Alan Wilson Watts (Chislehurst Kent, 6 de enero de 1915 Mt. Tamalpais California, 16 de noviembre de 1973) fue un filsofo britnico, as como editor, sacerdote anglicano, locutor, decano, escritor, conferenciante y experto en religin. Se le conoce sobre todo por su labor como intrprete y popularizador de las filosofas asiticas para la audiencia occidental.

Escribi ms de veinticinco libros y numerosos artculos sobre temas como la identidad personal, la verdadera naturaleza de la realidad, la elevacin de la conciencia y la bsqueda de la felicidad, relacionando su experiencia con el conocimiento cientfico y con la enseanza de las religiones y filosofas orientales y occidentales (budismo Zen, taosmo, cristianismo, hinduismo, etc.)

Alan Watts fue un conocido autodidacta. Becado por la Universidad de Harvard y la Bollingen Foundation, obtuvo un mster en Teologa por el Seminario teolgico Sudbury-Western y un doctorado honoris causa por la Universidad de Vermont, en reconocimiento a su contribucin al campo de las religiones comparadas.

Watts naci en una familia de clase media en el pueblo de Chislehurst (actualmente barrio londinense de Bromley), Kent, Inglaterra en 1915.[1] Su padre, Laurence Wilson Watts, era representante de la oficina londinense de la compaa de neumticos Michelin; su madre, Emily Mary Buchan, era un ama de casa cuyo padre haba sido misionero. Con modestos medios familiares, decidieron vivir en la buclica periferia, y Alan, hijo nico, creci aprendiendo los nombres de la flores salvajes y mariposas, jugando entre arroyos y celebrando ceremonias funerarias para los pjaros muertos.

Probablemente por la influencia de la familia de su madre, muy religiosa, los Buchans, creci en l un inters por "la naturaleza ltima de las cosas", que se combin con la pasin de Alan por los libros de fbulas y cuentos romnticos del entonces misterioso Lejano Oriente. Watts tambin escribi ms tarde sobre una especie de visin mstica que experiment cuando, de nio, estaba enfermo con fiebre. Durante esa poca fue influido por las pinturas de paisajes del Lejano Oriente y por los bordados que su madre haba recibido de misioneros regresados de China. En cuanto a las pinturas chinas que haba visto en Inglaterra, Watts escribi "Yo estaba estticamente fascinado por una cierta claridad, transparencia y espaciosidad del arte chino y japons. Pareca flotar..."[segn se dice en su autobiografa]. Estas obras de arte enfatizaban la relacin participativa del hombre con la naturaleza, un tema que sera importante para l a lo largo de su vida.

Segn su propia opinin, Watts era imaginativo, testarudo, y hablador. Fue enviado a un internado (que inclua instruccin acadmica y religiosa) desde joven. Durante las vacaciones en su adolescencia, Francis Croshaw, un rico epicreo con gran inters por el budismo y por aspectos poco conocidos de la cultura europea, llev a Watts en un viaje a travs de Francia. No mucho despus Watts se sinti obligado a decidir entre el cristianismo anglicano de su entorno o el budismo, sobre el que haba ledo en varias bibliotecas, incluyendo la de Croshaw. Escogi el budismo, y se hizo miembro del "London Buddhist Lodge", fundado por tesofos, siendo dirigido entonces por el abogado Christmas Humphreys. Watts se convirti en secretario de la organizacin a los 16 aos (1931). El joven Watts experiment con varios tipos de meditacin durante esos aos.

Watts asisti a la King's School, junto a la catedral de Canterbury. Aunque era en general un alumno aventajado, y le fueron encomendadas responsabilidades en la escuela, desaprovech la oportunidad de obtener una beca en Oxford por escribir uno de los exmenes definitivos en un estilo que fue considerado presuntuoso y caprichoso.

Por tanto, cuando se gradu en la escuela secundaria, Watts se vio obligado a buscar empleo, trabajando en una imprenta y ms tarde en un banco. Dedic su tiempo libre al "Buddhist Lodge" y tambin estuvo bajo la tutela de un gur llamado Dimitrije Mitrinovi (Mitrinovi, a su vez, haba recibido influencias de Piotr Uspenski, G. I. Gurdjieff y las diversas escuelas psicoanalticas de Sigmund Freud o prximas al psicoanlisis como las de Carl Gustav Jung y Alfred Adler). Durante este perodo, Watts tambin ley extensamente obras de filosofa, historia, psicologa, psiquiatra y sabidura oriental.

Durante el perodo de la Segunda Guerra Mundial se convirti en el capelln episcopaliano de la Northwestern University. Ms tarde fue catedrtico y decano en la Academia Americana de Estudios Asiticos en San Francisco. A mediados de los sesenta viaj con sus estudiantes de la Academia Americana a Japn, visitando Birmania, Ceiln (actual Sri Lanka) y la India, pudo tener contacto con el filsofo budista Zen Dr. Suzuki. Tambin hizo televisin: su programa, emitido en la National Educational Television, se titulaba Eastern Wisdom and Modern Life.

Tras su muerte, su hijo, Mark Watts, fund la Electronic University para continuar la obra de su padre y hacer realidad su visin de la educacin a travs de los medios electrnicos.[2]

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Alan Watts - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre

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This lecture, delivered before a live audience in Canton, Ohio in 2010, is based on research in the upcoming new book Forbidden Gates: How Genetics, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Synthetic Biology, Nanotechnology, and Human Enhancement Herald the Dawn of Techno-Dimensional Spiritual Warfare. This research reveals for the first time how breakthrough advances in science, technology, and philosophyincluding cybernetics, bioengineering, nanotechnology, machine intelligence, synthetic biology, and transhumanismwill combine to create mind-boggling game-changes to everything you have ever known about spiritual warfare.

How so?

In recent years, astonishing technological developments have pushed the frontiers of humanity toward far-reaching morphological transformation that promises in the very near future to redefine what it means to be human. An international, intellectual, and fast-growing cultural movement known as transhumanism intends the use of genetics, robotics, artificial intelligence, and nanotechnology (Grin technologies) as tools that will radically redesign our minds, our memories, our physiology, our offspring, and even perhapsas Joel Garreau in his best-selling book, Radical Evolution, claimsour very souls. The technological, cultural, and metaphysical shift now underway unapologetically forecasts a future dominated by this new species of unrecognizably superior humans, and applications under study now to make this dream a reality are being funded by thousands of government and private research facilities around the world. As the reader will learn, this includes, among other things, rewriting human dna and combining humans with beasts, a fact that some university studies and transhumanists believe will not only alter our bodies and souls but ultimately could open a door to contact with unseen intelligence.

As a result, new modes of perception between things visible and invisible are expected to challenge the church in ways that are historically and theologically unprecedented. Without comprehending what is quickly approaching in related disciplines of research and development, vast numbers of believers could be paralyzed by the most fantasticand most far-reachingsupernatural implications. The destiny of each individualas well as the future of their familieswill depend on knowledge of the new paradigm and the preparedness to face it head on.

As outlined in this book, the power operating behind this scheme to integrate human-animal-machine interfaces in order to reengineer humanity is not new. The ancient, malevolent force is simply repackaging itself these days as the forward-thinking and enlightened progress needed for the next step in human evolution.

Facing godlike machines and man's willingness to cross over species and extradimensional barriers put in place by God, traditional methods of spiritual warfarewhich Christian institutions have relied on for the last centurywill soon be monumentally impacted in nontraditional ways and insufficient when approaching this threshold.

Yet it is possible, according to Forbidden Gates, not only to survive but to triumph over the uncanny challenges the impending epoch will present. Overcomers will prevail through a working knowledge of the philosophy and technologies driving the threats, combined with a solid understanding of the authority that Christians alone have. What continues within these pages will lift the curtain on a world unlike previous generations could have expected or even imagined, and will inform believers how the power of Christ can be amplified against heretofore unknown adversarial manifestations.

Thomas and Nita Horn have nearly thirty-five years of ministry experience, with twenty-five inside the largest evangelical institution in the worldincluding executive-level positions with responsibilities such as exorcism. Today they are internationally recognized lecturers, publishers, radio hosts, and best-selling authors of several books, including Apollyon Rising 2012: The Lost Symbol Found and the Final Mystery of the Great Seal Revealed. Their works have been referred to by writers of the L. A. Times Syndicate, MSNBC, Christianity Today, New Man magazine, World Net Daily, and News Max, as well as by White House correspondents and reporters with dozens of newsmagazines and press agencies around the globe. They have been interviewed by U.S. congressmen and senators on their findings, and have been featured repeatedly in major media, including top-ten talk shows, America's Morning News for the Washington Times, CBN, and the History Channel.

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The Age of Enlightenment, sometimes called the Age of Reason, refers to the time of the guiding intellectual movement, called The Enlightenment. It covers about a century and a half in Europe, beginning with the publication of Francis Bacon's Novum Organum (1620) and ending with Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason (1781). From the perspective of socio-political phenomena, the period is considered to have begun with the close of the Thirty Years' War (1648) and ended with the French Revolution (1789).

The Enlightenment advocated reason as a means to establishing an authoritative system of aesthetics, ethics, government, and even religion, which would allow human beings to obtain objective truth about the whole of reality. Emboldened by the revolution in physics commenced by Newtonian kinematics, Enlightenment thinkers argued that reason could free humankind from superstition and religious authoritarianism that had brought suffering and death to millions in religious wars. Also, the wide availability of knowledge was made possible through the production of encyclopedias, serving the Enlightenment cause of educating the human race.

The age of Enlightenment is considered to have ended with the French Revolution, which had a violent aspect that discredited it in the eyes of many. Also, Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), who referred to Sapere aude! (Dare to know!) as the motto of the Enlightenment, ended up criticizing the Enlightenment confidence on the power of reason. Romanticism, with its emphasis upon imagination, spontaneity, and passion, emerged also as a reaction against the dry intellectualism of rationalists. Criticism of the Enlightenment has expressed itself in a variety of forms, such as religious conservatism, postmodernism, and feminism.

The legacy of the Enlightenment has been of enormous consequence for the modern world. The general decline of the church, the growth of secular humanism and political and economic liberalism, the belief in progress, and the development of science are among its fruits. Its political thought developed by Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), John Locke (1632-1704), Voltaire (1694-1778) and Rousseau (1712-1788) created the modern world. It helped create the intellectual framework not only for the American Revolutionary War and liberalism, democracy and capitalism but also the French Revolution, racism, nationalism, secularism, fascism, and communism.

The intellectual leaders of the Enlightenment regarded themselves as a courageous elite who would lead the world into progress from a long period of doubtful tradition and ecclesiastical tyranny, which had resulted in the bloody Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) and the English Civil War (1642-1651). This dogmatism took three forms:

(A later, religious reaction against the church's dogmatic outlook was the Pietist movement of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.)

Enlightenment thinkers reduced religion to those essentials which could only be "rationally" defended, i.e., certain basic moral principles and a few universally held beliefs about God. Aside from these universal principles and beliefs, religions in their particularity were largely banished from the public square. Taken to its logical extreme, the Enlightenment resulted in atheism.

In the seventeenth century, Francis Bacon (1561-1626) pointed out intellectual fallacies of the older tradition, and Ren Descartes (1596-1650) made doubting the first principle of philosophy; and these set much of the agenda as well as much of the methodology for those who came after them. The age of Enlightenment is typified in Europe by the great system-buildersphilosophers who present unified systems of epistemology, metaphysics, logic, and ethics. Immanuel Kant later classified his predecessors into two schools: The rationalists and the empiricists. This division may be an oversimplification, but it has continued to be used to this day, especially when writing about the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The three main rationalists are normally taken to have been Ren Descartes, Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677), and Gottfried Leibniz (1646-1716). Building upon their English predecessors Francis Bacon and Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), the three main empiricists were John Locke (1632-1704), George Berkeley (1685-1753), and David Hume (1711-1776). The former were distinguished by the belief that, in principle (though not in practice), all knowledge can be gained by the power of reason alone; the latter rejected this, believing that all knowledge has to come through the senses, from experience. Thus the rationalists took mathematics as their model for knowledge, and the empiricists took the physical sciences.

The spirit of the Age of Reason also affected Christianity. Depending on how much it affected Christianity, there occurred two distinguishable schools in the religion of the Enlightenment: Rational supernaturalism and Deism.

Rational supernaturalists included William Chillingworth (1602-1644), John Tillotson (1630-1694), and John Locke. While they understood the unique role of revelation and differentiated between what could and what could not be rationally established, they were convinced that revelation could still be defended by reason. For them, while revelation may be above reason, it is not contradictory to reason. In his The Reasonableness of Christianity as Delivered in the Scriptures (1695), Locke argued that while the miracles recorded in the Bible can indicate their divine origin, reason has the last word in explaining and accepting them. Rational supernaturalists also believed that Christian revelation can be reduced to a few doctrinal essentials about God, which can provide the divine sanctions for morality.

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Age of Enlightenment - New World Encyclopedia

"Pick Four" by Seth Godin is a very simple but very powerful 12-week goal program. Basically, Seth Godin has taken Zig Ziglar's Goals Program and updated and simplified it. Both the great strength and the great weakness of the book is its simplicity.

The simplicity of the book is one of its greatest strengths because unlike other books that deal with setting goals and the change process, this book contains a bare minimum of theory. In essence, the research on change and setting effective goals shows that 3 things are necessary:

1. Small steps 2. Consistent effort 3. Group support

The simplicity of the book makes the concepts easy to find, understand, and implement. I've tried plans for setting goals and changing by Stephen Covey and others but for some reason have not kept up with them consistently. I'm hoping that because the plan is so simple that I'll stick with this plan for the rest of my life.

The plan takes the reader through the process of selecting meaningful and important goals and narrowing them down to the most important 4. Then, for each goal, a 2-page analysis of benefits, obstacles, and the plan for the goal are listed. Most of the book actually consists simply of a daily log for 12 weeks in which the reader tracks how well he's doing on his goals.

The simplicity of the book is also its weakness. Although it's possible to get weighed down by too much theory, I would have liked to see more explanation of the philosophy of setting goals and change. Also, it would have been helpful if there were more information about how to adapt the goals if they're not working out for some reason. Some people, too, might need more help in formulating the goals or in getting motivated.

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Pick Four (4 Pack - Designed to Share): Zig Ziglar ...

What did Napoleon Hill have to say about Mastermind Groups?

In his book, Think and Grow Rich, he talked about something called a mastermind alliance. He goes on to describe a mastermind group as, A friendly alliance with one or more persons who will encourage one to follow through with both plan and purpose.

In his book, Master Key to Riches, Napoleon Hill says, Every mind needs friendly contact with other minds, for food of expansion and growth. To Hill mastermind groups are established to help create an environment that nurtures and supports growth.

Notice how he uses the word friendly throughout his discussion of mastermind groups? Hill believed that a harmonious groups of two or more people who come together for a specific purpose, or around a specific topic, bring forth the power of creativity and support that you cant find when you go it alone. Napoleon Hill feels so strongly about this that he says in Your Magic Power to be Rich, Maintain perfect harmony between yourself and every member of your master mind group. If you fail to carry out this instruction to the letter, you may expect to meet with failure. The master mind principle cannot obtain where perfect harmony does not prevail. Thats a strong message about what makes a mastermind group succeed or fail.

In Hills book, The Law of Success, he adds another element to the idea of a mastermind group: the group helps to organize useful knowledge, creating a virtual encyclopedia from which each member can draw information.

When starting a mastermind group, or joining an existing one, look for these three hallmarks: friendly, growth-oriented, and willing to share information.

By the way, have you seen Napoleon Hills videos from his TV show in the 1960s? You can view them all of Napoleon Hills videoshere.

Want to learn more about how you can start a mastermind group? Click here.

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Napoleon Hill and Mastermind Groups | The Success Alliance ...

SteveMcIntosh.com is an expression of the emerging evolutionary worldview

This website features Steves new 2015 book The Presence of the Infinite. Also featured are his books: Evolutions Purpose (2012), and Integral Consciousness (2007). SteveMcintosh.com includes in-depth video and audio of Steves work on the subject of integral philosophy and the evolutionary perspective it enacts. These extensive video and audio files provide the equivalent of a free workshop on this new understanding of the development of human consciousness and culture. Also included is Steves occasional blog, as well as other information on his life and work.

This website site also highlights the nonprofit integral political think tank, The Institute for Cultural Evolution, where Steve currently serves as President and Co-Founder.

We invite you to explore this websites many offerings, and encourage you to email us with questions or comments. And if you feel so moved, please join our email list, visit us on Facebook, and follow our frequent quotes on Twitter.

Thank you for your interest in integral philosophy and the evolutionary worldview.

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Website of Author Steve McIntosh, Integral Philosopher and ...

Learn about the science and benefits of meditation,discoverhow to meditate, and enhance your practicewithour guided meditations to connect your body and mind. Recently Added in Meditation 10-Minute Meditation on Self-Care for Mothers

Mothers sacrifice sleep, diet, love life to care for their kids. Take a moment to pause and recalibrate yourself for better balance.

For those suffering from anxiety, yoga can be a lifeline. Heres why doctors are increasingly recommending it as a complementary therapy.

Meditation is one part of the practice that has the potential to keep deepening with age. Here are 10 guided meditations to return to for years to come.

Without breath, theprana we cultivate through yoga practice would have no real avenue for circulation; the breath is everything.

Gain insight into the way you can use your reactions to sound to understand yourself better and settle deeply into the present moment.

Deepak Chopra is co-hosting aGlobal Meditation for Compassionon Saturday, July 11. Use this practice to open your heart anytime.

If youve struggled with meditation but buy into the benefits, its time to try yoga nidra. This systematic relaxation brings ease to the very deepest layers of our being.

Deepak Chopra empowers children to find positive ways in which they would like to change the world through mindfulness exercises.

Neck pain and stress-related tension are a regular struggle for many, but experts say meditation may be the key to longterm relief.

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Meditation - Yoga Journal

Seattle TM Centers

Transcendental meditation is a simple, natural technique... This form of meditation allows your body to settle into a state of profound rest and relaxation and your mind to achieve a state of inner peace, without needing to use concentration or effort.

You are invited to a special introductory talk on the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique in Seattle. Admission is free. For the schedule, please use the contact form on the left, or call (206) 235-2322.

The TM technique has been learned by over 6 million people, and over 380 published studies have found it highly effective for stress, anxiety, insomnia, hypertension, and more.

Imagine trying to learn a natural golf swing or the violin. You know how valuable it is for a good teacher to show you the proper technique.

The TM technique is easy to learn, but requires personalized interactive guidance. For this reason, its taught only through one-on-one instruction by a certified TM teacher.

There is no other way to learn the authentic TM technique and there is no evidence that anything else provides the full range of benefits documented in the published research on the TM technique.

Its a simple, natural technique practiced 20 minutes twice each day while sitting comfortably with the eyes closed.

The TM technique is easy to learn and enjoyable to practice, and is not a religion, philosophy, or lifestyle. Over six million people have learned it people of all ages, cultures, and religions.

The TM technique allows your mind to easily settle inward, through quieter levels of thought, until you experience the most silent and peaceful level of your own awareness pure consciousness.

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Meditation Classes Seattle - Transcendental Meditation Seattle

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Updated May 24, 2014.

As yoga becomes increasingly diffuse and diverse, a single, common definition that can be agreed upon by everyone is all but impossible. Complicating matters further, the term yoga has been in use for several thousand years and has shifted in meaning many times. Since my primarily concern is the modern interpretation of the physical practices of yoga, it is there that we will look for our definition.

The word yoga comes from Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language. It is a derivation of the word yuj, which means yoking, as in a team of oxen. In contemporary practice, this is often interpreted as meaning union. Yoga is said to be for the purpose of uniting the mind, body, and spirit.

How can this union be achieved? Meditation is one way, but sometimes it is necessary to prepare the body for meditation by stretching and building strength. This is the physical practice of yoga, also know as asana.

Most modern yoga practices rely heavily on the Yoga Sutras of Patajali, a series of aphorisms written c. 250 CE, as the basis for their philosophies. Patanjali classifiesasana as one of the eight "limbs" of yoga, the majority of which are more concerned with mental and spiritual well-being than physical activity.

Many people think that yoga is just stretching. But while stretching is certainly involved, yoga is really about creating balance in the body through developing both strength and flexibility.

This is done through the performance of poses or postures, each of which has specific physical benefits. The poses can be done quickly in succession, creating heat in the body through movement (vinyasa-style yoga) or more slowly to increase stamina and perfect the alignment of the pose. The poses are a constant, but the approach to them varies depending on the yoga tradition in which the teacher has trained.

Yoga teachers will often refer to "your practice," which means your individual experience with yoga as it develops over time. The amazing thing about yoga is that your practice is always evolving and changing, so it never gets boring. Although the poses themselves do not change, your relationship to them will. Anyone can start a yoga practice, even if you don't feel like you are very flexible or very strong. These things will improve the longer you practice. Another great thing about thinking about "your practice" is that it encourages the noncompetitive spirit of yoga. One of the most difficult, but ultimately most liberating things about yoga is letting go of the ego and accepting that no one is better than anyone else. Everyone is just doing their best on any given day.

In addition to practicing the poses, yoga classes may also include instruction on breathing, call and response chanting, meditation, or an inspirational reading by the teacher. The variety and amount of this will depend on the individual teacher and the yoga style in which he or she is trained. Typically, a yoga class at a gym will be more focused on the purely physical benefits of yoga, while one at a yoga center may delve more into the spiritual side. Some people find that the physical practice of yoga becomes a gateway into a spiritual exploration, while others just enjoy a wonderful low-impact workout that makes them feel great. Whatever your tendency, you will be able to find a yoga class that suits your style.

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What is Yoga?

Back by popular demand, Yoga in the Outfield is returning to Nationals Park for the second time in 2015!

Fans have seen their favorite players stretch in the on deck circle or stretch to make catches in the outfield for the past few years, but always from the confines of their seats at Nationals Park. However, on Sunday, September 27, fans will have a chance to do some stretching of their own - and we're not just talking about the kind during Take Me Out to the Ballgame - following the 1:35 p.m. contest between the Washington Nationals and Philadelphia Phillies.

Following the game, fans who purchase a special ticket will receive a one-of-a-kind Nationals yoga mat and have the opportunity to participate in a 45-minute yoga class on the outfield grass led by certified yoga instructors.

Whether you prefer the Bryce Harper "Warrior Pose," the Jayson Werth "Mountain (Man) Pose" or just plain "Spanning," Yoga in the Outfield is a must for all local yogis!

For more information or to purchase group tickets, contact Kiersten McGreer at 202.640.7692 or kiersten.mcgreer@nationals.com.

Game time subject to change. Ticket offer can only be redeemed online through this page. Offer is not valid at the Nationals Park Box Office.

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Group Tickets | nationals.com: Tickets