Our Spiritual Nutrition

Section 2 - Changing our automatic responses

Check out meditation to learn how to work with your spiritual guide to resolve the unrecognized issues currently hampering your quality of life.

Inner child work

2 - Find its root cause (Was the pattern learned from a caregiver? Did it start with the intention of making someone angry?)

• Recall the first time the behaviour was done (usually in childhood) along with all the thoughts, attitudes and emotions that occurred when it happened. By remembering the first time we ever had a particular thought or emotion and under what circumstances it came, we can begin to understand why we do certain things, and we can begin to validate our experiences
• Gain full understanding about why it happened. As adults, we can look at our childhood experiences and find understanding that is not possible for young children. This is not to place blame, but to recognize that everyone who was a part of the experience played an active (or inactive) role in it

3 - Grieve

• Feel the emotions and think the thoughts that were suppressed or repressed at the time of the event. Grieve the losses that were felt as a child. Say the angry thoughts out loud, if possible. Cry, cry, cry. Let it all out, as scary as that may sound, for crying is an important part of the healing process. Acknowledge the pain or cruelty that was suffered, without understating the importance of it. The events were important, for they have made us who we are today. It does not matter whether anyone else thinks that our experiences were easier or worse than theirs were. What is important is that they happened to us, and they hurt us. All of our experiences have helped to create all the thoughts, attitudes and emotions, belief systems and inner conflicts that we have now

4 - Forgive self and others for its occurrence

5 - Let go of the experience, thereby letting go of the need to endlessly replay the memory and repeat the negative behaviour

Our belief systems help to create our behaviours, but where do our beliefs come from? They begin early in childhood and become more and more entrenched as we grow and develop. What sorts of experiences can create them? Well, an emotionally absent parent can leave a child feeling unworthy, unimportant and unwelcome. A smothering parent can leave a child feeling helpless, witless, incompetent and incapable. A parent who smothers one child yet ignores another can leave the ignored one feeling pretty insignificant, and the smothered child fares no better! Inner child work can root out the negative belief systems (and thoughts, attitudes and emotions) and find the Universal Truth about them, rather than what we have come to accept as truth. Looking back on our childhood as adults, we can recall the thoughts that we had as young children and find validation. Many of the experiences we have as children are written off by our caregivers as being unimportant, or even worse, the Truth of the experiences becomes wrapped in their denial. It's up to us to validate ourselves. Doing so enables us to become strong, confident individuals.

Some belief systems can actually prevent our guide from answering:
If for example we ask a question and no answer comes, it's because we're in the way somehow. We might have a belief system like:

• "No one will answer me because there's no one there"
• "I'm not worthy to receive communication"
• "I'm not capable of receiving communication"
• "I already know what this means"

If you have one or more of these belief systems, rest assured that there is definitely someone there, you are worthy and you are capable.

If you believe that you already know the answer, you will not be disappointed. The spiritual law of Free Will prevents our guides from interfering with our beliefs.