The Share Your Heart Project came from its creator Shannon Bronson choosing to saying “Yes” to her higher self, when her fearful self was saying “No.”
The seeds for it appeared as she was engrossed in a daily relationship with the Tibetan Buddhist compassion meditation of Tonglen, in which the practitioner envisions their highest self made of pure Wisdom and Compassion destroying pain and restoring beauty in their life, and the lives of others. Along with a deep immersion in Yoga philosophy, Buddhism and Somatic Experiencing Therapy, she was able to make peace with the sorrow of her addictions and her childhood.
She was deeply immersed in her meditations when the Cosmic Rainbow Hearts started appearing in her mind. At first, she didn’t quite understand what they were, but she felt strongly compelled to paint them. Being 30 years old at the time, and a serious design professional, she felt a little scared to paint them. She thought might she look silly and that she ought to do something more important with her life.
But then, she saw the artwork of Hilma af Klint, and her heart burst open with the freedom from from her fear, to simply begin painting. Hilma’s work gave her the permission she needed to begin.
She started painting the hearts, and sending them to her loved ones.
She painted them for people who were facing adversity in their lives, to send encouragement. She sent them to people who were enjoying moments of beauty, in celebration of who they were. She painted them for elders and for youngsters, for people who were alive and people who weren’t.
She just kept painting them and giving them away and painting them and giving them away. Every time she did, she felt better. She could see that people also felt better when they received the hearts. She kept saying “Yes” to making Cosmic Rainbow Hearts, and has never stopped believing in their power. She decided that she would try to help other people make them too, and thus the project was born.
Eventually she parted ways with design to dedicate her entire life to the study, practice, and teachings of Yoga, which underpin everything that the Share Your Heart Project is. Her journey has been one of tremendous joy and unexpected beauty, as well as devastating heartbreak. But she has never stopped believing in her dream to share her hearts with the world, in hopes that they might help people discover the wonderful feeling of loving themselves completely and wholly in their precious human lives.