Hi,
It's Mandy here.
Welcome to the RAIN practice.
Settling into your meditation posture,
You may like to keep your eyes open or just close them,
Whatever makes you feel most comfortable.
And turning your attention inwards,
Noticing the sensations in the body,
In the posture that you've chosen,
The points of contact between your body and the surface beneath you,
Giving the weight of your body up to gravity and allowing yourself to just settle into this moment.
You may like to take a few deep breaths,
Stretching up on the in-breath and relaxing and softening on the out-breath,
Perhaps letting go of anything that needs to be let go of so that you can fully arrive into this moment,
Ready for this practice together today.
So the RAIN practice is based on some teachings from Tara Brach.
It's an acronym,
It's a four-step process,
RAIN standing for Recognise,
Allow,
Investigate and Nurture.
It's a process that you can use when you're facing difficulties,
When you're in the grip of emotions,
A way of finding your way back to clarity,
Spaciousness and an open heart.
So let's explore,
Bringing to mind a situation where perhaps you felt emotionally stuck or been having difficulty,
Maybe experiencing emotions like anger or fear,
Judgment or shame.
Maybe not choosing something really hard,
This might not be the best place to support you in this,
But perhaps a recent conflict with a loved one,
Some physical pain or illness you might be struggling with,
A problem at work,
Something you regret,
Something you worried about.
Maybe it's a situation that you're quite familiar with,
Something that happens regularly.
Just getting in touch with these feelings,
Perhaps visualising the situation,
Getting a sense of the kind of things that have been said,
Who's been present,
Opening up to what it feels like in this difficult situation.
So the first part of the process is to recognise what's happening in this situation,
Getting a real sense of it,
What's happening inside for you,
What emotions are most strong,
Perhaps just gently naming them.
The A stands for Allow,
Whatever's here,
Just as best you can allowing it to be here,
Having the intention that you want it to be noticed,
Not trying to get rid of it,
Control it,
Fix it in any way,
Not trying to ignore it either or judge,
Just letting the emotions be here.
Perhaps even whispering to yourself,
This too belongs,
It's part of your experience,
You don't have to like it,
But just opening to the possibility of allowing and letting it be.
And the I stands for Investigate,
Bringing a gentle attention and curiosity in this situation that you're exploring.
What's the worst part about it?
Maybe asking yourself,
What are you believing when it's happening?
What story are you telling about yourself or about others?
What does it all mean?
Is there a core belief at the centre of this scenario?
Maybe feelings of unworthiness,
That you're not enough.
And the key here as we investigate is to feel it in your body,
Maybe doing a quick scan through the body,
Noticing where these feelings or emotions show up for you.
Is there areas in the body where there's clenching or gripping,
Aches,
Pains,
Any twisting?
And in what part of the body are you feeling this?
Maybe in the belly,
The heart area,
The throat,
Between the eyes,
In the jaw,
Or somewhere else.
Just noticing what it's like for you,
Getting in touch with these feelings,
Maybe narrowing your attention so that you can see where you feel the centre of this experience,
Where you feel the most vulnerable.
And with compassion,
Just noticing what is here,
As it is,
And if it helps,
Just breathing with this experience,
Knowing that you always have a compassionate breath to return to.
The final part of the RAIN process is N,
Nurture.
Perhaps you can ask that vulnerable part of you what it needs most,
Or how does it want to be with you?
Simply asking and listening.
What does this difficult part of you,
Or this difficult experience,
Want?
Does it want understanding?
To be seen?
Accepted?
Does it want comfort,
Or company,
Or forgiveness?
Or does it just want to be shown a bit of love,
Sensing how best to offer nurturing and kindness to that part of you?
As best you can,
With your awake and wise heart,
Just listening to what's needed.
Maybe if it feels right for you,
Putting a hand on your heart,
Offering yourself just that care and presence,
A gesture of kindness.
And there may be a message that you want to offer yourself as well.
It could be just to say,
It's okay,
You're enough,
I'm here.
Or it might be to say thank you for trying to protect me,
I've got it from here.
Just sending yourself care through your touch and through these messages.
If you're finding it difficult or overwhelming,
Just remembering your breath is here in your body,
And you can use that as a way of offering yourself kindness,
Bathing and saturating yourself in a loving,
Mindful presence with each breath,
Holding that vulnerable part of you with love as best you can.
And for the last part of this RAIN process,
We turn to what happens after the RAIN.
Often this can be where healing and transformation happens.
When you get a sense of what's here now,
Is there any change in you?
Perhaps more space,
More kindness,
More perspective,
Just noticing perhaps what's different from when you started to now.
Resting in this spacious,
Kind awareness,
Allowing whatever's in your body,
Heart and mind,
Just as it is,
Arriving home,
Here,
Now,
To this moment.
And when you're ready,
As we begin to bring this practice to an end,
Just taking a moment to reflect on the RAIN practice,
And what you might like to remember to take away from this time that you've spent turning inwards.
When it feels right for you,
Taking some time to move and stretch,
In whatever way feels satisfying,
Before moving on to the next part of your day.
Thanks.
See you next time.
