Have you been to a wedding lately? How did you feel, looking at the beautiful bride, coming down the aisle peacefully and standing beside her beloved groom, smiling as an angel, dressed in a wonderful white gown?

Now, imagine the same scene, the same groom, the same smile and the same joy… but now the bride comes down the aisle in a red gown. How would you feel? What about the reaction of the other guests? How would you feel about the color of her dress?

What if the bride had shown up in a black gown? Yellow? Orange?

This wedding scene is the easiest way to illustrate the influence of colors in our emotions. Its power can be experienced physically and mentally, from the food we eat to the weather outside. What’s the immediate reaction upon seeing food that has a different color than the one designed by nature… like… a purple tangerine, or a green piece of bread? What if, instead of blue, our sky was white? Or brown?

The messages given by colors are strongly connected to our deepest emotions. And the good news is: by changing the colors of our garments, we can also change our reality.

The reaction to a color change in our garments will be reflected in us and in those who surround us (remember the wedding guests?). By choosing colors that have the attributes you’d like to add in your life, you will notice that your friends, co-workers and family will start interacting with you in a different way.

What’s the right color? All of them! Every color generates a different emotion that has its root is in our subconscious mind. Physicist Leonard Mlodinow, an authority in research on the subconscious mind, confirms, among many other specialists, that even decisions that appear to be totally conscious have their roots in the unconscious mind (Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior, Mlodinow, 2012).

A MIND OF FEELINGS

Still not sure? Think for a moment: why is Facebook logo blue? Why do car companies design their logos in silver? Why do famous restaurants prefer warm colors such as red, orange and burgundy? Why do fast food restaurants use yellow and red, instead of, say, green and white to their ads?

You can use this color knowledge to your advantage. It’s a very pleasant experience.

COLORS, THEIR MEANINGS AND INFLUENCE
BLUE
Seen in rivers, oceans and lakes when reflecting a glorious sky. Blue is the color that our mind connects to water, to the natural flow of things, to a peaceful sky that brings us calmness and the feeling of being safe. We trust we will have a good day when looking at a blue sky. Our mind connects this color to trust. When we trust, we’re relaxed, all anxieties vanish in water, they’re carried far, far away by the flow of an imaginary river… (You got calmer just reading these words, right? This is due to the phenomenon of visualization. According to color specialists, when visualizing a color, the body feels its effects as strongly as seeing it with the eyes.) Adding blue clothes to your wardrobe will aid you in raising feelings of peace and calm, and will increase your trust levels in yourself as well as stimulate others to trust you. Now you know why policemen uniforms are made in this color.

YELLOW
Road signs, traffic lights, warning signs… why are all these yellow? Do they get your attention? Do they make you focus? Bingo! That’s the answer. Yellow is used to enhance the sentiment of attention, alertness and concentration. Our sun is yellow, and when we see it we feel alert, awake, and full of life, ready for the activities we will engage in on this bright new day. We want to rush, go outside and do something! That’s the message that this wonderful color transmits. When wearing yellow, our optimistic feelings and rational thinking will get a boost, not to speak of our confidence level. Since this color is connected to the attention mode, by wearing it, you’ll transmit and get that. If you’re not ready yet to embrace this amazing color, take small steps toward its wonderful influences through yellow flowers, yellow accessories and yellow foods. Personally, I do love this color!

GREEN
Think about nature and its natural resources for health. We all feel calmer when surrounded by trees or walking on the grass. Green tea, anyone? We feel connected to the Earth, we feel natural, allowing ourselves to take that step we need toward balance. Green lights give us the “Go!” feeling, and how happy do we feel when getting close to traffic lights and being welcomed by the green one? Green is connected to possibilities (Go!), growth (nature), allowing to connect to something beyond physical limitations (walking barefoot on grass), and, as we do that, we will start to reflect on where we are going and if we’re taking the right direction. This color will help us and those around us to connect to feelings of growth, equilibrium and decisions made by the heart. Green fields remind us of prosperity, and maybe that’s why this was the color chosen for money.

PINK
Many cute objects are pink. Is it a girl’s color? Pink roses give us soft feelings and love cards are usually light pink. Vulnerability, showing emotions without fear of being judged, getting close to others in a delicate way, loving the other, allowing us to step into sensitive territory in the land of our hearts. Care. Support. Inviting the idea that our happiness is made by ourselves only, and no one else. When was last time you saw a guy wearing a pink shirt? Was he self-confident? Did he care about your opinion? Did you feel this person was in a state of mind above and beyond being affected by criticism? You know what? He was… beyond and above. Being vulnerable is one of the highest expressions of spirituality. We are open to give and to receive, without judgement. Pink is a color of self-acceptance and it invites the idea of being sincere with ourselves and others. Must I say that pastel pink is one of the main fashion trends for this coming Fall/Winter? Allow yourself to enjoy pink.

It was a pleasure to introduce you to this study of color and its influences. Are you thinking now about tips of color combination? No need to hire a color specialist for that, because Nature is here to help us! Take a look at your local flower shop, how do you like the color combination of that orchid? What about the wonderful color combination we learn from various species of fish? What feelings do you have when paying attention to their colors? If you live in a big city, take a look at window displays from famous retailers, they have competent people responsible for organizing all items shown in the most harmonious color combination. We can learn a lot from these great professionals.

You could start today adding color to your accessories or décor items in the environment where you spend most of your time.

Enjoy your Colors!

סְבִיבָה

With summer coming in the northern hemisphere and air-conditioning (entry on that tomorrow) set to full blast in Israeli homes and vehicles, this week’s a good time to introduce some Hebrew terms about climate and environment.

The Hebrew word for environment is סְבִיבָה. It’s a verbal noun of the root ס.ו.ב (s.w.b) meaning going around – the same root as that of the word for dreidel – סְבִיבוֹן.

Some usages of סביבה:

הַמִּשְׂרָד לַהֲגָנַת הַסְּבִיבָה
Ministry for Environmental Protection (literally, for the protection of the environment)

צָרִיךְ לִדְאוֹג לַסְּבִיבָה הַיּוֹם לְעַמַן הַדּוֹר שֶׁל מָחָר.
We must take care of the environment today for the sake of tomorrow’s generation.

סְבִיבָה מִשְׂרָדִית נְעִימָה מְאַפְשֶׁרֶת עֲבוֹדָה פּוֹרָה.
A pleasant office environment enables productive work.

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