Do You Do It, or Does It Do You? How to let the universe meditate you

by Alan W. Watts

Do you do it ― that is, are you really in charge of your intentions, emotions, and actions? Or, as Alan Watts suggests, is the universe doing you ― manifesting the grandeur and wonder of the cosmos through the astonishing phenomenon known as "you"?

On Do You Do It or Does It Do You?, legendary spiritual entertainer Alan Watts invites you to peek behind the curtain and learn that you are not just a performer in life's drama ― you are also the one who writes the script.

Alan Watts' undeniable gift for startling audiences into deeper levels of insight made him the West's most celebrated ambassador of Eastern spirituality. Now, carefully chosen from the Watts audio archives, comes this teaching session that exemplifies his sublime vision, accessibility, and humor. Join Alan Watts as he illuminates such topics

Which reveals the true nature of the universe, a telescope or a microscope? How to observe your life from both perspectives
• The figure and the background―why you are, paradoxically, exactly everything you are not
• Life is a symphony, not a foot race ― the art of living versus "getting things done"
• What it means to "go with the flow" ― when all your decisions and actions are no longer forced, but arise naturally from your greater self, and more
Do You Do It or Does It Do You? is one of Alan Watts most engaging and profound seminars, bringing his trademark eloquence and mischievous insight to the possibility that we may be much more than who think we are. Includes rare guided-meditation sessions with Alan Watts.

Genres: Philosophy, Audiobook, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Buddhism, Meditation, Psychology

Audio CD

First published December 1, 2005

About the author

Alan 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.

Reviews

[Dor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not imagine, before being exposed to this, that any one person could know and say so much about so many things. About everything, in fact. What an amazing person this guy must have been to be able to so eloquently convey these ideas while still being concise and even humorous.

Some who do not "get it" might be entirely lost. Those who do will fall in love immediately. Others will be confused at first, but will quickly understand since Alan is a master of making you understand.

I shall now proceed to read and listen to more of his stuff!

[Amal · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a really good session; he talks about everything and nothing at the same time.
the audiobook give a sense of peace and calmness, sometime i feel that he is anti-religion in general but then he indulge different religions with friendly ideas and concepts

[Ali alhusainy · Rating 5 out of 5]

( الان و اتس )
فيلسوف حقيقي يكفي انت تسمع له فيديو واحد او محاضرة واحدة لتعرف مدى روعة افكاره

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interdependent mutualism explained beautifully & playfully. Always a pleasure Mr. Watts.

[Grigory · Rating 4 out of 5]

First two thirds are marvellous. The latter part of the book is much worse. Watts' voice becomes solemn and oily, seems like it is an illustration of what he criticizes in the first half.

[Rachel Dick Plonka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to the audio. 5 stars alone just to hear Alan Watts giggle. He is an absolutely brilliant modern philosopher and wildly entertaining.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Near 5 stars. From the sublime to the ridiculous. I love Alan Watts.

[Jacopo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Materiale eccezionale come sempre, ricco di spunti per riflettere; ho apprezzato soprattutto la parte dedicata nello specifico alla meditazione, sebbene avessi già avuto modo di ascoltare degli estratti su YouTube. Va detto però che la raccolta 'Out Of Your Mind' è immensamente superiore, per cui questi ascolti sono stati più che altro un gradito ripasso con focus su determinati aspetti.

[L · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't say that I understood all of it but in the typical Alan Watts entertaining fashion, he goes over observations about non-duality and the oneness of all. Very deep and definitely something I need to reread to get the full extent.

[Samson Martirosyan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe it is too deep to agree with, maybe not, but some points I tend to agree with, but overall - not really

[Gordana Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will do it again. Great man

[Dave Minehan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like a Feynman lecture if the topic was "How to chill out and vibe with everything". I'm not sure if it exists in print too, but the audio version was a direct rip of a lecture and its 🙏 good vibes.

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably more of a 4.5, but since I really enjoyed my first experience with Alan I'm rounding up.

So. Do You Do It, or Does It Do You? Upon first reading that title the other day I had no fucking clue what that meant. Now, after thinking about it for several hours (or rather after having Alan Watts help me think about it for several hours), I sort of do. And it's fun to think about. This being my first foray into the work of British philosopher Alan Watts, I didn't really know what to expect. Of course I'd heard of him, but I was wholly unfamiliar. For instance, I had no idea that he's been dead since 1973. That surprised me. And it makes me wonder when these recording were taken because frankly, the subject matter holds up today; for the most part. I wouldn't have batted an eye if I'd been told these lectures were given just a few years back.

Watts is a phenomenal intellect, a wise soul, and an excellent speaker. One of those people that (like Ram Dass, whose audio books I've also been enjoying lately) gets their point across in a way that is, assuming you're paying attention, easy to digest, and will lead to much future pondering. In these recordings Alan discusses several topics, but I had a few main takeaways.

First, he made some very interesting points about universal patterns that actually brought to mind a book about chaos theory and fractals that I read somewhat recently. The idea is to practice shifting your perspective. You can look at something under a microscope, with your naked eye, under a telescope.. it's your perspective that changes. Not the observed object, right? Apply this to your 'self'. Us. Pull back far enough (or perhaps look within deep enough) and you may begin to consider that we are part of a pattern, that the universe is part of a pattern. And that what we consider to be 'us', what I consider to be 'me', may not be all that easy to differentiate from the universe at large when observing these patterns. He also plays with the subject of space, and how we never really consider the fact that without space we could not be. And that's not just to say the space between something; the space between myself and this laptop for example. But the space that is necessary, at a deep, molecular level to make any and all of this possible. In a way, it's all space. This was a section I'd like to return to on a future listen. He ends with some very insightful talks on meditative practices. He was commenting on certain ideas that I'm already familiar with, but the points that he made were fresh, and had something new to offer to my perspective. He then finishes by comparing one's breathing with the title. Do you breathe? Or is breathing something that just happens to you? Which is it? When you stop thinking about your breath it still continues, yes? You don't see people just dropping dead because they forgot to breathe. So do you experience breathing or does breathing experience you? This question can be applied to so many things. I can't come within one percent of the way that Alan Watts presents these topics, but it was definitely a pleasure to listen to him and think on them. It was my first of his works, but will surely not be the last. Alan Watts. High.

There is no way to control what you're experiencing. Because what you're experiencing is you.

[Omar Delawar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book in one sentence:
Amazingness in audiobook format

Impressions?
It doesn't get any better than this. I don't want Alan Watts's lectures to end but unfortunately, I know one day I'll run out of them.

Who should read it?
This lecture in particular had some elements that both novices and intermediates to Alan's work would enjoy. If you are brand new to eastern traditions, you may want to look elsewhere.

Favorite quote(s)?
Way too many to list but I'll include a few:

"You have to be careful with spiritual experience because some people (especially egotists) who have spiritual experiences become megalomaniacs and think they are divine and could do whatever they want"

"KARMA MEANS: Everything that happens to us is of our own doing"

"The root of suffering is craving (desire), the root of craving is lack of vision"

"Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spending it in a miserable way"

"People who are frustrated by love have a tendency to seek power as a substitute (because they identify with their love interest so much that losing them is like losing part of yourself which leaves behind a void that needs to be filled)"

"When you have explored pleasure to its ultimate limits, the only thing you can get a kick out of is pain."

"The way to become one with the universe is to trust it vs trying to control it"

Readability: Hard ----o Easy
Practicality: Low ----o High
Insights: Few ----o Many
Length: Long ----o Short
Overall: Bad ----o Amazing

[Carolyn Tragasz · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Both Atheistic humanism and Christianity leave humans feeling like they don't belong"

"The biggest fun in sexual relations is giving orgasm to women. If that doesn't happen men feel disappointed- what they really wanted was to give pleasure and get their own pleasure out of giving it. Now that's compassion- feeling with and through someone else"

I'm not normally an audio book person, but Alan Watts is one of those folks you have to listen to vs read on the page b/c of his skillfulness as a lecturer. He really is a "spiritual entertainer". I had my mind blown the first time through and had to go back and relisten to really capture all of his points. As an omniest, I especially appreciated the parallels he drew between Christianity and Buddhism, as well as his willingness to be critical of both. I found myself generally agreeing with his arguments that:

-what we really want isn't control, it's compassion

-the nature of reality is a reciprocal relationship, like objects and the space between them. You can't have one without the other.

-eventually pursuing pleasure gets boring, and the only thing that pleases you is pain because at least its different. You end up in hell by not knowing what you want.

-"Life is a celebration of itself" and we shouldn't take religion so seriously. Its role shouldn't be seeking but thanksgiving.

[Loredana Agavriloaei · Rating 4 out of 5]

His voice was so calm and gave me a sense of well-being and well-centered.

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful. One to listen to over and over again.

[Terri Kinney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just. Yes.

[Saurav Poudel · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first Alan Watts experience. Mid way through, it made me wonder why it took me so long?

[Mukul Seth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Valuable information but not organized very well. Seems lile it's just a rough compilation of various lectures.

[Joseph L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Watch a detailed review along with my favorite ideas and takeaways at:
https://youtu.be/L28hIEGTOTs

[Antagonist · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alan Watts never misses.

[Savannah Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always love his stuff. This one is super grounding, really provoked thought and self evaluation. Amazing tools!

[The_J · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is your paradigm? Either you do your life or life will be done to you. Choose your path.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

First time listening to one of his full talks and really enjoyed the process. He lost me a bit around the 80% mark (3hrs in) but overall it was thought provoking and incredibly grounding.

[Bejinha · Rating 3 out of 5]

The subject is wonderful. But this series of lectures isn’t confined to the central theme.

[T. Laane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a kind of book I’d happily recommend or revisit when I want my mind tickled, not just informed. There’s a lot of amusement, engagement, wordplay, and philosophical ju-jitsu.
PERCEPTION & REALITY. Under a microscope, blood is fighting its battles, but from a bigger perspective that fight is harmony - both views are equally true. We know stars dot the sky and between them is “nothing,” but space is as essential for stars as stars are for space; both are parts of one continuum, just like your birth and death: they’re all phases of the same thing. The candle flame looks stable, but it’s just a never-the-same stream of hot gas; the people around you are always new, only the pattern repeats. Solid rocks are really whirling energy - no poking your finger through, but it’s all movement on a small scale. Our minds notice moving things, not stillness; we see “objects,” not backgrounds. Life’s like chess: as soon as we guess every next move, we quit and start a fresh game, because old experiences bore us. Chess is dull if you already know who wins.
PATTERNS & IDENTITY. We’re patterns, shifting from vegetarian to carnivore, changing our stripes on a whim. Even “who you are” is just something people taught you to say - strip away your learned roles, and who are you really?
CHOICE & HUMAN NATURE. It’s funny when someone claims “NOW I’ll do what I want!” as if they weren’t always choosing. Sure, maybe you always picked the path of least resistance - even when it meant doing your “duty,” you chose it to maintain your flattering self-image as a responsible person. When we are fighting the rules of society or protesting against it, then we still act according to the rules, only opposite.
The wisest sages don’t bother with either praise or blame, and they don’t gossip or respond to it.
CONTROL & FLOW. We actually crave things that partially resist control, like driving a car or being in a relationship; it’s the unpredictability that makes things feel “alive” instead of “dead.” We try to nudge people to act in ways we prefer, but ultimately, a less controlling life is more enjoyable and alive. Letting go and trusting others makes you stronger; organs don’t have to command each other to keep you alive, and you sleep better at night if you give up micromanaging everyone.
RELIGION, FAITH, & HUMOR. In the West, belief matters more than deeds - Christianity lets you through the pearly gates by faith, not actions. Spiritual teachers trick and test you until you’re too sharp to fool, and then you “graduate.” Buddhahood is a kind of open secret - a fist with nothing inside for the kid you’re tricking. Chasing explanations endlessly, like atom-splitting scientists, we forget the “whole” we’re dissecting - don’t lose the forest for the trees.
MEDITATION & PRACTICE. Meditation isn’t about sitting perfectly or labeling experiences as “good” or “bad” - listen to the world’s sounds, let them flow, treat thoughts as just more noise. Breathing can be voluntary or involuntary; the same way our thoughts are mainly involuntary 99,99% of the time.

[Teo · Rating 5 out of 5]

2015.07.28–2015.07.28

Watts A (2005) (04:26) Do You Do It, Or Does It Do You? How to Let the Universe Meditate You

Alan Watts' speakings and writings still get to me better than most (or any) other stuff I've tried. He has a playful, insightful way with words as well as enough experience to create this very interesting worldview synthesis of various spiritual traditions. Love! (Better reviews @ http://www.amazon.com/Do-You-It-Does-...)

[Jeremy Balliston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alan Watts is amazing in this recording. I'm more than likely going to need to listen to this a few times. I enjoy his sections on conflict and trying to have to much pleasure in life. It turns to pain. I guess he should have followed that more closely considering how he died. There's irony there.

[LemontreeLime · Rating 5 out of 5]

As explorations into entertaining philosophy, nothing can beat an Alan Watts lecture. He is charming and profound. I am so glad these recordings still exist, i really enjoy listening to them!