April Showers Bring May Flowers: Let the R.A.I.N. Fall Down

For the month of April, I'll be doing a series of posts around the meditation technique called RAIN. In this introductory post, I'll explain what RAIN is and briefly introduce the series! Enjoy!

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Around this time last year, still just beginning in my meditation practice, I listened to an episode of the Ten Percent Happier podcast called "Making it RAIN with Tara Brach." For those who aren't familiar, Tara Brach is a therapist and Buddhist meditation teacher who focuses on harnessing meditation techniques to bring about psychological healing.

I listened to the podcast for the first time across several 15 minute walking breaks at work (this was right before the pandemic hit). Every time, Tara Brach would say something that touched some deep, tender place in my core that I hadn't even known was there and make me burst into tears. I couldn't help but laugh a little bit at the silliness of sobbing uncontrollably while walking around a neighborhood before returning to my office to continue work. This experience inspired me to read Brach's book Radical Acceptance, which I also highly recommend. I've also listened to the podcast episode twice since then and, while never as pathos-filled as the first time, I feel like it blows my mind and reveals new wisdom each time.

In the interview, Tara Brach explains one of the core techniques she works with (although it was actually invented by another teacher named Michele McDonald). The technique is called RAIN, which is an acronym for the four steps of the practice. Here they are taken directly from Tara Brach's website (which, by the way, has tons of explanation, guided practices, and other resources if you wish to explore RAIN further):

• Recognize what is happening;

• Allow the experience to be there, just as it is;

• Investigate with interest and care;

• Nurture with self-compassion.

The practice may sound simple, but as Tara Brach describes in the aforementioned book Radical Acceptance, relaxing into our unpleasant experiences can feel at first like "lying down on an icy couch" (this analogy is apparently a quote by Charlotte Joko Beck). When we are in pain or upset or frustrated, we tend to try and run away from or push away our experiences (what we Buddhists would call reacting with "aversion"). We seek distractions in other activities (our phones, intoxicants, sex, shopping, eating) or we experience angry thoughts in our mind and body: "Ugh, I'm sick of feeling this way! Ugh, this is so annoying! I hate this! Everything is terrible right now!"

As much as I love the metaphor of the icy couch, it doesn't provide a great analogy for the many magical things that can arise "after the RAIN." RAIN often reveals to us places where we have been stuck, helps us get in touch with our vulnerability, and helps us learn how to give ourselves the nourishment we truly need. I have always found a profound and incredible alchemy in the way RAIN reveals my underlying beliefs to me and helps bring me a cathartic release of the emotions that I had been unwilling to feel.

Perhaps a better metaphor would be stretching a tight muscle. When you first get into the stretch, it may feel extremely awkward and uncomfortable, your muscle tight and angry at you for trying to make it work. But as you relax into the pose, letting your breath wash over the muscle (like RAIN washing over a field 😉), the muscle will eventually relax and release the tension it was holding, allowing a feeling of spaciousness and ease that that part of your body may not have felt in a long time.

Another good - albeit trite 😛 - metaphor is the saying that inspired this series: "April showers bring my flowers." After the sometimes tumultuous rain comes peace and openness from which something new and beautiful may grow. 🌷🌺🌻

So as Hilary Duff once said, "I wanna feel the thunder, I wanna scream. Let the RAIN fall down and wake my dreams!" Let's explore RAIN together and see what powerful changes it can bring to our lives.