I’ve found that simple things are increasing in pleasure for me. I’ve spent many years “doing”. What this looked like for me was a lot of travel, study, achieving this and that certification. Today I’ve found the peace of mind to be still. To stroll my beautiful gardens. To connect with my husband in a way I was not able to in the past. It also looks like a clear distinction between what is and is not my responsibility in this world. For me this opens the door for being really comfortable in my own skin no matter what is happening outside of me. And if I am troubled with things outside I have the tools to bring it back to self, reflect, learn, and move on lighter and happier than when I began.

You are an eclectic blend of left brain, linear logical engineer and right brain, creative healer and spiritual teacher. How do you balance those seemingly disparate worlds?

My spiritual pursuits have made me a better engineer and my engineering mind has helped keep me grounded and highly functioning. The balance actually comes naturally. It’s simply how I’m wired. I joke about being a “recovering engineer” having spent the last 10 years cultivating non-linear abilities. I have had fears come up that as I progress in The Work  I’ll lose some of my analytical abilities. The opposite has happened. What I notice is that I operate more intuitively in all areas of my life, judge myself less, and in general am more productive and have more fun.

How did The Work of Byron Katie find you?

A friend mentioned the book “Loving What Is” and I resonated with the title and knew I needed to get the book. I quickly began applying the process, taking pen to paper and asking myself the 4 questions. After a year or so I was searching for a retreat on relationships and I found Byron Katie was teaching in Washington DC. I’ll never forget the sense of excitement I had before she arrived on stage. I think a part of me knew this was going to be big.  I attended my first school for The Work shortly after (spring 2007), and spent the next 4 years sitting with Katie as much as I possibly could.

In simple terms, how would you describe it?

The work is a simple process of identifying and questioning your stressful beliefs. All that is required is an open mind.

Why is the inquiry so powerful?

In my experience it corrects my misperceptions and allows me to see a kinder world. It opens the door to inform me of something other than what I though was there. There is a quote from A Course in Miracles that says: “Forgiveness is realizing what you thought happened didn’t”. I never understood this until practicing The Work for a time. Now I know it to be true.

What do you think has us resisting ‘what is’?

Our tightly held beliefs and unwillingness to open to other truths.

What life changes have you witnessed for yourself and others?

In a word: Peace. It’s then end of war within myself and as a result the end of war in my world.

www.thework.com The Work of Byron Katie

To learn about upcoming events for The Work of Byron Katie in the Philadelphia area at the Temenos Retreat Center: http://www.temenosretreat.org/programs.html