There’s Not Enough Time to Save the Earth? Stress Management for HSPs with The Work of Byron Katie

Client: Um, uh, as you know, in Inquiry Circle, I’m working on a worksheet about the climate change and, um, it’s a very tough one. Um, and lately with the thought that I was inquiring, now I stumbled on something that I would like to, to, uh, bring in here. Um, okay. I read, I read it for you. Um, so I was doing, uh, a thought and I was almost done with the turnarounds, and then, um, I already wrote it down.

I can feel with a lot of the examples I found they’re genuine, but at the same time, there’s another stressful thought that goes with this, and that thought is there’s not enough time left to save the planet if we go that slow and, um. And I want to qui [00:05:00] to inquire this one in between the rest of my worksheet because it often pops up.

While working this worksheet, I will first look into more underlying beliefs that go with this thought. So my next post will be an interlude. So, and I, I thought it was a good idea to do that now.

Todd: Okay, great. Well, let’s, let’s look at that one. The popping up when you’re doing the work. On this whole situation of climate change, um, and this is kind of an underlying belief that’s popping up for you.

So let’s, let’s do the work on it. Um, there’s not enough time left to save the planet if we go that slow. Is that true?

Client: Yes. Yes.

Todd: And can you absolutely know it’s true. There’s not enough time left to save the planet if we go that slow.[00:06:00]

Client: So,

Todd: so how do you react? What happens when you think there’s not enough time to save the planet if we go that slow?

Client: Um, when the thought arises, I feel like, um. A very strong, uh, feel of urgency. And actually it’s kind of panicking, I think. Hmm. Like I’m, I’m trying the best I can, but it goes too slow and it’s, my heart starts beating a lot faster my.

My, my thought, my way of thinking becomes like a tunnel view. Like I can only see that it’s not, it’s not fast enough. It’s not fast enough. And um, and I see [00:07:00] a lot of images of, uh. My children, my grandchildren, everybody’s else, uh, else’s children and grandchildren that have to cope with, with what we have done and that it doesn’t go fast enough.

And they, that’s, that’s what we leave to them. So it, it makes me feel guilty. And, um, it’s, um, it. I feel also powerless because it’s such a huge thing. How can I make it faster? I mean, as, as a pers as one individual person for the whole planet. So all that kind of reactions to that thought.

Todd: And how does this thought affect the work that you were doing?

Like you were saying, you were finding genuine turnaround examples for other. [00:08:00] Parts of the climate change stress for you. Um, so how does, when this thought comes in that there’s not enough time left to save the planet, if we go that slow, how does it affect that other work that you were doing

Client: then? I, I feel like, um, the examples for the turnarounds are they’re genuine, but there is part of them that I don’t believe.

Because of that thought that, that other underlying thought, so I can feel they’re true, they’re true examples, but mm-hmm. You know, it’s a bit, um mm-hmm.

Todd: Yeah, yeah. True. But there’s not enough time, so it’s

Client: Yes, exactly. Exactly. Yeah, that one.

Todd: Right. Okay. So. Um, so who would you be without the thought? There’s [00:09:00] not enough time left.

They have to plan it if we go that slow.

Client: Well, as for the examples, they would just be a hundred percent genuine. Them. They would feel very much possible. Or already there, I can see them. Um, and for myself, the way I’m living my life, I would just continue doing what I’m doing now. I’m, I’m doing the best I can.

I know in my daily life, the planet is number one, so I already do the best I can and there will probably be even better ways and. If anyone can give me one, I will try to find out whether that works for me. But, um, it would just be, I would be just at ease [00:10:00] and I wouldn’t think of whether it goes fast enough or not.

I would just do what I can and that would be enough.

Todd: Yeah. Cool. So turn the thought around. There’s not enough time to save the planet. If we go that slow.

Client: There is enough time to save the planet if we go that slow. That’s interesting because that comes close to one of the turnarounds that I was now working on with the other thought.

Okay?

Todd: Mm-hmm. What do you see?

Client: Um. One of the things that I saw with the other example, and it goes for this too, is that if it goes really fast, uh, a lot of people will, could be kind of disrupted or because it’s too fast. ’cause they cannot [00:11:00] adapt. So, so in a way, um, I would, I, I started to wonder what does that mean, fast and slow?

In a scenario like this. So yeah,

maybe it has to go this slow. That’s, uh, that’s what I feel Then.

Todd: Okay, so what are, like, can you be more specific in terms of what could be some of the disadvantages of going too fast or the advantages of going slow, um, as you play with this?

Client: Um, the advantage of going slow is, um, is that people can adapt more easily, I think.

And um,

Todd: and what does that mean? If you can, if, is there anything specific you can? [00:12:00]

Client: Ooh, it’s, it’s too huge. Many. It’s huge. I know there are so many, there are so many things. I mean, if I start thinking about that, everything is connected, so mm-hmm. If you start thinking of one little thing in our society and you start moving that around, all the other things start moving too.

So if you do that ecosystem. Yeah. Yeah. And if you do that really thoroughly, everything is disrupted. That’s how it feels to me. Mm-hmm. And then people have to rebuild themselves and, and their society, which is okay. I mean, if this would happen, then this is what happens. I mean mm-hmm. I live my life, like every, everything has disadvantages and advantages.

So, but, but a really specific thing I, I. It’s just an overall feeling that I have about this.

Todd: Okay. And um, I think you were starting to get specific there, [00:13:00] so,

Client: yeah.

Todd: So keep going. How else is, it could be true that, like how, what else are the advantages of slow? Like how is it that there’s enough time to save the planet even if we go that slow?

Client: Yeah. Um.

Most of the time when a human being learns something and it goes fast, um, they will forget. And when it goes slow, then it can, then, it can root in, in inside, so, mm-hmm. Maybe, maybe it has to be slow, because if, if we would start. To change something thoroughly that that is actually affecting everything then, then maybe we, we make it worse.

Maybe it has to be slow [00:14:00] because we then we can see more clearly.

Todd: Mm-hmm. Like you said, it’s more rooted. Yeah. Yes. I can see

Client: that.

Todd: We’re not really, we’re, we’re talking about two factors here. One is the climate itself, the change in the climate, which has physical effects on the climate, um, you know, and, and can be devastating.

Um, and the other is, uh, the people like the mindset of the whole human race, um, adjusting and changing to. Accept the reality of it and make changes to change that situation. And yeah, so there’s kind of a push pull between how fast does the climate change actually happening and how fast can humans go without it backfiring.

Uh, so yeah, there’s. [00:15:00]

Client: And I actually like that it’s, maybe, it sounds strange, but I, I, I like to live in these times because it’s so interesting to see what’s happening and how people evolve. Some, some people really evolve very quickly in, in all the matter of the climate change and others. And it’s interesting also to see what’s going on with the collective.

Like I, I really believe that’s, uh, that’s one of my not stressful thoughts. Mm-hmm. That if, if we reach 25% of, of people that really want to make changes and think differently already. Um, the rest will follow. It will just, it’ll just turn and it will, uh, a lot of things are going to happen then.

Todd: Well, that’s a great example right there of the, the turnaround.

There is enough time to save the planet. If we go slow, [00:16:00] maybe the slow. Is in the beginning like a Yes, exactly, like an exponential curve, right? It’s so slow and then, and then everyone follows at some point. Exactly.

Client: That’s how it feels to me. I even explain that to people. If they ask how, what do you mean then?

And then I, then I go look at the whole history of humankind, how that went, um, with the population. It went like this with, with, uh, the industrial revolution. It went like this. Everything that we do goes like that. It’s apparently, it seems to be part of our way of, of ev evolving. So, so I, I kind of think it’s going work this way as well for, with the climate change.

Yeah. And, and so

Todd: we’re, we tend to think in terms of linear. Changes like we’re on a line like this and if we keep going, it’s not gonna be enough time to reach. Yeah, exactly. It’ll be too [00:17:00] late, but we forget that it might be more like that. Yes, and And there will be time. Yeah. Depending on how that kicks in, so.

Mm-hmm. That’s interesting. Mm-hmm. There will be enough time to save the planet if we go that slow. Any other examples come up for you of how. Even at this pace of change, there still might be enough time to save the planet.

Client: Yes. Because I’m an impatient person.

Todd: So you’re seeing through the glasses of impatience. Yes, of course. It’s not, not fast enough. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So in reality, it might be. More. Okay. Than your mind sees it.

Client: Mm-hmm. Yeah, that’s for sure. Actually. I’m actually pretty sure about that. Anyway.[00:18:00]

Todd: Cool, cool. So that’s perspective. That’s what we do in this work is look for perspective, right? Mm-hmm. And this is, yeah. There might be a little bias inside of me who’s impatient, wanting it to be faster, but the reality may be, um, it’s okay. Are there any concrete things, examples to, to support that of how, even though you’re impatient, how it’s going one step at a time could actually.

Still work? Um, I don’t know. We found a few, but if there’s anything more,

Client: yeah, I don’t know exactly for climate change, but I noticed that in my life, like, um, whenever I’m, I have a mind that that easily starts worrying and then. Very often afterwards, after some time [00:19:00] I look back and then I think, why was I worrying?

I mean, there was no problem at all. You know, that kind of stuff. Mm-hmm. And I think in a way that also goes with the climate change, I don’t, I think in it’s, nobody knows what’s going to happen. Exactly. Uh, like in which parts of the world. Uh, things are going to be in a certain way. Actually, I don’t think people really know that.

We, we only know that in general. Right. Um, but then people are also preparing like, we’re gonna have a climate change anyway, so we will have to deal with it anyway. So let’s start, prepare. And so perhaps we find things that can help us. Um. Even when the climate has changed and then, and then looking back, you can say, oh man, and we were so much worrying about that and, [00:20:00] and we got a solution for it.

Todd: Right, right. Yeah. Yeah. It can happen. It can happen quickly. It’s like we never thought that the Berlin Wall would come down.

Client: Yeah.

Todd: You know, but then boom, it was done. It was just like, what? It’s over, like how did that happen?

Client: Exactly. Yeah. You never know.

Todd: And it’s also interesting, I’m just thinking aloud here, but, um, how sometimes when people get, uh, like when something starts to be really a. Gross example of climate change, like, I don’t know, it hasn’t, maybe it hasn’t happened yet, but something major happens like suddenly, uh, a a like a huge shift in the ice shelf happens, or like some water levels change or something even more major than is already happening.

If it was something [00:21:00] sudden, it might shift people quickly to, yeah. What can we do? And maybe it’s a little too late, but maybe, maybe we, human beings wait until the last second until we see the storm is here now. Uh, now I’m gonna try to do something. So, yeah.

Client: Yeah. And also I can feel in myself there is some kind of deep trust that the planet knows how to handle it.

The planet will find its own balance. Uh, I love it. Despite us,

Todd: I love it. I love it. Yes. Despite us, like we don’t have to control it a hundred percent. We have, we have caused some problems, some damages and everything, but we are also part of nature. Yep. And, but the planet has a way of, if it goes too far this way, it comes back this way and.

Client: And I heard on the radio, and that really made me [00:22:00] happy. There’s now a lot of buzz around natural intelligence as opposed to artificial intelligence. I’ve heard that several times on the radio here. Like, uh, people talking about that like, like natural intelligence is exactly that. That’s the planet that we have to kind of, we, we need to relearn how to surrender to the natural intelligence.

And so it, it, it looks a bit and, and yeah. Then if we start doing that. In the beginning, it will be slow, which is good. Mm-hmm. And then my feeling is that it will go exponential. Why? Because we are part of the planet. This is our true nature here on this earth. So yeah. So it may, may, uh, just turn out. Well, I hope

Todd: it’s so cool, just like internally.

’cause this work is always about our internal experience here and how you [00:23:00] see things and makes a, makes a difference. But how, um, internally. The, the experience instead of being one of panic is one of surrender one of trust. Yes. And like the, the world will balance itself out. We can trust that even if human beings don’t, aren’t a part of that equation.

Yeah. They don’t know. Yeah, exactly.

Client: Yeah.

Todd: But one way or the other, it’s going to, it’s going to balance itself out and who knows, it might balance itself out and manage to coexist with human beings as well. Who knows? Um mm-hmm. Yeah. So the, but, but what I was trying to say is the difference in feeling, right?

One is I’m powerless because I have to use my effort to change the world. The other is, I’m not powerless because natural intelligence will take care of it in the most. Mm-hmm. Uh, efficient way possible. That’s why. Oh, I found,

Client: I found [00:24:00] a nice paradox here.

Todd: Okay. What do you got?

Client: I’m not, I’m not powerless because I surrender.

Todd: Okay, say more.

Client: Um, surrendering in a way to many people, that means to lose power, to, to be like, like, I’m not in power anymore because I surrender, you know? Mm-hmm. And in this case, mm-hmm. And maybe always, I don’t know. I’m not powerless because I surrender.

Todd: Very interesting, right, that I agree. Like when do I feel powerless is when I haven’t surrendered and I’m trying to fight an impossible fight.

Exactly right. Yeah. So I feel powerless against climate change. I can’t change it, I can’t make it go faster. I can’t do anything. I can do very little. So I feel this feeling of powerless. Um, whereas surrender is like just seeing it differently. Just seeing it that. [00:25:00] Nature is taking care of itself. It will, it will find the balance.

And, um, I have, I’ve given up control in a way, but what I’ve, I really done is I’ve, I’m just acknowledging the truth is that I don’t have that much control. So I’ve accepted the fact that. I am not in control anyway. What makes me feel powerless is when I’m trying to control something Yes. That I can’t control.

Client: Yes, exactly. Yeah. Yeah. And if I surrender to, to that, then, then I, I naturally come back to what I can do.

Todd: Yes. Yes. Which is empowering, right? Yeah. Yes. There are things I can do. There are many things I can do. Yes. But what I’m seeing, the climate change, like this big thing, I’m like frozen. I can’t do even the small things.

Yeah, yeah. What we’re seeing,

Client: imagine that everyone does that individually like. [00:26:00]

Todd: Done. Done so, so

Client: let’s do the work all the time.

Todd: Yeah, everyone, let’s get outta the panic. Like there’s two things. One thing is being in denial, right? That that doesn’t work also. No. The other is being. Aware, but panicked. Mm-hmm.

Because it’s this huge thing and, uh, that doesn’t work either. Both lead to the same place of inaction. I’m not, I’m not taking action if I’m in denial, I’m not taking action if I’m panicked. So if I’m in the panic situation, at least then I can do the work and kind of, uh, come back to Okay. Surrender a bit and then what can I actually do, which is totally empowering.

And if we all do that, even if 25%, as you say, do that, it can make a huge difference, um, in the world. But even if the world doesn’t change, it makes a huge difference in my experience.

Client: Oh yeah. That’s [00:27:00] what’s

Todd: important.

Client: Yeah. That’s actually the main reason why I keep doing the work.

Todd: That’s it. That’s it. That’s it. The work is for my own inner experience and the more clarity and peace I have inside, then naturally the more more I can take action outside in an appropriate way that feels empowering, that actually can make a difference. But I’m not getting caught into a trap where I’m just making myself feel powerless.

Client: Mm-hmm.

Todd: So in conclusion, there is not enough time to save the planet if we go slow. Is that true? No.

Client: Well, it could be true of course, but

Todd: it could be true.

Client: It’s one of the possibilities

Todd: could be true, right? It could be [00:28:00] true and it might not be true. We’ll find out. Yes. I don’t need to panic now about it.

All I need to do is take my whatever action I can and. We’ll see we have front row seats.

Cool. Well thank you for this work, very engaging, very um, valuable and I appreciate it very much. Thank you.

Client: Thank you too.

Todd: If you would like to participate in open sessions like the one you heard just now, then go to the work as meditation.com and go to the open sessions page. This is a unique opportunity to be together and to question different stressful thoughts together and to ask any questions that may come up as you’re doing this work.

And, um, it’s a. Completely free experience. Plus I also give you a [00:29:00] $50 coupon. If you, uh, attend 10 sessions, every 10 sessions, you get another $50 coupon. And that’s my way of saying thank you for participating. I. While you’re at the work as meditation.com, I also encourage you to check out the virtual retreats page.

This is where we get together for a whole weekend, um, online virtually on Zoom to do the work over the whole weekend. It’s a retreat. You can actually. Book time off for yourself. Go to a Airbnb if you want to. Uh, but basically, uh, it’s time for going a little deeper in the work, and you’ll have that support of the community and the convenience of not having to travel.

Next, I’m gonna read one of my newsletter articles called A Formula for Growth.

It is wonderful to be pampered [00:30:00] during the rest phases of life. There are two alternative or alternating phases to life. The rest phase and the growth phase. The rest phase is delightful. We get to reap the fruits of our labor during the rest phase. We get to spend and we get to enjoy. I. Who doesn’t love this most popular phase of life?

The growth phase is also exciting. This phase sometimes gets overlooked or a little rushed when we have our sights on the upcoming rest phase ahead. It also has a bad reputation of being hard. This is where we stretch our boundaries, where we face our ignorance. Our incompetence and our shortcomings.

This [00:31:00] is when our buttons get pushed, but this is exactly when we grow, if we’re open to it.

The work of Byron Katie is a wonderful companion to the growth phase of life Whenever you want to grow, whenever you’re faced with your own confusion. About how to move forward. The work can be a catalyst for your growth. To my mind, there’s no better combination than a button pushing situation and the work.

Why? Because the work of Byron Katie helps you find your way when you’re not clear problems and a way to work through them. A match made in heaven for those who are interested in stretching and growing. And here’s a quote from Byron Katie’s book, I [00:32:00] Need Your Love. Is that true? Heaven, this is wonderful. I could stay here forever.

Hell, this is not quite perfect.

So thanks for listening and be sure, sure. To subscribe to this podcast, share it with a friend. Um, post something on social media. Leave a review for the podcast if you haven’t done that. And don’t forget, you can watch this or, or watch or listen to this podcast on many different channels, including YouTube and including, um, many different podcast broadcasts, um, apps.

So that includes Spotify, apple, and, uh, Amazon, many others. Stop by the work as meditation.com to get my newsletter to participate in open sessions like the one you heard here today. And you’ll also find hundreds of articles there on [00:33:00] my website about the work of Byron Katie, as well as information about the courses that I offer.

The work 1 0 2, the Work one, oh. Uh, work 1 0 1, the Work 1 0 2 Virtual Retreats, inquiry Circle The Breakfast Club. Private sessions, um, living with money course, finding the door to inquiry book, and all kinds of programs that I currently offer and will continue adding to in the future. So thanks again for being here with me, and until next time, have a great week.