Rating: 
Summary: A powerful spiritual tool
Review: Byron Katie's "Work" is so incredibly profound it is easy to miss the power of it. I misunderestimated it at first because of the simplicity of it, until a friend sat down with me and helped me go through the steps she outlines, without allowing my mind to fall back into it's normal habits. Spiritual teachings for thousands of years have taught us that the road to happiness and personal power is detaching ourselves from our desires and assumptions, but this is an extremely difficult process. It is easy to memorize a philosophical theory, and easy to figure out the things we need to work on, compared to how difficult it is to actually release those old thought patterns. Byron Katie's "work" gives us powerful and practical steps that help to lead our mind through the correct process of analyzing just how transparent, stressful, and un-necessary some of our beliefs are. This allows our mind to let go of these beliefs ("stories" as she calls them) with love and understanding. We still have to put out the effort for our growth, but this book is a powerful tool. Byron Katie's statement "Arguing with 'what is' is like trying to tach a cat to bark," is so true. It is wonderful the peace that comes when we finally stop fighting "what is," stop trying to impose "what should be," and learn to just "be."
Rating:
Summary: If I could give a book to everyone in the world...
Review: this would be it. I'm an ordained Christian minister, and I'd give out *this* book before the Bible itself. That's how powerful her simple approach IS. It is literally the key to end all suffering. Sounds too good to be true? It isn't. I have been a student of psychology, personality and spirituality ever since I was a young girl. I studied theology in college, minored in psychology, have dozens of self-help and self-discovery books on my shelves, been a student of cognitive psychology and Toltec Wisdom (ala "The Toltec Way" by Gregg and "The Four Agreements" by Ruiz)... From these, I came to believe that my own thoughts create my own suffering. It's never the person or situation that causes me grief; it's the story I *tell* myself *about* the person or situation that is the problem! Yet, although I knew this intellectually, I had a hard time dismantling all my core beliefs and judgments. My intellect likes mind candy and the accumulating of knowledge, but it wasn't enough to put me over the edge to freedom. But this book did. It is all the above disciplines combined, but MUCH more. I was having anxiety attacks and an irrational fear of death and dying; this book helped snap me out of it immediately (along with the grace of God). Loving What Is is not by a counselor or some New Age guru; it's by a normal woman who was on the floor of a half way house, feeling bitter and angry, who had an epiphany when she asked herself a series of 4 simple questions. Her depression lifted, and she was a new woman in ONE instant. Since then (1986) she has shared her message, and it's changed thousands of lives. To see what The Work is about, visit her website at http://thework.com This book is a life changer. The information it contains can replace all self-help books...it's that transformational. It's also an easy read, and very engaging. After all, she's just a "normal" woman like you and I who stumbled on 4 basic questions called Inquiry that will change your life forever. If you are looking for answers to "why", are tired of feeling tired, angry, depressed, alone, cheated, sad, or confused, please get this book today.
Rating:
Summary: Erroneous information in editorial review
Review: The review quoted in the editorial reviews from Library Journal states: "However, Katie and coauthor/husband Mitchell, a translator of the Bhagavad Gita..." How did the reveiwer come to the conclusion that just because they co-authored a book, Byron Katie and Stephen Mitchell are married? Big news if true, but I doubt it is, as Byron often refers to her husband in her workshops as someone who is not the least bit interested in enlightenment or her work, but graciously puts up with it. Therefore, this false statement should be corrected in the public record.
Rating:
Summary: Try it, you'll be ever grateful...
Review: I found a proof of the book prior to publication and I couldn't believe it. I gave it to a friend, returned to the bookstore to get one of the remaining three proofs and they were all gone. I had to wait another month for the book. I devoured it. I have meditated for twenty years, been in twelve step programs longer than that, do service book and have been in therapy on and off for nearly forty years-- this book and EMDR did what all the others didn't do, gave me peace of mind, an ability to untangle myself in minutes and a sense of freedom that I never thought I would find this side of the grave. I now recommend this book to all my sponsees, my friends, anyone I love. Recommending it is a act of love, and working at it, as simple as it is, becomes an act of devotion. Finally a way to clear away what stands between God and me... thank you Byron Katie!
Rating:
Summary: Katie Loves People... and it shows
Review: Have you paid attention to the idea of unconditional love? That's a tricky one for most of us, isn't it? We're more inclined to think, "Yeah, I love you, but if you cross this line, you're out." Unconditional love can't exist within "I love you but." Well here's a woman who has taken the masters class in unconditional love, and has turned around to teach it. She gives format and formula for conversations which create breakthroughs and transformation... Transformation, you know where you're no longer the person who had the problem... where you don't have to do anything to fix or change the problem. The "problem" just isn't part of who you are any longer, therefore it no longer exists in your world. Most of what we do to try to improve our world doesn't help, and why is that? Because we try to create change by resisting what we don't want. And what you resist persists. The harder you push it out of your life, the more solidly it is there. But how do you create change otherwise? That can be a tricky question, and this book is full of easy answers. And guess who's answers they are? Yours! Katie doesn't try to push any of her ideas down your throat, or program you with new beliefs. She simply offers a system of inquiry that allows your attention to rest on what isn't working about the stories you tell yourself about reality. Without the stories, it's quite effortless to love what is. Simple as that. If you want to love people, this book will help. If you want to love yourself,
If you want to love your life,
If you want to be at peace,
If you want to be happy, this book will help. I promise. --Frank Boyd
Rating:
Summary: Run, don't walk, to get this book. Please.
Review: Run, don't walk, to get this book. Tired of teachers? Therapy? Half-done workbooks? Overwhelmed? Depressed? Obsessed? Addicted? On the merry-go-round of self-improvement and the quest for happiness? Again: run, don't walk, to get this book. Don't be fooled: the simplicity of this teaching and the transformational wattage of The Work are profound and life-changing. As Katie's questions and simple method of inquiry become as second nature to us as driving a stick shift or, well, breathing, life changes. If you want to be peace, not just talk it; if you want to truly love life as it is, don't wait. Run, don't walk, to get this book. The Work works. I see that nothing will be the same. And the more I inquire, the clearer life and love become - including loving self and neighbor, and living clearly in the here and now. And the better, cleaner, more energetic become my actions and my choices. Get the book.
Rating:
Summary: Here's Your Chance to "WORK" for Yourself
Review: Katie gives us a precise method for examining what's 'behind our eyes' not what is in front of them. It's very tempting to just keep turning the pages because I found it difficult to put the book down. The Work is actually fun to do if you simply take a chapter at a time. One thing for certain, you will take yourself a whole lot less seriously and begin to truly live in the NOW. If you are living a life of constant or even occasional agitation, or perhaps you are losing sleep over your kids, your jobs, finances, other people's decisions, spouses, significant others, 9/11, etc. this is your prescription/invitation to live the life you were meant to live once and for all.
Rating: 
Summary: Discovering yourself through Inquiry
Review: In Loving What Is, the authors explain Byron Katie's technique, called "The Work." It is about how to resolve problems, live from a place of peace and aliveness, and how to examine what is, rather than our thoughts about what is. Her approach is refreshing and inspiring. The technique centers around what Katie calls the "Inquiry," four simple questions that allow people to discover how their own thoughts deceive them and create obstacles to a satisfying life. Her book illustrates the "Inquiry" with examples from people she has worked with. She addresses aspects of life that affect everyone: relationships and family, work and money, death and terror. What I enjoyed about her work and her style is that she encourages people to simply look at their thoughts and behaviors, without putting pressure on them to be different than they are. This allows their problems to dissolve. Rather than trying to solve peoples' problems, Katie takes them through a process of examining their reality and shares her enthusiasm and passion for living with awareness. Another book that explores the magic and ease of living in the present and the healing effect of discovering your own truth is Working On Yourself Doesn't Work by Ariel and Shya Kane. This is a simple, honest, and empowering book that captures the essence of how to live a rich, fulfilling and exciting life by letting go of mechanical behaviors from the past that stand in the way of aliveness and well-being.
Rating:
Summary: It feels natural
Review: You know how as you get older you start talking and acting like your parents in certain ways? You don't get up one day and decide you're going to be like your mother or father. It's a process that seems to happen on its own. Reading Byron Katie's Loving What Is, is like that.You easily pick-up on it and find yourself naturally, imperceptibly, using her methods. This book takes the stuff of life -- family, marriage, children, money, addictions, friends, lovers, judgments of self and life, fear, pain, anger, worry, and the thoughts the mind is constantly generating -- and it shows you how to free yourself from the stresses they impose. It shows you how to take things that bother you and make them not bother you. It frees you from that. The Work, as Katie's method is called, is easy to do. Nothing beyond the book is required. In The Work, you start with the worksheet. The purpose of the worksheet is to bring your mind to paper. You start by judging people. Later you judge thoughts, issues, self-judgments. You start with a person. You write down what angers, saddens, disappoints you about that person. How do you want them to change? What do they need to give you? What do you think of this person? What don't you want to experience with this person again? These are only a few of the questions on the worksheet. Next you investigate each statement in the worksheet by exposing it to four questions. For each statement you ask, (1) Is it true? (2) Can you absolutely know that it's true? (3) How do you react when you think that thought? (4) Who would you be without that thought? The four questions allow one to look at the source of pain and stress. Finally you turn around each statement so that instead of judging another person, you are judging yourself. "Bill angers me," can be turned around to, "I anger me," or "I anger Bill," or "Bill doesn't anger me." With the turnaround comes the key to healing because it is a look into reality. The worksheet presents the situation of stress and pain. The four questions reveal the source of stress and pain. The turnaround shows what the reality is, and with this comes healing. The book features in-depth examples of The Work in action. The most stressful and difficult human situations are handled. Loving What Is is also available in audio edition, which is an effective way of absorbing The Work. The most important quality of The Work is that it feels natural. Katie says over and over again that she is a "lover of reality." The Work comes out of reality and takes the user to reality.
Rating:
Summary: Loving the Audiobook
Review: This has become one of my favorite books on tape. It's one of the few I've enjoyed listening to more than once. After noticing how every single relationship and experience in my life has blossomed after I started doing The Work--I believe this book has the potential to change the world. Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.
|
