"Children of the Underground" by MriyaRun: How the Inner Child MAC Deck Works (author Dmytro Telushko)

There are memories that are easy to retell in words: a birthday, a first bicycle, a trip to the sea, a school reprimand in a diary. And there are others — small, almost imperceptible scenes that do not always have a clear plot, but leave a strong mark in the body and memory. The smell of a warm kitchen. The light of a flashlight under a blanket. An empty chair at the table. Hide-and-seek near a pole. A dandelion wreath. The shame of awkward attention. The joy of winning on a game console. The fear of a dark room where a pile of clothes seems like a monster.

It is precisely from such images that the MAC deck about childhood "Children of the Underground," created by Dmytro Telushko for the MriyaRun brand, is composed. It is designed not just to evoke nostalgia. Its task is deeper: to help a person see how childhood experience lives inside adult life, what parts of ourselves we are still hiding, what resources we have forgotten, what boundaries we have lost, what desires we have not allowed ourselves to live out.

Childhood is often portrayed as either too bright or too traumatic. But real childhood is almost always more complex. It contains play, tenderness, fantasy, courtyard adventures, first gifts, first victories. And at the same time, there is shame, loneliness, fear, peer pressure, grievances, incomprehensible adults, violated boundaries, and feelings of guilt.

This deck is valuable precisely because it does not remove the complexity. It has warm cards: soap bubbles from the balcony, sea treasures, a filmstrip on the wall, a garden on the windowsill, a plush bear, a flashlight under a blanket. There are cards about play and social experience: hopscotch, Chinese jump rope (elastics), adult-like playing cards, chess and dominoes in the courtyard, a game console, snowballs, tag. There are cards that touch upon heavier themes: tin cans tied to a cat's tail, under the table during an argument, a photo without a face, an empty chair, a clothing monster, a note in the diary.

Therefore, the deck does not impose a single version of childhood on a person. It gives space for the truth: in childhood, there could be both light and pain. And both layers can be worked with gently.

The "Children of the Underground" deck consists of 150 cards and is divided into three large parts.

The first part (cards 1-50) opens up the inner fairy-tale world. There are many symbolic images here: a door in the wall, a flashlight under a blanket, an island of pillows, a little dragon, a mirror, a suitcase by the door, a secret box, an invisible friend, the inner child and adult. These cards work well with unconscious images, fears, defenses, fantasy, resources, and deep childhood needs.

The second part (cards 51-100) immerses you more into courtyard, bodily, and social childhood. Here appear nuts on a tree, a wire ring, a milk message, a filmstrip, a plantain leaf, hide-and-seek, fishing, snowballs, hopscotch, a dollhouse, lipstick by the mirror, Chinese jump rope, a diary, first roles, and first boundaries. This part helps to remember not an abstract "childhood in general," but specific situations, relationships, bodily sensations, and social scenarios.

The third part (cards 101-150) adds more complex boundary scenes and deeper integration: group laughter, childhood cruelty, imitation, adult games, waiting, saying goodbye, family shadows, fantasy as a way to survive. Here are courtyard Indians, and adult-like cards, and a chalk line, and under the table during an argument, and a book with a living river. This part works especially well with themes of boundaries, guilt, growing up, invisibility, independence, and reclaiming one's own power.

Together, the three parts create a route: from a symbolic image to a specific memory, from a childhood scene to adult awareness.

Each card has three questions, and this is an important part of the methodology. The questions are structured so as not to throw a person immediately into analysis or a traumatic memory. They lead gradually.

The first question helps to enter the image. It is usually about what is happening on the card, where am I in this scene, what catches the attention first. This is a soft contact with the picture.

The second question reveals an emotion or need. What does the child feel? What are they missing? Where is the fear, shame, tenderness, excitement, loneliness, anger, joy, or desire to be noticed here?

The third question transfers the work to adult life. How is this connected to me now? Where do I repeat this scenario? What can I give my inner child today? What small step is possible?

This movement is important: image -> feeling -> awareness -> action. If you immediately ask "what to do?", a person might go into their head and lose live contact. If you stay only in the beautiful image, the work might not provide integration. The three questions hold the balance.

You shouldn't rush with a card. It's best to first just look at it for 20-40 seconds. Without analysis. Without explanations. Without trying to answer "correctly."

You can start with simple questions:

Only after this is it worth moving on to the main questions of the card. If a question does not resonate, it shouldn't be forced. MAC cards work not through the right answer, but through a personal response. Sometimes the most important thing begins with the phrase: "I don't know, but for some reason I'm sad" or "I don't want to look at this card."

The simplest technique is one card for one memory. A person draws a card and answers: what memory does it bring up, what was the most important thing there, what could not be said then, what can I say to myself now.

Another powerful technique is "child, adult, resource." Three cards are drawn: my inner child, my adult state now, a resource that can connect them. Such a spread helps not to leave the child part alone with its feelings.

For cards about a group, play, and boundaries, the "boundary of the game" technique works well. It is especially appropriate for scenes where laughter or excitement turns into pressure, shame, or pain. Here it is important to ask: where is the game, where does it become dangerous, who has the right to say "stop," what boundary do I want to return to myself now.

For resource work, you can openly choose a card that gives warmth or strength. Then ask: what exactly supports here, where does this live in me, how can I take this resource in the next 24 hours.

For deeper work, the "then and now" spread is suitable: me then, what I felt then, how it manifests now, what can help now.

Its strength lies in the combination of recognizability and metaphor. A person sees not an abstract symbol, but a scene that the body can recognize: a courtyard, a balcony, a kitchen, an old table, a flashlight, snow, a briefcase, a diary, a TV, a game console. But there is a magical layer in this scene: a book becomes a river, a refrigerator opens a portal, a nightlight becomes a lighthouse, a pocket contains the cosmos.

Thanks to this, the card works on two levels at once. Everyday life helps to remember the real. Magic allows talking about the complex without direct pressure.

Another advantage is that the deck does not give ready-made diagnoses. It does not say: "you have this trauma" or "this means this." It asks questions and gives the person back the right to find the meaning themselves.

The deck can be useful to psychologists, psychotherapists, coaches, art therapists, group facilitators, and people who are independently exploring the theme of the inner child.

It can be used to work with resources, boundaries, childhood memories, shame, self-worth, fears, family scenarios, unfinished feelings, and growing up.

But it is important to remember: if a card brings up strong feelings, do not press. Not every answer must be spoken immediately. Sometimes it is enough to see the image, name the feeling, and complete the work with a resource.

Any deep work with childhood images should end not only with awareness, but also with support. At the end, you can ask:

It is good to finish through a small action: write down a phrase, draw a detail, make a grounding gesture, drink water, choose a resource card, return attention to the room.

This deck is not about "returning to childhood." It is about seeing which childhood parts still live in us, what they need, and what power they carry.

Childhood cannot always be changed. But we can change the way we carry it inside.

And this is where MAC cards become not just pictures, but a tool for dialogue: between the past and the present, between the child and the adult, between pain and resource, between what was and what can still be chosen.

Childhood is not an archive of memories, but a living process that guides our adult choices every single minute. The main insight of working with the inner child is that true healing begins not when we simply indulge in nostalgia, but when we take responsibility for our current life script.

We often live trapped in script processes, postponing life for "later" or waiting for permission to feel joy. We hide our authentic needs behind familiar, learned feelings—shame, guilt, or anxiety. That is exactly why MriyaRun tools are designed as active practicums, not just journals for passive reflection. They are a space for real internal action.

The true magic of change happens when our inner Adult finds the courage to look at the repressed, shadow parts of the Child without judgment and says: "I see you. I acknowledge your pain and your power. And now I set the new rules of the game—you don't have to hide anymore."