In meditation, I usually try to keep things simple. Most of the time, I focus on my breath or do open awareness practice. Hard times, though, may require something more. When my emotions are high and thoughts are swirling, I need a framework to keep me steady. That’s when I go for RAIN practice.
RAIN is an acronym which stands for Recognize, Allow, Investigate, and Nurture. Sometimes the “N” can have other meanings, including “nourish” or the return to “natural,” as in “natural awareness.” RAIN was originally developed by meditation teacher Michelle McDonald, but it has been popularized by one of my favorite teachers, Tara Brach.
RAIN is a wonderful tool to have in your mindfulness toolbox because it can help you deal with difficulty. In this post, I will briefly explain what RAIN is and how you might use it. I’ll also share a new guided meditation at the end so you can try it yourself.
What Is RAIN Meditation?
As indicated below, RAIN does not have to be done in a formal meditation practice. You can use the RAIN framework in many different ways. Regardless of how you choose to do it, here is an overview of each step of the RAIN practice.
1. Recognize the Struggle
The first step of RAIN is “R” for “recognize.” This is a fundamental but essential step. Recognize simply means to bring awareness to the fact that you are having a difficult moment.
This many sound simple or even childish to some. As I have written before, though, just admitting when things are hard can be life-changing for lawyers. Many people, like me, struggle to accept when we are having a hard time. We may be too busy, or feel like we aren’t allowed to have difficult moments.
This is true for many lawyers who may be perfectionists, struggle with imposter syndrome, or feel like we have always “look professional.” When we recognize in RAIN practice, we drop all that baggage and start the process of facing facts. We start the process by stopping, looking, and feeling instead of pushing our experience away and pretending we are fine.
2. Allow Whatever Arises in Your Experience
The next letter in RAIN is “A” and that stands for “allow.” This is an essential step because most of us do not want to move closer when an experience is hard. Many of us are accustomed to pushing bad feelings away, numbing ourselves, or just ignoring what is happening.
That is a very human approach to strong emotions or situations we can’t control, but it often leads to other problems. When we allow in RAIN practice, we stop the pretending, numbing, and running. Instead, we just allow our thoughts and emotions and the situation that prompted them to be as they are.
This doesn’t mean we allow things to go on forever. Instead, with RAIN practice we allow them for a moment so that we can understand our feelings better. Allowing is really about creating a safe clearing for our emotions to manifest so that we can gain clarity about them.
3. Investigate with Kindness
This understanding often comes in the third step of RAIN – “I” for “investigate.” Lawyers may need to be reminded that investigation in RAIN practice should not be confused with interrogation. Instead, the direction is to investigate with kindness.
Rather than questioning ourselves harshly, investigate with kindness means to slowly and gently peel back the layers on our feelings. In this stage, you can get curious about your feelings. One way I do this is to ask myself a few questions:
- What emotions are present here?
- Where do I feel the emotions?
- What is the hardest part of this experience?
- What message, if any, are these emotions telling me?
This is not an exhaustive list of questions and questions aren’t truly essential. What is essential here is to look closely and nonjudgmentally at your inner experience to understand yourself more clearly.
4. Nurture, Nourish, or Return to Natural
The last stage of RAIN is the one where you may have options. Michelle McDonald originally taught the “N” to refer to “non-identification.” This was a reference to the fact that we can depersonalize a situation and allow ourselves space and freedom in responding to it. In other words, you can let go of the clinging and grasping caused by emotional reactivity and return to your natural state.
Tara Brach, on the other hand, has emphasized self-care a bit more. She has used the terms “nourish” and “nurture” instead to remind us to treat ourselves with self-compassion. Thus, when we nourish or nurture ourselves in RAIN, we may give ourselves what we need, including self-kindness.
I have done the practice both ways and I prefer to leave it flexible. Sometimes when I do RAIN, the first three steps are enough for a reset and I can return to my natural state automatically. On other occasions, especially when I am working with vulnerable emotions like fear or disappointment, a more explicit dose of self-kindness is needed.
When Could Lawyers Use RAIN Practice?
Lawyers can use RAIN practice in any situation that they want to more clearly understand their life or inner experience. Most often, though, I use RAIN in time of high stress, struggle, or disruptive change. Here are a few examples of the ways that I use RAIN practice.
RAIN is an excellent tool for processing strong emotions. I find it especially useful for sitting with and investigating anger. This emotion can be volatile, so having a clear framework really helps. RAIN is also good for anger because it encourages a closer look. In many cases, anger hides other more vulnerable emotions. Using RAIN helps me acknowledge all of my emotions and take care of myself better.
I also have found that RAIN is excellent for processing life situations I don’t understand. Sometimes big emotions aren’t present, but my mind may be churning and continuing to think about a negative situation. When I see this happening, I go through a RAIN practice.
Sometimes I discover emotions I didn’t realize where there and sometimes I realize that I had been overlooking critical facts in a situation. Either way, I usually feel better after doing the practice.
Can Lawyers Use RAIN Outside of Meditation?
When I am really struggling, I find that RAIN works better by talking it out. Meditation teacher and psychologist, Tara Brach, suggests finding a partner to help you work through the practice. This can help you get more support as you work through the practice.
If you don’t want to work with a partner, I have verbally practiced the steps on my own. Yes, I know it may feel or sound a bit weird to talk to yourself, so you certainly want to do this in a quiet place. Even so, saying the steps out loud to myself and working through them really helps.
If you don’t want to talk it out, another option could be to write the practice out. You could do this in a brief essay on a sheet of paper by working through each of the steps. To try this out, check out the RAIN Practice Worksheet which is available for download.
Is RAIN Practice Right for Most Lawyers?
RAIN is a simple technique that most lawyers can try it even if they are new to meditation. With that said, because the practice involves facing challenging emotions and situations directly, some foundational experience may be helpful. This might include having a some practice experience in cultivating focused attention, body awareness, and self-compassion.
If you are new to meditation or RAIN practice, it is best to avoid pushing too hard or too fast with the practice. Don’t select the most challenging, recent, or devastating life situation for practice at first. Instead, start small with a sensation, experience, or situation that you might rate as a minor or moderate challenge.
If you are not sure whether the practice is right for you, it’s never a bad idea to consult with your medical or mental health care provider. This is especially true if you are dealing with any current medical or mental health conditions or have past experiences, including trauma, that have not been fully integrated.
Try RAIN in this New Guided Meditation
Want to try RAIN yourself? Check out the new guided meditation on our YouTube channel. The practice is just over 13 minutes and goes through each of the 4 steps of the RAIN practice. It may help you rest, heal, and gain clarity about your thoughts and emotions.
Want to learn more about mindfulness and compassion? Check out my new book, How to Be a Badass Lawyer, for a simple guide to creating a meditation practice of your own in 30 days. And to share mindfulness with your little one, check out my new children’s book, Mommy Needs a Minute.
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