Doing Byron Katie's The Work with parts instead of ego

I was skeptical of Byron Katie's The Work as it seemed close to CBT's idea of wrong thoughts needing to be negated. New take is that it might work—IF you can encourage the part that's generating a given thought to explore its thinking process, without in any way doubting it. 🧵

Oct 16, 2020

Clarification 1: encouraging the part to explore its own thinking process, as different from trying to interrogate the part using your ego. It's like, inviting the part to take charge of more of your mental resources, and expand & elaborate its thinking process.

Clarification 2: respecting your thinking process means not just not doubting the output, but not doubting the frame either. Allowing that your thinking is happening within a frame, and makes sense within that frame. How the frame gets integrated with the whole is a separate Q.

For reference, these are the 4 Qs of "The Work" 1. Is it true? 2. Can you absolutely know that it's true? 3. How do you react, what happens, when you believe that thought? 4. Who would you be without the thought?

If you ask these questions of your parts, using your ego (which is the default way to approach something like this) the parts will likely experience it as interrogation, rather than inquiry. (I have a thread about below 2×2 but twitter search is down so idk where it is)

Oh, though the "turnaround" seems pretty cool. Invert the belief in various ways and look for ways the other forms also resonate. eg "My husband should listen to me": • "I should listen to my husband" • "I should listen to myself" • "My husband shouldn't listen to me"