What does your Inner Child have to teach you now?
I want to share a beautiful and powerful practice I’ve been doing lately from my Akashic Records teacher, Brynne Dippell.
It’s a practice of enlivening, awakening and tending to the needs of our Inner Child, which help to address the younger, more tender places in our heart ready to heal.
First, I’ll share a bit about what it has done for me so far.
When I first started tuning in to my inner child consistently I noticed she wasn’t so easy to access, as if I had been ignoring her for a while.
After a few days, she started to appear, often sad, lonely and sitting by herself on a curb.
Sometimes she would start crying from the longing she felt and I would hold and love her. Sometimes she would just want someone to acknowledge and sit with her, which I would do lovingly. It feels so good to check in and appease her, to give her what she needs.
Sometimes she’d want to go surfing or work-out or dance, which of course I would gladly do. And still other times, she would be standing, cross-armed with a sassy outfit and hairdo to fit her sassy attitude, expressing her independence and not needing anything. Awesome.
Day after day I checked in and found out more about myself each time.
Then one day, I checked in and found out she was upset. After tuning in further, I saw she was actually scared about the plans I had been making that involved the uncertainty of moving, traveling and possibly having to find a foster carer for my cat Ginger.
I sat with her and listened more deeply. She became distraught and started yelling:
“You can’t give away Ginger. He has to come with us! We're a team. It’s You, Me and Ginger!”
I thought, “Is this for real?”
I hugged and loved her up and realised, if I didn't listen to her, I could be neglecting one of my own deep emotional needs unnecessarily. I needed to come up with a solution for “all three of us.” So, I thought of a plan that would work and put it out to the universe.
The next day I received a message with an even better solution than what I had thought of, where I'd be able to keep a place at a price I could afford, keep Ginger and still be able to travel when I needed. It was perfect. Problem solved! Everybody wins and is nourished in just the right way.
Moral of the story - the Inner Child Practice has been super valuable for me as a grown-a**-woman to help me see what parts of me I’ve been neglecting and need more nourishment. The parts of me that could actually feed my soul in a much more fulfilling, holistic way, if I see and listen to them.
So, here it is - My current Inner Child Challenge for you!
*Every morning, sit for at least 5 minutes and do this Inner Child Meditation for 2 Weeks! Do the practice and write down what you find. That's it.*
Here’s the practice:
Begin in meditation or lying down with one hand on the heart and one on the belly.
Tune in to the sensations and then the breath.
Follow your breath from the center of your chest into your heart, and then call the younger, more tender part of you to come forward, Your Inner Child….
Notice what happens and take a few moments to connect with this tender part. You may see her image or just feel him/her. Take time to let her emerge.
Notice what their posture is, see, feel and hear them. What is he/she experiencing?
See if you can be with her, ask her what she needs
Then take a few minutes to give her what she needs or follow up with actions outside of the meditation to appease that (like playing or going to the zoo or art or whatever they need!)
This practice can take from a few minutes to 30 minutes. What’s important is to stick with it, as you will see, the experience will be different each day.
The more tender parts of ourselves have often long been neglected, so you may find that when you start this practice, you will feel some pain, loneliness, sadness or withdrawal. It is good to feel these things and get in touch with them.
As a teacher of mine said, sometimes it can take a few moments or several meetings for these little ones to come alive in us and start trusting us again to acknowledge and be there for them.
Just stick with it and see what beauty unfolds from this relationship. You might just find this to be one of the most beneficial new practices you can do for a fuller, richer, more joyous You than ever before.
For those of you doing the challenge, let me know if you’re doing the challenge and let me know what you find! I will make and send you an audio guided meditation if you request!
Much love to you!
Ashley