ByronKatie.com

If any of you would to read more about my encounter with Katie and my meetings with other extraordinary optimists, my book is out now in the UK and Canada. We are still looking for a publisher in the US, but if you're interested you can find it on Amazon.com and various other internet shops. And I've given Katie a copy too!

It is called 'The Optimist: One Man's Search for the Brighter Side of Life'

I hope you enjoy it.

Laurence

The quote from Byron Katie in Laurence Shorter's article in the Times was lovely: ["Don't label anything as good or bad," says Byron Katie, a spiritual teacher from America. "That's why you suffer, that's what stops you from being optimistic. Accept yourself and everything in you."]

I'm reading LOVING WHAT IS. Also, I'm watching the clips on your website. Your question "Who would you be without your story?" intrigued me since I am a writer and my job is to write stories. The 4 questions and the turn-around. Wow! "The Work" is helping me figure out what is healthful for me (the author) so that I can be really alive for myself and my loved ones and also write my protagonist's story with clarity. Thank you, Byron Katie!

Hi, you all,

The work of Byron katie in combination with a laughing club is amazing. When you are laughing, no thought will appear, it is just the flow of laughing. Just try it :)

warm regards,
Hans Geerinck, Belgium

Dear Katie,

Words can't describe the inspiration you've been to me. The following is an excerpt (inspired by your work) from my upcoming book "Traveling Without A Map".

Thank you so much Katie!!
Marty

Choices

I’ll admit, living a “let it be” life seems idealistic – particularly when we consider that all our lives we’ve been taught to stand up and fight for what we believe in. What I’m suggesting here is not that we turn our backs on the realities of war, the climate, etc. but that we approach the issues in a spirit of embracing and fostering more of what we love – we love peace and therefore we work for peace, we love nature and promote practices that might slow global warming. We don’t waist our time fighting against the things we disagree with; instead we joyfully support the things we believe in. All the while knowing that all of it – what we love and what we disagree with – is exactly what is “supposed” to be happening at this very moment.

“I was once asked why I don't participate in anti-war demonstrations. I said that I will never do that, but as soon as you have a pro-peace rally, I'll be there”, Mother Teresa

Beyond embracing the things we love, we still feel we must make all the daily decisions. Of course we can’t just relax and let every little thing be, can we? Don’t we still have to make life’s major choices – what we do for a living, whom we marry, where we live, what colleges our kids will attend, when we’ll retire? Not to mention the basic everyday decisions such as; what to wear today and what’s for dinner. Living a “let it be” sort of life sounds great in concept, but ultimately it’s an impractical notion.

If you’re convinced that reality keeps you from living “let it be”, then for you it does – you will absolutely have to make all these decisions; and you will have to until you die or until you decide you don’t have to any longer. But for those who live “let it be”, there’s never a decision that absolutely has to be made. I may choose to continue following my current path, or I may choose not to. For the moment, my chosen path is consistent with what society would endorse. But at any time, if I’m so inclined, I may choose instead to lie around all day and ignore all these “important” things. I may choose to live on the streets and ask you for a handout every now and then. As unlikely as this may be, in the end, it’s all up to me. And I’m here to tell you, when you give yourself this kind of freedom, the peace that results is indescribable.

The following poem was inspired by Byron Katie Mitchell, who, in her wonderful book, Loving What Is, teaches us that there are only three choices we must make in life – whether to sit, stand or lie down.

“All my life, whenever it comes time to make a decision, I make it and forget about it”, Harry S. Truman

CHOICES
In the morning as I wake
To a world so uncertain
I see the clouds that dot my sky
As I slowly open my curtain

Some days I wake with worry
Of things I don't feel sure
Some days I wake in peace
To a life that seems secure

I have painfully searched inside myself
So desperate to find that peaceful place
Where I can live in complete acceptance
Of any challenge that I may face

I have finally come to know a truth
That transcends my every thought
There's a subtle fact about this life
Beyond the lessons I’ve been taught

This fact reveals I've just three choices
Any one of which is true and sound
Peace or stress no longer matter
I need only choose to sit, stand or lie down

Dear Katie,

It's going to happen! I'm going to get the chance to see you in person! Since you entered my life last april you have become such a part of me.... It's like having a little Katie on my shoulder every day!
I'm amazed and thankful and completely in love with the simplicity and the "ruthless compassion" that you and The Work offer.....
So I'm looking forward to being in your presence. My husband and I will make a whole weekend of it and will stay in London.(We live in Maastricht, the Netherlands). What a way to start the New Year! I wish you love and Life! With love, Margo

Thank you Katie ! The perfect article at the perfect time. I was being restless and i feel this article was the piece missing to have a pleasant evening.

All my love and a happy new year !