Our Inner Child Connection

6 Exploring Childhood Life is Magical as seen through the eyes of wonder and joy. No need to lament childhood. That child you recall still lives inside you. Allow your inner child to laugh and to play as you recall the times when expressing yourself with reckless abandon, and felt only joy in your play activities. The main factor in all that joy was the lack of judgment toward ourselves and the world around us. As young children, we just allowed each day to unfold in a natural way. We had no schedules or agendas. We had completely forgotten about the previous day. All days were the same in our minds, as being a continuous flow. We had no concept of time that brings us through yesterday, today and tomorrow. This concept of time can really skew our sense of being in the present moment. If we have forgotten about yesterday and not planned an itinerary for tomorrow, all we have left is today. Distill today down into this present moment. If the present moment is all that we have, where is there space for holding resentment and judgment? Allow yourself to be vulnerable and release judgment first toward yourself and then toward others. Releasing judgment is a worthy challenge that takes mindful and continued practice. Start by feeling your emotions, and choosing each time to go with the ones that fuel kindness and good-will. Remember that we each are responsible only for our own thoughts and actions. It may also be helpful to remember that we are always serving as role-models as we go through our daily activities. We influence others just by being ourselves. Are your words and actions representing your highest vision of life? As young children we interacted in life events without any feelings of judgment. When angered or upset we quickly let the incident go (back into the nothingness from which it came) to focus on the next thing that sparked our attention. Our thoughts never went back to the cause of whatever upset us. We had forgotten about it and moved on to the next ever-unfolding events in our life. Try applying this exercise for the remainder of today. Then, try it again tomorrow and every day after that. Practice, practice, practice. Also, weigh-in on the happy memories in your life. Model your daily activities in the spirit of what has made you happy throughout your life. Think back to the earliest times of happiness and joy in your childhood. Go forward through time tapping into each happy moment and event that comes to mind. It is helpful to jot them down while fresh in your thoughts, for future reference. Certain memories may pop into your inner-vision later on. If so, add them to the original notations. This recent memory may have been a special circumstance, one worth further thought and investigation into your feelings about it then, and your feelings now. Remember that this is a personal journey. We each have a one-of-a-kind version of our life, as viewed through our unique perception and memory log. My sister, mother, and I would gather and talk about past family events. We each recited our own recollection of the occasions, and the three versions were always presented somewhat differently. Some versions even sounded like they came from a separate rather than the same household. This happened enough times to know that each life-journey is personal and unique. Knowing that we each have a personal and unique perception of life events is another reason to forgo judgment of anyone’s behavior. Support what is kind, and uplifting. Send thoughts of good-will instead of judgment. Delve into your personal past, drawing visions from the earliest days. These are the least polluted memories, before social structuring of your personality took dominance and overshadowed your inner-child.