According to some brilliant minds, exploring childhood memories is the key to happiness. Could childhood pastimes hold the key you are looking for? Are you ready to find out?
The joy of your childhood playtime memories holds the answer—herein lies the key to your earthly pursuits. This philosophy of life differs from the message we get from the dominant force of commercialism.
The society of commercialism wants people to believe happiness is found by accumulating money or things. So, people buy things in the search for happiness. But this doesn’t work. It leads to buyer’s remorse. We buy things we don’t need, and their luster is fleeting. The things we were promised would bring us happiness, only give us more debt.
Most rich people are greedy and unhappy. They accumulate more than they can ever use, while most people live just trying to survive. The bottom line is that you can’t buy happiness; you need to find it.
Childhood Pastimes Hold the Key
If you are lucky, what you do for work also brings you great joy and happiness. Not everyone can make a living at something that brings them true fulfillment. Getting up and going to work may be something you need to do to make a living. It’s different from what brings you happiness. (1)
It’s never too late to redirect your path to find happiness. Follow your passion, and you’ll be a lot happier. You must identify what drives your passions, desires, and dreams to do this. Here is where childhood pastimes hold the key to success as an adult.
We want our children to have a childhood that’s magical and enriched, but I’ll bet that your best childhood memories involve something you were thrilled to do by yourself. These are childhoods magic words: I did it myself! — Lenore Skenazy
Obstacles to Exploring Childhood Memories
We need to discuss the common obstacles before we discuss reflecting on childhood playtime memories.
First, there’s the fear of running into negative memories. Sometimes, people worry they might remember something sad or scary from their past. This fear can make them avoid thinking about their childhood altogether.
Second, we may not know what to look for because we don’t understand our genuine desires. When we try to remember things, it can be confusing. We might not know what we want to find out about ourselves, making it hard to focus on specific memories.
This is most likely because we listen to what others want us to become. We genuinely don’t know what we want. We have no clue what path will lead us to our dreams. Another obstacle is our well-meaning families.
Here’s where childhood pastimes hold the key, as they help us sort out what we really like versus what we are told we should like.
Abandoning who people think you are and becoming who you really are is a simple concept, but sometimes it is very hard to do. It isn’t easy to give up others’ ideas of who you are. Yet, the key to success is to discover your uniqueness and to exploit it. Your authentic persona, either personal or corporate, is the key to your prosperity. — Larry Winget
Sometimes, our families have plans for our lives and careers that ignore our passions and dreams. Because we are “good children,” we try to please our parents. We learn to please other people or institutions; this is only a substitute for what we desire. Therefore, our earthly pursuits become a journey of pain instead of pleasure.
Another obstacle is that our memories can be unclear or incomplete. Over time, we might forget details or mix up events. This makes it hard to trust what we remember.
Some people might feel pressure to remember things a certain way. They might think they need to have happy memories or remember things perfectly. This pressure can make it stressful to explore their past.
These obstacles can make it challenging to explore childhood memories. But if we take the time to understanding them, we can learn to overcome them. The simple memories of childhood playtime and childhood pastimes hold the key to our genuine passions. It’s both as easy as delving into memories and as tricky as unearthing deep memories.
In a moment, we’ll discuss a process for identifying and repairing the programming that distorts our values. Our dominant cultural narrative gives us a lot of programming. It always tells us to buy stuff to fill our need for happiness.
Herein Lies the Key to Your Earthly Pursuits
Carl Jung (2) says childhood playtime memories are where you’ll find the clues to happiness. They tell you the path you should take to fulfill your dreams. It’s a blueprint that may differ from your family’s expectations or our culture.
Everything we are is anchored in our childhoods. The drama comes in how we deal with it. Are we slaves to our past, or can we rise above it? This is the stuff of great stories. — Robert Crais
If we take the time to search for our childhood memories, we’ll find some valuable lessons for building a better future. It doesn’t matter where you are in your life, educational level, or career. This exercise will confirm or redirect your efforts to your academic and career goals.
Consider whether fulfillment of the goal you have chosen will constitute success. What is success? If you possess health and wealth but have trouble with everybody (including yourself), yours is not a successful life. Existence becomes futile if you cannot find happiness. When wealth is lost, you have lost a little; when health is lost, you have lost something of more consequence; but when the peace of mind is lost, you have lost the highest treasure. — Paramahansa Yogananda
Reflecting on Childhood Playtime Memories
You have an essential decision to make once you explore your memories and find those nuggets of joy. Can you pursue those childhood pastimes to some degree? How much time and resources can you devote to making yourself happy? (3)
What did you do as a child that made the hours pass like minutes?
Herein lies the key to your earthly pursuits. — Carl Gustav Jung
When children play, they are living in the moment. Being present is one reason children live in a natural state of happiness. Children explore with innocence and immerse themselves in the experience fully. Our memories of moments like this are keys to happiness as adults. Let’s see if we can find some of these blissful memories to connect with our genuine interests and passions.
Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes. ― Carl Gustav Jung
This exercise is simple but powerful. It will give you valuable data to help you make big life decisions. You will get the best results when you gather at least a week or more data; two weeks is ideal. Don’t let our family and culture cover up the valuable clues that will lead us to happiness.
Exploring Childhood Memories & Childhood Pastimes
1. “Set” Your Intention
Establish the goal of finding positive childhood playtime memories. Seek times when you are playing, where you were “at the moment.” Find those times when your imagination created moments of joy and pleasure. Then, wait for things to surface. Set your intention, ask yourself, what did I love to do and play as a child? Write this question in your journal.
Learn to align purpose and actions, herein lies the key to your earthly pursuits. Make sure your deepest desires are healthy and you’ll make a positive impact on your life and the world.
Don’t force things to happen. Ask the subconscious to seek positive memories. Some people find it helpful to say, “Find positive childhood memories.” When you do this, it introduces you to the power of the “repeating question.” It is important to remember that our memory of past events can positively or negatively color our perception. Time can change our memories. So, trust your gut feelings about them.
If or when you encounter something that sparks negative feelings, set it aside. You can say I set that memory aside for now. If you feel compelled, write a few words in another section of your journal to help with further healing work.
Right now, we want to focus our attention on positive memories. These positive childhood pastimes hold the key to unlocking our adult happiness mindset. Negative memories can contain a nest of feelings that we will want to address when we are ready and have support to do so.
You are not ignoring the problem. You are setting your intention to find positive memories to give your life purpose and direction. This task is just as important as dealing with harmful memories.
2. Sources to Spark Positive Memories
Here are some sources that can help you retrieve positive memories or memory fragments. This process can be time-consuming and emotionally taxing. So, you’ll get the most out of it if you can schedule sessions over several sessions rather than one eight-hour setting.
Each source may unlock memories that surface after you have completed the exercise. So, keep your journal handy. Don’t be surprised if memories surface in your dreams or days after completing any of the following sources that spark memories.
1. Journaling. Write down any memories that come to mind. Sometimes, the act of writing can trigger more memories.
2. Dream Journal. When you awaken, jot down your dreams or any fragments of your dreams. Pay attention to those dreams that make you feel good.
3. Photo Albums. Look through old photo albums or digital photos. Images can often bring back vivid memories.
4. Talking with Family and Friends. Share stories with those who were part of your childhood. They might remember things you’ve forgotten.
5. Visiting Old Places. If possible, visit places where you spent a lot of time as a child, like your old neighborhood, school, or favorite park.
6. Listening to Music. Play songs that were popular during your childhood. Music has a powerful way of bringing back memories.
7. Reading Old Letters or Diaries. If you have any old letters, diaries, or schoolwork, reading through them can be a great way to recall past events.
8. Watching Home Video. If you can access home videos, watching them can be a direct way to relive past moments.
9. Smells and Tastes. Certain smells and tastes can be very evocative. Try cooking a meal you loved as a child or using a scent that reminds you of your childhood home.
3. Set Aside Time to Search Internally
Sit quietly and take a few minutes to meditate or settle your mind. Use a timer on your smartwatch or calendar. Set your attention to finding these positive childhood memories.\
You can do it at lunchtime or when you have a few minutes to write the things that surface. It’s essential to use a handwritten journal or notebook. Your handwriting connects to your subconscious mind.
Remember, for this exercise, we want to focus on positive memories. We are exploring childhood memories with positive themes and memories only.
Positive memories are linked to our inner desires. Many people have found it helpful to play music since childhood. It will help you connect with the target memories. If you run into negative stuff, bypass it for now.
Realize that your subconscious mind wants you to know what will make you happy. Once you know this, it can become a life-changer. Look for positive memories; herein lies the key to your earthly pursuits.
4. Review Your Results
After a week or so, you will see a pattern emerging in your notes. These patterns are the valuable clues you have been looking for regarding your true passions. Many people find that just a few simple tasks and themes resonate. t is that simple and only takes a short time to get results.
This exercise is a foundational group process; it’s part of our blended learning process. We then use another activity to delve into memories further to identify values and potential roadblocks.
Spiritual Technologies
These are the tools provide a host of tools for spiritual exploration.. We divide these tools into four major categories:
— Analytical Tools
— Meditation
— Awareness Tools and Techniques
— Natural Healing Modalities
Returning to our childhood through memories is one of the best ways to unlock a fulfilling future. Jung provides an essential lesson. Memories of childhood playtime are the answer. herein lies the key to your earthly pursuits, the key that brings happiness.
Finding the place to start is only the beginning. The hardest part is redirecting your life to align with the true desires of your heart. It’s not easy because there are so many obstacles in the way. But you want to have happiness rather than fake happiness; it’s the path you must take.
“Measure your success by your inner scorecard versus an outer one.” — Robin Sharma
“Be of good cheer. Do not think of today’s failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow. You have set yourselves a difficult task, but you will succeed if you persevere; and you will find a joy in overcoming obstacles. Remember, no effort that we make to attain something beautiful is ever lost.” — Helen Keller
Childhood Pastimes is the Key
Searching for childhood memories may be more difficult for some than others. If you had a childhood dominated by trauma, these positive memories might be few and far between. Children can find peace in pastimes, even in challenging situations. We recommend a detailed process for delving into memories. This will help those with difficulty identifying these nuggets of wisdom.
References
(1) Happy childhood memories linked to better health later in life.
(2) Carl Jung, Wikipedia.
(3) Childhood Memories.
(4) Searching Childhood Memories.