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When you might really want to have your therapist to talk to, but she’s not available, share with yourself the mindful practice of RAIN – as developed by Tara Brach. Give yourself a sense of gentle rain when you notice you’re feeling the stress of being irritated with your children; feeling critical of your boss, stuck in traffic, tired and overwhelmed, frustrated or angry with your partner, etc., by tuning into the acronym and what it means. RAIN stands for Recognize, Allow, Investigate and Non-striving.

Here is the five minute recording to listen to: RAIN- free

Or you can read the following paragraph, to learn how to practice this mindfulness skill, and then close your eyes and pay attention to what’s going on, using these words as your guide. You can take from 30 seconds to 30 minutes (or more) to do this practice – however it suits you. Actually, you can apply this acronym alongside any stressful or difficult experience you encounter, and with repetition you’ll gain more ease with you difficult feelings and be able to move forward in your life more fluidly. You’ll get better at being present in the moment (which is where the real source of your peace and contentment in every day life lies) as well as attuning your attention.

The R of Rain is to remember to simply recognize what is going on for you right at this moment – right here; right now. Notice your feeling and name it (is it sadness, frustration, joy, impatience, disappointment, etc.?)

The A of RAin is to allow whatever affects (feelings) or assumptions (thoughts) or anatomy experiences (body sensations) there are, to just be present. Accept them; acknowledge them, just be with at this moment, without avoiding or attempting to change them. Yes, this feeling is what I am having at this moment and I allow it.

The I of RAIn involves investigation or inquiry – with intimacy and interest. Identify how this experience feels in your body. Inquire with gentleness what this might be connected to or what it reminds you of; when have I felt this feeling before? What might have led up to this?

The N of RAIN is for not (over-) identifying with this hard experience and instead nurturing oneself with the sense of non-striving to make changes; not needing to change anything; not identifying with the narrow sense of oneself – not judging, not correcting. Connect with your natural sense of who you are as you move more freely into the next moments of your life.