Colours

do they change how we feel?

Hello Dear Friend,

I hope this missive finds you hale and hearty, looking forward to the better weather and renewed growth all around us. Life continues pretty much the same here on the Isle of Wight, Jo spent all day Sunday up at the allotment digging over the soil in readiness for this year’s crops. The grow house is up and we will be planting seeds soon, both edible and flowers. I would like some more flowers in the garden this year, especially since the landlord cut down the bushes which were causing a lot of shade. We might even be able to put them in the border - cats willing that is, they tend to dig everything up with enthusiasm.
Bless them…

Colours - How can they affect our mood?

As I put on my bright red/orange/brown jumper Sunday I was feeling the need for an uplift. This jumper does lift my mood and makes me smile, and it got me thinking about how and why colours can affect us.

What followed was a large rabbit hole in the internet…

Did you know that there was such a thing as ‘Dopamine Dressing’? No, neither did I…
Amy De Klerk wrote an article in 2022 for Harpers Bazaar explaining all about it. In it, she cited Professor Karen J Pine:

This concept of wearing certain clothes to make us happier is something which Professor Karen Pine from the University of Hertfordshire decided to investigate in 2012. Pine undertook a study into this idea of ‘dopamine dressing’ and found that when participants wore clothes of symbolic value to them, their perceived confidence increased.

From the Harpers Bazaar online article.

Karen Pine has also written a book entitled Mind What You Wear, which is available on Amazon

From the book blurb -

The most important decision you make every morning may be what to wear. Why do your choose the clothes you do; do they express your true personality and can they really determine the course your day will take? Or even your life?

In this book Karen Pine goes ‘behind the seams’, revealing the hidden secrets contained in the clothes we wear. She uncovers startling evidence for how our clothes have the power to change our minds. And she shows how making a simple tweak to what you wear can literally be life-changing.

Professor Karen Pine, Mind What Your Wear.

Vibrations of Colours

Rather than dopamine, I prefer to think that the various colours have their own vibrational fields.

If you think about the colours of the Chakra, each has a vibrational field and a meaning, an overview is below, with thanks to Chakraseeker.com

Chakra Color - Meaning - Symbolic Representation

Red - Vitality, strength, grounding. - Physical energy, stability, connection to the Earth

Orange - Creativity, passion, sensuality. - Emotional expression, pleasure, enthusiasm.

Yellow - Personal power, confidence, self-worth. - Intellectual abilities, ego, self-identity.

Green - Love, compassion, harmony. - Relationships, forgiveness, healing.

Blue - Communication, self-expression, clarity. - Verbal and written expression, authenticity, truth.

Indigo - Intuition, perception, spiritual awareness. - Inner wisdom, intuition, psychic abilities.

Violet - Spirituality, enlightenment, connection to the divine. - Higher consciousness, spiritual growth, cosmic connection.

From ChakraSeeker.com - Understanding Your Chakra Meanings

The other thing I have noticed over the years is that my go-to colours have changed, is this something you have noticed too? My favourite colours in my teens and twenties were pastels, mostly blue. Nowadays, I am more drawn to rich colours from all over the spectrum, warm rich autumnal colours and very bright jazzy patterns, alongside pinks of all hues - fun fact I once dyed my hair bright pink, it was great fun, apart from the colour getting all over my collars and pillows…

Last words - Did you know that until the 1920’s pink was for boys and blue was for girls… An Interesting article from Readers Digest can be found here explaining the history of the change.

Until next time, as ever, may your angels and guides watch over you and protect you until we meet again.

Love and Light,

Guided By Angels will always be free to subscribers. If you enjoy it please click the like button, that way I know someone is reading it, or please share it with someone who might enjoy it.
There is the option now to become a paid subscriber if you would like to support these Sunday Letters in that way, or you could consider buying me a cup of tea.

I definitely run on tea.

Thank you for reading and for subscribing.
Until next time, bye for now.

Links:

12 Essential Books about Colour via The Aesthetics of Joy website

Online Article about Dopamine Dressing from Harpers Bazaar, Jan 2022

Aspire Magazine article on The Vibrational Power of Colours

Karen Pine - Mind What You Wear Overview of her book which is available on Amazon Unlimited or to buy here

ChakraSeeker.com website

ChakraSeeker.com - Understanding Your Chakra Meanings article

Anything in bold and underlined is a link to the relevant article or web page. None are affiliate links, just things I hope to benefit you, or people I admire and have worked with.

Note: If there is a * these are affiliate links and may earn me a few pennies without adding to your cost. Disclosure: If you buy books linked here, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.