Mariana Caplan – Eyes Wide Open – Video & Text Review

So, are you thinking about dumping the wife and kids and running off and joining the latest cult or swami in the hot and narrow pursuit of Spiritual Enlightenment? Well you may want to think again.

Hey Everyone,

This is Jim from enlightenmentdudes.com and this is our review of Mariana Caplan’s new book Eyes Wide Open: Cultivating Discernment on the Spiritual Path

(Click on video below to watch or to just keep reading scroll down)

First, let me start off by saying that I was a huge fan of Mariana Caplan’s earlier book, Halfway Up the Mountain: The Error of Premature Claims to Enlightenment, Eyes Wide Open is much more personal and inward-looking work for the author, and thus, a bit more authentic of a read. I would put this book in the category of “post-awakening books.”  What I mean by that is, it is most useful for people who have had awakening experiences or transcendental perceptions and have seen these events make a dramatic impact on their lives.

In some places, this book reminded me of After the Ecstasy, the Laundry: How the Heart Grows Wise on the Spiritual Path by Jack Kornfield.  Much like After the Ecstasy, Caplan’s book is a mature and honest approach to the path to spiritual enlightenment.  At the heart of this book is one simple message;  “guard and cultivate your powers of discernment carefully.”   The book is full of stories about teachings and gurus that disarm and dis-empower the student as part of the ego-death process.  The pain, problems, and distrust created by some of these processes can go on for decades into a person’s life.

I was particularly fascinated by the author’s theory of “Spiritually Transmitted Disease,” and why the recent surge of  “do nothing, instant enlightenment,” neo-advaita teachings can be so misleading. I actually found the book a bit depressing as it accurately surveyed the carnage and ignorance we see in the current spiritual marketplace:  a scene full of wanna-be enlightened gurus and snake-oil salesmen.

The only portions of the book that I struggled with a bit were the sections attempting to combine some modern physiological approaches with the awakening process.  My only complaint was that this subject may require its own stand-alone book to be fully flushed out.  (Hint to the author)

That being said, Mariana Caplan’s book,  Eyes Wide Open will definitely open your eyes.  If you read this book and find yourself looking around for the people in your life who may be deluding themselves, that is fine.  However, if reading this book causes you to walk directly over to a mirror and think long and hard about how YOU may be deluding yourself, then I think the book had the effect that the author intended.

We here at enlightenmentdudes.com give this book a 9 out of 10 on our infinity scale, and we look forward to more ground-breaking work by this author.

Thanks again, and keep checking our site enlightenmentdudes.com for more reviews, opinions and the latest news from the awakening scene!