[A healthy relationship with your inner child creates a happier, smoother life.]

A strong daily connection with our inner child is very important now – and for the next year – while the planet Saturn is transiting in the sign of Cancer. Saturn is known as our “karmic teacher,” and in the sign of Cancer our teacher wants us to learn how to work with our emotional nature in a responsible manner. Our inner child is an integral aspect of this learning, because we’ve experienced what can happen when he or she feels out of sorts or wounded in any manner – the evidence is a major upheaval in our emotions. But if we aren’t even aware that our inner child exists, how can we hope to deal with the anger and hurts of our life?

How well do you know your inner child? Does he have a name? How old is she? Are you able to see what your child looks like? Do you recognize when your child is trying to get your attention? Do you spend time with your inner child every day? Do you take your inner child with you where he or she does not belong?

My own inner child’s name is “Suzi-Q.” I see her as about 7 years old, slender, with strawberry blonde hair in ringlets. Over the past few years I have learned the value of having a close, daily connection with her. So what does this mean to me? I have become aware that any time I have feelings of anger, fear, shame or guilt that my inner child is crying for attention.

One thing I know to do – now – is to give her time to vent and express her emotions when she feels the need. Then I step into my inner adult self and ask my soul for assistance to determine what my child is afraid of. Once I get a sense of that, I can leave my child in a virtual “safe space” and create a plan of action around the emotions being expressed. So I envision a beautiful bluff overlooking the ocean with lots of shade trees, birds, butterflies, and my dog. The acting-out behavior of the inner child is set aside while the inner adult figures out what triggered the emotional turmoil.

Before I learned to honor, love and play with my little girl, I totally ignored her. And although I was not aware of it, she was controlling my life – I had become unconscious to what was going on. I had lost the connection to my inner child primarily because I was not nurturing myself. My inner child felt neglected and started acting out, creating chaos in my life… plus some pretty big cosmic 2 x 4’s. Many deep emotional patterns were coming up for me to heal, but I kept on ignoring my inner child and the wounds grew even deeper. Finally one day, through some wonderfully serendipitous events, I met the teachers who guided me into my soul mentor work. Through this work I learned how to embrace my inner child and gained understanding about how I wanted to be nurtured and have my emotional needs met. I also learned how to heal the emotional patterns created in my childhood, as well as those brought in from past life memories.

Inner child issues come up frequently with my clients. One client had strong fears of never having enough money, no matter how much was in the bank. Initially she felt that talking to an “inner child” was hokey. However, we continued to work together and now she actively plays with her child… and has shifted her fears about money 180 degrees. Another client had anger around a relationship that had just ended. What was happening was that her potential partners “sensed” her suppressed anger and rejected her… or she attracted very angry, abusive men into her life. Once she was able to connect with her inner child and committed to including her in her daily life, the energy shifted and she became a more joyful person. She learned from working with the fear, anger, guilt, and shame of her inner child how to better nurture and take care of herself. Today she and her inner child are moving into a beautiful soul-mated life partner relationship.

I could tell you many more stories of how people’s lives have shifted by connecting with their inner child. While hearing about others’ experiences gives us confidence that it might help, we each still need to take that first step toward creating an active participation for ourselves.

Here’s what works for me. At least twice a day I have play time with Suzi-Q, doing things she enjoys – playing with our puppy, going to Disney, taking walks, getting some ice cream, and blowing bubbles – fun things. When I am working with clients, teaching classes or doing anything where you would normally not take a child, I make sure she is in that safe place overlooking the ocean. Or I call in an etheric Mary Poppins to take her on an adventure! Anytime I feel anger, shame, guilt or fear, I do NOT suppress it because I do not want to create chaos in my life (again). I recognize that my inner child is experiencing something that is not working for her and I go through the process of letting her express what she is feeling. Then I work on a plan and present it to her, while keeping her active in my life on a day by day, hour by hour basis.

Before I allowed Suzi-Q into my life, I had suppressed most of my anger and fears. You probably know what showed up – those cosmic 2 x 4’s. What we suppress shows up outside of us as chaos. By learning to include my inner child in my life on a daily basis, and by letting her express her emotions in a healthy way, I am able to resolve the issues she raises in a happier fashion. Now I consciously work with my inner child because to lose her again (by becoming unconscious) would bring back the type of life I no longer care to live. I’ll take joy over chaos any day. Anyone for a game of catch?

Susan Levy is an astrological counselor, teacher and soul mentor who helps people discover their soul’s mission through karmic astrology. (727) 712-3521.
– http://www.soulmentor.com.