RAIN Meditation

In today's session, Tara Brach will introduce you to the practice of RAIN, an applied meditation that combines mindfulness and self-compassion. RAIN (an acronym for Recognise, Allow, Investigate, Nurture) is a practice that helps you tackle difficult emotions when feeling overwhelmed. Whether it is anger, anxiety, fear, shame, or stress, RAIN will release the grip of that emotion and guide you home.

Transcript

Hello,

And welcome to day five of Insight Timer's Building Healthy Habits Challenge.

Let's take a moment to get settled.

Close your eyes.

Take a deep breath in and exhale out.

First I'm into today's healthy habit.

Hello,

And welcome to the Building Healthy Habits Challenge here on Insight Timer.

My name is Tara Brach and the practice we're going to do today is based on a weave of mindfulness and self-compassion.

It's called RAIN.

And you might think of this as an applied meditation,

One you can bring to any area of difficulty in your life.

RAIN is an acronym.

The letters stand for Recognize,

Allow,

Investigate,

Nurture.

And people have brought this four-step practice of RAIN to addictive behaviors,

Anger,

Fear,

Anxiety,

Shame,

Conflict and more.

And what people tell me they love about it is that often the times we're most upset,

Most need mindfulness,

Are the very times we can't find our way back home.

So RAIN is easy to remember and it can help you to release the grip of the most difficult emotions.

You can find your way back to more clarity,

Spaciousness and open-heartedness.

You'll find you can do a short version of RAIN – it's called the Light RAIN – or longer and you can do this on your own with a partner,

Therapeutically.

If you want to find out more you can check my website because there are many free resources on RAIN.

And also you might check out my book Radical Compassion which is actually a guidebook to RAIN.

So let's explore this together.

I invite you to begin by sitting quietly,

Comfortably and take some moments to let your attention go inward.

You might close your eyes or lower your gaze and take a few nice long deep breaths.

Now bring to mind a current situation in which you feel in some way emotionally stuck,

A situation that elicits a difficult reaction such as anger or fear,

Self-judgment,

Hurt,

Shame.

I encourage you not to choose something that you know is traumatic because this wouldn't be a setting that could support you in that.

But it might be a conflict with a family member,

Perhaps a chronic illness that you're struggling with,

A failure at work,

The pain of an addiction,

A conversation you now regret,

Something coming up that you're anxious about.

Choosing something perhaps that's repeating regularly in your life.

And then choose a time that it's happened recently so you can really get in touch with the feelings.

And it helps to visualize the scene or the situation where it came up,

To remember if there's another person,

The words that were spoken.

Perhaps the most distressing moments where you really feel triggered.

As if you're watching a movie you might freeze the frame there,

Just allowing yourself to know what it's like when you're in that situation and difficult emotions are triggered.

So this is where we begin the active practice of RAIN,

The four steps of RAIN.

And the first step,

The R of RAIN,

Is to recognize what's happening.

So as you sense the situation ask yourself what's happening inside me right now.

And notice what emotion – or maybe there's two emotions – what are you most aware of,

What's most predominant?

And you can support this recognizing by mentally whispering the name of what you notice.

The A of RAIN is to allow,

To allow whatever's here to be just as it is.

So sense the intention right now to just let be what you've noticed without trying to get rid of it or control it or fix it or ignore it or judge it,

Just to let be.

You might sense whatever you're feeling like a wave or waves in the ocean that it belongs,

It's part of your experience of the moment.

That doesn't mean you have to like it or wanting it to stay.

But just see if it's possible for now to let be.

The I of RAIN stands for investigate.

So we investigate with a gentle attention,

Exploring what you're experiencing with a sense of curiosity and interest.

These are really your superpowers.

And again sense what's the worst part about this.

And you might ask yourself,

What am I believing when this is happening?

Sensing what you might be believing about yourself or about another person,

Ways that you or another are failing,

What's going to happen,

What it means when a person treats you a certain way.

Just sense if there is a core belief in there,

Perhaps about feeling unlovable,

Unworthy.

With whatever you notice the key to investigating is to feel the experience somatically in your body.

So scan your body and sense where you feel the emotions most distinctly.

Sense what they feel like where you might be aware of clenching or tightness,

Heat,

Pressure,

Ache,

Squeezing,

Twisting.

You might even place your hand gently on wherever you feel strong or difficult feelings,

Perhaps the throat or the chest or the belly.

Then it'll help you to deepen your attention.

And you might let your posture express what you're feeling and also the expression on your face.

Just experiment the posture,

The face,

Everything expressing the feeling in the body.

Notice if that helps you get more in touch with what you're feeling.

And perhaps you can go right to the epicenter of where you feel most vulnerable,

Again with curiosity,

With a willingness to be intimate with what's here.

If it helps,

Breathe with the experience.

And you begin to move towards nurturing when you ask that vulnerable part of you,

What do you most need?

Or How do you want me to be with you?

Just ask and then listen.

Does this emotional and difficult experience,

That part of you,

Want understanding?

Does it want to be seen,

Accepted?

Does it want company,

Forgiveness,

Love?

Sense what that part of you wants.

Letting yourself stay in touch with that vulnerability and also sensing that which is listening,

Witnessing your most awake and wise heart,

Listening to what's needed from this awake heart and sense what you want to offer to that part of yourself.

What does that part of you most want to remember or trust?

And again if you haven't already you might put your hand on your heart,

Very gentle touch,

And just communicate that you're offering presence,

That you're offering care.

It's a gesture of kindness,

Very light,

Tender touch.

And you might send a message that can be helpful.

It could be simply,

It's okay,

Or you're okay,

Or you're enough,

Or trust your goodness,

Or it might be,

I'm here and I'm not leaving.

Or if you're talking to a fearful place you might say,

Thank you for trying to protect me,

But I'm okay right now.

Or maybe you're held in love.

Sending care through your touch,

Through your message.

And if it's difficult to do so you might also explore calling on some larger source of loving.

Perhaps the love and wisdom that flows through someone you trust,

A friend or grandparent,

Your dog,

It might be a teacher,

Healer,

Spiritual figure,

Trees,

Maybe a formless presence,

Light,

Space,

Aliveness in the universe.

Just imagine that loving presence and if it's a certain being,

Their eyes,

That caring gaze,

And the pure loving flowing in through your hand into the most vulnerable part of you.

Imagine in sense you're being bathed in loving presence.

Let your intention be to receive,

To let in.

Whether you're offering the love from your own awakened heart or receiving from a larger source,

Let the vulnerability be held,

Be the wash through with love.

Let the love into the cells and the spaces between,

Permeating your entire body and being.

The last part of the RAIN practice which is really where the transformation happens is to sense the quality of presence that's emerged.

Just notice perhaps more space,

More kindness,

More openness,

More freedom.

Notice the shift from when you started,

Perhaps a fearful self,

An angry self,

And take some moments to simply rest in a more spacious and kind awareness.

Just allowing whatever arises in your body or mind to freely come and go and knowing that this natural awareness is more true than any story or emotion that moves through you,

That this is home.

Now that you've completed the meditation you might reflect on the following questions and share what you notice in the discussion forum.

What if anything was challenging for you in practicing RAIN?

And what did you learn or discover in this practice that you want to remember?

Thank you,

Friends,

Wishing you many blessings.

Reviews

Beautiful Rain… sometimes light… sometimes more 🥰💜🥰
Thank you xxx

This is such a powerful practice. I’m so glad to actually receive it from Tara. I’ve heard about it many times, but to hear her words and practice alongside was amazing. A lot of gratitude today for this.

It’s often hard for me to connect to the deeper feelings and pinpoint the source without a lot of spinning and mental activity, This meditation led me right to both with ease and compassion. Thank you, Tara 🥰.

Tara is helping me better understand ways
to use my time in meditation.

Dear Tara,thanks for this amazing experience. I wish you a lifetime of happiness💚

Thanku Tara, I had a big shift and self realisation with RAIN today 🌿🦋

Hard and so helpful to regain emotional regulation and presence.

This practice unlocked something that had been stuck inside me for quite some time. It allowed me to connect with a part of myself that was craving compassion and nurturing. It helped me so much that I have no words to describe it. Thank you so much, Tara.

Really helped realising what the issue was with my present situation

Very helpful in dealing with difficult emotions. Thank you Tara!

So helpful for me this morning. I have some anger and frustration towards myself after dropping and smashing something in the kitchen last night. So much rage and judgement! I shock myself with how a small accident can release such strong negative feelings towards myself!! It's a bad habit of mine. I will use RAIN practice again. Thank you Tara. What a helpful practice!

Excellent way to shift stuck energy. I'll be using this one on repeat.

I so needed that right now. The relief is incredible. Thank you for your guidance and wisdom 🙏🏼😌

I found this a wonderful transformational practice. Thank you Tara for your work and your being. May many blessings be yours too. 🙏🦋💜

very gentle way of leading through the experience, and very supportive. Thank you!

I forgot all about this meditation for a long time, so it was really wonderful to have it suggested to me this morning when i chose to respond differently to a difficult emotional pattern.

I found it lost challenging to nurture myself but I expect the more i practice this the easier it becomes.

Just so supported bybl this practice...been living off the Youtube version and tonight, with the Insight Timer membership, was able to really sink into this experience. This "applied" meditation works wonders. Be well!

Wonderful introduction to RAIN and guidance through the practice.

Tara has truly saved my life. I have BPD and this practice has greatly transformed my anger. I am forever grateful for her impact in my life. Bookmark for when you’re triggered or feeling the trance of unworthiness.

Such a wonderful caring lovely meditation. And very helpful. Many thanks for sharing 🙏