FREEDOM can be Four Questions Away

Lately it appears as though people are pointing fingers and judging others. Once I had this realization, I knew it was time to check in with myself to ask if I was doing the same things? This practice of self-inquiry had me return to the work of Byron Katie.

Byron Katie is a phenomenal speaker and author who teaches a method of self-inquiry known as "The Work of Byron Katie" or simply as "The Work." Time Magazine described her as "a spiritual innovator for the 21st century”. 

In 1986 Byron had an epiphany… She discovered that when she believed her thoughts/judgements of others, she suffered, however when she did not believe them, she did not suffer. She realized that this was true for every human being. She found that FREEDOM was as simple as that. She found that suffering was optional. As she said, “I found a joy within me that has never disappeared, not for a single moment.”  

Specifically. “The Work” is a way of identifying and questioning any stressful thought (that has lots of energy and anguish tied to it). “The Work” consists of four questions and a turnaround.

The four questions are:

1.       Is it true?

2.       Can you absolutely know that it is true?

3.       How do you react, what happens, when you believe that thought?

4.       Who would you be without the thought?

The Turnaround:

The next step of “The Work”, the turnaround, is a way of experiencing the opposite of the believed thought. For example, the thought "My neighbor is a distrustful person," can be turned around to "I am not trustworthy to my Neighbor," "I am a distrustful person," and/or "My neighbor shouldn't trust me." The objective is to discover how each turnaround might be true.

Yes, it can be incredibly challenging and upsetting to go through this exercise, however it can be very freeing at the same time. In my book “It was ME all Along, the Path to FREEDOM”, in Chapter Two Page 63 I relate how Byron Katie’s work has impacted my life and how “The Work” was a key element for me finding FREEDOM…. My book is available now on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/was-all-Along-Path-FREEDOM-ebook/dp/B07X6J5153   

If you wish to read more about “The Work of Byron Katie’s book “Loving What IS” is also available on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Loving-What-Four-Questions-Change/dp/1400045371