Greetings,
Beautiful people.
Welcome to this meditation on rest using the RAIN practice.
The RAIN practice encourages us to turn inward softly,
To allow whatever is present with us to be.
We kindly investigate where our awareness rests and then nurture that awareness with kindness and care.
I have recently been inspired listening to David White's book,
Consolations,
In which he takes one word and writes a brief essay or prose.
I was just recently listening to his piece on rest.
He says rest is the conversation between what we love to do and how we love to be.
Rest is the essence of giving and receiving,
An act of remembrance,
A way of being in the world that takes us back to a more elemental place.
To rest is not self-indulgent.
To rest is to prepare to give the best of ourselves and to arrive fully into the conversation of life.
For those of us in caring professions like education,
Rest is often a thing neglected,
Set aside,
Pushed back,
Pushed through.
And yet,
It is with rest that we can show up fully present to the families and the students that we serve.
So whether I'm finding you this morning weary for lack of rest,
Or this evening longing for rest,
I invite you into this practice to find a kind,
Gentle entrance toward rest in a way that allows you,
Reciprocally,
To be fully present and fully alive.
Let's move into the RAIN practice,
Allowing yourself to settle in in a way that allows you to be alert but comfortable.
You can sit up,
Propped up.
You can lie down,
Allowing yourself to be held.
Either way,
Allow these words to wash over you in a way that allows awareness with relaxation.
You can close your eyes.
You can gently cast them down.
You can even find a focal point.
Let the eyes be at ease.
Let them rest from their day of focus.
Begin to turn your awareness inward by finding your breath.
Simply feel the breath in the body.
The movement of the lungs and the belly,
Perhaps the shoulders,
As the body breathes in and breathes out.
With a bit more intention,
Let's gently focus on the inhale as if it is a sip of air.
Breathing in from the bottom,
Slowly,
Slowly to the top,
And pause.
Let the exhale be a gentle,
Releasing,
Relaxing,
Letting go,
Letting go,
All the way to the bottom,
And then pause.
The next inhale,
Allowing the breath to bring an openness,
A spaciousness,
An expansion.
Breathing in,
And then pause.
The exhale,
A little more gentle,
A little slower,
Letting go,
Releasing any points of tension,
Letting the body rest in the seat below you,
Feeling the points of contact with the floor.
One final,
Intentional inhale,
As you breathe in,
A little slower,
A little longer,
Expanding and opening,
And then that gentle exhale,
Again an invitation to release across the brow,
The jaw,
Letting the shoulders drop,
Letting the hands rest,
Letting the legs be loose,
Feeling the points of contact on the seat below you or on the floor,
Gravity as a reminder that you're being held.
Let the body return to its normal cadence,
A gentle massage of in-breath and out-breath,
A steady rhythm,
And a place to come back to should the mind wander or sensations become tense,
A reminder to gently breathe in and breathe out.
Begin the RAIN practice by recognizing what is present for us in this moment.
Is it thoughts,
A sensation,
An emotion,
Or a list of to-dos?
Gently recognize what's happening,
Perhaps in the mind or the body or the heart.
Take a deep breath in.
See if you can name what is present for you in this moment.
Is there an emotion?
What else might be present in your awareness in this moment?
Peel back one more layer to discover what else might be there behind a sensation,
A deeper emotion,
Another thought.
Simply recognize,
Without judgment,
Without getting attached.
If you can just name it.
Take a deep breath in.
Create some space to understand,
This is what is present for me now.
With the A in RAIN,
We're invited to allow and acknowledge.
To allow space for this emotion,
This sensation.
Can you gently recognize,
And this too,
This is what is present for me,
And I can allow it.
No need to fix it,
No need to even really understand it.
With a deep breath in,
And a gentle exhale,
We turn a kind curiosity toward this awareness.
Where can you feel it in your body?
Does it need something from you?
Is there some belief attached to this experience or this awareness?
Is that belief true?
Simply exploring for a compassionate understanding.
Is there something I can learn here?
And with that same quality of kindness,
Turning toward this presence to offer it some measure of care.
Maybe placing a hand on your heart,
On your cheek.
Perhaps holding your shoulders or arms as if a hug or embrace.
What words of kindness might you offer?
This is okay.
You are okay.
Can you simply let this awareness know you care?
You care about this struggle.
You care about these sensations or these emotions.
There's no need to fix,
No need to solve.
Can this act of care and kindness create some space?
Loosen a grip.
Lighten an effort.
Release a tension.
Take a deep breath in,
A reminder of the spaciousness of the heart.
And a gentle exhale.
An invitation to release,
Let go,
Be at ease,
Find,
Stay with the breath.
That gentle massage of in-breath.
And you can gently begin to bring your awareness back to the room around you.
You could flutter your eyes open.
Perhaps gently move your shoulders,
Your hands,
Or your feet.
Staying with a gentle awareness,
Just notice.
Has anything shifted?
Is there any more ease?
And perhaps as we close this meditation,
Take a moment to journal or simply reflect.
What did rest mean to you today?
What part of you needed or needs space?
How can you respond to that need?
And if your heart could whisper something kind to you now,
What would it say?
Take good care,
Beautiful people.
Namaste.
Namaste.
