2/23/2020
“Don’t turn away.
Keep your gaze on the bandaged place.
That’s where the light enters you.”
~ Rumi
Keep your gaze on the bandaged place.
That’s where the light enters you.”
~ Rumi
The acronym RAIN - Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Nurture - guides us in a meditative practice when dealing with difficult states of mind such as anger, confusion, or suffering of any kind.
Recognize - recognize what is going on. Consciously acknowledge the thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that are affecting you. Come to the realization that you feel stuck and you are in pain because of constricting beliefs, difficult emotions, or physical sensations.
Allow - allow the experience to be there, just as it is, with no judgment. Let the thoughts, emotions, feelings, or sensations you have recognized simply be there. Typically your reactive mind will start to either judge you, or try to numb the feelings, or focus your attention elsewhere with distractions such as blaming other events or people. Just pause and allow yourself to feel - fear, helplessness, anger, sadness.
Investigate - investigate all aspects of the upset with kindness. As soon as you recognize any mental discomfort, turn your attention toward it to learn all that you can about it. Your mind needs that direction - once your have set this investigative direction for the mind, it will continue in that direction, but if the mind is undirected, there is chaos. Whenever you feel there is an issue that needs to be looked into, investigate it.
Nurture - this is the portion where you practice self-compassion and forgiveness. There is nothing to do anymore- just rest in the nurturing cradle of awareness.
