The JoiLotus Garden: A Hard Rain

Sunday, May 1, 2016

A Hard Rain

"I can see clearly now the rain is gone, I can see all the obstacles in my way ..." ~ Johnny Nash

The 60's and 70's are a favorite era in music.

Tooling about the city in the backseat of my mother's Pinto singing at the top of my lungs, I just knew the man on the radio was singing about "all the popsicles in my way". That song filled my heart with such joy. After all, it was a song about popsicles on a sunny day.

Such is the mind of a child, but now I know better.

"Rainy days should be spent at home with a cup of tea and a good book." ~ Bill Watterson

As an adult, I suffer with migraines. Fluctuations in barometric pressure are not my friend, but I rather enjoy a good thunderstorm and I always think of the "popsicle song" in a good hard rain.

Seated on my deck in the kiss of a mist filled breeze is life and I love the scent of the rain on my skin. I feel I'm being watered in newness that can spring forth from my soul to meet the Sun's invitation for growth into deeper spaces of healing.

"I like it when it rains hard. It sounds like white noise everywhere, which is like silence but not empty." ~ Mark Haddon

Psychologist and Buddhist meditation teacher, Tara Brach, teaches a systematic means to manage our emotions during times of confusion or stress called RAIN. In summary: Recognize what has happened, Allow what is to be as it is, Investigate with kindness your emotions and beliefs about a thing, employ Non-identification to invite a natural awareness without attachment to what has happened.

As a practice, RAIN, is restorative and provides clearing not unlike the Sun breaking through clouds after a storm. I find it helpful in identifying and broadening my response patterns and it has deepened my meditation practice.

Sitting in the RAIN is not easier but I come away with a keener understanding of self and my responses to the events of life as they unfold and I have reaped expansive benefits in daily living.

So much in life is beyond our control, but so much is within it.

I don't have to respond the same way when a button is pushed. I can choose something different that invites more of what I want and less of what I don't into my sphere of energy. Emotional clarity lends insight into purpose.

A clearer vision breeds peace of mind and that is what I am seeking.

"Gone are the dark clouds that had me bound. It's gonna be a bright, bright sunshiny day." ~ Johnny Nash

Are there benefits to your habitual response patterns in times of stress or crisis?
Can you name the distractions you are using to resist or avoid unpleasant experiences with truth in your life?
How can RAIN help you to see all the "popsicles" in your way?