Step 1: Recognize

Every spring for the last few years, I come back to a practice called R.A.I.N.. The acronym (who doesn’t love a good acronym) stands for a simple system to develop a deeper internal relationship with Self. And with spring often symbolizing a time of deep cleaning and April showers, it just seems like a natural time to revisit this profound practice.

Today I offer you the first step of the R.A.I.N. method, recognize. At first the meaning of this will appear pretty self-evident and you may wonder why I even bring it up. Here’s how the Oxford dictionary defines it

Recognize

1. identify (someone or something) from having encountered them before; know again.

2. acknowledge the existence, validity, or legality of.

In the context we are using this word today, we’re talking about the practice of acknowledging the validity of emotions and body sensations to the extent that we can identify them as a pattern similar to being able to recognize a pattern of letters that make up a word or a pattern of words that make up a sentence. In other words, the aim of Recognize is to consciously take note of seemingly “unimportant” or “nonsensical” body experiences.

The tricky part about this step of R.A.I.N. is that most of us have spent our entire lives using our cognitive function of language to diminish the fact that we are feeling anything in the first place. And even if we do recognize there has been a shift in our inner landscape, our discomfort will trigger the cognitive function to rush to old stories and patterns in order to make sense of it as quickly and efficiently as possible. Typically this because our brain is searching to keep us safe and alive no matter if a tiger is chasing us or our co-worker is being annoying.

In turn the subtle language of the body and emotions become dysregulated over time. We will dismiss that we are experiencing anything at all or diminish its importance. Ultimately this teaches our body that we cannot trust it through the signals of emotions and body sensations. By defaulting instead to our cognitive function, we engrain the narrative that we are thinking bodies with emotions rather than the truth: We are feeling bodies with a brain.

So I’ll invite you this week to take 1-2 minutes in your day to Recognize. Perhaps this is after you brush your teeth or while you wait for the coffee to brew, but find a time where you already have a habit you do and do it immediately following. Once you are there, close your eyes and take some full breaths to scan and sense how your body is experiencing that moment.

For example, you might wake up with a story about your spouse that is causing worry or distress. Close your eyes and breath into that story, first noticing what emotions are coming up and where the corresponding sensation is in the body. Perhaps, if you are worried, you feel a tight stomach.

Then, stay with it but DON’T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. This is about recognizing, not removing, avoiding, or changing it. For 1-2 minutes, all you have to “do” is be. Be curious. Be present with it. Does it twitch? Does it tighten? Does it travel to your ribs as you observe?

That’s it. That’s the entire point of Recognize. It may seem trivial or so easy that 20 seconds seems like plenty of time, but as I will show you next time, this is the most crucial moment to attune with so that when it’s time for the brain to come back online, you’ll more easily know how and when to use it. Trust me. You’ll start to be surprised by what you start to notice.

Give it a shot and let me know how it goes!