Friday, April 19, 2013

My Second Meditation and Affirmation Card

Healing With
A Mother's Love

The Child Within


"The Protecting Love Of A Mother"

by Charlotte Phillips


          The Heart Of Mother's Love
This is a wonderful opportunity for us to bridge the relationship between
the adult conscious self (mother) and the child unconscious self (child within) 
that exist inside each one of us. As we begin our journey back to wholeness
we begin restoring our relationship between the child and the mother so that
we can experience the purist unconditional love that lives in our soul. 
Then through the soul we connect to everyone and everything as well as
to our Divine Mother and Father.

Color: Pink
Sense: Touch
Chakra: 4th/Heart and 3rd/Solar Plexus
Astrological symbol: Moon
Stone: Rose Quartz (mother) 
            Rhodochrosite Stone (inner child)

The Heart Chakra, the center of the energy system in the human body, is often associated with the healing color of green for the lower heart or the loving compassionate color of pink for the higher heart.  It is also the core of the healing system in our body and in our minds. The heart is the place where we feel our connections of love; it also is where we feel our pain. A popular American proverb says, "Time heals all wounds."  however,  I prefer to believe, "Love heals all wounds". Old childhood wounds do not simply vanish in time just because we denied the pain as a child. When we were young, we may not have felt fully empowered to walk through some painful events so in order to survive we suppressed them in our bodies. All emotional wounds left unhealed become stored in our hearts as well as other parts of our bodies. The feelings and emotions associated with separation, grief, emotional abuse, abandonment, adultery, shame and even death create blocked energy in our bodies which can affect not only our health by causing diseases but also can affect our environment as well as our relationships.  American neuroscientist,  Candace Pert,  wrote  Molecules of Emotion "The Science behind Mind-Body Medicine",  which clearly outlines the scientific research she discovered about how the chemicals in our bodies form a dynamic information network linking our mind and body. When there is an emotional blockage in the body it creates a breakdown in the body's ability to communicate with us.  We become wounded. We will remain stuck in this cycle until we become strong enough to deal with the issues that caused the original pain.  

Although we will always have a scar, these wounds can be healed so that we can move through our lives with confidence, knowing that we can fearlessly handle whatever life brings our way. Our scars can also open us up to become more compassionate towards others who are going through their own struggles. Having experienced our own pain, we will be able to connect more deeply with them.  Swiss psychotherapist, Carl Jung, used the Greek mythology of the centaur, Chiron, who was known as the "Wounded Healer", as an archetypal symbol to describe people who choose to use their healing of the inner child to help others on their path. 

The most powerful healing we can receive and share with others, is our ability to love ourselves. The best place to start is with the "wounded inner child" who lives within our heart.  When we are able to fully connect with our inner child and bring the child and adult together with unconditional love, compassion and trust we can begin to heal not only our bodies and our minds but we can also heal on a deep soul level. Just as there are many layers in our minds and in our bodies so are there many layers to our healing journey. We must remember to softly and gently cradle our inner child as we walk on our journey back to our whole heart.

The mother and the child relationship is one of the most beautiful, soft, gentle, loving yet also most powerful and deepest connection on the planet. It is the ultimate unconditional love we can experience on Earth. Even if we did not receive this type of tender connection in our childhood we can receive it within when we connect to the "Divine Mother" aspect of God/Universe and bring that connection into the mother-child relationship within.


As we move through life we will face challenges that trigger painful experiences from our childhood that originally may have made us feel shut down and frightened. These insecurities will be reflected in how we react in our environment. We may get caught in endless cycles of projections where we continue to play out situations with people around us. These cycles are just parts of our inner child's pain that we have not yet come to terms with. When one of these cycles shows up I feel like I am trapped in the movie, Groundhog's Day , (In the movie the main character, Bill Murray, lives the same day over and over until he finally wakes up and is able to go beyond the denial and resentment of the conditions of life and death.  When he finally accepts his situation, life ceases to be a problem and then he can be his authentic and compassionate self). 

Before we can begin our healing journey within and connect to our inner child we must first establish a feeling of trust.  Our wounded child must know that she can trust that we will protect, encourage and support her as she opens up to us her most painful emotions. We need to ask our inner child for permission to open the door whenever we are ready to dive down into any situation. She needs to feel she can express thoughts and emotions without judgement or criticism. Our courage, strength, and unconditional motherly love are needed so that she can allow the most vulnerable parts to be exposed.. This suppressed pain or emotions from childhood may get triggered more often as we begin our healing journey. Or we may just become more aware of how we treat ourselves and how others treat us. 

Our inner child may begin to reveal how unprotected we felt as a child. She may show us how our parents were unable to fully protect us from these stressful childhood events. We may have to experience and process these angry emotions but there comes a time in our healing when we realize that our parents did the best they could from where they were at the time. We realize that they too had a wounded child within. One of my favorite quotes from Maya Angelou is, "When you know better you do better." When we get to this point in our healing journey we are able to move towards forgiveness and fully take responsibility for own healing. We are now ready to connect to our 'child within' as the loving parent.

When our inner child gets triggered by an event or by someone,  instead of projecting these emotions or thoughts onto others or have them projected onto us, we can stop this cycle or argument from being played out by taking ourselves out of the situation. We can give ourselves a time-out.  We can go into our private space where no one can hear us. Then we can allow the words or emotions that we are feeling or thinking to flow through without judgement or criticism.  Since our intention is now focused on healing and not projecting onto others, we will be able to observe what is going on in our subconscious mind without reacting to environmental triggers. As we listen to ourselves, there will be an aspect that is observing everything that is happening. Some call this aspect our conscience or "higher self" . It is almost like it is observing our private dialogue from a above. Through the observer we will be able see things from a higher perspective.  We can see not only see the part of us that is projecting our emotions but we will also see the reflection of the other point of view. We will simultaneously see both points of view knowing that they both dwell within us. We are now moving from polarity into wholeness. We can now make better decisions and communicate more lovingly with others because we will be speaking from our lovely adult self and not from our wounded child. Our inner child will feel this protection and so will not react to the environment or to past triggers.

These patterns are sometimes so solidified in our bodies, we may have to scream into a pillow, or tear up some paper, punch a bag or do something that is safe to allow the energy to move. Another affective way to help these blocked thoughts and emotions surface is to go to a mirror and allow whatever comes up to be said without resisting or judging. As we listen to our inner child we can begin to understand where the frustrations are coming from and where they have been denied. These parts of ourselves now have a voice. It can also be affective to write our thoughts and inner child's feelings in a journal or create paintings using the emotions. We may also want to channel these emotions into a dance or write a song. Now that these excess energies have been allowed to be expressed and to safely move through our bodies we will now be able to rejoin our conversation with  a more compassionate heart. We will be able to listen and communicate more affectively.


There are times when we may feel blocked emotions rising to the surface, such as fear or sadness which are not attached to anything. Energy may surface in our body that causes us to feel anxious, cold, isolated or alone. We may be confused as to why we are feeling this way. This may contribute to feelings of vulnerability that prevents us from connecting with others in an intimate loving way. At times like these, we can assist these fear or sad energies to flow through us without resisting or attaching to them. But first we need to need to get the frozen energy moving.  Sometimes it helps to pace back and forth or go for a walk. We also may feel a need to shake our hands or legs to get the energy moving. Movement allows the frozen parts of ourselves to begin to thaw. During these insecure times we can tell my inner child that we are here and that we are going to protect them. We can let her know that no matter what happens we will be fully present. We can say over and over while rocking our inner child back and forth, "I AM here! I AM here! I AM here!" Before long we will here an echo,  "I AM" here. We will feel the "I AM" connection to the Divine. 


Sometimes we may notice that our bodies are tight and constricted. The muscles are sore and tense and our breath is shallow and short. Our bellies may feel so tight we cannot eat. We may also be pulled into controlling disagreements with our love ones. Once we become aware, we can once again stop the conversation and retreat to our safe space. We can begin to do some deep breathing exercises and go into the stillness of meditation. In the stillness we can connect to deeper parts of ourselves. Yoga or other exercises like tai chi can help move these frozen energies. Now the energies can begin to start moving more easily. This is a good time to write in our journal or once again rock our inner child and let her know that we are present. 

After a big healing or cleansing it is always good to do some nourishing things with your inner child. You can ask your inner child what she would like to do. Maybe you want to take a long candlelit bath with scented candles or spend some time in nature. You may want to grab your camera and go to the park or gardens and capture your playful spirit. Maybe you want to lie on the ground or take a picnic lunch on a hike or bike ride. You may rather express yourself creatively in a painting or in a song. Or play a game with a friend. You may choose to play your favorite music and dance around the room. Laughter is always a fun way to connect with the child within. Whatever you choose it is very helpful to allow your inner child know how much you appreciate the bond that you are forming with her. You are ready to bring out more of your playful childlike personality. You may even want to light a candle and spend a few moments thanking her for her bravery and remind her once again that you will always be there no matter what lives brings your way.


Affirmations: "I Am here! I Am here! I Am here!" "In this moment I am loving myself in every way." I resonate with love and I know that everything will flow with effortless ease." "I love to dance with the flow of life." "I am creative and expressive." "I am loved."





3 comments:

  1. I love this information Charlotte!! You have given so much valuable information in such a concise and easy to understand manner. Thank you so much for sharing your journey it will help the world tremendously. Just this one entry could change a persons life. Much love and light!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Donna!! It is helping my inner child find her voice.

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  2. Your writing is so nurturing and eye opening. Going through these struggles myself, I find your post so encouraging and up lifting. The information is so valuable and I find it gives me new insights into my daily healing. Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful gift of words and knowledge.

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