Yes, this is a play on words. Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote, to Robert Browning, in 1845: “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways (“Sonnets from the Portuguese,” XLIII Wikipedia; Poets.org*) When we take this sensibility and concentrate on ourselves, we create an inner focus, restarting the process of healing and affection for ourselves! (After years of counseling individuals, I finally realized that we are all working on the very same thing…self-love. Of course, I didn’t learn this in graduate school – my clients taught me.)
One way to pursue this internal love affair is to focus on our children within. Yes, I do mean our interior children who’ve been hurt during our childhood. (Information about the ‘inner child’: A clairvoyant friend woke one night to see, in spirit, two of his abused boys. John Bradshaw (circa 1989) wrote about the ‘inner child,” and dysfunctional families.)
Our task, here, is to create a dialog with these saddened children; to listen to their constructive needs, so that we restart their development. We were powerless as kids! Now, as adults, we are in charge; and the only ones who can heal this ‘void.’ Most of us know about the ‘void’ which is the foundation for addictive behaviors. (I am convinced that each of us is on the same continuum; however, some of us have done more work.)
Let’s get back to the dialog with the children, the gateway to the genius within. Some suggestions:
I demand excitement in my life (Quan Yin through Laura Lizak), creating enthusiasm ‘right here, right now.’ What will I choose to think about, to do and to design in this mindset? Reaching into my playful self, I may wish to watch a Batman movie, or walk in the park, or allow myself to giggle at a comedic moment (See blog “A Sense of Humor. Don’t leave home without it, November 25, 2013). I can put a smile on my face. When I do so, most often, smiles are returned by passersby. These are just a few examples. (A good friend of mine trains with an eighty-year-old Japanese, self-defense master who has purple hair.)
Our inner dialog–reflection might reveal a hurt youngster. This ache
alerts us to a topic for meditation; to understand a situation which needs to be acknowledged and grieved. This could be a memory or susceptibility. This process of allowing increases our inner wisdom so that we can see the all rather than just the one (as Merlin suggests). We do not have to ‘push things around’ (QY through LL); rather, we let the pain go once it is in the healing process, asking our Higher Self for guidance. Through intent, we use the enlightenment meditation to bring this powerful energy from the crown chakra through the body to the core of Mother Earth. Share this enlightenment energy with all beings at all times, in all situations. This heals, and grows the energy for all!
As healing gains momentum, we release our inner children, our innocent geniuses who see the world with infinite possibility. Our creative, fun selves are unchained, at liberty to flow……
The question is really — Do I wish to change me? We next ask: What do I wish to change? Here, I let my relationship with my heart guide me. If I do not have this rapport, I start right there. I can ask myself: “What is in my heart and on my mind right now?” I can meditate with this question. At bedtime, I can ask my Higher Self for guidance as I sleep, expecting to gain understanding in the morning. I repeat this. Eventually, answers come. We embrace patience because all is in divine time, not our willed timeframe.
Soon, we have the ability to view this magical world and know that it is cool…cool to the infinite power! This prize awaits us as we do the work, that is, make decisions choosing love, not fear – daily — on our spiritual path. (We always have to do the work.) From the perspective of the child mind this becomes a playful adventure: what will universe bring me today? What do I wish to create here? Choose to create love.compassion. Remember the verse “Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be” (Whitney Houston, See blog, Jan. 20, 2014.)
Speak to you on February 17th. Have fun…Run with the wind at your back…This is the year of the horse…gallop to freedom!
Linda
PS* For those of you who wish to read the entire sonnet, here goes:
“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, —I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! — and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.”
L
#elizabethbarrettbrowning #innerchild #gatewaytogenius #higherself
