The Library

The Nature of Things

1979

Discussion
Added 1 week ago.
38:23 6,439 6

The Joker (Part 4)

One of Alan’s most popular lecture series, and for good reason—in The Joker, listeners will find out why every society needs fools in order to remind itself not to take life so damn seriously.

Lecture
Added 2 weeks ago.
46:43 5,390 2

The Joker (Part 3)

One of Alan’s most popular lecture series, and for good reason—in The Joker, listeners will find out why every society needs fools in order to remind itself not to take life so damn seriously.

Lecture
Added 2 weeks ago.
49:14 4,778

The Joker (Part 2)

One of Alan’s most popular lecture series, and for good reason—in The Joker, listeners will find out why every society needs fools in order to remind itself not to take life so damn seriously.

Lecture
Added 2 weeks ago.
41:28 4,364 6

The Joker (Part 1)

One of Alan’s most popular lecture series, and for good reason—in The Joker, listeners will find out why every society needs fools in order to remind itself not to take life so damn seriously.

Lecture
Added 3 weeks ago.
50:49 5,900 6

Life and the Planets

1945

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin explores the concept of complexification in the universe, focusing on the ever-increasing combination of smaller elements into larger structures, and then extrapolates this behavior to humanity's current situation. What if the human species is an intermediary evolutionary stage, and what would the next rung on the ladder look like? Teilhard suggests that it will involve the merging-together of all humanity into a divine, planetized consciousness. Originally delivered as a lecture at the French Embassy in Peking (Beijing), China, later published in Études and The Future of Man.

Essay
Added 3 weeks ago.
8,468 4

The Evolutionary Mind

1998

What could have been the cause for the breakthrough in the evolution of human consciousness around 50,000 years ago? Part of the Trialogues at the Edge of the Unthinkable.

Discussion
Added 3 weeks ago.
03:09:42 24,345 15

Dreaming Awake at the End of Time

1998

Join Terence in Fort Mason, California, for an eclectic think along the deconstruction of the deepening worldwide weirdness. With his characteristic hope and humor, McKenna examined time and its mysteries, the nature of language, the techniques of ecstasy, high technology and virtual cyberspace, the role of hallucinogenic plants in shamanism and the evolution of human cultures, and the foundations of postmodern spirituality.

Lecture
Added 4 weeks ago.
01:56:57 12,615 12

Thought is an Abstraction

1988

Discussion
Added 4 weeks ago.
33:51 5,371

Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out

1966

Aimed specifically at young people, this hour-long, soft-spoken piece explores Leary's early research into LSD in New York and Mexico, how new ideas spread throughout society over the course of generations, his vision of a future society in which the psychedelic experience is revered and respected, the effects of marijuana, and how seekers can launch their own journey to tune in, turn on, and drop out of the modern rat race.

Speech
Added 4 weeks ago.
59:28 4,855 8

Tao Te Ching

506 B.C.E.

Written more than two thousand years ago, the Tao Te Ching is one of the true classics of spiritual literature. It is a guide to cultivating a life of peace, serenity, and compassion. Through aphorisms and parable, it leads readers toward the Tao, or the “Way”: harmony with the life force of the universe.

Classic Literature
6,523 1 63

Be Here Now

1971

This book is a classic text on Hindu spirituality that bloomed open like a lotus flower in the wake of the hippie movement. The seed for this book was planted in the mind of Harvard psychiatrist turned Indian mystic, Ram Dass, and was written—with the blessings of his guru Neem Karoli Baba—for a Western audience who were, for the most part, materially rich but spiritually poor. Be Here Now offers its readers and followers a drug-free alternative for attaining higher states of consciousness, while its simple message to live in the present encourages the pursuit and cultivation of inner peace.

Book
27,972 22 53

Mr. X

1969

Written under the pseudonym Mr. X to avoid the heavy social stigma associated with marijuana consumption at the time, Carl Sagan documented his personal experiences with cannabis in this essay in order to dispel common misconceptions about the drug. It was later published in the 1971 book Marihuana Reconsidered by Lester Grinspoon. Sagan enjoyed cannabis on a regular basis for the rest of his life, but never spoke of it publicly.

Essay
2,946 6 45

The Power of Myth, Part 1: The Hero’s Adventure

1988

Bill Moyers and mythologist Joseph Campbell begin their groundbreaking and timeless conversation with an exploration of the classic hero cycle, including consistent and enduring hero patterns in literature, real life, and even the Star Wars films. Campbell also encourages the audience to view parts of their own lives as heroic journeys.

Television Episode
54:38 7,461 13 17

Out Of Your Mind 02: The Nature of Consciousness (Part 2)

Lecture
01:03:55 8,270 15 16

Arcology: The City In The Image Of Man

1969

In what is considered his magnum opus, visionary architect Paolo Soleri proposed a philosophy for a new kind of urban living: the arcology, a vast city-organism designed to exist in harmony with nature. Split into two sections, the book first explains the moral and economic necessity for humanity’s transition to arcological urban landscapes, and proposes that the general purpose of life is aesthetogenesis: the universe progressively complexifying and interconnecting, consciously reshaping itself into compassionate structures. In the second section, Soleri showcases 30 potential arcologies (including one space habitat) through the use of incredibly detailed diagrams, and explains how each was carefully designed to integrate itself economically and ecologically into the world.

Book
42,122 13 15

The Religion of Man

1922

The Religion of Man is a compilation of lectures by Rabindranath Tagore, edited by him and drawn largely from his Hibbert Lectures given at Oxford University. A Brahmo playwright and poet of global renown, Tagore deals with the universal themes of God, divine experience, illumination, and spirituality.

Book
43,727 70 15

Out Of Your Mind 04: The Web Of Life (Part 2)

Lecture
01:03:13 8,342 3 12

The Myopic View of the World

In this lecture, Alan Watts argues that we spend most of our life in a sort of myopia; that is, only perceiving a very microscopic subsection of the reality which we occupy. By mentally “zooming out,” humans can begin to see (and enjoy) the marvelous universal dance that has been unfolding since the Big Bang and is expressing itself in and through us at this very moment.

Lecture
54:04 6,980 9 12

Out Of Your Mind 03: The Web Of Life (Part 1)

Lecture
56:16 6,308 5 11