| Name | Byron Kathleen Mitchell |
| Born | December 6, 1942 Breckenridge, Texas |
| Age | 81 |
| Known for | “The Work (of Byron Katie)” |
| Occupation(s) | Speaker, Author |
| Relevant links | Website, Wikipedia |
Byron Kathleen Mitchell, better known as Byron Katie (born December 6, 1942), is an American speaker and author who teaches a method of self-inquiry known as “The Work of Byron Katie” or simply as “The Work”. She is the founder of Byron Katie International, an organization that includes the School for the Work and Turnaround House in Ojai, California. Time magazine describes her as “a spiritual innovator for the 21st century.”
In 1986, when she was forty-three with three children and unhappily married to her second husband, she reportedly suffered from depression, agoraphobia, overeating and self-medicating with codeine and alcohol.[2] She called her insurance company for help, and was referred to Hope House in Los Angeles, a women’s counseling center that has since closed. After two weeks of self-reflection in her home, she reportedly experienced an epiphany in her thinking which created a way for her to challenge and lessen the harmful effects of long-held beliefs.[2] She credited the epiphany, which became known as “The Work”, for a subsequent weight loss and other reductions in bad habits.[2]
She began holding informal meetings to discuss her philosophy, and in the early 1990s, began having more formal workshops. The workshops eventually led to the formation of Byron Katie International.[2]
Teachings
She describes her 1986 epiphany as follows:
I discovered that when I believed my thoughts, I suffered, but that when I didn’t believe them, I didn’t suffer, and that this is true for every human being. Freedom is as simple as that. I found that suffering is optional. I found a joy within me that has never disappeared, not for a single moment.
Byron Katie
Katie calls her process of self-inquiry “The Work”.[6]
Katie’s experience, as described in her book Loving What Is, is that all suffering is caused by believing our stressful thoughts. This, she says, puts people into painful positions that lead to suffering, as she recognized to be the case with herself. Through self-inquiry, she describes how a different, less-known capacity of the mind can end this suffering.[7]
The purpose of self-inquiry in Byron Katie’s method is to free individuals from the suffering caused by their own thoughts and beliefs. It encourages a profound level of self-awareness and liberation from patterns of thinking that contribute to one’s own suffering and unhappiness.
Her books provide a comprehensive introduction to her method, including detailed discussions of how each step is conducted and examples from real-life sessions.[7] The self-inquiry Work method can also be applied to issues of love and relationships.
Specifically, The Work is a way of identifying and questioning any stressful thought. It consists of four questions and what is referred to as the “turnarounds”.
The four questions are:[8]
- Is it true?
- Can you absolutely know that it’s true?
- How do you react, what happens, when you believe that thought?
- Who would you be without the thought?
The next step of The Work, the turnarounds, are a way of experiencing the opposite of the thought that one is believing. For example, the thought “My husband should listen to me”, can be turned around to “I should listen to my husband”, “I should listen to myself”, and “My husband shouldn’t listen to me”.[8] Then one finds specific examples of how each turnaround might be “just as true” as the original stress-producing thought.
You can watch these videos where Byron Katie uses her method called The Work to guide individuals through self-inquiry, helping them find peace and clarity by questioning their stressful thoughts:
Explore more:
©2020 Byron Katie International, Inc.
Loving What Is
In 2003, Byron Katie first introduced the world to The Work with the publication of Loving What Is. Nearly twenty years later, Loving What Is continues to inspire people all over the world to do The Work; to listen to the answers they find inside themselves; and to open their minds to profound, spacious, and life-transforming insights. The Work is simply four questions that, when applied to a specific problem, enable you to see what is troubling you in an entirely different light.
Discover the truth hiding behind troubling thoughts with Byron Katie’s self-help classic.
In 2003, Byron Katie first introduced the world to The Work with the publication of Loving What Is. Nearly twenty years later, Loving What Is continues to inspire people all over the world to do The Work; to listen to the answers they find inside themselves; and to open their minds to profound, spacious, and life-transforming insights. The Work is simply four questions that, when applied to a specific problem, enable you to see what is troubling you in an entirely different light.
Loving What Is shows you step by step, through clear and vivid examples, exactly how to use this revolutionary process for yourself. In this revised edition, readers will enjoy seven new dialogues, real examples of Katie doing The Work with people to discover the root cause of their suffering. You will observe people work their way through a broad range of human problems, learning freedom through the very thoughts that had caused their suffering—thoughts such as “my husband betrayed me” or “my mother doesn’t love me enough.”
If you continue to do The Work, you may discover that the questioning flows into every aspect of your life, effortlessly undoing the stressful thoughts that keep you from experiencing peace. Loving What Is offers everything you need to learn and live this remarkable process, and to find happiness as what Katie calls “a lover of reality.”
Byron Katie’s simple yet powerful practice, The Work, is indeed a game changer for many reasons:
Firstly, simplicity of these technique makes it accessible to anyone, regardless of background or experience. The four questions of The Work can be applied to any situation, thought, or belief. Anyone can use this versatile tool for personal growth and self-inquiry.
Secondly, The Work is deeply transformative because it addresses the root cause of much of our suffering: our thoughts and beliefs. By questioning these thoughts and beliefs, we are able to see them for what they truly are and liberate ourselves from their grip.
Obviously, The Work helps so much to feel a sense of self-empowerment and autonomy as well. Instead of relying on external sources for validation or solutions, us, as individuals learn to find our inner guide and trust our own wisdom.
Shift in perspective is what helps the most. To see things from different angles and break free from limited ways of thinking. For all these reasons, The Work is a game changer by offering a practical and effective way to bring about profound personal transformation and emotional freedom.
Practice it, empower yourself to take control of your own lives and cultivate a deeper sense of peace, clarity, and fulfillment.
References:
Loving What Is, Revised Edition
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The best 175 quotes by Byron Katie
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The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living: Featuring new translations of Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius
