An Exercise in Healing the Inner Child
The inner child is that part of you that feels hope, joy, optimism, and a sense of safety in the world such that you know that it’s okay to play and to embody yourself authentically. Over time many of us adopt the learned habits of worry, fear, cynicism, and self-inhibition as a means of defending ourselves from uncertainty, pain, and conditional care, or the absence of support outright. In adulthood, the key to balancing this excess ego focus on protecting ourselves from the patterns of hurt we’ve experienced is to reconnect to our inner child in the remembrance that love is always possible.
🌻 INNER CHILD HEALING EXERCISE 🌻 Breathe deeply, until you reach a state of relaxation. When you're ready, consider the following: What did childhood feel like for you?
What are your most painful memories from when you were young, and how do they shape your current mode of engagement with the world?
What would it feel like for you to release the fear that you still carry from those events?
Now -
When did you feel really happy as a child?
What’s a memory of a time where you felt safe, joyful, and loved?
Invoke the feeling you experienced in that moment and let it wash over you.
Imagine that the feeling is a balm that soothes the hurt that you’ve experienced.
Know that this love is accessible to you at all times.
MANTRA: I am free to be myself and I’m free to play. I open my heart to joy. I am safe to create. I surrender my heart to all the love that the world has to offer.