Rating: 
Summary: This book really can change your life
Review: "When you argue with reality, you lose-but only 100% of the time," Byron Katie says. To help us stop our painful and hopeless arguments with reality, Byron Katie gives us much more, or much less, than another psychological Band-Aid or superficial pep-talk. She gives us The Work, four penetrating questions that, when asked sincerely, can help anyone tear through years of painful beliefs -"I'm too fat." "My partner should love me more." etc.-leaving the peace and freedom that come naturally from "loving what is."I found The Work a little slippery to understand the first time I heard of it (it's been spreading through word of mouth for years). How can asking myself some questions make any difference? But after I did it, I was blown away! Loving What Is makes learning this process fairly simple, through detailed instructional material, humorous anecdotes (Katie is famous for her sense of humor), and dozens of powerful examples of The Work in action. Co-author Stephen Mitchell's intelligence and precision are evident in the book's seamless structure, and in how naturally Katie's clarity and warmth make it to the page. This book still requires "active" reading-and you have to do The Work yourself in order to really get it-but for those who are willing to try something new, Loving What Is really could change your life. It changed mine. (I highly recommend the audiobook as well.)
Rating: 
Summary: True to a Point...
Review: Noone should stay where there is physical or emotional battering. To paraphrase Jesus, "Leave the dead to bury the dead, and follow me." You may change relationships with this method, but if you don't--get out!!! What I dislike is the premise that it cures EVERYTHING. It is psychologically & spiritually true that our reality is created by our thoughts and these frequently are misconceptions. You will be happier using this method but it is not going to guaranty you 100% perfect relationships with everyone/thing. Free Will still is part of our universe.
Rating:
Summary: And she has done better?
Review: I give this excellent book 5 stars, in spite of friends telling
me that Byron Katie has written even better ones. Amazon sent
me this book and recieved payment about the first of this year.
They are trying to send me another one tomorrow, along with a
book I ordered with this book tomorrow. I ordered 2 books, and
they sent this one first, and in error, somehow don't think they
have. I will get another copy shipped to me tomorrow, along with
the book they thought they shipped on the original order. Since
it is impossible to get to talk to a human, I cannot stop them
from making this error; so I will simply have to return it for
credit and wait for them to issue me credit for this one charge
my account for the other one I will get in tomorrow's shipment. I made 3 attempts to straighten this error out, but you cannot
enter all things that can go wrong into computor questions. Sometimes you need to talk to a person. When we finally get this
order straight, I will no longer buy books from anyone that will
not let you talk to a human being to get mistakes straightened
out. The book above was a great read and Byron Katie's work is
really in a class all by itself; the logical way she goes about
solving our problems from the inside out.
Rating:
Summary: The tag line is true
Review: This may be the first self-help book I've ever read all the way through. I was attracted to it by the name "Stephen Mitchell" on the cover. His paraphrase/translation of the Tao te Ching was my previous Most Influential Book. In his introduction we learn that Byron Katie is his wife. They appear to share a sort of Zen/Taoist outlook. The tag line on the cover of the book reads "Four questions that can change your life." I like the use of the word "can." It's not that the questions "could" or "may" or "might" change your life: they "can" if you use them. I know because my life has changed. But it's not just the questions that have changed my life. Rather, it's the outlook expressed in the book's title: "Loving What Is." My suffering comes from arguing with my reality. Peace comes from accepting and even loving my reality, whatever my situation.
Rating:
Summary: True to a Point...
Review: Noone should stay where there is physical or emotional battering. To paraphrase Jesus, "Leave the dead to bury the dead, and follow me." You may change relationships with this method, but if you don't--get out!!! What I dislike is the premise that it cures EVERYTHING. It is psychologically & spiritually true that our reality is created by our thoughts and these frequently are misconceptions. You will be happier using this method but it is not going to guaranty you 100% perfect relationships with everyone/thing. Free Will still is part of our universe.
Rating: 
Summary: an acorn of truth, but...
Review: I bought this book mainly because of my respect for Stephen Mitchell, Katie's husband, who provides a compelling forward. The idea of inquiry is valid and helpful, and I am definitely going to examine some relationships in my life by her method. BUT...she carries the "work" to an extreme and tries to make it apply every time for every person. It crosses well over the border between peaceful acceptance and flat out denial. Like it or not, there are things in life that can't be rationalized away. The idea that "no person ever hurt another person" or did a wrong thing -- that's ludicrous. I agree that I have a choice about how I react when someone hits me in the head with a baseball bat, but that doesn't mean I can choose not to have a lump on my head or that I should convince myself that everything is groovy all the time. And I agree with another reveiwer who said that she pushes people toward answers that validate her methods, especially with the "should/should not" stuff. Saying "Bill hit me in the head with a baseball bat" is not the same as saying "Bill SHOULD hit me in the head with a baseball bat." Katie's assertion that everything is as it should be reminds me of the myopic schoolmaster in "Candide." (Life is happiness indeed!) The so-called "work" is a potentially powerful tool. It's going to do a lot of people a lot of good -- but in certain situations, it could be very harmful. To hear an example of Katie in action, go to her website www.thework.org.
Rating:
Summary: do you want to suffer a lot less?
Review: This book doesn't tell you what's what. It has no real philosophy in it. It simply gives you a simple way to discover your own truth. I was very skeptical about even reading this book. Somehow I ordered it and it sat around in my collection of thousands of books. I was searching for a "spiritual solution" to my feeling terrible and this was one of many books I ordered. Then one day, in emotional pain, I picked it up after reading many others. I started reading it. I read and re-read. I went each chapter again and again and again. A year and a half later, it is the only self-help book that I really care about. I have done "The Work" many many times and made it a part of me. I have purchased audio tapes of other people doing The Work. My wife has asked me for help in The Work and my son also. Here is what has happened to me: I suffer much less. I view every challenge in life as an opportunity for deeper self-realization. I am more comfortable with myself and my life. Things bother me less and less. Bottom line: I am more in love with the truth than I ever was. I am still less than honest but I am more honest than I was, and loving the truth more and more as time goes on. The truth does appear to set me free. Reading this book can help you see the truth for you. If you are interested then read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Finding Peace in Who and Where You Are
Review: Byron Katie's book, LOVING WHAT IS, provides an easy-to-grasp key to finding peace where you are, right now -- no matter what is going on in your life. While many coaches and therapists advocate acceptance as being the key to overcoming destructive inner negative self-talk, few have so clearly delineated a method for people to achieve this healing state of being. Katie's premise is that your beliefs are what cause you the most pain and suffering, and that by carefully reviewing those beliefs, you can more easily differentiate the things you can change from those you must learn to accept as they are. LOVING WHAT IS describes a simple technique for reviewing and revising your beliefs with a four-question technique that cuts to the core of what is really troubling you. Like a wise grandmother, Katie shows how she lovingly soothes those she assists in transcripts of sessions in which she helps people take a look at whether their beliefs are true... whether they can absolutely know that those beliefs are true... how they react when they think those thoughts... and who they would be if they didn't believe those thoughts. While emotions such as fear and anger may take time to transform into peace and joy, LOVING WHAT IS provides an excellent road-map to a more peaceful and enjoyable life for anyone who is ready to chart a new course. Cynthia Sue Larson -- author of "Aura Advantage: How the Colors in Your Aura Can Help You Attain What You Desire and Attract Success"
Rating:
Summary: Opens our eyes on ourselves
Review: This is a wonderful book that helps us open our eyes to the things we are hiding from. In this book, the author claims that we hold on to our "stories" in order to avoid pain and experience pleasure in the short term even though we are selling ourselves short in the long run. The "stories" are like jail cells we trap ourselves into to make us feel safe and secure. But as long as we stay in it, we can never experience true freedom and happiness. Like Toru Sato explains so clearly in his exceptional book called "The Ever-Transcending Spirit", opening our eyes to these things enables us to take one more step closer to our true selves. This book is extremely helpful if you are ready to transcend your present state and take one more step in the unfolding of your soul. Enjoy...
Rating:
Summary: A Non-blaming Guide to Personal Honesty
Review: Katie has successfully and compassionately operationalized a way to explore inner truths and personal responsibility. "The Work" is a remarkably generous system. It is simple to follow and lets one go very deeply into resolving inner conflicts and conflicts with others.
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