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“To be free from convention is not to spurn it but not to be deceived by it. It is to be able to use it as an instrument instead of being used by it.”

— Alan Watts The Way of Zen (1957)

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More quotes by Alan Watts

I have suggested that behind almost all myth lies the mono-plot of the game of hide-and-seek.

The Two Hands of God : The Myths of Polarity (1963)

What you are basically, deep, deep down, far, far in, is simply the fabric and structure of existence itself.

The Nature of Consciousness; also published as What Is Reality? (1989)

The greater part of human activity is designed to make permanent those experiences and joys which are only lovable because they are changing.

The Wisdom of Insecurity (1951)

Life and love generate effort, but effort will not generate them.

The Book on the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are (1966)

There is no formula for generating the authentic warmth of love. It cannot be copied.

The Wisdom of Insecurity (1951)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Alan Watts (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.