Inquiry is to be done, not analyzed.

And yet, I cannot help being curious about and notice what happens. That itself is a form of inquiry.

So here is what seems to happen for each of the steps of The Work…

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Practices seem to emerge on their own, in their own time, and often as a quiet redirection of curiosity.

Over the last few weeks, one of my practices has been to find the genuine truth in my beliefs.

It may sound funny. Most of the time, I explore beliefs by noticing whether I can know if they are absolutely true, paying attention to their effects, imagine who I would be without the belief, and finding the genuine validity in its reversals (The Work).

Now, it seems time to also find the genuine truth in the initial belief, especially the central and long lasting ones. And as with the other facets of the exploration, there is a sense of relief when I do this, a sense of coming home.

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Forgiveness liberates the soul. It removes fear. That is why it is such a powerful weapon.
- Nelson Mandela in Invictus

It is a good observation.

When I have not (yet) forgiven, there is a knot there. And that knot inevitably – it seems – includes fear.

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God hath given you one face and you make yourselves another.
- Hamlet 3.1, Shakespeare

This is an example of how great koans can be found in non-traditional sources.

And more importantly, it is a reminder of how any statement is a question and a pointer for inquiry.

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It is always interesting to notice how different practices work together and how they may mutually support each other.

For instance, The Work and exploring sense-fields have a great deal of similarities, and there is also some cross-fertilization there.

In The Work, I explore the effects of taking a story as true, and find what is more honest for me than the initial belief.

And through exploring the sense-fields, I notice gestalts made up of image overlays on sense fields, what happens when gestalts are taken as real and substantial, and what happens when the images are recognized as a simple overlay of images.

The questions and sub-questions of The Work guide my exploration of the sense -fields. The sense-field exploration helps me notice the mechanisms here now, and in more detail. And through The Work, I get to see how beliefs play themselves out in my life in more detail.

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Byron Katie says there are no new stressful thoughts.

It’s a question and a pointer for exploration, as any other statement.

There are obviously new thoughts. Nobody had thought of e=mc² before Einstein. Or of Wexter before a kid thought him up a couple of weeks ago.

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I have written about this before, which is not unusual for me since I tend to revisit themes.

When I do The Work, I don’t have to only stick to my own beliefs.

I can also imagine what belief someone else has, and inquiry into that one as if it was my own.

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There are immense benefits of beliefs.

Stories themselves are obviously essential. They helps us orient and navigate in the world, and guide attention and action. Stories help us remember the past, envision the future, and make sense of the present.

We can of course use stories as guides, whether we see them as just guides or make them into beliefs.

So what is the function of beliefs? Why do we have beliefs when stories themselves are sufficient? What is the unique contribution of beliefs?

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Again, a very simple pointer, but that’s OK. It is how it is applied that matter.

I can create the conditions for whatever happens to nurture growth. To go from being a problem to support.

And it is all in how I receive it and relate to it.

I can allow experience as is, with heart. Can I be with what I am experiencing now?

I can notice and inquire into beliefs, to find what is more honest for me than the initial belief.

And I can live from the most juicy turnarounds, and in general live from more integrity.

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For people unfamiliar with The Work, the process may appear quite different than it does for the one doing it.

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Byron Katie says reality is kind.

Is it true? Is reality kind?

In a conventional sense, it is sometimes true, and sometimes not. It mainly depends on the situation, and is slightly moderated by how we see it. We can always find the silver lining.

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It is common to experience both healing (short term) and maturing (longer term) through inquiry and The Work. It is not important why it happens, but i am still curious. What do I find when I explore it in own experience?

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Why does The Work work?

It changes how I relate to thoughts. From taking them as true, or seeing them as a problem, they become an invaluable guide. It also helps recognize thought as content of experience.

The process reorganizes my thoughts. I find a fuller and richer set of stories, allowing more of a 360 degree view on the topic.

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The Work shares much with cognitive therapy, and has also many similarities with forms of inquiry found in Buddhist and Advaita traditions. In some ways, The Work is a Buddhist flavored form of cognitive therapy, or a cognitive therapy flavored form of Buddhism.

There is a great deal of research on cognitive therapy, of course. And also on Buddhist forms of meditation. There is very little, or perhaps no, research on inquiry as found in Buddhism or Advaita.

And there is nearly or actually no research on The Work. A quick Google Scholar search only turned up a general overview.

Why do research on The Work? There are many reasons. It would make it interesting to more therapists. It would gain sufficient support so it can be included in interventions, including large scale interventions to increase health and well-being and prevent illness. It would give it a foothold in the academic world, opening up for further research into The Work and similar approaches.

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When someone dies young, it is a reminder to investigate our own life and beliefs.

What beliefs come up in me when it happens?

Here are some typical ones in our culture, which most of us have absorbed to some extent:

It is unfair. Life should comply with our wishes. Life should make everyone live a long life.

He didn’t get to live a full life. She wanted to do so much more.

I wanted to have her in my life longer. My life will be miserable without him. I can’t make it without her.

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It is pretty straightforward to open for gratitude: Write gratitude lists or letters. And it is also pretty straightforward to meditate or pray, at least with some guidance. Or to practice acts of kindness, or become more engaged in ones life.

But how to forgive? For many of us, that seems far more mysterious.

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No one knows what’s good and what’s bad. No one knows what death is. Maybe it’s not a something; maybe it’s not even a nothing. It’s the pure unknown, and I love that. We imagine that death is a state of being or a state of nothingness, and we frighten ourselves with our own concepts. I’m a lover of what is: I love sickness and health, coming and going, life and death. I see life and death as equal. Reality is good; so death must be good, whatever it is, if it’s anything at all.
- from chapter 33 of A Thousand Names for Joy

We can only be afraid of what we believe we are-whatever there is in ourselves that we haven’t met with understanding. If I thought you might see me as boring, for example, it would frighten me, because I haven’t questioned that thought. So it’s not people who frighten me, it’s me that frightens me. That’s my job, to frighten me, until I investigate this fear for myself. The worst that can happen is that I think you think about me what I think about myself. So I am sitting in a pool of me.
- from chapter 46 of A Thousand Names for Joy

Two excerpts from Byron Katie’s this modern-day commentary on Tao Te Ching. Highly recommended, especially as inspiration for own inquiry.

I have admired Stephen Fry for years, first as an actor and comedian, then as a deeply reflected, outspoken, and heart-centered human being. And now, having watched his documentary The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive, as someone who publicly allows himself to be deeply honest and vulnerable.

A few weeks back, one of his Twitter followers called his tweets a bit boring, with Fry  - caught in a dark mood - responding that he would retire from Twitter, and the two finally resolving it.

Our culture has certain ideas of what is good and desirable and what is not, and growing up and living within our culture, we absorb these ideas and come to take them as our own. We internalize them. As we all do, no matter which culture we were born into. Overall, it is a good thing. It is functional. It helps us function as a society.

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Ernst Baasland, a bishop in Norway, has written a book on forgiveness following a high-profile situation where he and his wife lost their money due to their son’s gambling addiction.

In an interview with Aftenposten, he says:

Tilgivelse og livskunst hører sammen, men boken vil ikke gi en oppskrift på tilgivelsen. Den finnes ikke.

Forgiveness and the art of living go together, but the book will not give a recipe for forgiveness. There is none.

That is true. Forgiveness is always an individual and unique process. The knot that prevents forgiveness is tied in a different way each time, and so the process of untying is different for each of us and each time.

At the same time, it is not quite true that there are no recipes for forgiveness. There are guidelines and tools that can make forgiveness possible, that creates the conditions for forgiveness.

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When I notice something – an emotion, story, sensation etc. – there is a softening or release of identification with it. I find myself as what notices, and less as what is noticed.

It is very simple, yet with a lot of complexity as well.

For instance, I may notice an emotion – allow it as it is, be with it. Yet, if that emotion is triggered by a story – as they often are – and I don’t notice that story, it means I am still identified with the story.

So whenever I notice an emotion, I can first allow that emotion as it is, with heart and kindness. And when look for the story behind it. Which story do I – somewhere – take as true, which triggers that emotion? Is that story true? What happens when I take it as true? Who am I without it? What is the validity in its reversals?

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A few things I notice about tiredness….

I notice tiredness of body and/or mind in the conventional sense.

When I look a little closer, I find that the tiredness appears quite differently through each sense field. As pure sensation, it is just a sensation. When it is combined with a label (“tiredness”) the sensation/story gestalt of tiredness appears. And when that one is taken as real, the tiredness gestalt appears as real, solid and substantial. It becomes an object in my life.

And when stories about that tiredness are taken as true, there is a holding onto or (more often) pushing away of this sense of tiredness. I wrestle with tiredness.

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It is quite common to hear people say they are sensitive to the energy of others. It may be especially noticeable – and sometimes uncomfortable – in close quarters with others over time, and if the others have relatively strong internal conflicts going on. I notice it mostly on the train or bus, and I know many others notice it – among other times – when giving bodywork.

There are lots of ways to work with this. Visualize a cocoon around oneself. Working on grounding. Visualize roots down the earth. Visualize clarity. Pray for the other and yourself. Visualize healing for both of you. And so on. All of these may work fine to some extent and for a while, but they won’t work completely or always because they are just alleviating the symptoms.

When I explore this for myself, I find that the discomfort I experience has one source, and that is my own beliefs about what is going on. Here too, I find that the discomfort I experience comes from friction between my stories of what should be and what is.

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There are many ways to get familiar with the symptoms of taking a story as true, of identifying with a viewpoint, identity or role, of taking our imagination as true. Mainly, it happens through curiosity and either formal/directed inquiry (the work, the big mind process) or an open and open ended inquiry.

I can get familiar with the general symptoms of taking a story as true, such as a sense of unease, of something being off or wrong, stress, physical tension, not being home, sense of separation, a sense of being a separate I located at a particular position within the field of experience, making others wrong and myself right, defending a position, a sense of precariousness and so on. And I can also become familiar with the symptoms of taking a specific story as true and when and in which situations that story tends to be triggered.

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Our culture – whether it is pop or fine culture or any other subculture – is abundant with our universal beliefs.

It is a great place to find stories to inquire into, because I have them too. It is all a mirror for myself.

In this case, I can find where I too believe that they don’t really care about us/me, inquire into it, and find what is more honest for me.

I can still appreciate the conventional view and find the validity and value in it. For instance, I can recognize how the majority or those in power directly or indirectly mistreat minorities and those less powerful. I can even find where I am doing the same in my daily life, and how I participate in these dynamics in our local and global society.

The difference is that when I am still caught up in this belief, I tend to come from reactivity, blame, a rigid view, and often a victim role. And when there is more clarity for me around it, when I find what is more honest for me than the initial story, there is more room to find chocies and actions that may be a little more effective, that come a little more from wisdom, kindness and experience.

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I am listening to Your Inner Awakening by Byron Katie, and this is another audio book I can highly recommend.

This is a great overview of The Work. Katie talks about her own story, the ins and outs of the process, how it may look when applied to the main areas of our lives, and with examples of Katie leading people through investigations of our universal stories such as I need more money. Always with an invitation to the listener to find their own answers and get a taste of the process that way.

All of this may be obvious in general and for the stories we clearly recognize as stories, guides, pointers. Where it gets interesting and juicy is for the stories we still take as true, the ones creating friction and stress, the ones attention naturally is drawn to, the views we identify with, the basic assumptions we haven’t questions and explored yet.

Any story has a number of reversals, and each of these reversals also has validity. We can find specific examples of where each of those reversals are genuinely true for us. This is a reminder that no story has absolute validity, and it is also an invitation to explore ways to hold the limited validity of all reversals of any particular story. And then find the genuine validity in the reversals of those more embracing stories.

Any story also hinges on a number of assumptions, and each of these has valid reversals. The assumptions usually include the basic ones of space, time, objects, beings, a me, doer, observer and that these exists as real, separate, out there etc.

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If reality is inherently neutral, the play of appearances, then that should be reflected at the level of our stories as well. Revealed when I inquire into stories about a particular situation.

And it really seems to be reflected there.

I have a story about a situation being undesirable, unfortunate, harmful, bad. It is my familiar story and I am identified with its viewpoint and the identities it creates. I feel that it is true because I believe the story. I find evidence to support it. I filter the world through that story, so whatever happens seems to confirm it. I take it as true, so perceive and act as if it is true.

Taking a story as true creates a knot, and that knot is created by supporting stories, reactive emotions, and actions that inevitably follows, and it also creates and fuels a sense of a separate self – locating myself in time and space with a boundary around and the wider world beyond. I condense my experience of myself into an object in the world, with infinitely many other objects around.

Yet, as soon as I am more honest with myself, as soon as I investigate that story in a helpful way and with sincerity, the knot softens and starts to unravel. I may see that all of the reversals of the initial story also has validity, I can find the genuine truth in each of them. Identification with the initial viewpoint softens and may release out of it.

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When I occasionally read Buddhist or integral blogs, one thing that sometimes comes up is Buddhist fundamentalism, a defense of the One True Dharma.

As so often, it is easy to see it in others. A story is taken as true, other viewpoints are made wrong, and there may be the usual signs of taking a story as true, especially if it is challenged: a closed view, closed heart, emotional reactivity, compulsion. (The content of the story can be anything, for instance making Asian cultural baggage in teachings wrong, having a bone to pick about the approaches or terminology of related traditions such as advaita, taking a model or map as true and ignoring that reality will always show up outside of any map, relate to the green value meme as an ugly bogeyman hiding under the bed.)

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Any practice can be used to solidify the sense of I and its identities.

And so also with inquiry.

When I do The Work, I sometimes notice I answer in ways that confirm my initial belief. At first glance, I appear to go through the steps and answer the questions truthfully, but looking a little closer, it is obvious – to myself and probably to others, that I am answering from the perspective of my initial belief.

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Life gives wonderful feedback.

One of the ways it gives clear feedback is when I am caught up in a belief.

And that feedback can come from myself or from others.

The feedback from myself is very familiar. When I am caught up in a belief, any belief, there is a sense of precariousness, unease, stress, tension, separation, compulsiveness, and so on.

The feedback from others is also very familiar. When I cam caught up in a belief, I act in ways that seems other than sane, mature, wise and kind in a conventional sense. Others notice, and if I am honest, I notice that they notice. They will also let me know if I am receptive and ask.

In both cases, I can look for being caught up in a belief, taking a story (a viewpoint, identity) as true. And I can find what is more true for me, through a sincere, heartfelt inquiry into that belief.
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