Sick and tired of being sick and tired?
By Suzy Batiz, May 18, 2007

Retreat A Byron Katie retreat with Suzy Batiz Fri, June 1–Thurs, June 7 LifePath Center Recreo 80 154-8465

Learn this new 14-page formula; complete this 30-day online course; stand on your head three times a day facing east and you will finally learn how to have inner peace, right? If you are like most of us, you are sick and tired of being sick and tired, yet also sick and tired of having to learn each new system that will “change” your life. All it takes is a gazillion dollars and a six-month study course to gain inner freedom. Right? Wrong!

After studying practically every system in self-help, The Work of Byron Katie was graciously presented to me. Katie says, “You can find freedom by questioning your thoughts with four simple questions, and it’s not a learning, but an un-learning.” An un-learning?

The Work is a radical and simple process of self-education that has been introduced to hundreds of thousands of people in over thirty countries. It is a deeply transformative process of inquiry that is helping people around the world approach their problems from a perspective of clarity and inner peace.

As a species, we human beings tend to put our happiness on hold until something changes. We’ll be happy, we think, when we get what we believe we want or need: more money, a healthier body, a more attractive or understanding partner, a loving mother, children who behave. Many of us spend our lives trying desperately to get the world and the people in it to satisfy our desires. No wonder we don’t feel any lasting sense of peace; we’re continually engaged in a war with reality.

In 1986, Byron Katie experienced the profound realization that without any story about how life is supposed to be we are left with peace far beyond what we hoped to find through wish fulfillment. On the other side of our myths about reality is reality itself, indescribably joyful and unknowable as long as we keep trying to change it. Only when we give up “what should be” can we experience the perfection of “what is.”

This “giving up,” however, can’t be achieved by the thinking mind. (Hoping to give up attachment, the mind subversively attaches to a concept of liberation.) The remedy that brought Katie her freedom is something she calls The Work, a penetrating inquiry process of four questions and a “turnaround.” By exposing unconscious beliefs to the clear light of direct investigation the mind wakes up to its innocent mistake and drops its losing battle. This happens naturally when we see that something we once believed is proven wrong—for example, when we learn years later that a bitter disagreement was based on a simple misunderstanding. With The Work, we don’t have to wait months or years to resolve our lingering issues; liberating insights happen consistently and on purpose, showing us that suffering is ultimately based on a misunderstanding of our own.

People new to The Work often imagine that giving up their war with reality leads to a boring and passive existence. Katie responds, “Can you absolutely know that’s true? My experience is just the opposite—being a lover of reality is exciting beyond imagination, and leaves me free to make real change.” When we lose the blinders of limiting beliefs we can see options and opportunities that were previously unavailable. 

Please join me on a week-long discovery of The Work where you will un-learn the beliefs that are holding you back from your natural state….peace. Nothing to learn, nothing to do except question your limiting beliefs.

Join Dallas Coach and Facilitator, Suzy Batiz, in June for this retreat. Advance registration required. Call 154-8465 or email info@lifepathretreats.com. 

Shambhala meditation retreat in Querétaro


Meditation retreat
Shambhala meditation, Level 1
Fri, May 25, 8:30am registration
Shambhala mediation, Level 2
Sat & Sun, May 26 & 27, 8:30am registration
1200/1000/800 pesos
152-6336


Shambhala Training is a series of contemplative programs suitable for both beginning and experienced meditators. Here, participants experience the profound but simple technique of mindfulness-awareness meditation. They explore the challenges of daily life, seek opportunities for personal wakefulness and the creation of an enlightened society. At the heart of the Shambhala teachings is the view that a dignified life based on meditative understanding is accessible to everyone. The main concern is not why we are here, but rather, since we are here, how we are going to live our lives.

The wisdom and practices of Shambhala were introduced to North Americans in 1976 by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, a Tibetan Buddhist meditation master, artist, and poet, who believed that the world needed a meditation path that specifically spoke to everyday life experiences. Out of this vision, Shambhala Training was born.

The first two programs in the Shambhala Training path are offered as three-day retreats in Querétaro on May 25–27. Participants may attend only the first day of the retreat, the beginning program. Anyone who previously attended a Level 1 program may attend Level 2.

On Friday, May 25, the retreat begins with Level 1 entitled “The Art of Being Human.” This program introduces the fundamental view of Shambhala teachings as well as mindfulness meditation practice.

Program cost is 1000 pesos, which includes a hotel room for Friday night, lunch and dinner (plus snacks) on Friday, breakfast on Saturday, and participation in the program. For those who remain for Level 2, the cost is reduced to 800 pesos. Registration is at 8:30am.

On Saturday and Sunday, May 26-27, the retreat continues with Level 2 entitled “Birth of the Warrior.” This program explores what keeps us from discovering our basic wakefulness and how we can cultivate the willingness to observe our habitual fear and defense mechanisms. Level 1 is a prerequisite. Program cost is 1200 pesos. The cost includes a hotel room for Saturday, lunch and dinner (plus snacks) on Saturday, breakfast on Sunday, and participation in the program. Registration is at 8:30am Saturday. The program will conclude on Sunday before 2pm. 

The meditation programs will be held at a restored hacienda outside Querétaro, 30–(N)40 minutes away. The ancient buildings and lovely grounds of El Castillo are enhanced by modern hotel rooms. The price is for a double room. Single rooms may be available for slightly more. For additional information about the program or directions, please contact: Patricia Gonzalez at 152-6336.