Working from Ocean Shores

Many contemporary therapies and meditative practices point to the phenomenum of the inner dialogue. The inner dialogue may be expressed in words, in images, sensations or feelings.

Awareness is the key to this inner dialogue.

Many of us may have accidently  incorporated a dialogue which is self critical, pessimistic and ultimately destructive.  Mindfulness practice,voicedialogue,  CBT and healingdialogue all indicate the importance of simply being aware of these thoughts.

A dialogue is constituted by the fact that the part of us that is aware may, if acting with unawareness, simply accept these negative appraisals as

truthful. When accepted as truthful they can form part of a powerful, very often unconsious, trance induction resulting in depression, anxiety, low self esteem, and other forms of mental suffering.

How do we heal this?

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First, we need to notice it is happening

Second we need to interrupt this happening. There are many valid ways to this.

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

In Cognitive Behaviour Therapy this may be done through disputation. A well researched and free online facility to learn about and practice CBT

can be found at ecouch ( depression and anxiety ) and at moodgym. These are initiatives of the Austratralian National University and have over 200,000 subscribers worldwide. Both sites require registration and have been designed as online courses.

“The Work”

A different approach is seen in “The Work”. ” The Work” was developed by Byron Katie and arose from her own battle with inner demons ending

with a life changing experience and the development of tools to help other people.  Whilst

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Byron Katie can also be seen to be operating in a mystical domain, ” The Work”  itself provides very practical techniques to become aware of and deal with dysfunctional patterns of thought. A series of simple questions brings the questioner back into the here and now and provides mechanisms to dispute and neutralize troubling thoughts.

To put it Katie’s own words:

“I discovered that when I believed my thoughts, I suffered, but that when I didn’t believe them, I didn’t suffer, and that this is true for every human being. Freedom is as simple as that. I found that suffering is optional. I found a joy within me that has never disappeared, not for a single moment. That joy is in everyone, always.” — Byron Katie

The questions are ….

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Is it true?

Can you absolutely know that it’s true?

How do you react, what happens, when you believe that thought?

Who would you be without the thought?

Go to Byron Katie’s website for more information about “The Work”.

Tags: Anxiety, Cognitive behavioral therapy, Disorders, Health, Major depressive disorder, Mental health, Mood, Self-esteem