Welcome to the practice of RAIN for difficult emotions.
RAIN stands for Recognize,
Allow,
Investigate and Nurture.
This meditation can be used either informally when experiencing a difficult emotion or formally as we'll do now by bringing mindfulness and compassion to an area of difficulty in our life.
Beginning by finding a posture that allows you to feel relaxed yet alert.
If you're sitting on a chair,
Allowing the feet to be flat on the floor,
The spine is upright but not rigid.
If it feels right,
You can close your eyes for this practice.
Otherwise,
Allowing the gaze to be cast downward two to three feet in front of you.
And beginning to scan down your own body,
Noticing any areas of tension or tightness that may be present.
And then seeing if it's possible to soften around those areas.
Softening the muscles of the face,
Allowing the shoulders to fall away from the ears.
The chest and heart area is open,
Relaxed.
The arms and hands resting comfortably in the lap or on the knees.
And the belly is soft.
And then whatever tension remains,
Allowing that to be so.
That's how it is right now.
And as you settle into the posture,
You may notice a variety of sounds,
Sensations in the body,
Thoughts and emotions.
So directing the attention now to your breathing and allowing all other aspects of your experience to recede into the background.
Feeling the breath as it moves into the body and leaves the body.
Feeling the gentle rise and fall of the belly with each in and out breath.
And now beginning to scan your life for an area of difficulty or a situation that's bringing up a difficult emotion that you'd like to find more balance in the midst of.
It could be pandemic related,
An illness,
A conflict,
Perhaps an addictive behavior,
A relationship or work difficulty.
And perhaps not choosing the most difficult thing going on in your life right now,
But picking something at a level five or six on a scale from one to ten.
So not something that would bring up trauma or a sense of overwhelm.
And calling up the situation with as much detail as possible.
As you imagine the situation,
There may be other people or another person involved.
You may want to visualize the person's face or maybe it's just yourself.
So calling up the situation with as much detail as possible.
Seeing if it's possible to tune in to the emotion that's related to this particular situation or that gets triggered in this particular situation.
Maybe it's anxiety or worry,
Fear,
Maybe there's sadness,
Grief,
Anger,
Confusion,
Doubt.
And once you're aware of the emotion that's most predominant,
See if you can pause and stay connected with the emotion.
And let's begin now the process of RAIN.
The R in RAIN stands for recognize what's happening,
What's going on inside of you.
At this stage you can name the emotion or whatever is most predominant.
You may feel anxious,
Worried,
Agitated,
Lonely,
There may be hurt or sadness.
Perhaps there's confusion or not really knowing how you feel.
Maybe there's a sense of feeling numb.
So recognize what's most predominant and then name it.
And now the A in RAIN is to allow,
Allowing the emotion to be here right now,
Making space for what's here.
It doesn't mean we have to like what's happening,
It simply means we're acknowledging it and allowing it to be here.
Making space for the emotion to be present rather than pushing it away or resisting it.
And by allowing we're opening the door to be able to turn toward the emotion,
To investigate it with kind curiosity,
Which is the next stage of RAIN.
The I in RAIN is to investigate the emotion and the first place we can investigate it is in the body,
Noticing where the emotion is felt in the body.
There may be clenching in the jaw or there may be a sense of holding or bracing in the arms and the hands or there may be a tightness in the chest or a heaviness.
Maybe an aching can be helpful to pay attention to the throat,
The chest and the heart area as well as the belly.
You might also ask what am I believing right now,
Either about myself or about what I believe someone else is thinking or believing.
And investigating how this belief is also felt and lives in the body.
You might also ask what's the most difficult part about this and again investigating it in the body.
Where do you feel most vulnerable right now in the body?
And if this vulnerable place could communicate with you right now,
What would it want you to know?
What would it want you to know?
Are there any words or maybe a feeling or an image that comes to mind?
And now the investigation moves towards nurturing,
Which is not only to be with the emotion,
But to hold it with kindness and compassion.
In the same way,
We might hold a young child.
Or may offer compassion to an injured being.
You might take a few breaths and staying in contact with the difficult emotion and vulnerability,
Sensing where it lives in the body.
And if it feels right,
You might place either a hand on your heart or elsewhere where the vulnerability is felt in the body,
Just allowing the warmth and gentle touch of your hand to send loving energy into the area.
You might ask,
What does this emotion or vulnerability need right now?
Maybe it's words like this is really difficult right now.
This really feels raw.
I'm here for you.
I believe in you.
I won't let you down.
I'm not leaving you.
Or other words that feel right for you.
If you're having difficulty finding words that resonate,
Or having difficulty offering compassion to yourself,
Perhaps imagining another being that represents compassion to you.
Maybe it's a teacher or mentor.
A grandparent,
A relative.
Maybe it's a spiritual being someone who's alive or dead.
Offering compassion to you.
And letting that beings energy and love flow through you,
Nourishing you.
Perhaps the love and compassion come from another source.
The universe.
Nature.
You might even imagine sun rays radiating warmth and light into the area of vulnerability.
And now letting go of the practice and shifting the attention back to the breath.
The whole body rising upward on an inhalation and falling downward on an exhalation.
And perhaps taking a moment here to sense the difference between being identified with a difficult emotion versus the space and freedom that can come from allowing,
Turning toward,
And holding difficult emotions with kindness,
Care,
And loving presence.
