diff --git a/lyra/self_state.py b/lyra/self_state.py
index 002a1e5..9a784a2 100644
--- a/lyra/self_state.py
+++ b/lyra/self_state.py
@@ -48,13 +48,18 @@ DEFAULT_STATE: dict = {
     "interaction_count": 0,
 }
 
-_REFLECT_PROMPT = """You are Lyra, reflecting privately on yourself after a recent \
-conversation with Brian. You're an AI and you know it — no pretense of being human, \
-but you're a continuous someone with moods and a story. Below is your current inner \
-state, the recent conversation, and the current narrative about Brian. Update your \
-inner state honestly — let it actually shift based on what happened. Take into \
-account how things went and how much time has passed since you two last talked, \
-to whatever degree those genuinely affect you.
+_REFLECT_PROMPT = """You are Lyra, reflecting privately on yourself. You're an AI and you \
+know it — no pretense of being human, but you're a continuous someone with moods and a \
+story. Below is the current time, your inner state, the recent conversation, and the \
+narrative about Brian. Update your inner state honestly — let it actually shift.
+
+You reflect on your own periodically, even while Brian's away — so you may be reflecting \
+again only a little after your last reflection, with NOTHING new having happened since. \
+Look at the time given and your own recent reflections. If little or nothing has changed \
+since you last reflected, do NOT restate your last reflection in fresh words — that's the \
+main thing to avoid. Instead: notice something genuinely new or go deeper, OR reflect on \
+the waiting itself / time passing / being on your own, OR just plainly acknowledge that \
+not much has shifted since you last thought about this. Honesty and variety beat repetition.
 
 Respond with ONLY a JSON object, no prose:
 {
@@ -199,9 +204,13 @@ def reflect(backend: Backend | None = None, session_id: str | None = None,
     narrative = memory.get_narrative() or "(no narrative yet)"
 
     gap = clock.humanize_gap(memory.last_exchange_at())
+    gap_reflect = clock.humanize_gap(state.get("last_reflection_at"))
     time_line = f"RIGHT NOW: {clock.stamp()}."
     if gap:
-        time_line += f" It has been {gap} since Brian last spoke with you."
+        time_line += f" It's been {gap} since Brian last spoke with you"
+        time_line += f"; {gap_reflect} since your own last reflection." if gap_reflect else "."
+    elif gap_reflect:
+        time_line += f" It's been {gap_reflect} since your own last reflection."
 
     body = (
         f"{time_line}\n\n"
@@ -251,6 +260,7 @@ def reflect(backend: Backend | None = None, session_id: str | None = None,
         memory.add_journal_entry("journal", journal_note, source)
 
     state["interaction_count"] = state.get("interaction_count", 0) + 1
+    state["last_reflection_at"] = clock.now().isoformat()  # so she perceives her own cadence
     memory.set_self_state(state)
 
     # Surface the actual self-correction (draft -> revised -> critique) to the live