RAIN Meditation

RAIN is an acronym for Recognize, Accept, Investigate and Nurture. This 20-minute guided RAIN practice helps you navigate difficult emotions, investigate core beliefs, and return to your natural state of peace. Discover the space between stimulus and response.

Transcript

Hello,

Welcome.

This is a guided meditation using the RAIN practice.

You may have heard the expressions,

You've got to feel it to heal it,

Or you've got to name it to tame it.

They are simple phrases,

But they beautifully describe the heart of this practice.

Learning to be present with our emotional experience.

In the words of Viktor Frankl,

Between stimulus and response there is a space.

In that space is our power to choose our response.

In our response lies our growth and our freedom.

The RAIN technique is a tool to help us find that space.

It is a practice for turning towards difficult feelings with presence and compassion.

RAIN is an acronym that stands for Recognize,

Allow,

Investigate and Nurture.

Let's begin.

Taking a moment to settle in,

Finding a posture that's both comfortable and attentive.

Allow your eyes to gently close or soften your gaze and take a deep breath in and let it out.

Take a few moments to notice your body,

Scan through from head to toe,

Become aware of any places of lingering tension.

As you do with your breath,

Allow yourself to soften.

Perhaps you can feel the tiny muscles around your eyes softening,

Relaxing your jaw or the shoulders releasing down your back.

Maybe there's a softening in your belly or the space around your heart.

Take a few full breaths in and with each breath,

Simply invite any tension to relax and let go.

There is nowhere else to be right now,

Just this moment,

Just this body.

Now,

From this place of soft and wakeful presence,

Bring to mind a recent situation that caused you to experience a difficult emotion.

This might be a conflict with someone,

A failure at work,

The pain of an addictive behavior or a conversation you now regret.

Or perhaps it's an internal struggle,

A way in which you are at war with yourself.

For the purpose of this meditation,

Please do not choose the most difficult or painful situation or that one that triggers past trauma.

With whatever situation you've chosen,

Take some moments to enter the experience.

Visualize the scene,

Hear the words spoken,

Sense the most distressing moments.

Allow the feelings present in that situation to begin to arise.

Let this memory and its feelings become alive in your body.

With the situation present in your mind,

Can you recognize what is happening inside you right now?

Can you also recognize any resistance you might have to feeling this?

It's simply about noticing what's here and saying,

Welcome.

Perhaps you can name the feeling with a soft mental whisper such as sadness,

Anger or fear.

It is also okay if the feeling is complex or unclear.

You don't have to get it right.

You can simply note unpleasant,

Confused or even thinking is going on.

Allow whatever feeling you've recognized.

They're already here.

There's no point in gritting your teeth and bracing for impact.

What we resist persists.

Instead,

See if you can send a message to your heart to let it be.

You might try silently repeating a phrase like,

I have room for you.

Or simply,

This too.

This doesn't mean you like the feeling.

It means you are willing to allow its existence.

You can even allow the part of you that says,

I don't like this.

Allowing is about acknowledging that you have a guest,

Which one day leave on its own.

It's not about surrendering,

But simply about not resisting it any further than you need to.

Just for this moment,

Can you be present with what is here,

Without the need to change it.

And investigate with a kind and non-judgmental attention.

This is not about analyzing or trying to solve anything.

It is simply about getting curious and exploring what's here with you.

You might ask,

What about this most wants my attention?

Or,

What most wants my acceptance?

Pose your questions gently,

Your inner voice kind and inviting.

And as you ask,

Pay attention to where in your body your experience is strongest.

Check your throat,

Your chest or your belly.

As you feel into this,

You might also ask yourself,

What is this part of me believing now?

If a thought or a story comes up,

Notice it gently.

Is it part of a familiar pattern?

Perhaps there is a belief here that you are unlovable,

Or that you are not good enough,

Or that you'll fail.

With a gentle curiosity,

Notice how these beliefs live in your body.

Go to the most vulnerable part of the feeling,

The place where it feels most intense.

What emotions are you aware of as you do this?

Fear?

Anger?

Grief?

Shame?

Who is your guest?

Embody this feeling.

Allow your face to mirror the feeling in your body.

Let your posture express the emotion.

Deepen your attention to the physical sensations.

What sensations are you aware of as you do this?

Tightness?

Hallowness?

Burning?

Squeezing?

Tingling?

Freezing?

Simply explore.

As you do this,

Can you continue to hold this all with kindness?

There's no need to push anything away or force a change.

Just be with it.

Nurture with kindness.

You might shift your posture in a way that lets you attend from your most awake and wise heart.

Gently you might bring a hand to your heart or wherever you feel vulnerability.

And allow this physical touch to be a way of accompanying yourself.

Let the touch become tender and caring.

From your most awake and wise heart,

Ask the most difficult place within you.

What do you most need?

Listen to what arises.

Does this suffering part of you need understanding?

Acceptance?

Company?

Forgiveness?

Or love?

As you sense what is needed,

How does your most awake heart respond?

What does the vulnerable place most need to remember,

Experience or trust?

What is the message of the guest?

You might offer yourself a wise message,

Such as,

I'm sorry.

I love you.

Please forgive me.

Or simply,

Thank you.

If it's a feeling of fear,

You might say,

Thank you for trying to protect me.

I'm okay now.

If it feels difficult to offer this compassion to yourself,

You might bring to mind another source of love,

A trusted person,

A pet,

A spiritual figure,

Light,

Or perhaps a formless presence of loving kindness.

Allow a warm light,

Nurturing energy to bathe you.

Allow yourself to be held in this healing flow that moves through the difficult and vulnerable spaces within you.

After offering this unconditional nurturing to your inner life,

Become aware of the quality of presence that has emerged.

You might notice more a sense of spaciousness,

Tenderness or clarity.

And it's okay if some difficult feelings are still lingering,

Or if new ones have emerged.

Just like after a real rain,

Some puddles remain and life begins to flower.

Notice what has unfolded.

Be aware of the quality of the presence here.

Can you sense how who you are is not identified by any particular wave of fear,

Anger or hurt?

Like an ocean with waves on the surface,

Feel yourself as the tender,

Wakeful openness that includes this changing life.

Sense the possibility of relaxing back and simply being this vast awareness.

Get familiar with your natural awareness.

Can you sense the ocean within the drop?

Take a few moments to simply rest in this spacious and kind awareness,

Allowing whatever arises in your body or mind freely come and go.

Know this natural awareness as the innermost truth of what you are.

As this meditation comes to an end,

Take a deep breath in,

Wriggle your toes,

Let the breath out,

And stretch if you like.

Open your eyes when you feel ready.

And finally,

My friend,

Offer yourself a moment of gratitude.

Thank yourself for showing up,

For your courage in facing these feelings,

And for the care you have offered yourself and everyone around you.

Thank you,

My friend.

Namaste.