Real freedom cannot exist alongside false freedom, but the abandonment of false freedom looks as if it would leave you as good as dead. But this is t… - Alan Watts

One can only attempt a rational, descriptive philosophy of the universe on the assumption that one is totally separate from it. But if you and your thoughts are part of this universe, you cannot stand outside them to describe them. This is why all philosophical and theological systems must ultimately fall apart.

To “know” reality you cannot stand outside it and define it; you must enter into it, be it, and feel it.

man and his present experience are one, and that no separate “I” or mind can be found.

In the light of these principles, how does the mind absorb suffering? It discovers that resistance and escape — the “I” process — is a false move. The pain is inescapable, and resistance as a defense only makes it worse; the whole system is jarred by the shock. Seeing the impossibility of this course, it must act according to its nature — remain stable and absorb.