Welcome to this meditation on loving your inner child.
We all have a child that lives inside of us.
Sometimes this child wants to play,
To have fun,
To sing,
To dance.
At other moments this child may feel sad,
Unloved,
Alone.
Indeed,
Some negative experiences that occurred in childhood,
Such as feeling unloved,
Can be so painful that they continue to affect our daily lives.
They may lead us to seek compensation for what we lacked during childhood through our current relationships or through such mechanisms as addiction.
The problem when our wounded inner child controls our thoughts and deeds is that we tend to get ourselves in situations where we demand from others something that they are not able to give us.
Something that only we can give ourselves.
This is why it is so critical to establish a loving and caring relationship with our inner child.
Whether it leads us to take time off from our grown-up activities to do fun things,
Or whether it leads us to better understand and tend to the wounds that still live inside us.
To do this,
The late Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh suggests that every day we enter into a dialogue with the child inside of us.
To ask him or her what they need,
What they want,
And also to speak to them,
To reassure them,
To see how to best give them the love they need.
Only through these curious and thoughtful interactions with our former self can we get to know ourselves better and thus to love ourselves more fully.
An important aspect in developing this relationship is to try to remember the good and the bad from our childhood as it will give us clues as to how we may love our inner child better today.
That's what we're going to do now with this journey into childhood.
Start by finding a comfortable seat,
Making sure you're in a position that allows you to stay both alert and relaxed.
Allow your spine to naturally lengthen without exerting any strain or effort.
Now take a deep inhale through your nose,
Allowing any obvious tension to be released.
Close your eyes and close your mouth,
Breathing slowly through your nose.
Now take a deep inhale through your nose,
Allowing any obvious tension to be released.
Close your eyes and close your mouth,
Breathing slowly through your nose.
Apart from the movement of your breath,
You are entirely still.
Now choose an anchor for this meditation,
Perhaps the sensations of the breath at the entrance of your nostrils,
In the rise and fall of your chest,
Or in the movement of your belly.
If at any point during this meditation you're bothered by distracting thoughts,
It's perfectly normal and it's part of the practice.
When you notice these thoughts,
Simply refocus your attention on the sensations of your breath,
That is to say on the present moment.
Observe your breathing and your breath.
Observe your breathing as if your consciousness was discovering your body for the very first time.
For the next 30 seconds,
Still as if you had just arrived inside yourself,
Scan your body to notice if you're experiencing any particular sensations today.
Observe your breathing as it naturally slows down.
Feel the softness that enters with every inhale.
Now imagine that you've traveled back in time and that you're seeing the world for the first time through the eyes of your newborn self.
Visualize the world as you were seeing it on your first day on earth.
Visualize the world as you were seeing it on your first day on earth.
Visualize your newborn body in your face.
Visualize the people around you and how you feel around them.
Feel into your body at that age,
Noticing your movements,
Your inner sensations.
Does this baby have something to tell you?
And you,
Do you have something to say to this newborn?
Here and now,
Send love to this version of you that has just come into the world.
Now you are three years old.
Visualize your body in face.
Imagine how you felt in your body at that age,
Your movements,
Your inner feelings.
Visualize the people around you and how you feel around them.
Listen to what this child has to say.
And you,
What do you have to say to this child?
Send all the love you can to your three-year-old inner child.
Now you're five years old.
Notice how you see the world.
Visualize your body in face.
Notice how you see the world.
Visualize the people around you and how you feel around them.
What do you like to do at this age?
What is difficult for you?
Now imagine that this five-year-old has something important to say to you.
For your happiness in your adult life,
Listen to them and welcome their words as if you were receiving them from a great sage.
And send that five-year-old all the love you can.
And notice the effect it has on their face and energy.
Now you are eight years old.
Visualize your body in face.
Imagine how you felt in your body at that age,
Your movements,
Your inner feelings.
Visualize the people around you and how you feel around them.
What is difficult for you at this age?
What is difficult for you at this age?
What do you love at this age?
Now listen carefully to what this eight-year-old child has to say.
And take a moment to silently speak to them.
And notice the effect that your attention has on them.
Then send all the love you can to this eight-year-old version of yourself.
Now you are 12 years old.
You're at the threshold of adolescence.
Visualize your body in your face.
Visualize the people around you and how you feel around them.
Notice how you see the world.
What is difficult for you at this age?
What feels good?
Now listen to what this 12-year-old has to say.
What do you have to say to them?
Send them a message.
Send them a message.
Send them all the love you can.
And notice the effect this has on their face and energy.
Finally,
Welcome all these versions of yourself inside you.
And during the next minute,
Visualize as many versions of your inner child as you would like.
With each breath,
Call to your inner body a feeling of virtue.
A feeling of love for all those parts of your childhood that continue to live in you today.
Before finishing this meditation,
Take a moment to observe your current mood as if you were inspecting your emotions from the outside looking in.
And when you're ready,
You can slowly come out of this meditation and start noticing the weight of your clothes on your body.
The surrounding sounds.
And of course,
All the colors around you.
I hope this visualization was good for you.
Have a great rest of the day.
And I'll see you next time for a new meditation.
