These pages are dedicated to discovering the inner child, which is the cornerstone of all real healing. Lead the child within to joy, and you find joy for yourself.

Now Available! Discovering Your Inner Child: Transforming Toxic Patterns and Finding Your Joy, a book by Asha Hawkesworth

Inner child interview with Asha on Pathways

Paul O'Brien interviewed Asha on his Pathways radio show on KBOO in Portland, Oregon. Click the link to hear the podcast.

Asha's Inner child talk at Wy'east UU Church

A big thanks to NW Corazón for filming my talk at Wy'east UU Church in October 2010! Please click the link to view the video on Vimeo, including the children's reading beforehand. We read Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak, which is a terrific inner child work. My introduction to the inner child follows.

Part of Asha's Preface to Discovering Your Inner Child

This is the first part of the preface to my book, Discovering Your Inner Child: Transforming Toxic Patterns and Finding Your Joy. I write my own story largely to illustrate that healers do not enter the world fully healed. We all have our journeys, and there are times when we don't have a clue or feel like we've hit a brick wall. And yet, we are healing. We are making progress. We can transform our lives. We can find our joy. May this give you hope.

Healing your inner child

Who is your inner child, and why do they need to be healed?

Meeting your inner child:  A meditation

Try this simple, but powerful meditation to see your inner child (or anyone else) in a new light.

Toxic parents

Many people have suffered from the effects of toxic parents, but many people are also in denial that they even have toxic parents. Yet, most emotional damage is caused by toxic parenting. If you think you might have issues with your parents, read this article.

When God is a toxic parent

If we believe in a God who is a toxic, judgmental parent, we are living in fear.

Harry Potter's choices

Why do we love Harry so much? Harry Potter speaks to our inner child, to our inner fears and insecurities, with the hopeful message that we're really okay in spite of these things.

Healing Scrooge's inner child: The gift of joy

Scrooge's stinginess toward others is only a reflection of his stinginess toward himself.

What is healing?

This overview describes what we mean by "healing."