Who is Byron Katie?
Funny question. I hear her replying, “The one holding this cup of tea right now,” or, “Who knows?” All I can tell you is who I heard and saw. At the beginning of each day’s session, without any introduction, Katie walks in and sits in a large gray easy chair on the little stage. There is a folding screen behind her, a large vase of sunflowers, and a small table with a pitcher of hot herbal tea. She appears to be in her mid-60s, about five feet five (165 cm), with short silver hair worn in bangs, and makeup. Rectangular rimless glasses when she needs to read something. She dresses in soft, good-quality natural fabrics, often of purple or pink-beige, and favors large shawls. Her voice is clear, direct, accentless, becoming slightly scratchy if the day has worn on. She does not seem affected in any way. The bangs give an impish quality that balances her quiet forcefulness and occasional sternness. She smiles and laughs at the same times you or I would, she can be spontaneously funny (she
Byron Katie became severely depressed in her early thirties. For almost a decade she spiraled down into depression, rage, self-loathing, and constant thoughts of suicide; for the last two years she was often unable to leave her bedroom. Then one morning in February 1986, she experienced a life-changing realization. There are various names for an experience like this. Katie calls it “waking up to reality.” In that instant of no-time, she says, “I discovered that when I believed my thoughts, I suffered, but that when I didnt believe them, I didnt suffer, and that this is true for every human being. Freedom is as simple as that. I found that suffering is optional.” She found a joy within her that has never disappeared, even for a single moment. That joy is in everyone, always. She realized that what had been causing her depression was not the world around her, but the beliefs she’d had about the world. Instead of hopelessly trying to change the world to match her thoughts about how it sho
Byron Katie is a female author and inspirational speaker who teaches a method of self-improvement and discovery known as The Work, a process of self inquiry through which she teaches people to eliminate stress and negativity from their lives. Byron Katie, also known as just Katie, has also authored three books based on her method. In addition to speaking engagements and books, Byron Katie has developed a nine-day course known as The School for the Work. Byron Katie is married to Stephen Mitchell, a poet and translator, who co-authored two or her first three books. The Work of Byron Katie began after Katie had spent a decade living in a state of severe depression. She had gone through many phases of depression, self-loathing, and even repeated thoughts of suicide, often finding it difficult to even get out of bed. In early 1986 Byron Katie had an epiphany, or a moment she calls “waking up to reality.” She discovered simple ways to change her way of thinking about the world around her an
