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Getting it Intellectually vs. Getting it Emotionally

peacock
If you had never seen a peacock, I could describe it to you and eventually you might say, “I get it. It’s a really pretty blue and green bird.” But until you actually see a peacock, it’s just an intellectual understanding.

The Work Is Experiential

Sometimes people think The Work of Byron Katie is just an intellectual thing. Yes, The Work does use the intellect to point the mind towards a new experience. But all the intellect can do is point.

True shifts happen only when experience dawns.

That is what is meant by the term “The Work is meditation.” With the help of the intellect, the mind steps beyond the intellect into a completely new experience. When that happens, everything changes.
Many Times I’ve Gotten It Intellectually Long Before Getting it Emotionally

The intellect is great. It can look ahead. It can see things like, “Oh this is just a story I’m believing. I get it.” But then it wonders, “Why can’t I let go of it?” This points to where the real holding on is taking place—on the emotional level.

Just understanding isn’t enough to touch the emotional level. The intellect is capable of thinking about things abstractly, so it can “understand” without actually feeling anything.

To actually change things, you have to get your hands dirty. You have to actually get under the sink and work with the pipes if you have a leak in your bathroom. Understanding the principles of plumbing alone gets you nowhere.

The Work Is Experience Not Understanding

Meditation is experiential.

People sometimes get confused because The Work looks intellectual. But it’s not. Every question is experiential. “What is stressing you? Is the thought you’re thinking really true for you? How do you react in that situation when you believe it? Who would you be in that situation without that thought? How could the opposite be as true or truer for you in that situation?”

Every single one of these questions is asking you for your experience. When you walk through these questions in an experiential way, it is a meditation. Just answering these questions can open new realms of experience.

When I do The Work, I literally start to experience the same situation in a new way. That’s when I get it on the emotional level. That’s when forgiveness, acceptance, and peace start to happen, which is so different than just understanding it intellectually.

Have a great week,
Todd

“The Work is meditation. It’s about getting quiet enough to experience the answers that rise to meet the questions.” Byron Katie, A Mind at Home with Itself

Todd Smith has been doing The Work of Byron Katie on an almost daily basis since 2007. He is just as excited about this simple process of self-inquiry today as he was when he first came across it. He also enjoys writing about The Work, and training others in the subtleties of this meditative process. Join Todd for The Work 101 online course, private sessions, virtual retreats, and his ongoing Inquiry Circle group.