Slay the Dragons and Dance With the Fairies – Part 1 of 2

When was the last time you experienced magic?

As I’ve gotten older I’ve become more aware of an important part of myself I had buried and left behind. I like to refer to this aspect as the child spirit because I believe the spirit is the child within.

Writing children’s books is one way I have the opportunity to experience that magical essence of myself. As I write a children’s book, I feel an energy come alive that brings me back to my child spirit of wonder and magic. I feel that anything I can dream is possible. I have always loved mystery – mystery of the world and that which cannot be explained rationally. The happy childhood memories feed my child spirit that I hold and acknowledge in beauty and wonder.

This is where I can tap into my creativity in a truly magical way. I see color in its brilliance, and in my meanderings I can travel to wherever I can dream. To me … this is heaven.

One of the most important aspects of ourselves

I feel the child spirit is one of the most important aspects of ourselves. When we feel connected we are closest to our deepest spiritual essence. To connect with the child spirit is to know love, and to accept the wholeness of ourselves.

The child spirit is a key to free energy that is healing and nurturing to the soul. It brings that sense of wonder, mystery, and innocence as it opens the door to creativity. I feel this is what the soul is asking.

When I am being too serious about myself and about life, I feel stagnant and lack the luster that would otherwise bring joy and creativity to my life, and not to mention fun. Not a good feeling, I must say.

I am aware of all the types of children I have inside that are timeless and ageless. There is the playful child, the wise child, the magical child, the sad child… For instance, when I was a child I was filled with a sense of magic – elves, fairies, unicorns, and animals were at my disposal just by dreaming them up. For instance, there is the vulnerable child who is at the seat of my emotions. There is the angry child that is angry because it is being disregarded. The sad child may be in pain because its needs are not being met. I just have to observe myself having a hissy fit and see my child spirit in action. All these children reside in each of us.

As we age we might bury or suppress the child spirit, and build stronger walls of defense and forget the child is there. However, the child spirit is there and will kick up a fuss when ignored for too long. It just takes the right circumstance.

A personal experience with the child spirit

When I wrote a children’s book a number of years ago, I had felt the connection with my child spirit and had fun with the process and didn’t take it too seriously. I completed the book within a couple of weeks. I then saw a publisher online that published the type of books like the one I had just written. I submitted the manuscript and within just a few weeks my book was accepted for publication. The swiftness of the whole process could only indicate that I had tapped into a source that was not of the rational workaday world I was accustomed to – that I was taught throughout my life. Then, my own resistance and self-doubt reared up and sabotaged my opportunity for publication. That is another story, but a good example of how we can find success when connecting to spirit, or how we can destroy a good opportunity when rational thought comes into play.

I have seen a connection between the child spirit and the shadow self. When we bury and suppress the child spirit we might lose touch with who we are as parts of ourselves might be buried and forgotten. This suppression comes at a cost because these forgotten parts are what make us authentic. If we feel inhibited in our playfulness or creativity, aspects of ourselves may become hurt, angry, and frustrated, creating more shadow parts of ourselves. If angry and hurt, we might be very hard on ourselves and this is the shadow self coming to the surface.

Part 2 of this post will appear next week. Hope to see you then.

Joyful journeying.