Many people study "The Work" by Byron Katie. This page is intended as a discussion forum where we can share our experiences and understanding of "The Work", and offer support to one another as we explore how "The Work" works in our lives.
One quote from Peter Levine that sticks out to me is "Some people try to think their way out of trauma. But what they don't understand is that trauma does not speak the language of thinking." I've read his books years before discovering BK, and after discovering The Work this quote above triggered me. Of course I can "think" my way out of trauma. Many worksheets have proven that.
However, there is one trauma. A big one. One that I've been dealing with for over 5 years now. And let me tell you I have tried probably hundreds of worksheets on. And it's just so....damn complex and ethereal that putting it on paper is quite the challenge.
Long story short, I went back and tried applying Peter Levine's technique and I feel like I'm actually getting somewhere. Which begs the question I wanted to bring here: Are there some traumas that are just too ethereal for The Work? Or is all trauma, ethereal or concise , able to be put down on a worksheet?
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I LOVE The Work.
And:
The Work is a tool. Coming from an extremely religious background, my brain has been trained to think there must only be "one" solution. And I must do a deep dive into that solution — if I do, everything will fall in place.
For me, a more helpful and nuanced view has been to view different techniques and such as tools in my tool bag.
When I feel big emotions, I pull out what I've learned from somatic processing. I may also try The Work on it. I may even be at a loss and go to a professional to see how they'd tackle it. There's grace and joy in holding the tools lightly and inviting them to work on you without expectations.
spoken like a truer lover of the work :) <3
I agree with Levine and I also love the work. I think it’s possible to combine both. As you sit with who you are with / without the thought focus fully on your somatic response. I think it’s so easy to do worksheets with the purpose of changing specific thoughts and beliefs but that’s not the ultimate goal. It’s a form of exploration and meditation. “You don’t drop thoughts, thoughts drop you”
I started using Peter Levine’s “voom” breathing method to get a bit of a sense of stillness before sitting down to do the work. Noticing a nice difference, especially with statements that bring up a lot of emotional resistance making it harder to feel/sense the answers to the 4 questions.
Chiming in, Levine is spot on. Adding that I have experienced true turnaround of my epic, unspeakable trauma, with The Work. Years of experience, and having been fortunate to work with Katie in the process, 99% of the worksheets I complete with total success. My mid 40's arrived and with it came the acknowledgement that my body could no longer live life unresolved. It was not until I hesitantly brought in a person that combined somatics with inquiry, did I find true resolution and turnaround with my Trauma. I hope I am addressing your question in that for me, bringing in an highly skilled and trusted preceptor can help take The Work to complete resolution. True objectivity is what I needed.