the work of byron katie

We’ve been convinced that lack and fear and desire is what causes life to improve - but all it does is cause misery, with a few breaks. (Granted, those breaks can be quite ecstatic depending on the depth of the misery!) Imagine allowing yourself to genuinely want what is, to love what is in every single moment. Could it be that everything you see as a problem has only one cause: the lack of love? This week’s meditation invites us to try out ‘loving’ the world instead of wanting something from it. Together, we open up to the possibility that there is no limit to the goodness of life and that loving what is, is our only job along the way. 

This week’s episode focuses on the concept of loss - loss of resources, the body, one’s potential, a loved one. Yet, when we’re fully present, without holding on to past and future, what is it that we actually have to lose? Could it be that what we call loss is ultimately a habitual way of delineating the ever-changing moment of reality? Follow along as we use the four questions and turnarounds to explore new perspectives and discover what might be more true about . It’s possible to lose something, is that true?

Are there things you would like to experience, yet secretly believe are just ‘not for you?’ A type of lifestyle, the way your body looks, acknowledgement from others etc. This week’s episode meanders through our wanting, the proof we hold onto, the stories we tell, and the habits we engage with to make sense of who we are, where we’re going, and what we believe we want and need in order to be happy. Could it be that in the end we are always getting what we want and ultimately, there is nothing to “get?”

Could it be that what we truly are is not dependent on anything? Not a body, not the breath, not a thought. What if even time and space are not required in order for conscious awareness to be? Join us for a deep contemplation into what is most ‘real’ about who and what we are. Could it be that everything in existence is dependent on this conscious awareness that we are - not the other way around? 

On a conscious or unconscious level, most of us come to believe some version of this message: there is a point to everything and it’s all very important and serious so we better not mess it up. Enjoying our unique participation in the great, spontaneous, unfolding of Life is hard to do when we believe that we need to be someone, going somewhere, doing something useful. This week we invite you to put down the old habits of holding on and efforting and resisting to uncover the effortless being that you are and the possibility that Life is less of a journey towards an end destination and more like a beautiful dance.

Oh, the fear of missing out - a story we can all relate to! But did you know what it actually costs to believe this stressful story? Follow along for a very powerful investigation into a story that can create perpetual inner disharmony, as in, we’re never in 100% agreement with what we’re doing, what we’re focused on, our decisions. Instead, there’s always a doubt, a conflict, a lack. Who would you be without the story that you can miss out? 

What do we do when there’s something our conscious mind wants to experience and it’s not happening in our world? It’s easy to turn inward and feel guilt and shame about it or to turn outward and resent the circumstances of our Life. Yet, neither strategy seems to help us obtain the thing it is that we’d like to experience. This week Tom guides a participant through a new set of options. Follow along for a beautiful example of how the power of unconditional welcoming and open-hearted inquiry can transform our cringes and resistances to what we want into ‘big-fat-yeses’ to our one wild and precious Life.

How do you know that you’re dependent on a body? If sensations, images, and feelings come and go - how could you possibly be dependent on something that changes constantly? Do you experience yourself coming and going every time a new sensation arrives or disappears? Or is it more true that you are what those sensations appear to, appear within? This week’s episode dives into what we hold onto as absolute proof that we’re separate - our physical bodies. We invite you to bring an open mind and heart and see where this investigation takes you when you’re willing to not-know. 

Needing to be “right” can feel like a life or death event. Yet the truth is, we’d need to see the way every moment of eternity was going to play out in order to know for sure that something was truly “right” or “wrong.” Right? What does it do to our world when we believe we need to attain something we can’t ever know in the ultimate sense? Turns out there’s a lot of stressful impacts tied up in this one. Follow along for an episode that is jam-packed with powerful shares from the group and playful articulations from Tom. All in service to waking up to the truth of who you are and to the possibility that the world might be a lot friendlier when you let go of this highly overrated habit.  

Tom likes to say, the greatest religion on the planet is the story that you can do it wrong and it’s serious. Can you relate? Have you noticed how often you give off and receive this message - both explicitly and implicitly? As one group participant framed it, this belief seems to serve as a navigation system for moving through the world. Which is why it is so powerful to examine what we actually get when we believe this story. Do we really need to fear doing it wrong to live well in this world? Who are you without this story? Follow along and see for yourself whether this belief is really serving you and your heart’s desire.

*Wednesday meditation-goers, the weekly meditations with Tom will be paused for the month of July. We will resume at our regular time (5pm ET) on August 2nd. 

This week we continue with the theme of ‘holding on’ by considering that we don’t need to hold onto anything. What happens when you allow yourself to be completely uninterested in holding on to anything - including your sense of self? Do you actually disappear or evaporate into an infinite black abyss when you stop holding onto your images, feelings, and sensations? Or is there something else waiting for you there? Join us as we let in the truth and allow ourselves to completely let go of holding on.

This week’s meditation zeros in on the painful habit of ‘holding on.’ Whether it’s holding onto the body, the past, our reputation, being liked, preparing for the future, or even staying in the moment - do we actually need to hold on to any of these things? Follow along for a popcorn-style, self-inquiry practice and receive the benefits of contemplating a belief in a group container. As Byron Katie puts it, “I don’t let go of concepts - I question them. Then they let go of me.”  

Most of us have experienced the pain, stress, and anger that comes from believing we can’t get what we want. Some of us experience it regularly, if not, most moments of every day. In this world of missing out, Life is against us and no amount of prepping or ‘doing it right’ will secure the fruition of our deepest desires and dreams. Somehow we came out the ‘unlucky one’ and it is our destiny to be left out from the goodness of life. Can you relate? If you’ve ever suffered from FOMO, this is the episode for you! We invite you to follow along with your own examples and allow your mind and heart to open to new possibilities when it comes to getting what you want.

Efforting is needed to do whatever you’d like to do or be whatever you’d like to be or experience whatever you’d like to experience. Is that true? Most of us superimpose onto our experience that ‘effort is needed’ and as long as we believe that we need it - that is how we’ll experience doing whatever we’re doing. This week’s episode invites us to contemplate the truth of this commonly held belief and notice all of the effects this belief has on our life. Who are you without the story that effort is needed? Could it be that every single thing that happens, happens effortlessly? Including the awareness that you are.

When we consider ‘Reality’ or what is actually happening in each moment, could it be we are always getting exactly what we want? While we may not like or prefer the circumstances of a situation we are in, the truth remains: no one has the power to override reality. What we do have is the freedom to make choices within that reality and that is exactly the power that this week’s episode taps us into. Discover what is available when you open up to ‘what is’ rather than the imagination of what you wish life ‘could be.’ Join us as we shift out of victimhood into limitless possibilities and freedom from an unfair life.

Many innocently assume that control is what allows for productive interactions with one’s self and others. But is that true when we look at our experience? Are your feelings or anyone else’s feelings something that need to be controlled? Or could it be that the habit of changing, resisting, and controlling feelings is what generates the suffering we try so hard to avoid? This week’s episode is for those who have experimented long enough with force and resistance as a path to peace and harmony and are ready for something new. Could it be that allowing and liberating feelings is not only a much kinder and loving approach, but a significantly wiser and more intelligent way to live?

Is Life inherently serious? Or is that just a story we tell about Life? Perhaps, we can’t ever know for sure. But what we can know for sure is that this belief does not give us a big-fat-YES to Life! And that is a pretty big clue that the story is not working for us. Are you ready to question one of the most cherished beliefs on the planet? Join us for a group meditation, inquiry, and deep invitations into a completely new way of living and loving, free from the story ‘it’s serious.’

This week’s episode goes beautifully with Ram Dass’s famous quote, “If you think you’re enlightened - go spend a week with your family.” The enormous stockpile of calcified habits, roles, rules and responsibilities that come up when we are around the key figures of our childhood are ripe with opportunity for self-discovery and freedom. Follow along, as participants provide heartfelt and deeply relatable examples of familial dynamics and experience for yourself what the power of love, acceptance, and permission can do for your inner and outer world. 

Because the body can experience pain and be damaged, that means you’re not safe right now. Is that true?

Notice what it’s like to live with the story, “I don’t ever want to experience the body being damaged,” when it’s very clear that in the world of bodies that is a possibility. This week we take a look at our obsession with physical safety and body integrity as a path to peace and happiness. Of course we would all agree that it is not our preference to experience pain or damage to the body - but notice the toll it takes on living a full, dynamic, and joyful life. Could it be that the safest and most enjoyable path through this life in a physical body, is being willing for it to experience anything and everything? Only one way to find out!

This week Tom invites us to consider the habit of imaging the past and future as a way to hurt ourselves. Could it be there is a part of you that wants to suffer? What happens when you welcome that part and all of the thoughts and sensations that go along with it? Often we hold on to suffering in order to prove a story, such as: I’m right, I was wronged, I’m not safe, or I’m missing something vital. Ultimately, it is an innocent attempt to protect the hurt ones inside. When we bring our curiosity and understanding to each of these hurts we can begin to free our inner world and let go of the dynamics that perpetuate suffering.