How to Voice Your Inner Child Like a Grown (Wo)Man
The inner child is who we are in purest form, it’s time to reconnect.
I am a gumdrops and rainbows, onesie pajamas, Wendy Darling with a sprinkle of Peter Pan type o’ millennial. For as long as I’ve been dreaming, I’ve pre-gamed bedtime with a dose of happily ever after.
Like many of my peers, I found the onset of adulting vaguely traumatic, for the reality did not coincide with the vision I’d been raised to believe.
Thankfully (and fatefully), my premiere career was working as a Kindergarten Teacher. The demands of modern schooling coupled with omniscient technology notified me of childhood’s endangered spirit. Witnessing this crisis reawakened my inner child with a sense of urgency.
The discrepancies between childhood’s fantasies and adulthood’s realities plague millennials and generation Z. Meanwhile, younger generations are learning to grow-up before remembering who they came to be. Rather than forsake the inner child to embody the adult, in this post I examine how to merge these fundamental elements of self in order to live as a full being.
What is the inner child and why does (s)he matter?
The inner child is the innate genius in each of us. Truest of forms, our inner child is who we are most authentically. In touch with the daily miracle of life, our inner child is an integral element of our complex being. Much like lungs breathing or heart’s beating, the inner child is the keeper of a most important task– curious and creative living.
Co-creating reality is our birthright… BUT upon entering school we are taught to assimilate into society, rather than realize our creative potential. The school systems “dumbs us down” by promoting convergent thinking– the ability to criticize, evaluate, and judge while suppressing divergent thinking– the ability to create, imagine, and explore.
“The ability to observe without evaluating is the highest form of intelligence.”
― J. Krishnamurti
Consequently, the innate genius in each of us is systematically squandered as we progress through school. Research carried out by NASA reveals at ages four and five 98% of children qualify as creative geniuses. Tragically; however, genius levels drop to a mere 2% by age fifteen.
As children entering society (a.k.a school), we are programmed to uphold a pre-existing structure of reality. We are taught to believe outward motivation is more important than inside gain. Following a curricula that serves to condition rather than to nurture, we are systematically guided away from our unique purposes.
Great… so now what?
A suppressed inner child yields an unsatisfied adult. As we grow-up, curiosity is replaced by confusion while creativity is replaced with compliance (i.e: checklists, performance reviews, and all that other stressful stuff).
There are imminent consequences to silencing our truths– please see: unprecedented anxiety, depression, and suicide rates. As consciousness rises, so rises the need to carry out our soul’s work.
Contrary to popular belief, the wounded inner child is not assigned only to those who have suffered from abuse, neglect, or trauma, but to the masses. Such is the consequence of normalizing a societal structure which empowers few at the cost of many.
“What IS The Nothing? It’s the emptiness that’s left. It’s like a despair destroying this world and I have been trying to help it…But Why?! Because people who have no hopes are easy to control, and whoever has the control has the power.”
-Gmork, The Neverending Story
The crumbling of outdated systems of control– please see: the U.S government, Brexit, the news, and so on, is an indicator to follow your dreams. Society is undergoing a major paradigm shift, regaining control of our hopes and dreams is essential to transcending the struggle and leveling-up.
It is “normal” to believe pursuing passion to achieve real-world success is an anomaly. This constructed belief has been passed down across generations. The result of supporting this false infrastructure of reality is an unfulfilled society.
Thanks to the evolution of consciousness and appropriate use of technology, it has never been more possible for humans to connect to their destiny.
Okay… So how do I let my inner child out?
Uncovering truth requires unlearning.
“A scholar tries to learn something everyday; a student of Buddhism tries to unlearn something daily.”
― Alan Watts
Similarly to a computer, the mind is programmable. From ages two to six, the brain predominantly operates in a theta wave state. These are the same brain waves present during states of hypnosis and meditation. From this state, the happenings of our imagination, are equally as real as the happenings of the external world.
Through coming to understand the inner workings of our mind, we come to understand the construct of the external world. Our perceptions of reality are the learned limitations passed down by parents, teachers, and other influential guardians in our earliest years.
During this optimal time of learning, children are often told what they cannot do, rather than be exposed to abounding opportunities. The structure to control rather than to evolve is at odds with both the imagination’s capacity and human instinct.
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Imagination is the language of the soul. Pay attention to your imagination and you will discover all you need to be fulfilled.”
-Albert Einstein
In succumbing to the pressures of achieving a learned concepts of success (which generally translates into dollar signs) we lose the point of existence itself. 🤑
The name of the game isn’t to earn arbitrary money, but to share our unique talents with the world.
Sounds super groovy… so how do I heal my inner child?
Reconnecting with the inner child is a deeply spiritual process. Dependent upon childhood experiences, programming, and belief systems… things may [or may not] get messy. Regardless of how, the healing process transpires, if an authentic, fulfilling life is desired, connecting with the inner child is essential.
In my personal journey, teaching kindergarten, jumpstarting each day with meditation, and diving deeply into my creative pursuits have been instrumental in drawing me closer to the core of my being.
I’ve compiled a list of various meditations and readings that have aided in re-connecting me to my inner child. I invite you to dive into the transformative resources listed below:
- This is How You Can Manifest Your Ideal Reality with Regan Hillyer — Regan is my absolute fave personal growth coach. Her activations yield some pretty miraculous results. I recommend listening to the entirety of her Mindvalley Talk; however, if you want to jump right into the activation (which includes quantum inner child healing) skip on over to minute 48:00.
- In her article “Deep Secrets and Inner Child Healing” Diana Raab Ph.D provides some great insight into the relationship with your inner child as well as various modalities for healing the inner child.
- This Ideapod article provides a step by step guide based upon Jungian Philosophy for connecting with and healing the wounded inner child.
- Reparent yourself and be gentle. Healing the inner child requires drawing awareness to your fatal flaws– that which stands between you and the achievement of your dream reality. Nurture yourself by gardening your mentality for success. Learn to silence self-doubt and engage in the possibility of that which has yet to be imagined
Conclusion:
Children are powerful beings, entering this realm with information that is known, but not learned. Through assimilating to society, we come to neglect our inner child and disconnect from our truths.
We are living in a time of paradigm shifting. Healing the inner child enables you to overcome deeply rooted challenges and empower your purpose. Someone in this world has to grow-up to be you, and your inner child is the only one who knows how.
Adulting isn’t meant to be doom-filled, but mystical. In essence, growing-up is the opportunity to go from playing make-believe to making real of your beliefs.
