PIERRE F.

WALTER

HOW TO USE YOUR INNER CHILD?

Contribution to an Article by Globes Magazine, Israel
2012 Pierre F. Walter. All rights reserved.
My answers to this online interview via email were given free of charge for
contributing to their article.

REQUEST
Dear Dr. Pierre F. Walter,
My name is Galit Hatan, and I'm subeditor and correspondent at "Lady
Globes" Magazine monthly magazine that addresses both men and
women, and maintains on the emotional side of business.
On our next issue we will be focusing on The Inner child.
As an expert in this area, I hope you will be able contribute to our main
article.
We would really appreciate this.
Here are my questions:
1.

Why people are so afraid of "releasing" their inner child?

2.

Why do people let their inner child "get out" when they are at

private space, like when they watch cartoons on TV, but not at public
spaces like at parties or in group meetings?
3.

What helps people to finally release him? What are they getting

rid from?

4.

When usually do they do that?

5.

The trick to convert the inner child from a burden to a gift do

you agree?
6.

How would you describe the inner child, what are his main char-

acters?
7.

What our inner selves are really looking for?

8.

When and how the inner child rewards you?

9.

How can you enjoy your inner child?

10.

Is it better to go through this process alone or by taking part in a

group?

Thanks in advance.
Galit Hatan
Chief Subeditor, Lady Globes, Globes
http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/nodeview.asp?fid=942

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1.

Why people are so afraid of \"releasing\" their inner child?

Pierre F. Walter The Inner Child is our most intimate inner self,
among our three inner selves, which are Inner Parent, Inner Adult and
Inner Child. It is the source of our creativity and the true inspirational

self, responsible for our originality, rather than our conformity. Hence, in
social relations, this inner self is released when the person feels there is
safety enough for this to happen.

2.

Why do people let their inner child \"get out\" when they are at private

space, like when they watch cartoons on TV, but not at public spaces like at parties or
in group meetings?

Pierre F. Walter This is a logical consequence of what I said regarding

the first question. We are living in a society that demands a considerable
amount of conformity, except within the creative professions, in artistic
performance, or among artists. Have you ever been invited at an artist's
dinner? You will then realize that these people can be relaxed and cheerful even without alcohol while in business circles there is a much greater
reserve or shielding. This shielding is a conditioned response, the result of
educational expectations and requirements. It is like people are holding a
shield over their heart, for the seat of the Inner Child is truly the heart.
Another reason is that the Inner Child is very vulnerable, as it is *not*
shielded, has not built defenses. It is like an open mind that absorbs all
and everything and is highly vulnerable to be hurt. That is the reason
why people are so careful in releasing their Inner Child when it's not apparently safe for doing so. Hence, people *feel into* the surrounding energies and sense if there is any receptiveness for their Inner Child's original ideas or outbursts, and all the fun they are usually wrapped into. In a
stiff business meeting the Inner Child is less likely to manifest (or will do
so only in a hidden manner) than in a fun kind of event like when watch-

ing a cartoon, playing a game, or in a relaxed social setting like party or

festivity.

3.

What helps people to finally release him? What are they getting rid from?

Pierre F. Walter When people are able to release their Inner Child,
they get rid of the character armor they have built around their heart,
their most vulnerable part, their feeling-failing nature, as I call it. It needs
courage to do so, it needs high self-esteem, too. What helps release this
inner self is most of all sympathy from teh side of others, who namely
also release their Inner Child, so that there can be something like a silent
agreement to release the shielding and let over to a deeper yielding to our
true nature.

4.

When usually do they do that?

Pierre F. Walter People check the risks first, they check if it is safe for
showing their difference. In my view, the true self has accepted our difference; it's through our difference that we shine to ourselves and to others, not through hiding our difference. But in the conventional setting,
being too different may trigger suspicion or even criticism, hence people
are on guard, and release their Inner Child when they feel it's safe to do
so. This is often in our society when they have drunk some alcohol, or
they are in an informal setting. But in my observation this can well happen also in the aftermath of business meetings, namely when a glass is
taken together, or at training seminars, after dinner, when people go on

chatting in a more informal mode. Then the Inner Child may manifest in
giving novel ideas, in finding new points of connection between people,
and in preparing the ground for real teambuilding.

5.

The trick to convert the inner child from a burden to a gift do you agree?

Pierre F. Walter Good question. It indeed depends on the way we look

at it. There are people who curse their artistic talent because they made
an art career and then feel they are not remunerated highly enough. But
that is to kick your Inner Child. It's rather the Inner Adult who has to
*manage* things so that the material plane is satisfied, that's not the task
of the Inner Child! The Inner Child is the greatest gift we possess, only
that our non-spiritual culture is rarely able to consider it as such. Jeremiah Abrams, editor of 'Reclaiming the Inner Child' (1990) writes that
it's a true religious quest to recover and heal our Inner Child. This is the
true religio, it's the true treasure hunt, or the Biblical 'treasure in the
fields'. It's our Inner Child. It is important for many of us, especially
those with a materialistic worldview, to acknowledge the existence of our
inner selves and to see that to be releasing them appropriately in social
relations is not a burden or an ordeal, but truly an enrichment for everybody involved!

6.

How would you describe the inner child, what are his main characters?

Pierre F. Walter The Inner Child is mainly our creative inner self, representing our difference, our non-conforming original treasure box of
ideas and potential achievements; it is the entity in us that says a gentle
yet firm *No* to society's demands for conforming and becoming a robot, or a clone of our parents, or a willing executioner. It is the true
moral herald for it revolts when we do things for purely material reasons,
for money-making only, for greed, or because we want to be the superhero. The Inner Child requires us to have courage to be ourselves, but at
the same time to remain humble, not arrogant. Contrary to the Inner
Child, our Inner Adult is more involved in good decision-making, the
rational side of us, and the Inner Parent is the caretaker, the social organizer also. The Inner Child is involved at the beginning of a creative project or an art creation, or a new business project, and as such it is most
important for if we suffocate and silence our first new impulses, or novel
ideas, the outcome will be mediocre, it will be more or less the same we
did before, under a new name. True original creations are all triggered by
a lively, and strong Inner Child. Best example for this fact are two great
men, Albert Einstein and Charles Chaplin, both having had a very alive,
sane and active Inner Child.

7.

What our inner selves are really looking for?

Pierre F. Walter Our Inner Selves are our inner team. They are our
inner organizers. They are the actors on the inner stage where we actually prepare how we act outwardly, in society, with others. The way our

inner actors correlate, that way we relate to others. If our Inner Selves
are blocked or in a 'state of non-communication' as Winnicott called it,
then this reflects in outer reality, through stale energy in our communications with others. When you see a closed-up person, somebody really uncommunicative, you can be sure that this person has not discovered their
Inner Selves, and that their Inner Child is wounded or even cataleptic. In
my Inner Child Recovery and Healing work I therefore put the stress on
the interaction between our Inner Selves, not just upon making the Inner
Child as active as possible. For an active Inner Child with inactive Inner
Adult and Inner Parent is a nuisance! This is something many other experts on the matter overlook. The Inner Child person who comes with a
hypertrophied Inner Adult and Inner Parent is the clochard type, the person who comes always late to business meetings, the person who is unable
to have some order in their affairs and whose living areas are cluttered.
Hence it is so tremendously important that there is harmony between the
Inner Child, the Inner Adult and the Inner Parent, and not conflict and
opposition. This harmony doesn't come by itself, it is the result of an
awareness process!

8.

When and how the inner child rewards you?

Pierre F. Walter It's when you act in a way that you respect what Alice
Miller and Alexander Lowen called the 'true self', your true nature, when
you are integer, when you are truthful, not coward in situations of conflict, for example, when you voice the 'alternative' concern that nobody
wants to mention, when you defend the cause not for your personal reward but for the greatest possible outcome for all people involved in the

endeavor. It is when you do not hide your novel ideas, but present them
fearlessly, but in a way to not hurt others in a personal manner. The Inner Child rewards striking up in manner that is bringing about novelty
and social and personal progress, it is an instance in us that is pro-truth,
pro-evolution and against fascism and denial.

9.

How can you enjoy your inner child?

By practicing truthful inner dialogue, by listening to your Inner Child, by

not silencing it as a matter of social conformity, by giving a try to the
ideas it comes up with. This is the true religio in the original sense of the
word. Religio comes from the Latin word 'relinquere' which means 'linking back'. When we practice religio, we link back to our true nature, the
Divine seed in us all, the Higher Self. The Inner Child can be said to be
some sort of messenger to the Higher Self. When you act in a morally
reprehensible manner, the result is that the Inner Child retreats and shuts
up, for its cause is always pro-life. Hence by respecting the Golden Rule,
and not doing to others when we do not wish others do to us, we keep
our Inner Child content, happy and communicative.

10.

Is it better to go through this process alone or by taking part in a group?

Pierre F. Walter This is individually very different. I have done this

work alone, as an add-on to a psychotherapy, but the Inner Child Recovery and Healing work was not part of the therapy. I did it with approval
of my therapist, but not as part of the therapy. There are people who like

to do it more in a group setting but the Inner Child may block communication for a long time in such a setting, for it's really our most intimate
part and when in a group, the Inner Child may not feel safe enough to
begin communicating. So I would say the best is to do this work alone,
but as I said, other people may feel differently about that.