
Meditation To Build A Secure Attachment To The Inner Child
by Candy Dowson
Learn to meet the Inner Child and begin a relationship of equals on your healing journey. This is a powerful somatic journey to connect with the Inner Child. It is suitable for use once or twice a week, or as a one-off. Music Composer: Christopher Lloyd Clarke, Enlightened Audio (fully licensed audio use for Arras Healing)
Transcript
This meditation will support you to break down the walls to your inner child and start to build in a relationship with him or her.
I recommend doing this meditation a few times per week as you begin your inner child healing journey.
The inner child is all the young parts of ourself who were not seen properly,
Heard properly,
Validated properly or loved properly.
These parts retreated to the sidelines and to the shadows over a long period of time.
By our teen years and by adulthood,
All of us have an inner child who feels wounded and unseen and unloved.
It is our role as adults to go back for these parts which feel unloved and reassure them that they belong with us,
That they are extraordinary and that they do not need to do anything to be worthy of love,
Because they already are love.
If you are ready to begin,
Please take a moment to get comfortable.
You may be lying down or seated.
You may begin to close down your eyes or soften them.
Begin now to allow gravity to do its job.
Imagine that gravity is pulling you down and grounding you more to the room you are in,
To the ground that you walk upon.
Allow gravity to really start to do its job as you are surrendering to its pull on your body.
You even allow gravity to support your breath to deepen so your exhales begin to be longer and more settled.
Your inhales are lighter and easier and softer.
Your breathing deepens in your body as you sink more into this moment.
Sinking more into this moment.
This is your time and space to be with your inner child now.
There is nowhere else that you need to be.
There are no appointments to keep,
Or errands to run,
Or emails to respond to,
Or messages to reply to.
You are here.
This is your time.
This is your space.
No interruptions.
Give yourself full permission to be here with yourself and with this meditation.
This is your time and space.
Grant yourself this.
This is yours.
And so starting to relax and slow down,
Becoming more present at the same time,
More aware of your breathing,
More aware of your body.
Allow the weight of your body,
Your body weight,
To ground you.
Allow the weight of your body to bring you to presence,
Into this moment,
Into this time and space,
So that you begin to get a sense of being more here,
More here.
Right here and right now with yourself.
You are becoming more self-attuned,
And you are becoming more embodied by listening to the breath and to your body.
If you would like some more relaxation,
Notice your pelvis and sit bones.
See if you can allow those to soften some more.
Notice your jaw and your cheeks.
Notice your eyebrows and your eyelids.
Allow these to soften and relax.
You can even allow your ears to relax.
And all around your crown and your skull.
Allowing these areas to relax.
Even seeing if you can allow your brain to relax.
That place between your ears softening the mind.
Softening the mind and the thoughts.
Letting them grow easy and soft and quiet.
Noticing your shoulders and allowing these to relax.
And your chest and your heart space.
Down to your stomach and to your thighs.
Allowing all of these areas to gently relax and slow down.
This is your time and this is your space.
There is nowhere else to be right now.
Only here.
Beginning now to get a sense of yourself.
In this present moment,
Here you are.
You are this extraordinary body and this extraordinary breath.
You are this extraordinary awareness that can take in all of these things.
And maybe also,
As you listen,
You can get a sense of your heart and the space around your heart.
Notice if it is tight or tense.
Or maybe it is numb and feels a bit offline.
Or maybe you don't feel much at all.
Just notice all of this.
Don't judge it.
Don't interpret it.
Don't do anything with it.
Just notice it.
Your heart and the space around your heart and your chest.
Just notice.
Not judging or analysing or critiquing.
Perhaps the heart feels open and easy.
Maybe it is quite accessible to you.
Or maybe it isn't.
Again,
Just noticing.
Relaxing a little bit more into that noticing.
It is okay to do this.
Because you are grounded.
And you are with your body and with your breath.
And gravity is holding you.
And this moment is holding you.
Be patient and take your time with this.
Be curious.
Noticing the heart.
How is the heart today?
Noticing what you can or can't feel.
And being curious and soft about that noticing.
No forcing,
No pulling or pushing.
Just a soft kind of noticing.
A soft kind of gaze upon your own heart.
Some longer exhales here.
Taking your time.
Because this is your time and space.
There is nowhere else you need to be.
And now,
Perhaps,
If it feels okay to do so,
Try to visualise yourself as a child.
It doesn't matter what age you are.
See what age comes to mind first.
Whatever age comes into your mind first,
That is the right one.
Allow that image of yourself to come forth if you can.
Maybe you are 5 or 6 years old.
Maybe you are 8 or 9.
Maybe it is another age altogether.
Maybe you are seeing a particular memory or a particular moment.
Maybe you are seeing an old photograph of yourself or something else altogether.
Whatever it is,
Be gentle with that noticing.
Again,
Don't judge it or interpret it.
Just allow this child to be there.
Just allow this child to be there.
This child that was you.
This child that is you.
The child you carry inside.
This precious cargo.
Just allow this precious cargo that you are carrying to linger here for a while.
And allow yourself,
If you can,
Permission to linger here with him or with her.
Linger in here with your inner child.
Maybe you can make a little bit of eye contact with your inner child.
Just be slow and curious about this.
And very patient.
Just noticing how that feels.
How it feels to make eye contact with yourself at this age.
To really see yourself.
And notice if the child responds at all.
Whether they are shy or whether they are confident.
Maybe they are something else.
Just notice and do not judge.
See if you can remain open to your noticing.
And while you are noticing,
Letting gravity continue to do its work,
Grounding you.
And as you are noticing,
Letting the weight of your body also ground you.
And remaining in touch with yourself and your breath.
And see now if the child in your mind's eye is aware that you are here.
Can he or she sense your presence?
Just notice softly.
Do they know that you are here?
Just notice.
Take your time.
Does my inner child know me?
Do they recognize me?
Do they notice I am here?
I am here,
Little one.
I am here,
Little one.
Yes,
I am here,
Little one.
Do you notice me here?
Take your time with all of this.
We are practicing this.
We are practicing being with our inner child and connecting to them.
So be gentle with yourself and easy with yourself as you tune into this and practice.
Both you and your inner child deserve this grace.
And deserve this time and space.
See if you can soften a little more into spending time here,
Noticing your inner child.
And noticing whether or not they notice you.
Curious,
Patient.
Not analyzing any of this,
Taking your time.
There is plenty of time.
And while you are doing this,
Gently notice if there is any part of your body where it seems like your inner child is more present and more available.
Sort of whether there is any part of the body where it seems like the inner child spends more time.
Without you realizing before,
Until now.
Maybe it is the chest or the shoulders.
Maybe it is the heart or the heart space.
Maybe it is the stomach or the abdomen.
Maybe it is the sacrum and the pelvic region.
Or maybe it is the arms and the legs.
Maybe it is something else altogether.
But be gentle in your witnessing and noticing.
Does it seem like the inner child stays in a certain part of my body?
Does it seem like my inner child wants to take space in a part of my body?
Or maybe they already do and I just haven't noticed before.
So just gently notice and take your time.
And it's okay if nothing comes.
And it's okay if you're not sure.
Just acknowledge what instinct comes.
Take your time acknowledging it,
Whatever it is.
Yes or no,
Nothing or something,
Maybe somewhere in between.
Take your time in noticing that.
That's all you ever have to do.
Now,
If it feels possible to you,
Notice if you can sense the inner child noticing you do that.
Does my child notice that I witness her,
Him?
Does my child notice that I am curious about her,
Him?
Does my child notice that I am here with them?
I am interested in getting to know them.
For it to be on their terms and with their consent and at their own time and pace.
Does my inner child know that I am here?
We will repeat these inquiries in a moment.
Just take your time and be curious with all this.
Okay,
If it feels possible to you,
Notice if you sense that the inner child knows you're here.
Just notice it softly.
There is no hurry.
There is no right or wrong answer.
And you can't get anything wrong here.
Does my child notice that I witness him or her?
Does my child notice that I am curious about him or her?
Just notice it.
Just being interested in what the answer may be.
Taking your time with it.
Does my child notice that I am here with them?
And interested in getting to know them?
And learning about them?
And taking them seriously?
Just noticing.
Do they notice that I am here with them?
If so,
Where do I feel that in the body?
Do I feel it anywhere?
Take your time.
Noticing if there is a part of the body where it feels like the inner child may be taking up space.
Where he or she may quietly live.
And until now,
We might not have noticed.
But now we are ready to notice.
We are interested in learning.
Does my inner child know that I am here?
Noticing.
Noticing.
Very good.
Allowing gravity to keep you feeling grounded.
Allowing the weight of your body to center you in this moment.
Noticing the possibilities that emerge for inner child connection when we become more still and slow down.
And become more present and willing to notice.
Willing to pay attention.
As all children need.
As all children need.
Our noticing.
Our presence.
Our undivided attention.
All children deserve this.
You deserve this.
Your inner child is worthy of this.
Before bringing this to a close,
There are a few affirmations that we're going to allow the inner child to hear.
Just so that they can start to get to know you.
And start to get to trust in you.
And build in that relationship.
So again,
Bringing that image to mind of your child.
If you have one.
It may also be a feeling now.
A feeling of where they live in your body,
In your energy field.
Or maybe it is both.
A visual and a feeling.
There is no right or wrong way of doing this.
But just tune in into that again.
And some affirmation statements will follow.
You don't need to repeat these,
But you can if you would like to.
Just say them over in your head or under your breath.
There will be a short pause after each statement.
Each statement will be repeated twice.
Noticing your inner child.
And noticing if they are noticing you.
There is no right and wrong here.
No analyzing.
I am with my inner child.
I am willing to get to know my inner child.
I am willing to get to know my inner child.
I am willing to get to know my inner child.
I would like to become available to my inner child.
I would like to become available to my inner child.
When the inner child is ready,
I am ready to be trusted.
When the inner child is ready,
I am ready to be trusted.
I notice that the inner child waits for me.
I notice that the inner child waits for me.
I honor the patience and courage of my inner child.
I honor the patience and courage of my inner child.
I am ready to see my inner child as extraordinary.
I am ready to see my inner child as extraordinary.
I am ready to see my inner child as extraordinary.
I am here with my inner child.
I am here with my inner child.
This place is always available for us to connect.
This place is always available for us to connect.
I would like to get to know my inner child.
I would like to get to know my inner child.
Breathing,
Noticing,
Allowing gravity and your body weight to ground you in this time and space.
In this moment,
Where you are relaxed.
Taking it easy with yourself.
And being patient with any somatic responses or feelings in your body that may stir.
Or may come up with these statements.
Being steady and gentle with yourself about those.
Being curious,
Not making anything right or wrong.
You are doing really well.
Taking your time,
Being patient.
Now if you can,
Take your leave of the inner child in whatever way feels right for you now.
Maybe it is a little wave,
Maybe it is a smile.
Maybe it is placing a hand over your heart or over your stomach.
Or maybe it is both and all of these.
Maybe it is a hug or a cuddle.
Maybe you are handing the inner child a balloon or a teddy bear or a football.
Whatever it is,
Gently taking your temporary leave of the child.
The connection is made.
The inner child knows you are here.
Knows you are listening.
Knows you are interested in being present with them now.
So they will gradually become more available to you now.
Gradually the inner child will begin to teach you and show you and guide you.
And in turn you will be able to teach and guide them too.
This will be a relationship of equals now.
This will be a relationship of equals.
Of reciprocity.
Of care and respect.
And of reverence.
It is okay to honour the inner child.
It is one of the greatest gifts that you can give yourself to do that.
Okay.
Now beginning to bring your attention back to your body,
Your arms,
Your legs,
Your feet.
Bringing attention back to the room that you are in.
More attention to your breathing now.
Maybe take a longer,
Deeper exhale.
Maybe you need to stretch and move a little bit.
And when you are ready,
Begin to open your eyes again.
Take some time to orient.
Orient yourself to your surroundings,
To your room,
To your body.
Before you go into your next activity,
Take some time to digest for a little while if you can.
Maybe only five minutes before moving into your next activity.
Be patient and gentle with yourself.
Knowing that your inner child is ready when you are.
And this is a relationship of equals.
And this meditation comes to a gentle close now.
You can come back to this meditation at any time in the future.
This meditation comes to a gentle close now.
