Mariana Caplan, Interview on Buddha at the Gas Pump
Mariana Caplan, PhD, MFT, RYT 500, is a psychotherapist, yoga teacher, author, and one of the advisors of the APST. In 2012, Rick Archer of Buddha at the Gas Pump interviewed her. Reposted here with permission.
In the conversation, they explored her spiritual history and the role of therapy in healing one’s wounds. The Eastern model posits that your spiritual practice will resolve all barriers to unfolding. The Western model suggests we have traumas to resolve that a practice may not address. Psychology and spiritually influence each other but are different areas of life. She described how each position is true and not true.
They discussed how there is more than just the initial non-dual realization. How “I’ve arrived” is a myth. They also did a “thought experiment” on the nature of God. Near the end, they explored the issues created by an approach of “no me here.” This allows one to ignore unacknowledged shadows in the personal self.
