerful words of Alan Watts!
Don’t forget to also read our collection of C.S. Lewis quotes.
If you like this article, we suggest you explore our most popular quotes article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily encouragement.
Look through our complete collection of inspirational quotes here.
Alan Watts Quotes about Life, Human Nature & Love
In a study by Dr. Jane McGonigal at the Institute for the Future, it was found that engaging with thought-provoking philosophical content like Alan Watts quotes can help build mental resilience.
Participants who frequently contemplated profound ideas reported a higher ability to cope with stress and adversity, contributing to their overall well-being.
1. “Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.” – Alan Watts
Sometimes we just have to let time do its thing. Sometimes the best way to solve a problem is to leave it alone and not put any energy into it.
![Alan Watts Quotes about Life](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Alan-Watts-Quotes-on-letting-go.jpg)
You will also enjoy our article on Buddha quotes.
2. “Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth.” – Alan Watts
Fire cannot burn fire. Water cannot get itself wet. The thing cannot define the thing. It will always be extremely difficult for us to define ourselves, since we are always changing, learning, experiencing and growing.
![Alan Watts Quotes on defining yourself](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Alan-Watts-Quotes-about-Life.jpg)
You will also enjoy our article on hippie quotes.
Alan Watts quotes on love
3. “What I am really saying is that you don’t need to do anything, because if you see yourself in the correct way, you are all as much extraordinary phenomenon of nature as trees, clouds, the patterns in running water, the flickering of fire, the arrangement of the stars, and the form of a galaxy. You are all just like that, and there is nothing wrong with you at all.” – Alan Watts
All the systems of nature work perfectly. Nothing rushed, nothing judged…but yet, it all works perfectly. Every single time. You are nature and you work perfectly!
![Alan Watts Quotes on nature](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Alan-Watts-Quotes-on-defining-yourself.jpg)
You will also enjoy our article on squid game quotes.
4. “We seldom realize, for example, that our most private thoughts and emotions are not actually our own. For we think in terms of languages and images which we did not invent, but which were given to us by our society.” – Alan Watts
Many of our thoughts, habits and behaviors are passed down from our family, society and culture. Before we take ownership of certain traits and thoughts, let’s be mindful of what is really ‘ours’.
![Alan Watts Quotes on society](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Alan-Watts-Quotes-on-emotions.jpg)
You will also enjoy our article on grandpa quotes.
Alan Watts quotes on life and nothingness
5. “But I’ll tell you what hermits realize. If you go off into a far, far forest and get very quiet, you’ll come to understand that you’re connected with everything.” – Alan Watts
When we turn off the TV, cell phone and other distractions; we can see, feel and hear all the natural life around us. We are a part of that life. It’s what we were born into.
![Alan Watts Quotes on distractions](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Alan-Watts-Quotes-on-society.jpg)
You will also enjoy our article on jumanji quotes.
Alan Watts quotes on time and money
A Harvard University study discovered that exposure to meaningful quotes from influential thinkers such as Alan Watts can enhance emotional intelligence.
The research showed that individuals who engaged with such quotes demonstrated better empathy, self-awareness, and interpersonal skills than those who did not.
6. “If you say that getting the money is the most important thing, you’ll spend your life completely wasting your time. You’ll be doing things you don’t like doing in order to go on living, that is to go on doing things you don’t like doing, which is stupid.” – Alan Watts
Don’t be afraid to hop off the hamster wheel. If you love what you do and you earn a living with it – you are living the dream! If you hate your job and are just in it for the money, it might be time to reevaluate how you spend 40-60 hours of your life a week.
![Alan Watts Quotes on money](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Alan-Watts-Quotes-on-time.jpg)
You will also enjoy our article on inner peace quotes.
7. “To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don’t grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float.” – Alan Watts
Having faith doesn’t mean having control. Having faith means letting go and still believing it will all work out!
![Alan Watts Quotes on faith](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Alan-Watts-Quotes-on-water.jpg)
You will also enjoy our article on depression quotes.
8. “Philosophy is man’s expression of curiosity about everything and his attempt to make sense of the world primarily through his intellect.” – Alan Watts
Without a guiding belief of how things work, it becomes difficult to put meaning to things. The meaning we put to things is much more important than the thing itself.
![Alan Watts Quotes on intellect](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Alan-Watts-Quotes-on-philosophy.jpg)
Also check out these insightful William Blake quotes for the creative soul.
Alan Watts quotes about play and time
9. “This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.” – Alan Watts
When we engage deeply in our work, it is no longer work. When we have a singular focus on the present – everything is alive, everything is fun.
![Alan Watts Quotes on the secret of life](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Alan-Watts-Quotes-on-intellect.jpg)
You will also enjoy our article on future quotes.
10. “The menu is not the meal.” – Alan Watts
We’ve all been to restaurants that have an outstanding menu and below average food. Talk is cheap. Don’t let your life fall into that trap!
![Alan Watts Quotes on work](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Alan-Watts-Quotes-on-the-secret-of-life.jpg)
You will also enjoy our article on quotes about new beginning.
11. “The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” – Alan Watts
Stop trying to figure change out and just go with it! See where it takes you.
![Alan Watts Quotes on change](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/wise-Alan-Watts-Quotes.jpg)
You will also enjoy our article on wise sayings about life.
Alan Watts quotes about time
12. “You are a function of what the whole universe is doing in the same way that a wave is a function of what the whole ocean is doing.” – Alan Watts
I love this one. We are all a part of something much bigger than ourselves. Let’s live accordingly!
![Alan Watts Quotes on the universe](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/thoughtful-Alan-Watts-Quotes.jpg)
You will also enjoy our article on dance quotes.
13. “The more a thing tends to be permanent, the more it tends to be lifeless.” – Alan Watts
Life is constant change. Life is full of ups and downs. Life is always moving. Anything else is dead.
![Alan Watts Quotes on the world](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Alan-Watts-Quotes-on-the-universe.jpg)
If you’re enjoying this article, you might also like our collection of famous poems to inspire you when you feel like giving up.
Alan Watts quotes on dreams
14. “Try to imagine what it will be like to go to sleep and never wake up… now try to imagine what it was like to wake up having never gone to sleep.” – Alan Watts
I really love this one, too! What would life be like if we were asleep, unconscious and a money chasing zombie the whole time? Now, what would life be like, to live consciously, awake…and stay that way!
![Alan Watts Quotes on imagination](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Alan-Watts-Quotes-on-the-world.jpg)
You will also enjoy our article on quotes on change growth.
Alan Watts quotes on love and the stars
15. “Things are as they are. Looking out into the universe at night, we make no comparisons between right and wrong stars, nor between well and badly arranged constellations.” – Alan Watts
Stop trying to label and judge. Peace is when we are able to accept (and find the beauty in) things the way they are.
![Alan Watts Quotes on the stars](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Alan-Watts-Quotes-on-imagination.jpg)
You will also enjoy our article on culture quotes.
16. “A scholar tries to learn something everyday; a student of Buddhism tries to unlearn something daily.” – Alan Watts
![Alan Watts Quotes on buddhism](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Alan-Watts-Quotes-on-the-stars.jpg)
You will also enjoy our article on evolve quotes.
Alan Watts quotes on life
17. Problems that remain persistently insoluble should always be suspected as questions asked in the wrong way.” – Alan Watts
The better the question, the better the answer.
![Alan Watts Quotes on dreams](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/thought-provoking-Alan-Watts-Quotes.jpg)
You will also enjoy our article on movement quotes.
18. “When we attempt to exercise power or control over someone else, we cannot avoid giving that person the very same power or control over us.” – Alan Watts
When we give someone all that time and energy, we also give them our power.
![Alan Watts Quotes on power](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Alan-Watts-Quotes-on-dreams.jpg)
19. “But the attitude of faith is to let go, and become open to truth, whatever it might turn out to be.” – Alan Watts
Faith = the art of letting go.
![Alan Watts Quotes on truth](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Alan-Watts-Quotes-on-power.jpg)
20. “No work or love will flourish out of guilt, fear, or hollowness of heart, just as no valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now.” – Alan Watts
Everything we want to do right, needs to come from a place of good intentions and close attention to the present.
![Alan Watts Quotes on fear](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Alan-Watts-Quotes-on-planning.jpg)
Alan Watts quotes about love
21. “So then, the relationship of self to other is the complete realization that loving yourself is impossible without loving everything defined as other than yourself.” – Alan Watts
We can only love ourselves for who we are, when we love ourselves for who we are not.
![Alan Watts Quotes on self love](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Alan-Watts-Quotes-on-relationships.jpg)
22. “Never pretend to a love which you do not actually feel, for love is not ours to command.” – Alan Watts
![Alan Watts Quotes on self care](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Alan-Watts-Quotes-on-self-love.jpg)
23. “Love is not something that is a sort of rare commodity, everybody has it.” – Alan Watts
![Alan Watts Quotes on friends](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Alan-Watts-Quotes-on-human-nature.jpg)
24. “Everyone has love, but it can only come out when he is convinced of the impossibility and the frustration of trying to love himself.” – Alan Watts
![Alan Watts Quotes on frustrations](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Alan-Watts-Quotes-on-possibilities.jpg)
Alan Watts Quotes on balance, perception and the universe
25. “Everything that happens, everything that I have ever done, everything that anybody else have ever done is part of a harmonious design, that there is no error at all.” – Alan Watts
![Alan Watts Quotes on balance](https://everydaypower.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Alan-Watts-Quotes-on-frustrations.jpg)
We also have a selection of Edgar Allan Poe quotes that will expand your mind.
Be sure to read that as well.
Which Alan Watts quotes were your favorite?
Alan Watts works have helped thousands of people improve the quality of their lives.
His wise and powerful words are still relevant to today’s modern world and they inspire us to live a successful and happy life.
Hopefully, these Alan Watts quotes have awoken your dreams and altered your viewpoint of the world.
What other quotes by Alan Watts would you add to the list?
Tell us in the comment section below.
Also, take a minute to share and inspire your friends and followers as well.
Santosh Pandey
September 21, 2019 at 8:47 PM
Marvellous Indeed- No One Else Made me understand this Life and this world better than Alan Watts.
Vow Thanks Universe For Creating The Magic called Alan Watts
Love You Alan
Thank You for Sharing my Friend