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Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life by Byron Katie, Stephen Mitchell
Book Summary InformationAuthor: Byron Katie, Stephen Mitchell Edition: Paperback Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published) Published: 2003-12-23 ISBN: 1400045371 Number of pages: 352 Publisher: Three Rivers Press Product features:
Book Reviews of Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your LifeBook Review: A boon for those who think we are victims, by changing how we see things. Summary: 4 StarsFrom the depths of despair, Byron Katie found inner strength to ask herself four questions that changed her life and hence thousands of others as well. She calls these questions we can ask ourselves or have someone else ask them for us, "The Work." By looking at our life situations from a different perspective, we can move beyond the seeming difficulties to enjoying what is!
"Katie" provides many rich examples of circumstances for many different people and how they moved away from feeling down and out, to loving life as it presents itself. This is her premise to "Loving What Is." Acceptance is really a mind-set and is much better than blaming others or wallowing in our own self-pity. Learn to forgive and forget and our lives will seem to miraculously change!
Summary of Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your LifeOut of nowhere, like a fresh breeze in a marketplace crowded with advice on what to believe, comes Byron Katie and what she calls "The Work." In the midst of a normal life, Katie became increasingly depressed, and over a ten-year period sank further into rage, despair, and thoughts of suicide. Then one morning, she woke up in a state of absolute joy, filled with the realization of how her own suffering had ended. The freedom of that realization has never left her, and now in Loving What Is you can discover the same freedom through The Work.
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. As Katie says, "It's not the problem that causes our suffering; it's our thinking about the problem." Contrary to popular belief, trying to let go of a painful thought never works; instead, once we have done The Work, the thought lets go of us. At that point, we can truly love what is, just as it is.
Loving What Is will show you step-by-step, through clear and vivid examples, exactly how to use this revolutionary process for yourself. You'll see people do The Work with Katie on a broad range of human problems, from a wife ready to leave her husband because he wants more sex, to a Manhattan worker paralyzed by fear of terrorism, to a woman suffering over a death in her family. Many people have discovered The Work's power to solve problems; in addition, they say that through The Work they experience a sense of lasting peace and find the clarity and energy to act, even in situations that had previously seemed impossible.
If you continue to do The Work, you may discover, as many people have, 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."
From the Hardcover edition. Remember the phrase "question authority"? Loving What Is is a workbook on questioning authority--but in this case, what is in question is the authority of our own fundamental beliefs about our relationships. Known simply as "The Work," Byron Katie's methods are clean and straightforward. The basis is a series of four questions addressed to your own lists of written assumptions. Whether you're angry with your boss, frustrated with your teen's behavior, or appalled at the state of the world's environment, Katie suggests you write down your most honest thoughts on the matter, and then begin the examination. Starting with, "Is it true?" and continuing with explorations of "Who would you be without that thought?" this method allows you to get through unhelpful preconceptions and find peace. An integral part of the process is "turning the thought around," and at first this can seem like you're simply blaming yourself for everything. Push a little harder, and you'll find a very responsible acceptance of reality, beyond questions of fault and blame. The book is filled with examples of folks applying The Work to a variety of life situations, and reading other's examples gets the idea across pretty clearly; chances are you'll find your own frustrations echoed on the pages a few times. Many chapters are divided into specific topics, such as couples, money, addictions, and self-judgments, with one chapter devoted to exploring the method with children. Questioning your own authority is never an easy process, but it seems well worth the potential rewards--stress-free choices, peace, and affection for those closest to you. --Jill Lightner
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