I'm going to be guiding us through a practice called R.
A.
I.
N.
R.
A.
I.
N.
Stands for Recognize What's Happening,
Allow Life to Be Just As It Is,
Investigate the Inner Experience with Kindness,
And Non-Identification.
So let's begin.
Sitting quietly,
Close your eyes,
And take a few full,
Deep breaths.
Long,
Slow,
And deep.
Breathing in,
Seeing if you can relax into a little more openness.
Breathing out,
Letting go.
Breathing in,
Openness.
Breathing out,
Letting go.
And just following your inhales and exhales,
Letting them bring you into the here and now.
And letting your breathing take on a rhythm of its own.
While you use this moment to scan your life and see if there's a situation you'd like to bring some wise attention to.
Bringing to mind a situation where you might feel stuck.
Maybe even down on yourself.
One that might elicit a difficult reaction,
Such as anger,
Or fear,
Or shame,
Or hopelessness.
It may be a conflict with a family member,
A chronic illness,
Maybe a failure at work,
A frustrating situation,
Perhaps even the pain of an addiction.
Could be a conversation you now regret.
Finding that situation,
And remembering it.
Visualizing the setting.
Remembering the words spoken.
Sensing into that frustrating moment,
Or that distressing incident.
And seeing if you can contact the charged essence of what happened,
As this will be the starting point for us exploring the healing presence of the RAIN practice.
And we'll start with the R.
Recognize what is happening.
As you reflect on this situation,
Ask yourself,
What is happening inside me right now?
What sensations are you most aware of?
What emotions come up when you bring this situation to mind?
Is your mind filled with churning thoughts?
Just taking this moment to become aware of your felt sense of this situation as a whole.
Can you feel how the experience is living in your heart,
In your body,
In your mind?
And then we move on to the A in RAIN.
Allow life to be just as it is.
In this part of the practice,
Send a message to your heart,
To your whole body,
To let be this entire experience.
Finding in yourself the willingness to pause and accept that in these moments,
What is,
Is.
You might even experiment with mentally whispering words like,
Yes,
I consent,
Or let be.
You might find yourself saying a yes to a huge inner no.
You might find your body,
Your mind contracting in resistance.
You might be saying yes to a part of you that is trying to say,
I hate this,
That in fact is a really useful part of the RAIN practice.
And next comes the I.
Investigate what most wants attention.
So sense into your body,
Looking for any discomfort or any sensory experience.
Just scanning your body,
Getting curious,
Investigating your inner experience with kindness,
And looking for what most wants your attention.
What's most difficult to feel?
Might be a place in you where this judgment or shame or frustration resides.
You could even ask yourself,
What am I believing?
Maybe you're believing that something's wrong with you or that something really bad is going to happen.
And although you're asking about beliefs,
Coming back to the body,
The breath,
Over and over,
Coming back to how that belief,
That feeling,
Lives in your body.
You might feel or scan your throat,
Your heart,
Your belly,
Looking for the vulnerability that might reside in these places.
You're looking for a deep connection with that part of you that might not feel OK.
You're investigating with kindness,
Just looking for what's on the inside.
You might ask,
What is needed by this place of discomfort?
How does it want me to be with it?
You might imagine that if there was a trusted other,
A loved one,
Or a wise part of yourself,
What message would comfort,
Soothe,
And heal that place that feels the most uncomfortable or even unforgivable?
What does that place need to remember,
Perhaps to trust?
You might take another deep breath and call on the wisest and most compassionate part of you,
What some might call the higher self,
Their true nature,
Their future self,
Who they're emerging into.
So breathe into that.
Sense into the whole presence of who you are,
Inhabiting,
Embodying that wisest,
Highest self.
And from that place,
Responding to the part of you that feels broken or unforgivable or uncomfortable,
Offering whatever message,
Whatever communication,
Whatever energy you feel might be most healing.
For some people,
It helps to bring a hand to their heart,
Touching their heart gently.
You might try that.
Offering care,
Comfort,
Acceptance.
There might be some simple words to offer yourself,
Like you matter,
That your basic essence is goodness,
Or to trust yourself.
And noticing what happens inside of you in your heart and your body when you let in this kind of forgiveness.
You might even sense into,
Who are you when you're believing that something's wrong?
And then comes non-identification.
In this last part of the process,
We just rest in this loving awareness,
This presence,
This beingness,
Becoming familiar with this expansive,
Compassionate way of comforting yourself.
And as you offer this unconditional,
Kind presence to your inner world,
You might picture it like an ocean with waves on the surface,
Feeling yourself as both this vast ocean that is unperturbed by the things that happen,
And also as the waves that arise and fall.
And can you sense that how who you are isn't identified or hitched to any particular wave of fear,
Anger,
Or hurt?
Can you sense how the waves on the surface belong to your experience,
But can't injure or alter this depth and vastness of who you really are?
And let's take the last moment here together to simply rest in this spacious and kind awareness,
Allowing whatever arises in your body and your mind to freely come and go,
Knowing that this natural awareness is the innermost truth of who you are.
And at your own pace,
Coming back to your breath,
Following the inhales and exhales,
Noticing once more how you feel.
And when you're ready,
Blinking open your eyes,
Coming back to the room,
And offering yourself some gratitude for doing this practice.
Thank you.
Namaste.
