My mother became a believer, and then I became a believer. But when I was 43 years old, I began to think for myself, somehow, by fluke and by grace. And I thought, "Oh, my. I was so mistaken." The world isn't what I believed it to be. I am not what I believed me to be, and neither is anyone.
Byron KatieI love to not defend ever and to open my mind and take in what can always add to me, not take away from me.
Byron KatieWhen you’re focused outside and believe that your problem is caused by someone else, rather than by your attachment to the story you’re believing in the moment, then you are your own victim, and the situation appears to be hopeless.
Byron KatieEvery uncomfortable feeling, every pain, every moment of stress & suffering is for your own self-realizatio n.
Byron KatieYou’ve never reacted to someone else. You project meaning onto nothing. And you react to the meaning you’ve projected
Byron KatieDepression, pain, and fear are gifts that say, "Sweetheart, take a look at your thinking in this moment. You're living in a story that isn't true for you." Living a lie is always stressful. And investigating a lie through The Work always leads you back to who you are. Who you are is not an option. You are love. It hurts to believe you're other than who you are, to live any story less than love.
Byron KatieThinking that people are supposed to do or be anything other than what they are is like saying that the tree over there should be the sky. I investigated that and found freedom.
Byron KatieThat's the purpose of stress. It's a friend. It's an alarm clock, built in to let you know that it's time to do The Work.
Byron KatieWhat I invite people to do is to look at their lives just the way that they have lived them. Not to change anything, and not to do positive thinking at all.
Byron KatieWhen your son is healthy and happy, you're healthy and happy. And when your son is not healthy, let's say you're unhappy.
Byron KatieIt's quite an amazing experience to see the same life with and without the thought. We come to see how crazy a thought can make us when we believe it.
Byron KatieIt's very benign, it seems, to think, "There's a tree." In fact, it's a very beautiful thought. If someone chops down all the trees, then we think, "Oh, my goodness, something is out of order in my world." We begin to think, "Who am I in a world without trees?"
Byron KatieAs you inquire into issues and turn judgments around, you come to see that every perceived problem appearing "out there" is really nothing more than a misperception within your own thinking.
Byron KatieEveryone has equal wisdom. It is absolutely equally distributed. No one is wiser than anyone else.
Byron KatieWe've been looking outside us for our own peace. We've been looking in the wrong direction.
Byron KatieAny thought of discomfort or stress is an alarm that lets you know you're believing an untrue thought
Byron KatieSome of us are returning to sanity, because we're tired of the pain. We're in a hurry. No time to mess around.
Byron KatieThis is the time. This is the place. This is the vastness. Right here is paradise. Always. Always.
Byron KatieEvery (stressful thought) is a variation on a single theme: This shouldn't be happening. I shouldn't be having this experience. God is unjust. Life isn't fair.
Byron KatieThere's never a mistake in the universe. So if your partner is angry, good. If there are things about him that you consider flaws, good, because these flaws are your own, you're projecting them, and you can write them down, inquire, and set yourself free. People go to India to find a guru, but you don't have to: you're living with one. Your partner will give you everything you need for your own freedom.
Byron KatieIf you think the cause of your problem is 'out there,' you'll try to solve it from the outside. Take the shortcut: solve it from within.
Byron KatieYour understanding of another person is limited by what you think you already know. So when you just listen, the person you meet won't match your preconception. The exciting thing is that you usually meet someone much wiser and kinder than you expected. You might also lose track of your ideas about who you are.
Byron KatieActually, I can't take credit for any of my decisions. I noticed one day that all my decisions were making themselves, and always at the right time. I haven't had to make one decision since then. They are always made for me, and they come from the wisdom that is in us all. I trust that wisdom completely. That trust itself was a decision made for me as inquiry cleared my mind. No decision, no fear.
Byron KatieHere’s how a child listens: you tell him something, and he puts his own interpretation on what you said. That’s what he hears. No one has ever heard you.
Byron KatieIt's our nature to be free, and until we're stuck in a stressful belief system, we're pretty happy.
Byron KatieThe ability to understand the cause of your own suffering gives you the ability to understand ours.
Byron KatieOne morning in February 1986, out of nowhere, I experienced a realization. In an instant, I discovered that when I believed my stressful thoughts, I suffered, but when I questioned them, I didn't suffer.
Byron KatieA thought is harmless unless we believe it. It’s not our thoughts, but our attachment to our thoughts, that causes suffering. Attaching to a thought means believing that it’s true, without inquiring. A belief is a thought that we’ve been attaching to, often for years.
Byron KatieTo exclude anything that appears in your universe is not love. Love joins with everything. It doesn't exclude the monster. It doesn't avoid the nightmare - it looks forward to it.
Byron KatieMy experience is that the teachers we need most are the people we're living with right now.
Byron KatieI use the word inquiry as synonymous with The Work...Inquiry is a way to end confusion and to experience internal peace, even in a world of apparent chaos. Above all else, inquiry is about realizing that all the answers we ever need are always available inside us.
Byron KatieThere's no one who can teach you except yourself. Each of us needs to look at what our belief system really consists of. Look at the concepts that come across your mind and just notice what you believe.
Byron KatieOne morning as I lay sleeping on the floor, a cockroach crawled over my foot. And I opened my eyes out of this dead sleep - about a 43-year sleep - and in place of all that darkness was a joy that I can't describe.
Byron KatieIf you put your hand into a fire, does anyone have to tell you to move it? Do you have to decide? No: When your hand starts to burn, it moves. You don’t have to direct it; the hand moves itself. In the same way, once you understand, through inquiry, that an untrue thought causes suffering, you move away from it.
Byron Katie