In January, 2025, Lisa received the following email from Ernest Holm Svendsen, a practitioner of the techniques Byron Katie has developed and which are referred to as, “The Work”. Ernest has his own practice and runs the website, “https://www.theartofbeinghuman.com“
Ernest is the author of the book, “How To End The Stories That Screw Up Your Life” It’s a wonderful book that explains The Work in a very simple and straightforward way; I highly recommend it.
Dear Lisa,
When doing The Work, I often notice how “because” slips into our answers.
“I feel sad because…”
“I’m overwhelmed because…”
“I can’t relax because…”
At first, it seems real—like we’re explaining what’s going on for us.
But in truth, everything after “because” is just a story.
Judgments, opinions, thoughts—a swirl of mental explanations.
Instead of connecting to our experience, we get pulled into the mind.
When we let go of the “because,” something shifts.
We land in the raw truth:
“I feel sad.”
“I feel tired.”
“I feel afraid.”
No analyzing. No explaining.
Simply meeting what is.
Next time you catch yourself reaching for “because,” try a gentle pause.
What’s here if you just feel?
No reasons. No analysis.
Only the truth of you.
Only your direct experience.
To me, this is self-discovery.
Aliveness.
The Essence of The Work.
Ernest Holm Svendsen
The Art of Being Human
And because I’m silly, I can’t think of the title of this blog post without singing in my head the song “Because” by The Beatles 🙂
And just for the fun of it, here are some fire hydrant photos that I’ve taken in the last few weeks which have nothing to do with “Because”; either the storytelling, or the song:
