I came across a fashionable word on the Internet, downshifting. I remembered several acquaintances and long-time clients who were passionate about spiritual practices and self-discovery. I decided to write my own observations, in case it helps someone in finding themselves or when working with clients. Downshifting is a term that denotes a life philosophy of rejecting opinions, values ​​imposed by society, living for oneself, and self-realization. Downshifters are people who tend to refuse to achieve the benefits promoted by society, career growth, money, power, material values. These are realized people who have challenged themselves, the world, to achieve freedom, creativity, genius, and self-realization. Echoes of the ideology of downshifters can be seen in hippie culture, New Age philosophy, as well as Buddhism. The term downshifting itself is translated as “draining,” avoidance, refusal. At first glance, downshifting looks like a step towards your Soul or Spirit, the path to God. But is this always the case, and is this true for everyone? Let’s find out! In our culture, spirituality, freedom and self-realization are often opposed to knowledge, power, influence, money. People say: money is evil, power is evil, meat is murder, the world is sinful - let's leave and not participate in this! But after refusing and “leaving,” whether they became more free and fulfilled is the question! It's like weeding the garden beds. It’s as if if you pull out the weeds, useful plants can grow in the garden on their own. One of the widespread systems of delusions is the holy belief in the primordial purity and divinity of man, which denies any work on oneself, searches and practices. Sit, do nothing, and the good world will give you everything! How is an exception possible! But more often than not, it doesn’t! If a person lived in society, then there can be no talk of any pristine purity - he is not Mowgli, and grew up among people. And so the person refuses everything. But! For a person who had no achievements, power, material values, money, knowledge, relationships, giving up all of this is not true downshifting. It is impossible to give up what you don’t have, rather it is a refusal of the opportunity for you to have it - this is a false downshift. With false downshifting, a person, by running away, repeatedly reduces the degree of internal freedom, fulfillment and the number of available choices, instead of increasing them. That is, he “merges” Himself, maintaining weakness and failure in Himself both in the physical and spiritual world. At the same time, people rarely ask themselves about what motives prompt them to run away or avoid life’s challenges; they forget that we all come from childhood and the choices we make are based on the knowledge and skills we have. And often it is not the choice of a realized person and a winner - a challenge, but the choice of a loser - avoidance. Fears, doubts, shame, guilt, complexes, traumas. All this unprocessed “heritage” is frightening and a person habitually avoids situations and circumstances that are difficult for him, without caring, he does not take steps towards Himself, does not receive lessons, does not develop, but on the contrary avoids, ignores Himself. Because in order to give up something you need to have it. If you want to give up a strong Ego, it is first important to make it strong - strengthen it, and develop it - so that you have something to give up. And this is studying and exploring yourself, taking responsibility for your actions and choices, vital activity and participation in your own life. This is an understanding of what You really like, setting goals, actions in this direction, attributing the result to Yourself, accepting and realizing Yourself, loving Yourself with all the shortcomings and imperfections. If we go through a full cycle of achievements, learn from our experience, realize and accept ourselves, this makes us stronger and more realized. If we have studied ourselves and the world, become successful, masters of our craft and abandoned the Ego, this is true downshifting. This is modesty, leaving the world for the sake of spiritual development - so that Spirit, God, Talent - something more and!