Tibetan Monks in Santa Fe
It is impossible to be healthy while suffering with chronic stress. Getting a handle on stress is integral to being healthy and overcoming addictive behaviors. I just want to say I am a serious Byron Katie fan. To me she has resolved the Big Issue that Buddhism and Taoism have been trying to address for thousands of years, namely how to master and live in harmony with this wild monkey called the mind. Katie’s books and CD’s apply a simple technique to help us come to a place of peace and acceptance with the great tragedies and little annoyances of our lives. The premise is that it is not the circumstances of life that cause us stress, but rather our thoughts about those circumstances. Without the mind all problems disappear. Every thought is met with the question “I wonder if that is true”.
One of the biggest insights I got was when she challenged the idea that we have to make decisions. How many of us wrack our brains trying to decide how to handle a certain situation? Katie suggests that perhaps decisions just make themselves. After all, we didn’t decide to be born. We don’t decide to wake up in the morning. We don’t decide if we’re straight or gay. It all just happens without any mental processing. Now when I’m faced with a question like ‘should I move to another home’ or ‘should I go out tonight’ I just relax and see how things play out. Either way is perfect since I’ve also given up the thought “I could make a wrong decision”. I find this way of thinking to be a wonderful game I can play with my mind if I ever catch myself getting stressed out by anything!
One of Byron Katie’s key insights is that whenever I find myself believing that anything “should” be different than the way it is, I suffer. I am at war with existence. Another big concept is that there are three types of business—my business, someone else’s business, and God’s business. It is futile and insane to be worrying about someone else’s or God’s business.
Anyway I highly recommend her books to anyone in my chiropractic clinic who has not yet reached enlightenment. The first book to get is Loving What Is. This delves deeply into her technique for dealing with stressful thoughts. After that, read I Need Your Love, Is that True? This is a great one for anyone in relationship or recovering from one. Her insights are treasures that dissolve the stress and make life so much more enjoyable and relaxing.
To your great health and happiness,
Hesu Whitten DC