I am immersing myself in all things colour. I have found my passion and I am diving in head first. I am discovering more and more just how much power there is in this visual gift that has always existed.
There is so much beauty in colour – but the true beauty can be found in the following statement by Ian Patterson in his book “A Dictionary of Colour”
“Colour is a powerful shorthand for conveying messages and information.”
The psychology of Colour has been harnessed for centuries – in all cultures – in all aspects of life – from advertising, to religion and to education. Colour is right there at the end of our optic nerve sending a message to our brain.
And it is in that message that the power lies.
And the great news is that we can personalise that message. We can use colour – fill it with an intention – and thereby send ourselves little – or big reminders.
We can use it to stop the merry-go-round that life has become – and fill our day with mindful moments. We can use the visual cue of colour to cut through the busy – ness and stress, the overwhelm and apathy, all of those things we have filled our lives with subconsciously that take us away and out of the moment.
I have committed to a practice of assigning a personal message – an idea or information that I need to send to myself, to a colour, and then using that colour to re-enforce that idea –
and the results are inspiring and the options are endless.
And how do you then bring that colour into your day?
There are many ways – but this is an easy one I suggest – I like to use things that are right in front of me – something that is on my body – and something that is easy to adorn with any colour of the rainbow, and a practice that won’t require me to go out and spend lots of cash – painting my fingernails. Imagine if you have been feeling a little flat or depressed lately and you are not really finding any joy in life. Simply by painting your fingernails a bright joyous colour (e.g.. Yellow) and by consciously setting the intention ” I now invite Joy into my life”, this visual cue will be a constant reminder during the day – every time you see your hands. When you sit at your computer and type, when you drink your coffee, when you meet someone one in a meeting and shake their hand, you are reminding yourself – I am inviting joy into my life.
But what if painting your fingernails isn’t your thing? Then a colourful scarf, ring, bracelet, pair of shoes can all do the trick too. Or alternatively a bunch of flowers at your desk, or a print out of a picture in your particular colour (check out my pinterest boards for inspiration) – or all of these things!
Is it that easy?
Why YES it is.
Although I would advise that you think about your intention first and then select the colour.
Each colour contains it’s own energy signature. This energy can then be interpreted into specific meanings – check out more about colour meanings HERE. Certain colours are calming and peaceful and others emit a more active/uplifting energy. But as a general rule, I have included the following diagram which shows those colours used for helping you to remain calm, avoid stress and to slow down a little, and those to help you take action, get involved, get energised and propel you forwards.
* A note on Green. Because Green is a combination of both Yellow and Blue, it can contain both calming and active energies. It is therefore a perfect balancing colour to give you what you need. Aqua is a dominant and Lime Green show how a dominant Blue Green is the calming zone and Lime Green is a dominant Yellow Green and is in the Uplifting Zone.
*A note on Pink – even though pink is made up of an Active Energy colour (Red) and White, (especially when on the lighter side) is a very soothing colour and is excellent to remind you to love yourself and be compassionate with others and yourself. I think it’s regenerative energy helps to have it in the middle zone with Green. Bear in mind that if you choose a bright hot pink, it is likely to be more Active than calming.
Let me know in the comments below – if there is an intention you want to match with a colour – or if you have any clever ways of bringing colour into your day – I’d love to hear your ideas.
