I found my guru! He’s dead, but still talking!

When the student is ready, the teacher appears — and for me, it’s philosopher-entertainer Alan Watts. Of course, he’s long gone in body, but vividly alive through his many recorded talks — and somehow, more relevant than ever.

Over the past few years on my Life School journey, I’ve gathered wisdom from many traditions: mindfulness teachings of Tara Brach, Jack Kornfield, Pema Chödrön, and Thich Nhat Hanh; the Toltec teachings of Don Miguel Ruiz; the Christian clarity of Father Jacques Philippe, even the creative fire of Elizabeth Gilbert. But for me, no one has consistently articulated the magic and mystery of everyday truth — in a way that dances with both depth and delight — like Alan Watts.

A real human being (three marriages, fond of a drink, a smoker), he was also largely self-taught, and a masterful communicator of timeless truths. His words have been lighting me up lately — especially one particular talk titled For When You Need to Stop Thinking.

In it, he speaks about the addiction to thought — long before we had the term “dopamine loop” — and the invitation to return to a more primal, powerful way of being. “Thinking is a good servant,” he says, “but a bad master.”

This is something I’ve been sensing in my own meditation practice. I used to always name what I noticed — planning, remembering, worrying — and that still has value. But lately, I’m resting more in the wordless. If no label comes, I let it be. In that nameless space, something deeper emerges — a richness, a music, a kind of knowing that lives beneath language.

And for someone who loves words — that’s saying something.

So this week, I invite you to try it. For a few minutes:

• Close your eyes.
• Let go of the need to describe or name.
• Just listen.
• Just feel.
• Let the internal symphony play — without narration.

And if you’re curious to hear directly from my new guru, watch the video! It’s about 11 minutes. Yes, there may be ads. Still totally worth it for his accessible wisdom (delivered with a great accent) and also the visuals. I’ve never done psychedelics but imagine the last part to be something like this. Let it be part of your “church” today. And as he says near the end of all the imagery, it simply “…turns into us, sitting together here.”

Here’s to your finding wisdom beyond words!