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Tag: attitude

My Day Got Misaligned

September 6, 2023 ~ James ~ Leave a comment

Today was a normal day. I woke and then headed downstairs to the kitchen. I made coffee and oatmeal for my family, and then we shared the meal. There was pleasant banter about my wife's and son's insomnia last night- they watched Modern Family together while I slept upstairs, oblivious. After breakfast cleanup, I brought … Continue reading My Day Got Misaligned

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?

Joy of Being Thankful

September 1, 2023August 30, 2023 ~ James ~ Leave a comment

I find it meaningful to begin my day in gratitude. So I have a gratitude practice. Gratitude Practice (summarized) Open my journal. Close my eyes and “breathe myself here.” Open my eyes and say, “I am thankful for…” Write name by name what arises from that statement. When I reach a “stopping point,” repeat out … Continue reading Joy of Being Thankful

Tech-Challenged Technophile

August 30, 2023August 30, 2023 ~ James ~ 1 Comment

What was the last thing you searched for online? Why were you looking for it? I enjoy, invest in, and regularly play with/utilize technology in a variety of forms. I imagine I am “tech-savvy.” Searching for simple tech how-to’s on the web is embarrassing for me. Yesterday I as listening to the Acoustic Hits playlist … Continue reading Tech-Challenged Technophile

A Dream Last Night

August 26, 2023August 26, 2023 ~ James ~ Leave a comment

Tell us about the last thing you got excited about. Awakening this morning, I was excited to remember a dream. It is rare for me to recall one at all, let alone clearly. Here is how I might summarize it: I was back at university; the grounds were very familiar from the time I was … Continue reading A Dream Last Night

Practicing for life

August 25, 2023August 25, 2023 ~ James ~ 1 Comment

My title really should read something more like, “I used to practice for life as if life and practice were separate instances.” I have an everyday practice: meditation, journaling, reading, listening. I come to my space and sit. This sitting sets an intention for the day, an intention to inhale and exhale, to receive and … Continue reading Practicing for life

Living My Mission

August 23, 2023 ~ James ~ Leave a comment

What motivates you? I suppose there are any number of ways to answer this question. As a younger person, I was motivated by fear: of failure, of being unloved and unappreciated, of not-fitting-in, of mediocrity, of dying unknown. It is amazing what an unrelenting motivator fear was; it never let up and created stress, anxiety, … Continue reading Living My Mission

Helping Me Be the Best Me

August 17, 2023August 17, 2023 ~ James ~ Leave a comment

Daily writing promptWhat makes a teacher great?View all responses The best teachers I have had listened to me and addressed the needs I had. These teachers helped me discover myself- what excites me, what inspires me, how I learn- and then those teachers set me free to be me. That is an underrated gift teachers … Continue reading Helping Me Be the Best Me

Therapy Is a Good Beginning

August 14, 2023 ~ James ~ Leave a comment

What profession do you admire most and why? I admire the work of psychotherapists in helping people find ways to cope with their trauma and life challenges. I benefitted greatly from the therapeutic process in dealing with life events from my past in ways that helped me live daily less like I was on a … Continue reading Therapy Is a Good Beginning

Making Breakfast

August 6, 2023 ~ James ~ Leave a comment

Describe one habit that brings you joy. Every morning that I am home, I arise with my wife and while she is gone on a walk with our dog, I make breakfast. It is simple fare; we share oatmeal and coffee together. I am thankful as I measure out the water and then set it … Continue reading Making Breakfast

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  • A Trust Creed
  • Ripening Awareness: The Space Before We React
  • A Creed of Holy Mystery
  • Ripening Effort: Gentleness in What We Bring
  • A Grace-filled Creed
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You are infinitely precious and unconditionally loved for the gift you already are.

James Henry

Ripening Awareness: The Space Before We React - Infinitely Precious

In week seven of the Ripening series, James Henry turns to one of the quieter but most transformative dimensions of spiritual growth: ripening awareness. Building on the series' central metaphor — that transformation is less like achievement and more like a fruit slowly receiving what it needs to become what it already is — James explores what it means to notice a reaction rising in you before it becomes your automatic response.Drawing on his own practice of Centering Prayer, James describes how sitting in twenty minutes of silence, releasing thoughts as they arise, trains the same muscle needed in everyday conversation: the ability to catch a reaction — anger, defensiveness, the urge to walk away — in the split second before it takes over. He talks candidly about the amygdala's role in this process, the evolutionary logic of fight-or-flight, and why so many of our modern reactions aren't actually about survival at all, even though they feel that way in the moment.This episode offers a gentle, practical invitation: you don't have to react to everything that rises in you. Through simple practices like breath and pause, James shows how ripening awareness creates space — not to suppress what we feel, but to choose, with more freedom and presence, what we do with it.In This Episode:Why James chose the word "ripening" over "growth" for this seriesHow Centering Prayer trains the mind to notice and releaseThe role of the amygdala in reactive, self-protective responsesThe difference between needing to react and wanting to reactA simple breathing practice for creating space before respondingHow ripening awareness deepens presence with others
  1. Ripening Awareness: The Space Before We React 12:18
  2. Ripening Effort: Gentleness in What We Bring 12:53
  3. Ripening Release: Loving Without Grasping 16:02
  4. Ripening Enough-ness: I Am, and That's Enough 13:02
  5. Ripening Action: The Ripple You Never See 12:46
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