The Work Seems Like a Funny Place To Hide
After all, The Work is about questioning what you believe. The questions of The Work invite you to get real with yourself. To come out of denial. To take a risk and face the truth. Not bury your head in the sand.
But the mind is a tricky beast. It can even use “The Work” to hide.
Here’s How It Works
The mind thinks, “I don’t like standing up for myself. So I’ll just question my preferences away so that I don’t have to make waves with anyone at all.” This is a way of hiding.
You could do The Work on all kinds of stressful situations, and find peace with them. This is wonderful. But you could end up burying your own opinions in the process.
This is not the purpose of The Work.
In Fact, You’ll Feel the Stress of It
If you really are using The Work to hide, you won’t feel 100% peace inside. Hiding out is stressful. So notice. If you feel stress, use it as a cue. Let it point you to the thoughts you are believing. And question them.
If you’re hiding out, you may find stressful thoughts you can question like, “I can’t share my opinion because she won’t like it.” Or, “He will not approve if I do what I really want to do.”
These could become full Judge-Your-Neighbor Worksheets worth questioning.
The Work Is Not a Substitute for Living
The Work is just about your internal experience. The Work allows you to adjust your thinking to be content with what is happening in reality.
But it does not mean that you can’t act to change reality. That’s what living is all about. Living is about taking action.
When I do The Work, I notice that I become less attached to the outcome of my actions. I feel more content, even if things don’t go my way. This is freedom.
So Let Your Stress Be Your Guide
If you notice the stress of hiding, question all the reasons you think you have to hide. The Work can help you find your way no matter where you are.
Have a great week,
Todd
“The fear of not being fearful is one of the biggest stumbling blocks for people beginning inquiry. They believe that without stress, without anger, they wouldn’t act, they would just sit around with drool running down their chins. Whoever left the impression that peace isn’t active has never known peace the way I know it. I am entirely motivated without anger. The truth sets us free, and freedom acts.” — Byron Katie, Loving What Is, p. 135.
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