Alan Watts

"A prolific author and speaker, Alan Watts was one of the first to interpret Eastern wisdom for a Western audience. Born outside London in 1915, he discovered the nearby Buddhist Lodge at a young age. After moving to the United States in 1938, Alan became an Episcopal priest for a time and then relocated to Millbrook, New York, where he wrote his pivotal book "The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety." In 1951 he moved to San Francisco where he began teaching Buddhist studies, and in 1956 began his popular radio show, “Way Beyond the West”. By the early sixties, Alan’s radio talks aired nationally and the counterculture movement adopted him as a spiritual spokesperson. He wrote and travelled regularly until his passing in 1973."

 “Perhaps the foremost interpreter of Eastern disciplines for the contemporary West, Alan Watts had the rare gift of ‘writing beautifully the un-writable’. Watts begins with scholarship and intellect and proceeds with art and eloquence to the frontiers of the spirit. A fascinating entry into the deepest ways of knowing.”

       — LA Times - The above is from the official Alan Watts site.

Sit quietly and be with your breath, your mind, and all your feelings. 

It doesn't matter whether you are sitting cross-legged or on your knees with your legs folded under you. The point is to settle into a posture that is stable and comfortable. You can cross your legs in front of you, or if you are limber you may wish to try the half-lotus or full-lotus position.  You can sit on a cushion with your knees bent and legs on either side or you can sit in a chair..The idea is to be comfortable and find a position that you can maintain effortlessly.

As you settle in, remember that although stillness is emphasized in meditation, this does not mean that you that should hold still in a rigid way. Becoming still physically helps one find stillness of mind, but if you need to move, get comfortable so that you can settle even more deeply.  - From Alan Watts book "The Still Mind."