You Got to Love Your Tumor

Byron Katie's work is so powerful. I use it all the time. When I deal with anyone. Most of all myself. And it's so simple. Just 4 questions.

1. Is that true?
2. Can I absolutely know that's true?
3. Who would I be without that thought?
4. Turn it around.

When people ask why I'm so Zen and chill, one of the major things I cite is Byron Katie's 4 questions. They are very grounding.

Here is Byron Katie doing the work in a prison.



Byron Katie on jealousy.



On money.




In her latest newsletter, she describes a moment with one of her friends who was diagnosed with cancer. It meant a lot to me. Maybe, it's something that will make sense to you. Here is an excerpt from her newsletter:

A doctor once took a sample of my blood and came back to me with a long face. He said he was bringing bad news; he was very sorry, but I had cancer. Bad news? I couldn't help laughing. When I looked at him, I saw that he was quite taken aback. Not everyone understands this kind of laughter. Later, it turned out that I didn't have cancer, and that was good news too.

The truth is that until we love cancer, we can't love God. It doesn't matter what symbols we use - poverty, loneliness, loss - it's the concepts of good and bad that we attach to them that make us suffer. I was sitting once with a friend who had a huge tumor, and the doctors had given her just a few weeks to live. As I was leaving her bedside, she said, "I love you," and I said, "No, you don't. You can't love me until you love your tumor. Every concept that you put onto that tumor you'll eventually put onto me. The first time I don't give you what you want or threaten what you believe, you'll put that concept onto me." This might sound harsh, but my friend had asked me to always tell her the truth. The tears in her eyes were tears of gratitude, she said.

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.

The Dutch version of the book is called Katie's Tao.

To read more of the newsletter or pre-order Katie's newest book you can visit thework.com.

If anyone is interested, I'll be going to see Katie at her free event on October 28th. I've got 3 open spots in my car. We can always tailgate too.

Date: Saturday, October 28, 2006
Time: 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Location: Crowne Plaza Hotel Int'l Airport,
Los Angeles, CA
Contact: Byron Katie International
Phone: 1-800-98-KATIE, Email: info@thework.com

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Loving What Is - The Work of Byron Katie

This is a free public event and everyone is welcome. Bring a friend!

Byron Katie, bestselling author of Loving What Is and I Need Your Love - Is That True?, will introduce you to The Work, a revolutionary way to question the thoughts that keep you from living in peace and joy. With characteristic humor and lovingly incisive clarity, Katie will show you how self-inquiry can bring you a happier life. You will experience The Work directly, witness others in the process, and take home the ability to apply what you've learned to everything you do.