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We have been using colors since ages.... We are not new to the world of colors... but I am writing a few related topics here in order to know the right colors for you, for your environment and well being. In the coming few parts, we will find the meanings of the colors, how to use them and, color plates to view them. Enjoy all color has to bring you.
We are in a world where colour dominates our lives, from reading signs on the road to seeing if fruit is ripe to eat. It affects our moods - blue is calming - red can make us tense. We use and experience colour everyday in our lives without even appreciating it.In Itself Colour can have a profound effect on us on all levels, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.
Colour is simply light of different wavelengths and frequencies and light is just one form of energy made up from photons. We are all surrounded by electromagnetic waves of energy of which colour is just a small part.
Colours and their basic effects:
Red: Red is the lowest of the seven colours in the visible spectrum and is known as a "warm" colour. It is stimulating and energising therefore it is helpful for tiredness and lethargy, to stimulate low blood pressure, to boost sluggish circulation. Red is a powerful colour that has always been associated with vitality and ambition. It can help overcome negative thoughts. Red should not be used on anyone, with hypertension/high blood pressure since this colour increases blood flow.However, it is also associated with anger ; if we have too much red in our system, or around us, we may feel irritable, impatient, and uncomfortable.Red, in its most positive sense, is the colour for courage, strength and pioneering spirit. However, in the most negative aspect, it is the colour of anger, violence and brutality.
Pink: Pink is emotionally soothing and calming, and gives a feeling of gentle warmth and nuturing. It lessons feelings of irritation and aggression, surrounding us with a sense of love and protection. It also alleviates loneliness, despondency, oversensitivity, and vulnerability. While red relates to sexuality, pink is associated with unselfish love.
Blue: Blue is a cool, calming colour and is associated with a higher part of the mind than yellow. It represents the night, so it makes us feel calm and relaxed as if we are being soothed by the deep blue of the night sky. Light and soft blue, make us feel quiet and protected from all the bustle and activity of the day, and alleviates insomnia. Blue inspires mental control, clarity, and creativity. Midnight blue has a strong sedative effect on the mind, allowing us to connect to our intuitive and femine side. Too much dark blue can be depressing however. Calming, relaxing and healing. Not as sedating as indigo. Also the colour of communication. Can be used in any rooms except those used for physical activity.
Green: Green is a balancing colour, in the middle of the visible spectrum. The higher three colours are known as the "cool" colours and are calming in effect, the lower three are known as the "warm" colours and have a stimulating effect. Green is the balance between these two.
When a therapist comes to the end of a colour therapy treatment, he/she will use green as a balancing colour at the end of a treatment.
Green is the colour of balance and harmony and can, therefore, be helpful in times of stress. If one has experienced a trauma, a green silk wrapped around the shoulders can have a very therapeutic effect. Green has a strong affinity with nature, helping us connect with empathy to others and the natural world. We instinctively seek it out when under stress or experiencing emotional trauma. It creates a feeling of comfort, laziness and relaxation, calmness, and space, lesseining stress, balancing and soothing the emotions. Lime green and olive green can have a detrimental effect on both physical and emotional health since sickly yellow and green are associated with the emotions of envy, resentment, and possessiveness.
Yellow: It is known as a "warm" colour and has a stimulating effect. Yellow is also a happy, bright, and uplifting colour, a celebration of sunny days. It is associated with the intellectual side of the mind, and the expression of thoughts. It therefore aids the powers of discernment and dis-crimination, memory and clear thinking, decision making and good judgment. It also helps good organization, assimilation of new ideas, and the ability to see different points of view. It builds self-confidence and encourages an optimistic attitude. Conversely, dull yellow can be the colour of fear. It is the colour of the intellect and can be very helpful with study and where concentration is required.
Indigo: Indigo is a sedative and it helps to open up our intuition. Indigo is a powerful, psychic colour associated with the ride of the brain, The colour of divine knowledge and the higher mind. Not suitable for areas for entertainment but for more 'quiet' places. Bedrooms or treatment rooms for example. Some people find indigo is helpful for studying so this colour could be used as part of the decor of a library or study.
Violet: Violet is the highest colour in the visible spectrum. This colour is known as one of the "cool" colours. It has a very calming effect on us and is, therefore, very helpful for those people experiencing sleep difficulties or stress. However, it can be contra-indicated for those suffering from depressive disorders.Violet can exert strrong psychic influences, however, and a person attracted by it has to guard against living in a fantasy world.Violet, being the colour relating to our spiritual connection, can be very helpful for meditation and any spiritual matters.(Violet is used a great deal within religions across the world).Purple: Purple has a deep affect on the psyche and have been used in psychiatric care to help calm and pacify patients suffering from a number of mental disorders and nervous disorders. It balance the mind and help transform obsessions and fears.Purple is associated with psychic protection.Purple is said to be connected with artistic and musical impulses, mystery, and sensitivity to beauty and high ideals, stimulating creativity, inspiration, sensitivity, spirituality and compassion.
Orange: It is interesting that orange is the colour which is the least popular.But orange is such a good colour for us in many ways. It stimulates and energizes us, and is warming. It is an excellent colour for creativity.Orange is a joyous colour. It frees and releases emotions and alleviates feelings of self-pity, lack of self worth, and unwillingness to forgive. It stimulates the mind, renewing interest in life ; it is a wonderful anti-depressant and lifts the spirits. Apricot and Peach is good for nervous exhaustion.
Turquoise: We associate blue greens with the refreshing and cool ocean. It is therefore invigorating, cooling, and calming. Like green, turquoise is good for mental strain and tiredness or feeling washed out. It is an elevating colour that encourages us to make a sparkling fresh start. Turquoise is also helpful for feelings of loneliness, since it heightens communication, sensitivity, and creativity.
Magenta: Magenta is the eighth colour and is not part of the visible spectrum, but is a combination of red and violet, thus combining the energies of those two colours. That is to say, that magenta helps us to use our earthly experience and grounding together with intense spiritual awareness. It can help to release past conditioning and help us to move forward.
White: The colour of ultimate purity is white. It is an all-around colour of protection, bringing peace and comfort, alleviating emotional shock and despair, and helping inner cleansing of emotions, thoughts, and spirit. If you need time and space to reflect on your life, white can give you a freedom, and uncluttered openness. Too much white, however, can be cold and isolating.
Silver: Silver is the colour of the moon, which is everchanging. It relates to the feminine principle and the emotional, sensitive aspect of the mind. It balances, harmonizes, and is mentally cleansing.
Gold: Like yellow, gold is associated with the sun, and therefore related to abundance and power, higher ideals, wisdom, and understanding. It is mentally revitalizing, energizing and inspiring, and helpfull for fear, uncertainty, and lack of interest. Pale gold is excellent for depression and sharpens the mind.
Brown: The colour of Mother Earth, brown brings a sense of stability, alleviating insecurity. However, it also relates to bottling up of emotion, a retreat from and a fear of the outside world, and also narrow-mindedness which often results from a lack of self-worth.
Grey: Grey is associated with independence, self-reliance, self-control. Grey acts as a shield from outside influence. However, grey generally has a negative feeling-thick grey clouds, fog, smoke. Grey is the colour of evasion and non-commitment since it is neither black nor white. It relales to walling everything off, remaining seperate, uncommitted, and uninvolved, inevitably leading to loneliness. It also denotes self-criticism.
Black: This colour is both comforting, protective, and mysterious. It is associated with silence, the infinite, and the femine life force-passive, uncharted, and mysterious. Black can also prevent us from growing and changing. We often cloak ourselves in black to hide from the world.
