The Work of Byron Katie

hi mary

i met katie in the early 90's when she was just starting out. the first meeting was with four other people in a livingroom of a home in tiburon. i had recently returned from travels with a small band of spiritual adventureers after a significant awakening. i was sitting on the floor with my eyes closed and 'felt' her presence as she entered and sat down. when i opened my eyes i was looking up into her's and we just held each other's gaze for what felt a very long time. i felt bathed in the recognition of our 'oneness' and it was a joyus interlude, the first of many with her...

as time went by i had the opportunity to do the work with her one on one many times and attended the early forerunners of what became the school as it is today although these groups were much less structured and the largest had only 8 people in it.

the work is the simplest and most powerful tool i know of to identify, examine, and let go of the limiting beliefs that are often the root cause of suffering. i highly recommend it to all as a step toward true self responsibility. i have seen it work miracles many many times. my love monique in holland is not what you would call a 'seeker' or a person who has ever been interested in 'teachers'. however when we were first together i could see that she suffered greatly from her unexamined thoughts and attempted to spread her suffering to me. i took her to see katie in amsterdam and she was very impressed with the simplicity and profound effects she saw during that afternoon. later she was really triggered by her mother, a black belt 'critical authority' and lovely woman. i casually asked that if i could arrange for her to attend the school for the work in germany the next week would she go? she replied in the affirmative, and i think she felt pretty safe knowing that we could not afford it and that it was pretty late to register for the group.

little did she know...

i made a call to an old friend in the organization and she was in. i traveled with her by train to 'deliver' her to the group and it was like taking your child to summer camp for the first time. she was excited and nervous and giddy with anticipation. when we arrived at the retreat center in a small town up the rhine from cologne it was hard to leave her, but the energy was magical and i knew she was in good hands.

sitting at home for ten days tuning in occassionally to see if i could feel her experience i waited with high anticiaption of her return...

and then the day came. she was radiant! she looked ten years younger, her eyes had a light i had never seen before! her stories from the 'field trip' day were nothing short of miracles! and she loved every minute of it even though she was chanllenged like never before. her respect for katie and the simple power of those four questions was immense and she still thanks me about once a month for bring that miracle into her life.

for any team members unfamiliar with the work and how it's done the site mary linked in her original post has some great little short youtube clips of people doing the process with katie. they are quite beautiful, profound, funny, and at times tearful. i particularly like the one with the man who is dying of cancer. loving what is... what a concept!

also you can download the guidebook and worksheets to do the work for yourself. these materials are and always have been made available free of charge. in those early days there was never even a request for donations, the work was made available for free always. things have changed somewhat. i think that afternoon in amsterdam there were a couple thousand people there. she now travels all over the world and draws huge crowds. the sessions done in israel are amazing to watch in the movie clips.

congratulations mary on completing that training! i know the courage it took and the service you can be to yourself and the planet as a practioner of the work cannot be over valued. love to you! edward ~3e