Welcome to this meditation,
Which is for connecting to your inner child.
There is a part of you that stays hidden and stays quiet until you are hurt or you neglect yourself,
Or you take yourself too seriously and you forget how to play.
This is when your inner child comes forth to show you what causes the pain and to show you what you need to feel loved and supported,
To show you how to feel joy,
To play and to feel free again.
In this meditation,
You are going to connect to your inner child.
They wish to speak with you and find their voice again,
So you can always be there for each other,
Comforted,
Held and healing painful experiences,
Trauma and emotional upset,
Knowing that you are never alone.
Connect with your inner child,
Build a relationship and face the world together as one.
Allow yourself to get comfortable.
If you are seated,
Make sure your feet are firmly placed upon the floor with your arms and legs uncrossed.
Relax your shoulders and your chest and your legs and take two or three nice deep breaths.
When you are ready,
Close your eyes and open the cinema screen of your mind,
Allowing yourself to view or to imagine what unfolds before you as I describe,
Or just listening to the sound of my voice.
You find yourself stood in front of a large hedge,
Covered completely in bright greenery.
You can feel the warmth on your face from the sun and it feels like the lateness of spring,
The beginning of summertime.
And you look up on top of the hedge and see a small robin who is sat there patiently,
Just momentarily,
Looking at you with a message,
With a message about a door and a key.
And you feel as though you should place your hand in a pocket.
And you find within the pocket an ornate golden key and you are drawn to a place within the hedge.
And as you part the leaves here,
You find an old door and the key fits into the lock of this door and you are able to turn it easily,
Even though you suspect that nobody has been into this garden for some time.
And you open the door,
Closing it behind you and putting the key back into your pocket.
And you find yourself in a resplendent garden.
And this is a garden that only you are allowed to enter.
And so here you will always feel safe,
You will always feel protected.
And it's a place where you find comfort,
Where you find peace,
Where you find solace,
A place you can find silence and reflection and perhaps answers to some of your most urgent questions.
And you begin to take a walk along the path of this garden.
Just taking note of any flowers or plants that you see here.
Is there a water feature or a pond?
Is there any kind of trellis,
Pagoda,
Summer house,
Tables and chairs?
Just have a good look around,
Taking it all in,
Feeling very calm,
Very peaceful.
Just taking your time,
Removing yourself from the pressures of the outside world.
And as you turn a corner at the end of the garden,
You notice that there is a small child or a young adult and they are playing.
And you just notice what they are doing,
Whether they are playing in a sandpit or skipping or playing with marbles or a ball or drawing or writing,
Listening to music.
Just notice what they are doing.
And as you get closer,
You notice that they are happily playing,
But perhaps they would like some company today.
And so you just get their attention and they look up at you and smile.
And you immediately recognise yourself within this younger person or small child.
And you realise that you are both so happy to be reconnected here because perhaps it's been a long time since you spoke,
A long time since you connected.
And so the young person or small child does indeed tell you of the times when they feel as though they need comforting,
As though they need your support.
And also when you forget to have that playful sense of childlike joy that brings you so much happiness.
And they do not want you to connect with anything that you are not ready to heal today.
They just want you to know that sometimes it is them that is feeling sad or that has lost their way and that a brief connection and time to play and be free will help you both.
And so you join them in whatever they are doing and you start to have fun.
You start to play and you remember those endless days where you had not a worry in the world,
Where there was nothing to fear.
And the times and the places where you could lose yourself in playing a game,
Writing stories,
Drawing pictures,
Going for long bike rides.
Knowing at all times that you were safe,
Secure,
Protected and you had the freedom to enjoy yourself.
You had the freedom to play.
Nothing has changed,
Yet the outside world has perhaps burdened you and you lost the connection to playfulness,
To joyfulness,
To happiness,
To freedom that is still available to you.
And as you sit and play with your inner child,
You start to feel more comforted.
You start to feel safer and you start to think about what you do need to feel loved and supported,
To feel joy,
To play,
To feel free again.
And I give you a few moments to think about those things.
Think about how you can reintroduce them into your life outside of the garden.
And your inner child speaks to you of how you will know when they would like to connect with you.
Or when there's a situation where they need to feel loved and supported and comforted.
And perhaps this is a word or an object or a sign or a particular feeling where you will instantly know and recognise that your inner child needs your support.
And at these times,
It may be enough just to acknowledge that you have heard their voice and you know they are there.
Or you may wish to come into the secret garden to find out more about what they need or just to hold them in a supporting and comforting embrace.
Whichever it is,
You're both reassured by each other's presence and that you have a way of communicating,
A way of connecting and knowing that you are never alone.
That you are never having to face the world alone and nor is your inner child.
And that sometimes all they want to do is play and where everything has become so serious,
Maybe you have forgotten how.
And so you now walk around the garden,
Maybe picking out some of your favourite flowers or plants or trees or fruits.
And it's almost as if you're making a new friend.
You tell them a bit about yourself and you ask about them.
What do they like doing?
What kind of ambitions do they have?
What makes them feel safe?
What do they need to keep them in balance?
And you enjoy this peaceful stroll around the garden.
Maybe you even get to play,
Hide and seek or plant some new flowers or seeds of opportunity,
Of connection,
Joy and playfulness.
Creating rainbows in the streams of water from the fountain,
Making smiley faces in the gravel.
Whatever it does that you need to connect to those playful times once more.
So now it is time to leave the secret garden,
To leave your inner child.
You are both so much happier than when you came into the garden and you tell your inner child that you will be back.
And in fact,
You are always here,
Ready to speak with them,
Ready to offer support and comfort.
And so you embrace them and hold them,
Tell them that you love them.
And you feel an amazing burst of love and calmness as you walk to the entrance to the garden.
Say your final farewell,
Knowing you can return at any time.
You open the gate,
Close it behind you,
Lock it and put the key back into your pocket.
Knowing that you always have the key at any time.
You also thank the Robin,
Who you know will also keep you,
The garden and your inner child safe.
And you are leaving with a sense of connection,
A sense of calm,
A sense of playfulness,
Joyfulness.
Knowing that you are ready to embrace this side of you once again.
Making time for yourself,
Making time for your inner child.
And when you are ready and in your own time,
You bring your attention back to the present moment,
Back to the room you are in.
Wiggling your fingers and toes,
Just becoming aware of your surroundings,
Your feet on the floor,
Any noises that you can hear.
And when you are ready,
You can open your eyes.
Thank you for listening to this meditation.
Sending you blessings of love and light.
