Byron Katie and The Work

[LemonLime]

Decided to start a new thread on this one:

I'm just starting some of Katie's work.  I've watched a couple videos on her website of her doing The Work with an audience participant.  Very moving.
My T led me through Judge Your Neighbor worksheet last week and she asked me to do some more of the worksheets before our next session.  I find it a bit emotionally exhausting, but I really do see what she means about Freedom.   We cannot change our very emotionally immature and limited family members.  And it's not Radical Approval, it's Radical Acceptance.   I am beginning to understand the difference.   It's hard work.....guess that's why the Work gets the capital W !!
Would love to hear if others have done The Work and what they've found.
I don't love every single thing about The Work, but I do find it very powerful and so far is better than much of the therapy I've had in my life and it's FREE.
Going to do things differently this time and not throw the baby out with the bathwater.

I'm planning to try to do one worksheet a day for the next 6 months and see what happens to my tightly-held beliefs.   My goal is to make myself less reactive and "triggered".   And to be able to brush irritating things off more easily. 

[Spring Butterfly]

It's something I had looked into briefly a while ago. It helped me see that my expectations of others will simply be on their capacity to offer. Isolating the question for inquiry helped me see I cannot control others or their thoughts and actions, I cannot simply "wish them to be normal" and to have that be so.

The floor questions helped me understand that certain things may be their reality but that is not my reality. It is true for them in their mind but it is not my truth. It helped me separate myself and free myself of expectation of others. I was able to set them free.

"What happens when I believe that thought" is I wind up extremely frustrated and there's really no point. "Who would you be without that thought?" very free and at peace.

Some of it was very challenging and difficult. My biggest challenge was the love your neighbor work sheet "turn the thought around" at the end. In the end The Work helped me even more choose to emotionally disengage with love and allow others their space to continue in their dysfunction.

[LemonLime]

Thanks for your reply and insights, SpringButterfly.   I've also found it helpful as you have in terms of seeing I cannot control others, and in fact am responsible for my own happiness.   That's always been a tough one for me to face, but of course embracing it is the only way for me to have a reliable source of happiness.

The "turning around of the thoughts' can initially make me somewhat irritable, as I want to blame others.  But if I work at it long enough I can gain insight from the turnarounds.

I am feeling an overall sense of freedom from doing The Work.  I'm just happier and lighter and less reactive.

[Spring Butterfly]

Oooo I get that with the feeling irritable about it and glad you're feeling happier and lighter!