A Worldwide Peace Movement - Page 5

[goodcents]

Hi May May - loving this thread. And you. As always.

[yaM yaM]

It is so nice to see you here, goodcents!
Please do stick around for a while. Take off your shoes, put up your feet. . .



Beansavi, I am looking forward to you getting more into this thread, too.

Originally Posted by Earth Angel

Thank you for starting this thread May May. I'm really very new to this process.....but have found her work so helpful. Listening to her do The Work live, on the CDs of Loving What Is, is very powerful, as is hearing her own journey to finding The Work. I also love that she, and so many others, like you, support others learning this process for free. I just feel like that says so much.

Isn't that just amazing, Earth Angel? I see that too and I do so love to share this Work.

I'm noticing that the volume of inquiry practitioners of the world just keeps multiplying exponentially!

This is quite literally a worldwide peace movement, inside & out, and nothing else. As Katie is known to say ~ I'm in a hurry.

[yaM yaM]

My experience is I'm not addicted to alcohol. I'm addicted to my
thinking.

Alcohol is an effect of my thinking. I haven't known how
to understand or shut down my thinking, so alcohol is available to
get me through this hell.

It can look like grace, for awhile. It
gets me through to a point, but only up to a point. I sober
up and am left with more confusion.

And then some of us go for even more radical combinations in the
attempt to shut down our minds, like cocaine possibly or
tranquilizers or sex. And ultimately it turns out like everything
else. It comes down to this. We are still stuck with our
thoughts running wildly and uncontrollably. -- Byron Katie

[yaM yaM]

. . . We are still stuck with our thoughts running wildly and uncontrollably.
(Until we find The Work, that is.)



(I just love this part so much and felt it needed repeating.)

[BlissfullyLoving]

Wow, I just stumbled upon this thread at a very vulnerable moment for me. I have been attempting to use the law of attraction for peace in my own life (clearly it brought me to this page), and I have read and started doing some of the techniques in a book called Mindful Loving. It seems The Work of Byron Katie is very similar to what I have already been doing, but I really needed a fresh look to motivate me back on track.

In the last few weeks I have seen lots of unnecessary drama around me. I was having a horrible time figuring out what to do next. I really think that The Work will guide me to make insightful decisions. I am unhappy with what is going on within me, and I am looking forward to using The Work.

Is this going to be an ongoing thread to post questions to, and discuss positive changes?

Thanks for posting! ~Jen

[yaM yaM]

Welcome and thank you for sharing with us, Jen.

Originally Posted by jenandavery

Is this going to be an ongoing thread to post questions to, and discuss positive changes?

Yes, absolutely!

To come to this thread and share how The Work is working in your life is integral to the purpose of this thread. I'm so glad you're here.


Please feel free to explore the links on the first page of the thread to learn more about how The Work works. The videos displayed on the front page of Katie's website are, IMO, the best introductions to The Work.

I am available to answer questions, as well. Did you notice the hotline link, Jen?

[BlissfullyLoving]

I have spent much of my day reading and practicing using The Work. I watched the videos too. I did see the hotline link.

I am having a hard time understanding how to take the revelations, and apply them to your every day life. How do you change your thought process, so as not to react in the same manner the next time? I cannot seem to find any discussion on that.

I know that it is my expectation, belief, judgments or desires that leads me to draw conclusions about others or situations, but how does The Work suggest you eliminate these unnecessary thought processes. I do not want to just see these connections in the past tense...I want to live them now. I want to know that I can go into a situation without making the same mistakes again. What is the process to eliminate those thoughts permenantly? Is this something covered in the book with more depth?

Thanks!

[yaM yaM]

I would recommend reading Loving What Is. There is a lot more elaboration in there and it is the book that introduces The Work so it's a great place to begin. It's always a beginning.

As far as 'living the turnarounds' (as it is popularly referred to) goes ~ it is a full time job, for sure. It's really all about noticing. Mindfulness. Awareness. Whatever language you might use to describe the experience that occurs when we are fully present with the moment.

In the space of awareness, we can notice ourselves doing the very same thing that we have discovered is not true for us when we shine the light of inquiry on it. In the noticing, we can gently remind ourselves to come back to what we've discovered is truer for us (in the turnaround).

Sometimes, it is necessary to Work the same stressful belief again a few times - each time it is thought and brings stress. Eventually (and quite rapidly, IME) you start to notice that you're not responding the same way to things that you were, before questioning the stressful thought. After some time, you may even find yourself laughing in response to the very same trigger!

It's lots of fun, and The Work only works when you answer the questions. And it's called The Work because answering the questions requires a really, really open mind. Let the mind ask the questions and wait in stillness for the heart's response. The turnarounds are glorious revelations of truth that can take a lot of attention to implement. But the effort needed to implement the turnarounds is far, far less than the energy that goes into repressing our stressful-stories.

[BlissfullyLoving]

Thank you. I will definitely look into getting the book.

[yaM yaM]

Oh, I meant to mention in response to this ~

Originally Posted by jenandavery

Wow, I just stumbled upon this thread at a very vulnerable moment for me. I have been attempting to use the law of attraction for peace in my own life (clearly it brought me to this page). . .

While I agree in the law of attraction and know that we are only always manifesting everything literally out of our thoughts, I do not align with the ideas in The Secret.



I love this excerpt from Katie's blog:

Originally Posted by Byron Katie

Here are Stephen’s [Stephen Mitchell - Byron Katie's husband] thoughts:

The Secret: “You can have whatever you want.”
The Work: “You can want whatever you have.”

The Secret: “My will be done. I know what’s best for me.”
The Work: “Thy will be done (=Thy will is done). What’s best for me is what actually happens.” (In A Thousand Names for Joy, Katie says, “God’s will and your will are the same, whether you notice it or not.”)

The Secret: “You can control your thoughts.”
The Work: “You are not the thinker. It’s not possible to suppress your stressful thoughts. But when you question them, they let go of you.”

The Secret: “You can manifest your positive thoughts as reality.”
The Work: “Reality already is the best thing that could be manifested. When you realize this, you’re home free.”

[laralou]

Having a hard night. I am anticipating an attack from someone (their pattern of behavior says this will happen) and I am physically ill waiting for it. I could totally use some advice. I know she can't really hurt me if I don't accept what she says about me. But I have to deal with her on at least a biannual basis and every time she is so mean to me it makes me sick. I think the anticipation is the worst part of it. Dh wants me to not worry about it. How can I do that? I would love some advice. I have the worksheets you posted and I will go through that tonight. Should I order her book?

[yaM yaM]

Laralou. . .

I support your decision to order and read the book. I meant to mention yesterday that BK's books are commonly available at local libraries everywhere thanks to lots of generous friends of The Work out there.

I can tell you that The Work has no advice. It is only four questions and a turnaround. And, IME, it works when you answer the questions. I invite you to sit down with your thoughts and put them on paper. Journal the stream of thoughts until you catch one that really feels strong. Then, bring it to inquiry.

There are several means to do The Work on a stressful thought. I am willing to facilitate you, myself, if you're willing to do the session on the thread, here, so that others can observe the process. And this invitation is for anyone here, btw.

There is also the hotline which I strongly encourage you to use. It is anonymous and staffed entirely by generous volunteers for The Work, many of which are practitioners in various counseling and other mental & emotional health capacities.

[yaM yaM]

A mother's Work ~ "My son refuses to see me."

[beansavi]

Hey May May. I love the section from the worksheet where it asked me if I could possibly know more than God. That is a big one for me... and truly helps on such a deep level to center me and help me to be at peace with my Life, the world...

[yaM yaM]

Ah, yes, it is good to be mindful of whether or not it is actually true for us that we can possibly know more than G-d.

To put the question a slightly different way ~ if this (insert stressful situation) were your only path to G-d, would you take it?

[yaM yaM]

Arguing with reality is like trying to teach a cat to bark—hopeless. -- Byron Katie

[yaM yaM]

Nothing can survive truth. Nothing. -- Byron Katie

[moonbeem]

Originally Posted by May May

Nothing can survive truth. Nothing. -- Byron Katie

greetings i just found this thread and it's timely and interesting....the words of wisdom are resonating....but i just don't get the above quote. will you please elaborate?

[yaM yaM]

Goodmorning, moonbeem.

Nothing can survive truth. Nothing.

What does it mean?

Well, Katie is famous for saying things such as "reality is always kinder than the story we tell about it." I also hear her saying things about how "all stress is a lie (a story) that we tell ourselves."

So my guess is that what she's meaning by the above quote in question is that the light of truth dispels all stress. Real truth can only bring peace.

And that is also my personal experience of The Work.


I hope that helps, moonbeem.

[yaM yaM]

Any time I argue with reality I LEAVE (leave reality, leave myself). -- Byron Katie