Art and Alchemy

PODCAST · society

Art and Alchemy

This is Art and Alchemy , a podcast about how inner worlds take shape and change form.

  1. 9

    9: Reframing wasted time, energy, and potential

    Today's episode is a little all over the place but still, a much-needed riff on our illusory losses: opportunity, potential, daylight, a nice outfit, you name it, we hate when it passes or seems to have gone to waste.We will be revisiting this later. I promise. For now, accept this as a soft, loving kick to keep at it when it feels like no progress is happening.

  2. 8

    8: Perfection is a moving target

    In this episode, we reflect on the ever-changing, elusive idea of "perfection".I talk about perfection as being about perception and preferences, things that change as we do—as we discover new ways to do things and start evolving!

  3. 7

    7: Bend Your Excuses

    If you can make and defend excuses for going against what you want, you can make excuses for going in the direction you want. The excuses are bendable.This episode is a push for you to use the force of narrative in a way that dignifies your desires and helps you achieve what you say you want. Let's cut off meanings that defend the opposite.Thank you for coming along!

  4. 6

    6: Releasing the need to possess people

    In this episode, we're looking at patterns of anger, jealousy and the insecurities that have us resorting to uncharitable conclusions about those we love. We're noticing where grief and missing a person turns bitter.We'll peer into the habit of measuring, scorekeeping, or we might even say the "relational maths" that we think will give us power, where forgiveness/release and generous interpretations (or even a period of space or silence!) is the greater alternative.There's much more for you when you listen; thank you for being here.

  5. 5

    5: Self-trust and participation

    Happy 2026! We continue...This week is for:– releasing ideas you’ve shelved because you thought you lost permission when something similar appeared in the community market—or because you’re afraid of being seen as an imitator – doing your ideas the highest justice by posting them immediately(this, too, is a form of perfection...let us call it pristine-ness)– enjoying participating in community, and learning to appreciate kinship(all it really means is that there are people who understand—who already get you)– posting regardless.

  6. 4

    4: Refuse to be confused

    This episode is to help you laugh off the confusion you use to sabotage yourself: turning someone else's "I don't do it anymore" or their "I've outgrown that" into an excuse to not explore that terrain, to cancel your travel. This is your gentle reminder to go. You have clarity and clearance from me!This is a little bit of courage for when it's become uncool to have the goals you have.

  7. 3

    3: On stagnating after growing up 'talented'

    Talent can carry you far, but not forever.This episode is a reflection on early praise, stagnation, and the uncomfortable moment when you realise you want more than 'potential'—and talent can no longer save you from this dire need for devotion.I sit with what happens when what always came easily to you is no longer challenged—when validation replaces growth, and our art becomes something of a retrospective brag rather than something we're engaging in, now.In this episode, we see:– the quiet cost of being “naturally gifted”– why talent needs friction to stay alive– how stagnation often begins as comfortFor anyone sensing that it’s time to move beyond aptitude and into earnest, regular practice, I hope you'll do it with me!

  8. 2

    2: When connections run their course

    This episode is about the way the ego puts up a fight and refuses to let a connection come to its natural end.Let us peep into the thought: "But they can't do without me; but they need me."

  9. 1

    1: A gentle, easy start is the change you need

    Welcome to Art and Alchemy.In this first episode, I begin where the work actually begins—not with my story, but with the way creative energy is so often misdirected into shame, self-scolding, and quiet despair over “wasted” time and unrealised potential. This is a reflection on learning to love repetition; on why art asks for frequent, imperfect attempts rather than grand, delayed ones that may never come; and on the particular kind of boredom that you can only fill with something of your own creation. Not another show/series, your own artwork!When trust in yourself feels lost, choose your art.When nothing feels ready or sorted, that's often the time to begin.This podcast is a humble, evolving practice exploring what we contain and what we choose to channel.Thank you for listening!

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ABOUT THIS SHOW

This is Art and Alchemy , a podcast about how inner worlds take shape and change form.

HOSTED BY

Ruqayyah

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