This article was first published in March 2013, but few of you have had the chance to read and comment it, so I did an update and here we are. I must also tell you that, few months ago I had the opportunity to see on the 100 days challenge website, an interview with Byron Katie by Lilou Mace, a real enchantment. Just click on the green highlighted to access this video which lasts 45 minutes. It’s less long than you might think, time really does fly because the conversation is great. Now let’s get back to my book review.

I first heard about this book Loving what is (four Questions That Can Change Your Life)* 7 years ago. My girl Robin is a huge fan of Oprah and she told me about her Soul Series. She shows me a part of the show and while she was talking about how life-changing it had been for her. I decided to check it out and I listened to part of the first video, but I couldn’t finish it. Finally at the end of november 2012 Robin sends me the book with a little note : maybe this is the good time.  Nothing more, nothing less.

Thoughts after reading it: I wouldn’t probably never read this book without my girl friend and if I wasn’t so into my pain at that moment. While I found it useful on many levels, I don’t think Byron Katie is 100% right and I felt bad reading sometimes, and I stop it quite often but at the end, behond the discomforting, I did what Katie calls « The Work », the process is simple, and basically forced you to explore the stories that you tell to yourself and how that causes you unhappiness. Those questions  challenges us to be truly honest with ourselves. « Is that always true? », « Can you absolutely know that it’s true? », « can you know for sure ? » I had to interpret, and clearly evaluate if is what « my thought causing the pain? » and finally the question « who would you be without that thought? » actually took me a time to answer but at the end on december 20, 21 or 22 I don’t remember precisely the day, I saw a programm on internet about the brain and how it works and after that moment, I finally took the courage to confront my thoughts and did the entire Work.

Conclusion : The process is simple. Obviously it’s works for me. Aspects of it were useful for me, but I’m still uncomfortable about other aspects. I found a way to  logically take back the control of my thoughs, to accept the past as it was, because that’s the only way it can be — since I can’t change it, only the way I relive it in my mind.

What I still use since that reading : I saved some of the questions such as « who would you be without the thought… », or « determine what is my business, someone else’s business or God’s business.

Bests quotes : « we are disturbed not by what happens to us, but by our thoughts about what happens. » and « when I argue with reality, I lose – but only 100 percent of the time ».

Who will I  recommend  it : I’m totally unsure. I suppose I would recommend this book to a person in pain who have a driven desire to leg it go, the work would do anything with someone who don’t follow through, someone who know that there’s a way but just can’t find it alone.

So what do you think dear readers, even heard about this book, red it or plan to read it ? Tell me everything and I will see you in the comments ! 

* Four Questions That Can Change Your Life Byron Katie, Stephen Mitchell Crown Publishing Group,2003 – 352 pages