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Just So: An Odyssey Into the Cosmic Web of Connection, Play, and True Pleasure
If you were God, asked Alan Watts, what kind of universe would you create? A perfect one free of suffering and drama? Or one filled with surprise and delight?
With Just So, the celebrated philosopher and self-described spiritual entertainer invites us to explore the hidden dimensions that shape both the cosmos and our personal experience of it.
From the 1950s to the 1970s, Eastern spiritual philosophies ignited in the West profound new ways of perceiving ourselves and the mysteries of life. And from the beginning, Alan Watts was at the forefront sparking insight after insight at live gatherings and radio broadcasts. Today, Alan Watts books and recordings bring perennial delight to new readers and listeners of all ages and beliefs.
Here, the luminary author and speaker explores three often-overlooked yet essential universal dynamics: connection, play, and pleasure. This exceptional collection of sessions includes three complementary seminars:
The Cosmic Network a journey into the interconnected web of the personal and the infinite
Ecological Awareness reflections on how humanity and nature evolve through discovery and purposeless play
The Pursuit of Pleasure how a true materialism connects us fully through our senses with others and to the natural flow of the cosmos.
Along the way, you ll explore many other themes, at turns humorous, prophetic, and more relevant today than ever. What unfolds is a liberating view of life that arises from possibility and the unpredictable perfect and just so not in spite of its messy imperfections, but because of them."
With Just So, the celebrated philosopher and self-described spiritual entertainer invites us to explore the hidden dimensions that shape both the cosmos and our personal experience of it.
From the 1950s to the 1970s, Eastern spiritual philosophies ignited in the West profound new ways of perceiving ourselves and the mysteries of life. And from the beginning, Alan Watts was at the forefront sparking insight after insight at live gatherings and radio broadcasts. Today, Alan Watts books and recordings bring perennial delight to new readers and listeners of all ages and beliefs.
Here, the luminary author and speaker explores three often-overlooked yet essential universal dynamics: connection, play, and pleasure. This exceptional collection of sessions includes three complementary seminars:
The Cosmic Network a journey into the interconnected web of the personal and the infinite
Ecological Awareness reflections on how humanity and nature evolve through discovery and purposeless play
The Pursuit of Pleasure how a true materialism connects us fully through our senses with others and to the natural flow of the cosmos.
Along the way, you ll explore many other themes, at turns humorous, prophetic, and more relevant today than ever. What unfolds is a liberating view of life that arises from possibility and the unpredictable perfect and just so not in spite of its messy imperfections, but because of them."
Audio CD
Published January 1, 2017
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About the author
Alan W. Watts
255 books8,020 followersAlan Wilson Watts was a British philosopher, writer and speaker, who held both a Master's in Theology and a Doctorate of Divinity. Famous for his research on comparative religion, he was best known as an interpreter and popularizer of Asian philosophies for a Western audience. He wrote over 25 books and numerous articles on subjects such as personal identity, the true nature of reality, higher consciousness, the meaning of life, concepts and images of God and the non-material pursuit of happiness. In his books he relates his experience to scientific knowledge and to the teachings of Eastern and Western religion and philosophy.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
September 9, 2019
This is the last of the major compilations of Watts' lectures put out by Sounds True that I've listened to and I wish like hell there were more. This is probably the most "pragmatic" of any of the collections—Watts turns his eyes more outward than inward this time around and his thoughts about Western society seem absolutely prophetic now. I think I'll be returning to this and the other audio compilations often throughout my life, I truly could listen to this guy laugh his way through lectures about life, the universe, and everything all day.
July 18, 2025
An absolutely sublime collection, offering profound insights into the nature of reality and our place within it. Each lecture is a masterclass in accessible philosophy, unraveling complex concepts with his signature wit and effortless clarity.
Watts' ability to bridge Eastern wisdom and Western thought is unparalleled, providing a refreshing and liberating perspective on life's most fundamental questions. This book isn't just to be read; it's an experience that encourages deep introspection and a transformative shift in perception.
"Just So" is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the art of living fully in the present moment – a truly illuminating and deeply rewarding journey.
Watts' ability to bridge Eastern wisdom and Western thought is unparalleled, providing a refreshing and liberating perspective on life's most fundamental questions. This book isn't just to be read; it's an experience that encourages deep introspection and a transformative shift in perception.
"Just So" is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the art of living fully in the present moment – a truly illuminating and deeply rewarding journey.
January 30, 2024
True wisdom and mind-opening teaching about the universe, the planet, humanity, and beyond.
June 4, 2021
Některé úvahy byly opravdu zajímavé, jiná témata mě moc nezaujala - nebo to Alan Watts možná tlačil směrem, který se mi nelíbil. Ocenila bych méně opakování se a více odpovědí než otazníků, ale zase jsou to filosofické přednášky, ne návod na život (i proto se mi to ostatně nejspíš nakonec líbilo).
February 11, 2021
Watch a detailed review along with my favorite ideas and takeaways at:
https://youtu.be/VQfWs8k_GTg
https://youtu.be/VQfWs8k_GTg
May 18, 2019
First experience with Alan Watts. Absolutely stunning – I have never heard someone blend the mystical and scientific so beautifully. Can’t believe I waited this long.
November 20, 2020
“The mystery of life is not a problem to be solved but a reality to be experienced. The people who try to explain mysteries are people who try to destroy mysteries and that is in a way to destroy life.” I love Alan Watts because he brings to our attention how much permission we truly have to enjoy our bodies and life and that there’s magic in everything.
April 4, 2020
2017.11.21–2017.11.27
Watts A (2017) (10:31) Just So - An Odyssey Into the Cosmic Web of Connection, Play, and True Pleasure
Watts A (2017) (10:31) Just So - An Odyssey Into the Cosmic Web of Connection, Play, and True Pleasure
November 7, 2018
He eloquently speaks truth, filtered through a large ego.
January 22, 2019
It has been almost one year since I finished listening to my first tape of Alan Watts "You're It!"
I liked this one a little less, perhaps because I had already gained some familiarity with the philosophy and spirituality of Alan Watts through my previous exposure.
It was a rigged game, because I judge books quite heavily on the number and quality of good ideas that they inspire, and this one scored high on both counts, but the element of surprise that I had enjoyed listening to Alan Watts for the first time was gone.
Less sparkle, less magic in the words. Perhaps it has nothing to do with me being familiar with Alan Watts from before. Maybe this tape is just a tad worse than "You're It!".
Alan Watts makes a compelling case for a view of the universe as a web made up of 'wiggles'.
He expresses a distaste for the prevailing interpretation of the world in terms of Newtonian mechanics. Disconnected bodies exerting forces on one another. Quantifiable in their size and shape and movement by means of measurement.
He does not dismiss these ideas as outright false. He points out the extent of their limitation.
In nature you have thumbs which form the basis of measuring inches. You also have feet attached to your legs, and from those we derive another unit suitable to measure the world.
Yet many of us, when asked to describe the world fall victim to our inculcation to use these arbitrary measures to put something into words that isn't suitable for that kind of description. And rather than describing what is actually there, we end up sharing just some numerical data. An abstract concept that is not alive. Is not properly based in the experience of being in and part of the material world.
Every word fails to articulate the experience of being in and the nature of the universe. A word is man's coping mechanism to make up for his inability to demonstrate what he wishes to express in the natural world in real time. It is easier to say the word water than to splash some water in somebody's face. It gives us a means to refer to something that isn't there. The terminology is useless when you interact with someone who does not know the concept from experience.
Mastering Zen is not all about getting rid of emotion and detached from the material world. To treat yourself and the world like that is akin to considering the Buddha statue made of stone as superior to the Buddha made from flesh and blood. The only proper way to treat the world is to hold it in reverence. If you are going to eat a fish, then cook it properly.
Alan Watts resists the idea of viewing the world as an entity that is clearly divisible and measurable. The idea of the atom is an old idea. It derives from the Greek word atomos. Which means something along the lines of 'indivisible'. The smallest indivisible unit that we know of is the universe in its entirety. In this vein, the shortest distance between two points cannot be a straight line, because you will miss the whole thing if you take the shortcut. What is in between actually forms part of the two points between which you intend to travel. If you removed all the distance between two points, they would not be separate anymore at all. They would just be in the same place. Hence you need the way to have two points at all.
Greek philosophers thousands of years ago speculated that the world is made up of tiny indivisible particles. This is an absurd idea because you can never know if you have truly discovered the smallest part of something by division. Let's say you start out with an object like a loaf of bread, and you cut the loaf, and you keep cutting it in halves, eventually you will get to a point where the knife which you use for cutting is the same width as the element which you are attempting to split and you can go no further. This is evidence of your inability to continue dividing the thing up, but not much beyond that. We like objects that are squares to maintain our illusion that the world does function like that. Rectangular objects can be cut, and stacked and measured neatly. Not so easy with a round shape. Harder to keep a sphere in place and cut that. Yet nature is full of spheres and very few wiggles assume the shape of a square in their natural state.
It is not clear where you end and where the universe begins. The profound idea is that the entire universe is your outside the same way that your organs are your inside. The same way that the palm of your hand correlates with the back of your hand.
You rely on the universe being the way it is for you to exist, and has to be exactly the way it is for you to be capable of existing within it. It goes both ways. The universe needs you to be exactly the way that you are for it to exist. The enormity of the universe is no reason to feel small in comparison, because it is not clear or evident that you are separate from it in the first place.
I is simply an indication of location, rather than a pronoun indicating identity. Something like saying here or there.
Even when at first I considered it a bit silly, I now admit that Watts' philosophy of wiggles - is a remarkably modern and accurate way of looking at things, not any less ridiculous than the idea of atoms, meters and kilograms per se. Arguably less useful because nobody knows what on earth you are talking about when you call something a wiggle.
Plenty of other stuff in there, some of it went way over my head, some of it I have forgotten. This is what I still remember a week after getting through the recording.
I liked this one a little less, perhaps because I had already gained some familiarity with the philosophy and spirituality of Alan Watts through my previous exposure.
It was a rigged game, because I judge books quite heavily on the number and quality of good ideas that they inspire, and this one scored high on both counts, but the element of surprise that I had enjoyed listening to Alan Watts for the first time was gone.
Less sparkle, less magic in the words. Perhaps it has nothing to do with me being familiar with Alan Watts from before. Maybe this tape is just a tad worse than "You're It!".
Alan Watts makes a compelling case for a view of the universe as a web made up of 'wiggles'.
He expresses a distaste for the prevailing interpretation of the world in terms of Newtonian mechanics. Disconnected bodies exerting forces on one another. Quantifiable in their size and shape and movement by means of measurement.
He does not dismiss these ideas as outright false. He points out the extent of their limitation.
In nature you have thumbs which form the basis of measuring inches. You also have feet attached to your legs, and from those we derive another unit suitable to measure the world.
Yet many of us, when asked to describe the world fall victim to our inculcation to use these arbitrary measures to put something into words that isn't suitable for that kind of description. And rather than describing what is actually there, we end up sharing just some numerical data. An abstract concept that is not alive. Is not properly based in the experience of being in and part of the material world.
Every word fails to articulate the experience of being in and the nature of the universe. A word is man's coping mechanism to make up for his inability to demonstrate what he wishes to express in the natural world in real time. It is easier to say the word water than to splash some water in somebody's face. It gives us a means to refer to something that isn't there. The terminology is useless when you interact with someone who does not know the concept from experience.
Mastering Zen is not all about getting rid of emotion and detached from the material world. To treat yourself and the world like that is akin to considering the Buddha statue made of stone as superior to the Buddha made from flesh and blood. The only proper way to treat the world is to hold it in reverence. If you are going to eat a fish, then cook it properly.
Alan Watts resists the idea of viewing the world as an entity that is clearly divisible and measurable. The idea of the atom is an old idea. It derives from the Greek word atomos. Which means something along the lines of 'indivisible'. The smallest indivisible unit that we know of is the universe in its entirety. In this vein, the shortest distance between two points cannot be a straight line, because you will miss the whole thing if you take the shortcut. What is in between actually forms part of the two points between which you intend to travel. If you removed all the distance between two points, they would not be separate anymore at all. They would just be in the same place. Hence you need the way to have two points at all.
Greek philosophers thousands of years ago speculated that the world is made up of tiny indivisible particles. This is an absurd idea because you can never know if you have truly discovered the smallest part of something by division. Let's say you start out with an object like a loaf of bread, and you cut the loaf, and you keep cutting it in halves, eventually you will get to a point where the knife which you use for cutting is the same width as the element which you are attempting to split and you can go no further. This is evidence of your inability to continue dividing the thing up, but not much beyond that. We like objects that are squares to maintain our illusion that the world does function like that. Rectangular objects can be cut, and stacked and measured neatly. Not so easy with a round shape. Harder to keep a sphere in place and cut that. Yet nature is full of spheres and very few wiggles assume the shape of a square in their natural state.
It is not clear where you end and where the universe begins. The profound idea is that the entire universe is your outside the same way that your organs are your inside. The same way that the palm of your hand correlates with the back of your hand.
You rely on the universe being the way it is for you to exist, and has to be exactly the way it is for you to be capable of existing within it. It goes both ways. The universe needs you to be exactly the way that you are for it to exist. The enormity of the universe is no reason to feel small in comparison, because it is not clear or evident that you are separate from it in the first place.
I is simply an indication of location, rather than a pronoun indicating identity. Something like saying here or there.
Even when at first I considered it a bit silly, I now admit that Watts' philosophy of wiggles - is a remarkably modern and accurate way of looking at things, not any less ridiculous than the idea of atoms, meters and kilograms per se. Arguably less useful because nobody knows what on earth you are talking about when you call something a wiggle.
Plenty of other stuff in there, some of it went way over my head, some of it I have forgotten. This is what I still remember a week after getting through the recording.
May 15, 2025
Review of You’re It by Alan Watts
This is the third book I’ve read by Alan Watts, and having also listened to many of his lecture series on the Waking Up app, I can confidently say this is my favorite so far. You’re It brings together some of his most insightful, playful, and mind-expanding ideas. There’s something uniquely liberating in how Watts dissolves the illusion of separateness, cuts through dogma, and shows—without preaching—how deeply interconnected we all are.
What elevates this for me even further is hearing it in his own voice. His rhythm, his humour, his ability to wade into difficult or even toxic topics—like his critique of institutional religion—with such grace, clarity, and wit is extraordinary. He’s always respectful, but never afraid to challenge deeply held beliefs. And he does it all with a deep laugh and a light touch that somehow makes you feel both amused and awakened.
It’s a pleasure listening to him. What an amazing intellect. What an amazing human being. What an extraordinary spiritual presence. How I wish I could have hear him live.
This is the third book I’ve read by Alan Watts, and having also listened to many of his lecture series on the Waking Up app, I can confidently say this is my favorite so far. You’re It brings together some of his most insightful, playful, and mind-expanding ideas. There’s something uniquely liberating in how Watts dissolves the illusion of separateness, cuts through dogma, and shows—without preaching—how deeply interconnected we all are.
What elevates this for me even further is hearing it in his own voice. His rhythm, his humour, his ability to wade into difficult or even toxic topics—like his critique of institutional religion—with such grace, clarity, and wit is extraordinary. He’s always respectful, but never afraid to challenge deeply held beliefs. And he does it all with a deep laugh and a light touch that somehow makes you feel both amused and awakened.
It’s a pleasure listening to him. What an amazing intellect. What an amazing human being. What an extraordinary spiritual presence. How I wish I could have hear him live.
March 23, 2022
The book in one sentence:
An advanced Alan Watts lecture for die-hard Alan Watts fans.
Impressions?
While this isn't as coherent overall as the books that Watts wrote, this lecture has a lot of great food for thought and is classic Watts. This Audio CD was 10 hours and 30 minutes long and I still think it was too short! I think I could listen to a month-long Alan Watts lecture and still think it is too short lol. 5 stars all the way any day of the week, 365 days a year!
Who should read it?
Definitely no beginner to Alan Watts's work. You must have listened/read his previous works to get any value from this lecture.
Favorite quote(s)?
Wayyyyyy too many to list. If I did I'd be here forever ;)
An advanced Alan Watts lecture for die-hard Alan Watts fans.
Impressions?
While this isn't as coherent overall as the books that Watts wrote, this lecture has a lot of great food for thought and is classic Watts. This Audio CD was 10 hours and 30 minutes long and I still think it was too short! I think I could listen to a month-long Alan Watts lecture and still think it is too short lol. 5 stars all the way any day of the week, 365 days a year!
Who should read it?
Definitely no beginner to Alan Watts's work. You must have listened/read his previous works to get any value from this lecture.
Favorite quote(s)?
Wayyyyyy too many to list. If I did I'd be here forever ;)
Readability: Hard ----o Easy
Practicality: Low ----o High
Insights: Few ----o Many
Length: Long ----o Short
Overall: Bad ----o Amazing
January 27, 2024
He makes it simple and funny. It’s all connected in his ways of thinking. Like most spiritual leaders he uses jokes and stories to convey metaphorical wisdom. His criticality of western religion receives laughter but, at the time this came out, was still blasphemous.
This audio has a great variety of subjects to it. Watts shows his understanding of difference and repetition, which had not been fully discovered or explored in english speaking philosophy at the time. A concept not uncommon of eastern, Hindu or Buddhist contemplatives, but of a white man who spoke english, definitely unheard of. Watts won’t receive credit for having come up with these concepts. Watts himself would have explained that difference and repetition has always been a contemplative secret. For centuries if not millennia in the east. But to take some kind of western credit would be missing the whole point of “philosophy” as he goes onto explain.
This audio is a gem. Up there with Psychotherapy East and West. Up there with Out of Your Mind.
This audio has a great variety of subjects to it. Watts shows his understanding of difference and repetition, which had not been fully discovered or explored in english speaking philosophy at the time. A concept not uncommon of eastern, Hindu or Buddhist contemplatives, but of a white man who spoke english, definitely unheard of. Watts won’t receive credit for having come up with these concepts. Watts himself would have explained that difference and repetition has always been a contemplative secret. For centuries if not millennia in the east. But to take some kind of western credit would be missing the whole point of “philosophy” as he goes onto explain.
This audio is a gem. Up there with Psychotherapy East and West. Up there with Out of Your Mind.
November 10, 2022
When Alan Watts was big this (ie his teachings and presentations) must have just blown people's minds. Now? Meh. So I give him 3 stars for respect of being one of the first back then in the West to teach the stuff. But, I was so bored with this I almost gave up. He does a great job introducing Eastern thinking in a rational, Western-minded way. But, he barely really even successfully represents the principles of Eastern thought. It had to be so hidden and approached from such a broad angle that you can barely even understand what he's trying to get across. So, not really for me. I think I'm done with Alan Watts barring some outside influence really persuading me to give him another chance.
December 25, 2024
A collection of watts speeches. One must listen to them with the openness that he is a spiritual entertainer as he calls himself. This means the listening is more about the experience and being with the thoughts of a man clearly walking two feet above the ground at all times. This did pique my curiosity into Taoism a bit more, a philosophical and metaphysical model of the universe that resonates more with me than any religious or spiritual backgrounds I had been exposed to. I am grateful to watts for his very passionate presentation of Taoism.
March 20, 2018
This is a series of short talks given by Alan Watts several decades ago. It's an interesting collection of philosophical musings by an unconventional thinker who was way ahead of his time. I thoroughly enjoyed them.
August 30, 2018
Ramblings. The articulate intelligent kind but ramblings nonetheless. And then, teaching to a live audience, the audacity to say, “if we’ve learned one thing from history it’s that preaching never did anyone any good.” The irony is so thick...
May 23, 2019
Absolutely magnificent, as usual. Even though he sometimes talks about the same things, but somehow always finds new words and metaphors. Amazing!
""I" is a symbol of myself. "I" is a combination of my organism and an environment it lives in."
""I" is a symbol of myself. "I" is a combination of my organism and an environment it lives in."
June 15, 2020
Excellent.
Disclaimer: I am an Alan Watts fanboy - There I say it: He is my spiritual guru nowadays.
This book was not as deep into Buddhism/Zen however more pragmatic imo. Great compliment to "Out of Your Mind". Will continue reading his other books & listening to his talks.
Disclaimer: I am an Alan Watts fanboy - There I say it: He is my spiritual guru nowadays.
This book was not as deep into Buddhism/Zen however more pragmatic imo. Great compliment to "Out of Your Mind". Will continue reading his other books & listening to his talks.
July 21, 2020
I remember reading his books years ago and getting goosebumps! This is an audio version with a mix of his live talks and found myself mind-wandering or falling asleep.. I’ll stick to the books. However the main principles remain as valid in this version.
September 10, 2020
Alan Watts has such a buttery voice.... While driven keenly by the philosophies of eastern religion he is a contemporary philosopher in his own right. His voice brings peace and relaxation and his philosophy truly brings scope to many previously held perceptions.
August 12, 2021
This is quite astonishing when you think it was recorded in the 60’s. An extraordinary philosopher whose perspectives can still be applied today. My first dip into his work and it certainly won’t be the last!
June 12, 2024
Sometimes you read some sentences where someone is articulating the thoughts you already had. It has aura when those thoughts are hard to grasp, but you realise they are felt by others. In other words I am aligned with much of what Alan Watts says and I enjoyed his expansion of those ideas
March 25, 2018
Great ideas of Alan Watts; told in his own charming and funny way.
A great audio to plug into time and again.
A great audio to plug into time and again.
December 26, 2018
As always Alan Watts is like pure magic, I have never found something I didn’t love from him, and moved me so much✨
January 25, 2022
“You can find and realize the good life, if you’re not looking for it.”
March 16, 2022
Like sitting around the fire with a wise old friend.
October 31, 2022
Anyone who misses out on Alan Watts is missing out on life.
August 14, 2024
Enchanting and insightful journey that delves into the interconnectedness of life...
December 14, 2025
Lovely material in Watts style, that does age, but slowly, slower than other pieces.
I enjoy the medium as much as the content.
I enjoy the medium as much as the content.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews