Newspaper headlines and lead stories got you down? Feeling a little anxious about life in general. Let me suggest a handy respite for 30 minutes a week.
On Wednesdays at 11 a.m., WMNF (88.5 FM) runs recorded lectures of Alan Watts, a British philosopher/theologian who holds court on Zen Buddhism, Asian philosophy, and a bit of Western religion.
Watts, who died in 1973, speaks in a cultured British accent, and there’s a touch of whimsy in his voice. What he says is always thought-provoking — he has a way of breaking down complex metaphysical ideas into lay-friendly, graspable terms — but it’s also the way he says it. His discourse calms you down, his speaking style an ideal reflection of his content.
I can’t always tune into Watts on Wednesday, but do so whenever I’m in the car. As a matter of fact, WMNF should run Watts during rush hours; his talks are the perfect traffic-jam coping device. It certainly helped me out this morning, while I was stuck on the bridge in the aftermath of a car fire.
This article appears in Jul 16-22, 2008.