A bonus episode for those who prefer listening to reading... or enjoy both.

This is an audio version of the email going out today, in preparation for my annual August break. It includes a reflection on what this time of 'Summering' can mean and hold for each of us, a poem on holidays as holy days and a few things to explore during August...

As ever it is shared with love.

The podcast will be back in September. Speak with you soon.
Henny x

​PODCAST​

If you’ve already heard them all 225 episodes, try scrolling and randomly stopping for a podcast lucky dip. It can be amazing to see how new insights emerge when you listen to something again.

And... if you've subscribed to the podcast (please do!), you may have already heard I've recorded this whole email as a bonus episode, just in case you prefer listening to reading.

​FLOW JOURNALING​

See the Flow Journaling Guides in Circle. And if you want a lovely practice for the summer, get a copy of my book ​In the Flow - journal your inner wisdom​, buy it anywhere or use FLOW for 30% off, direct from my publishers.

​Mini-self-guided Courses​

Free and low cost courses to expand thinking and deepen compassionate self-enquiry. A lovely way to spend time with your Self and see what they bring you.

A bonus episode inspired by a voice note from a friend, all about... Inspiration

This is a stepping stone into a topic I find fascinating: where does inspiration come from?

I talk about...

• Inspiration as external flow, not internal genius - Touching on our potential to shift from Renaissance thinking (genius lives in the person) back to classical understanding (the muse is 'something other')
• Flow states as the channel - Writing, creating, journaling, problem-solving... how when we drop out of cognitive thinking, ideas emerge that we couldn't have accessed through effort alone.
• Inspiration as an embodied experience - Noticing how it can arrive mid-drive, drop from the sky, rise from the belly. And how it can have a physical presence that might feel like it demands action - you have to capture it, write it down... or it passes through.
• Universal love is easy (but human love can feel so complex) - The essence beneath the messages in everyday compassion. And the story of how they arrived.
• And invitation to share your inspiration - I'm inviting you to send me your questions, your challenges, your curiosities. What would you love to explore here on the podcast? I'll take the list and choose at random, live on air... and see where that takes us.

With love (and gratitude for the inspiration!)

FLOW JOURNALING PROMPTS

• When I feel the hand of inspiration...
• When I hear the voice of inspiration...

PRE-ORDER

• everyday compassion - published September 2026 https://www.hennyflynn.co.uk/everyday-compassion

REFERENCES

• Elizabeth Gilbert TED Talk https://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_your_elusive_creative_genius

Today we're looking at the third and final aspect of resilience that's been running through the last few episodes of this season: the inner critic. That voice inside us that can feel like our worst enemy - and yet, like all our parts, is just trying to do the important job it believes it's here to do.

In this reflective episode, you'll hear:

• How the inner critic forms - often from experiences when we were very young - and it's role in our beliefs about how resilient we are
• Why turning toward these voices with compassion can lead to deeper resilience than trying to close them down
• The practice of "dispassionate compassion" - observing what's hard without either collapsing into it or dismissing it
• How parenting ourselves (by modelling love) teaches our Parts that there can be a different way
• When we stand rooted in the ground rather than placing ourselves on some impossible pedestal, we can see what true self-compassion looks like

This is the final episode of this season, before the summer break.

I also announce the publication of a beautiful new book... everyday compassion - available for pre-order now

Settle in and see where the episode takes you.

Balancing Authenticity with Self-Protection and Resilience - In Conversation with Adam Lind

Today I'm joined by Adam Lind, author of Floating Home, for the second of our three-part deep dive on resilience.

We explore what happens when we feel we need to mask our true selves - and the difference between masking (an unconscious survival strategy) and performative behaviour (a more conscious choice about how we show up). We also discuss compartmentalisation: how we can temporarily set things aside to function, and when that strategy risks becoming unhealthy.

The most important aspect of this whole conversation is that there is no 'one right response' to our experience of the world. All these strategies and behaviours are deeply, truly human. And we are all learning how to navigate what life reveals to us, in our own way, in our own time.

You'll hear:

• How masking can show up in any environment where we don't feel safe - and why it can be exhausting
• The difference between masking, performative behaviour, and compartmentalisation - all strategies that can look like resilience from the outside (or feel like resilience from the inside)
• Why authenticity and unmasking can perhaps begin to feel more resilient than protecting ourselves has done in the past
• Boundaries as the foundation of compassion - and how clear boundaries enable resilience
• How Adam refuses to mask, even when it's socially awkward - and what that costs and gains him
• The paradox: we need both authenticity AND the ability to protect ourselves
• Why self-trust comes from honouring our own boundaries

Adam and I are also co-creating a retreat in October. The Weekend of No Requirements, 16-19 October 2026 is a space where you can show up exactly as you are.
Find out more here: https://www.hennyflynn.co.uk/the-weekend-of-no-requirements

Settle in and see where this conversation takes you.

This is the first of three episodes diving deeper into resilience. Last week I explored how resilience can look like different things - this week, I'm focusing on one of the three key areas: the Self-Care Bank.

It's a metaphor that's generated so much interest, and today I'm unpacking what it really means - and why what gets labelled as 'lack of resilience' is often actually lack of resources.

You'll hear:

• Why depletion isn't a sign of weak resilience - it's a sign of low reserves
• How self-awareness with self-compassion helps us notice when our bank is running low (before crisis hits)
• The difference between firm boundaries (that we sometimes need) and the reality of the soft, malleable boundaries we often actually live with
• Why rest and pausing are themselves forms of boundary-setting
• How 'staying authentic' is part of keeping your reserves topped up
• The corporate culture that values decisiveness over reflection - and what it costs
• Why borrowing from your future self in crisis is human and necessary (and why we need time to rebuild after)

I also talk about Compassionate Resilience - from my book The Heart of Change - and why that reframe matters.

Next week: a special guest episode with Adam Lind - author of Floating Home - exploring masking as a form of resilience.

Settle in and see where the episode takes you.

I've noticed my own emotional and psychological resilience has increased as I've aged. Things that once affected me deeply seem to affect me less. But what I'm really curious about is something different.

I'm no longer willing to mask the truth of how I'm feeling.

Research shows emotional resilience improves as we mature - even after significant life changes like bereavement, retirement, loss. But the way that resilience shows up might not look like we expect. It might not look like "brushing it off and getting on."

You'll hear:

• How a loved one's hospital crisis revealed something about my own reserves - the concept of "borrowing from my future self"
• The Self-Care Bank metaphor: how we can invest, withdraw, and sometimes dangerously empty our reserves
• A story about burnout: my mother's death, a new job, nearly dying - and what I take responsibility for
• The moment I felt myself return: a part of me called Joy, and why she still needs protecting
• What a mother's poem written twelve years ago reveals about resilience, courage, and dealing with difficulty
• Three different entry points for three different people - on masking, depletion, and the pressure to be resilient

I also share why I'm no longer willing to perform, and what that means for how I move through the world. This episode is also a Field Note on the blog - link below if you'd like to read as well as listen.

Settle in and see where the episode takes you.

LINKS
Field Note: www.hennyflynn.co.uk/field-notes/what-real-resilience-looks-like
Sign up for tiny notes, filled with love: everyday compassion weekly emails
Contact: henny@hennyflynn.co.uk or visit hennyflynn.co.uk

RESOURCES
That longitudinal research on resilience as we age: https://www.elsa-project.ac.uk/post/resilience-in-later-life-elsa-study-finds-older-adults-often-maintain-good-mental-health-after-majo

I recorded an episode today that didn't feel quite right. Some of my thoughts felt a little confused, possibly difficult to follow. So I started over. And that became the theme of the episode...

There's a Sharon Salzberg quote I love: 'We can always begin again, no matter what happens, no matter how long it's been, no matter how far from our aspirations we may have strayed.' It is so filled with hope that, for me, speaks to a deep resilience that we may find is within us all.

You'll hear:

• Why I chose to restart the episode - and when "keeping going" might not be the wisest choice
• A recognition of my own past resistance to asking for help... and how that has shifted
• How our willingness to begin again could inform conversations, relationships, work, and how we care for ourself
• The micro-moments of beginning again that we may notice in our lives
• Why knowing we can always begin again might be the most hopeful thing we can teach young people and ourselves in times of grief, loss, or when life feels impossibly hard

I also share how wonderful it's been to hear your reflections on standing on the rope bridge in New Zealand - and the ordinary, extraordinary connections people find when they're in connection with water, mountains, and trees.

Settle in and see where the episode takes you.

I'm sitting in our retreat house this long weekend. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, the birds are singing. And I realised yesterday that I'd completely forgotten to do this week's episode...

I think this is the only time this has ever happened and I'm so sorry if you look forward to listening at a particular time. I chose to let it go rather than squeeze it in whilst rushed and anxious. And that feels interesting to explore.

You'll hear:

• Why 'the show must go on' is one of my formative stories - and what it means to gently question it
• The nuance between keeping commitments that matter and following rigid rules we've internalised about our identity
• How I would have spiralled in the past vs how I'm holding this now
• The art of discernment: being in the world with profound compassion whilst holding compassion for ourselves too
• An invitation to ask: what's the worst that could happen if I don't step forward?

Also: my loved one is now home from hospital. An enormous relief. Thank you for all your kindness and compassion.

If there's a commitment in your life that's asking too much of you right now, maybe there's a space between this and that. Maybe there are other options available.

Settle in and see where the episode takes you.