Intro: 00:00

Welcome to the Infinitely Precious podcast produced by Infinitely Precious LLC. Your host is James Henry. Remember, you are infinitely precious and unconditionally loved for the gift you already are.

James: 00:12

Hello, beloved. It's me, James. And if you know me at all, you know that periodically, I like to encourage you and me to check-in with ourselves, to see where we are. Right now, I know a lot of people who are feeling, the world has become even more chaotic for them than they imagined. And, when the world becomes chaotic and uncertain and we don't know what to do with it, fear often rises up in us.

James: 00:45

Fear that, shuts down our frontal lobe, sets our amygdala and our brain working overtime, to try to figure out if we're going to fight or run away or freeze. And that just happens naturally. It's the way we are wired in our evolutionary patterns as human beings. So periodically, I think it's a good thing, and, I am reminded by myself today that sometimes we just need to slow down and check-in, see see how we're doing. How are you doing?

James: 01:27

And when I ask that question, I really mean for you to stop and not just say, fine. Okay. I I want to invite you instead to step back for just a moment, to slow down from whatever you're doing. You can spare yourself no matter how busy you think you are, how important what you're doing in the world is, and I'm not saying what you're doing isn't important, but you can find a couple of minutes to slow down, to sit down, might be during your lunch break, it might be during a regular break, to really check-in with yourself. Find a place to sit down.

James: 02:08

Find a place, where you'll be uninterrupted for a moment and listen to what's going on in your head. You might want to just kind of pay attention to what your mind is thinking. What is the stream of consciousness that's going on in there? What are you feeling and where are you feeling it in your body? Is are you feeling anger?

James: 02:36

Are you feeling resentment? Are you feeling exhausted? Are you feeling, afraid? Are you feeling anxious in the midst of whatever uncertainty you find yourself in? Are you, lost in it all?

James: 02:56

And being lost in it all, you're uncertain what to do, so you can't find a way to do anything that seems to be meaningful. It's good to know where you are, and it's good to name the place that you find yourself. It's good to say, you know, I'm I'm off today. Maybe I've been off for a couple of weeks. Maybe I've been off for a couple of months.

James: 03:24

And I am not the self that I imagined I would be right now. I'm not the person who can seemingly take on the things that I thought I could. I'm overwhelmed, and I need to catch my breath for just a moment. Where am I in all of this? What do I imagine?

James: 03:47

What do I perceive is going on around me, but also within me? Am I filled with energy? Do I feel energetic about engaging the world, or am I, spent, exhausted? Do I need to take a space, a day to just be present, to be myself, to figure out what's going on inside of me? Because checking in in the midst of all of what's going on around us can be a healthy way to make sure you don't just burn yourself out or you don't just spin your wheels or that you don't just sink into sadness and anxiety.

James: 04:36

That instead, perhaps, there are things you can do in this moment that allow you to reground, reconnect yourself in this world. So I want to invite you to do that. Alright? Find a space, a space that you can be by yourself for just a moment and sit down. Feel your feet on the ground, the floor, wherever they are.

James: 05:14

Feel that grounding that is holding your feet up right now. If you're sitting sitting in a chair and, you can feel supported as that chair is holding up your body, holding up your bottom. You can even feel where your legs and your posterior come in contact with that chair or couch that you're sitting in. You can feel it. If sitting on the ground, you can feel the ground.

James: 05:43

You can feel that support. You can feel connected and grounded to the floor, to the chair. Perhaps you're in a chair that has a back, and you can lean back against that chair, and you can feel yourself grounded in that chair. Perhaps if it's warm enough where you are, maybe even if it's not, put on a good coat and go outside and lean up against the tree. Feel the support of the tree, the connectedness of the tree.

James: 06:15

Realize that you're just seeing a part of the tree, that the tree is got roots that run deep into the ground and leaves that are preparing to spout. Sprout if you're in the Northern Hemisphere under something other than an evergreen tree. This is part of being in this moment. Now that you felt your grounding, catch yourself. Are you breathing quickly?

James: 06:45

Are you is the anxiety appearing in your breath? Can you slow your breath down? Because there's also a way to your brain is designed. You can reverse calm yourself. If you're, if if that little walnut sized part of your brain, the amygdala that's charged with figuring out if you're in danger and causing you to run away or to fight or to freeze.

James: 07:20

If if that part of your brain is active, it's telling your breathing center to breathe fast, to release your adrenaline and to get ready for running or fighting or whatever you're feeling like you need to do. Let that little section of your brain that controls your breathing, if you intentionally slow it down, it sends back a feedback message that calms your amygdala, calms down that anxious, fearful response to the moment. Now if you're if there's something, you know, real for you to be afraid of and real in front of you, it's good when your amygdala kicks in and protects you. But sometimes it kicks in, and if you calm it down, you might figure out what is a way a healthy way for you to respond. What is it you can do?

James: 08:23

Not all the things you can't do, the things you can't change, but the things that you can do. What what are those things? But for right now, it's about calming down. Can you see the pattern? Can you feel it in your body where you first began to tighten up?

James: 08:44

Was it in your shoulders? Was it in your gut? Was it in your ankles, your feet, your thighs? Was it your biceps? Where was it in your body?

James: 08:55

Where did those muscles tighten up when you began to be fearful? And can you notice where that's coming from? And as you notice where it's coming from, look for the pattern. Because this kind of anxiousness, uncertainty, the feeling of lack of control that rises in you. There are some things in our lives that tend to, trigger those things, and it's based on our own experience of life up to this point.

James: 09:30

So what has brought you to this place? What are the things that trigger you, that bring up this anxiety, this uncertainty, and this fear? And once you've kind of seen that pattern, when those things happen in life and you start to feel yourself breathing quickly, anxious, catch yourself. You're not gonna get it right all the time. I don't get it all right all the time.

James: 10:00

I've been practicing this for more than twelve years, and I don't get it right all the time. But I get it right more and more the more I pay attention to where I am, when I am, how I am. And I can catch myself before I react. I can catch myself before anxiety drives me to do something, before uncertainty drives me to do something that perhaps I don't need to do. That's not mine to do.

James: 10:31

But because I'm anxious, I wanna do something, and the something I do might not be the thing I meant to do. So how are you? How are you really? Make time regularly. Maybe once a month, maybe once a day as you're laying down at in bed at night.

James: 10:55

How am I doing? Don't go into deep thinking about it because if you do that as you're laying down at night, you might not go to sleep. How am I doing? Where am I tense? Where do I feel that tension in my body?

James: 11:08

Can I loosen that tension? Breathe into that space. Can I slow my breath down? And for this moment and this moment alone, let it go. I can't predict how it's gonna go in twenty minutes.

James: 11:26

I know how it went twenty minutes ago, but there's no point of lamenting that. I can be here right now, and I can let go of what I need to right now. Please don't be afraid to check-in with yourself because you matter. You are indeed infinitely precious and unconditionally loved for the gift you already are. Remember that.

James: 11:50

And remember, when everything gets stirred up inside, it's okay to take a breath, to take a break, to breathe, to reground yourself, and reengage. Those are all things that it's okay for you to do. So check-in with yourself. How are you? How are you?

James: 12:11

And if you see someone else struggling, ask how they are. And when they throw that easy answer at you, like fine, okay, you know, no worries, whatever they may say, press a little deeper, particularly if it's someone you know, and see if that's really if they're really okay and if they really just need someone to talk to about. Maybe you're one of those people. Reach out to someone you need to talk to. But in any case, remember to ask the question, how are you?

James: 12:47

And don't forget to ask it about yourself. Until the next time, I hope this has been helpful. As always, if you have questions, comments, concerns, or, things that you'd like me to talk about in the future in this twice a week Infinitely Precious podcast, all you have to do, email me at infinitelypreciousllc@gmail.com, and I will gladly receive that email, ponder what you have to say, and see what rises for me. And perhaps that, next podcast or two will be about what you need to hear. Hopefully, this has been one of those days.

James: 13:27

So until the next time, I wish you all the very best.