All posts published here are presented as casual conversation pieces to provoke thought in some direction or another, they do not necessarily represent fixed opinions of the Inner Council, as our work exists beyond the spectrum of bound statement and singular clause.
Talking with the Inner Child
There are times where we can feel a lack of communication or a distance from our Inner Child. A period of silence can take us away from our Inner Child work, simply because we don’t think it’s working. There were times that we as children lacked a voice, we lacked the ability to describe how we felt and to feel understood. These were often times where emotions sat, built up and stagnated. Repressed emotions can become energy blockages and trapped expressions that stay dormant until we turn our attention to them again or until our Inner Child pushes them forward to be dealt with. When the time comes to process these energies there can be a mute, or undecipherable wall, an asphyxiated energy blockage wedged in our path that has no seeming ability to communicate.
If you are having a challenge in connecting with your inner child during meditation, we often bring in some dynamics like dancing or spiraling so that your inner child becomes interested in the movement which always signify a space in order to breathe. You can also creep up on your inner child and make some strange noises to get their attention. Hiding behind a rock or a tree and then making animal noises, then dancing out onto the scene often enlivens the inner-child’s interest to who this could be. Try to think what entrance would invigorate your inner child’s interest and imagination. The more you demonstrate your efforts to soften the edges, the more creativity your inner child can use in their approach.
During these times, one option is to get creative and find an easier route for interpretation to find its way to us. One way that I’ve found useful is to ask my inner child to draw me a picture on the sand, as we often meet on the beach. This method of communication gives more variability to the inner child as pictures can be as cryptic as necessary at least to begin a dialogue into a difficult subject.
Recently reading Alchemical Active Imagination by Marie-Louise Von Franz, it is mentioned that the more cryptic a given symbol of the subconscious, the more long term or significant the underlying meaning or metaphor holds for us. A message that is quickly received and interpreted may be valuable for the short term, but there are some symbols that are with us for life and will be relevant consistently along our journey.
The Life of Pi
This can be elaborated to painted pictures and other forms of artistic expression, or to simply ask for a story. In The Life of Pi, Pi tells of his great and treacherous escapade from his survival on a small boat in the form of animal archetypes. Here he is avoiding the immediate pain of reiterating his own violent and inexplicable actions. He instead describes Richard Parker, the wild tiger character which arose within him and tormented him during his ordeal at sea, in the limited confines of a small craft.
We’ve had several reports of those asking their inner children for dreams. Again, this platform of communication is open to the terms of our inner child who can divert us from an uncomfortable direct truth and lead us along with clues which allow us to slowly integrate a deep trauma, which may have otherwise been buried forever.
It seems to work best if we imply techniques to our inner child and allow them, on their terms, to relate what needs to be shared. In return we can be receptive and to accept vagueness in the communication seriously. We can collect the clues ourselves as journal writings or drawings, paint the pictures given to us and give them pride of place upon the fridge or somewhere we can regularly see them for reflection. The key here is to not lock them away or slowly forget about them. Our inner child may be quiet, but they are always here, aware and sensitive of our presence. The more we creatively interact with our inner child, the greater the trust relationship we can eventually establish with them and once we’ve re-solved a deeply blocked energy, we have improved tools to communicate and interpret the subconscious.
Click here to visit our Inner Child Workshop page to find out more.
