The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life

Jaouad reflects on how there are different seasons for creative work, and rest is an important one for the process. She describes how, after one stint of treatment which involved months of being cooped up in a hotel room, she was overwhelmed by the sensory experience she had upon being discharged—she was able to see everything around her in much more color and detail. Similarly, she describes how her brother’s dog, Loulou, came to live with her in New Jersey after she was rendered blind following a bout of blastomycosis. Loulou eventually learned to map the landscape around her in her mind’s eye and went from bumping into everything around her to running freely and wildly through the terrain.

Jaouad notes that paying attention anchors one to the moment, freeing one from the depressive over-fixation on the past or anxiety about the future. For her, the creative practice of painting has been a way to stay anchored in the present, helping her cope with the anxiety she feels because of her history with illness. She invites the reader to engage with the following essays and prompts that will remind them to pay attention and be present, to truly see.

“The Sunset Log” by Jia Tolentino

Jia Tolentino describes how she began the practice of taking pictures of sunsets as a way to do something deliberately aimless that contrasted with her otherwise busy, overscheduled life. She asks the reader to step outside for 15 minutes and pay attention to their immediate surroundings, noting down the things they see and the thoughts they bring to mind.

“The Clarity of Darkness” by Michael Kortya

Michael Kortya describes how, as part of research for a book he was writing, he carried out an exercise of lying in complete darkness to see if he could sense the time passing. In the process, he was flooded by clear, visual memories from his life. He invites the reader to try the same exercise for themselves and write about what emerges.

“A Bridge Through Time” by Gloria Steinem

Gloria Steinem reflects on how every land she walks on carries the history of scores of generations that have walked there before her. She asks the reader to write about the history of the land on which they live and work currently, reflecting on how the past has shaped the present and how the present will shape the future.

“Beauty Hunting” by Raven Roxanne

Raven Roxanne describes how, in moments of anxiety or worry, she has found that paying close attention to an object of beauty—a color, a fountain, some flowers—has helped her get lost in the moment and loosen her anxiety. She asks the reader to reflect on, and write about, similar experiences from their lives.

“Poetry by Erasure” by Natalie Warther

Natalie Warther describes the meditative quality that erasure poetry holds for her, a practice she began playing with during the quarantine in the pandemic. She invites the reader to try it for themselves, reflecting on how the changes they made to the original text changed its composition and what about this is appealing to them.

“Seeing and Knowing” by Debbie Millman

Debbie Millman reflects on how, in a world of sensory overload, one tends to select the things they see and pay attention to, and subsequently, the things they come to know. She reflects on the discomfort subjectivity can bring because what is subjective is unpredictable, as opposed to things that are tangible, and so objective. However, she sees the value in inviting subjectivity into one’s life as it offers a range of perspectives in seeing. In this context, she invites the reader to write about themselves in as much detail as possible, but as if one were describing a stranger, in order to see oneself most clearly.

“Hiding in Plain Sight” by Jill Kearney

Jill Kearney describes how her father made sculptures from found items, and so “treasure hunting” is an act of creativity and hope for her. She asks the reader to reflect on the experience of finding something valuable that was hiding in plain sight.

“Closed-Eye Giraffe” by Marie McGrory

Marie McGrory describes the unexpected joy of playing a game with a friend in which they drew objects with their eyes closed, and her friend went on to draw a near-perfect giraffe in the process. A delighted McGrory began to show this drawing to everyone she met, prompting them to try closed-eye giraffes of their own. This eventually spawned an entire archive of drawings from people all over the world, collected on the Instagram account, @ClosedEyeGiraffe. McGrory now invites the reader to try their own, before writing about the drawing that emerges.

“Dandelions” by Azita Ardakani

Azita Ardakani describes the pain of having to constantly move homes growing up. The thing that gave her hope and reassurance was spotting a cluster of dandelions growing along the sidewalk one day, serving as a reminder of how they persisted and continued to grow despite where nature dispersed their seeds. She asks the reader to write about a time when they had a question and nature provided the answer.

“Dutch Tulips & a Dodo Bird” by John Green

John Green reflects on how most of the things he has seen in his life, he has not actually seen in actuality, but has encountered them through photographs or on screens. He invites the reader to write about something they have not seen but nevertheless know quite a lot about.