I remember when I first found out Alan Watts was a heavy drinker. It was a bit ironic but I first got into listening to his talks with an old housemate 10 + years ago. We’d sit on our front stoop in West Philly while drinking whiskey and drawing listening to Watts for hours. Maybe there was something about his realness that resonated for us at the time. Maybe he was more accessible than more ‘pure’ spiritual teachers. Either way, despite controversy surrounding him, he made a major impact on my life at that time. I only recently have revisited these talks we listened to into wee hours of the morning. I’m certain he reached my subconscious even if I wasn’t retaining the overall message .

Just the other day a man going through a mental health crisis was yelling in the Pasadena streets “you egotistical spiritual materialists can all go f*ck yourselves!” People were shaking their heads and moving clear from his path- I found myself curious about the trip / journey he had been on and stood in front of him and smiled before crossing the street. It led me back to a coversation with a client about Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche (who clearly this fallen seeker was familiar with). Found this documentary and am still sorting out where I stand in response to ‘do you listen to crazy wisdom’ teachers?