What is RAIN Meditation?
RAIN is a type of meditation first proposed by mindfulness teacher Michele McDonald, who created it by breaking down the qualities of mindfulness into four key components:
- Recognize
- Allow
- Investigate
- Non-identification
These components are at the heart of all RAIN meditation.
Since then, RAIN meditation has been adapted by many people, including American psychologist, author, and proponent of Buddhist meditation Tara Brach, who changed the “N” that had previously indicated “Non-identification” to stand for “Nurture.”
What Are the Benefits of RAIN Meditation?
Like other types of meditation, RAIN meditation offers many benefits. These include:
- Increasing emotional awareness — allowing us to identify our emotions as they arise and/or pass and better understand and regulate them.
- Fostering judgment-free acceptance of our emotions — and, in turn, minimizing internal negative self-talk.
- Alleviating stress — awareness of our emotions helps us properly address them rather than bottle them up.
- Building resilience — our awareness of difficult emotions helps us work on them rather than avoid them.
- Nurturing self-compassion and compassion for others — a kinder, more compassionate attitude toward ourselves can improve self-esteem and reduce self-blame. When applied to others, it can deepen our sense of connection and empathy, helping to fortify relationships.
- Nurturing mindfulness, insight, and clarity — RAIN gives us opportunities to apply awareness to what’s happening internally and externally and better see what’s essential and where we might be unnecessarily complicating things.
How to Practice RAIN Meditation
Sitting quietly, close your eyes, and take a few full breaths. Now, consider a situation that elicits negative feelings or one you feel unsure how to navigate. Visualize this experience and begin the RAIN process.
R: Recognize What Is Happening
The first step of RAIN is to reflect on the present moment. Recognition asks us to pose questions to ourselves like, “What is happening inside me right now?” and “What sensations and emotions am I most aware of?”
A: Allow Life to Be Just as It Is
The next step is Acceptance. In this step, we are no longer running from our negative thoughts or feelings but accepting them as they are. This is because in order to transform anything, we must first accept it as it is.
I: Investigate with an Intimate Attention
In the Investigation step, we explore the feelings we are now aware of more closely. Here, we might ask ourselves questions such as, “What is it that most wants my attention?” The important part is approaching your investigation with kindness and an invitation to share.
N: Non-identification: Rest in Natural Awareness
Lastly, in the step of Non-identification, we stop taking the experience as “ours.” Through practicing non-identification, we begin to see how our identification creates dependence, anxiety, and inauthenticity.