The Subtle Power of Color
“Color is the place where our brain and the universe meet.” – Paul Klee
I have a really embarrassing trait; whenever I receive too much attention (under any circumstance) my cheeks flush. If anyone remarks on it, the soft pink of my cheeks turns into a bright red, quickly taking over my entire face.
People like to comment with, “Look at Ky, she’s BEET RED!” Which effectively perpetuates the reaction.
I hope I’m not the only one who has experienced that… but the point I want to make, is not my aversion to attention, but to the idiom used in that situation.
Have you ever had someone tell you that you looked blue?
Or maybe you saw someone and thought that they were “green with envy”?
I love color idioms because they bring two potent forces, color and emotion, together into everyday conversation.
Color permeates our very existence and yet, our life is so saturated with it that its effects on us can go unnoticed.
It works in a subtle but potent way. The effects of color enter our energy field softly like the delicate scent of wildflowers on a spring day.
It’s joyful, warm and inviting and also cool, refreshing and comforting. It can be grounding and also stimulating.
The closer that you look at color, the more you’ll see how it’s weaved so intricately into every aspect of our lives.
Color can affect how we’re feeling. It can boost or subdue an emotion. It’s directly related to productivity and can also give others messages about how we are feeling on any given day.
To understand how color can affect us as humans, let’s first understand what color is.
Imagine a boat floating in the ocean. That boat is going to be bobbing up and down in steady motion because of the movement of the waves that it sits upon.
This bobbing motion is the frequency of the wave.
Light does the same thing.
The sun’s rays emit light and that light moves up and down, in a motion similar to our bobbing boat.
These light waves have a frequency that our eyes can detect.
That frequency is called color.
Color is nothing more than how quickly those light waves are waving. The faster the wave, the higher the frequency. The slower the wave, the lower the frequency.
Purple is the highest frequency color that we can see. Red is the lowest. All other colors have a frequency somewhere in the middle of purple and red.
So, what makes an object appear to be a certain color?
Let’s use a blue cup for our example.
The sun emits light frequency of all colors. When the light hits our blue cup, all frequencies of light will hit that cup simultaneously.
It will look blue because the cup is reflecting blue light more than it’s reflecting any other color. All of the other colors get absorbed and the energy that they’re carrying gets turned into heat.
If an object is white, it is reflecting all light frequencies and if an object is black, it’s absorbing all light frequencies.
Now let’s take a look at the qualities of each basic color:
Red: A stimulating color, it strengthens and awakens our physical life force. It warms and activates. It can help stir deeper passions and desires. Too much red can overstimulate and cause aggravation.
Orange: An activation color. It is optimism and boosts your energy reserves. It is the color of joy, wisdom and creativity. It stimulates feelings of socialness. Too much orange, however, can cause nervousness.
Yellow: A color of mental activity, intellectual power and ability. It is stimulating to the mental faculties of an individual. It helps awaken enthusiasm, confidence and optimism. Too much yellow can cause anxiety.
Green: A balancing and calming color. One that promotes growth. Green balances our energies and can be used to increase sensitivity and compassion. Green can help awaken greater friendliness, hope, faith and peace. It is restful and revitalizing to overtaxed mental conditions.
Blue: A color of peace, faith, aspiration and creative expression. Blue is a cooling and relaxing color. It is quieting to our energies and can be used to awaken our intuition and ease loneliness. When used in conjunction with colors on the red/orange spectrum it will awaken artistic expression and inspiration.
Indigo: A color of integration and purification. It has a sedative effect and would be an excellent color to use during meditation. It awakens devotion and intuition. Too much indigo can cause depression and a sense of separateness from others.
Violet: A purifying color. It has an antiseptic quality and helps balance both physical and spiritual energies. It stimulates inspiration and humility. Violet helps to restore a proper perspective both in regard to the mundane aspects of life and the spiritual aspects, keeping them practical.
White: A purifying and amplification color. It is strengthening and cleansing. A great color to help awaken inner creativity.
Black: A protective, grounding and calming color. It also has strengthening qualities. Too much black energy can cause depression.
We can take the qualities of color and use them to our advantage.
Be mindful of the colors that you’re wearing:
Yellow is the best color to wear for productivity.
Orange is the best color to wear while you work out.
Blue is a great color to wear while you’re sleeping. This is also a great color to wear if you’re feeling nervous or anxious.
Red is the best color to wear if you want to come across as strong and confident.
Black’s protective qualities are good to wear if you’re feeling vulnerable or ungrounded.
Upgrade your workspace:
Green and blue are the best colors to paint an office for productivity. Green has a subtle stimulation and connects us to monetary gain and blue reduces stress and provides a calming work environment.
Yellow and orange are great colors to add to your office to boost energy and enthusiasm.
Avoid indigo and grey colors in the workspace as they can both have a sedating effect and could cause lethargy.
Take a look around your home and your office. What colors do you have in the rooms where you spend the majority of your time?
Are they calm, cooling colors or more vibrant stimulating ones?
Pay attention to the colors that you’re wearing on your clothes.
Do you pick darker shades on days you feel a little more frazzled and ungrounded?
Do you wear brighter colors on days you feel energized?
Start to play around with how you incorporate color into your world and see how they influence you.