Mindfulness Skills - VIDEO 20 - QUIZ

The RAIN Mindfulness Practice

• The word sati means being aware of what's going on in the moment, and mindfulness is needed in tense situations.

• The RAIN acronym stands for Recognize, Allow, Investigate, and Nurture or Non-Identification.

• RAIN was first coined by a senior of a pasta teacher Michelle McDonald. It expands on the original and has an explicit emphasis on kindness.

• The practice of RAIN helps to cultivate and apply mindfulness and is impactful for students, clinicians, and anyone working with difficulty.

• The elements of RAIN are recognizing, allowing, investigating, and nurturing or non-identification.

• Recognizing means to notice what's going on in the moment and name it, like fear, confusion, or anger.

• Allowing means not trying to get rid of the experience but making space and letting it be.

• Investigating means exploring the dimensions of the experience and offering the quality of gentleness or friendliness.

• Nurturing or non-identification means a shift in identity where one is no longer identified with the narrow egoic reactive self, but rather the natural loving awareness.

• Intentional mindfulness reengages the frontal cortex and activates the compassion network.

• RAIN is needed anytime one is stuck in a small place or caught in an egoic sense of something's wrong, endangered, threatened, or is feeling tightness or smallness.

• RAIN can be practiced in vivo or intentionally reflected upon to slow down and look at what's happening, without judgment.The RAIN Approach to Mindfulness

• RAIN stands for Recognize, Allow, Investigate, and Nurture.

• Recognizing and allowing creates a pause, enabling one to investigate with interest and friendliness.

• Investigating with interest and friendliness means asking questions about the belief systems and felt senses that underlie our reactions.

• Investigating with interest and friendliness requires a purposeful quality of gentleness and kindness.

• Investigating with interest and friendliness dissolves judgment and creates a space for vulnerability.

• The end of RAIN is a presence with what's going on, a larger sense of being that remembers the goodness, awareness, and love that's here.

• RAIN can be used to address judgmental behavior towards loved ones.

• RAIN can be used to address deep-seated emotional patterns.

• RAIN is a process and may not always lead to a complete resolution.

• The felt sense may not always be immediately apparent, but the invitation to investigate is what counts.

• Investigating with interest and friendliness may involve checking in with the body's sensations.

• RAIN is an approach to mindfulness that can be used to rewire neural circuitry and change habits.The Importance of Self-Compassion in Practicing RAIN Meditation

• Practicing RAIN meditation helps to shift from a separate, unworthy, victimized self to a space of presence and kindness.

• The gift of RAIN is that it frees us from self-centeredness, fear, and grasping that keeps us from being close with each other.

• RAIN is a tool of remembrance to move from the egoic self to the natural tenderness, love, and presence.

• The quality of self-compassion is an important ingredient when practicing RAIN, especially when there is a lot of stickiness.

• The more active and full the self-compassion is, the more the knots untangle, and there is a resting in something larger.

• The story of Roberto De Vicenzo, an Argentine golfer, exemplifies the inner freedom that is possible when we shift from the place that's confined in the egoic self to that openness and presence.

• To practice RAIN, find a comfortable position and bring attention to the breath and extend it a bit.

• Bring to mind a situation in your life that you'd like to bring more attention to, something where you just get annoyed or caught feeling down on yourself, anxious, upset, or habitual.

• Recognize the Gestalt of what's going on and name whatever you're aware of the most obvious parts of it.

• Investigate the experience and notice what it brings up, what you're feeling in your body, and any belief about yourself or the world.

• Experiment with bringing your hand to your heart as a gesture of kindness and gentleness to what you're aware of.

• Investigate with an intimate attention, sense what that part of you that's most vulnerable and upset most wants or needs, and offer great compassion and presence.