In the hustle of life, it is easy to lose sight of our inner childlike self, the pure and wise part of ourselves that craves authenticity and connection. We often get caught up in the rat race of shallow living, seeking instant gratification and neglecting our deeper purpose and meaning. So, how can we nurture and embrace our inner childlike self and live a more soulful life? This blog post will explore eight childlike practices for soulful living.
1. Creativity
One of the most beautiful things about children is their boundless creativity. To tap into this inner childlike quality, explore your craft, bring your art supplies wherever you go, and work with a sense of playfulness and joy.
2. Curiosity
Children are naturally curious, always seeking to learn and explore new things. To cultivate this quality in your life, try practicing objective witness self-reflection, investigating your preconceived assumptions and beliefs, and asking questions like “Tell me more” to better understand the world around you.
3. Emotions
Children are known for being in touch with and expressing their emotions freely. As adults, we often suppress our feelings. Still, by practicing emotional awareness and self-expression, we can tap into our inner child and foster a deeper connection to our feelings and needs. Techniques to try include noticing your emotions, identifying where you feel them in your body, and expressing them through your voice with techniques like yelling, growling, laughing, sighing, and yawning.
4. Honesty
Children are known for being honest, sometimes to a fault. To tap into this inner quality of honesty, try practicing honest self-dialogue and having real conversations with yourself and others. Honesty may involve facing difficult truths and vulnerability but can lead to greater authenticity and connection.
5. Imagination
Children have incredible imaginations and can often see the world more vibrantly and imaginatively than adults. To cultivate this quality in your life, try visualizing your perfect day, the win in a specific situation, or practicing warehouse meditation to enter a state of creative flow and imagination.
6. Movement
Children are naturally active and love to move their bodies. To tap into this inner childlike quality, try looking around the room and finding ways to incorporate movement into your day, like bouncing and shaking, kneeling to standing, crawling and rolling, and dancing with joy and abandon.
7. Play
Children are known for their love of play and their ability to make even mundane activities into fun games. To tap into this inner childlike quality, try making a game out of everyday tasks, bringing your toys to the table, and finding ways to infuse more playfulness and joy into your daily life.
8. Trust
Children can often trust others and take risks without fear. To cultivate this inner quality of trust, try taking more significant risks in your personal or professional life, having a vulnerable conversation with someone, and using an empathetic, supportive, and encouraging tone of voice.
Conclusion
Embracing your inner child can be a powerful way to cultivate more creativity, curiosity, emotions, honesty, imagination, movement, play, and trust in your everyday life. By tapping into these childlike qualities, you can connect with your authentic self and live a more soulful, purposeful, and integrated life. So embrace your inner child, and let the joy and creativity flow.