ThinkGeek for gadget freaks

Recently discovered this website, loved it. Great for scouting unique gifts:

http://www.thinkgeek.com

Tweet

VIBGYOR

(Disclaimer: This post is purely exploratory and has no scientific basis).

I was waiting at a traffic light one day, while driving to work, and spent two minutes staring at this ugly, grey truck. It made me notice how everything around me was in muted colours; no flashes of pink and yellow anywhere. I was a culprit too considering I was wearing grey and black :-P However, I do remember that it was one of those grey summer days with the sun deprivation putting everyone in a slightly contrary state of mind. It made me wonder about the deeper connection between colours and their potential impact on our psyche and thought it would be a great blog idea :-) Why do more yellows come out in summer? Why are the shades of our clothes so muted in winter? Why is brown the colour of fall?

So I gathered some information from the net on the effect of colours on the state of our mind. For the purpose of this blog I am going to stick to the seven colours of the rainbow, also know as vibgyor. Interestingly these seven colours also correspond to the seven chakras; the amalgamation of which originates the purest colour - white. I remember reading an article a long time ago about how our comfort level with certain colours is associated with the colours of our aura. The existence of an aura has not been scientifically proven but a definition I found on the net describes it as:

"...an electro-magnetic field surrounding a person or object. Auras vibrate to different color, sound and light frequencies. This also corresponds to the Seven Chakras in yogic literature.
The color spectrum varies with one's physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual states and consists of more than one color at a time."

Apparently, if a certain colour makes us feel uncomfortable, it is probably not in sync with the colours of our aura. I know some of you might view this theory with some skepticism, but face it - certain colours do make you feel a certain way that other colours do not. I broadly looked up the psychological effects of colours and this is what I came up with:

Violet: This is the highest colour of the spectrum. It is associated with spirituality, imagination, and your higher consciousness. One website claims the follows -
"...a color to inspire the mind to cultivate true knowledge and to search for the hidden, the obscure, the true meaning and perfection of life. Leonardo da Vinci said that the power of meditation can be 10 times greater under the violet light."

Indigo: This is associated with self responsibility, i.e. responsibility to follow your life path and to trust your intuition/gut. The ability to view things from a 'higher' perspective instead of seeing it through your ego. It is also associated with creativity and introspection.

Blue: Not surprisingly, blue is associated with calmness. It is associated with the spirit of truth and purpose and relates to self expression, fidelity, speech, and communication.

Green: Associated with unconditional love and self-love. If you notice, this colour falls exactly in the middle of the colour spectrum and is considered neither 'cold (like Violet, Indigo and Blue) and neither 'warm' (like yellow, orange and red). This neutrality makes it a colour strongly associated with balance.

Yellow: This colour is associated with ego, intellect and self-confidence. Basically how we perceive ourselves and how we feel others perceive us. It is a warm and stimulating colour and is considered helpful where study and concentration is required.

Orange: The colour associated with creativity, fun and sociability. It is energizing and stimulating being a 'warm' colour. Considered conducive to creativity and freedom of self and others.

Red: This is the warmest colour and is associated with self-awareness and basic human instincts both positive (such as courage, strength, stability and security) and negative (such as anger and brutality).

Tweet