The ‘inner child’: some reflections in ourself
Back in the 1970’s, as I began my initial studies in psychology, the notion of an ‘inner child’ archetype appeared. In part it was based on the psychology of the Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung, fused with the idea of the “new age”. It was an interesting time to begin reading and thinking about psychology. Over the years, I’ve thought much about this construct, and when I began practicing meditation many years later, I learned how this ‘inner child’ image could appear and be useful for development.
When one sits to meditate, thoughts flitter so fast and breath becomes so elusive that time passes and it’s as if ‘meditation’ hasn’t yet begun. This is a normal process as one seeks to calm the mind and brain, though it may be frustrating for a novice. With practice, this changes and the mind becomes quieter, and when it doesn’t a big smile helps calm the frustration felt. Mindfulness is a type of meditation different from other types: reciting a koan, meditating on one object, or another approach.
A definition of mindfulness, one type of meditative practice is: being present, in the moment, to what appears in consciousness, without judgment.
On the journey of life leading to our inevitable end, our body and brain grow older but it’s as if echoes of our childhood still reverberate in the mind, sometimes infuriating our efforts at being ‘a mature adult’—whatever that really means! Pains and problems from our childhood, unresolved concerns, disappointments or unfulfilled dreams may linger as we reflect on our past, mingled with the joys, happy events, goals achieved and undreamt of experiences we’ve had.
The construct of the ‘inner child’ has been, since I can recall, widely used in some fields of depth psychology that deal with spirituality, healing and consciousness; one can find many books, talks and even Youtube videos about this. I have often wondered how this ‘image’ arises in the human mind, how the memories we have of our past congeal to form this ‘inner child’. In my musing and reading, I’ve come up with ideas based on psychology, neurology, and imagination that I think help understand this inner child imago and how meditation can be used to experience and ‘help the inner child grow up’.
In the series I am doing at the Beijing Mindfulness Center, “The shadow and meditation”, the second in the series of three talks is on the ‘inner child’. The first was on the ‘self’, the last on the ‘shadow’. If you are interested in this idea and would like to share some reflections and would like to learn more about it, how it might appear in meditation and what can be done to nurture your inner child for personal development, then come on over to the BMC!
Dr Theo Cope
To learn more about programs with Theo Cope extract the QR code.
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