Byron Katie

Byron Katie

Founder of Self-Inquiry Method

Byron Katie with short white hair is smiling, resting one hand on her cheek, while wearing a patterned top and pearl earrings.

Byron Katie is creator of the inquiry process called "The Work." Through this process, Katie gives people the tool to set themselves free. In 1986, at the bottom of a ten-year spiral into depression, rage, and self-loathing, Katie woke up one morning to a state of constant joy that has never left her. She realized that when she believed her stressful thoughts, she suffered, but that when she questioned them, she didn't suffer, and that this is true for every human being.

The Work consists of four questions and the turnarounds, which are a way of experiencing the opposite of what you believe. When you question a thought, you see around it to the choices beyond suffering. One thought at a time, you transform the way you experience your life.

Katie has been bringing The Work to millions of people for more than twenty-five years. Her public events, weekend workshops, five-day intensives, nine-day School for The Work, and 28-day residential Turnaround House have brought freedom to people all over the world.

Eckhart Tolle says, “Byron Katie's Work is a great blessing for our planet.” Time magazine calls Katie “a spiritual innovator for the new millennium.” Byron Katie's six books include the bestselling Loving What Is, I Need Your Love—Is That True?, and A Thousand Names for Joy.

 

 

A person with white hair sits in front of a colorful, abstract background. They are wearing a dark blazer over a striped shirt.
7 min
It can be overwhelming to navigate the pains of life, but the iconic self-help author believes you can find yourself by answering just four questions
Unlikely Collaborators
8 min
An honest inquiry into the source of stress in your life will yield some surprising results. If you're mindful, present, and inquiring, you won't be able to fool yourself, says Byron Katie.