Mindful Thought: The Inner Child

 

It is actually a medical term used in therapeutic applications in counseling and health settings.

It includes what a person learned as a child, before puberty. The inner child is often conceived as a semi-independent sub-personality subordinate to the waking conscious mind. 
The inner child encompasses the parts of our psyche that retain the qualities we all possessed as children. The joyful energies of creativity, curiosity, playfulness are potent: they can mobilize a collapsed system and be a catalyst in the healing process. 

Inner child also describes parts of us that have been deeply wounded. Various incidents in our childhood, especially highly charged ones, that left us hopeless, sad, angry, scarred and/or unsupported live unchanged in our subconscious.
Why does this happen? We simply did not have the cognition to understand what was happening and often there was no supportive presence to explain it to us. So, the emotion was left unprocessed and frozen, these early experiences leave “markers” in our body and mind, show up in adulthood as thoughts, beliefs, images and habits.

When we reconnect and resolve our childhood issues we reprogram the negative conditioning of the past with something more positive.

The cry we hear from deep in our hearts comes from the wounded child within. Healing this inner child’s pain is the key to transforming anger, sadness, and fear.
~Thich Nhat Hanh~

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese monk who is one of most important Mindfulness teacher of our time.

Based on Dharma talks by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and insights from participants in retreats for healing the inner child, this book is an exciting contribution to the growing trend of using Buddhist practices to encourage mental health and wellness. Reconciliation focuses on the theme of mindful awareness of our emotions and healing our relationships, as well as meditations and exercises to acknowledge and transform the hurt that many of us experienced as children. The book shows how anger, sadness, and fear can become joy and tranquility by learning to breathe with, explore, meditate, and speak about our strong emotions. Reconciliation offers specific practices designed to bring healing and release for people suffering from childhood trauma. The book is written for a wide audience and accessible to people of all backgrounds and spiritual traditions. Buy here

Thich Nhat Hanh
https://www.lionsroar.com/healing-the-child-within/

The meditation here is the key part as we use our imagination to connect with our inner child, we travel back to him or her to solve, heal and protect. When we feel anxious it is the inner child screaming, it is the inner child gasping for air. We go back in time to hold it, to show it compassion and to love it.
This can be a challenging exercise, so when you feel overwhelmed take a few deep breathes and invite someone in the imagination you trust and love that holds your hand, or holds you.
♥