"Hope and fear cannot occupy the same space. Invite one to stay." Maya Angelou
Dear Wild Hearts,
Twelve years ago I embarked on my first online, global collective art project, inviting readers of my blog - enhance the everyday - to submit photographs of wandering hearts found in their homes and environment. It was called My Heart Wanders: Finding subtle hearts in unexpected places. The intention of the project was to encourage us all to be more present, to connect with the nature around us no matter where we lived, and to connect with our hearts: the intuitive part of us that often gets forgotten about, lost and can go unheard for years.
One of my favourites from the original project, by Nadia Q. Dole learn more from the original project here.
For months I had submissions pouring into my inbox and shared as many as I could keep up with on my blog, there was incredible beauty in the work I received from so many places in the world – not only did it turn out to connect us with the hidden magic wherever we happened to live, it connected us to each other. We met people we would never have known about, had our hearts not found this way to communicate through this project.
And there was one more outcome that I had not anticipated - not only did this project become an integral part of my own creative career but it was a catalyst for many others too. In 2011 My Heart Wanders became a beautiful photographic book about my own personal journey of following my heart, and over the years since I have received emails from people all over the world letting me know my book has touched their hearts in a way they didn’t know was possible, and launched them into transforming their lives, turning their dreams into their reality.
This is the Everyday Alchemy that I love.
Subtle hearts everywhere in my work - always look for it in my photographs, there may be one in there for you to find.
Not only is the heart central to all that I create, colour has always been a huge part of my career, my life’s work, my offerings and service in the world. My love and connection to the colours in nature are what ignite my creativity everyday.
Without the power of colour, I would not be able to do what I do.
Colour, particularly in abundance, has the power to create radical transformations in our lives. In my photography and visual storytelling, I use colours to evoke certain emotions, and in my mentoring, I assign certain colours to clients for a period of time as a way of connecting them to their intuitive centres to transform their everyday lives into the one they’ve been dreaming about...
For the past two months, my heart has been beckoning me to extend this colour wisdom to you and with you, starting with one of the most powerful colours that exist as a way to assist us in the shift we are collectively going through at the moment.
Are you ready for another adventure together?
Today, in the darkness of the new moon, I invite you all to embark on this journey to transform our everyday by invoking the power of the colour GOLD.
Gold is known as the master healer. It opens us to truth & transformation. It strengthens us in all areas of our lives and releases fear, making space for hope to grow. Using social media, we are going to flood our feeds with the power of gold...
Found: elf wings, hidden in plain sight, on the forest floor.
find out more here
This is not so much about the gold mined out of the earth - unless its been beautifully crafted by your own hands or that of an artisan you love - but the gold in our everyday lives: gold in nature, gold in light, gold in the food we make, and gold in what we make with our hands.
There are many layers to this, which I will explain in my instagram posts over the weeks to come, but mostly its about healing, transforming, and authentic connection. This is an opportunity to become visible, to anchor ourselves into the earth & ether as the waves around us ebb & flow; to share our own light and to share each others light through intentional re-sharing whatever we resonate with and brings us joy. By flooding our feeds with the power of the colour gold we will be creating an alchemical process within ourselves and with the world around us. Just like we once looked for hearts in our everyday made by light and shadows and with our own hands, now we search together for the gold in our everyday. It's subtle and it's simple, like the heart shapes, but it's powerful.
So how will we do this?
Using instagram and facebook, we will use the hashtag #everydayalchemyingold (that's: Everyday Alchemy In Gold) every time we post an image that has gorgeous golden hues. I'll start posting lots of my own photographs as well as those of others so you can see the effect of the images coming together in the feed.
Re-share or repost any and all images you love - whatever sparks that sense of joy in you, no matter how subtle (we want to build on this within us and create it in others) so that other people can see who we are inspired by, and it will create the colour flood - the more involved the more powerful the alchemy. To start with you can re-share my images as they come up, and then you'll start to see others come through and you will start to see the gold in your own images to share...
Take photographs of gold in your life, particularly focussed on nature and food and all things made by hand. Are you an interior designer? Post images of gold things you love. Are you a jeweller? You know what do to. Artist? Cook? Nature lover? Share your photographs on social media and use the hashtag #everydayalchemyingold
Follow the hashtag #everydayalchemyingold on instagram if you have an instagram account so that you will start to see other peoples golden images come through on your feed and benefit from the collective energy.
If you don't have an instagram account but want to join in with your own images and/or colour knowledge, send them to me in an email, and any images I intuit as having an energetic impact I'll share on my instagram account with your permission, and I'll be including your name and any links you wish to send people to so they can find out more about you and what you create.
Let's immerse ourselves in each other's knowledge and wisdom of the colour gold, what we already know and what we learn along the way - share what you know, what you've read, what you've experienced (you might even start having dreams in gold, if so let us know!), and always credit where you've got your information because it helps others to find out more too. Make an effort to find the original source and give gratitude by crediting. It’s a simple, important step in how we can all benefit from this collective transformation. This is about sharing your own work –stepping into your own light – and equally sharing others.
So, let the alchemy begin! We will start with gold because gold is the ultimate alchemical process and we are going to make it our own, transforming it from what it has represented in the past to what it truly symbolises now and for the future. Let’s flood our feeds with gold & immerse ourselves in the healing power of this incredible energy. So that no matter what is happening in our lives, what healing processes we are needing to go through physically, mentally, or emotionally over the next coming months, you can use your eyes to breathe in the healing of this colour, anytime you need. For those who are aware of the ancient Buddhist meditation of Tonglen, this in a way is an expression of that practice using the power of visual storytelling. I'll move us onto the next colour when I get the calling to, but for now, it's all about gold. I cannot wait to see what you post and I am so eager to share your incredible world with others.
Please know that you are always welcome to share my images on social media as long as there is a link to me so people know where to find me. So to get you started, you can scroll through my website and find any gold images you like, save them on your device and post them onto your social media feeds with the hashtag. I have also begun a pinterest board for us titled Everyday Alchemy in Gold that we can have a look at for inspiration and repost on social media any of the links we love, and also tag me in your finds so I can add them to the board too. Invite your friends to join us, and don't hesitate to email me if you have any questions or suggestions, ideas or thoughts!
Until next time, dear Hearts, may this new moon reveal what needs to be revealed, and heal what needs to be healed...
With love,
Pia xx