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Category: thoughts

A Life Celebrated

March 21, 2026 ~ James ~ Leave a comment

Today, I went to the celebration of life for a young woman I had known since before she was born. What a precious, life-filled person she was all her short life. I sat in a room filled with people who were mourning her: her parents at whose wedding I was officiant, both sets of grandparents, … Continue reading A Life Celebrated

Autumnal Equinox.

September 23, 2023September 23, 2023 ~ James ~ Leave a comment

The sun is passing directly over the equator today. The length of the day will be roughly equal in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. In the North we are passing out of summer into fall and winter. In the South, it is passing from winter to spring and summer. Nature gives me pause in its … Continue reading Autumnal Equinox.

What Is A Leader?

September 15, 2023September 15, 2023 ~ James ~ Leave a comment

Do you see yourself as a leader? This prompt is deeply personal for me. It asks me to ponder who I am and how I see myself. Maybe this prompt does the same for you. I see life is a gift; I write and speak from an expanding awareness of life-as-gift. People assume “leader” has … Continue reading What Is A Leader?

Let Your Yes Be Yes

September 14, 2023September 14, 2023 ~ James ~ Leave a comment

What's your favorite word? My practice for these daily prompts is to sit with them a bit to see what rises in me. I pause. Then I begin to write whatever arises. Today, I was surprised- as I often am- when the blogging prompt brought forth this word: Yes. I must add this disclaimer: “Yes” … Continue reading Let Your Yes Be Yes

Chats with My Inner Critic

September 8, 2023September 8, 2023 ~ James ~ 1 Comment

If you had to give up one word that you use regularly, what would it be? "Stupid." I would dispel that word from my vocabulary; that goes double for my inner critic. Let me be clear. I do not use "stupid" much in daily conversation or thoughts I have about the world. However, my friend … Continue reading Chats with My Inner Critic

Holding Tightly to Past Wrongs

September 7, 2023 ~ James ~ Leave a comment

Are you holding a grudge? About? The word “grudge” immediately brings to my mind savoring the perceived wrongs, intentional and unintentional, that have been done against me. There is even a sour flavor I can almost taste when I remember some of the grudges that shaped periods of my life. And shape my life they … Continue reading Holding Tightly to Past Wrongs

Where is Home?

September 5, 2023 ~ James ~ Leave a comment

What does your ideal home look like? This writing is a second attempt. I wrote and edited a response to this question as I originally read it. However, in an “aha” moment, I realized there was a different response rising in me. That is because my first response was to the question, “What does your … Continue reading Where is Home?

Out of Focus

September 2, 2023August 30, 2023 ~ James ~ Leave a comment

I realized this morning what is arising in me: I feel scattered. It is a natural feeling from time to time. My presence is not gathered here; I am all over the place in my thoughts and feelings. Perhaps that feeling sounds familiar to you? Perhaps being scattered wouldn't bother me too much except I … Continue reading Out of Focus

What I learned from Jesus

June 22, 2023 ~ James ~ Leave a comment

When I look at the stories of Jesus of Nazareth, I see a person teaching and modeling a path for living. Jesus taught about healing and wholeness, and facilitated others finding the wholeness about which he taught. Jesus practiced being in the moment, with whoever he happened to be with then. He would stop at … Continue reading What I learned from Jesus

A Good Failure at “Little Things”

June 13, 2023 ~ James ~ 1 Comment

I spent the last several days spinning in frustration. After all, I have had a meditation practice for more than 10 years and little things are not supposed to trip me up. Hadn't I arrived at some deeper place? That is what happens when I start to imagine I have arrived and move from a … Continue reading A Good Failure at “Little Things”

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Older posts
  • Inhabiting Silence: Discovering the Spaciousness Beneath the Noise
  • Inhabiting the Ordinary: Discovering the Gift of Simply Being Present
  • Inhabiting Place: Learning to Be Here
  • Inhabiting Rest
  • Inhabiting Work: Letting the Inner Life Grow Hands
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You are infinitely precious and unconditionally loved for the gift you already are.

James Henry

Inhabiting Silence - Infinitely Precious

What if silence isn’t a prize at the end of a long spiritual climb, but the ground we’re already standing on? In this episode of the Infinitely Precious podcast, James Henry continues the “inhabit” series by inviting you to inhabit silence. After twelve to fourteen years of centering prayer practice, he shares how his understanding shifted. He used to try to achieve silence by blocking out noise. Now he sees silence as the spaciousness before sound, the quiet from which “let there be light” was spoken in Genesis, and a presence we carry with us everywhere.James reflects on Thomas Keating’s insight that silence is God’s original language. He explores how an ongoing, unfinished creation needs spaciousness to continue, and how that same creative space can open up in us. He explains how to find inner stillness in a crowded mall, at a loud concert, or amid the constant argument in your own head. He also offers a gentle introduction to meditation, from mantra practice to centering prayer and the sacred word, as a way to let go of thoughts without judging yourself. This is contemplative spirituality with no performance and no pressure, rooted in the truth that you are infinitely precious and unconditionally loved for the gift you already are.In This EpisodeWhy James stopped trying to achieve silence and began to inhabit itSilence as the spaciousness before sound, not something on the far side of noiseReading the opening of Genesis as a word arising from eternal silenceThomas Keating’s insight: silence as God’s original languageCreation as an ongoing process, and what that means for your own creativityFinding silence in a busy mall, a loud concert, or a restless mindCarrying inner silence with you, from a Portuguese café to your own deskA simple introduction to mantra meditation and centering prayerHow to use the sacred word to release thoughts, sounds, and feelings without naming themWhy silence practice is about being, not achievementThis week’s invitation: practice inhabiting silence ★ Support this podcast ★
  1. Inhabiting Silence 14:13
  2. Inhabiting the Ordinary 12:07
  3. Inhabiting Wonder 14:40
  4. Inhabiting Place 13:41
  5. Inhabiting Rest 15:31
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