inner child work

New Moon in Leo. What Do We Individually and Collectively Most Need to Know Right Now?

I just received a new deck in the mail yesterday called Inner Light Moon Oracle by Elizabeth Lee. Elizabeth and I are in a class together and the card above is the one she just shared in our recent class. It’s also one of the cards I personally pulled when I did a New Moon reading for myself this morning.

Then it showed up yet again when I pulled a card to share with all of you today. It is definitely calling us to pay attention.

Elizabeth’s cards combine the Chinese 5 Element Theory, the 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac, and Asian Archetypes and Symbols. This is unlike any deck I have in my collection, so I’m looking forward to the wisdom I’ll glean from it.

Ojizosama is a Japanese diety we can all call upon during trying times. We are definitely in that right now more than ever. Elizabeth’s guidebook shares that “He is a protector of children and travelers, babies hide in his robes as he shuttles them to paradise. Offerings are made to Jizo for safe childbirth and to aid in souls in their passing.”

There is so much to be said in regards to what Jizo is about. I encourage you to simmer and reflect on your own meaning.

For me, it speaks powerfully to how we are each being called to protect the children that are here now and the ones coming into this world. But it also speaks to me as protecting our inner child.

In a world that is in turmoil, now more than ever, I believe we are being called to heal those traumas we’ve carried for far too long. How important it is to look at those traumas, understand their patterns, and then heal them in order to move forward into a space of less fear in order to experience more joy despite the outside world chaos.

Ojizosama is reminding us that we are our own protectors. We are the ones that must take that inner child by the hand, the one that was wounded, assure him/her that we are here to deeply listen and acknowledge the pain of the past, assure him/her that this need not define us and that together we can experience happiness by our choosing. 

I chose the rose quartz and black tourmaline stone, plus a dried Queen Anne’s Lace flower to accompany this message and for extra support.

Rose quartz to be gentle and compassionate with yourself as you heal what needs healing and to also deeply lean into and listen with the utmost of tenderness what your heart is sharing with you.

Black tourmaline is a stone of protection from the negative energies of the world. I wear a bracelet that is all black tourmaline when I go out in public. Being a sensitive person and an empath helps protect me from the energies that are quite potent right now. But I do wish to share also that while crystals are a great tool, it’s even more important to continue to do our own inner work of healing and also set intentions for what we wish to see in the world, and then be that as much as we can.

Lastly, I’ve been foraging for Queen Anne’s Lace the last few weeks and drying them for future art projects. I learned that it is a symbol of purity of intentions. It’s also about safety and refuge. Also when the head of the flower curls under it often looks like a bird’s nest – this is a great reminder of what it takes for each of us to build a happy home – physically and within ourselves.

I believe this is really a time of healing shame that we’ve all faced in one form or another – and often stems from something in our childhood. We can rise above that! Ojizonsama and his wisdom are what we can lean into when we are scared and remember that we are protected and that we can do the protecting of what is right for ourselves and our hearts. We can do this.

Keep shining your light!

XO,

Barb

                  

Heart Burst Moment from One Little Girl to Another

Me at six months old

While eggs boiled on my stove earlier this afternoon, I watched out my kitchen window as a mom and her little girl walked down the street toward the park. Even though it’s a blustery and chilly day, the little girl didn’t seem to notice.

The mom stopped to take her hands out of her pocket and draw in the strings on her hood tighter, while the little girl skipped and bounced happily ahead. I noticed then that the mom was carrying a large clear plastic bag and the little girl was picking up litter and putting it inside the bag.

I thought about how that little girl not affected by the cold was also perhaps not likely as deeply affected by the happenings in our world as she took delight in what she was doing.

My heart then burst open for the sheer joy she was exuding as well as wanting more than anything for her little heart to never experience pain or sorrow.

And as I watched her it came to me once again that we can make a choice to live with joy in any given moment just like that little girl picking up trash and no matter what is transpiring in the world around us.

As I searched for a photo of a little girl skipping to share with this post I couldn’t find one. This led me to wonder if I had a photo of myself as a little girl skipping. While I found many happy pictures of me, I didn’t find this particular one.

But I did see this one of me at six months old. Looking at the photo of myself I felt that same burst in my heart and tears filled my eyes.

In my book, I’m Fine Just the Way I Am I share the experience I had in the winter of 2018 when I had a healing session with a transformational breathwork practitioner. As the session was winding down and I was in resting mode I saw in my mind’s eye myself at six months old. It was in that moment I felt this surge of loving energy wrap itself around me and I knew without a doubt that I’d always been loved and that I was worthy just as I was.

All the doubts and fear I’d carried with me for fifty-some years had melted away in an instant at that moment. I never felt so safe or protected. It’s not that my parents didn’t care for me and love me, as they did, and I’m very blessed in that way.

But it was the experience of my childhood wounding from being touched inappropriately as a young girl that took that away from me. It instilled within me this shame and pain and feeling of unworthiness that followed me throughout my life.

As I’ve done the inner work over the years to heal that wound one of the gifts I believe from it is that it has helped me to be the optimistic person I am today. Despite that wounding experience, I made the choice to find joy where I could and try to look for the positive in many situations.

And that little girl bouncing down the road was a reflection of me and of all of us, really. We have all experienced some degree of pain in our lives and it is just part of this human experience. Though I’d love for that little girl I saw to not feel heartache or pain in her life, I know that it isn’t possible.

But what I would tell her is that she can still make the choice to thrive and find joy no matter what.

xo,

Barbara