~Bringing the fruits of contemplative practice (mindfulness meditation/prayer) to our busy day.
Taking these four steps in a moment of annoyance, anxiety or
fear will help release the body from autonomic (flight, fright, freeze) systems
that generate the negative feelings and a reactive mind. [This is really an
abbreviated, in the moment, version of your sitting practice. In Christianity,
Welcoming prayer achieves the same outcome.]
R.A.I.N. is an acronym developed by Michelle McDonald, a
senior mindfulness teacher, to summarize a powerful way to expand
self-awareness and bring the self to presence in the moment.
R = Recognize: Notice that you are experiencing something,
such as irritation at the tone of voice used by your partner, child, or
co-worker. Step back into observation rather than reaction. Without getting
into story, simply name what is present, such as “annoyance,” “thoughts of
being mistreated,” “body firing up,” “hurt,” “wanting to cry.”
A = Accept (Allow): Acknowledge that your experience is what
it is, even if it’s unpleasant. Be with it without attempting to change it. Try
to have self-compassion instead of self-criticism. Don’t add to the difficulty
by being hard on yourself.
I = Investigate (Inquire): Try to find an attitude of
interest, curiosity, and openness. Not detached intellectual analysis but a
gently engaged exploration, often with a sense of tenderness or friendliness
toward what it finds. Open to other aspects of the experience, such as softer
feelings of hurt under the brittle armor of anger. It’s OK for your inquiry to
be guided by a bit of insight into your own history and personality, but try to
stay close to the raw experience and out of psychoanalyzing yourself.
N = Not-identify (Not-self): Have a feeling/thought/etc.,
instead of being it. Disentangle yourself from the various parts of the
experience, knowing that they are small, fleeting aspects of the totality you
are. See the streaming nature of sights, sounds, thoughts, and other contents
of mind, arising and passing away due mainly to causes that have nothing to do
with you, that are impersonal. Feel the contraction, stress, and pain that
comes from claiming any part of this stream as “I,” or “me,” or “mine” – and
sense the spaciousness and peace that comes when experiences simply flow.
~RAIN explanation by Rick Hanson, PhD
If you like a more explicitly spiritual context for your practice, below is the Welcoming Prayer method as described by Contemplative Outreach, the premier organization for the fostering of transformation in Christ through the practice of Centering Prayer.
The Welcoming Prayer Method
Focus, feel and sink into what you are experiencing this
moment in your body.
“Welcome” what you are experiencing this moment in your body
as an opportunity to consent to the Divine Indwelling.
Let go by repeating the following sentences: “I let go of
the desire for security, affection, control.” “I let go of the desire to change
what I am experiencing.
With a prayer, a pause of peace and serenity, for you,
_/\_Peggy @ ECUMENICUS
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