I invite you to begin to settle into a posture that feels both awake and alert and also relaxed and at ease.
We can find a seated posture or if the body needs to relax,
We can also lie down.
Closing the eyes if that feels comfortable,
Otherwise softening the gaze,
Looking a few feet in front of you,
Arriving together into our new moment.
This moment that we've never had before and we'll never have again.
This moment that is worthy of our attention.
You might invite elongation through the spine,
Imagining that from the root of the spine,
We can center down into the earth and through each vertebrae,
We invite in a little bit of space,
Elongating up through the neck,
Lifting very gently through the crown of the head,
Inviting the spaciousness through the central column of the body.
And taking three slow cleansing breaths together,
We breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth,
Slowing down the breath,
Deepening the inhale and elongating the exhale.
When you're ready,
Allowing the breath to come into its natural rhythm,
Breathing one breath at a time.
And just for a moment,
If it feels comfortable,
We might place a hand gently on the upper chest and feel our breath into the hand,
One breath at a time,
Feeling the rise and fall with each breath.
And if at any moment during the practice,
We're pulled away and out of this moment or we feel overwhelmed,
We can anchor ourselves back here.
Gentle hand on the chest,
Feeling the rise and fall of the breath.
And beginning to bring to mind now a current situation in which you might feel stuck,
A situation that elicits a difficult reaction such as maybe anger or fear,
Shame or hopelessness.
It could be in relation to somebody else,
It could be something you're dealing with in your own being.
And just go gently here on a scale of one to 10 in terms of a difficulty.
Let's open to a three or a four.
Visualizing this scene or scenario or this experience,
Sensing into the challenge,
The difficulty,
The suffering.
And with the R of RAIN,
We'll start with simply recognizing,
Recognizing what's happening.
We might ask the questions,
What's happening inside of me right now?
What sensations are present?
Is there an emotion,
A thought process?
Take a moment to notice what's most present in your awareness right now.
And opening to the A of RAIN,
Which is allowing.
Allowing this experience to be just as it is.
We might offer words of reassurance,
Let this be,
Or yes,
This belongs.
I allow this to be part of my experience right now.
And even if we notice a big no arising,
Can we be with that?
Creating space for the resistance,
Letting things be.
And this acceptance doesn't mean that we like it or that we even want it to be here.
We're just opening our hearts and saying,
Yes,
Can I let this be?
Inviting in the I of RAIN,
Investigation or interest.
Can we bring this kind curiosity to our experience?
Kind curiosity.
Exploring some of these questions,
What is the worst part of this?
What most wants my attention?
What is the most painful thing that I'm believing in this moment?
What emotions are arising?
And where do I feel these in the body?
How is this experience manifesting in the body?
Are these feelings familiar or are they new?
Is it isolated to one part of the body or does it feel like it even moves beyond the body?
Just noticing.
And with gentle curiosity,
We might ask if the most vulnerable part of this could speak or communicate,
What would it ask for?
What would it express?
How does this experience want me to be with it?
What does it really need?
Beginning to open to the N of RAIN,
Nurturing.
Bringing this element of compassion to the experience,
Connecting with what's really needed,
Listening with an open heart and allowing our creativity to guide this compassion.
Sometimes what we most need is a simple hand on the heart.
It could be a kind mantra,
May I be free of suffering.
Maybe we elicit some mental imagery,
Spiritual figures,
Our favorite place in nature,
Close loved ones,
Inviting compassion into this space,
Knowing that it is vast and infinite,
Fully accepting and loving,
Allowing this experience to be held in compassion in whatever way is needed.
You can experiment with inviting in all these ways of compassion to hold your experience,
To befriend your inner life.
We might notice what feels most nurturing and allow ourselves to rest in this for a few moments.
We might invite relaxation into the body as we surrender into this compassion,
Noticing what it's like to offer ourselves compassion in this way.
Sometimes we might even connect with this sense of being the one that is held,
Also being the one that is holding,
This spaciousness.
We might even offer ourselves this reassurance,
I give myself permission to be held in compassion.
Beginning to gently bring our attention back to the breath,
Knowing that we can return to this practice anytime we need it.
We'll close with this poem,
If Abandonment is the Core Wound.
If abandonment is the core wound,
The disconnection from mother,
The loss of wholeness,
Then the most potent medicine is this ancient commitment to never abandon yourself,
To discover wholeness in the whole mess,
To be a loving mother to your insides,
To hold the broken bits in open awareness,
To illuminate the sore places with the light of love.
Let's rest together in silence for a few more moments.
And whenever you're ready,
You can open your eyes if your eyes were closed,
Might bring a little bit of gentle movement into the body,
Moving the fingers and toes,
And just take your time here,
You're welcome to stay in the space of meditation for as long as you would like.
Thank you.
