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Buddha at the Gas Pump

081. Robert Augustus Masters

Buddha at the Gas Pump

Rick Archer

Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Spirituality, Society & Culture

4.7695 Ratings

🗓️ 1 August 2011

⏱️ 105 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Robert Augustus Masters, Ph.D., is the author of 11 books (including Transformation through Intimacy and Spiritual Bypassing), a relationship expert, a spiritual teacher, and a highly experienced psychotherapist (and trainer of psychotherapists) with a doctorate in Psychology. His uniquely integral, intuitive work (developed over the past 33 years) dynamically blends the psychological and physical with the spiritual, emphasizing full-blooded embodiment, authenticity, emotional openness and literacy, deep shadow work, and the development of relational maturity. At essence, his work is about becoming more intimate with all that we are, in the service of deep healing, awakening, and integration. In all this, he works side-by-side and in very close conjunction with Diane, his wife and partner in all things. Website: robertmasters.com Books: Spiritual Bypassing: When Spirituality Disconnects Us from What Really Matters Knowing Your Shadow Emotional Intimacy To Be a Man Interview recorded July 30, 2011, with assistance from Fax and Sharon Gilbert. YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction to Robert Augustus Masters and Spiritual Bypassing 00:05:11 - Breakthrough in Spiritual Work 00:09:23 - The Heroic Journey Into the Underground 00:13:00 - The Circuitous Journey of Personal Growth 00:17:14 - Shedding Familiarity and Embracing Darkness 00:20:06 - Exploring Fear and its Gifts 00:23:05 - The Unpleasant Feeling of Shame 00:25:46 - The Power of Deep Groups 00:28:13 - Awakening Through Intimate Relationships 00:30:55 - Embracing the Uncomfortable and Blowing the Whistle 00:33:32 - Poetry and Paradox in Writing 00:37:30 - The Moral Development of Spiritual Teachers 00:41:30 - Therapy and Spiritual Practices 00:44:34 - Going Beyond Separation 00:48:10 - The Importance of Attachment in Relationships 00:51:52 - Feeling Fully and Passionately 00:54:55 - Body-Centered Therapy and Connected Catharsis 00:58:05 - Therapy as an Adjunct to the Spiritual Path 01:00:59 - The Possibility of Integral Enlightenment 01:04:05 - The Rarity of Authentic Community in Relationships 01:07:39 - Working through Friction and Honoring Individuality 01:10:36 - The Relevance of Personal Stories in Healing and Transformation 01:14:06 - Going Beyond the Rush to Reach the Universal 01:18:05 - Spiritual Bypassing and Spiritual Ambition 01:22:14 - Reflections on Life and Death 01:25:31 - The Breaking Point and the Ayahuasca Phenomenon 01:29:25 - The Intensity of the LSD Experience 01:33:40 - Transformation Through Intimacy 01:37:40 - Mature Monogamy and the Paradox of Freedom 01:41:00 - Cultivating Intimacy with Ourselves 01:44:07 - Prioritizing People according to Demand Save Save

Transcript

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0:00.0

The

0:07.0

The Welcome to Buddha at the Gaspun.

0:29.0

My name is Rick Archer, and my guest today is Robert Augustus Masters.

0:35.8

And you'll notice that there's three of me today.

0:39.0

And that's because my friends here, Fax and Sharon Gilbert, are somewhat expert in the work

0:45.4

of Robert Augustus Masters, having led a book discussion group here in Fairfield, Iowa, on his

0:52.5

book, Spiritual Bypassing, when spirituality

0:55.5

disconnects us from what really matters.

0:59.2

And it's funny because I thought about the three of us sitting here and kind of reminded

1:02.2

me of the see no evil, hear no evil, speaking of evil, monkeys.

1:05.7

And that kind of segues nicely with the title of your book, you know? The theme of it.

1:12.8

So, Robert, perhaps you could just start by giving us a brief sketch of your credentials,

1:20.1

you know, what your professional and spiritual backgrounds are,

1:24.4

and how you came to write this book and what you mean by spiritual bypassing.

1:30.2

Well, I've been working in myself since the 70s.

1:33.5

I began working as a psychotherapist in 78 combining body work, Gestalt, psychotherapy, techniques,

1:41.3

dream work in a very intuitive, eclectic manner, became more and more integrative

1:46.9

as time went on. So I've been doing the work for 33 years. And along the way, of course,

1:52.2

I've seen many, many signs of spiritual bypass, which I did not name as such when I was much

1:58.8

younger because I was doing it. You were bypassing yourself.

2:01.6

When you're in it, like I was very ambitious spiritually when I was younger.

2:04.6

I really wanted to get to the big E and sit all night and strain and made, had all kinds of

...

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