HEALING YOUR INNER CHILD
The San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of WFWP held a gathering at the beautiful home of Monika Kellett on the subject of “Healing your Inner Child. The presenter, Poppy Richie, was inspired by the words of our founder, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, who said:
“History is calling for reconciliation, compassion, love, service and sacrifice. Today’s problems cannot be solved by the logic of power. Our present problems can only be solved by the logic of love.”
Poppy has done a great deal of research and work on the subject of the inner child. Her presentation called “Shadow Self & Sunny Self’ outlined the importance of addressing our inner child. Although we as peacemakers have a strong conscience to bring about change, it can sometimes feel as though our stamina just drains away and we no longer have the energy to love and serve. This is a signal to look within ourselves. “We can't go on without addressing the internal aspect of what's holding us back. Inside of each of us is a wounded child who needs to feel loved, understood, and protected,” she said. Once we learn to listen to the needs of our inner child, our capacity for compassion and service will grow. She then went on to share some moving examples from her own life.
After Poppy’s talk, she led the participants through a guided reflection on the good and bad experiences they had as children. Accessing the inner child allows us to realize the impact our parents had on us; so that we can begin a dialogue between our mature adult selves and the wounded inner child we have within us. “You begin with curiosity and love, asking the child, what’s going on? That child is still in you and can respond if she wants to. She wants to talk about unmet needs, being misunderstood, wanting to be loved, etc,” she said, her voice washing over the room.
The spirit in the group was palpable as people reflected on their childhood memories. Several guests were moved to share their experiences, sometimes with tears in their eyes. After hearing the testimony of two sisters who experienced a dramatic and violent upbringing, our host, Monika Kellet, commented that she was, “astounded how they overcame such detrimental circumstances and indeed are now great role models… It showed me that with much determination, a willingness to help the young generation to become good citizens and most of all with God's Love in their hearts, they could go beyond themselves. They chose to overcome victimhood and embrace ownership of their lives. That was for me most impressive and very inspiring and hopeful.” Truly such deep issues must be addressed, it is not enough to hide them away, they must be healed.