Who or what is the inner child, & why is healing the inner child necessary?

It is important to know that when we embark on our healing journey that we actually have an inner child. Everyone has an inner child and many people have had childhoods where they have encountered a lot of pain through their childhood, adolescence and young adulthood.

The inner child in my experience, is the part of us that encompasses our original innocence, purity and perfection. It is the part of us that is in wonderment of life, the carefree, happy, playful creative, trusting, spontaneous, in the moment and naturally joyous part. It is our True Self.

In all adults there is an inner child desperate to be seen, heard, acknowledged and loved. Who has not experienced as a child some form of emotional, mental or physical mistreatment.

When we begin to heal the inner child we connect with that part of us that is the most vulnerable, authentic and deeply feeling part of us. There is an uncovering of some or many of our childhood needs that were not met, such as feeling/being loved, feeling safe, nurtured, and respected.

When our basic needs are not met, our inner child can have underlying feelings of anxiety, shame, rage, deep unworthiness and low self-esteem. I have noticed this in most of the people I have facilitated healing sessions with, and it has shown me a common theme to unresolved childhood wounds.

Many people have said to me that they had a good childhood and can't identify with childhood wounding. I had felt this way my self. After my daughter was born I began getting obsessive compulsive thoughts, I was terrified my baby would be taken away by abusive men and harmed. I wanted to get bars on the windows of our house and I would have nightmares of my baby daughter being abducted, and having no control over the situation and not being able to protect her. I was hearing terrible stories of child abuse and it would put me into deep feelings of despair because I wanted to help these poor abused children but I was unable to. I literally thought I was going crazy.

I saw a wholistic therapist and she asked me about my childhood and I immediately said it was fine, and basically shut down further inquiry. She just recommended I think about my past and see how I feel. We never explored my inner child deeply, but on my second visit she gave me some visualisation tools whereby I could take some of my power back and it really helped in lessening my obsessive compulsive thoughts, despair and out of control feelings that something would happen to my daughter.

It wasn't until many years later when I was doing deep healing, that I was re-introduced to my wounded inner child through the Mystery School healing program I was participating in at the time, and it began many years of unravelling deep core wounds, and it still continues today.

Most people would have some degree of childhood wounding, as we grow up in a world that is insensitive, and harsh, where parents generally have their own unresolved wounded inner child that plays out in some form in most families.

When a child is not fully accepted as they are, they can become co-dependent as adults, and they create a false self to survive, as they have been told that their true self is not good enough. Adults with some unresolved childhood pain can find it difficult to be emotionally open and honest, they can identify with victim consciousness and find it hard to resolve emotional issues.

Deep childhood wounding can cause adults to have a deep fear of :

• being left

• abandoned

• unloved

• unwanted

• establishing boundaries with others

• saying no

• advocating for oneself

Why is healing the inner child necessary?

Inner child pain is the source of many of our difficulties in life; our fears, anxieties, insecurities, troubled relationships, low self esteem, and self-sabotage.

Healing the core wounds is a truly liberating and freeing experience, taking you to the origin of when these negative patterns began and healing them.

Healing the inner child can free us of our emotional, mental, and spiritual pain and can stop the suppressed pain being passed on to future generations. It is an important part of spiritual awakening, and being able to know and understand oneself. It can guide us home to the Divine Presence within. It can open our hearts more deeply, whereby we can show compassion, love and respect for ourselves, and for others as well.

When we heal, we transform the painful energy held within us, and this changes our outer world. We can see the truth about situations and others. It gives us the strength to make decisions that are in our best interest, we have the courage to leave relationships that are not healthy, it opens the door for new friendships, and opportunities. As you remove the layers of the false self, it allows you to become your authentic self. When this occurs it can change your life in all ways.

It will help you to:

• respect yourself

• love yourself

• take care of yourself

• speak up for yourself

• speak your truth

• stop criticising yourself

• value yourself

• reduce feelings of low self esteem and anxiety

• bring an inner peace and harmony

• trust in the flow of life

• know the universe is supporting you

• attract people in your life that care and support you

• be spontaneous, joyful and free

• brings you home to your True Self

• connect more deeply to your Divine Presence

• plus so much more!!

May you receive much grace, support and love as you meet and heal your inner child.

With much love,

Deb xox