No one can give you freedom but you.

This little book will show you how.

Byron Katie

This booklet presents the essence of The Work

of Byron Katie. Each year, thousands of these
booklets are sent by request, at no charge, to
non-profit organizations around the world, helping
people discover the life-changing power of inquiry.

If you would like to explore this process further,

we suggest you ask for Loving What Is wherever
books are sold. The book version will take
you deeper into The Work, and includes many
examples of Katie facilitating people on issues
such as fear, health, relationships, money, the
body, and more. Loving What Is is also available
as an audiobook, which offers you the invaluable
experience of hearing Katie do The Work in live

The Work of
workshop recordings. The book and audiobook are
available on our website as well, thework.com, or
they can be ordered by calling 805.444.5799.

Byron Katie 2014 Byron Katie International, Inc. All rights reserved.

An Introduction
 depression was not the world around her, but what
she believed about the world around her. In a flash of
insight, she saw that our attempt to find happiness was
backwardinstead 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
Introduction result, a bedridden, suicidal woman became filled with
love for everything life brings.
The Work of Byron Katie is a way to identify and
question the thoughts that cause all the suffering in the Katie developed a simple yet powerful method of
world. It is a way to find peace with yourself and with the inquiry, called The Work, that showed people how
world. Anyone with an open mind can do this Work. to free themselves. Her insight into the mind is
consistent with leading-edge research in cognitive
Byron Kathleen Reid became severely depressed neuroscience, and The Work has been compared to
while in her thirties. Over a ten-year period her the Socratic dialogue, Buddhist teachings, and twelve-
depression deepened, and for the last two years step programs. But Katie developed her method
Katie (as she is called) was seldom able to leave her without any knowledge of religion or psychology.
bedroom. Then one morning, from the depths of The Work is based purely on one womans direct
despair, she experienced a life-changing realization. experience of how suffering is created and ended. It is
astonishingly simple, accessible to people of all ages
Katie saw that when she believed her thoughts and backgrounds, and requires nothing more than a
she suffered, and that when she didnt believe her pen and paper and a willingness to open the mind.
thoughts she didnt suffer. What had been causing her Katie saw right away that giving people her insights

An Introduction 1 2 The Work of Byron Katie

or answers was of little valueinstead, she offers a Katie facilitating The Work on a wide range of topics
process that can give people their own answers. The (sex, money, the body, parenting, etc.) are available at
first people exposed to her Work reported that the her events and on her website, thework.com.
experience was transformational, and she soon began
receiving invitations to teach the process publicly. Katie has written three bestselling books: Loving
What Is, which was written with her husband, the
Since 1986 Katie has introduced The Work to millions distinguished writer Stephen Mitchell, and has been
of people around the world. In addition to public events, translated into twenty-nine languages; I Need Your
she has done The Work in corporations, universities, LoveIs That True?, written with Michael Katz; and
schools, churches, prisons, and hospitals. Katies joy A Thousand Names for Joy, written with Stephen
and humor immediately put people at ease, and the Mitchell. Her other books are Question Your Thinking,
deep insights and breakthroughs that participants Change the World; Who Would You Be Without Your
quickly experience make the events captivating. Since Story?; Peace in the Present Moment (selections from
1998 Katie has directed the School for The Work, a Byron Katie and Eckhart Tolle, with photographs by
nine-day curriculum offered several times a year. The Michele Penn); for children, Tiger-Tiger, Is It True?,
School is an approved provider of continuing education illustrated by Hans Wilhelm; and her latest, A Friendly
units in the U.S., and many psychologists, counselors, Universe, also illustrated by Hans Wilhelm.
and therapists report that The Work is becoming
the most important part of their practice. Katie also Welcome to The Work.
presents a five-day No-Body Intensive and an annual
New Years Mental Cleansea four-day program of
continuous inquiry that takes place in Los Angeles at
the end of December. She sometimes offers weekend
workshops as well. Audio and video recordings of

An Introduction 3 4 The Work of Byron Katie

What Is Is Can you really know that thats true? Which is more
empowering?I wish I hadnt lost my job or I lost
The only time we suffer is when we believe a thought my job; what intelligent solutions can I find right now?
that argues with what is. When the mind is perfectly
clear, what is is what we want. If you want reality to The Work reveals that what you think shouldnt have
be different than it is, you might as well try to teach a happened should have happened. It should have
cat to bark. You can try and try, and in the end the cat happened because it did happen, and no thinking
will look up at you and say, Meow. Wanting reality in the world can change it. This doesnt mean that
to be different than it is is hopeless. you condone it or approve of it. It just means that
you can see things without resistance and without
And yet, if you pay attention, youll notice that you the confusion of your inner struggle. No one wants
believe thoughts like this dozens of times a day. their children to get sick, no one wants to be in a car
People should be kinder. Children should be accident; but when these things happen, how can it be
well-behaved. My husband (or wife) should agree helpful to mentally argue with them? We know better
with me. I should be thinner (or prettier or more than to do that, yet we do it, because we dont know
successful). These thoughts are ways of wanting how to stop.
reality to be different than it is. If you think that this
sounds depressing, youre right. All the stress that we I am a lover of what is, not because Im a spiritual
feel is caused by arguing with what is. person, but because it hurts when I argue with reality.
We can know that reality is good just as it is, because
People new to The Work often say to me, But it would when we argue with it, we experience tension and
be disempowering to stop my argument with reality. If frustration. We dont feel natural or balanced. When
I simply accept reality, Ill become passive. I may even we stop opposing reality, action becomes simple, fluid,
lose the desire to act. I answer them with a question: kind, and fearless.

An Introduction 5 6 The Work of Byron Katie

Staying in Your Own Business Being mentally in your business keeps me from
being present in my own. I am separate from myself,
I can find only three kinds of business in the universe: wondering why my life doesnt work.
mine, yours, and Gods. (For me, the word God
means reality. Reality is God, because it rules. To think that I know whats best for anyone else is to be
Anything thats out of my control, your control, and out of my business. Even in the name of love, it is pure
everyone elses controlI call that Gods business.) arrogance, and the result is tension, anxiety, and fear. Do I
know whats right for me? That is my only business. Let me
Much of our stress comes from mentally living out of work with that before I try to solve your problems for you.
our own business. When I think, You need to get a
job, I want you to be happy, you should be on time, If you understand the three kinds of business enough
you need to take better care of yourself, I am in your to stay in your own business, it could free your life in a
business. When Im worried about earthquakes, floods, way that you cant even imagine. The next time youre
war, or when I will die, I am in Gods business. If I am feeling stress or discomfort, ask yourself whose business
mentally in your business or in Gods business, the youre in mentally, and you may burst out laughing! That
effect is separation. I noticed this early in 1986. When I question can bring you back to yourself. And you may
mentally went into my mothers business, for example, come to see that youve never really been present, that
with a thought like My mother should understand me, youve been mentally living in other peoples business
I immediately experienced a feeling of loneliness. And all your life. Just to notice that youre in someone elses
I realized that every time in my life that I had felt hurt or business can bring you back to your own wonderful self.
lonely, I had been in someone elses business.
And if you practice it for a while, you may come to see
If you are living your life and I am mentally living your that you dont have any business either and that your
life, who is here living mine? Were both over there. life runs perfectly well on its own.

An Introduction 7 8 The Work of Byron Katie

Meeting Your Thoughts with I dont let go of my thoughtsI meet them with
understanding. Then they let go of me.
Understanding
Thoughts are like the breeze or the leaves on the trees
A thought is harmless unless we believe it. It is not or the raindrops falling. They appear like that, and
our thoughts, but the attachment to our thoughts, through inquiry we can make friends with them. Would
that causes suffering. Attaching to a thought means you argue with a raindrop? Raindrops arent personal,
believing that its true, without inquiring. A belief is a and neither are thoughts. Once a painful concept is met
thought that weve been attaching to, often for years. with understanding, the next time it appears you may
find it interesting. What used to be the nightmare is
Most people think that they are what their thoughts now just interesting. The next time it appears, you may
tell them they are. One day I noticed that I wasnt find it funny. The next time, you may not even notice it.
breathingI was being breathed. Then I also noticed, This is the power of loving what is.
to my amazement, that I wasnt thinkingthat I was
actually being thought and that thinking isnt personal.
Do you wake up in the morning and say to yourself, I
think I wont think today? Its too late: Youre already
thinking! Thoughts just appear. They come out of nothing
and go back to nothing, like clouds moving across the
empty sky. They come to pass, not to stay. There is no
harm in them until we attach to them as if they were true.

No one has ever been able to control his thinking,

although people may tell the story of how they have.

An Introduction 9 10 The Work of Byron Katie

Putting the Mind on Paper If you begin by pointing the finger of blame outward,
then the focus isnt on you. You can just let loose and
The first step in The Work is to identify the thoughts be uncensored. Were often quite sure about what other
and judgments that are causing your stressful people need to do, how they should live, whom they
emotions and to write them down. (Go to thework.com should be with. We have 20/20 vision about others, but
where youll find a Judge-Your-Neighbor Worksheet to not about ourselves.
download and print.)
When you do The Work, you see who you are by seeing
For thousands of years, we have been taught not to who you think other people are. Eventually you come to
judgebut lets face it, we still do it all the time. The see that everything outside you is a reflection of your own
truth is that we all have judgments running in our thinking. You are the storyteller, the projector of all stories,
heads. Through The Work we finally have permission and the world is the projected image of your thoughts.
to let those judgments speak out, or even scream out,
on paper. We may find that even the most unpleasant Since the beginning of time, people have been trying to
thoughts can be met with unconditional love. change the world so that they can be happy. This hasnt
ever worked, because it approaches the problem backward.
I encourage you to write about someone whom you What The Work gives us is a way to change the projector
havent yet totally forgiven, someone you still resent. mindrather than the projected. Its like when theres a
This is the most powerful place to begin. Even if piece of lint on a projectors lens. We think theres a flaw
youve forgiven that person 99 percent, you arent free on the screen, and we try to change this person and that
until your forgiveness is complete. The 1 percent you person, whomever the flaw appears to be on next. But its
havent forgiven them is the very place where youre futile to try to change the projected images. Once we realize
stuck in all your other relationships (including your where the lint is, we can clear the lens itself. This is the end
relationship with yourself). of suffering, and the beginning of a little joy in paradise.

An Introduction 11 12 The Work of Byron Katie

How to Fill In the Worksheet
1. In this situation, time, and location, who angers,
I invite you to contemplate for a moment a situation confuses, or disappoints you, and why?
where you were angry, hurt, sad, or disappointed in I am angry with Paul because he doesnt listen to me
someone. Please be as judgmental, childish, and petty about his health.
as you were in that situation. Dont try to be wiser
or more spiritual or kinder than you were. This is a 2. In this situation, how do you want them to change?
time to tantrum, to look within yourself, to look back What do you want them to do?
at that specific situation and be totally honest and
I want Paul to see that he is wrong. I want him to stop
uncensored about why you were hurt and how you felt
lying to me. I want him to see that he is killing himself.
when the situation was occurring. Allow your feelings
to express themselves as they arise, without any fear 3. In this situation, what advice would you offer to them?
of consequences or any threat of punishment.
Paul should take a deep breath. He should calm down.
On the next page, youll find an example of a He should see that his behavior frightens me. He should
know that being right is not worth another
completed Judge-Your-Neighbor Worksheet. I have
heart attack.
written about my second husband, Paul, in this
example (included here with his permission); these
4. In order for you to be happy in this situation, what do
are the kinds of thoughts that I used to believe about you need them to think, say, feel, or do?
him before inquiry. As you read, youre invited to
replace Pauls name with the appropriate name in I need Paul to hear me when I talk to him. I need him to
your life. take care of himself. I need him to admit that I am right.

An Introduction 13 14 The Work of Byron Katie

Tips
5. What do you think of them in this situation? Make a list.
Statement 1: Be sure to identify what most upsets you
Paul is unfair, arrogant, loud, dishonest, way out of line,
and unconscious. in that situation about the person you are writing about.
As you fill in statements 2 through 6, imagine yourself in
6. What is it in or about this situation that you dont ever the situation that you have described in statement 1.
want to experience again?
Statement 2: List what you wanted them to do in this
I dont ever want Paul to lie to me again. I dont ever want situation, no matter how ridiculous or childish your
to see him ruining his health again. wants were.

Statement 3: Be sure that your advice is specific,

practical, and detailed. Clearly articulate, step by
step, how they should carry out your advice; tell
them exactly what you think they should do. If they
followed your advice, would it really solve your
problem in statement 1? Be sure that your advice
is relevant and doable for this person (as you have
described him or her in statement 5).

Statement 4: Did you stay in the situation described

in statement 1? If your needs were met, would that
take you all the way to happy or would it just stop
the pain? Be sure that the needs you have expressed
are specific, practical, and detailed.

An Introduction 15 16 The Work of Byron Katie

Inquiry: The Four Questions 1. Is it true? As you consider the situation again, ask
yourself, Is it true that Paul doesnt listen to me about
and the Turnarounds his health? Be still. If you really want to know the
truth, the honest yes or no from within will rise to meet
1. Is it true? (Yes or no. If no, move to question 3.) the question as you recall that same situation in your
minds eye. Let the mind ask the question, and wait
2. Can you absolutely know that its true? (Yes or no.) for the answer that surfaces. (The answer to questions
one and two is just one syllable long; it is either yes or
3. How do you react, what happens, when you no. And notice if you experience any defense as you
believe that thought? answer. If your answer includes because or but
, this is not the one-syllable answer you are looking
4. Who would you be without the thought? for, and you are no longer doing The Work. You are
looking for freedom outside you. I am inviting you into a
Turn the thought around. Then find at least three new paradigmalive, right here, right now.)
specific, genuine examples of how the turnaround is
true for you in this situation. 2. Can you absolutely know that its true? Consider
these questions: In that situation, can I absolutely know
Now, using the four questions, lets investigate that its true that Paul isnt listening to me about his health?
statement 1 on the Worksheet: Paul doesnt listen Can I ever really know when someone is listening or not?
to me about his health. As you read along, think of Am I sometimes listening even when I appear not to be?
someone you havent totally forgiven yet, someone
who just wouldnt listen to you. 3. How do you react, what happens, when you
believe that thought? How do you react emotionally
when you believe that Paul doesnt listen to you about

An Introduction 17 18 The Work of Byron Katie

his health? How do you treat him? Be still, notice. For 4. Who would you be without the thought? Now
example: I feel frustrated and sick to my stomach, consider who you would be, in that same situation,
I give him the look. I interrupt him. I punish him, I without the thought Paul doesnt listen to me about
ignore him, I lose my temper. I begin talking faster and his health. Who (or how) would you be in the same
louder, I lie to him, I threaten him. Continue your list situation if you didnt believe that thought? Close
as you witness the situation and allow the images in your eyes and imagine Paul apparently not listening
your minds eye to show you how you react when you to you. Imagine yourself without the thought that Paul
believe that thought. doesnt listen to you (or that he even should listen).
Take your time. Notice whatever is revealed to you.
Does that thought bring peace or stress into your What do you see now? Notice the difference.
life? What images do you see, past and future, and
what physical sensations arise as you witness those Turn it around. The original statement, Paul doesnt
images? Allow yourself to experience them now. Do listen to me about his health, when turned around,
any obsessions or addictions begin to appear when becomes I dont listen to myself about my health. Is
you believe that thought? (Do you act out on any that turnaround as true or truer? Now identify examples
of the following: alcohol, drugs, credit cards, food, of how you dont listen to yourself about your health in
sex, television, etc.?) Also, witness how you treat that very same situation with Paul. Find at least three
yourself in this situation and how that feels. I shut specific, genuine examples of how this turnaround is
down. I isolate myself, I feel sick, I feel angry, I eat true. For me, one example is that in that situation I was
compulsively, and for days I watch television without out of control emotionally, and my heart was pumping.
really watching. I feel depressed, separate, resentful,
and lonely. Notice all the effects of believing the Another turnaround is I dont listen to Paul about
thought Paul doesnt listen to me about his health. his health. Find at least three examples of how you
were not listening to Paul about his health, from his

An Introduction 19 20 The Work of Byron Katie

perspective, in that situation. Are you listening to Paul
when youre thinking about him not listening to you?

A third turnaround is Paul does listen to me about his

health. For example, he put out the cigarette he was Judge your neighbor,
smoking. He might light another one in five minutes, but write it down.
in that situation, even as he was telling me that he didnt Ask four questions,
care about his health, he was apparently listening to me.
turn it around.
For this and for each turnaround you discover, always
- bk
find at least three specific, genuine examples of how the
turnaround is true for you in this situation.

After sitting with the turnarounds, you would continue

a typical inquiry with the next statement written on the
Worksheetin this case, I want Paul to see that he is
wrongand then with every other statement on the
Worksheet.

An Introduction 21 22 The Work of Byron Katie

Your Turn: The Worksheet 1. In this situation, time, and location, who angers,
confuses, or disappoints you, and why?
Now you know enough to try The Work. First relax, I dont like (I am angry at, or saddened, frightened,
confused, etc., by) (name) because ______________ .
get very still, close your eyes, and wait for a stressful
situation to come to mind. Fill in the Judge-Your-
2. In this situation, how do you want them to
Neighbor Worksheet as you identify the thoughts and change? What do you want them to do?
feelings that you were experiencing in the situation I want (name) to _______________________________ .
you have chosen to write about. Use short, simple
sentences. Remember to point the finger of blame or 3. In this situation, what advice would you offer
judgment outward. You may write from your point of to them?
(Name) should (shouldnt) ______________________ .
view as a five-year-old or of any time or situation in
your life. Please do not write about yourself yet. 4. In order for you to be happy in this situation, what
do you need them to think, say, feel, or do?
I need (name) to ______________________________ .

5. What do you think of them in this situation? Make

a list.
(Name) is _____________________________________ .

6. What is it in or about this situation that you dont

ever want to experience again?
I dont ever want ______________________________ .

An Introduction 23 24 The Work of Byron Katie

Your Turn: The Inquiry revelations about yourself and your world, revelations
that will transform your whole life, forever.
One by one, put each statement on the Judge-Your-
Neighbor Worksheet up against the four questions. Look at statement 1 on your Worksheet. Now ask
Then turn around the statement youre working on yourself the following questions:
and find at least three specific, genuine examples
for each turnaround. (Refer back to the example in 1. Is it true?
the section entitled How to Fill In the Worksheet. Reality, for me, is what is true. The truth is whatever is in
You can also find help at thework.com, or with The front of you, whatever is really happening. Whether you
Work App, which includes a tutorial with Byron Katie.) like it or not, its raining now. It shouldnt be raining
Throughout this process, explore being open to is just a thought. In reality, there is no such thing as
possibilities beyond what you think you know. Theres a should or a shouldnt. These are only thoughts
nothing more exciting than discovering the dont- that we impose onto reality. Without the should and
know mind. shouldnt, we can see reality as it is, and this leaves us
free to act efficiently, clearly, and sanely.
This Work is meditation. Its like diving into yourself.
Contemplate the questions, drop down into the depths When asking the first question, take your time. The
of yourself, listen, and wait. The answer will find your answer is either yes or no. (If no, move to question 3.) The
question. The mind will join the heart, no matter how Work is about discovering what is true from the deepest
closed down or hopeless you think you are: the gentler part of yourself. You are listening for your answer now,
polarity of mind (which I call the heart) will meet the not other peoples, and not anything you have been
polarity that is confused because it hasnt yet been taught. This can be very unsettling at first, because youre
enlightened to itself. When the mind asks sincerely, entering the unknown. As you continue to dive more
the heart will respond. You may begin to experience deeply, allow the experience to have you completely.

An Introduction 25 26 The Work of Byron Katie

2. Can you absolutely know that its true? moment and that in this moment people couldnt
If your answer to question 1 is yes, ask yourself, Can possibly be more loving than they were. Where reality
I absolutely know that its true? In many cases, the is concerned, there is no what should be. There
statement appears to be true. Of course it does. Your is only what is, just the way it is, right now. The
concepts are based on a lifetime of uninvestigated truth is prior to every story. And every story, prior to
beliefs. investigation, prevents us from seeing whats true.

After I woke up to reality in 1986, I noticed many Now I could finally inquire of every potentially
times how people, in conversations, the media, and uncomfortable story, Can I absolutely know that
books, made statements such as There isnt enough its true? And the answer, like the question, was an
understanding in the world, Theres too much experience: No. I would stand rooted in that answer
violence, We should love one another more. These solitary, peaceful, free.
were stories I used to believe, too. They seemed
sensitive, kind, and caring, but as I heard them, I How could no be the right answer? Everyone I knew, and
noticed that believing them caused stress and that all the books, said that the answer should be yes. But I
they didnt feel peaceful inside me. came to see that the truth is itself and will not be dictated
to by anyone. In the presence of that inner no, I came to
For instance, when I heard someone say, People see that the world is always as it should be, whether I
should be more loving, the question would arise in opposed it or not. And I came to embrace reality with all
me Can I absolutely know that thats true? Can I really my heart. I love the world, without any conditions.
know for myself, within myself, that people should be
more loving? Even if the whole world tells me so, is it If your answer is still yes, good. If you think that
really true? And to my amazement, when I listened you can absolutely know that thats true, thats as it
within myself, I saw that the world is what it is in this should be, and its fine to move on to question 3.

An Introduction 27 28 The Work of Byron Katie

3. How do you react, what happens, when fearful eyes, a sleepwalker, someone in a seemingly
you believe that thought? endless nightmare. The remedy was simply to inquire.
With this question, we begin to notice internal cause
and effect. You can see that when you believe the I love question 3. Once you answer it for yourself, once
thought, there is an uneasy feeling, a disturbance that you see the cause and effect of a thought, all suffering
can range from mild discomfort to fear or panic. begins to unravel.

After the four questions found me, I would notice 4. Who would you be without the thought?
thoughts like People should be more loving, and I This is a very powerful question. Who or what would
would see that thoughts like these caused a feeling of you be without the thought? How would you be without
uneasiness in me. I noticed that prior to the thought, the thought? Picture yourself standing in the presence
there was peace. My mind was quiet, alert, and serene. of the person you have written about when theyre
This is who I am without my story. Then, in the stillness doing what you think they shouldnt be doing. Now,
of awareness, I began to notice the feelings that came just for a minute or two, close your eyes and imagine
from believing or attaching to the thought. And in the who you would be if you didnt even have the ability to
stillness I could see that if I were to believe the thought, think this thought. How would your life be different in
the result would be a feeling of unease and sadness. the same situation without the thought? Keep your eyes
When I asked, How do I react when I believe the closed and watch them without your story. What do you
thought that people should be more loving? I saw see? How do you feel about them without the story?
that not only did I have an uncomfortable feeling (this Which do you preferwith or without your story? Which
was obvious), but I also reacted with mental images feels kinder? Which feels more peaceful?
to prove that the thought was true. I flew off into an
imagined world that didnt exist. I reacted by living in a For many people, life without their story is literally
stressed-out body and mind, seeing everything through unimaginable. They have no reference for it. So I

An Introduction 29 30 The Work of Byron Katie

dont know is a common answer to this question. continue with I dont listen to Paul about his health.
Other people answer by saying, Id be free, Id be Another type is a 180-degree turnaround to the extreme
peaceful, Id be a more loving person. You could opposite: Paul does listen to me about his health.
also say, Id be clear enough to understand the Dont forget, for each turnaround find at least three
situation and act in an appropriate, intelligent way. specific, genuine examples of how the turnaround is
Without our stories, we are not only able to act clearly true for you in this situation. This is not about blaming
and fearlessly; we are also a friend, a listener. We are yourself or feeling guilty. Its about discovering
people living happy lives. We are appreciation and alternatives that can bring you peace.
gratitude that have become as natural as breath itself.
Happiness is the natural state for someone who knows Not every statement has as many as three turnarounds,
that theres nothing to know and that we already have and some have more than three. Some turnarounds
everything we need, right here now. may not make any sense to you. Dont force these.

Turn it around. For each turnaround, go back and start with the
To do the turnarounds, find opposites of the original original statement. For example, He shouldnt waste
statement on your Worksheet. Often a statement can his time may be turned around to I shouldnt waste
be turned around to the self, to the other, and to the my time, I shouldnt waste his time, and He
opposite. First, write it as if it were written about you. should waste his time. Note that I should waste
Where you have written someones name, put yourself. my time and I should waste his time are not valid
Instead of he or she, put I. For example, Paul turnarounds; they are turnarounds of turnarounds,
doesnt listen to me about his health turns around to rather than turnarounds of the original statement.
I dont listen to myself about my health. Find at least
three specific, genuine examples of how this turnaround The turnarounds are a very powerful part of The Work.
is as true as or truer than your original statement. Then As long as you think that the cause of your problem

An Introduction 31 32 The Work of Byron Katie

is out thereas long as you think that anyone or The Turnaround for
anything else is responsible for your sufferingthe
situation is hopeless. It means that you are forever in Statement 6
the role of the victim, that youre suffering in paradise.
So bring the truth home to yourself and begin to set The turnaround for statement 6 on the Judge-Your-
yourself free. Its no longer necessary to wait for Neighbor Worksheet is a little different from the others.
people or situations to change in order to experience I dont ever want to turns around to I am willing
peace and harmony. The Work is the direct way to to and I look forward to For example, I dont
orchestrate your own happiness. ever want Paul to lie to me again turns around to I
am willing to have Paul lie to me again and I look
forward to having Paul lie to me again.

This turnaround is about embracing all of life, just

as it is. Sayingand meaningI am willing to
creates open-mindedness, creativity, and flexibility.
Any resistance you may have to the world is softened,
and that allows you to open up to the situation in
your life rather than hopelessly applying willpower
to eradicate it or keep it away. Saying and meaning
I look forward to actively opens you to life as it
unfolds. Some of us have learned to accept what is,
and I am here to invite you to go further, to actually
love what is. This is our natural state. Total freedom
without fear is our birthright.

An Introduction 33 34 The Work of Byron Katie

Its good to acknowledge that the same feelings or Questions and Answers
situation may happen again, if only in your thoughts.
When you realize that suffering and discomfort are Q I have a hard time writing about others. Can I write
the call to inquiry and to the freedom that follows, you about myself?
may actually begin to look forward to uncomfortable
feelings. You may even experience them as A If you want to know yourself, I suggest you write
friends coming to show you what you have not yet about someone else. Point The Work outward
investigated thoroughly enough. in the beginning, and you may come to see that
everything outside you is a direct reflection of
your thinking. It is all about you. Most of us have
been pointing our criticism and judgments at
ourselves for years, and it hasnt solved anything
yet. Judging someone else, questioning these
judgments, and turning them around is the fast
path to understanding and self-realization.

Q How can you say that reality is good? What about

war, rape, poverty, violence, and child abuse? Are you
condoning them?

A How could I condone them? Im not crazy. I

simply notice that if I believe they shouldnt exist
when they do exist, I suffer. Can I just end the
war in me? Can I stop raping myself and others

An Introduction 35 36 The Work of Byron Katie

 with my abusive thoughts and actions? If not, Im without conflict. If you find anything lacking, ever,
continuing in myself the very thing I want to end write down your thoughts and inquire. I find that
in the world. I start with ending my own suffering, life never falls short and doesnt require a future.
my own war. This is a lifes work. Everything I need is always supplied, and I dont
have to do anything for it. There is nothing more
Q So what youre saying is that I should just accept exciting than loving what is.
reality as it is and not argue with it. Is that right?
Q What if I dont have a problem with people? Can I
A Its not up to me to say what anyone should or write about things, like my body?
shouldnt do. I simply ask, What is the effect
of arguing with reality? How does it feel? The A Yes. Do The Work on any subject that is stressful. As
Work explores the cause and effect of attaching you become familiar with the four questions and the
to painful thoughts, and in that investigation we turnarounds, you may choose subjects such as the
find our freedom. To simply say that we shouldnt body, disease, career, or even God. Then experiment
argue with reality just adds another story, another with using the term my thinking in place of the
philosophy or religion. It hasnt ever worked. subject when you do the turnarounds.

Q Loving what is sounds like never wanting anything. Example: My body should be strong, flexible, and
Isnt it more interesting to want things? healthy becomes My thinking should be strong,
flexible, and healthy.
A My experience is that I do want something all the
time: what I want is what is. Its not only interesting, Isnt that what you really wanta balanced, healthy
its ecstatic! When I want what I have, thought mind? Has a sick body ever been a problem, or
and action arent separate; they move as one, is it your thinking about the body that causes the

An Introduction 37 38 The Work of Byron Katie

problem? Investigate. Let your doctor take care of Q Is inquiry a process of thinking? If not, what is it?
your body as you take care of your thinking. I have
a friend who cant move his body, and he loves A Inquiry appears to be a process of thinking, but
his life, because he loves what he thinks. Freedom actually its a way to undo thinking. Thoughts lose
doesnt require a healthy body. Free your mind. their power over us when we realize that they simply
appear in the mind. Theyre not personal. Through
Q How can I learn to forgive someone who hurt me The Work, instead of escaping or suppressing our
very badly? thoughts, we learn to meet them with unconditional
love and understanding.
A Judge your enemy, write it down, ask four
questions, turn it around. See for yourself that
forgiveness means discovering that what you
thought happened didnt. Until you can see that
theres nothing to forgive, you havent really
forgiven. Were all innocent; we hurt others
because we believe our unquestioned thoughts. No
one would ever harm another human being unless
they were confused. So whenever you suffer:
identify the thoughts youre thinking, write them
down, question them, and allow the answers from
within to set you free. Be a child. Start from the
mind that knows nothing. Take your ignorance all
the way to freedom.

An Introduction 39 40 The Work of Byron Katie

 You move totally away from reality when you believe
Katieisms that there is a legitimate reason to suffer.

Reality is always kinder than the story we are believing

When you argue with reality, you losebut only 100% about it.
of the time.
Im very clear that the whole world loves me. I just
Personalities dont lovethey want something. dont expect them to realize it yet.
If I had a prayer, it would be this: God spare me from There are no physical problemsonly mental ones.
the desire for love, approval, or appreciation. Amen.
Reality is God, because it rules.
Dont pretend yourself beyond your own evolution.
When I am perfectly clear, what is is what I want.
An unquestioned mind is the only suffering.
Arguing with reality is like trying to teach a cat to
You either believe what you think or you question it. barkhopeless.
Theres no other choice.
How do I know that I dont need what I want? I dont
No one can hurt methats my job. have it.

The worst thing that has ever happened is an Forgiveness is realizing that what you thought
unquestioned thought. happened didnt.

Sanity doesnt suffer, ever. Everything happens for me, not to me.

If I think youre my problem, Im insane. Gratitude is what we are without a story.

I dont let go of my conceptsI question them. Then

they let go of me.

An Introduction 41 42 The Work of Byron Katie

The School for The Work Weekend Workshops

The School for The Work is the ultimate inner adventure.
Unlike every other school on earth, this one isnt for Weekend workshops are an opportunity to experience
learningits for unlearning. Youll spend nine days losing the power of the School in a two- or three-day program.
the fear-based stories youve innocently clung to all your Katie leads participants through some of her most
life. The curriculum at the School is a living, evolving powerful exercises, designed to mirror the transformation
process, changing with the needs of the participants and she went through after awakening to reality. By working
on the basis of past students experiences. Each exercise on issues such as gender, body image, addiction,
is led directly by Katie and is tailored to meet the needs of money, and relationships, youll discover deeper levels
the participants attendingno two Schools are the same. of freedom. The workshops have been called amazing,
And after nine days with Katie, you wont be either. Once revelatory, and the most powerful weekend of my life.
the four questions are alive inside you, Katie says, your
mind becomes clear, and therefore the world you project
becomes clear. This is more radical than anyone can
possibly imagine.
The Store for The Work
A popular and enjoyable way to deepen ones
understanding of The Work is to listen to Katie as she
The No-Body Intensive facilitates others. Her fluidity, her balance of firmness
The No-Body Intensive, a five-day guided exploration of and compassion, and her trademark sense of humor all
your belief system, lovingly explores and questions the main make for great entertainment and powerful realizations.
aspects of identity. It brings to awareness everything identity The Store for The Work offers audios and videos of Katie
is made of. It looks at how we create an identity, what it feels expertly facilitating audience members on topics such as
like to carry it, and how we can un-create it. Every step is a sex, money, parents, relationships, work, and much more.
joyful lightening of being as your true nature appears. Visit storeforthework.com.

An Introduction 43 44 The Work of Byron Katie

The Work on the Internet For School Graduates:
Katie and The Work are always accessible at
The Institute for
thework.com. When you visit the website, youll be able The Work
to do any of the following: read detailed instructions
about The Work; watch video clips of Katie facilitating After attending the School for The
people on a wide variety of issues; view Katies calendar Work, you are invited to join the more
of events; register for an upcoming nine-day School for than one thousand members enrolled in
The Work, a five-day No-Body Intensive, a weekend the Institute for The Work of Byron Katie. The Institute
program, or Turnaround House; find out how to call offers School graduates a way to stay immersed in The
the free Do The Work Helpline; learn about the Institute Work and offers the only official certification program
for The Work and its Certified Facilitators; download for The Work. Whether or not you choose to enroll in
Judge-Your-Neighbor Worksheets; listen to archived the Certification Program, youll have access to The
radio interviews; download apps for your iPhone, iPad, Work community forums. The forums are an exciting
or Android; subscribe to the free newsletter; or shop in interactive hub where members from around the world
the online store. We also invite you to Katies Twitter and connect to discuss relevant issues, and where you can
Facebook pages, with periodic live streaming video. view and discuss Topics with Byron Katie. Youll also
have the opportunity to do The Work on a regular basis
in our Daily Practice program. For more information,
visit instituteforthework.com.

An Introduction 45 46 The Work of Byron Katie

Turnaround House The Four Questions

for The Work Here are the four questions again. Some people print
Turnaround House is the twenty- them from a free template available at thework.com or
eight-day residential program buy The Work App to keep sanity close at hand.
that confronts the ultimate
addiction, the only addiction: 1. Is it true? (Yes or no. If no, move to question 3.)
the minds addiction to the 2. Can you absolutely know that its true? (Yes or no.)
unquestioned thoughts that cause all the suffering 3. How do you react, what happens, when you
and internal violence in the world. It is focused on believe that thought?
The Work of Byron Katie, which millions of people 4. Who would you be without the thought?
addicts, veterans, prisoners, students, homemakers,
executives, politicians, mental health professionals, Turn the statement around to the self, to the other,
people from all walks of lifehave used to overcome and to the opposite. Then find at least three specific,
deep-seated self-defeating confusion, depression, genuine examples of how each turnaround is as true as
addiction, and unwanted behaviors. Turnaround or truer than the original statement.
House is the only program approved by Byron
Katie to use The Work for addiction and emotional
rehabilitation. In an eco-friendly, supportive, and safe
place, Byron Katie and her staff guide you through a
program that is specifically designed to radically turn
your life around.

An Introduction 47 48 The Work of Byron Katie

 Byron Katies Work is a great
blessing for our planet.
The Work acts like a razor-sharp sword that
cuts through illusion and enables you to know
for yourself the timeless essence of your being.

Contributions to The Work Foundation are gratefully Eckhart Tolle, author of The Power of Now
accepted. Through your gifts, others will have the
opportunity to learn this transformational practice. You
can make a contribution by mail to The Work Foundation,
P.O. Box 638, Ojai, CA 93024, USA; on our website,
theworkfoundationinc.org; or by calling Byron Katie
International at 805.444.5799.
T H E W O R K O F B Y R O N K AT I E
The Work Foundation, Inc. is a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) P.O. Box 1206, Ojai, CA 93024, USA
charitable organization. Your donation is tax deductible to
the extent allowed by law. A PDF version of this booklet can be downloaded
on thework.com. This booklet includes excerpts
from Loving What Is, which is available
21 Oct. 2014 wherever books are sold, and through
thework.com .