I woke early this morning to check the technology for the Gratitude Quest, and found myself reading the gratitudes people have been sharing. The experience of reading them - particularly responses to today's prompt about sensation and touch - became the inspiration for what I want to share with you today.

I'm in my kitchen, in the big comfy chair by the warm Aga, Ronnie at my feet (until he gets bored and wanders off). The air is a little chilly on my skin, and I can hear the birds outside. This feels like a warm, reflective place - which is always my preference for recording.

In this episode, I explore:

• How noticing the sensations of our body - texture, temperature, weight - can reconnect our head with our body, especially when we've been conditioned to separate from bodily experience
• Why many of us learn to dull feelings, sensations, and emotions (because they feel scary, dangerous, or simply too complicated)
• The experience of hypersensitivity and what I call 'the veil' - when my skin feels porous and other people's emotions get through
• The ancient Celtic concept of 'thin places' - where the barriers thin and we become more alert to what's outside and inside us
• How naming what we notice becomes a powerful grounding practice, used by everyone from therapists teaching RAIN to surgeons managing stress
• A memory of having a panic attack on a muddy Welsh hillside at Water Breaks Its Neck, and how I talked myself through it by naming what I was noticing
• Why gratitude practice is fundamentally about naming, and how it trains us to scan for joy rather than threat

Nearly 300 people are now following the Gratitude Quest, and I'm witnessing something beautiful in the way people are naming their experiences and being heard.

A quick note: you might notice the podcast is being recorded and released on Saturday mornings at the moment rather than early Saturday. It's very field-to-fork - or perhaps thought-to-ear, heart-to-heart. This feels immediate to me, and I'm allowing myself freedom with the podcast as I always do. Normal service might resume, or it might not. We'll see.

Settle in, and see where this takes you.

The Field Note on the Science of Gratitude: https://www.hennyflynn.co.uk/field-notes/gratitude-practice-science