RAIN.
RAIN is an acronym that stands for Recognize,
Accept,
Investigate,
And Nourish,
Or Non-identification.
It's a practice that you can use anytime,
Anyplace,
Whenever you have a feeling that's difficult or overwhelming.
The first step of RAIN is recognize.
This is what we have been learning these whole four weeks to pay attention,
To notice when we're triggered,
To notice when we're pulled away.
Without recognition,
We just get swept away unconsciously and habitually.
First,
Recognize what's going on.
Recognize that you're stuck,
That you're hooked,
That you're feeling overwhelmed,
That you've been triggered.
From there,
You move to the A,
Acceptance.
We have to accept that this is what life is presenting us in this moment,
So we don't add any unnecessary suffering through struggle and resistance.
We don't have to like what we're experiencing,
But we don't have to fight it either.
This is what's presenting itself.
This is what is true in our life in this moment.
But it doesn't end with acceptance.
We must move on to the I,
Investigate.
This is when we bring a sense of curiosity along.
If we have anxiety,
For example,
The first thing we'd want to do is recognize that it's present.
Recognize that we've been triggered and anxiety is arising.
Then we want to accept that it's here.
We don't want to say,
Well,
I don't want this.
Well,
Here it is,
So we need to come to some level of acceptance.
By just recognizing there is a level of acceptance because you're stepping back,
You're creating space.
But then we want to investigate it.
Where does it live?
What color is it?
How long does it last?
What does it really feel like?
Is it as solid as we think?
With the I,
We're really putting it under the microscope of awareness and taking a deep look at what anxiety actually is.
From there we nourish ourselves.
We can do this by just saying,
What do I need in this moment?
Seeing what naturally arises.
If it's anxiety asking,
What do you need right now in this moment?
See what it says and see if you can offer that.
Another definition of the N is non-identification.
By being aware and investigating in this way,
You're actually not grabbing hold of it like you normally would.
You're not becoming it.
Rather than believing yourself to be the anxiety,
You're aware of anxiety arising within you.
You're relating to it rather than living from it.
This is how you do the RAIN exercise.
Recognize,
Accept,
Investigate,
And nourish or non-identify.
Once you do this whole process,
You just get back on with your day.
Try this exercise out anytime you're experiencing anything unpleasant,
Anything uncomfortable,
Any difficult or habitual states of mind or patterns of reactivity.
Give this a try and see how it goes.
