Mindfulness Method: R.A.I.N. For Strong Emotion Release

This Meditation is a guided experience with the RAIN Method. RAIN is a process that was developed by Michelle McDonald as part of the mindfulness movement, which is characterized by an emphasis on maintaining awareness of your surroundings and the thoughts and feelings that accompany them without judgement. This means no reliving the past, and no preparing for the future.

Transcript

Welcome everyone,

My name is Steve Bisscher and welcome to this meditation.

Welcome to this moment in time.

Whether you've found me through Insight Timer or through the Better Life series or through YouTube,

It's all about connecting with our life experience.

Sometimes it can be difficult,

Sometimes we can have feelings and experiences that we do not care for.

And other times we can experience some of the greatest beauty and joy in this world.

Today we're going to be talking about using a mindfulness technique,

The RAIN Method.

The RAIN Method was developed by Michelle McDonald as part of a mindfulness program.

It's characterized by emphasizing on maintaining your awareness on your emotions and thoughts without judging them.

It's just noticing how you feel.

RAIN stands for an acronym,

It's R-A-I-N.

R is to recognize what is happening.

A is to allow it to just be as it is.

I is to investigate your inner experience,

Noticing the trigger that is in you.

And N is non-identification.

It's recognizing that the feeling,

The experience is something that is passing through your body that may not be who you are.

Especially if you're feeling some sort of strong emotion in this moment,

Let's take a moment to recognize that emotion.

In your mind,

Gently turn towards what you're experiencing in an open,

Non-judgmental way.

I'm not trying to make sense of why it is,

Not thinking about the people involved or the things that have happened,

But just recognizing what it is happening within you,

How you are feeling,

What is going on.

Open up that inner space within you and become in contact with your true,

Full self in this present moment.

The second letter,

A,

Allow that feeling to be as it is.

It's not trying to stop it or change it.

It seems to me that the energy that these emotions have come from our own being and most of that energy is given by resisting.

By simply stopping the resistance,

Trying not to change what is,

The energy drops to nothing.

When we accept the feeling or allow the feeling,

It's the acknowledgement and acceptance of the present moment reality as it is.

Allowing doesn't mean that we like it at all.

It doesn't mean that we soften it or try to stop it.

It simply means that we don't try to resist what is happening.

We just simply are aware of what is going on and allowing it to be.

Sometimes those emotions are trying to send us a signal.

And in our family,

On occasion,

If somebody is trying to say something and they are not being heard,

They may speak louder.

Sometimes our emotions are the same way.

If you don't hear your emotion,

It may become stronger.

It may become louder.

Accepting it allows that emotion to be heard.

The next letter in the RAIN exercise stands for to investigate.

When we are investigating,

We are stepping onto that path of self-awareness.

We are discovering who we are and why we feel the way we feel.

Investigation is noticing,

Experiencing,

Investigating,

Becoming curious about our own feeling,

Our own response.

It's not so much why somebody did what they did or why something happened.

It's really understanding why that experience triggered within us a response within our own body.

When we recognize and allow this emotion to be and begin to investigate it,

You may not always feel that you need the I step.

Sometimes just the recognition and acceptance is enough.

But that step of self-awareness is so powerful.

By recognizing what it is about ourselves,

We can change that automatic program that creates that feeling.

After investigating,

The N in RAIN stands for non-identification.

Our subconscious runs these automatic programs in,

I hear so many times,

People will start a statement that says,

I am.

People sometimes say things like,

I am anxious,

I'm an anxious person.

When you identify with your emotions,

It's how your body becomes in tune with the way to respond to your experiences.

When I started doing stress and anxiety workshops,

I started feeling higher levels of stress.

It was related to my diet,

It was related to my caffeine intake,

But I found it interesting that the more that I was focusing on stress,

The more stressful I seemed to feel.

It was truly a gift for me to be able to understand and to feel some of these emotions and to actually create content to shift that state of being.

It allowed me to meet some wonderful people,

To connect with a wonderful community.

But it's not who we are.

We are not the anxiety,

We are not the feelings,

We are not these strong emotions.

That's just simply an experience that we are having at the moment.

In the moment that your body has a different program to run from that stimulus,

Your experience will be different.

So non-identity is a key part of shifting that response.

It brings a natural sense of freedom and ease.

It gives you a sense of having peace in the middle of it all.

No matter what is going on,

No matter how intense,

No matter how painful the emotional storm,

There's always a part of you which is still silent and untouched.

You can use the RAIN method any time you're feeling stressed,

Overwhelmed,

Or out of touch.

It's a powerful way to shift your focus,

To find a safe space to experience life.

I'd love to have your thoughts if you try the RAIN method.

If you would share some of your experiences,

Please just leave any comments in the comment section below.

I think it's a powerful,

Powerful way.

And if you are curious about finding out more about the RAIN method,

There's some interesting reading in the work of Tara Brach.

True Refuge,

Finding peace and freedom in your own awakened heart is a great way to discuss and learn more about this method.

I always like to end with a short meditation just to allow us to clear our minds,

Clear our space.

And so if you have time,

Simply find a comfortable place to sit,

Putting your feet flat on the floor or laying down in a comfortable position.

Take a moment to be supported and I prefer to have my feet flat on the ground,

My knees bent,

My legs supported,

My back and my spine straight,

My chest open and my breathing deep.

As you take a deep breath in through your nose,

Filling your diaphragm,

Allowing that to expand into your lungs.

Simply notice how you are feeling and on the out breath just let it go.

Letting go any feeling,

Letting go any response and continuing that breathing.

As you continue that breathing,

Try to have a rhythmic pattern,

Something that is comfortable for you.

And as you are breathing out and going through these four steps,

Use the RAIN method.

Recognizing how you are feeling,

Accepting those feelings,

Becoming aware of them,

Investigating what it is that you are feeling.

And the non-identity,

Recognizing that these emotions are not part of you but simply almost as though they are a cloud,

They are an experience that is moving past you.

Just continue to breathe.

Breathing in and breathing out.

Should a thought come up in your mind or a strong emotion,

Just recognize that thought for being there.

Don't try to do anything with that thought but just notice that it is there.

Select your focus,

Your awareness,

Back on your experience,

Back on your body,

Accepting that feeling,

That strong emotion is there.

And turning,

Investigating your experience,

Wondering why,

Wondering how it became triggered in the first place.

Was it possibly learned?

Was it possibly modeled?

Where did that response become known to you?

And recognizing that it is just a behavior,

It is just a response,

It's not part of who you are.

Continue breathing,

Enjoying the sound of the rain,

Enjoying sound of thunder.

And recognizing as we breathe we will shift our experience,

We'll let that chemistry move through our body and become more at peace.

I hope your energy is now in a more comfortable place.

I do wish you a better life,

A better experience.

Those feelings that you are experiencing,

While difficult,

Do not have to be your life experience.

They can simply change.

There's a famous talk show host that used to spend her time in the closet before shows,

Feelings levels of high anxiety,

High stress,

Feelings of overwhelm and stress,

Levels of imposter syndrome.

She had these feelings that manifested in a certain response within her body.

Her chest would become tight,

Her hands would become moist with perspiration,

Her palms would clench in tight fists.

She had a feeling that she didn't care for in her stomach.

She recognized that as an anxious feeling.

But she was really inspired by the job that she was doing and the people that she was meeting.

And she loved her work.

As time moved on,

She was recognized as one of the best talk show hosts in the country.

She made a fortune.

She helped thousands and thousands of people.

She made a difference in many lives.

And when somebody asked her about her experience,

She said,

You know,

To this day,

I still get the feelings of tightness in my chest,

My heart racing faster,

My palms becoming moist with perspiration,

And this feeling within me that is based on excitement.

It is so much excitement and I'm so happy to be doing what I'm doing.

It's the same feelings that she was experiencing,

But her mind now experiences them in a different way.

And the connection she's making offers a slightly different hint to that chemistry,

Turning it into one of excitement.

Giving her the energy,

Giving her the power to do what it is that she does.

I wish that for you,

My friends.

I wish that your experience shifts from one that is not pleasant to one that fuels energy for the most amazing changes in this world.

My name is Steve Bisscher.

Thank you all for your followers.

Thank you for your support.

And thank you for being here.

If there's anything that I can do to help you have a better life,

Please reach out to me.

This meditation,

This moment comes to an end.

But remember,

You have access to this method anytime you are in need.

Take care,

My friends.

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