Flower Power: The Color of Flowers

[Guest guest]

Flower Power: The Color of Flowers

About a week ago, my mom shared with me a story about the time she

was in the hospital. One of her dear friends came to visit and

brought her a single hydrangea flower in a vase...the thing was, the

flower was black! My mom, although not sharing her feeling of unease

with her good friend (who was unaware of the effects of the flower

and its color) shared with me, that it was one of the most disturbing

events she could recall.

Color affects every moment of our lives although our color choices

are mostly unconscious. Color has a great emotional impact on a

person that comes out via the clothes we chose to wear, decorations

to fill our homes, personality, foods we choose to eat, flowers we

surround ourselves with and many more ways.

It is possible to introduce colors to different areas of daily life

to give off more energy, soothing affects, stimulate appetites and

sexual motivation or even give a place a clean atmosphere. I asked

thirty males from the ages of fifteen to sixty what color bra they

would like to see their dream girl wearing to find out what colors

are the most sexually stimulating. As I predicted, out of thirty,

fourteen chose black, while four chose pink, red, blue and white were

also chosen by three each and gray and purple were each favored by

one person a piece. I also conducted an experiment to see what colors

were stimulating on appetites. I added food coloring to make one

flavor of Jell-O turn red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple,

brown, and pink. Out of fifteen total people, seven chose red, purple

and pink were chosen by three a piece, and orange and green were

chosen by one each.

Color-Flower Psychology

Blue can either be a calming color or a depressing color, depending

on how much one is surrounded by it. Blue most always has a pleasant

association. Blue also is associated with a cool, cleansed, relaxed,

calm, hopeful, protected, reassuring, trusting and accepting feeling.

It inspires mental control, clarity and creativity. Blue has a direct

effect on the autonomic nervous system, which helps calm and soothe

humans. However, subconsciously it affects us because we associate

blue with the night sky, so it makes us feel calm as though we are

being soothed by the night sky. On the other hand, dark blue is

sedative and too much can give off a feeling of depression. Blue is

also an appetite suppressant. This is believed to be that due to the

fact that nature does not create a blue food other than blueberries,

therefore we do not have an automatic appetite response to blue.

Actually, in a decorative perspective, blue is a spacious color that

is most suited for deep thought and relief from a stressful, hectic

life. If you wear blue, you may feel self-reliant, sensitive or

intelligent. It promotes a good imagination and a practical approach

to life by feeling responsible for others. Blue wearers are normally

quite independent yet feel the need to be surrounded by tenderness,

love and affection. In the survey of bra color selection, the three

that chose blue, possibly feel the need for love and affection.

Brown is a direct color of nature so it gives off an earth feeling

that brings us comfort and support. However, fans of brown are known

to often keep emotions to themselves and retreat from fear of the

real world. These people sometimes suffer from a lack of self-worth.

These people like brown because it helps them with their troubles and

it gives them a sense of stability and alleviates insecurity. People

who wear brown are normally honest, sensuous and protective because

of their desire to be emotionally secure and accepted. They strive

for a structured life and they appreciate the fine pleasure of life.

Orange is widely known as the attention grabber and the stimulator of

the mind and body. Orange is an anti-depressant color that lifts

spirits by giving off feelings of security, warmth, joy, creativity,

fun, humor and independence. Like brown, orange frees and releases

emotion and alleviates self-pity and self-worth and the unwillingness

to forgive. Physically, orange stimulates the sex organs and has an

incredibly beneficial effect on the digestive system. Wearers of

orange are action-oriented, often impatient, independent and self-

motivated. They have a high energy level and tend to be active and

competitive. Being surrounded by orange is mentally and physically

stimulating and can make a person feel warm, secure and comfortable,

though very few people choose to decorate in orange.

Purple is a color of mixed messages coming from both red and blue.

Purple is mostly associated with those who are sexy, powerful, and

sophisticated. For the people who favor this color are typically

dramatic, spiritual, creative, intuitive, inspirational in beauty and

art, protective, and wrapped up in a fantasy. Purple balances the

mind, brings peace and combats fear. However, fans of purple can be

arrogant at times, for they have little interest in lesser people and

are only interested in the best of everything. This is probably why

the one person who chose a purple bra did; because he takes great

interest in only the very best.

Red is the most powerful of all the colors because of its ability to

stimulate the heart and blood circulation so that it raises heart

rates. Red is known for its high arousal in all perspectives of the

body for it is a sexy, dynamic, daring, vital, powerful, warm,

sensual, determined, courageous, angry, impatient and ambitious

color. It always has a pleasant association because it helps people

overcome negative thoughts although too much red can cause a person

to become impatient. Red is a color that is often preferred by the

economically stable, secure and the risk-takers. Studies even show

that people are more daring to gamble more while under red lighting.

Impulsive, excitable, energetic, sexual, courageous and extroverted

are ways of describing people who enjoy wearing red. They are

ambitious and want things to happen as soon as they say the word.

They want to be the best and can be insensitive to others feelings to

be the best or the center of attention. Actually, if you make a habit

of wearing red it may indicate that you place importance on sexual

desire and eroticism. And we all know that most guys place importance

on sexual desire and eroticism and that is why ten percent of guys

chose red in the bra survey. Also, studies show red stimulates

appetite more than any other color, and that explains why seven out

of fifteen people chose red as their favorite color Jell-O

Pink and Violet have a gentle stimulation of heart and blood

circulation. Just as pink is nearly red, pink nearly has the affects

of red, just not so radiant. It elicits simple emotions such as

unselfish love, kindness and consideration. It is emotionally

soothing and calming, warming, cheerful and nurturing colors that

lessen the feelings of irritation and aggression by surrounding us

with a sense of love. A study has even been conducted to show that

pink has a subduing effect on violent prison inmates. People who

enjoy wearing pink are typically affectionate, sympathetic and

understanding. They often need the support of others and can often

times be child-like. Pink takes on traits of red and white; therefore

it is still a sensuous color while being quite innocent. This

combination makes pink quite a sexual color, therefore it is self-

explanatory as to why four out of thirty guys chose pink as their

choice in bra color. And since it has traits of red, the most

appetite stimulating of colors, five percent of people chose pink as

their favorite color Jell-O.

Green is the color of freshness, peace, freedom, relaxation, security

and laziness. It can represent optimism, yet it also represents envy

and sickness. Because it is the color of life and vegetation, it

helps us to connect with the empathy of others and nature. Green has

a balancing quality that regulates our circulation so it is

physically and emotionally good for the heart, so we should seek

green under stress. Wearers of green are often cautious, quiet, and

humanistic and are the types to just observe life and not actually

get involved in the action. However, when a green-lover must get

involved, they will proceed cautiously to be able to fully control

the situation.

Yellow is the warmest, most cheerful, happiest, brightest and most

uplifting of all the colors. It stimulates the brain making people

alert, clear-headed and decisive. Because it helps aids the brain in

these activities, it would be a good idea to decorate an office in

yellow so that the worker could do his or her best thinking. It also

aids in the powers of discrimination, memory, clear thinking,

decision making, good judgment, organization, assimilation of new

ideas and ability to see other perspectives. A person that wears

yellow is someone that is easily approachable because they seem

stimulating, spontaneous, interesting and lively to others, and

normally are. However, yellow-lovers desire to find greater

happiness, which implies minor conflict in which release is needed.

Black is a very powerful color because of its mystery, dominance and

the fact that it is the most sophisticated of all colors. Black is

associated with silence, infinite and feminine life-force (passive,

uncharted and mysterious.) It is also associated with mourning by the

blue-collar and middle aged; however, it is well liked by the

wealthy. This is possibly due to the fact that black is the most

popular color in formal clothing, that is worn mostly by the upper

class. The wearers or black are often strong-willed, opinionated,

disciplined and independent. Guys admire these qualities in women and

find them sexy. That is why the majority, fourteen of thirty, guys

chose black bras on their dream girls. People who love black reject

help of others, and feel the need to renounce everything. But this

may be due to the fact that they have a little way to go until

maturity and are using black to cloak yourself while you discover

your true identity. Black is a color that is very popular in

clothing; especially formal clothing because it makes things look

smaller, meaning it makes people look thin. However, it is not

especially smart to make black the dominant color in a room because

it will give the room the same affect and could also give a person a

negative frame of mind.

White is the color that is always associated with cleanliness,

purity, coldness and peace. It gives off the aura of freedom and

openness. However, too much white can be cold and isolating or can

give headaches and cause eyestrain. White contains all the colors of

the spectrum; therefore it shows that people who wear white have a

positive, well-balanced, optimistic personality. They also seek a

lifestyle free of pressure. White is the most pure color, and this is

why ten percent of guys chose white bras. Many males' dream girls are

very innocent and pure; therefore they associate a pure girl with a

white bra.

At last, gray is the color of individuals. It gives off the

impression that you are self-sufficient and have good self-control

and prefer to be uninvolved. Gray is associated with independence,

self-reliance, and acts as a shield from influence. However, gray

gives off a negative feeling and can make a person who is around this

color frequently, feel lonely and self-critical. Gray takes on many

of the characteristics of black and white since it is a combination

of the two.

In the end, color subconsciously plays a vast role in the psychology

of humans. It can be a major persuasion factor in our emotions, and

they can seriously uplift or bring us down, especially if a person

associates a color with one particular idea. However, naturally,

color has the same general affect on people.

Pacholyk, MS, L.Ac.

http://www.peacefulmind.com/color_therapy.htm

Therapies for healing

mind, body, spirit