"Problems cannot be solved at the level of consciousness that created them." –Albert Einstein
RAIN: Recognition/Acceptance/Investigation/Non-Identification is step (Recognition/Acceptance/Investigation/Non-Identification) is progressive, helpful, and the order makes sense. At the same time, remembering not to identify at every step keeps us from being swept up into old patterns or thoughts of feelings at every step. When we’re working with our own sticky stuff it’s necessary to remember and remember and remember not to identify with it. Our strong reactions and feelings come with stock narratives. Long rehearsed and rehashed narratives and familiar feelings feed off one another, energizing a loop. This is what being stuck is.
Our most familiar narratives each came into being at a certain time in the past. Certain things, perhaps ‘powerful stuff,’ happened. Presumptions were made. Conclusions were reached that we’ve been inclined to accept as true ever since. We’ve identified with our stories so long that their truth seems self-evident. And for as long as we take them as self-evident, investigation, etc., seems pointless. We can’t attend to these stories unless we suspend our belief in them. Part of mindfulness is the practice of suspending old beliefs so we can get to fresh levels of consciousness which allow us to see old problems in fresh ways.
“In practicing non-identification, we inquire of every state, experience, and story, ‘Is this who I really am?’ We see the tentativeness of this identity. Then we are free to let go and rest in awareness itself.” -Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart
(For details on basic RAIN work, click here)
