RAIN- Mindfulness Tool to Deal With Your Overwhelming Emotions

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Emotions are an integral part of our lives.

We experience emotions even while we are engaged in the most trivial task. While we cherish the emotions that are pleasant to us we often look for ways to hide the challenging ones under the carpet. But, little do we know that one day the space under the carpet will be all occupied and it will all erupt out. And that my friend is going to be even more overwhelming than previous experience with the same emotions.

This sometimes becomes really messy and starts interfering in our life. We try different things to make it work! Some work and some don’t. But, don’t you worry today I am going to share with you one such practice that will make it easier and comfortable for you to address your emotions as they come. The mindfulness practice that I am referring to is known as RAIN.

Ideally, it is a Buddhist mindfulness tool that offers support for working with intense and difficult emotions. Now it is used extensively for internal healing. It will make it easier for you to hang out with your true feelings and Time for it to RAIN…

R: Recognize the event and the emotion

To begin with, it is important to recognize the emotion and accept it. Until and unless there is no recognition you can’t start working on your emotion that is overwhelming or challenging for you. Be in the moment and ask yourself which emotion you want to work on? Which feeling is disturbing you right now? Don’t deny it or dismiss it. Remember until and unless you don’t acknowledge what’s bothering you, you can’t work on it. If at any point of recognition you feel uneasy, just take a few deep breaths and tell yourself you are looking for healing and you will heal.

Once you recognize the emotion or feeling that you want to work with, you can move further.

A: Accept the experience just as it is

At this step, you give yourself permission to feel the emotion as it is. Feel it but don’t hook yourself on to that emotion. Think of it as a cool breeze, that is passing by and you accept it, and you choose to flow with it. Acceptance is critical for healing. Here you take the responsibility of your emotion rather than running from it or blaming the other person for it. It may include phrases like ‘I feel angry,’ ‘I feel agitated’ and likewise. Using ‘I’ sentences here is a sign of accepting it. Here you are letting the emotion just be there, simply be there, not trying to hold it or fixate it.

I: Investigate with gentle and curious attention

I believe that every emotion has a motive, a reason, and your natural curiosity to understand it deeply is a major step in healing. The reason why this is an important step is that when we investigate the source of our suffering we become more compassionate towards ourselves and others. There are three major parts of the investigation. At first, you ask yourself the physical sensations that accompany this emotion, followed by your experience with this emotion (positive, negative, or neutral) and finally tracking down the thoughts that are there. This helps you understand the different strands that when woven together make you experience this emotion. Be gentle with yourself while investigating the emotion.

N: Non-identification by letting the experience pass

Often we attach ourselves to an emotion so much that we let it work as an identity for us, and this shouldn’t be the case. Well, with now you having acceptance, acknowledgment, and knowledge about your emotion it is time to detach yourself with compassion. At this step you remind yourself that this emotion is not my identity, there was a purpose of me experiencing it, but it definitely doesn’t define me. For example instead of saying I am a helpless person (letting emotion define your identity) you tell yourself I am feeling helpless at this moment (allowing the emotion to pass by). This will make you more compassionate towards self and others, opening the door to healthy relationships.

This was a complete explanation of the mindfulness tool RAIN that is proven to help you deal with your overwhelming emotions in an effective and compassionate manner.

How to Put RAIN Mindfulness Practice into action?

You can play the audio and follow instructions. Alternatively, you can refer to the video for a full guided meditation experience. Don’t forget to use the worksheet to amplify your results of RAIN.

RAIN worksheet

A Gift from Calm Sage

Now, it’s time for you to accept your emotions and manage them with full compassion.

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