I was first introduced to “The Work”, a practice developed by Byron Katie, when I was taking the T3 (Train The Trainer) course on Integral Circling at The Integral Center in Boulder, Colorado in 2017. Integral Circling is a transpersonal meditation practice that is basically just active listening on steroids. It’s a really good practice for therapists, counselors, and coaches. I’m a business coach, so it has helped me a lot in working with clients.
Anyway, one of our homework assignments was to read the book “Loving What Is” by Byron Katie and do the practice for a month. I did it every day for one month and the effects were profound. I just couldn’t get upset about anything. It lasted for a couple of weeks. Then after not doing the practice, I started getting frustrated again.
I’ve tried many times to do it every day, but I just do it in spurts here and there. It does help, but it would help more if I did it every day. I am planning a month of daily Ecstatic Embodiment practices for May 2022, and The Work will be part of it. I will be vlogging on Facebook and posting it here as well, stay tuned!
I give out a copy of “The Work Worksheet” that I made at the end of every Ecstatic Embodiment class. I recommend that people try to do it every day for a month to see what happens. I figured I would post it here in case someone loses the paper copy or you’re interested and can’t come to my class. I have altered the questions from Byron Katie’s. I feel that she is leaving out an important component, to consider what evidence is supporting your belief and how that belief is serving you. She generally claims that all beliefs that are causing us pain are just complete BS. I think it’s good to honor why they’re there, and then let them go.
Try it out and let me know how it goes in the comments below!
* The Artwork at the top is by Bryce Widom, featuring The Integral Center’s logo in the girl’s necklace. The original chalk drawing was in the entryway of The Integral Center when I worked there. See his art and order prints at https://brycewidom.com/.
