R.A.I.N.: A Mindful Approach to Difficult Emotions

Tara Brach’s “R.A.I.N.” is a basic mindfulness practice for bringing awareness and compassion to emotional distress. The acronym provides an easy-to-remember cue when the overwhelmed mind needs a tool for remembering what to do. 

Recognize. 

Allow. 

Investigate. 

Nurturing with self-compassion. 

R—Recognize what's going on 

Begin with a pause to connect with your breath and settle into your body. Notice any thoughts, feelings, and sensations that are present. Is anything asking for attention? Recognize your present moment experience, and if you like, softly name it.   

A—Allow the experience to be there 

Without trying to fix, solve, or change, just allow your experience to simply be. Whatever is present, whether it’s fear, anxiety, sadness, or even numbness, know that it’s ok. You might gently tell yourself: “right now, in this moment, it’s like this.” 

I—Investigate with interest and care 

Deepen your attention with curiosity. What’s happening in your body? Do you notice any sensations? Is aversion present in the form of judgement? Is there a gravitational pull toward thoughts?  

Without getting caught up in storytelling, continue to recognize and allow as you explore what’s happening.  

N—Nurture with self-compassion 

Whether it’s loss, grief, fear, feelings of inadequacy, doubt, restlessness, sadness, emptiness, guilt, shame, or just a felt-sense of “not okay” or “not safe,” be gentle with your profoundly human experience. Offer kindness and compassion to the part of you that needs care, healing, comfort, or reassurance. 

Long-time therapist and teacher, Sylvia Boorstein, has said that when she is in distress, she practices self-compassion with a simple gesture, placing her hand over her heart and whispering to herself, “Oh, Sweetheart, you’re suffering! Let’s take a breath... Good, now take another breath... And another...” Boorstein offers this practice as an alternative to what many of us instinctively do instead, which is something along the lines of “You Loser, get it together! What’ wrong with you?”  

The purpose of R.A.I.N. is to settle, to notice, to calm, and with great kindness and patience, practice self-compassion when we are suffering. May it be a useful tool for your toolbox. 

Virginia Warner, LCPC

Resources 

Guided Meditation – A Practice of RAIN 

https://www.tarabrach.com/rain/ 

Reference

Brach, Tara. 2013. True Refuge: Finding Peace and Freedom in Your Own Awakened Heart. New York: Bantam Books.