
Ep. 37 – Reality, Art and Illusion
From Alan Watts Being in the Way by Be Here Now Network / Love Serve Remember Foundation
February 25, 2026 · 48 min · Episode 37
About this episode
Alan Watts explores the nature of reality, consciousness, and perception, questioning the limits of what the mind can know.
Inviting listeners to question the nature of reality, consciousness, and perception, Alan Watts explores the limits of what the mind can truly know. This series is brought to you by the Alan Watts Organization and Ram Dass’ Love Serve Remember Foundation. Visit Alanwatts.org for full talks from Alan Watts. Today’s episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/alan and get on your way to being your best self. This time on Being in the Way, Alan Watts explains: Solipsism and how it subtly shapes modern human consciousness The philosophical case for idealism and the nature of reality as mind-dependent Relativity and how things exist for the purpose of other things The mind as a mirror and the illusion of an objective, external viewpoint Considering how the spiritual world affects the material world The enduring philosophical question: What exists when no one is observing? The Four Buddhist Inconceivables and the limits of conceptual thought "Being is always being for something; it is, in other words, relational. The sun is light for eyes. Eyes are organs of vision for a mind. If there are no eyes, the sun gives forth no…
People in this episode
Host: Alan Watts
Topics covered
- nature of reality
- consciousness
- perception
- solipsism
- idealism
- spirituality
- Buddhist philosophy
Keywords
- reality
- consciousness
- perception
- solipsism
- idealism
- Buddhism
- philosophy
Sponsors
BetterHelp
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Alan Watts Organization, Love Serve Remember Foundation
More episodes of Alan Watts Being in the Way
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- Ep. 36 – Seeing through The Net · August 27, 2025 · 46 min
- Ep. 35 – Dreaming the World · May 15, 2025 · 54 min
- Ep. 34 – Confucianism vs. Taoism · January 30, 2025 · 60 min
- Ep. 33 – Zen Reconsidered · November 22, 2024 · 51 min
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