Use the RAIN practice (Recognize, Allow/Accept, Inquire, Nourish/Non-Identify) as a mechanism for processing and working with very powerful emotions, especially when ambushed by them.
When ambushed by a strong emotion, recognize and name it clearly (e.g., ‘I’m feeling jealous’), identifying the underlying feeling if possible, rather than ignoring or mislabeling it.
After recognizing an emotion, allow or accept its presence without fighting it, acknowledging that it is happening and feeling it in your body.
Inquire into the emotion by noticing where and how it manifests in your body (e.g., tension, stomach feeling) and gently asking what’s underneath it or what it wants to teach you.
Conclude the RAIN practice by nourishing yourself; ask what you can do for yourself right now to be healing or soften the experience, such as sitting and breathing, getting water, or taking space.
Use meditation to observe and question internal negative narratives and programming, especially those from childhood or societal influences, to heal from limiting beliefs and move forward.
Before reaching for your phone, pause and observe the underlying feeling (e.g., loneliness, uncertainty) to understand your impulse and potentially address the feeling directly before going online.
When caught in social comparison, pause, close your eyes, and imagine feeling completely okay, beautiful, and lovable just as you are, to interrupt the endless feeling of not being enough.
When engaging in comparison, simply observe the comparing mind, acknowledge it as human, forgive yourself, and try not to believe its reality, recognizing interconnectedness.
Engage in meditation with the ultimate goal of easing suffering, not just your own, but all the suffering of the whole world.
View mindfulness practice as a way to train and incrementally improve mental qualities like focus, compassion, self-awareness, and mindfulness over time.
In conversations, practice feeling your own emotions while simultaneously being present with the other person, discerning your own projections from what is truly happening in real-time.
Men should learn to mindfully sit with strong feelings of discomfort, rejection, or shame, and the underlying psychological factors related to desire, to prevent harmful actions.
Men should learn to understand and mindfully sit with desire and its associated feelings, preventing impulsive or harmful actions driven by unexamined internal states.
Differentiate between natural human desire and grasping; aim to feel desire as a powerful, beautiful emotion without immediately turning it into clinging or suffering.
Recognize that fear can often mask underlying desires; practice acknowledging what you truly want, rather than staying in the easier state of fear.
Observe the Sabbath as a form of mindfulness retreat, focusing on being with the world as it is, without creating new things or participating in the economic machine.
Use meditation to cope with physical pain, even if you don’t have chronic pain, as it offers a different way to address it.
Check out other podcasts, especially those mentioned by Dan, if you are looking for new content to enjoy.