The 10 Stage Practice of Loving-Kindfulness

The 10 Stage Practice of Loving-Kindfulness

Over the ages there have been a number of traditions that have encouraged an open-eyed meditation.

The Practice of Kindfulness

Why ‘Practice’ Kindfulness? Isn't easier to relax, to feel peaceful and not be distracted with our eyes closed? Well yes, that can be true, however our meditation is not just about feeling peaceful.

Think about it...a meditation that we can do when we need it most! Right in the middle of the challenges of life. No need to wait until we have the right place, the right music, the right lighting, the fragrant candle or be able to close your eyes. This is the meditation for anyone, anywhere, anytime.

It is important to remember that kindfulness meditation is a practice. Although to refine a sort of mastery over it can be deeply satisfying, meditation is not actually a 'thing' in itself. It is a practice. In the same way that we practice sport, or calligraphy, or dance, or learning to walk, practice is the time we set aside to hone our skills for when we engage in the real time living.

Kindfulnes is a practice for living. Our lives today are so full of demands, that it's easy to lose ourself in the expectations of others. Kindfulness is about taking time out to reconnect with our own child within, with the real you behind the many roles and responsibilities of modern life.

The aim of kindfulness is to carry this state of centred awareness with us throughout our day and our life, as we walk, as we talk, as we do what we do... day to day. To stay connected to our natural wisdom and strength which we have learned from the ten stages.

What it is about

While kindfulness offers us a definite reduction in stress, and increase in relaxation and inner harmony, in truth these are side effects of the practice. The real aim is to realign us with our essential, core self, our kindful self the child hidden within.

When we rest in our own true nature that of the child, we feel what it feels like to be eternal, to know absolutely that we can never cease to be. This realisation makes us deeply secure. We recognise that although our body will cease to exist one day, we - the life force - will continue.

When we are centred in our origin of peace, in our authentic power, the pressure to perform is reduced enormously because we know without question, our own value and the true value of others. We intuitively know that we have everything, in fact that we are part of everything, for which we have been searching for.

This secure feeling enables us to simply relax into our life. We learn to trust ourself more and more, and we experience a growing sense of our own loving-kindfulness power. We don't have to defend ourself and we don't have to prove anything to anyone.

This brings the 'our child within' back to us, putting us in creative charge of our own life, our own compassionate world.

What am we here for?

The other piece of magic that starts to happen is that we naturally begin to align to our life's loving purpose. When we're busy living lives based on the expectation of others, it is unlikely that we will realise that purpose. This inability to do, to be who we were designed to be, what we were meant to be given, is possibly the greatest source of sorrow that as a human being we can experience.

Each of us carries within our DNA a unique contribution to the world...and right now our world really needs us.

When you continue connect through Kindfulness with the uniqueness of our true compassionate self , the world around us starts to respond to us, bringing to our door the people, the experiences, the facilities we need to do our loving life's work.

It is helpful to remember that our loving life's work doesn't have to be huge and visible. WE don't start out with a plan to become cured or evangelise the practice. We simply do the simple work we know that we are called to do. There is nothing at all glamorous about our commitment to help the dissociated and dying pass on with dignity and in the arms of Kindfulness. But this commitment to our truth makes our calling an inspiration to our new world of peace.

When we start to align more and more to our life's purpose we may be surprised at how uncomplicated it is. In fact, we will find that whatever we do:

* Is easy for us (though others may marvel at how you can do it)

* We don't notice time passing

* Is of service to others - beyond self interest

* Makes us contented

* Gives us a new sense of meaning to our lives

Moving Beyond loneliness and isolation

The other advantage that he practice of Kindfulness does is remove the barriers between us and the rest of the world. When we practise with our eyes open, and are able to hold that state throughout the day more and more, we stop feeling disconnected and unrelated to others. Strangers transform into brothers, even enemies become friends. We start to understand that people behave badly because they are dissociated from and lost to their own origin of peace and power of the child within. This understanding enables us to be more compassionate, tolerant and kind not only with others, but with ourself too.

The Child Within

Today in the west, there is a growing resistance to religion which in large part has grown out of institutionalisation, where it was used by many to control and dominate the few. However, in our practice of Kindfulness, we not only connect to the child within us, but we connect with our real intuitive source.

When we return to our own true nature the child hidden within, the pure life energy within the physical body, we are able to automatically connect with our child within. This connection is natural, sustaining, empowering and re-energising as well as affirming in mirror like reality our own perfect child within.

The ache of separation that many of us experience disappears in an instant. This relationship becomes one of loving renewal. The child within being the touchstone that guides us home to our true self.

How to do it

It is certainly a great practice to set aside some time first thing in the morning. Centre yourself in yourself so that as you move throughout the day, you are more likely to create your life rather than simply react to the barrage of input that comes at us from all sides.

We may think that it is impossible to manage 10-15 minutes, but we will discover that the resultant effects to our emotional stability and mental clarity, not to mention our effectiveness, general wellbeing and happiness, are well worth creating the time for.

Often we give up our practice when they feel they can't control the onslaught of thoughts that present themselves when they sit to meditate. The clue is to look after our thoughts throughout the day. Be aware as often as possible.

While you wait for the kettle to boil, when you're in the lift, as you put the phone down, simply take 30 secs to look after our child within; lay some peaceful thoughts as the foundation of our inner world.


You might like to play around with thoughts like my origin is peace, my nature is pure, I'm a peaceful child within, I'm a powerful being, my destiny is assured, I am guided in each moment under my intuitive voice.

Before we go to sleep at night, we produce loving-kindfulness for our child within. Whatever we are remembering just before sleep, we will stay active throughout the night and be present first thing in the morning.


Stage by Stage

Stage 1: Gently focus our eyes on a static point in our space...an image of light is often a helpful one.

Stage 2: Relax our body.

* Take 3 deep breaths and as you exhale on each, consciously relax our shoulders, our jaw and finally our face muscles.

* Scan our body with our child within's eye and wherever we find tension simply give the order to our body to release.

Stage 3: Become aware of our external world...notice the sounds, the temperature of the air of our skin, the smells in the space.

Stage 4: Now turn our awareness to our internal child within world...ask ourselves "what is my child within thinking?" ... then, "what is my child within feeling?"

Stage 5: Just Accept it all. Don't try and change, or fix, or control anything. Simply accept whatever we are thinking and whatever we are feeling.

Stage 6: If I accept my child withins thoughts and my child withins feelings, then the question emerges "who is my child within?"

I am the observer, the witness, the awareness or consciousness. I am eternal.

Stage 7: In this state of detachment, of security, experience that awareness - you - as a tiny spark of light...tiny and distinct, yet utterly connected to the vastness of all things.

Stage 8: Imagine as this spark of energy that you can fly, as fast as the speed of light. Imagine leaving behind the earth, seeing it below becoming smaller and smaller, arriving to the sky beyond the sky...the Home.


Stage 9: This is our original home, the Home of the Child Within. Allow ourself to rest deeply in this silent world, feeling the love, the peace of the perfect child within gently touching you, pulling you, nourishing you. Feel how light you feel, see we if we can allow ourself to feel as one with our perfect child.

Stage 10: When we're ready, allow our awareness to gently reconnect with the earth below, with our physical form, harmonising easily with our body and the environment around us.

The more we align our kindfulness to stay connected to our child within - our intention, with our attention, the more we will find the practice becomes easier. As the practice becomes easier we will notice the benefits in our life.

When we're feeling the benefit, feeling good, don't give in to the temptation to miss a day or two. Set it into our routine.

Remember too, if we stop for one minute every hour, you have tallied up 15 minutes a day. That's great.

Be kind, but be firm. Acknowledge the successes no matter how small they may seem. This will help us to keep going, feeling more and more confident as we do.

Persevere with the eyes open, it really is beneficial. Not only will we feel peaceful and relaxed, we will also experience more love, greater happiness and self-respect, we will feel more powerful and more in control of our life.