Announcing "The Wide Eyed Collective"
An experimental, collaborative space for our collective awakening. Want to join?
As you’ve guessed from the title, I’m launching a new section of my newsletter called “The Wide Eyed Collective”.
I feel vulnerable and nervous, but also excited and ready. This has been a long time coming and I will share with you soon, all about my intentions for this section.
But first, I'll start with a little story.
10 years ago, only a few weeks into my brand new travel blog, Wide-Eyed Wanderer, I was hit with a vision. This isn't just going to be my personal travel blog - this will be OUR travel blog. One where we collectively share our travel stories and experiences, with the aim of making the unfamiliar world familiar, as a group. I had named that post “From Me To We: The New Direction of WEW“.
I published that post, with full readiness and genuine intent and… crickets. Naturally.
I look back at this bold intention of mine and blush at my lofty vision and how disconnected it was from the reality. I had just begun messing around with blogging, the design was god damn awful and the readership non-existent. That travel blog did end up being an immensely satisfying soul-led passion, project that got a little traction after a few years. It ended up being HUGE in terms of the networks, communities, opportunities, experiences and growth it gave me. But I never did end up making it collaborative.
10 years on, after having since forgotten about that charming embarrassment until recent months, I see that random spark of inspiration differently. I don't think it was that random. I think it was my soul expressing a true desire and intention it holds, but that I was trying to act on it too soon.
My higher self has a wonderful habit of preparing me many years in advance for what I'll be doing in life (I discuss this a tiny bit, in this post). It does this, in order to give me a heads up, so I can start getting comfortable with the idea. Even when I don't initially know I'm being prepared - once the realisation hits, I realise that that random idea or thought or insight I had had, was intentional. I'll get visions and feelings of what I'll likely be doing, at least energetically, sometimes a decade or more in advance.
The idea for a collaborative, online magazine has reoccupied my mind and is asking for me to explore it now.
Why now? Because I have since collected more experience in driving the ship of a creative collaboration. Because I understand a bit better the backend of operating an online project. Because now I'm on Substack, and the platform lends itself so well to softly launching a collaborative writing project.
And, most importantly, because of you guys.
Because there are actual people who consistently read my words and support my work, who I consider to be new friends and who are building this fledgling community with me.
That's not a given to me. I'm not used to people listening to what I have to say and being interested in my perspective. (It took me AGES for people to read that travel blog, for instance.)
I'm so grateful to you for that. And… I want to create a space that's for us. To share our collective wisdom.
The consciousness of humanity is growing and expanding. Old systems that don’t work for us anymore, are crumbling or shifting. And we are able to connect and aid each other, more than ever before.
So why not light a candle and show the way for each other? Work together in our collective aim to expand our individual consciousnesses, which will in turn help elevate the consciousness of the collective?
So what do I intend The Wide Eyed Collective to be?
I intend for this section to be a collaborative space where we share our individual consciousness expansion stories and unique perspectives and experiences in this world.
No hierarchy. No confining structure. Just one woman holding a vision and inviting others on board, open for however we may want to stir this ship together.
My intention is to keep the publishing schedule intuitive and light. At least to start with. My personal newsletter Wide Eyed Ella, will be for my own spiritual and travel experiences and musings, and for my author journey.
The Wide Eyed Collective will be for yours and ours, as a collective. I may throw mine in, if it fits the tone. But it’s a space intended for your stories, wisdom and expertise. For your light.
Between the main newsletter and this section, I’m not intending to publish more than once a week for both, regardless of whether it’s a piece of mine, published to the main newsletter, or a showcase of yours in the Collective. But we’ll see how it goes. I don’t want to overwhelm anyone. So although I’m holding the vision, I’m listening to you.
My end goal and vision is for this collective to become a collaborative online magazine with a lasting impact. With its own publication, structure and brand. But that’s a big project, so I’m starting soft. Just to see if this will work. We’ll grow it here, in a cosy incubator, where we can see how this experiment develops, without pressure.
Think of a project that has Sagittarian goals and themes, built in an Aquarian way, and with a Cancerian feel.
What will exist in The Wide Eyed Collective?
I want to include guest posts, interviews, creative non-fiction, spiritual short fiction, livestreams and how-tos.
Topics covering spirituality, mysticism, philosophy, healing and expansion. But also travel, belonging, culture and identity.
Absolutely anyone can contribute to the collective and it’s perfect for those…
Who have a poignant, expansive story to share, but don’t typically deep dive into these topics in their own newsletter.
Who don’t have a newsletter at all and are looking for an open space to share their unique story. Perhaps even for the first time.
Who do have a newsletter, and you simply want to share your wisdom and expertise with more people, perhaps attracting more people to you and your work.
Real people. Real voices. Your perspectives. Your stories.
Payment is not something I can offer at this stage, unfortunately. We’re just starting and there’s no promises of how it will go. I’ve not even enabled paid subscriptions on Wide Eyed Ella.
However, I would love to feature your offerings, services, newsletters and products, and contributors are invited to share their offerings, talk about their services and link to their newsletters.
So… now I will ask:
Do you wish you could geek out and share your insights and reflections about an esoteric system? An alternative healing modality? Galactic knowledge? etc.
Do you wish to express a meaningful encounter or experience that deeply changed you and holds wisdom for others? Whether travel or mystical (or both?).
Do you wish to enlighten others on what your personal experience of being in this world, has been like? Based on your unique identity and life circumstances?
If your answer to any of these, is yes - please click on the button “I Want To Contribute”. It will take you to a Google Form where you can submit your ideas and info. (You can also shoot me a message, if you want to ask questions or brainstorm ideas).
To those who I’m close with, I may reach out personally to ask if you may be interested in talking about a topic of your choosing in this space.
But, of course there’s absolutely no pressure.
And if you want to vote on what you’d like to see in this space, please do so with the poll below. I want to hear from you!
I truly have no idea what will come of me setting this intention here today. I’m taking a first step, without any premature pressure or expectation for where it will take us.
But I’m really excited to see where this first step might lead us. And I couldn’t take that first step without you. So, thank you.
What do you think about this new collaborative section to the newsletter? Do you have something that you’d like to share? Don’t forget to click the “I Want To Contribute” button, if you’re interested in contributing your wisdom, stories, experiences and expertise to the collective!
My debut novel “The Source of The Wind” is out! An uplifting, women’s fiction, that talks about difficult topics with a spiritual and magical twist 😉. Click “Books” if you want to find out more and choose where you’d prefer to purchase a copy. (Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, Waterstones & more.) Or, if you want, you can support me by buying me a matcha! <3
Speak soon,
Love, Ella x