Upcoming Schools:

About the School for The Work

This is the ultimate inner adventure. Unlike every other school on earth, this one isn't for learning—it's for unlearning. You'll spend nine days losing the fear-based stories you've innocently clung to all your life. They might be stories like "I'm not good enough" or "I need a partner" or "I'll never get over it" or "I have to be in control." Who would you be without those stressful stories?

Richard Lawrence Cohen has shared his School experience in "The School for The Work: An Account by Richard Lawrence Cohen." (PDF file format)

At the School you'll discover that your stories are everyone's, and everyone's stories are yours. You'll be welcomed into a joyous, diverse, supportive family where you can be completely yourself without fear of judgment, perhaps for the first time in your life. You'll facilitate your classmates' Work as they open up to themselves. And then you'll trade places, and they'll do the same for you.

The School for The Work begins on Friday at 6:30 pm (on-site registration is from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm.). The School ends at noon on the last day.

This is an immersion experience—an immersion in freedom. Imagine a place where you can laugh from depths of joy you never knew you had, or cry with the release of held-back grief, and know that in either case you are fully loved and accepted. Imagine that the person sitting next to you, whom you have never talked to before, asks you to facilitate her Work, and that fifteen minutes later you are friends who trust each other absolutely.

The curriculum at the School is a living, evolving process, changing with the needs of the participants and on the basis of past students' experiences. Katie herself is both your teacher and your student, sharing questions and answers with an openness rarely found among leaders of her stature. The exercises and activities are designed to mirror the transformation Katie went through after her awakening to reality. You will work on issues such as gender, body image, addiction, money, and relationships. And in each case, you'll discover that you are not alone and you have nothing to fear.

Each day during the School you may find yourself feeling freer and happier than the day before. Old habits may fall away like outworn clothes. You may find yourself eager to get up in the morning so that you won't miss a moment of this unfolding challenge. You may find it impossible not to smile at people. A morning walk, a cup of tea, or a stroll through a hotel lobby will remind you ever afterward of the time you spent here.

When you leave the School, there's a very good chance that you'll view it as the most important nine days you ever spent. When you arrived on day 1, you came lugging a lifetime's baggage. When you leave on the morning of day 10, you'll be pulling a much lighter load. Most importantly, you'll know how to keep the baggage from piling up again. You'll have a new commitment to doing The Work as a daily practice. You'll know how to do The Work with partners as well as on your own. Once back in the everyday world, you'll maintain instant contact with our worldwide community. This is really the School of You; it's a school where you'll always belong.

There is only one authorized School for The Work, and it is presented by Byron Katie through Byron Katie International.

School graduates receive life-long membership in our community at the Institute for The Work of Byron Katie. Benefits include the Do The Work Helpline, the round-robin, and the forum. Learn more >>