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The end of February also marks a new beginning for those celebrating their birthday, and mine is February 28! As I reflect on my birthday and mid-life, I am smiling feeling overall well in mind and body. I am also taken back to memories and reminiscing on my childhood birthday celebrations. The one that stands out the most is when I turned the age of 10, and my parents gifted me a pink dress. The color pink was my favorite childhood color and a bold pink dress was my wish for the milestone birthday, and I was so happy to celebrate wearing my favorite pink dress! The next time I asked for a pink dress was on my 16 birthday, but insisted it be a softer, more sophisticated shade of pink, befitting for a teenager. I was again happy to wear PINK.
Now, as an adult, I have replaced the pink with a color that I had despised growing-up, GREEN. Both colors complement one another and remind me of two important aspects of consciousness - our need for survival and our need for love. In the chakra system, meaning wheels or vortexes of seven subtle vibrational energies that impact our psyche, the pink aura is contained in the root chakra, known as Muladhara, located at the base of the spine. Known as the first chakra, it's connected to our ability to nurture, ignite hope, feel steady balance and ground in safety. The green color signifies the fourth chakra, Anahata, or the Heart chakra, connected to the center of our chest and the seat of love, growth mindset, harmony, and compassion for self and others. The colors just like with our psyche, comprise of positive and negative, light and contrast aspects. The key is to integrate them to harness the true self - the deeper, authentic stable, able, and visionary self. There are five other chakras comprising the rainbow colors corresponding to energies of consciousness, you can read more on the chakra system here.
Chakras store the energy of thoughts, feelings, memories, experiences, and actions. They influence and direct our mindset, behavior, emotional health, and actions.
The importance of the memory of the younger me in pink on her birthday was also the need to feel anchored in safety of my surroundings. As a young child, I trusted everyone and always felt they had good intentions. Like the time my parents bought me a brand new bike, and yes there was a pink stripe on it, and a young girl my age came by the stoop where I was standing with my bike ready to ride and asked if we could be friends. I was craving friendship and unbeknownst to me in that moment, she was craving my bike! Before I even got a chance to introduce myself she pulled my bike towards her, hoped on and took off. Luckily, my mom was watching through the kitchen window as she was making rotis for dinner and ran downstairs and after her with a rolling pin to get the bike back, shouting she's "not your friend, she's stealing your bike. My mom got the bike back and the so called friend never came around again. As trust gets compromised from our early experiences, our perceptions begin to determine what's safe and what's not safe. Over the years as I dived deep into my studies and actively engaged in trainings, doing inner-child work for both my personal and professional development allowed for awareness to grow from deeper inquiry and understanding. I began to embrace the process of change and trust, that is birthed from within.
The inner child reflects the child we once were in both the positive as well as negative aspects. Both our unmet needs and suppressed childhood emotions, as well as our childlike innocence, creativity, and joy, that are still waiting within of us.
Hence, it makes sense that green became a significant color in my adulthood as I learned to connect with the parts of myself that has gone through both trauma and triumphs, and found compassion on the way to integrate my whole self colorfully with love and embody our natural birth-right, being happy.
INNER CHILD MEDITATION
A simple inner child meditation is to sit comfortably with eyes closed and take five breaths to calm the body. Allow yourself to go back in time to your younger self (choose an age in your mind from five on upwards) and ask her or him to sit a few feet in front of you. Ask how she/he is feeling in that moment facing you, and acknowledge how you are feeling. Take a moment to scan your body, notice any signs of discomfort, locate the part of your body it appears, and listen to any emotions that arise. Then ask the child if they had a favorite color growing up and what was it, and ask why. Then ask who she/he was then what they need now in the present from you, the adult self that they did not receive back then? Allow yourself to be patient as you continue to listen. Notice any similarities or differences. Then thank the part of yourself trusting the process and take a few breaths before you open your eyes. Take a moment right after to journal on what comes up and be aware of the adult mind trying to control the narrative of thoughts. If nothing appears, don't worry, you have softened into a vulnerable and relaxed state, and can try again.
Note on Meditation: The goal of meditation is to re-connect with one’s mind and body without feeling of overwhelm by what you witness. The meditation is designed to guide you be able to make choices with the observations you make of your mind and body, which will help you build agency over your thoughts, emotions, and sensations.
If you'd like to learn your personal chakra energy and guided deeper inner-child process and meditation to gain insight, schedule a free session, connect here.
