Last updated March 03, 2008
Using The Work with The Secret
I have found it very puzzling and somewhat amusing that the The Foundation for the Work of Byron Katie posted in one of their newsletters that The Work is entirely opposed to The Secret.
I have to disagree. Perhaps I'm not qualified to argue this point with the founder of The Work, but I see enormous value in pairing the two methods.
As far as I can see and understand (and I don't claim to be there yet), there are two phases to reaching a perfect, high level of functioning & freedom in life.
And here I have to thank "Amy" (our primary poster on our companion blog, http://sane-living.blogspot.com) for her great analogy: Methods like The Work clear the weeds out of the flower beds, and The Secret or the Law of Attraction is how you effortlessly plant new seeds for a beautiful garden.
The first phase is to clear away and eliminate all that holds you back.
Weeding the Garden
There are several philosophies that teach this part, and several profound techniques. Buddhism is perhaps the best foundation to return to, if you have ever studied it. Buddhism explains that life is suffering (the first noble truth) and that suffering is caused by attachment (the second noble truth). The work of Buddhism, therefore, is to eliminate all attachment and, consequently, suffering.
This is a point of much confusion for most Westerners. What the heck does attachment mean in this context and why would you want to get rid of it?
The best way I can explain it at my present level of enlightenment is to reverse the second noble truth: Attachment is revealed in whatever thought causes you to experience suffering - whether it's anger or grief or disappointment. Attachment could not be there without the thought. Once the thought is released, the attachment goes with it, and without the thought and the attachment, there is no upset.
If you have studied The Work at all, you are probably already recognizing what I'm saying. The Work is a profound and rapid method you can use to release attachment. When you can take a thought like, "My son should respect me," and, through inquiry, recognize that it simply isn't true, you're releasing the thought, and you're releasing your attachment to both that idea and to a certain ideal of your son's behavior, and along with it goes the frustration or helplessness or anger. Now your son can go on failing to respect you, and it no longer bothers you! That is enlightenment - that is freedom from attachment.
This reminds me of a moment years ago in which I asked The Universe during meditation, "Do bad things happen to enlightened people?" The Universe's amused answer was, "Yes, but they don't mind."
"Not minding" is the basic state you seek through The Work, or through Zen Buddhist meditation, or through the Sedona Method (which I will address more in another article). And this alone can almost be viewed as an entire life's purpose or work. It is an unbelievably valuable treasure, once attained.
There are several facets to the first phase of clearing away garbage - such as eliminating old agreements (The Four Agreements is a valuable resource for this) and releasing old traumas (through EFT, for example), though I have found The Work to be sufficient for all of them. But that is another article.
So, let's move on to the second phase of attaining a high level of functioning in life, which is to be able to manifest change with minimal effort or strain.
Planting Seeds
As far as I know (and I do not claim to be a scholar on the topic), Buddhism does not venture into the area of effortlessly achieving goals. The Work also does not go here. Here, we're in the realm of The Secret (and, in some ways, Taoism, which also teaches a way of "doing without doing" in harmony with the Universe). And I can understand why Byron Katie might feel that these philosophies are opposed. With The Work or the Sedona Method, you are setting yourself free of attachment and desire. The Secret is all about attachment and desire - but, wait, is it really?
The Secret (perhaps better explained in its source book, The Science of Getting Rich) clearly states that, in order to manifest new desires, you cannot be impatient about it: you cannot dwell on the fact that those things aren't here yet: you cannot dwell on your current (unwanted) circumstances: you cannot feel any stress or tension about how the desired end will come about. Sure, you nudge along your new cirumstances through visualization and preparation and affirmations and inspired action, but more importantly, you must simply be happy and peaceful now, living your desired life as far as possible now, with no worries at all.
Now, I ask you, how are you supposed to do this if you are deeply attached to your desires, in the negative Buddhist sense?
You know what it's like to want something really badly that you aren't sure about getting. It can make you angry that you don't have it yet. You are constantly frustrated. You are terrified of not getting it. You have a heavy sense of strain as you try to figure out how you're going to get it. You may lie awake at night fretting about what's going wrong and why it isn't happening. In short, you are in constant suffering because of your state of attachment.
Using The Secret, you are supposed to pursue your goals and dreams of whatever size without any of this struggle or strain. You plant the seeds joyfully and you know that as long as you continue to water & tend the garden, they will eventually grow - sometimes in leaps and bounds that amaze you.
And while this is distantly possible to do without releasing your attachments first, you make your task far more difficult if you don't take that first step.
Now, why do you need this step at all? If you can live "not minding," why even come up with lists of desires or dreams to try to attain?
I can only reassure you that, once you reach this perspective, it seems silly NOT to dream and then work for those dreams. There are many good and valuable things in life to be done, and many things to enjoy.
Releasing attachment, as the Buddhists assure us, does not mean no longer enjoying anything or no longer striving for anything - it just means "not minding" whether there's anything to enjoy in a given moment or any success after the striving. It does not mean lacking excitement and pleasure! It does not mean deciding that there is nothing important enough to do.
To me, it is very plain that being free of garbage is only half a life. What are we getting free FOR, if not to do something really interesting and worthwhile?
Surprise Flowers
Now, it is true, I admit, that one side effect of doing The Work is that often your circumstances will improve simply because you've done The Work on them. To use the earlier example, after you do The Work on your relationship with your son, he may spontaneously start treating you with more respect. Doing The Work and the other similar methods frees up stuck energy and allows things to change. To use the analogy, sometimes all you have to do to get a few flowers is keep the weeds cleared out.
I just don't see any reason to settle for accidental flowers... I'd rather deliberately cultivate the most beautiful garden I can, and I see The Work and The Secret as a natural pairing in doing that.
By:
Hilary
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