September
Healing Goddess Guidance
The
Healing Goddess steps forward in September to embrace you with her light, love
and warmth. She is here to remind each
of us that we have an obligation to love, nurture and protect the inner child
that lives within each of us. The child
who is at our core and is the most impressionable and vulnerable. How many of you have forgotten about this
aspect of yourself? It is she who takes
the impact when you are hurt or angry.
It is she who finds creative expression and pleasure in the small
things. It is she who wants to be unrestrained and free against society and the
restrictions around conformity. It is
she who needs to be loved, guided and nurtured.
Just
as an adult should protect a child the Healing Goddess asks that we take the
same steps to protect the child that resides within each of us. This is where the beginning of your healing
can take place. Start by sitting with a
picture of your younger self. What would you say? How would you communicate with this child? As
this child’s protector, how will you support and help this child. How will you
allow this child to express themselves in a positive and a productive way? If you could tell them how special and
important they are, what would you say? Remember, you are the parent to your
own inner child.
If
you are starting your pathway to healing but you simply don’t know how to
start. Start at the beginning. What
would your life look like now as an adult if you had been fully supported and
guided as a child? Even through our bad
decisions, heartaches and failures we still have an opportunity to transmute
these into constructive and positive outcomes.
The lessons that cross out path are always an opportunity for spiritual
growth. Be your inner child’s advocate
and do not be afraid to stand in your power.
The
Healing Goddess feels and understands our pain. She sees the potential in each
of us. She desires for all to be content and happy. She wants to see us succeed. She wants to encourage
us to live to our fullest potential Everyone wants to be heard and our inner
child is no different. You just have to be ready to listen.
Michelle’s Toolkit for July –
Meditation: Contacting Your Inner Child
Get comfortable, either sitting or
lying down. If you're sitting up, be sure your back is supported so you can sit
straight. If you're lying down, lie down comfortably, flat on your back. Close
your eyes.... Take a deep breath, and as you exhale, relax your body.... Take
another deep breath, and as you exhale, relax your body deeper and deeper....
Take another deep breath, and as you exhale, imagine relaxing your body as
completely as you can. Your whole body is now completely relaxed....
Take another deep breath, and as you
exhale, relax your mind.... Let your thoughts float away; let your mind come
into stillness and quiet.... Take another deep breath, and as you exhale,
imagine moving your awareness into a deep, quiet place inside of you....
Then imagine that you're walking
down that beautiful path to your inner sanctuary.... And as you walk down the
path, you feel more and more relaxed, centered, and comfortable. You enter your
sanctuary and sense and feel the beauty and comfort of nature all around you....
Take a few moments to get in touch
with your sanctuary, to remember some of the details about this place, and to
let yourself enjoy being there.... Imagine that you're walking around your
sanctuary noticing the various plants and animals, feeling the sun or the
breeze, and a little way off in the distance, across the sanctuary, you become
aware of the presence of a small child.... As you start to move toward the
child, you see or sense whether it's a boy or girl, about how old it is, and
what the child is doing....
Slowly move toward the child, and as
you get closer, notice how the child is dressed.... Allow yourself to sense how
the child is feeling emotionally. Approach the child and make contact in
whatever way you sense would be appropriate right now....
Ask the child if there is anything
it wants to tell you or wants to communicate to you. It may be in words or it
may be in some other way. Allow yourself to receive whatever the child wants to
communicate....
Now ask the child what it needs most
from you, right now or in your life in general.... Listen to what the child has
to tell you, whether in words or in other ways....
Spend a little time being with your
child.... Allow the child to guide you in the appropriate way to be with it,
whether playing together or simply sitting close or holding each other....
The child has a special gift to give
you. Allow yourself now to receive the gift the child has for you.... Continue
to be with your child.... Let the child know that you want to be in contact
with it as much as you can from now on....
Complete your time together for
right now in whatever way feels good for both of you. You and the child have a
choice to make. The child can choose to remain there in the sanctuary, in a
very safe place inside of you, and you can come to visit the child in your
sanctuary. Or, the child can come with you when you leave the sanctuary. Your
child will know which way feels best for right now, and it can always change in
the future.
If the child is going to stay in the
sanctuary, say goodbye for now. Let the child know that you will come back as
often as you can, and that you want to know how the child feels and what it
needs from you in your life....
If the child is coming with you,
take it in your arms or by the hand and start to walk up the path out of the
sanctuary. As you walk up the path, feel yourself alive, filled with energy,
balanced, and centered....
Become aware of your body in the
room, and when you feel ready, open your eyes and come back into the room.
7 Things Your Inner Child Needs to Hear You Say
Say These 7 Things to Heal and Nurture Your Inner Child
1. I love you.
As children, a lot of us believed that we needed to accomplish goals—get good grades, make the team, fill our older siblings’ footsteps—to be lovable.We may not have had parents who told us we deserved love, no matter what we achieved. Some of us may have had parents who considered showing love and tenderness to be a sign of weakness. But we can tell ourselves that we are loveable now.
Say it whenever you see yourself in the mirror. Say it in any random moments. Love is the key to healing, so give it to yourself.
2. I hear you.
Oftentimes when we feel hurt, we push down our feelings and try to act strong. For a lot of us, this stems from childhood, when we frequently heard, “Quit your crying or I’ll give you something to cry about.”But those feelings don’t just go away. They fester inside of us, affecting the choices we make as adults until we make the conscious effort to hear them.
Instead of suppressing the voice of your inner child, say, “I hear you. We’ll work through it. It’s going to be okay.”
3. You didn’t deserve this.
As children, many of us assumed that we deserved to be abused, shamed, or abandoned. We told ourselves that we were a bad kid, that we did something wrong.But that’s simply not true. In many cases, the people who wounded us simply didn’t know any other way. Perhaps my mum was beaten as a child, so it was the only way she knew how to parent her daughter.
A child is innocent and pure. A child does not deserve to be abused, shamed, or abandoned. It’s not the child’s fault, and though we may not have had the capacity to understand this then, now, as adults, we do.
4. I’m sorry.
I’ve always been an overachiever. I considered slowing down a sign of weakness.Not too long ago, I was constantly stressed about not doing enough. I couldn’t enjoy time with my kids because I’d be thinking about work.
One day it dawned on me that since I was a child I’d been pushing myself too hard. I never cut myself any slack. I would criticize myself if I simply wanted to rest. So I told my inner child I was sorry.
She didn’t deserve to be pushed so hard, and I don’t deserve it now as an adult either.
I’ve since allowed myself a lot more downtime, and my relationships with my loved ones have improved as a result.
5. I forgive you.
One of the quickest ways to destroy ourselves is to hold on to shame and regret.The first night my mum returned home when I was fourteen, she asked to sleep with me. We only had two beds at that time, one for me and one for my dad. I couldn’t fall asleep, and I kept rolling around. Then all of a sudden, my mum blurted out, “Stop moving, you *sshole!”
The next day, I put a sign on my door that read “No Unauthorized Entry” to prevent her from coming in. My mum left again. Then, a few days after, my dad told me that they were getting a divorce (after being separated for eight years).
I thought it was my fault. Why did I have to roll around and so childishly put up a sign?
But now I know that their divorce wasn’t my fault. And I forgive myself for anything I could have done better. I was only a kid, and like everyone, I was and am human and imperfect.
6. Thank you.
Thank your inner child for never giving up, for getting through the tough moments in life together with you with strength and perseverance.Thank your inner child for trying to protect you, even if her way was holding on to painful memories.
Your inner child doesn’t deserve your judgment. S/he deserves your gratitude and respect.
7. You did your best.
As a child, I always tried to outperform, to overachieve, to meet someone else’s standard, to be “perfect.”I was always demanding and cruel to myself, and no matter how well I did, I never felt it was good enough.
But I did the best I could at the time, and you did too. We’re still doing the best we can, and we deserve credit for that.
When we let go of perfection, the fear of failure recedes. Then we can allow ourselves to experiment and see how things unfold.
Books
Recovery of your Inner Child by Lucia Capacchione, PH. D.