Byron Katie - Byron Katie Books
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Byron Katie (Byron Kathleen Reid), a businesswoman and mother living in the high desert of southern California, became severely depressed while in her 30s. Over a 10-year period her depression deepened, and Byron Katie spent almost two years seldom able to leave her bed, obsessing over suicide. Then one morning, from the depths of despair, she experienced a life-changing realization.
Byron Katie saw that when she believed that something should be different than it is (“My husband should love me more,” “My children should appreciate me”) she suffered, and that when she didn’t believe these thoughts, she felt peace. Katie realized that what had been causing her depression was not the world around her, but the beliefs she had about the world around her. In a flash of insight, Katie saw that our attempt to find happiness was backward—instead of hopelessly trying to change the world to match our thoughts about how it should be, we can question these thoughts and, by meeting reality as it is, experience unimaginable freedom and joy. As a result, a bedridden, suicidal woman became filled with love for everything life brings. Byron Katie developed a simple yet powerful method of inquiry, called The Work, that helped make this transformation practical.
Byron Katie books include "Loving What Is" and "I Need Your Love, Is That True?" and brings the work, as she calls it, to many. Since 1998, Katie has directed The School for The Work, a nine-day curriculum of exercises offered several times a year in different locations around the world and also hosts an annual New Year’s Mental Cleanse—a five-day program of continuous inquiry that takes place at the end of December—and she offers weekend intensives in major cities.
For more information on Byron Katie, Byron Katie books, and The Work visit www.thework.com.