Click here to download The Judge Your Neighbour Worksheet. This is a great way to put the story of the mind on paper and find those thoughts and find out “Who You would be without your “story“.
1.The first step in The Work™ is to identify a thought that is creating stress in your life.
Print out the sheets and get a pen. Answer the questions as simply as you can. Writing down the thoughts that trouble you freezes them, and puts them clearly in front of you so you can see the thought and then later investigate them through the inquiry.
Because it’s written down you can:
- Keep yourself on track
- Constantly refer to the precise thought you are looking at
- Circumvent the mind’s tendency to slip and slide all over the place
Some examples of thoughts for self inquiry might be:
“My partner should appreciate me ”
“My children should do what I ask ”
“The world is in shambles, it’s going to the dogs”
“People shouldn’t steal ”
“I want my father to understand me”
“People are thoughtless and selfish”2. Question or investigate your thoughts – The Inquiry
Once you have identified the thoughts then it’s time to take them to inquiry with the four questions and the turnaround, as laid out on the The Judge Your Neighbour Worksheet.
The Inquiry
- Is it true?
- Can you absolutely know that it’s true?
- How do you react when you think that thought?
- Who would you be without the thought?
And then
3. Turn the thought around
Ask yourself is this as true or truer?
How is that? Notice, and investigate and allow yourself to be open to see.
Another way to do The Work
Once you are familiar with identifying beliefs that cause you stress, and you would like to thoroughly question one single belief, you may like to use the “One-Belief-at-a-Time Worksheet”.
Click here to download it