CASANDRA K. MACALAN "Ray of Light"

Holistic Health Therapist:
Empowering You to Heal

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Hello, my loves. Thank you for joining me, Cassandra MacAlan, on "Free the Wisdom to Heal the Body."

Today, I want to lead you all through a meditation or visualization with the intention of going back in time and healing that young child that you once were.

So what I recommend is, after this visualization is over, if you have a picture or an image of yourself as a young child, preferably one that is happy and healthy or smiling, or just makes you feel good when you look at it, I'd love for you to post that on your fridge or bathroom mirror somewhere that you're gonna see it often. And just kind of remember the feelings that this visualization or meditation that I'm leading you through today brings up when you see that picture.

Our intention is that you are going to send kind of these healing thoughts and these healing feelings back to yourself in time to help support that little baby you were who perhaps was not supported or nurtured or was frightened or just really, you still remember with some pain.

So, I know there's a lot of work done out there on healing your inner child. And I kind of see this as a little bit different because I don't see this as for perhaps kind of those inner roles that we have, you know, that critic, that judge, that inner child. But rather, our intention for this is to really go back in time and create a safe space for the younger you.

So, that's what I'm going to do today. And as you know, I don't share meditations often because I really have to love them and feel that they really have the potential to be very profound if you are in that space. But, of course, like anything else, you will only get out of it really what you're willing to give into it.

So, I'm going to read this directly from the book "Shadows Before Dawn" by Teal Swan.

If you're driving, this is only going to be about 10 minutes, so please pull over. If you are at home or you're in a place that you can have a little bit of private time, then shut the door, lock it, and prepare yourself by really kind of settling into wherever you're at. So, kind of sit back in your chair, plant your feet on the ground, and maybe you want to start with some slow deep breaths. Maybe you want to let your eyes drift closed or perhaps just gaze down. And just really kind of access that deeper part of yourself and use your breathing as you begin to breathe and kind of feel yourself in your body to take yourself out of your brain because we're just living up here. And in order to really let this visualization kind of ease you into a space of peace and knowing, I really want you to feel yourself in your body. So that's what we're going to start with. We're just going to start with some deep breaths.

So just at your own pace and in your own way, preferably through your nose, just breathe in, maybe hold it for a second, and exhale. And again.

And one more time. And just notice how you can feel your nervous system begin to just kind of ramp down. I know I get really fiery throughout the day, and so sometimes I just need to breathe myself into my body, and it's a great way to begin any meditation or mindfulness practice that you have. So just keep breathing as I read to you and just let yourself float along, okay? You don't need to look at me. You can turn away from the screen, close your eyes, and just listen as you sit quietly.

I want you to imagine a safe, wonderful place. This place can be real or imagined, sort of like a personal heaven in your own mind. Now, inside this safe place, I want you to imagine yourself as a child. Just let the image come into your mind. Allow it to be whatever it is. You may see a child who is very young or a child who is older. It doesn't matter. I want you to just observe yourself as a child. Take note of what this child self is doing. Take note of how he or she looks and how it seems like he or she is feeling.

Now, I want you to think about whether that child you were looking at right now in your mind's eye deserves happiness. I want you to think about whether that child that you were deserves to be loved. Does that child deserve to be unhappy? Does that child deserve to be deprived? Does that child deserve to be alone and unloved? What you will find is that you can never look at your childhood self and say that that child deserves to be unhappy or deprived or unloved. You simply know better than that when it comes to a child, any child.

Now I want you to stay and continue with this visualization and scan back through your life between the age of the child sitting in front of you in your mind's eye and the age that you are now. I want you to try to identify the point in your life wherein you suddenly became undeserving of happiness. Can you find it? The answer is always no.

I want you to now scan back over your life and try to find a point at which that child that you can see ceased to exist. Is there a point when that child died and suddenly an adult took its place? The answer to that question is always no as well.

Now, imagine going up to that child and introducing yourself. I want you to tell this child that they don't have to be strong anymore, that you're all grown up, deserve to be happy and they deserve to have anything they need and want. I want you to tell this child that you will give it to them because you're all grown up now, and you are ready to take care of them, perhaps in a way that they were never cared for but deserved. Tell them now that you love them so, so much. In fact, I want you to tell them what you love about them.

Look at this child in your mind's eye. Look at your little you. I want you to notice all the amazing things about that little you. Tell them everything you love about them in a way that perhaps they were never told. Tell them about all their gifts, their strengths, their beauties, their kindness, their deservedness.

And then, I want you to imagine giving this child a big hug. Hold them, hold this child. And if you see yourself as a child begin to cry when you do this, let them cry. And whether they cry or they get angry or there's an emotion to be had at all, I just want you to comfort them. I want you to hold them. I want you to give them that love and comfort in the way that you have always wanted to be comforted.

And feel for the sensation of relief when you in your childhood self already. You can tell this child that you will be there to comfort them and talk to them whenever they want. Imagine that this child has a warm bed and a favorite food to eat, and even a companion to play with, all within this safe place inside your mind. Show the child where they are and tell them that you're going to go do adult things for a while.

And when you feel as if the child is ready for you to be able to leave, hug them once more and tell them that you love them, always have and always will. Imagine tucking them into bed, go watching them eat their favorite thing, or running off to play, or having a friend, holding their favorite stuffed animal or a beloved toy, because they just snuggle in the bed with you, and then they close their eyes.

I want you to slowly, gently begin to feel your energy and your intention and attention come back to you, back to this body, to this adult self, back to the Here and Now. Direct your attention back to the room, wiggle your toes and fingers, take a deep breath, and when you're ready, open your eyes.

Thank you for joining me. I hope, if you were able to listen to this as I spoke it, that when I coughed, that's what I get for having a fan. And I hope that it enabled you to see your little you and really just direct some incredible intentional love to that child.

And as I said before we began, I would love it if you would see if you can find a picture of you that for you demonstrates whatever that age that child was that you saw, one perhaps that's smiling or just looks happy, or if you can't find one that looks happy then just one that's just you. Put it somewhere and think of how you wrapped that child in your love, how you projected how perfect it was, how you comforted it, hugged it, surrounded it with everything it deserved, whether or not you had those things when you were a child.

I hope you notice that you feel a little lighter, that you realize that even if you didn't have a childhood that was good or perfect or safe or fulfilling, you deserved it and that if it has still affected you today, maybe it's time to let that go, maybe it's time to feel how perfect you could feel if that was not a burden of memory that you still carried in you.

I know that I've worked a lot on that this summer and that I literally feel lighter. So I hope that brought you pleasure or peace. And you can, of course, always find it here or on YouTube and play it for yourself again if, for some reason, you weren't able to really set aside a safe space for you to do it. You can listen to it as many times as you like.

I love you all so much. And as you know, I've dedicated my life to helping people, but especially women, deal with the effects of having a life or childhood with toxic stress. And toxic stress simply means that kind of hyper-aroused nervous system that's overactive, chronic fight or flight that kind of gets really triggered in childhood and has way too much neuronal activity making certain pathways that should be for urgency or emergency into something that affects us on a daily basis.

Where we are always seeking the stressors or the fearful things or, you know, really overwhelmed by surprises or really can't socialize very well because being around a lot of people is just too triggering because we can't track them all. I mean, I'm speaking for myself, but I know I'm speaking for a lot of other people out there. So if you are challenged with any of this or if you'd like to help rewrite, rewrite, and rewire some of those pathways in childhood that still affect you today, that's what I'm here for.

You can always just send me a message, click on the link in the picture, click on the little code, and you can schedule the free session with me, and we can chat about personal stuff for you. Okay, I love you all. Take care. Bye.