“It sounds corny, but I've promised my inner child that never again will I ever abandon myself for anything or anyone else again.” -Wynonna Judd
Inner child is a concept used in psychology to denote a condition that can be linked back to a childhood experience, physical or emotional.
Carl Jung called it the 'Divine Child', Emmet Fox called it the 'Wonder Child', Charles Whitfield called it the 'Child Within'. Some psychotherapists call it the 'True Self'. The "wounded inner child" label was coined by American educator and theologian, John Bradshaw.
The concept of my inner child was brought up yesterday. I'm having a lot of trouble with the idea. Someone thinks I should "nurture her". I, on the other hand, am inclined to think it's all a bunch of hooey. How does one nurture a metaphor?
“My quest these days is to find my long lost inner child, but I'm afraid if I do, I'll end up with food in my hair and way too in love with the cats.”-Kenny Loggins
Happy Troutday. (Hah. I beat ya to it Christa.)
8 comments:
LOL....Happy TroutDay, Agnes :D
I think it's more than a metaphore, but for some ppl it might be more difficult to find and identify than for others.
My "inner child" is a 4 year old that is forgotten on a parkbench while the sun is setting. And I've known about her my whole life. She also comes out when I do anything creative, but that's a tad different.
A lot of times it is about letting go of your own restrictions and worries. Being spontanious.
But I have no clue how to show others how to find their "inner child" since it's so personal. I think that either you already have found it or you won't.
But that's just me :D
Interesting Christa. I suppose I need perspective.
I have memories from my childhood. Plenty. I even have memories from when I was 2,3,4 yrs old. They are all pretty good memories.
So, why would my inner child be "wounded". I'll admit I'm a jaded adult but I don't want to be a 3yr old either.
Middle ground. Somewhere in the middle I suppose the answer lies.
Aggie, I found mine about five or six years ago and I wasn't even looking nor did I have any concept that there was such a thing. He was seven or eight years old and had been waiting for me to find him for almost thirty years. Life has never been better since that reunion. The little guy had more widsom for me than I ever imagined. We're still very close. Happy Thursday sweet sexy woman. :-)
It doesn't have to be a bad thing, Agnes. And the child in your doesn't have to be "wounded" either. I just think it is another level of our personality that is peeking through...then it can take many shapes.
But it doesn't necessarily have to be a negative thing at all :)
I guess I just don't imagine myself having an "inner child"... as I am all one person, past, present and future all mixed up in the same (almost 50 year old) body. :-D I do appreciate the idea though, and try to remember that those parts of me that make up the whole are comprised of different urges, thoughts, memories, impulses, ideas and emotions, every single one of which is equally important. How can one person be so complex?
It's easy if your a guy, your inner child happens to show its face frequently. I guess you can say that the "Inner child" concept is a guy thing :)
On a more serious note, I think this concept is interesting, but haven't really thought or read much about. Could you recommend a book?
Christa and Tree, I just can't seem to grasp the concept. If such a thing exists in me, I have no idea how to reach it. I doubt I would recognize it if I did.
Does it have something to do with wanting to be "not responsible" to anyone? There are plenty of times I've wanted to be 6yrs old...just to escape the stress of life.
Finally, I have no idea how one nurtures the concept.
I think I'm a lot closer to Terry's description. I am all things in one and constantly learning and changing. Why focus on a small part of one's self instead of embracing the whole.
Terry, we are very complex. Each individual filled with urges, thoughts, memories, impulses, ideas and emotions.
Rupen, LOL about it being a guy thing. Maybe you're right. I'm constantly complaining that my hubby is acting like a child.
Unfortunately, I have no reading suggestions. There are plenty recommendations on the web but that would be like me picking a mechanic. I just couldn't tell you which one is not full of fluff.
Finally, I have a problem with collective concepts like this one. The idea that we all have or believe common things. It's just a little too much like brainwashing. It closes the mind to other things.
Aggie, I have no idea how to tell you to find something that may or may not exist for you. I didn't go looking for mine and I'm not sure I would suggest that you or anyone else go looking for something that you probably don't need.
As for myself, I was going through a guided meditation exercise at a time in my life where I had a lot of present moment pain. In the middle of this exercise, the image of myself when I was about seven popped into my mind and it seemed as real as if my seven year old self was right there in the room. I looked into those seven year old eyes and knew exactly what I needed to do. In my mind I reached out and hugged that young man and told him I loved him and that I would always be there for him. The sense of peace that came over me in that moment was unexpected and quite shocking. As I said, I had never heard of this concept at the time. I had no idea that people had actually given a name to what I had experienced. And of course, I was not in anyway looking for something I didn't even know existed nor did the guided meditation make such a suggestion. Only afterwards, did I stumble upon this "inner child" concept. I suppose it fits with my experience but I hate to label anything because the label is never the thing and when you label an experience it makes it easy for people to generalize and dismiss the label and or experience. The best way I would describe my experience is I was able to satisfy an internal need without needing someone else. In other words, I held within myself all the healing I needed. I just had to tap into it.
Hope some of this makes sense. In short, I wouldn't worry about the concept. In all likelyhood, you don't need it. Peace my friend.
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