Thank you for joining me for this brief emotional attendance practice.
This practice is inspired by Tara Brach's radical compassion technique known as RAIN,
Which stands for Recognise,
Allow,
Investigate and Nurture.
Emotions are messengers.
They come up to communicate something to us.
And emotions have motion.
They are moving through us.
So if we stop or suppress or turn away from them,
Then we're essentially halting them on their way through and we might store them.
This practice enables us to make space for the emotion,
To acknowledge its presence,
To feel it and hear its message before releasing it on its way.
In this way we can find clarity and create space within.
So let's begin.
Allow yourself to take a nice deep breath in and slowly release it.
Feel and sense the places where your body makes contact with the chair that's supporting you.
And feel and sense the ground under your feet.
And with the next few breaths,
Notice yourself becoming more and more present here in this moment.
Now locate the place in your body where you feel the emotion.
You might like to place one or both hands gently over this point in your body.
Now see if you can name the emotion that you're feeling there.
Take another deep,
Refreshing breath in and out.
Let's acknowledge and turn towards this emotion now.
If it had a shape,
What shape would it be?
And how large or small is this shape?
And how light or dense does it feel to you?
If it had a colour,
What colour would it be?
And what else can you describe about this colour?
Is it opaque or does it have a transparent quality to it?
Is it vibrant or dull?
Is it a vivid or pastel or dusty shade?
Is there a shiny effect to it,
Maybe an iridescence or something like an oil slick?
Or is it more matte?
Now let's check in with the texture of this shape.
What's that like?
Is it rough,
Smooth,
Slimy,
Sticky,
Spiky,
Foggy?
What's it like for you?
And if it had a temperature,
What would that be like?
Now that you've met the emotion and you've experienced its unique form,
You might like to listen for its message.
You could say emotion,
Whichever emotion it is.
I see you.
I feel you.
I am here with you and I'm listening to what you have to tell me.
What does the emotion have to say?
Can you acknowledge and receive this message now?
Thank you.
Is there any response that arises in you?
Now you might wish to thank the emotion for its presence and the message that it's brought to you today.
And with loving kindness you can help it on its way.
Release the emotion by visualising its colour leaving with each outward breath now.
And with each inward breath focus on inviting a gentle,
Cleansing light into the place where you found the emotion in your body.
Breathing in that gentle,
Cleansing light and breathing out the colour of the emotion.
Stay with this practice for as long as you need to.
And when you feel ready,
Return your attention to the space you're sitting in now.
Notice any sounds that you can hear in the environment.
Notice the temperature of the air around you.
And notice once again how it feels to be supported by the chair and the ground beneath you.
You might like to offer yourself a soothing hug or a gentle squeeze.
And a lovely,
Deep,
Refreshing breath.
When you're ready,
Open your eyes.
I hope that you found this practice useful today.
You might want to journal some thoughts about the experience or about any next steps that you need to take now.
You might like to follow this practice with the soothing,
Compassionate colour visualisation.
However you move forward now,
As always,
Be kind to yourself.
