User:SageGreenRider/RAIN (mindfulness technique)
 | This is not a Wikipedia article: It is an individual user's work-in-progress page, and may be incomplete and/or unreliable. For guidance on developing this draft, see Wikipedia:So you made a userspace draft. Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL |
RAIN is an acronym for a mindfulness technique created by Michele McDonald, co-founder of Vipassana Hawai’i.[1][2] It serves as a structured, four-step process for self-awareness and emotional healing. The original sequence stands for:
- Recognize – identify and name the emotion, thought, or sensation currently present.
- Allow – accept the experience without resistance or immediate judgment.
- Investigate – explore the inner experience with curiosity and gentle interest.
- Non-identification – rest in the awareness that one is not their thoughts or feelings.[3][4]
In this version the first three are actions and the last the fruit of those actions.[5]
History
[edit]RAIN was developed as a meditation tool for deepening mindfulness practice. While McDonald created and popularized the acronym, it spread widely through mindfulness training and Buddhist therapeutic contexts. Many teachers have since adopted variations.[6]
Tara Brach’s adaptation
[edit]Tara Brach, a psychologist and teacher in the Insight Meditation tradition, adapted RAIN in her books Radical Acceptance (2004), True Refuge (2012), and Radical Compassion (2020). Brach kept the first three steps but replaced "Non-identification" with Nurture, emphasizing self-compassion through kindness and care.[7]
Her version of RAIN consists of:
- Recognize what is happening emotionally or mentally.
- Allow the experience to be present without impulse to resist or suppress it.
- Investigate with curiosity into bodily sensations, beliefs, and unmet needs.
- Nurture with compassion—offering words or gestures of self-soothing such as “I’m here with you” or “I care.”[8][9]
Some authors replace nurture with note.[10][11] Harking back to the original, Brach herself later replaced the "N" with "Natural awareness, which comes from not identifying with the experience," [5]
Practice and applications
[edit]RAIN is widely used in:
- Mindfulness-based therapies (e.g., DBT, ACT)
- Emotional self-regulation, especially for shame, guilt, anxiety, and grief
- Trauma recovery and addiction treatment
- Cultivating self-compassion and resilience[12]
Reception and critiques
[edit]RAIN has received praise from mental health professionals and spiritual practitioners as an effective and accessible tool. It supports cognitive de-centering and promotes healthy emotional habits. It has been used in eating disorder and smoking cessation studies.[10][11]
However, some critics note that without proper context, RAIN can be used for "spiritual bypassing"—a tendency to suppress legitimate emotional or political concerns in favor of premature acceptance or detachment.[13]
References
[edit]- ^ "TEACHERS - Vipassana Hawai'i". Vipassana Hawai'i. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
Michele McDonald co-founded Vipassana Hawai'i in 1984 with Steven Smith.
- ^ "R.A.I.N. ~ D.R.O.P. - Vipassana Hawai'i". Vipassana Hawai'i. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
Vipassana teacher Michele McDonald, who first coined RAIN
- ^ Rick Hanson (2017-11-13). "Can You Be With The Whole Of Your Psyche?". Psychology Today. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
- ^ E Hedderman; V O'Doherty; S O'Conner (2020-05-21). "Mindfulness moments for clinicians in the midst of a pandemic". PubMed - National Library of medicine - National Institutes of Health. doi:10.1017/ipm.2020.59. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
The acronym was first coined about 20 years ago by Michele McDonald
- ^ a b "Example". Example.com. 1776-07-04. Retrieved 2025-06-17. Cite error: The named reference "brach-2023" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "Example". Example.com. 1776-07-04. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
- ^ Allison Aubrey (2020-02-04). "Feeling Anxious? Here's a Quick Tool To Center Your Soul". NPR - Life Kit. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
- ^ "Example". Example.com. 1776-07-04. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
- ^ "Example". Example.com. 1776-07-04. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
- ^ a b Judson A. Brewer; et al. (2011-07-01). "Mindfulness Training for smoking cessation: results from a randomized controlled trial". PubMed Central - National library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2011.05.027. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
Recognize, Accept, Investigate and Note what cravings feel like as they arise, acronym: RAIN
- ^ a b Judson A Brewer; et al. (2018-09-10). "Can Mindfulness Address Maladaptive Eating Behaviors? Why Traditional Diet Plans Fail and How New Mechanistic Insights May Lead to Novel Interventions". PubMed - National Library of medicine - National Institutes of Health. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01418. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
RAIN (Recognize the craving, Allow it to exist, Investigate what it feels like in the body, Note the associated physical sensations from moment-to-moment)
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link) - ^ Borges, Anna (2020-07-10). "The One Mindfulness Tool That Actually Works for Me". Self. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
- ^ "Example". Example.com. 1776-07-04. Retrieved 2025-06-17.