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COURSE

Therapy Toolkit: Move From Fear To Fearless

With Charles Freligh, PhD

In this 10-day course, Charles will share some core principles he has found useful in his experience as a psychotherapist, with a particular focus on facing the existential realities of life. By exploring why it can be so challenging for us to “just be present,” or why we repeat self-defeating patterns, these teachings will help you identify areas that you may be feeling stuck in your life and how to live in a way that is less avoidant, more present, and increasingly authentic. You will develop a clarified sense of your “false self” and will learn strategies to help you embrace your “less false self” despite the fear of doing so, which can ultimately result in reduced anxiety, anger, sadness, and regret in life. Some sessions will provide more content and others will provide more practical or experiential exercises to offer a complementary combination of the conceptual and the practical.

As a trained psychotherapist, Charles offers us the tools to face the existential realities of life and live with less fear, fewer regrets, and greater presence and authenticity.

10 Days

19.3k students

4.8 stars

18 min / day

English

About this course

Inner Child Visualization

Existential Inquiry

Clearing a Space

Meet your Teacher

Charles Freligh, PhD

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Northfield, MN 55057, USA

Charles Freligh is a psychotherapist in the final year of his doctoral training, a psychology instructor, and a long-time meditation practitioner. He has experience leading mindfulness and meditation courses for a variety of audiences and has published original research in the peer-reviewed journal Mindfulness as well as writes the Mindful Lens column for Nature’s Best Photography Magazine. Charles’ goal is to combine his knowledge and experiences from the worlds of psychology and mindfulness – two worlds that he believes coalesce quite nicely - in order to provide you with a unique training. He is additionally a lover of philosophy and draws upon a variety of sources and traditions in his teachings on well-being, without espousing any particular ideology. Each year Charles travels to a Zen Buddhist monastery for weeks at a time, and explains that this is not because he considers himself “Buddhist,” but rather he views the experience as an essential yearly tradition of galvanizing his meditation practice with one-pointed focus and no distraction, with the aim of making himself a better instructor and hopefully a wiser, more compassionate person.

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10 Days

19.3k students

4.8 stars

18 min / day

English

Lesson 1

The Hourglass

In today's lesson Charles will introduce cycle breathing, which will be a core practice throughout the course. He will explain the meaning of "existential distress" at the core of his psychotherapy work and will use the visual metaphor of an hourglass to illustrate both how we get stuck in life and how we can get unstuck. He will also share a story from the Sufi tradition and provide you with his own personal example of being stuck in the center of the hourglass as motivation to work together toward unstuckness through the rest of the course.

Lesson 2

The Spacesuit

In today's lesson Charles will discuss the concept of the "inner child" and utilize the visual of a spacesuit to illustrate the ways in which we've coped with our childhood environment that may no longer be serving us. He will also provide a guided practice that offers a way of communicating to the inner child that may change our experience of strong emotions.

Lesson 3

The Curiosity Cure

In today's lesson Charles will emphasize the importance of not always having to have an intellectual understanding of the way thing are, and will provide a visual metaphor and practice based on opening up to the possibility of this moment (and how curative this can be for our experience of distress). He will also provide space and permission for not needing things to be different than they are - at all - in this moment.

Lesson 4

Matching Meaning

In today's lesson Charles provide core principles of clear communication that may be particularly useful in conflict or misunderstandings. He will explain the concept of the Johari Window, share a therapeutic technique of "saying back," and describe the difference between "process" and "content" in communication, all in an effort to help you remove the spacesuit and connect with others in an increasingly authentic and real way.

Lesson 5

The Right Brain

In today's lesson Charles will provide a basic description of the difference between the left and right brain and emphasize the importance of something he calls "brain balancing." He will provide an extended exercise focused on tapping into the right brain, which may help us access and attend to the inner child that is still alive in us.

Lesson 6

Coping With Overwhelming Feelings

In today's lesson Charles will honor how difficult it can be to move into strong emotions (i.e., moments of the inner child calling out), and will provide some methods of coping with them in the moment. He will further explain the use of cycle breathing throughout the course and will offer guidance through a grounding exercise he refers to as Notice 3 Things.

Lesson 7

The Thought Train

In today's lesson Charles will explore the ways that we can get stuck in habitual thinking and living patterns, and will provide methods of transcending these patterns while also honoring the ways they have helped/protected us in the past (particularly in relation to the needs and fears of the inner child). He will also share a visualization exercise he refers to as Noticing the Train, which you can use both as a meditation practice as well as in your daily life to help you notice when you have stepped into autopilot, and develop a new ability to step back out into more freedom and authenticity in the present moment.

Lesson 8

The "Less False Self"

In today's lesson Charles will explore the concept of the "true self" and provide his perspective on why the "less false self" may be more helpful in our search for authenticity, connection, and happiness. He will provide a guided exercise to help the various parts of ourselves (e.g., the Inner Critic and the Inner Child) communicate directly and feel more integrated and whole.

Lesson 9

Intersections Of Identity

In today's lesson it might be helpful to have something to write on (though it is okay to engage in the exercise just in your mind). Charles will discuss the ways in which our various personal identities intersect and the role that this plays in therapeutic healing. He will finish the lesson with a guided exercise referred to as "Who Am I?"

Lesson 10

Playing The Game

In today's lesson Charles will recap the course and provide you with a mesage on the role you are playing in his life and the courageous act you are taking to truly live in the face of the inherent insecurity and uncertainty of this life. He shares a final message about playing the game of life and a freestyle exercise of embracing play in whatever way feels right to you.