I love the colors of autumn. 

While the changing colors of the trees is beautiful, it also makes me feel cozy and nostalgic. 

This thought recently reminded me that color affects us in a profound way. 

A room that is painted bright red will make you feel differently to a room painted a soft green. 

It’s the same with clothes we wear and even the color of the sheets we sleep in. 

In a lecture on the deeper aspects of color, Master of Yoga Dr. George King said:

“Now, there is no doubt that colors have an effect not only on animals, but on humans and not only on humans, but on all things which live. Now we have to, first of all, find out why they have an effect. And the answer to this question is surprisingly simple. 

“Everything we see with our eyes, we take an essence of that into ourselves. Everything we hear with our ears, we do the same, of course. That is why a mantra has great effect upon some people who are sensitive, one reason; and that is why color has effect upon people. 

“But it also has other effects which might be described as purely psychosomatic effects in this way; that, for instance, if we take the color red. If we look at this color we are stimulated by it. It’s not by chance that the blood is red or a red-bluish color. It’s mostly, though, red. It’s actually red, white and blue, if it comes to that: it’s British! But it is, for the most part, red—and this is not by chance. 

“But surprisingly enough, red, even though you might regard it as such, is not a positive color. It is a negative color. Negative inasmuch as, not in the wrong sense now, I’m talking about polarity rather than negative being in any way bad. From a pure polarity point of view, those colors which emit a long wavelength, such as red, and all the reds up to green, begin to emit a longish wavelength. This brings it into the negative part of the, shall we call it the metaphysical spectrum. Even though it does produce a reaction that we call physical heat.”

As we are affected by the colors around us, we can change the colors we wear or see in our homes and cause a subtle change in us.

***

When I first heard this lecture by Dr. King, I went through my closet to remind myself what colored clothes I had. I realized that the colors I wore most were colors that suited my mood the most. 

If I had an important meeting or presentation, I tended to wear red. 

If I was going to give someone spiritual healing, I wore green. 

I found some pieces of clothing that I didn’t really wear anymore and decided to give them away.  I realized that these pieces that I was giving away were all similar colors – colors I just didn’t feel suited me anymore. 

It was a very good practice to clear some things out and focus on the colors that could help me best in a spiritual way. 

You can listen to this lecture about color by Dr. King on Aetherius Cloud.

Something you can try

Have a look at the colors that you surround yourself with. Do they make you feel a certain way? 

Let me know if you make any changes.