I recorded this one as the light was fading, choosing to leave the lamps off and let the shadows of the plants play across the wall. Perhaps that set the tone for where we went.

I’ve been writing a new Field Note, sparked by listening back to an episode I recorded in 2021 about our non-negotiables. I was struck by how many threads were already there five years ago, and by how they’ve matured and softened since. In this episode I wonder about what happens when certainty becomes a cage, why I think non-negotiables can be both an anchor and a limit, and how a week of so much happening in the wider world led me somewhere I hadn’t expected: to hope.

I close with a poem from My Darling Girl.

This is the last episode of season 21. Thank you, as always, for being here. The new season begins in a few weeks.

• Field Note: how our non-negotiables shift
• Circle - I’ve shared an invitation to reflect on how your own non-negotiables have changed. You’d be so welcome to join us. Enter through the mailing list
• IMMERSE - my year-long small-group programme begins on 20/11/2026. If you’ve been circling it, there’s still time, and still time to have a chat with me to see if it's right for you.
• A gift with your books - order any of my books before the end of November and I’d love to send you one of the blank page journals from Inner Work Project, while stocks last. There’s also a book bundle. Details and Ts & Cs here.

This week someone in our community asked me a question that gently challenged an assumption I think many of us carry: what if we don’t know how to connect with ourselves?

It took me straight back to a conversation with a nutritionist many years ago, and a moment of realising just how far from my own body I’d drifted. In this episode I share

• Some of what helped me begin to find my way back
• A curious idea I’ve been playing with about tracking emotion through the body (also inspired by someone in our community)
• And one of my own letters of love, written by the fire one evening.

How do you connect with yourself? I’d love to hear.
With love
Henny x

• Letters of Love - my journaling guide for writing letters of love to parts of yourself, to loved ones, to the natural world, published by Inner Work Project.
• The Circle of Compassionate Change - the community space where this week’s questions first arose. Join the mailing list and you’ll be welcomed in.

I’m recording this one from my bed. A low-level virus caught up with me after the retreat last weekend, and at the same time a couple of days opened up unexpectedly in my diary. In the past I’d have pushed on through. This time I took the space I’d been given.

From there, looking out at the autumn leaves and the rain, I found myself reflecting on the bravery it takes to turn toward ourselves with love. I share something I witnessed on The Weekend of No-Requirements about what happens to our attention when we’re held well in a group, how my own feelings about group work have shifted over the years, and why I think the small moments of choosing ourselves matter just as much as the big ones.

We don't always have to have the fierce courageousness of the Lion; sometimes it's the Butterfly who shows the deepest courage.

I think there's a lot more to explore here so perhaps we'll return to this another time. It’s a shorter, quieter episode, with a question at its heart. If it stirs something for you, I’d love to hear.

There’s no video this week (for obvious reasons) and normal service resumes next week.

Coming up:

• The Nervous System at Work - a four-week short course with Grace Loveday. Thursday lunchtimes, 75 minutes, beginning 5/11/2026. A couple of spaces remain. https://events.humanitix.com/the-nervous-system-at-work-4-week-course-with-henny-flynn-and-grace-loveday
• IMMERSE information session - a free, relaxed hour to find out more about IMMERSE, ask any questions, and perhaps share a gentle practice together. https://events.humanitix.com/an-evening-within-the-heart-of-change
• IMMERSE - my year-long small-group programme. The new cohort first gathers on 20/11/2026. https://www.hennyflynn.co.uk/immerse