“The Work”-Questioning The Mind
April 17, 2026
I’ve always been drawn to meditation.
Not in a very disciplined, structured way… but as a way to keep coming back to myself. To slow things down. To see things a little more clearly. And I’m always looking for ways to do this better.
Recently, I came across some of Byron Katie’s work on meditation, especially Loving What Is. And it struck me because it felt very different from what I normally associate with meditation.
There’s no attempt to quiet the mind. No focus on breath. No “let go of thoughts” kind of instruction.
Instead, she does something almost counterintuitive.
She goes straight into the thought… and questions it. She calls this “The Work.”
It sounds simple.
You take a thought that is bothering you and ask yourself four questions:
Is it true?
Can I absolutely know it’s true?
What happens to me when I believe it?
Who would I be without it?
When I first read this, it felt almost too basic. But when you actually sit with it, you realise how quickly the mind jumps to conclusions and then behaves as if those conclusions are facts.
I’ve started noticing this in small, everyday situations.
A message doesn’t get a response.
My mind immediately goes: “He is ignoring me.”
And just like that, a story is formed. A reaction follows.
Or at home… something doesn’t go as expected.
Thought: “This shouldn’t be happening.”
And suddenly I’m irritated, when maybe nothing has really gone wrong.
Or in a deal… a delay happens.
“This is going nowhere.”
Again, a conclusion. Again, unnecessary stress.
When I question my thoughts, I am not suddenly becoming calm or enlightened.
But I am a little less quick to believe everything my mind tells me.
And maybe that’s the point.
Meditation, in this sense, is not about stopping thoughts.
It’s about not being completely run by them.
I’m still exploring this. But it feels like a useful practice.
Not everything that shows up in the mind needs to be taken so seriously.
