#7: The Open Hand Manifesto

Inspired by the first recorded works of art, The Open Hand Project is an exploration of human connection, undertaken with the aim of improving mental health and creating a world with more magic, meaning and wellbeing.

Human beings need meaning to be happy, from the first people living in the ice age to the modern day, this need has found expression in the image of the open hand.

The open hand is a gesture of greeting, of openness, of vulnerability. It is a symbol of potential, of craft, of creativity. It is a promise of help, of hope, of community. The open hand is a symbol of human connection.

The symbol of the open hand dwells in our collective unconscious. The alchemists used this symbol to represent apotheosis; the evolution of human beings to a higher state of consciousness, of enlightenment, the transition from human to god.

The symbol of the Hamsa, a hand with an eye in the centre, has been adopted by many different civilisations both ancient and modern. It is a symbol of protection against evil and also a charm of good luck. The eye at the centre gazing out at us through history; our own desire for meaning reflected back in the image we created to express it.

Wether held together in the lap during meditation, offered outwards for a handshake, or raised in a greeting of “Salaam” or “Namaste” the open hand is a gesture of peace and amity.

The open hand is not the grasping fingers of supply and demand, it is not the closed fist of force. It is a humble request, a passive container like the begging bowl or the singing bowl. It is an offering, an opportunity for giving, for reciprocity.

The Open Hand Project takes all these symbols as the fertile soil from which to grow. Reciprocating the gesture offered out millennia ago by the first artists huddled together in ancient caves, reaching out across time, offering a hand, creating human connection to empower our evolution.