Inside each one of us is an inner child who knows well why we are here and what we are about. The dreams we have in sleep are portals to that child, part of an ever-active inner guidance system that points us to our highest good.
In this blog I share with you a recent dream of mine. While some of the details are quite particular to me, certain basic elements are universal. The level of detail in my recollection comes from having practiced remembering my own dreams and journaling on them for some time. You too can develop this skill.
Take what serves you from this account…
A Dream Retelling
In my dream, I find myself observing an enthusiastic, bespectacled early-adolescent girl who bursts into the room to engage me in her quest for books. I know intuitively that I am a mentor to this exuberant child and, frankly, I get a kick out of her.
We exit “off stage” to the book store, and soon return with a bag full of books to fuel her passion. Just as we re-enter via the main-floor entrance to her home, I am confronted by a brittle, academic and very anxious middle-aged woman whose whole aura seems to convey the message, “Stop! Not so fast.” All at once the girl darts away, and I realize this woman is her mother.
“Where are the receipts?” the uptight guardian demands, in what feels like a full-scale interrogation. Even though we are similar in age, and I certainly feel equal to her in “rank,” I find myself nervously fumbling in my purse for those crumpled scraps of paper. As I do so, she adds in no uncertain terms that the limit is: “two books.”
Wow.
Had I known that detail before accompanying the child to the store? And how many books did we actually buy? Gulp. My heartrate escalates, as suddenly I feel like a first-year teacher beholden to some domineering classroom parent whose nose is more than a little out of joint. Somehow (don’t ask me how, I can’t remember) I RESOLVE the issue of the books; yet all the while, the feeling-tone of pressure remains. Descriptors of this woman’s energy field? Controlling. Intimidating. Scared.
Then I begin to speak with her. I find out that she works hard and is the breadwinner. Like me she teaches, and her work is unsalaried. I can feel the pressure she experiences in playing the part of “sole provider” – the Responsible One on commission and in charge of the family’s survival. Somehow, after making it right with those receipts and listening to her, I feel her softening. I feel me softening.
I go to find the little girl cowering in the doorway of her room. “Hey!” I offer brightly, “I just met your mom.” Then: SLAM! The door closes in my face and she is gone.
What I experience intensely in that moment, for both the child and her parent, is compassion. I empathize with their fear and resulting anger, their desperation. In the presence of the child I sense pain, rage and victim energy, as she feels so uncherished in her home. In the presence of the parent I sense terror and self-loathing, and initially, a state of hardened bitterness associated with her “lot.” Yet in voicing her story to me, the woman’s tone becomes calmer, gentler.
Eventually, the child and I are reunited on the main floor. I know that I am a guide for her, and the dream closes with me coaching her to “give her speech.” As I serve this precocious, sway-backed little girl with the big glasses, I am aware of a beautiful male mentor figure beside me, championing me for championing her.
The child moves towards the front door, her resolve and vitality restored; there is a dignity about her now. She holds her books to her heart and walks with her head up as she steps forward into the world prepared to deliver her message…
Upon waking from that dream, my first thought was simply, “Thank you.”
Making the Connection
Dreams can point us to our true calling, if we learn to pay attention. This dream was doing that for me. I received a clear and complete inner vision of three key players – the writer, the coach, and the naysayer – not “out there” somewhere in the ether, but right here, within me.
I love them all. Yes, even the naysayer.
The inner child inside each one of us knows what we are about, what we have been called to do. Being true, singing the song you came to sing – this is at the core of our mission here.
To fully sing my song, as a coach I must help others sing theirs. I must also heed my calling as a novelist. The child in my dream came to remind me of my soul’s purpose. Mine are the archetypes of the Artist and the Helper. Presence these and I thrive. Ignore one of them for long, and like the child who bolts from the room and slams the door, I start to lose my voice.
Ignore your calling and you will, too.
What of that nervous, brittle authority figure in the dream, the naysayer?
I must bear witness to her too, and “own” her, recognizing with compassion the part of me conditioned to come from scarcity. The same part of me can fall prey to the illusion of separation from the very Source that draws my breath and beats my heart.
We ALL have an inner naysayer.
We must acknowledge the conditioned naysayer and forgive that doubting voice, beholding her in light instead of hiding her in shadow. After all, the anxious naysayer brings her own particular challenge and blessing. When I choose to forgive this frightened, judgemental part of myself, I claim a very important gift: that of overriding the voice of fear in me, and focusing instead on the voice of love.
Love speaks to us all the time if we will listen.
What Song are You Here to Sing?
The word enthusiasm derives from the Greek word entheos, meaning “the God within” – a divine spark! Your inner child is passionate, joyful, and unabashed in the desire for LIFE. The sacred child in you knows perfectly how to keep that spark ignited, and how to fan the fire of passion aligned with the wishes of your soul. Honour that child and give her what she requires in order to function, just as you nourish your own physical body. Consider the inner child as part of your soul body.
Here are some questions in order to help you align with that magical child who holds the key to your fulfillment. I invite you to use them as prompts in your journal, and to watch the 7-minute video (see below) included here as a means to getting closer to your heart of hearts and soul’s desire:
- How does your inner child show up for you in your thoughts and dreams?
- What are your passions? What bright particulars give you Life?
- What would you love to be, do, have, and experience? How would you love to serve? Let yourself dream be free in your imagination, unattached to present circumstances.
You cannot whole-heartedly answer those questions without contacting the child within who is also the wise child – and one vulnerable to the slings and arrows of the limiting influences.
One more important note…
Bringing the Child Home
Notice how, in my dream, even the mention of the controlling authority figure causes the child to flee. In shamanic terms, we could interpret such flight as a splintering off of part of the soul. Once the inner child is afraid to be fully present, part of the whole becomes unavailable to us – that is, unless we commit to nurturing and supporting ourselves in ways that make us safe for that magical child.
Are there parts of you that have been left behind because, at a certain point of terror, perhaps anger, shame and disgust, they refused to continue on the journey? What could you do in order to make that child feel safe and welcome? What actions could you take? What conditions could you create to bring that part of you back home?
WRITE in your journal. Pay attention to your dreams: the ones you have in the daytime, and the ones that speak to you at night.
And finally…
The next day, after awakening from the dream I just described, I made sure to purchase not two, but THREE research books for my next novel. Yes!
To kindle a spark, learn to dare the dark.
Do the thing you KNOW you were meant to do. Want help? Send me an email and we’ll set up a call.
Blessings,
