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The Inquiry-based stress reduction technique (also simply known at The Work) is a method of inquiry that identifies and questions the stressful thoughts that create pain, suffering and much of the problems in life. It is a self-facilitated or other facilitated process that allows us to undo suffering. It leaves us feeling freer, more relaxed and loving. It helps us to meet the world with a kind, open heart free of resentments, fear and anxiety.
The Work is a two step process. The first step is identifying stressful thoughts. The second step is questioning each stressful thought by using four questions and then turning the thought around to its opposites to see if it is as true or truer than the original thought. Many people find that they can not drop their stressful thinking. But when they inquire into it, their stressful thinking drops them.
Here are some of the areas of life that people find The Work helpful in:
Relationships
Death and dying issues
Health and body image
Workplace difficulties
Self-esteem
Emotional and trauma issues
Abuse issues
The Four Questions
The Four Questions
1) Is it True?
1) Is it True?
Answer this question with either a 'yes' or a 'no'. Notice if you want to qualify your answer and just answer with a 'yes' or a 'no'. If it is no, go to question # 3.
2) Can I absolutely know that's it True?
2) Can I absolutely know that's it True?
Also answer this question with a 'yes' or a 'no'.
3) How do You React, What Happens, When You Believe that Thought?
3) How do You React, What Happens, When You Believe that Thought?
Get still and reflect on how you are reacting in that situation when you believe that thought. How do you treat yourself and others? What do you feel? Where do you feel those emotions in the body? What images of the past and future play across the mind? Do any addictions or compulsive behaviors kick in?
4) Who would I be without that thought?
4) Who would I be without that thought?
Take your mind back to the situation and see everything exactly as it played out just without the stressful thought. Who would you be? How would you be in that situation without the thought?
Turning the Thought Around
Turning the Thought Around
Turning the thought around is an important step in freeing the mind. When the mind is believing a thought, it is like a car stuck in the mud. To get the car free, we gently rock it back and forth until it is out of the mud and free to drive anywhere. Turnarounds gently rock the mind back and forth until it is free.
There are several ways to turn a thought around. The most common ways are to the self, to the other and to the opposite. For example, if the thought is "He is disrespecting me", you can:
Turn it around to the self: "I am disrespecting me"
Turn it around to the other: "I am disrespecting him"
Turn it around to the opposite: "He is not disrespecting me"
The invitation is to find three genuine examples of how each turnaround is as true or truer than the original statement.
If a thought doesn't include a person, you can turn the thought around using "My thinking. . ." For instance, "Work is overwhelming" . "Work" is not a person, but you can turn it around to "My thinking is overwhelming" or "My thinking about work is overwhelming." You can also turn the statement to the opposite., "Work is not overwhelming".
A helpful hint to remember is when you find examples of the turnarounds to stay in the original situation that you are working on. When we find examples in the situation we are able to go deeper into inquiry and also avoid over-generalizing the turnaround and using it to beat ourselves up. Using the example above, the turnaround to the self to "He is disrespecting me" is "I am disrespecting me". So how am I disrespecting me in that very situation where I think he is disrespecting me? What am I doing to myself that is disrespectful in that moment? By staying the the situation, we are able to find very specific examples of how I am disrespecting myself. How do I talk to myself in that moment? How am I treating myself in that moment?
Recommended Reading and Resources
Recommended Reading and Resources
Loving What Is by Byron Katie - This is the 'textbook' of The Work. It explains how to do The Work and how to deepen inquiry and apply it to any area of life. This title is excellent on audible
I Need Your Love, Is That True? by Byron Katie - This book goes deeply into relationships and how to find freedom and healing in them. This book is excellent to help us address issues around co-dependence, control, and self-esteem.
A Thousand Names for Joy by Byron Katie - This book is a collaboration with her husband, Stephen Mitchell, a well-known translator or classic spiritual texts. In it, Katie shares her understanding of the verses from the Tao Te Ching, a famous Taoist text. This book is more inspiration than instructional. It gives a glimpse of how life would look like when thoughts are thoroughly questioned. It is a fascinating read.
A Mind At Home with Itself by Byron Katie - This book is another collaboration with her husband, Stephen Mitchell. This time they explore a famous Buddhist text called the Diamond Sutra. This text is traditionally seen as esoteric and hard to understand. Katie's take on it makes it more practical and understandable. For those who are new to The Work this is not the book to start with. It is still a dense text.
Bryon Katie's Official Website
Bryon Katie's Official Website
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