How to fool your ego into releasing heavy burdens quickly

Some kind of Kryptonite was sucking away my life force several Thursdays ago.

Superman had a vibrant green radioactive element that drained his powers. Mine was draining from within.

Twelve hours flew by in what felt like 3 hours. The next day I sat in silence with my back against the bed for 15 minutes and out of nowhere the answer came.

It was a simple powerful solution to breaking free from the heavy emotions that lie deep at the bottom of your gut. It’s not always in your gut and instead it feels like a clamp wrapping around your chest without a release valve.

I’m going to share a technique that came to me from “thin air” and changed the way I deal with heavy burdens.

It requires tricking your ego.

Step 1. Sitting down is hard

But it must be done. Get away from the computer. Turn off the TV. Go to a quiet room.

Sit down.

This is the hardest step because you don’t consciously realize how critical it is to break away from distractions and sit down.

Sit down and close your eyes.

Don’t judge what’s going through your mind. It’s okay to let any thoughts flow freely. Let them pass like a stream of water going around rocks.

Step 2. Feel the Burden

Now feel the heavy burdensome feeling within you.

Feel it physically. Where is it located?

Is it in the chest, your gut, or elsewhere? Focus on the location. What is its size? Small or big?

Don’t judge it, don’t try to analyze why it’s there. Just feel it. You’re halfway done.

Step 3. Tricking the Ego

Mr. Ego — deep within us all — won’t let go of the heavy feeling. He won’t let it go because there’s a risk that if you let it go, it might be a permanent loss.

Put your MacGyver hat on and we’ll use a trick to bypass the fear of loss.

As you’re feeling the heavy burden, ask your mind:

Can I release this feeling for only 30 seconds?

You’ll probably feel no resistance in saying yes to this request. It’s a simple, short, and temporary request. If you feel resistance, repeat the question but lower the number of seconds to 15 or less. Resistance should be gone.

If that’s the case, take a deep breath in and feel that heavy burden expanding within you. Make that feeling big within you. Hold the breath for just a couple of seconds.

Breathe in and imagine the heavy feeling getting bigger within you.

Now breathe out while feeling and visualizing that heavy burden exiting your body. Feel that weight moving out of your body into the air. Let your shoulders slump a little bit as you exhale.

Breathe out and imagine that heavy feeling getting smaller and leaving your body.

You did it.

You’re in a relaxed state. A load is off your chest and it is temporarily gone.

Step 4. Check and repeat

You now feel much lighter than before. Go deep and feel whether the burden is partially gone or fully gone.

If some of it remains, repeat the steps to release what is left.

Amplify technique to specific burdens

There’s powerful way to amplify this technique and make it emotionally specific.

When you’re on Step 2, give the emotion you’re trying to release a name. Some of these can be:

• Fear
• Grief
• Depression
• Guilt
• Insecurity
• Hate
• Anger
• Blame
• Worry
• Doubt

For example, let’s try to find where guilt is located. Find it in your body, visualize it, and use the steps above to release it.

It’s a simple technique. By fooling the ego with a temporary release you’ll be able to release the burden altogether.