01/05/2021
***Healing the inner child***
I guess many of us have heard how important it is to heal the inner child at some point in our self-development. As a therapist and one who has worked with many people over the years, I can attest to this necessity. Still, at the same time, I find it extremely crucial to understand the term "the inner child" and accordingly pursue the right course of healing.
The history of the "inner child" concept
The term "the inner child" could be found in Carl Jung's work. He is most commonly considered the first to have coined the term "inner child." The divine child archetype is one among many defined by Jung. In popular psychology, the inner child archetype is akin to an unconscious subpersonality that consists of what a person learned and experienced in the earliest years of their life. This inner child personality is subordinate to the conscious mind yet influences this mind. The influence manifests negatively if the inner child is traumatized, wounded, or anxious.
Jung's archetypes are founded upon the idea that we do not come into this world as a blank slate. This concept is echoed in eastern philosophies and the belief in past and future lives. According to the laws of karma, the unfulfilled desires of our past life compel our rebirth in the present. This cycle also unfolds from moment to moment, as the unmet needs we are unaware of drive our present-moment actions. The traumatized inner child's desire is to heal. The child within us that remains in pain, fear, anger or rage, guilt or shame either retreat from or lashes out at the world around them, unable to cope with their intense emotions. It needs guidance and loving-kindness from their adult self so it can learn to trust and feel whole.
Until the inner child is healed, our past troubles will continue to reveal themselves. Karma says we are fated to repeat the cycle until we consciously break it. While Jung may have referred to the "hidden subconscious forces" of the inner child, eastern philosophers note the seeds of karma.
Power psychology
One additional way of perceiving the inner child idea could be found in Power Psychology – a psychological theory developed by the philosopher, spiritual teacher, and writer Shai Tubali. The approach of power psychology sees the inner child as an underdeveloped and infantile part of our psyche. It governs our emotional system and is responsible for many of our unnecessary suffering in our adult lives. While power psychology acknowledges the need to address this part with compassion and care, it also challenges the inner child part to mature and heal.
Your invitation
I am happy and excited to invite you to join me on a week's journey into the healing of the inner child. By combining the main ideas of power psychology and specific practices and meditations, I have created a special and powerful process that can take you deep. It is based on my academic background, extensive experience working with people, and my personal healing and maturation process. This challenge will include a special addition – day seven will be a live webinar with me where you can ask me questions and integrate the process.
** the link for joining the challenge is in the first comment
