Childhood Memories and a Naturopath

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Old childhood memories have begun to resurface lately and they look different to me. I’ve always understood, at least in my head, that who we were as children is who we are at the core and how we were treated has a powerful influence on who we have become. I find that I am slipping into a deeper understanding of this dynamic.

About a year ago I began to make regular visits to Naturopath.  I met her for the first time about five years ago.  The daughter-in-law of my dentist, she had set up shop in his office. You could feel her impact from the minute you walked in the door! Lavender spread its calming power and soft music relaxed every muscle in my body before I even sat down! I wouldn’t have known I was in the dentist’s office if I hadn’t been there before. (I learned later that this was her intent!) I was not only calmed but incredibly intrigued. Knee deep in layers of mid-life stress I needed calm!

Crystal is a young, slight woman who glides when she walks. A wisp. A breeze. A breath of fresh air. Always warm and welcoming she has no pretense, no obvious agenda, no guile. She is there. Present. Naturally I didn’t trust her! At first. Until I begin to see that she is real and she is very good at what she does. She has been trained by the best and even at her young age she knows of life’s pain and difficulties. I spent some time with her when my mother died and then she moved away. But she returned last year exactly when I needed her in my life again!

Since then she has taken me on several meditative journeys that have changed my entire perception of myself. So much for years of therapy! Therapy is valuable, but there’s another place worth visiting.  It’s a soul place. It’s where our child, or our unvarnished selves lives, waiting to be discovered, acknowledged, embraced. It’s a safe place. A strong place. An ever available friend-place. Guided imagery meditation has allowed me to find and explore a place within myself that I had not accessed before. A truer place.

It has helped me to begin to see my childhood with a new perspective. We are still getting acquainted and every visit is a new adventure. Both of my parents are gone now and some distance has been placed between us. I feel freer in some sense to allow myself to be me. My voice becomes stronger and now it is easier to choose what I value of the things of I was taught. Some are good. Some need to be tossed.

We learn something new about ourselves every day if we pay attention. Life hands us little opportunities for discovery ~ like Chrystal ~ like guided imagery. Sometimes we have to risk doing something new and different and seeing where it leads. No matter how it turns out, chances are it will be worth it in one way or another.