I recently saw Katie working with several people who had been told by their doctors they had cancer. I decided to use the same process with my diagnoses.
"I hate chronic kidney disease because it makes my muscles burn" - Is it true?
Yes, it appears to be true.
"Can you absolutely know that it is true?"
No, not absolutely.
"And how do you react when you think the thought 'Chronic kidney disease makes my muscles burn?'
The diagnosis itself does not make my feel bad. But when I am experiencing the pain in my muscles from it, the pain makes me feel bad.
Who would you be without the thought, "Chronic kidney disease makes my muscles burn?"
I would have weak, burning muscles but I wouldn't know why.
"You don't know why you have burning muscles." Is it true?
Well, if I accept the thought that I have chronic kidney disease, I do know why. But if I don't accept the thought that I have chronic kidney disease, then I would probably assume that I'm out of shape and my muscles are weak because they need to exercise more.
"I need to exercise more because my muscles are weak." Does that thought feel stressful or painful to you in any way?"
No, it doesn't, although I know that actually trying to use the muscles more would not be comfortable and could be painful.
"Using my muscles more could be painful." Can you absolutely know that it's true?
Not until I try it.
"How do you react when you think the thought 'Using my muscles more could be painful.?"
I would dread having to exercise.
Can you think of one good reason to keep the thought "Using my muscles more could be painful?"
A good reason?
"A stress-free reason. The only reason I can see for you to keep that thought is so that you won't have to exercise."
Exercise is really hard for me.
"Exercise is really hard for me." Is it true?
Yes.
"How do you react when you think the though 'Exercise is really hard for me?"
I don't want to exercise.
And who would you be without the thought "Exercise is really hard for me?"
I would just exercise as well as I could.
Can you see a good reason to drop the thought "Exercise is really hard for me" and just exercise as well as you can?
Yes. Even if I'm only able to exercise a little bit, it would be better than none.
And we don't know what would happen in the future but you might get better, is that true?
Yes, that's possible.
Now the turnarounds.
"I never want to experience the burning in my muscles again." Turn it around.
"I am willing to experience the burning in my muscles" or "I look forward to experiencing the burning in my muscles again."
Can you give me one reason why that would be true?
Well, if I don't ever feel the burning then I would not be exercising. So in order to exercise I'm going to have to feel it.
Can you think of another reason?
Well, when I am experiencing the burning, sometimes I have to ask people to help me with things. Like carrying things that are heavy or completing a task for me that I couldn't complete. So I get help with things that I probably wouldn't have asked for help with before.
Can you think of another reason?
Well, it keeps you grateful and humble."
Grateful for what?
Grateful for any and all assistance I get. Grateful for kind people.
Any other reasons?
(This is where some meditation was required)
I guess when I'm just walking and I feel the burning, it reminds me that I need to do my resistance exercises more.
It reminds me that if I give up and get a wheel chair that eventually my muscles will become weak and unusable and so if I don't want that to happen, I better exercise.
It reminds me that the universe is friendly so there must be a good reason for this to have happened.
It reminds me that I can change the way I walk. I don't have to walk as fast. I can allot extra time to get where I need to go. I can slow down.
Slowing down is good. Slowing down means taking more time to notice things and be more present right now. When we are hurrying, we aren't really present. Having chronic kidney disease is my body's way of telling me to slow down and be more present. And that's a good thing.
*******************************************************
I have thought through this many times in my head, but until I wrote it down for this blog post, I didn't see these obvious conclusions. Katie always says, "All war belongs on paper." And it's true. If you don't write it down, you just don't think it through the same way.
Visit "The Work of Byron Katie"
Send us email at unhinderedliving@gmail.com
Like us on Facebook!
Copyright Judie C. McMath and The Center for Unhindered Living
No comments:
Post a Comment