Hi,
And welcome to this first meditation of the RAIN series.
This is an introduction explaining what RAIN meditation is.
In the next sessions,
We will apply RAIN meditation to specific emotions you want to focus on.
Let's start this journey together.
The term RAIN was first introduced by Michel MacDonald,
Founder of Vipassana Hawaii,
In the early 2000s,
And after about 20 years,
It's still very relevant and used by many meditators worldwide.
RAIN is an acronym which stands for Recognize,
Accept or Acknowledge,
Investigate and Non-Identify or Nurture.
Let's explore the meaning of these four steps and understand how they can help you in your practice.
The first one is Recognize.
Recognizing an emotion takes the right time and space.
Time because you need to dedicate it to self-reflection,
And mental space because you need to disconnect your mind from the other activities surrounding that emotion to be able to identify it,
As if you were using a spotlight.
In this phase,
You have the strength to avoid ignoring it or denying it.
Just recognize the emotion for what it is.
You will know you did it in the moment you can give it a name.
The action of labeling it will,
By itself,
Make it more manageable already.
The next step is to Allow it,
Accept it and Acknowledge it.
It is very important that you approach this step with a non-judgmental attitude.
Remember that allowing the emotion to be there does not mean that you agree with it or support it in any way.
You only accept its presence because it's there for a reason.
At this stage,
You only need to let it be.
You can encourage yourself to allow it to be by repeating in your mind that it's okay for it to be there.
Your strength in this step is in accepting it.
Allowing it in your space reminds you that you are in control.
You are the one who allows it to stay.
This sets you up for the next step.
Investigate.
You are now in a safe place that allows you to be curious about the emotion.
Start by noticing if there is a place in your body where you feel it the most.
When you acknowledged it before,
You gave it a label.
See if you can now be even more specific.
We tend to use labels like fear,
Anger,
Sadness or shame.
But real emotions are more nuanced than that.
Anger,
For instance,
Could manifest as irritation,
Frustration,
Exasperation,
Disappointment,
Resentment or rage.
In our sessions for specific emotions,
We will be breaking them down into their most specific components for you to understand where they come from and the best way to deal with them.
This investigation step is the perfect moment to pay particular attention to the thoughts crossing your mind and ask yourself some questions.
Is this emotion positive?
Negative?
Or neutral?
What do you think this feeling wants from you?
What stories are your thoughts bringing?
Your mind knows.
Just listen to it.
As you listen to these thoughts,
You are ready for the last aspect of RAIN.
Non-identify.
Remember that what you feel is different from what you are.
Those are two very different things.
Emotions are something everyone can feel.
Being who you are is unique to your very identity.
Also,
Emotions can come and go,
But you are always here.
You were here before and you will be here after them.
Nurture this sense of self as separated from your emotions.
Like anything else in your life,
You can choose what you identify with,
Whether it is your job,
Your role in a family,
Or your activities.
None of that is your identity unless you wanted it to be.
You have the choice.
You might be tempted to say you are your emotion.
How many times you said you were angry,
Sad,
Or guilty,
But starting now you are not any of those things.
You felt angry,
You felt sad,
Or you felt guilty.
None of those things are who you are.
Emotions appear and don't belong to you if you want to let them go.
You,
Instead,
Are just you.
Nurture this feeling with self-compassion.
Congratulations!
You completed your first RAIN knowledge cycle.
Now that you learn how to recognize,
Accept,
Investigate,
And not identify,
You are ready to put RAIN into practice.
Some may think this is a one-shot technique,
But if you want to get some good and lasting results,
You will see how you will get the best out of it by practicing it daily.
Every time you do,
You will learn something new about yourself,
And you will feel different and more connected with yourself than the previous time.
After several practices focused on the same emotion,
You will realize how you got better at this.
I will see you in the next session of the RAIN series tomorrow,
And if you'd like me to create a special RAIN session for a specific emotion,
Feel free to write me a comment and I will do my best to accommodate it in my future content.
I am looking forward to our next session.
All the best,
And see you soon.
