Imagination

The difference between [Peter] and the other boys… was that they knew it was make-believe, while to him make-believe and true were exactly the same thing.

- J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

The archetype of the Inner Child can be found in so many novels, including the classic, Peter Pan. Reading the book for the first time, I was struck by how artfully J.M. Barrie writes about the Inner Child, expressed through Peter Pan. And it is not only the joyous and free-spirited manifestation of the Inner Child (or Core Child, in this case), but also the Wounded Self and Wounded Child. Peter Pan is at times rather reckless and self-interested, and also has deep hurt about having been abandoned and forgotten by his birth parents.

There are many rich and complex themes I could write about, but one which I found most fascinating and relevant for Inner Child work is Peter’s sense of imagination—how what is “make-believe” to him, and what is “true”, bears little difference. In day-to-day life it is helpful for us to discern what is true and what is make-believe, but in Inner Child work it is helpful to allow what is “make-believe” to be true, or real. I have found that relationship with my Inner Child rests on the foundation of my imagination and suspension of disbelief. When I started this work for my own healing it was a little wonky, because the practice of allowing my own inner life and emotions to represent a distinct consciousness (i.e., my Inner Child) was new and foreign. But when I took a step toward “make-believe” and “pretended” my Inner Child was real and could speak to me, then what was “make-believe” very quickly became real.

This, in my opinion, is critical. Our belief in the existence of our Inner Child is what makes this healing work possible. When we enter into the liminal space where our Inner Child is real to us, then holding them with love is real; following them into the pain or joys of our childhood is real; resting and laughing with our Inner Child in communion is real. What may have started as make-believe becomes real, and in the end, as we experience the miraculous healing power of this work, does it really matter whether it is actually make-believe or true?

Barrie, J.M. (2015). Peter Pan. New York: HarperCollinsPublishers, 101.