Written by: Stacey Henry-Carr, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Years ago, if you asked me about my inner child, I would have looked at you with wide eyes and a lack of understanding. My cluelessness would have been equal to many other people whose day-to-day life did not require conversations about their inner child. However, as I evolved and grew into the practice of hypnotherapy and life coaching, understanding the inner child became my passion.
When we were children we depended on the adults in our lives to nurture, and protect us. We all had different experiences with these requirements at various stages of our childhood. Some of us received what we needed to cultivate healthy growth. There are others whose environment did not foster the basic needs of love and safety. Regardless of the environment, we lived in then; we now have an opportunity to provide some additional love and support to our inner child.
The idea of nurturing the inner child may sound woo-woo to some people. It is like talking to an apparition and dealing with distant memories. It is those memories that many of us choose to suppress deep within, forget about and keep moving. However, your inner child has a way of surfacing in our thoughts, feelings, actions, and habits. When we address them at the root we can change the meaning we gave to these memories as a child. We get to view them from a different perspective and sometimes release them from negatively impacting our lives.
What is your inner child?
We were once impressionable children trying to fit in and adapt to our surroundings. At a young age, we accepted the beliefs and imprints about how our life was supposed to be. These beliefs became our subconscious blueprint later in life. When we were children and things happened around us that we did not understand, we believed it to be our fault.
Louise Hay stated that “Children develop the idea that if they could only do it right, then parents and caregivers would love them, and they wouldn’t punish them”. Over time children start to develop the idea that they are not good enough. When children are unable to process a defining event they say it must be their fault. If that idea is not nurtured and cared for it carries into adulthood.
Why would your inner child need nurturing?
If you have ever found yourself on a negative loop of thought, or habit. Or unsure what might be causing the behavior. Maybe you want to move on positively, spiritually, emotionally and make peace with the past. You feel like part of your mind is fighting against you. This is when becoming aware of the wounds that need addressing, and acknowledging the unmet needs of your inner child is helpful. In the book Reconciliation Healing the Inner Child, Thich Nhat Hanh stated, “The child is still there and maybe deeply wounded. We have neglected the child in us for a long time. We have to come back and comfort, love, and care for the child within us”.
How do you nurture your inner child?
There are many reasons why your inner child might need extra love and support. I would recommend that you see a professional who can guide you through an inner child practice that works for you. I can share a few things that worked for me and my clients. As a certified Rapid Transformational Therapy Practitioner, I take my clients through upgrading their inner child through their subconscious mind. They also listen to a transformation recording for 21 days to help them replace unproductive beliefs with liberating thoughts.
You deserve to have balance and be at peace with your past.
Have compassion and self-discipline. Acknowledge your inner child, listen and live harmoniously with your inner child.
Practice being kind to yourself by positively affirming, and praising yourself. I am enough. I am perfect whole and complete. It was not my fault. I am safe. I can do anything I put my mind to. I am proud of myself. Or any other praises your inner child needed growing up.
Write a loving letter to your younger self acknowledging how far you have come.
Keep a picture of your younger self close by and allow yourself to acknowledge how far you have come
Stacey Henry-Carr, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Stacey Henry-Carr is an ex-corporate leader who now helps people identify, interrupt, and replace blockers to live more meaningful and intentional lives. She is a Jay Shetty Certified Life Coach, Marisa Peer Certified Hypnotherapist, and an author of "Live Your Truth and Break the Cycle." She practices authentic leadership and servitude in everything she does. She has always had a passion for helping others to become their best selves.
She has a passion for reading, writing, traveling, dancing, singing off-key, and the beach. She spends her days coaching clients, writing, and creating meditation recordings. Stacey has overcome her life challenges which have strengthened her will to serve others. She believes that her true legacy to her children will be the lives she has touched by motivating and inspiring others to change. She writes inspiring quotes such as "Visualize what you desire and laugh out loud as if it is already accomplished."
