Creating a Summer of Your Childhood Dreams
Hello, summertime!
What a strange one it’s sure to be!
As of now, we know there’s to be no July 4th fireworks, no outdoor concerts, no big backyard barbecues. Perhaps no hanging at the public pool, no amusement park rides, no county fairs. Maybe not even a beach house vacation.
Remember your childhood summers?
For me as a child once school let out for the summer I felt utter freedom, with wide expansive amounts of time to just hang out and play. There was nothing better!
By July, boredom set in and my sister and I would be left to our own devices to come up with creative ways to pass the time. With 5 acres of land, a variety of pets, our bicycles and our imaginations, we were pretty good at creating our entertainment.
It’s still possible to experience summer like you did as a child or to create the summer you always wished for as a child.
And I would say even more importantly it’s time to connect to that little girl (or boy) who still lives inside of you. She’s also known as your inner child or child within. As I share in my women’s circles on “Mothering Ourselves”, cultivating this relationship is key to living joyfully as awakening women.
If you could step into the shoes of the little girl you once were, how would you desire to be during these summer months? What would you like to do with your time?
As the responsible, productive adult that you are, I’m guessing you don’t give her much say, much less take time out of your busy day to do as she wishes. Most of us do not understand the pivotal role this relationship to our inner child plays in how we relate to ourselves and the world.
I’ve been developing my relationship with my Little Karen for some time so I thought I would share some of my process with you to help reconnect to your child within so come Labor Day, you have no regrets about how you spend your summer.
How to Connect to Your Inner Child
1. Find a photo of you as a child. Hold it and gaze into her eyes, really see her. What is she wearing? How tall is she? What’s her hair like? How do you think she was feeling then? What was the occasion?
2. Close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths. Feel into your body. When you think of yourself as a child at whatever age first comes to you, what sensations do you feel in your body? Is there a particular area that you feel the most.
3. Staying aware of this area, go to your journal. (I have one journal specific for my inner child) Begin a dialogue with her. Ask her, What do you need from me at this time? What would help you feel safe this summer? What would you love to do with me this week…this summer?
4. With a different color pen or marker in your non-dominant hand, allow her to respond. Just let her words flow out. Don’t edit.
5. Switch back to your dominant hand with original pen and respond to your inner child simply, like you are sitting across from a real child. You might even switch where you’re sitting so you’re moving back and forth between seats, one for her and one for you.
6. Finish by telling her all the things you loved to hear as a child or wished you heard from the primary adults in your life. Tell her she’s safe and loved, how amazing she is, what you love about her, that you can’t wait to do those things with her.
7. Then be sure to follow through. It’s important to build trust with her like in any relationship. Let go of any agenda or goal. The intention is to simply have fun and be together.
This is an ongoing journey with your inner child as you learn about each other and build a trusting relationship. So come back to this dialoguing as often as you can. You’ll be delighted at what you uncover. You’ll grow compassion for yourself and those who raised you. You’ll be gentler with yourself, coming out of any victim thinking and into empowered living.
This is your chance to re-parent yourself, to give to yourself what your parents just couldn’t because of their own limitations. No blame here. It’s time to stop looking outside of yourself, to someone else or something to heal you, to make you feel whole. Your healing comes from within. It begins with recognizing and acknowledging your inner child.
Walk this journey with a sense of play!
Karen Tasto, CPC, E-RYT200, owner of Open Heart Healing, helps women tune in and turn on to their feminine powers so they can live in the fullest expressions of themselves. Her 15 years as a yoga teacher, guiding her students back home to their body & vitality, were the foundation for her work now as a certified women’s empowerment life coach, Sacred Circle facilitator, and Reiki Master. She also leads workshops and life-changing retreats. She knows from her own experiences that the way to a woman’s freedom is through her body, her emotions, and sisterhood. Find her at www.karentasto.com
