The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety

by Alan W. Watts

Book Overview

An acclaimed philosopher shows us how--in an age of unprecedented anxiety--we can find fulfillment by embracing the present and living more fully in the now. He is "the perfect guide for a course correction in life" (from the Introduction by Deepak Chopra).

The brain can only assume its proper behavior when consciousness is doing what it is designed for: not writhing and whirling to get out of present experience, but being effortlessly...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0307741206
• ISBN13: 9780307741202
• Release Date: February 2011
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.41 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.1" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

Great Philosophy Book especially for those of us with Anxiety/OCD

I just finished reading this book, and will probably read it periodically to try and reinforce myself about worrying less. Well written, and still extremely applicable to the 21st century way of life.

Beautiful and short message for our age of anxiety

Alan Watts describes how religion, science, and language are fundamentally separate from nature, contributing to many people's inability to fully experience the present moment (at least that's what I get from it). He slowly helps the reader face death and fear with courage and talks about the true nature of God. I love Alan Watts and all his books because he explains such complex ideas clearly so that anyone getting interested in philosophy can understand, although it was confusing for me at times. I hope more people look into his writing!!

Love it

I’ve always heard great things about Alan Watts and now I can enjoy and learn from him.

Short but good

This book is an excellent place to start reading philosophy. _The Wisdom of Insecurity_ was obviously written for the layman, making it ideal for those who are new to this type of nonfiction. In it, Alan Watts explains to us various ways of accepting and dealing with anxiety and insecurity in spiritual matters. This technique of acceptance was clearly derived from the Hindu and Buddhist methods of establishing a calm and mellow outlook on life. Like these great Eastern religions, Alan Watts does not try to tackle issues of theological truth head-on, but instead sidesteps the eternal questions. This is not because he is incapable of dealing with more complex metaphysical issues - he does so in great depth in his other, longer works. Neither is this method of sidestepping our sources of anxiety an evasion of rational, empirical truth. This book is not a rigorous empiricist study, and never claimed to be. It is instead a psychotheapeutic work verging on the anti-intellectual, but at the same time embracing meditation and contemplation. Watts shows us ways to act out our love for wisdom and enlightenment by concentrating on the positive and accepting (but not dwelling on) disturbing questions which he considers to be unanswerable. This is not an atheistic work nor is it a tale of despair. This is a work infused with hope, while being mindful of the truth. It succeeds in treading a sort of middle ground between the love of knowledge and anti-intellectualism.The only problem with this book is its short length, although some might consider this an advantage. If you are looking for a more in-depth and rigorous study, try _Behold the Spirit_ or _Psychotherapy East and West_, also by Alan Watts.

Just wanna be happy?

The path is simple, but walking it is more difficult than it sounds. This book was a gift to me from a friend whose sanity, insight and wisdom I've always admired.This book, although written in very basic, simple but elegant language, is a challenging read merely because the ideas that are expressed are so powerful that you may well find yourself reading the same sentence several times over before you feel like you've completely taken it in.Its been absolutely instrumental in helping me navigate through a particular instable period in my life. Everyone knows the key to happiness boils down to a simple, hackneyed cliche: 'Don't Worry, Be Happy.' But this books explains very rationally, yet gently, why this is so. I keep it on my bed at all times, and pick it up on certain difficult nights, read a few paragraphs, and remember: the future is out of my hands, and the past is both out of my hands and distorted by my own interpretation of it. The past can never be usefully compared to the present. NOW is the time to focus on. Wake up! Look around! Everything is before you...NOW.

An old friend

At the tender age of eight years, I held this book in my hands for the first time, a gift from my father. Somehow he (who then and always has known too much) felt that by allowing me to find such insight while still so young he could show me intellectual avenues that happened upon him too late. Of course at eight years old I had not lived or thought enough to understand much of the more self-centered implications of what Watts has to say, but the intellectual gyrations got me started. I've never stopped since. Since then, now nearly twenty years ago, I have revisited this book whenever I feel myself growing unclear and uneasy about the universe and my "place" within it. The only problem is that I find myself buying it over and over again because I keep giving it away, to those that, at the time, seem to need clarity more than do I. But I always come back.Oh, and if anyone becomes desperate for the answer to the anagram, I know it (after ten years of crossing my eyes at it). But it's much more satisfying to see it for yourself.

A Therapeutic Bible

I am a therapist that recommends this incredibly insightful book to most of my clients, especially those suffering from anxiety disorders and control issues. Alan Watts is a century ahead of his time. "For the animal to be happy it is enough that this moment be enjoyable." For man, we often miss this moment by trying to assure the next moment will be as enjoyable. Alan's book is required reading, in my opinion, for all therapists practicing therapy in this security obsessed world. Great book! One of my psychotherapy bibles!

"Belief clings, but faith lets go."

One of my favorite books of all time. I've reread it more times than any other, but never without reaching new insights and finding new inspiration. It's filled with wisdom like the following: "[I]t is a serious misapplication of psychology to make the presence or absence of neurosis the touchstone of truth, and to argue that if a man's philosophy makes him neurotic, it must be wrong. `Most atheists and agnostics are neurotic, whereas most simple Catholics are happy and at peace with themselves. Therefore the views of the former are false, and of the latter true.' Even if the observation is correct, the reasoning based on it is absurd. It is as if to say, `You say there is a fire in the basement. You are upset about it. Because you are upset, there is obviously no fire." Watts talks about the many subtle proprieties of life in which we are all engaged but which we seldom discuss. Then, the instant you read them, you feel as if your own thoughts had been read aloud. I can't recommend this book highly enough.