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[NotefromTimothy:Thefollowingisaveryinsightfulanduseful
expansionandadaptation,bydearfriendJohnPrendergast,ofThe
Work,originatedbyByronKatie,forhelpinganyone,especially
therapistsandtheirclients,toreleasenegativeselfjudgmentsand
openuptothespaciousAwarenessthatisourRealNatureorTrue
Identity.JohnPrendergast,Ph.D.,isalongtimepsychotherapist
withalargeprivatepractice,aninstructoratCIISgraduate
instituteinSanFrancisco,senioreditorofthetwovolumeNondual
Wisdom&Psychotherapybookseries,andseventimeconvenorof
theannualconferenceofthesamename.Email:
johnprendergast@comcast.net]

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DeconstructiveInquiryintoNegative
SelfJudgments
(c)CopyrightbyJohnJ.Prendergast,Ph.D.(Revised2007)
Introduction
ThefollowingmethodisanadaptationofByronKatie's"TheWork".Please
seeherbook,LovingWhatIs(HarmonyBooks,2002)andherwebsiteat
www.thework.orgforacompletedescription.Katie'smethodarosedirectly
outofherspontaneousandtumultuousawakeningandtookseveralyears
tofullydevelop.Theheartofherapproachistoquestiontherealityofour
thoughts,particularlyourjudgmentsofothers.Sheencouragespeopleto
writedowntheirjudgmentsaccordingtoastructuredprotocol,askfour
questionsaboutthesejudgmentsandthenreversethemandseehowthey
applytooneself.Shecomposedalittlesayingtodescribetheprocess,
whichsheadmits,"isn'tRumi":"Judgeyourneighbor,writeitdown,ask
fourquestionsandturnitaround."
Overtheyears,IhaveattendedseverallongworkshopswithKatie,
witnessedherleadhundredsofpeoplethrough"TheWork",anddonethe
writtenworkmanytimesmyself.Ifinditquiteusefulandprofound,
particularlyinthefieldofrelationship.Intryingtoapplyittomyprivate
practicewithclients,however,Ihavefoundthatitworksbetterwithsome
importantmodifications.Sinceitcanbealengthyandcomplexwritten
process,Ihavealsosignificantlyshortenedit.
First,Ihavenoticedthatmyclientstendtogetmorestuckontheirself
judgmentsthantheirjudgmentsofothers.WhileKatierecommendsfirst
focusingonthejudgmentofothers,Ifocusonselfjudgmentssinceall
judgmentsofothersareultimatelyrootedinselfjudgmentandall
relationshipswithothersstartwithourrelationshiptoourself.

Secondly,Iincludebodysensationsandfeelings,somethingthatKatiedoes
notfocuson.Whilenearlyalldisturbingfeelingsandsensationsoriginatein
ourconsciousandsubconsciousthinking,Ihavefounditimportantto
includealldimensionsofourexperiencewhendoinginquiry.Thebodyhas
awayofkeepingusontrackwithourdeepesttruth.
Thirdly,Iintroduceseveralpreliminarystepsthatinviteclientstowitnessa
thoughtasanobjectandthenturntheirattentiontoawarenessitself
beforetheyquestionthevalidityoftheirbeliefs.Thereisasteppingback
fromabeliefbeforethereisasteppingintoabelief.Thereisaninquiryinto
thestorytelleraswellasthestory.Thistendstoinvokeawideranddeeper
kindofknowingaspaciousheartwisdom.
Finally,Iencourageanattitudeofinnocentcuriositysothatthereisno
senseofpressuretocomeupwiththerightanswer."TheWork"can
sometimesgetverypushy("Canyoureallyknowthatitistrue?").Power
dynamicscaninterferewiththeinnocentinquiryintothetruthby
engenderingresistanceorcompliance.Irarelyfollowallofthefollowing
stepssequentiallywhenIworkwithclients.Sometimesitisenoughtoask
onequestion,orjustuncoveracorenegativebelief.Itisimportanttobe
creativeandflexibleandtomakethisinquiryprocessyourown.Afterall,it
isnotwritteninstone.Havingsaidthis,itisalsoquiteusefultogothrough
thisentireprotocolmoreorlessintactandgetasenseofitsfull
transformativepower.Sobecreative,spontaneousandenjoyyourself!
TheProtocol
1.Noticeadistressingselfjudgment,feelingorsensation.
Comment#1:
a.Iftheclientisawareofonlythebelief,invitehim/hertoalsobeawareof
thefeelingandthesensationthatgowithit.b.Iftheclientisawareofonly
afeeling,invitehim/hertobeawareofthebeliefandthesensation.c.If
theclientisawareofonlyasensation,invitehim/hertobeawareofthe
beliefandthefeeling.
Comment#2:
Weareinvitingclientstogatherthebasicelementsoftheirexperience
thoughts,feelingsandsensationswithanemphasisonthethoughts.Itis
notnecessarytohavealloftheelements,however,inthiscaseweneedat
leasttheselfjudgmentinordertoproceed.Itisveryhelpfultosensethe
bodywhileidentifyingadisturbingthought.Wewillreturntothebody
sensingattheendoftheprotocol(step#8).
2.Focusontheselfjudgment.Justnoticeitasathought.
Comment:Hereweinviteclientstostepbackfromtheirselfjudgmentsand
toseethemasobjects.Somepeoplecallthisstagethe"observingego".
Thiscanbeanovelinvestigationforsomeclients,particularlynon
meditators.Thoughtsarenotgenerallyconsideredtobe"things".Youcan
coachclientsbysuggestingthattheyseethethoughtasasentence
projectedonascreenorwrittenonablackboardinfrontofthemorby
hearingitspokenasaphrase.
3.Noticethatsomethingisawareofthisthought.Whatisyour
senseofthisawareness?
Comment:This"pointingout"instruction,inspiredby[Indiansages]
NisargadattaMaharaj'sinjunctiontofocusonthe"Isense"andRamana
Maharshi'sselfinquiry(WhoamI?),isdesignedtodirectlyinvokethat

backgroundawarenessoropennessthatisthesourceofthought.Thisisa
powerful,delicate,surprising,andsometimesdisorientingquestionfor
clientswhohaveneverturnedtheirattentiontotheapparent
"experiencer".Morecontemplativeclientswillquicklydropintoabigger
senseofspace.Othersmaynotunderstandthequestionorreportanother
image,thought,feelingorsensation.
Example:"Iseealittlegirl."Ifthishappens,explainthatthisisan
experientialratherthanamentalinquiry.Itisabouttheirfeltsense,not
someideaabouttheirexperience.Pointoutthatsomethingisawareofthis
particularthought(orimage,feelingorsensation)andaskagain,"Whatis
yourfeltsenseofthisawareness?"Takeyourtimeandgoslowly.Ifclients
becomestuckorfrustrated,letgo,normalizethatitcanbeaconfusing
question,andmovetothenextstep(#4).
Ifclientssay,"me"or"Iam,"say,"Yes,andwhatisyoursenseofthisme
orthisIam?"
Iftheysay,"Idon'tknow."Say,"Exactly!Thereisasenseofnotknowing.
Tellmemoreaboutthatsense."
Sometimesthewholesenseoftherebeingaproblemfallsawayatthis
pointasthethoughtisseentobewhatisitamentalconstructwithout
anyinherentvalidity.Whatisleftisasenseofspaciousopenness.Ifthere
isabigopeningtakeyourtimeandencourageyourclientstorelax
intoitbeforeyougoon.Therestoftheinquiryprocessmaybecome
irrelevantatthispoint.
(Ifindthatpointingattentiontothesenseofawarenessismuchmore
accessiblethanasking,"Whoorwhatisaware?"whichtendstoinvokea
morementalresponse.)
4.Fromthissenseof(useclient'sdescription,i.e.:space,
openness,notknowing)bringyourattentiontotheoriginalthought
andinnocentlyaskyourself,Isittrue?Letthequestiongo,wait
quietly,andnoticewhatcomestoyou.
Comment:Here,thenormalprotocolofByronKatie's"TheWork"begins(in
amodifiedform),yetusuallyfromabiggersenseofspaceandamore
attunedheartwisdomthanordinarilypracticed.Weareinvitingadifferent
kindofknowingtoemergewiththisquestion,somethingotherthanthe
ordinary(conflicted,judging)rationalmind.Wearenotlookingfora
particularanswer.Weareinvitinggenuinecuriosity.Acceptwhatever
comes.Onceclientsanswerinawaythatfeelstruetothemencourage
themtobewiththeiranswerandletitin.Ifclientsanswerthatthey
believetheirnegativejudgment,don'tchallengeorarguewiththem.Just
say,"okay,fine"andgotothenextstep(#5).
5.Whatistheeffectonyourselfandotherswhenyouholdonto
thebeliefthat(restatetheiroriginalbelief)?
Comment:Weareinvestigatingtheimpactofthenegativeselfjudgment.
Takeyourtimetoexploreeachfacetofthequestiontheimpactfirston
oneselfandthenonothers.Verysurprisinginsightscanariseatthispoint.
Theeffectofjudgmentwillalwaysbeseparationwithinoneselfand
betweenoneselfandothers.Itisimportanttonotethatitisour
attachmenttobeliefs,notthebeliefsthemselves,thatisproblematic.Once
wenolongerbelieveourstory,itlosesitspowerandeventuallyfallsaway.
Itisenoughtoseethefalseasfalse.Thetruthtakescareofitself.Itdoes
notneedtobeassertedanditcannotbeultimatelydenied,althoughthe
conditionedmindwilltryitsbesttodoboth!

6.Whoorhowareyouwithoutthisbelief?
Comment:Thisisavariationoftheclassicquestion,"WhoamI?"Take
plentyoftimehereandallowtheexperiencetosinkin.Noticethatthis
questionisposedinthepresenttense,achangefromKatie's"whowould
youbewithoutthisbelief?
Youcanmakethisquestionmorespecificbyaskingyourclientstoimagine
themselvesinaspecificsituationorwithaspecificpersonwithouttheirold
story.Forinstance,"WhatisitlikerightnowtobewithDavidwithout
holdingthebeliefthat..."
7.Whatistheexactoppositeofthisbelief?(pause)Isitastrueor
moretrue?
Comment:ThisiswhatByronKatiecallsthe"turnaround"or"reversal".
Feelfreetousethoseterms,ifyouprefer.Ifindthattheaboveformulation
("exactopposite")worksnicely.Keepitverysimple.Forexample,"Iam
unlovable"becomes"Iamlovable",or"Iamugly"becomes,"Iamnot
ugly".Butbeflexible."Iambeautiful"mayhavemoreimpact.Ifclients
findthattheoppositeoftheirnegativebeliefseemslesstrue,don'targue.
Itusuallymeansthatthereisanunderlyingbeliefatwork(oftenaround
safety)thathasyettobeexamined
Sincethisinquiryassumesthatnoconceptisultimatelytrue,wedon'tneed
tobecomeattachedtotheoppositeofanegativeselfjudgment.
Affirmationsmayarise,buttheyarenotemphasized.Itisenoughtosee
thatapolarityofourcherishedbeliefmaywellbeastrueastheoriginal.
Thishelpsthemindtoseeitslimitsandtoletgo.
Anadditionalinterestingquestiontoposealongtheselinesis:What
happenswhenyouallowbothbeliefstobethereatthesametime?
Thiscanhelpcatapultfixatedattentionintothebackgroundopennessthat
isfreeofanypolarizedposition.TheancienttantricpracticeofYogaNidra
workswiththisprinciple.[Seetheextensiveworkbytranspersonal
psychotherapistRichardMilleronYogaNidra,whichheiswidelyapplyingto
casesofPTSD(PostTraumaticStressDisorder)andotherconditions,
especiallythroughhisprocessofiRest(IntegrativeRestoration)
www.nondual.org/sitemap.html.]
8.Noticehowyourbodyfeels.Whatdoyouexperience?
Comment:Wecomebacktothebodyattheendofthisprocessandoffer
clientsachancetocomparetheircurrentfeltsenseofthemselveswith
theiroriginalfeeling.Italsohelpsthemtofeeltheimpactoftheirthinking.
Ifthereiscontinuingdistressandtimepermits,youmaybeginanother
roundofinquirywhichwilloftenfocusonarelatedorevendeepernegative
selfjudgment.Sometimesanoriginalselfjudgmentwillgivewaytoa
deeperonemidwaythroughacycle.Icontinuewiththenewonewhenthis
happens.
Onceyougetthehangofthisprocess,youcanguideaclientthroughthese
stepswithin1520minutes.Itisgoodtoleavesometimeattheendofthe
sessiontodebriefandgetfeedback.Thisinquiryusuallyisagradual
processofseeingthroughlayersoftheselfworldview.Clientsbeginto
internalizethevariousstepsandspontaneouslyapplythemtotheir
experienceasitarisesinthemoment.

Enlightened-Spirituality.org

 Copyright 2006 by Timothy Conway, Ph.D.

Email: t.conway1@cox.net

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