Myspecialsub
Experienced
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2013
- Posts
- 95
To the beautiful young woman I’ve shared some magical exchanges with these past few months who asked me to share this particular exchange because it might reach just one other person Although I will, im acutely aware it might not resonate with others in ways it did with you!
But you’re correct people can’t reject or say no unless offered in the first place
I look forward to catching up with you in Japan!
This morning I want to introduce you a brilliant Vietnamese Buddhist called Thich Nhat Hanh and his discussion on healing the wounded child within.
It resonated with me when I read and with scores of other people I’ve shared it with.
You’re under no obligation at all to read it or not unless you want to.
Summary
Thich Nhat Hanh taught that a “wounded child” resides in everyone, a part of us still suffering from past difficulties and asking for attention and love.
To heal this inner child, we must use the energy of mindfulness to return to it with compassion, embracing it with a loving and peaceful smile, and acknowledging its pain.
This practice involves listening to the child, apologizing for past neglect, and speaking to it with the language of love, much like tending to a wounded sibling.
This healing can also break cycles of generational trauma, as embracing our inner child means embracing the wounded children of past generations as well.
The Narrative
In each of us, there is a young, suffering child. We have all had times of difficulty as children.
To protect and defend ourselves against future suffering, we often try to forget those painful times.
The wounded child asks for care and love, but we do the opposite. We run away because we’re afraid of suffering. The block of pain and sorrow in us feels overwhelming.
Even if we have time, we don’t come home to ourselves. We try to keep ourselves constantly entertained—watching television or movies, socializing, or using alcohol or drugs—because we don’t want to experience that suffering all over again.
But just as the suffering is present in every cell of our body, so are the seeds of awakened understanding and happiness handed down to us from our ancestors. We just have to use them. We have a lamp of mindfulness, which we can light anytime.
The oil of that lamp is our breathing, our steps, and our peaceful smile.
When we speak of listening with compassion, we usually think of listening to someone else. But we must also listen to the wounded child inside us.
Sometimes the wounded child in us needs all our attention. That little child might emerge from the depths of our consciousness and ask for our attention. If we are mindful, we will hear his or her voice calling for help.
At that moment, instead of paying attention to whatever is in front of us, go back and tenderly embrace the wounded child.
We can talk directly to the child with the language of love, saying, “In the past, I left you alone. I went away from you. Now, I am very sorry. I am going to embrace you.”
We have to talk to our child several times a day. Only then can healing take place. Embracing the child tenderly, we reassure him that you will never let him down again or leave him unattended. The little child has been left alone for so long. That is why we need to begin this practice right away.
If you know how to go back to her and listen carefully every day for five or ten minutes, healing will take place.
When you climb a beautiful mountain, invite your child within to climb with you.
When you contemplate the sunset, invite her to enjoy it with you. If you do that for a few weeks or a few months, the wounded child in you will experience healing.
The wounded child is not only us. Our wounded child may represent several generations. Our mother may have suffered throughout her life. Our father may have suffered.
Perhaps our parents weren’t able to look after the wounded child in themselves.
So when we’re embracing the wounded child in us, we’re embracing all the wounded children of our past generations.
This practice is not a practice for ourselves alone, but for numberless generations of ancestors and descendants.
Our ancestors may not have known how to care for their wounded child within, so they transmitted their wounded child to us
https://www.lionsroar.com/healing-the-child-within/
But you’re correct people can’t reject or say no unless offered in the first place
I look forward to catching up with you in Japan!
This morning I want to introduce you a brilliant Vietnamese Buddhist called Thich Nhat Hanh and his discussion on healing the wounded child within.
It resonated with me when I read and with scores of other people I’ve shared it with.
You’re under no obligation at all to read it or not unless you want to.
Summary
Thich Nhat Hanh taught that a “wounded child” resides in everyone, a part of us still suffering from past difficulties and asking for attention and love.
To heal this inner child, we must use the energy of mindfulness to return to it with compassion, embracing it with a loving and peaceful smile, and acknowledging its pain.
This practice involves listening to the child, apologizing for past neglect, and speaking to it with the language of love, much like tending to a wounded sibling.
This healing can also break cycles of generational trauma, as embracing our inner child means embracing the wounded children of past generations as well.
The Narrative
In each of us, there is a young, suffering child. We have all had times of difficulty as children.
To protect and defend ourselves against future suffering, we often try to forget those painful times.
The wounded child asks for care and love, but we do the opposite. We run away because we’re afraid of suffering. The block of pain and sorrow in us feels overwhelming.
Even if we have time, we don’t come home to ourselves. We try to keep ourselves constantly entertained—watching television or movies, socializing, or using alcohol or drugs—because we don’t want to experience that suffering all over again.
But just as the suffering is present in every cell of our body, so are the seeds of awakened understanding and happiness handed down to us from our ancestors. We just have to use them. We have a lamp of mindfulness, which we can light anytime.
The oil of that lamp is our breathing, our steps, and our peaceful smile.
When we speak of listening with compassion, we usually think of listening to someone else. But we must also listen to the wounded child inside us.
Sometimes the wounded child in us needs all our attention. That little child might emerge from the depths of our consciousness and ask for our attention. If we are mindful, we will hear his or her voice calling for help.
At that moment, instead of paying attention to whatever is in front of us, go back and tenderly embrace the wounded child.
We can talk directly to the child with the language of love, saying, “In the past, I left you alone. I went away from you. Now, I am very sorry. I am going to embrace you.”
We have to talk to our child several times a day. Only then can healing take place. Embracing the child tenderly, we reassure him that you will never let him down again or leave him unattended. The little child has been left alone for so long. That is why we need to begin this practice right away.
If you know how to go back to her and listen carefully every day for five or ten minutes, healing will take place.
When you climb a beautiful mountain, invite your child within to climb with you.
When you contemplate the sunset, invite her to enjoy it with you. If you do that for a few weeks or a few months, the wounded child in you will experience healing.
The wounded child is not only us. Our wounded child may represent several generations. Our mother may have suffered throughout her life. Our father may have suffered.
Perhaps our parents weren’t able to look after the wounded child in themselves.
So when we’re embracing the wounded child in us, we’re embracing all the wounded children of our past generations.
This practice is not a practice for ourselves alone, but for numberless generations of ancestors and descendants.
Our ancestors may not have known how to care for their wounded child within, so they transmitted their wounded child to us
https://www.lionsroar.com/healing-the-child-within/
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