“Listen intently to a voice singing without words. It may charm you into crying, force you to dance, fill you with rage, or make you jump for joy. You can't tell where the music ends and the emotions begin, for the whole thing is a kind of music—the voice playing on your nerves as the breath plays on a flute. All experience is just that, except that its music has many more dimensions than sound. It vibrates in the dimensions of sight, touch, taste, and smell, and in the intellectual dimension of symbols and words—all evoking and playing upon each other.”

—  Alan Watts

Source: The Book on the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are (1966), p. 95

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Listen intently to a voice singing without words. It may charm you into crying, force you to dance, fill you with rage,…" by Alan Watts?
Alan Watts photo
Alan Watts 107
British philosopher, writer and speaker 1915–1973

Related quotes

Alan Watts photo
Edward Witten photo

“Vibrating strings in 10 dimensions is just a weird fact… An explanation of that weird fact would tell you why there are 10 dimensions in the first place.”

Edward Witten (1951) American theoretical physicist

as quoted by K.C. Cole, "A Theory of Everything" New York Times Magazine (1987) Oct.18

Vyjayanthimala photo

“But first I was made to learn music, because music and dance go together. You can sing, but you can’t dance without music…”

Vyjayanthimala (1936) Indian actress, politician & dancer

In "There's no slowing down for Vyjayanthimala."

Ward Cunningham photo
Logan Pearsall Smith photo

“What music is more enchanting than the voices of young people, when you can't hear what they say?”

Logan Pearsall Smith (1865–1946) British American-born writer

Age and Death
Afterthoughts (1931)

Anthony Stewart Head photo

“We all sing about the things we're thinking; musicals are about expressing those emotions that you can't talk about.”

Anthony Stewart Head (1954) English actor

Giles Ahead Time Out - London's Living Guide January 9-16 2002 http://www.gilesfanfic.de/default.php?url=artikel_11_oton

Eckhart Tolle photo
Basshunter photo

“If you listen to a song on the radio you can definitely tell whose music it is. When you listen to my music you can tell it is Basshunter.”

Basshunter (1984) Swedish singer, record producer and DJ

BBC interview (25 July 2008) http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/entertainment/newsid_7522000/7522129.stm

Related topics