Greetings!

Somehow I landed today on the Rick Ross forum and encountered this thread on Byron Katie and Eckhart Tolle. I decided to offer my two cents.

Doing The Work, the method of inquiry that Katie discusses in her books and seminars, has helped me tremendously. The main help it has gotten me is that as I do The Work I notice that it helps me take 100% responsibility for my own happiness and well being. My experience is that The Work does not foster dependence on any guru, teacher or outside source. Quite the contrary: I am less dependent on external circumstances for my happiness than I have ever been in my life, and I am still working on it.

This is not some abstract philosophy I'm talking about here. For example, last year my wife of 11 years and I divorced (it was her idea). She was, and still is, the woman that I have loved the most in my life. I won't lie to you, the news that she wanted to separate were VERY tough at the beginning AND I immediately began questioning every stressful thought that I had about what I thought was happening to me. As a consequence of this questioning it became impossible for me to resent her for her choices. I discovered that I did not have to stop loving her just because we were parting ways, and that I was not a victim of a cruel world: I could see my part in it, and why she would want to separate from me. Thanks to doing The Work I could see why I was acting the way that I did, after I looked into what I was believing I needed from her. The natural effect of these discoveries was compassion towards myself and towards her, and that has bred a kind of peace and intimacy between us both that runs deep. We are best friends, we share with each other the most personal things. We are happily divorced, and this seemingly impossible conundrum became the only thing that made sense in my world after questioning my stressful thoughts using the four questions that Katie shares in her books and workshops. And this is just one of many examples I could use to describe the kind of life that doing The Work can make possible. This is not to say that this is the only method that would have produced this outcome. It's the one that worked for me, and it worked fast, in my experience.

I have attended many events with Katie both as a participant and as an unpaid staff since 2004. It is fair to say that I am very involved in it. I see people come and go, and I have never seen, not once, a moment in which anyone has been coerced to remain part of something they didn't want to be a part of. That just goes so contrary to what I have learned from doing The Work and to what I would want for myself that I could not support any organization that would be into anything like that. And so if you have specific examples that this has been going on, I really want to know.

I don't like cults anymore than you do. Before I became a regular at Katie's events I did come to the Rick Ross website to see if there was anything that I would find questionable about Katie's methods and lifestyle. There was nothing at the time, and that's why I was very interested in reading this thread today. I continue to search the web every now and then for any such evidence. I am open.

I see the purpose of this forum as a resource where people can get concrete information about what works and what doesn't. I am very grateful for its existence, as I don't wish to anyone the pain that comes from unknowingly getting involved in a cult. At the same time, if there is an approach out there, whatever it is, that seems to be of value, and the claims to its downside risks are unfounded, well, it is good for people to know that, also.

I did not come here to defend or attack anyone, or to espouse any philosophy or point of view. I simply came to say that, in my experience, The Work works, and this is why I use it in my life and share it with others in different ways. I see my post simply as information that can be read alongside what has already been said on this forum on this subject so that everyone can arrive at their own conclusions.

I will be happy, for the next two weeks, to answer questions you may have about what my experience is of doing The Work and of interacting with Katie on her workshops. Obviously, I cannot answer questions for Katie, as I do not represent her, her organization, or anything like that. I can, instead, give you 100% of my personal experience, as it's the only thing that, in some simple sense, is truly mine.



Eduardo

Eduardo: "Somehow I landed today on the Rick Ross forum and encountered this thread on Byron Katie and Eckhart Tolle. I decided to offer my two cents."

Somehow? Exactly how? Or a ballpark "how".

Am particularly curious since you are an apologist for Byron Katie's "Work". And, it would seem, a "Certified Facilitator", as there is an Eduardo listed at BK's web site, which I imagine is you?

Someone warned me earlier today that it was just a matter of time before BK's people showed up in here to refute my claims, because that's how these things work, I guess.

I didn't want to believe it, but... that took hardly any time at all.

If I had any doubts left about BK and The School being an LGAT... they have been dispelled!

-jj



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/24/2008 01:35PM by jj52.

Hi Jeanne,

Here's the answer to your question. A few days ago Katie put a link on her website about some event that Eckhart Tolle and Oprah are putting together in a "webinar" format. Today I was curious about it and went on to Oprah's site to check that out.

After that, I typed on Google the terms "Eckhart Tolle Byron Katie" just to see what would come up, and this very thread pops up fifth on the Google search for those terms. That's how I found out about it.

And, yes, I am the "Certified Facilitator" on Katie's site with the name Eduardo. Had I wanted to conceal that I could have done that easily, as you know, by using some random name for myself on this thread. For that matter, you can read all about me on my website.

I understand anyone's skepticism about The Work, and hence about anyone who may be saying that it works. Now, let me reiterate that my claim here is very limited. I say: "The Work works, for me. It helps me live a life free from stress, and as a consequence I show up as a kinder, more effective human being." And my children, ex wife, family members, co-workers and friends are very grateful for that. Since it works for me, when I see a friend who is stressed I tell them: "There is something that works for me, would you like to try it?" And if they say "yes" I share The Work with them, and if they say "no" we go for a walk instead. I don't push The Work on people because I know how unpleasant it is when somebody is trying to push something on me. I learned that from questioning the thought "People need The Work" and discovered for myself that this was absolutely not true.

Skepticism is good. It's, after all, that's what this forum is about. In that vein, let me know if you have any other questions.

Eduardo

Its interesting that the new Byron Katie supporter begins their pre-approved statement with a false statement!

"Somehow I landed today on the Rick Ross forum and encountered this thread on Byron Katie..."

Is It True?

Oh please! Lets cut the crap!
:-)
The word is getting out on the blogs about these threads, and senior Byron Katie trainers have been personally notified and contacted about them TODAY. That is already in print elsewhere.

And they are sending out the internet Byron Borg to try and do some damage control here, as instructed by Byron Katie on her own website.

So if the Byron Katie promoters are going to post, its not a great idea to open up with a easily provable false statement. Not a good start.

Bythe way, for all the new people coming to the threads, there is another thread in the LGAT area about Byron Katie, with new first-hand reports and complaints appearing daily.
You can find the thread at the link below.

The facts are in, the Byron Katie School seminars are extremely dangerous, misleading, and highly manipulative. They are an organized system of Thought-Reform.
You might leave the seminar $200,000 lighter, and that is not a metaphor. See the thread below.

The Work/Byron Katie-strong concerns
[forum.culteducation.com]

Have a look at this.


[guruphiliac.blogspot.com]

Yes, The Guruphiliac blog is bending over backwards, forwards, and sideways to try and rationalize what is going on with Byron Katie.
Is the Guruphiliac blog allowing all comments, or only approved comments?

Is there a conflict of interest there between Guruphiliac and Byron Katie?
Who is it that The Guruphiliac is able to instantly call up on the phone and get this wonderful information from?

Does it make logical sense to call up a senior insider member of an alleged culty-group, and ask him..."hey, are you guys a weird culty-group exploiting vulnerable people for money?"

Why not call up Tom Cruise and ask him..Hey Tom, is Scientology the only thing that can help at the scene of an accident?

Byron Katie has a very aggressive internet marketing campaign, where she instructs and recruits her people to go out and make posts all over the internet.
Its called MOVE THE WORK.
www.thework.com/movethework2.asp

(why is the so-called 'crazy' Byron Katie able to come up with endless crafty and sneaky marketing strategies, like MOVE THE WORK?)

Quote
eduardo
Hi Jeanne,

Here's the answer to your question. A few days ago Katie put a link on her website about some event that Eckhart Tolle and Oprah are putting together in a "webinar" format. Today I was curious about it and went on to Oprah's site to check that out.

After that, I typed on Google the terms "Eckhart Tolle Byron Katie" just to see what would come up, and this very thread pops up fifth on the Google search for those terms. That's how I found out about it.

And, yes, I am the "Certified Facilitator" on Katie's site with the name Eduardo. Had I wanted to conceal that I could have done that easily, as you know, by using some random name for myself on this thread. For that matter, you can read all about me on my website.

I understand anyone's skepticism about The Work, and hence about anyone who may be saying that it works. Now, let me reiterate that my claim here is very limited. I say: "The Work works, for me. It helps me live a life free from stress, and as a consequence I show up as a kinder, more effective human being." And my children, ex wife, family members, co-workers and friends are very grateful for that. Since it works for me, when I see a friend who is stressed I tell them: "There is something that works for me, would you like to try it?" And if they say "yes" I share The Work with them, and if they say "no" we go for a walk instead. I don't push The Work on people because I know how unpleasant it is when somebody is trying to push something on me. I learned that from questioning the thought "People need The Work" and discovered for myself that this was absolutely not true.

Skepticism is good. It's, after all, that's what this forum is about. In that vein, let me know if you have any other questions.

Eduardo

First of all, Eduardo, are you aware of this forum's rules, wherein you are not allowed to post links promoting your work? You have posted 2 such links in your response.

Second, in your initial post you said, "I did not come here to defend or attack anyone, or to espouse any philosophy or point of view."

Oh really? Seems you did indeed come here to promote/defend "the work". You go on and on about what "the work" has done for you. I'd say you are quite biased in its favor.

hmm, interesting...there seems to be some connections between a certain "Jody" at Guruphiliac and BK and another guy named Steve Sashen...all mentioned by Cosmic Connie on her blog.

[cosmicconnie.blogspot.com]
"Hey, Steven, I was hoping you wouldn't mind being blue'd...As for my snarking about someone or something you advocated -- specifically, I have made a couple of snide references to Byron Katie"

Steven Sashen [sashen.com]
Steven Sashen seems to have quite a connection to Byron Katie, like about 919 connections?

[www.google.com]

His wife also wrote a book called "The Heart Of A Cult"?
____________________________________

Steven Sashen says...
"Last on the list, but first in my heart are "The Work" and Integrated Kabbalistic Healing. Of all the transformative things I've done that affected my life, these are the only two that demonstrably changed it. The Work and IKH make up a significant part of Quantum Wealth. I like to say that The Work lets the mind rest in the heart, and IKH lets the heart rest in the soul. I'm incredibly grateful and blessed to have met Jason Shulman and Byron Katie, and to be doing Integrated Kabbalistic Healing and The Work.
...
The Work is a simple and infinitely profound self-inquiry process that lets you quickly and naturally experience life free from the source of your pain and dis-ease.

I do private sessions of The Work and Integrated Kabbalistic Healing by appointment. And I host a gathering for those interested in The Work on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month. Email me at steven@#### to find out more about private sessions or the gatherings.

...To find out more about The Work, click here (don't be fooled by the seeming simplicity of The Work. When you do it, you get un-done!)"

__________________________________

one of the interesting things about the comments from the Byron Katie insider at Guruphilia, is that the main defense is that everything that happens is "voluntary".
Interesting how that was the exact same thing another poster here named Ralpher said?
"Its all voluntary".

Why the deceptive response?
Were they trained to give that response by Byron Katie?

Anyone who even looks at these things for more than 5 minutes knows that the entire LGAT and Thought Reform structure is about Guru's getting people do what they want them to do, and having them believe in the short term that they are "choosing" to do it.
That's the entire point! They set the environment, peer-pressure, rejection, Love Bombing, x100.

So for them to come out and say its voluntary, indicates more conscious deception.
Also, Byron Katie has said in print, that even a 9 year old girl is responsible for her own rape by her father. So is child-rape also "voluntary" to Byron Katie?
[forum.culteducation.com]


Also, there is a sub-industry of so-called Cult Apologists. [www.culteducation.com]

there also seem sto be a variant of this, a type of so-called internet Guru-Buster, who criticizes Gurus...except of course the Gurus they follow, refer people to, (possibly for a commission), and even possibly work for!