Have you heard of the concept of the "inner child"?

When it comes to health and healing, it is an important subject to understand.

Why is that? Let's explore!

(By the way, the content of this week's blog comes directly from one of the many lessons included in my signature course, the Sacred Illness Blueprint, which you gain free access to with a Sacred Illness Community membership! Click here to learn more.)

Your inner child represents all younger versions of you - particularly ages 0-25 - and encapsulates the experiences you had at these ages, whether they be positive, negative, or neutral.

It is the composite of interactions, events, and encounters that have woven the tapestry of our being.

As you move along your healing journey, it is inevitable that you will at some point find yourself working with a version of your inner child - because your inner child is the bearer of your wounds, limiting beliefs, and the essence of the struggles that present in modern day life.

For instance, a limiting belief of "I'm not enough" originated from a specific event (or events) in your childhood, so it is that younger version of yourself who initially harbored the wound.

When you being to work with that limiting belief, essentially what you are doing is going back and working with yourself at that age in order to determine what was really needed in that moment to help you feel safe and ok in your own skin.

We often think of ourselves as being one person - and we are, of course. But also, because every age brought with it different experiences and therefore forged distinct beliefs and identities, each of those identities lives within you as well.

Sometimes, these different versions of you align harmoniously; other times, they diverge and conflict - and this conflict often shows up more and more as you gain deeper insights into what you want and need as an adult and attempt to pursue them.

When you are working to achieve a particular goal, there might be an inner child version of you who does not feel safe with the proposed outcomes of the goal, and therefore will create an immense amount of inner resistance and conflict in response.

For example:

Let's say your goal is to lose weight and you begin an exercise routine.

If there is an inner child version of you who does not feel comfortable bringing attention to your body for any reason, or does not like to become more aware of your body and how it feels (which is what exercise inevitably does), then your adult self will be met with a lot of resistance around meeting your workout goals.

This is often characterized as a lack of willpower, lack of dedication or motivation, and sometimes even as being lazy.

However, when you understand the reality of the inner child, resistance and even so-called "self-sabotage" becomes one more doorway for deeper introspection.

You are driven by your unmet needs. So instead of forging ahead and pushing yourself past internal resistance, you learning instead how to pause, tune in, allow, and release instead.

Here's a way to sum it up:

Every time you feel resistance, it's because an inner child version of you does not feel safe, and so a protective instinct is being triggered, doing whatever it can to stop you in your tracks.

Ultimately, it is crucial to recognize that your inner child comprises various versions of yourself, each carrying distinct experiences, beliefs, and unmet needs. To begin to align with your authentic self, you must acknowledge and address the concerns of your inner child, ensuring that they feel heard, understood, and safe.

Only then can you foster an environment of trust and harmony within yourself - and perhaps find the "willpower" you've been searching for!

Below, you'll find a sample of the journaling prompts included in this lesson for community members. The lessons following this one teach the steps to identify and reprogram the limiting beliefs you picked up in childhood in order to step into the life you want and deserve. Click here to learn more and to become a member!

Journaling Prompts

Reflecting on ages 0-7 (the most influential time period on your brain development):

• Who were your primary caregivers?

• What major beliefs did they hold about the world that they instilled in you? These could be themes related to money, success, work, politics, safety, other people, certain types of people, etc.

• What beliefs did they instill in you about yourself? These could be things they said directly to you, or that were implied by their behaviors and actions. 

• If you are aware, how were your needs met or not met at these ages? Remember that different people played key roles at different parts of your life and development, so consider the impact of these people at each age as you answer this question.

Reflecting on ages 8-25 (brain development is continuing but this period is less influential):

• Who were your primary caregivers and who were your other significant relationships at this time, including friends, romantic relationships, and mentors/ sources of inspiration?

• Answer the same questions as above for these ages.