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How to Work with Archetypes
The key to unlocking your feminine power
Your inner child might be anxious, needy, and erratic. And that’s okay. Kids often are that way. Your inner critic might be judgemental and bossy. You can expect that from a critic.
If you’re on a personal development or spiritual path, it can be easy to approach the journey feeling like parts of you need to be fixed.
You’ve likely heard the phrases “heal your inner child” or “quiet your inner critic.” And, in a way, you do. But it’s not about fixing broken parts at all. It’s about expansion — developing your inner parent and wise woman. You don’t need to get rid of parts; you just need to call upon their counterparts.
The first thing to know is that there are no bad parts.
Richard Schwartz, the founder of Internal Family Systems (aka, “Parts Work”), has written a book with the same title, No Bad Parts. All of our parts want to protect us. They want to keep us safe — especially the inner child and the inner critic.
I know that it doesn’t always feel that way. At the beginning of my relationship, my inner child was so scared of abandonment that she needed constant validation. I was certain she would sabotage the relationship I held dearly.
