Alan Watts

I see him referenced lately on this list. I read him in high school and was hooked even though I understood only some of what he was saying. Then I read his biography and considered him a failure at life. He didn't believe in meditation and died an alcoholic, not that I equate the two. But, every time I would pick up a book by him or see a video I saw his wisdom. Relatively lately I came to understand that maybe he wasn't a failure at life.

I enjoyed his autobiography "In My Own Way" (meaning we get in the way of ourselves). Mainly I listened to a huge collection of talks by him, and I wish that I had discovered him back in the day (70s, say), because at that time, he might have been the most direct pointing available.