6 steps to inner freedom

Don’t miss anything, keep track of everything and count and take everything into account: kilometers, calories, minutes, pluses and minuses … At first glance, this is what you need – only this usually leads to tension and does not combine well with the optimism and pleasure that we could would receive from every day. But how to get rid of the tyrant within us? Psychologist Saverio Tomasella suggests following a few guidelines.

1. I draw infinity…

…and open myself to millions of possibilities. This simple exercise was suggested by the Swiss psychiatrist Roger Vitto. It is designed to calm and unite the two hemispheres of the brain. As a result, you open up physically and mentally, as if your spirit has finally gone off the beaten track.

Sit on a chair, close your eyes, place your feet parallel, pressing tightly to the floor, feel how your buttocks and back rest on the chair, how lightly your head rests on your shoulders. Just listen to the sensations.

With your eyes closed, imagine holding a piece of chalk or a felt-tip pen and draw a large, horizontally elongated figure eight, the sign of infinity. Repeat the exercise several times.

Place your hand on your thigh or lower it along your torso.

Draw mentally the sign of infinity, carefully listening to your body and sensations. Repeat several times, and when the feeling becomes clear, open your eyes.

2. I’m getting out of my old role

From childhood, we play one or more roles in order to be pleasant, interesting, so as not to be rejected in the family or community. And often, over time, this role begins to limit our freedom, fetters our inner nature and does not allow us to move. To shed these “old masks,” as Saverio Tomasella calls them, identify them and address your desires.

What role(s) am I playing? Am I my own rival? If yes, in what? Are you ready to give up the role of any social character, from striving for perfection?

Listen to deep desires and personal needs. Analyze every aspect of your life—the rhythm, the sources of growth, the types of relationships—and ask yourself, “Is this really me?” You will feel when the answer is sincere, when you are closest to your nature and true aspirations.

3. I allow myself to be surprised

Life will give us a lot of gifts if we are open and ready to accept them. To understand how you are configured, answer the questions:

• Do you pay attention to coincidences?
• What place do you give to surprises in your life?
• Do you let the unexpected confuse you? Do you deal with anxiety? Losing control?
• Do you arrange surprises for those you love?

If most of your answers are “no”, think about what you could do right now so that your horizons expand, life sparkles with new colors and more of the unexpected comes into it.

4. I live life to the fullest

“We tend to narrow our lives, while the life of any person is always a dynamic expansion,” says Saverio Tomasella. – Therefore, there is no reason to artificially close. Real relaxation opens the way to freedom, growth and flight.” Of course, this is not about excesses – you just need to allow yourself to turn around without fear and self-restraint in all directions.

Spend more time, space, the significance of the inner life, emotional experiences, creativity. To do this, first think about everything (and everyone) that impoverishes and diminishes your life and, therefore, harms you, and about what enriches, contributing to personal growth.

Dare, devote time and space to dreams: what fascinates you, attracts, inspires, awakens desires? Do not neglect what is valuable, let the seeds of meaning germinate in your life.

5. I listen to my feelings.

To relax means to let go of the past and stop looking anxiously into the future, it is, first of all, a return to the present. Better than anything else, focusing on bodily sensations will help us.

Sit down or lie down for a minute in a secluded place and … Close your eyes and listen to your body – where it tenses up, where it relaxes. Listen to silence or noises, sounds, voices, music. Open your eyes and look around. Touch your skin, things, chair or bed. Smell the room smells, perfumes.

Then stand up and try to fully feel the fact of your presence here, in a standing position.

6. I digest emotions

Your existence may be poisoned by some destabilizing and prolonged emotion. This exercise will help you digest it so you can move on with your life.

Concentrate on the shock you experienced. Close your eyes. Remember the situation and relive the moment of its apogee.

Observe how your body reacts to the feeling you are experiencing. Describe aloud the sensations that you experience, pointing to the places in the body where they manifested themselves. Let them pass, then describe the changes in bodily sensations. When the physical manifestations have completely disappeared, open your eyes and think again about the original situation. Repeat the exercise as needed until the brain has digested the emotions.