Every morning I wake up saying,

I’m still alive;

a miracle.

And so I keep on pushing.

-Jacques-Yves Cousteau

Difficulty is the very atmosphere of miracle;

it is miracle in its first stage.

If it is to be a great miracle,

the condition is not difficulty,

but impossibility.

–S.D.Gordon

“>

I was going back and forth whether to write about the Color of Saints, or the Color of Miracles, and decided that there could be a little of both in this entry. After all, we associate saints with miracles. Interesting to note, they do not have similar colors, in fact, you can’t get further apart that the color of miracles and the color associated with saints!

When one is praying for a miracle, and we have all had a moment in our lives where we have been “brought to our knees” so to speak, is there a certain color we can envision or apply to perhaps help expedite that request? And what color is associated with miracles? Is there a color connection between miracles and saints?

The color of a miracle is white. White is often not referred to as a color, just as black is not referred to as a color, yet I refer to white as the “Christ light” and what I see in some individuals that walk this earth (and individuals that work from the “other side”) is a brilliant white light, and within that white light is all colors. We are walking rainbows, and when we are in perfect balance, we are glowing in a beautiful white light.

I use white light for so many requests, I even refer to it as “the white light of protection” and surround my vehicles, loved ones, any situation that needs special attention and prayer, with this white light of protection. If someone needs help, needs prayers and you do not know what their specific ailment (color depletion) is, then send them white light. Surround them in white light, and their body, their energetic system will take what they need to heal, move forward, recover, learn, whatever, from that white light.

If someone is preparing to transition to the other side, or you are not sure if they are preparing to transition, surround them in the white light and offer to them the energy they need to do what is best for them. Yes, that is difficult, but so often we will pray for miracles, for someone to get better when in fact they need to transition, they need to follow that path, not stay on this earth in a body that no longer serves them. If it is for them to heal and improve, you have given them the energy to do so, if it is for them to move to the other side, you have given them the energy to do so. It is all good, it is all for their highest good, and ultimately it is not our decision to keep them here.

It takes a lot of energy to die, just as it takes a lot of energy to gestate and be born, so the color of miracles is the power that is found in all colors united and balanced. That is the color of white. Miracles can be found in someone transitioning to the other side, and often they are found in the little things if we pay attention to those little things.

The white light of protection is the white light of miracles. Angels are depicted in white, with their celestial qualities and flowing robes of white energy. Angels are protectors, and we all have our Guardian Angels with us, just as we have our spirit guides with us. I am often asked if I see angels, and yes, I see them and they are often bigger than the day! I have had certain clients walk through the door of my office with their guides and angels in tow and I am overwhelmed. Sometimes with emotion at the beauty, but more so with the love and  unbelievable feelings that our guides and angels have for us.

I have also been known at times to become emotional in a session, in part it can be frustration as to how I can best describe how much we are loved, you are loved, yet it cannot be put into words. I can relay messages from guides and loved ones, but angels offer impressions and symbols that I can receive, more empathic than anything else. Angels have a very high vibration, a frequency that I can not physically approach if that makes sense. They have never been down on this earth in physical form, unlike our guides and loved ones. That is why I can relay messages from guides and loved ones but not often direct messages from angels. I have had on occasion a clear and concise message from certain angels, and have many clients that resonate with St. Michael the Archangel, St. Raphael, and St. Gabriel.

Only you can receive the name of your guardian angel, it is your energy band with your guardian angel. All names of angels I am told end in –el and that is one indication that it is your angel, not just a “high level” guide. I just at this moment am smiling, as I did not make the connection that the word “angel” itself ends in –el…and numerologically “el” vibrates to an 8, as “e” is a 5 vibration and “l” is a 3. 8 represents an “executive leader” which makes sense, but perhaps more interesting is that an “8” on its side is the Lemniscate, the symbol for eternity. Again, that makes sense.

The color of saints is far different from the color of miracles, even though they are related, as saints are often attributed to miracles. Ever wonder why St. Nicolas, or the infamous Santa Claus wears a red suit? Red is the symbol for martyrdom, and of course, we associate saints and sainthood with martyrdom. Many saints, particularly the early saints are depicted with the color red to symbolize the martyr or they are shown with specific iconography that represents martyrdom or how they received their martyrdom. St. Agnes, for example is shown with her breasts on a platter, yes, see it here. And she is cloaked in red, as so many are.

Red for sainthood can be derived from death and blood, which is the literal interpretation for the use of the color red. But red is also about fear, control, change, survival, raw human emotion, and represents everything the lives of the saints symbolizes. Reading about the lives of the saints this past two weeks and looking at the use of the color red in the iconography just reinforces the metaphysical associations with red and our base emotion center (chakra center).

Churches are often bathed in red, they have red carpet, red seating, red references, including the “blood of Christ” which is red wine that is changed during transfiguration to the “blood” of Christ. The side effect of this symbolic use of the color red in church and its iconography is the influence of the color red over our energetic system, prompting fear, guilt, pain, suffering, and reinforced with the images of the same. That is yet another entry for another time, and the role of the color red in Christianity is a fascinating history, particularly when you are aware of color as energy and the influence of color on our emotions and our physiological behavior.

I hope you have enjoyed this entry and the entry about Saints, Miracles, and Metaphysics as much as I did writing about them. Have a wonderful week! Blessings and I send each of you the wonderful miracle of protection…surrounding you in the wonderful white light of protection.

Catherine

Perseverance is the result of a strong will. Obstinacy is the result of a strong won’t.

–Anonymous

So long as there is breath in me, that long will I persist. For now I know one of the greatest principles of success: if I persist long enough I will win.

–Og Mandino

This week’s entry is about the Power of Will. I talk about motivation and what keeps us moving toward our goals and desires. Motivation is one thing, willpower is another, motivation is often an external force. Willpower comes from deep within us, it is a conviction, a belief that we can and WILL achieve.

Motivation is more the color of a warm red, and I have seen motivational speakers that can project their energy out into an audience. Very few can get past the third or fourth row and the energy falls short, some can literally light up an entire room, but they are few and far between. You have heard the term, “light the fire” and there is a difference between lighting the fire under someone’s feet, under their butt, or sparking that fire within. It is this “fire within” that houses the power of your will.

Willpower is associated with the solar plexus center. This center is located in the area of the stomach. The mind/body connection with this emotion center is all about tissues and organs related to how we convert or “burn” food into energy. Another term you may have heard is “fire in their belly” and I am not referring to bad Mexican food…this phrase refers to one’s willingness, eagerness to make a difference, move forward with courage and purpose.

The color associated with the solar plexus is yellow, think of solar being “the sun” (and think again about those terms I used to describe someone that is “gutsy”). It is amazing how so many of our quips and phrases are associated with our chakra (emotion) centers and the corresponding colors of those centers. Willpower, though is more in the realm of what I term “sunflower yellow”. It is that beautiful warm golden yellow, but not quite orange.

When I look at color within an energy “being”, I will often dissect it according to the primary hues and the amount of color “particles” in those primary hues give me clues to the information you carry with you. Think of the pointillism paintings of the Impressionists, as that is how I see the world. Depending on the concentration of “particles” I can decipher what energy patterns make up certain thoughts or emotions. Many that have met me or heard me speak often hear me “decipher” out loud, I then have to take my information and communicate it to you so you can understand it.

Understanding the color of willpower helps us understand how to harness willpower and hold it within our own system. Coupling this color with appropriate affirmations creates an even more powerful ally when it comes to getting and maintaining motivation. The primary color is yellow, which is about self-esteem, self-worth, and also about self-expression. Yellow is about how we “burn energy” so it is about how we apply ourselves to our work.

Yellow is also about logic and intellect, so coupling this entry with the entry about The Power of Will adds the benefit of logic and perspective to whatever circumstances you are currently embracing. I mentioned above about the particles of energy because normally one would assume that the golden yellow of willpower is due to red being added to the energy mix. That is true, there is red, but there is also orange. This is where it gets a little confusing, but a clue to how my “color-sight” works…The majority of the energy is yellow “particles”  with a smaller portion of red, but then I see an equal amount of orange particles flying around. The orange particles are also bigger, so compared to the yellow and the red, they are about three times the volume.

Ok, so what does this mean? I know, get on with it Cath! Orange is about creation, creativity, and also emotion and feelings. Therefore it makes sense when one is calling upon one’s willpower that creativity and emotional investment would be key factors. Red offers the impetus for change. Red also offers the passion and the sense of urgency that so many of us have as we call on our willpower to move ahead or to shift from a habit.

Perhaps one of the most powerful affirmations you can use with this color of willpower, is

Faith in myself and hope in my dreams provides all the power I need to make it happen. I am divinely guided.

Chaos in the world brings uneasiness, but it also allows the opportunity for creativity and growth.

Tom Barrett

Anything you build on a large scale or with intense passion invites chaos.

Francis Ford Coppola

Just exactly what is chaos? In my companion entry, Cosmic Closet Cleaning, I talk about chaos being about change…it is about change but it is also the manner of how change occurs that creates the chaos. So often we don’t even realize that the impetus behind the chaos is the proverbial holding up of hands and saying, “I’ve had enough, it has to get better than this…” and then the chaos begins.

It is all about sorting, sifting, and reorganizing people and circumstances in your life, yet it is also the craziness of it all happening at one time. Events may occur either because of a chain reaction, and domino effect or as is often the case, it happens all at once.

Chaos is all about forcing action through reaction. The energy that surrounds this chaos is often muddied colors, colors twisted together like little tornadoes. Most often they are like little “dust devils” at your feet, forcing you to move and dance and inevitably move forward.

The color of change, which has been addressed in a previous entry, is often red, although green represents new beginnings. The color of chaos is accompanied with the color red because it demands action and reactions. Chaos is a reset button, and after the dust (devils) settle down and you look around you breathe a sigh of relief and relaxation and notice how things have really shifted. And with chaos, it is often not just one aspect of your life, so the red is like the rug being pulled out from under your feet and depending on the predominant colors of your little tornadoes, I can take a pretty good guess as to what aspects of your life are shifting and shaping your future.

Red swirls and tunnels represent lots of little changes, but also represent the manner these changes transpire, the more red tornadoes, the more rash,  harsh decisions are being made. Think of the phrase, “on the chopping block” and that is the nature of the red energy swirls.

Orange swirls or tunnels aren’t very common, I usually see the orange following in waves of color, in part because orange is all about emotion and emotional upheaval. So it makes sense that orange would take on a more prominent feature in your energy field. There are some people that do have a bunch of little orange tornados in their energy field, and often these are individuals in a victim consciousness that tend to make mountains out of molehills.

Yellow is all about conflicts with self, self-esteem, and usually the chaos is created due to many doubts and questions about their purpose. Yellow also represents intellect, so often I can see these with students around finals at the end of the semester or with a person that is preparing for a new position at work, or perhaps extensive research.

Green of course is always going to be about relationships, but not just romantic, all types of relationships, and often it is muddied greens and reds that take up most of the energy in chaotic situations. If you think about it, it all makes sense, because shifting and changing often relates to individuals in our lives that prompt or force us to change. Whether it is a landlord booting you out, someone hitting your car, asked to resign or step down from a position…or someone breaking up with you…taking it from a different perspective can be difficult when you are in the middle of the energy but after the fact take a moment and realize that those people were integral in helping you get out of your own way! Sometimes guidance doesn’t come with an after dinner mint.

The important part is to look at where you are, yes, there is that God Minute again…I can actually look at a situation that happened just last week that left me in tears for two days and laugh now! Why, because it led to the most amazing string of events that would not have happened if the situation would have turned out the way I tried to force it to turn out. So, there you have it.

The next color that can be pretty prominent in the chaos energy is blue. Blue is all about communication, truth, loyalty, honesty…so you can imagine that among the chaos, blue is definitely going to be there, right alongside the greens!

It depends on the extent of the chaos but often there are tornadoes of all sizes and colors, and again those colors are twisted and muddy with a predominant color showing through. WHERE those tornadoes are can also let me know more details about what is going on in your life:

• What you are or are NOT releasing, which would put them on your right side.
• What you are currently experiencing, which would put them in your direct field.
• What you are attracting, which would put them on your left side.

From there, I can often give some advice and help you shift your focus and energy in order to help you understand your current situation from a different perspective.

Have a wonderful week!

For everything this disease has taken, something with greater value has been given–sometimes just a marker that points me in a new direction that I might not otherwise have traveled. So, sure, it may be one step forward and two steps back, but after a time with Parkinson’s, I’ve learned that what is important is making that one step count; always looking up.

MICHAEL J. FOX, Always Looking Up

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a slowly progressing neurological disease of the central nervous system, with disorders in gait, posture and movement coordination. Men are more often affected than women and the onset averages around the age of 60 but according to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, there has been diagnosis as young as the age of 18.

The energy that surrounds a person learning/teaching from PD is interesting, as it can be very similar to what I see with Multiple Sclerosis, Cerebral Palsy, and in some cases, even Fibromyalgia. It is similar in the sense that it is systemic, which means that I don’t see certain areas of the body a certain color or with a certain color depletion. Rather those with PD have a static field of warm colors: yellows, oranges, and some reds in their energy field, particularly above the waist. It is rather static like the fuzz from a television station, but it has more of an “edge” to it than the other dis-eases I mentioned.

It is often difficult to get a clear read because those that are advanced enough to really see the systemic colors are often on medications which can tone down, dull or even mast the energy field. If you think about it, our emotions are energy and this energy is reflected in color, so if those thoughts are dulled, and the emotions are dulled, then so is our energy, our colors.

In PD the neurons do not fire properly, so the signals are not transmitted properly to allow for proper coordination of movement. When signals fire, it creates the energy to force movement. When there is a conflict between what you want to do and your body actually doing it the colors that are reflected are not red like you would think would be associated with conflict…it is a mental conflict reflected in the energy and the body. Therefore there is more of a yellow cast to the energy field from the shoulders up, with flecks of orange and even balls of orange depending on the emotional levels within that person at the time.

The conflict that is taking place within the body and the energetic system concerns the need to move forward and to embrace new experiences which conflicts with the other side of the personality that does not like to be in untested waters. The fear of not showing that you are in control can create such tension and upheaval in the body that the battle is ongoing with just about any part!

Hands and legs represent much of the letting go and moving forward conflicts that those with Parkinson’s are learning from. Symptoms include slow movement, muscular rigidity, resting tremor and postural instability. Handwriting become indecipherable, facial expression may become set, the head inclined forward, words become muffled and the voice hollow, dull and increasingly feeble. It is common for those learning from Parkinson’s to fall backward. Yet it is all about conflict, but emotional conflict and fear of being judged, fear of not being in control. The fear is so great it sets of the electrical impulses to such a point that one gets overloaded. I think of my favorite Muppet Character: Beaker, he is always in the lab and ultimately he squeals and then is blown up in the air or left completely singed by an explosion. But before that is the stress and conflict that is involved with making the right choice, giving the correct answer, being in control.

Orange is a combination of yellow and red, and it is interesting to note that although I would associate PD with the color orange, an overabundance of the color orange, it is really more accurate for me to say that PD is a combination of the color yellow with particles of red sprinkled in. I know you will say, “duh, Catherine, that is orange” and you are right, but I would say it is not a pure orange, it has to be “optically mixed” in order for it to be orange.

“Optically mixed” is a term that has its origins with pointillism and the impressionist movement. I often think that these wonderful artists, VanGogh included painted energy and it was represented in color…it is actually how I see the world and the entities that reside here. So to say optically mixed is just my way to describe how the energy is more “particle-ized” than the clouds of color I usually see.

Being out of balance does not come with a specific color, so that aspect of Parkinson’s cannot really be identified. Sometimes it can be manifested in waves or movements of red, when there is fear involved, but often there is orange with it. Being out of balance can be a very emotional experience, and often being out of balance is due to using your emotions to react rather than using your intellect to act.

I did mention an overabundance of orange being one of the contributor’s to Parkinson’s. Yellow can also be added, because there is a tendency to overthink and become self critical when feeding the symptoms of Parkinson’s. Since it is all about moving forward, but also about quelling some of those emotional conflicts, a nice combination of blue with green (more blue than green)) would help not only to calm but to establish an open communication between the nerves and calm the impulses. Green helps establish those relationships while blue heals and calms.

There is no surprise that exercise is said to help with Parkinson’s. I believe exercise coupled with close attention to water intake is imperative. Exercise not only builds coordination and strengthens muscles and balance, it is grounding and helps calm in many many ways. Tai Chi is all about moving forward, dealing with conflict, balance, energy and health. And an activity I would like to study in regards to PD. Drink water, as it helps conduct electricity within the body, no body ever gives water enough credit! Drink it out of a glass or a container that is your perfect combination of blue with green.

An affirmation to tape on your container to say every time you drink would be, “I joyfully move forward. All is well, I am well”. Stay tuned as I will soon have drinking thermoses and cups available with corresponding affirmations. It is the new line of Queen of Color products…coming soon to my online store!

Have a wonderful week. Catherine

Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black.

~ Henry Ford

As promised, here is a little information about the color of cars and what the color of your car communicates. It is interesting to note that there is a little bit of research out there, but not much. I have found that your best resource in regards to accidents and the color of a car is the person that does car body repair, not police records, nor insurance companies. There are practical applications to the theories involving car colors and accidents, as well as speeding tickets, and road rage…so this week’s entry will cover all of those aspects and hopefully give you some information to work with.

The most interesting correlation between accidents and car colors are with the fender benders rather than the high speed, interstate type of accidents. It seems when talking with a friend that does body work that the gray cars, and earthy tones, even the silver cars tend to get bumped more. Actually these color cars tend to be involved in the accidents where people hit THEM rather than they hit other cars.

The reason is literal not metaphysical. They have low visibility, and therefore other cars have a tendency to pull out in front of them, or they get backed into. They blend in to the road because there is little contrast between the car and the road.

Metaphysically you could look at the grounding qualities of the gray but also just as in any environment, the gray can absorb the qualities of the predominant color that is surrounding it. Again it can blend in and create some issues regarding accidents.

I have my mother’s ’98 Toyota Camry, it is a gray/beige and it has been in two accidents, when my mother owned it she was hit on the right side by a woman that didn’t see her! So when my repair guy said gray cars, it made sense.

But again, I have to ask the question that you may be thinking, there are a lot of gray and silver cars out there, so statistics may dictate that because there are more gray cars, then there is a likelihood that gray would be the car of choice for accidents? I would agree with that except for the fact that it seems most of those accidents are similar to the one my mother had, they didn’t see her. And my former mother-in-law also had a similar accident with her gray Buick, so there are two close to home examples.
Red cars are said to get more speeding tickets, now whether that is an unproven urban legend, I am not sure. There is really not any police data on that, although I would think it would be easy to document if someone entered the color and compared it with the infraction.

I am also sure that there is some car repair guy out there that would state that red cars get in more accidents than gray cars! Red cars demand attention, and on that end they are noticed more than the gray cars. Just from a practical standpoint they would stand out, particularly in a rural area where there is a lot more green to compliment the red. So with that being said, they may get noticed more than the other colors, and because of that they may be awarded more tickets!

There is also a personality type that would be interested in the energy of a red car. There are reasons that sports cars have so many rich red hues, and the biggest reason is the energy and the command that a red car has on the road. Also, red is a color that says “see me” and often when you drive a cool car, you do want people to see you. You want to aggressively take up space and that is what the color red does. It communicates for people to get out of the way, you are coming through (speeding tickets and all!).

My dad was a judge when I was growing up in Indiana. He never allowed any of us to have a red car because of the ticket and the accident factor. He used his experience for that supposition and I have always taken heed. Yet, in regard to road rage, something my dad never had to deal with in the sixties court system, it is not the color of the car that generates that anger, it is the red on and off of the tail lights that aggravate the drivers.

So, yes the color red can affect your mental attitude, particularly if you are already agitated because of circumstances in your life. The red that we see in regards to the brake lights has significant subliminal influence, as it represents being late, being stuck, being told to “stay put” but also the on and off flashing can trigger anger. Red is all about raw human emotion and when you are either tired or in a hurry and this is flashed before you, taunting you and communicating that you can’t get where you want when you want it can trigger some solid emotions.

Use the red rather to redirect your thinking. Red also represents choice, so rather than be upset (which usually seeps in subconsciously) make it a conscious choice to look at the color red from a different viewpoint. Take the time you are stuck in traffic and be thankful about your choices, your ability to drive and to safely get to where you are going. If there is an accident, take a moment to send prayers and healing rather than cursing the fact you are going to be late. Red is about choosing, choose understanding and compassion rather than irritation and disgust.

Ok, onto other colors, white is another popular color. Many individuals that choose white as a car color do so for security and a feeling of safety. White is said to be visible, and often it is individuals that are established in their careers and use their cars for work will have white cars. When I was writing this I laugh because it seems that every Cadillac or Buick Escapade I have seen over the past week is white! There is a certain aristocracy about having a white sedan, we go back to the “white limo” for celebrations and weddings I think. There is a sense of purity and protection that emanates from a white car.

Practical reasons for white would be the ability for it to deflect heat, whereas the darker colors with absorb heat. There are a lot of white vehicles in the southern states for this reason, and I think that may be why the white car is associated with elderly people. I know it sounds silly, but think about how many of the elderly retire to the south? It doesn’t take much to create a stereotype!

Blue cars are all about solid, honest communication. Blue runs the gamut too, there are the gunmetal blues, the royal blues, the metallic blues, but through it all, I would have to say that blue is a pretty popular color particularly with guys and with trucks. There are more trucks that are blue than any other color, or at least shades of blue. This adds to the dependability of a truck, or a vehicle and often the person that drives the vehicle.

Black is another color to look at, yet it seems that many will shy away from black because it has a tendency to show every scratch and ding. Many rental companies do not have black cars because they do show road-wear more than most. Again, there are some contradictions in research that white shows more dings and dents, but I would have to go with black showing more dirt, dust, and dings. Black is intimidating, it isn’t aggressive like a red vehicle, black is all about being in charge and taking up space.

Black absorbs energy and heat, where white deflects energy and heat. So black in a way is an “energy sucker” and that is why the color can be intimidating to us. It is also a solid color in a sense that it is heavy and weighs more than blues browns, or grays. It won’t budge and contracts so it will take root and make a mark on the road.

Yellow is saved more for emergency vehicles and school buses as it is the color associated with safety. Yellow is the color that can been seen from the longest distances, and therefore it is used in construction and factories to indicate a need for caution. It was because of studies in the late forties and early fifties by the late Faber Birren that yellow was introduced as a color of caution. When introduced it reduced accidents in these areas by almost half!

From a metaphysical standpoint it is interesting to note that yellow activates your solar plexus area which is all about self and intellect, ego and will. So when this center is activated it prompts you to keep your mind on your work.

What is your favorite car color? What does that say about your personality? Many of us don’t necessarily choose the colors of our cars, particularly if they are used, but I can say that you are in the color car you need. The Law of Attraction is always working!
Blessings, Catherine

The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery.

–Mark Van Doren

The great teacher is not the man who supplies the most facts, but the one in whose presence we become different people.

–Ralph Waldo Emerson

As a medical intuitive and The Queen of Color™ this week I am writing a companion piece on autism. Autism can often be referred to as “autism spectrum disorder” (ASD) and the word “spectrum” should be noticed as there is an entire wave of individuals diagnosed with some form of autism. In a sense, it is a “catch-all”  for behavioral patterns that fall within certain categories involving communication and interaction challenges.

Well, I can’t be the Queen of Color and not be drawn to the word spectrum! In my Thursday’s Kick! I talked about the young man teaching with Autism that was the “white-lighter”. In this sense he was vibrating to the entire energy spectrum, which was why his energy field was so bright and so white.

In the additive theory of color, one adds light and all colors in this light spectrum create white. In the subtractive theory of color, one adds pigment, and all colors in this pigment spectrum create black. Our energy is light energy, our environment is pigment, and one does influence the other. Our emotions influence our energy, our colors and the colors we see and wear influence our physiological and psychological makeup.

Not all people experiencing or teaching from autism have a pure white energy field, they are individual souls just like we are. They can be influenced by others and by their environment just like we can be influenced. Many though, do have a lot going on in their energetic system, particularly outside of their body. There is a static “cloud” of energy around them, but I do notice more on their left side than their right. My reasoning for that is because they are open to a lot of direction and guidance, but also open to a lot of extra information and chaos that can sometimes filter through from the “other side”.

It is this energy, this static (you could even call it white noise) that can keep them charged and constantly trying to ground. I have some information here from the Mayo Clinic’s site about autism.

Children with autism generally have problems in three crucial areas of development

-       social interaction

-       language

-       behavior

But because the symptoms of autism vary greatly, two children with the same diagnosis may act quite differently and have strikingly different skills. In most cases, though, the most severe autism is marked by a complete inability to communicate or interact with other people.

Many children show signs of autism in early infancy. Other children may develop normally for the first few months or years of life but then suddenly become withdrawn, aggressive or lose language skills they’ve already acquired.

Young children with autism also have a hard time sharing experiences with others. When read to, for example, they’re unlikely to point at pictures in the book. This early-developing social skill is crucial to later language and social development.

As they mature, some children with autism become more engaged with others and show less marked disturbances in behavior. Some, usually those with the least severe problems, eventually may lead normal or near-normal lives. Others, however, continue to have great difficulty with language or social skills, and the adolescent years can mean a worsening of behavior problems.

I put this in because it is interesting to note that it is communication and interaction which is the greatest challenge for those with autism. I go into more detail about this in my Kick! and this entry is about the colors I see around them. Knowing what they have “in common” can be a clue to help us provide solutions.

In reality, it is not about the colors I see with autism, it is about the colors I don’t see. Why would they be so grounded and scattered? One’s first choice would be something solid or grounding like a brown or earthtone to help keep them in their body. Not a bad idea, and it definitely won’t hurt (that is why horses are so wonderful with autistic people).

I often see a complete depletion of yellow energy in their energy field. But knowing the facts, it really does make sense.

Yellow is all about ego and intellect, but it is also about processing, self, self-worth, and value. I remember being asked to consult for St. Joseph’s Hospital in South Bend, Indiana regarding the therapy room they had for infants and toddlers. The facility was rather cramped and sad but also lacked space and storage for all of the therapy tools and toys. Studying the sessions and discerning the function of the room, the facilities available and the facts about what the objectives were led to my suggestion to paint the ceiling a nice pale yellow.

Why the ceiling? Most of the children were on their back, on the floor, looking up. The solar plexus (yellow energy center) is the stomach area, and that is our most vulnerable part. We protect that center more than any other part of our body, whether it is through weight gain around our middle to protect self, or just covering that area with our hands or arms when we talk with someone threatening or about something threatening.

They were worked with while on their back, often given tasks as well as given things to process or think about at the same time. Opening themselves up to this energy can help influence their thinking and their process paths. Pale yellow is suggested rather than a real bright yellow because you do not want to over stimulate their energetic system and create nervousness or agitation.

Many of the children being tested and treated were also autistic, although fifteen years ago, autism was not thrown around like it is today. And noticing that many had a depletion in their yellow energy gave me the insight to introduce more yellow into their environment in order to help them process. It also helps them establish a sense of self and helps keep them on the ground and grounded. Yellow is good for all babies, not just those with processing challenges. Think about it, all babies process all the time.

Also, for those of you with children teaching with autism, I would be curious to know what their favorite colors are? Often they can be drawn to the exact colors they need, as we all can, but I would be curious to know if there is a pattern with color and autism.

Next week, I will share a personal story with you that will explain why autism is something near and dear to my heart. I want to add my little plea here for Copper Crest, and if you already donated on my Thursday Kick! Then sign off and I will see you next week, otherwise, Copper Crest Therapeutic Riding Academy is like so many other small non-profits these days, it is being squeezed tight by the economy. But even more so, there are individuals that can benefit from this program.

Your donation allows us to provide services to those that otherwise could not participate. Copper Crest is my charity of choice because I am there, I volunteer, raise money, and donate money to keep the program running. I am very fortunate, I can see on a weekly basis how your donation brings joy and makes a difference in the lives of others. Remember, money is energy! Please consider donating. Any amount of “energy” is appreciated!

Why do we need so many kinds of apples? Because there are so many folks. A person has a right to gratify his legitimate taste. If he wants twenty or forty kinds of apples for his personal use…he should be accorded the privilege. There is merit in variety itself. It provides more contact with life, and leads away from uniformity and monotony.

– Liberty Hyde Baily

Millions saw the apple fall,

but Newton was the one who asked why.

– Bernard M. Baruch

Again, like last week, I am resurrecting some of my first videos, as many new subscribers have not seen these, and they are worth seeing. This week is about the color of apples and how your favorite apple can represent certain aspects of your life.

Before you go and think I am reaching for subject matter, this came about in a lively discussion about the benefits of apples, particularly in your weight release journey. At least one (if not two) apples a day are a wonderful addition to your diet and your day. I just happen to take it one step further!

This was a fun video series, with lots of feedback! So I am putting it out here for all to enjoy, and for those that have seen it to be reminded of the information (guidance) we receive constantly when we pay attention to color in our lives! We are attracted to certain colors for a reason!

In two decades I’ve lost a total of 789 pounds.

I should be hanging from a charm bracelet.

-Erma Bombeck

I am resurrecting one of my first videos where I talk about the power of the color yellow in the weight release process. I also mention (and show you) my yellow water glass and talk about using color to support your weight release efforts.

I have had many requests over the past month for a yellow cup, which I give out at my Weight Release Workshops…so stay tuned as I have just finished designing my signature cup and will make it available to you very soon! Enjoy the video (and notice since this video was taken, I have released another 30 pounds…all with my yellow cup! It really does work…how? Because I believe it does.

Have a great week! Blessings, Catherine

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When a defining moment comes along, you can do one of two things. Define the moment or let the moment define you.

–Tin Cup

The freedom to choose can be very stimulating for us- indeed without it life would be dull and uninteresting. The right to choose, or free will if you like, is a precious gift and we can easily lose it by letting ourselves get so hidebound by habit that we forget the art of choosing wisely.

–Francis Gay

I often tie this entry to my Thursday Kick! In some way or another. I decided at the last minute to write about The Other Wes Moore and the numerological implications of two men with the same common name vibration. There were actually two themes that kept popping up for me and, in the process of choosing, I realized the humor in it, as I was deciding on The Color of Opportunity or The Color of Choice. There you have it, I needed to choose choice!

Some of us are so afraid of making the wrong choice that we make none at all. The result is that you become stuck, depressed, even frozen in your job, relationships, life in general. The news is that there is no wrong choice, there are only choices. Life is a journey and you will be given the opportunities you need in order to fulfill your purpose on this earth. The scenic route may take a little longer, but who is to say that the scenic route will not put you in the right place at the right time? It is all about choosing to move forward more than anything.

Choice is all about free will. What makes us human is our power to think and to choose for ourselves. We often panic or freeze when the answers, the choices, are not clear. What you need to realize is that there are no mistakes, no wrong choices. It is about following your heart and knowing where you want to be in order to be happy. Only you can choose to be happy and you cannot compromise your happy for someone else to be happy. Eventually it catches up with you and you feel stuck and not in control of your life (or your choices!).

Within your energetic system, there are really two areas that represent choice, choosing, or making a decision and depending on what color surrounds those areas, I can often discern what the decision entails. One area is feet, your feet represent moving forward, putting your best foot forward, or even moving backwards! I often look at feet first to get an indication of where you are in your journey, and from there I can often begin my observations, guidance, and suggestions.

The next area would be the hands. Your hands represent an extension of your self, your heart center, and is all about relationships. These relationships are not just personal, they are professional as well as personal, family as well as acquaintances. In a sense, your hands can be about choices for relationships and people you want around you (or don’t want around you).

Feet are about choices regarding the direction you want to take your life, self, career, family…but in a more fundamental sense of choice.

I did an entry not too long ago on the color of change, and explained that there are two types of change, the gradual slow moving shift, which is green energy and represents new beginnings and new relationships. The other change is the fast swift moving, even tidal wave of change that is brought in with the color red.

The Color of Choice is red, and it is all around us prompting us to make choices and to make them quickly. From a marketing perspective, which is my background…red prompts the customer to not only make a choice, but to make it quickly as a matter of survival…a matter of moving on…moving out…and doing it quickly. Think of vilator tags, or point of purchase tags, they are red to get our attention, but they are also red to get us to make a choice and make it quick.

Red also prompts our survival emotions center, that base center, so when we see a red Sale sign, we are prompted on an emotional level to respond. “We need this to survive, we need to act quickly…choose now” Why? In part from a psychological standpoint, when we see blood, which is red, we are programmed to act quickly, to choose quickly almost without thinking.

I watched a special last week on Coca Cola on MSNBC and I loved it. They addressed the branding of the bottle, the association with Coke, the color red, Santa and how they use the Christmas ads to build an emotional connection with the product. They build on the family, foundation, and tradition…with Coke being the center of the celebrations. Coke is The Real Thing…All of this is psychologically and energetically supported by the color red in the branding. It is about choice, and when emotions are introduced into the marketing, the branding, then the choice is always going to be where your heart is.

Some of you may remember my rant last year on The Color of Pepsi…it is not an accident that their design pushed up the volume of the color red in their logo, in a sense going for the “choice” vote with the customer. However, it does not work because it is not just about color, it is also about where that color is located, what it is “doing” and the amount of color in the mark…a corporate brand has energy and communicates in a non-verbal venue, just like a person’s energetic system! And again, Coke branded the emotions of family traditions along side its product. It is all about emotions, after all, that is what we are here on this earth to experience, and why we work the an energetic system that is not only “in living color” but all about emotion centers.

So, back to a person’s energetic system…Red at the feet is all about choices, right then and there. It is jumping from the frying pan into the fire, whether you want to make that decision or not…chances are it has already been made. If it is just your left foot, then it is about accepting choice and moving forward with it. If it is just your right foot, then it is about choosing to release something or someone in order to move forward.

Hands are about working, doing, but also about relationships. A red right hand is about a choice to release something, usually work related, or at least related somehow to something that could be described as “work” (I have been in a few of those relationships!) Left hand is about choosing to allow something or someone into your life, your work…and could also indicate that you have your work cut out for you…just busy stuff…

Be genuine in your choices, be genuine to yourself and you will find that having choices brings a sense of freedom and well-being, rather than panic and self-evaluation. I did an entry way back last year and talked about asking for guidance…I would often ask for “a sign” but with frustration I decided one day to ask for a billboard instead! Yes, it was provided!

I choose to have a great week! I trust you will choose the same. Blessings to you.

Catherine

Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go no one else.

-Les Brown

The happiest people in the world are those who feel absolutely terrific about themselves, and this is the natural outgrowth of accepting total responsibility for every part of their life.

-Brian Tracy

This entry is about the colors and the energy surrounding those learning from asthma.  I will also talk a little about the pharmaceutical ad for Symbicort and how that represents the color(s) of asthma. Also, the pharmaceutical ad for Symbicort is a fascinating study for this week’s Royal Kick! as it represents the subliminal use of color influencing the verbal messaging. So, those of you in marketing and advertising will find this interesting as well.

Asthma is a chronic dis-ease that involves the air passages and makes breathing difficult. In my Thursday Kick! I talk about the different types of asthma and what they represent metaphysically. Asthma is much more complex than just the lung/breathing component. The various components of asthma include the base center issues and the red energy in regards to inflammation, muscles, pain, tightness, or pressure in the chest. And there is also the fear component, which is all about red energy and the fear of being on your own and the implications of that situation.

The fourth center, green energy is the lung area, where asthma is targeted. Often when someone is learning from asthma, you would think that the green energy is the depleted energy. There is not necessarily a depletion of green energy in this area (unless there are other issues at hand), although the green may be fanned out a bit depending on their last encounter with an asthma attack.

The depletion is often in the orange energy, because it is all about the person-to-person connection. Therefore the energy is pulled out of this center and often “wrapped around” another. When this area is depleted enough, it is the inflammation (fear) and then the flow (control) that takes over, in a sense, think of the red from the base trying to fill in the void and “make more orange” because you are depleting orange by your connection with the person that is seemingly in control.

The sacral or second orange energy associates with fluids in the body and therefore the production of Mucus. There is also the association with fluids and “flow” so the aspect of “flow” as in air flow and blood flow is also addressed in the lessons of asthma. Lessons of asthma deal with the person-to-person relationships in one’s life, particularly with parent or partner. I would like to note that there is also a “Catch 22″ with this lesson: a parent or partner may well be in a controlling position because they fear the dangers of asthma and want to maintain safety…so on the flipside, there is more controlling due to the lesson. A person doesn’t develop asthma because they are being controlled, the asthma manifests because they have been directed and protected and they are not sure they CAN do “life” on their own. There is a fear of responsibility because they were limited in their responsibilities by another.

It is amazing that the one color that is depleted with asthma is actually the color proven to help treat asthma. Orange is actually the color used to treat asthma in color therapy. Orange is known as the “great normalizer” as it helps balance out the emotions. I used to show my students the numerous Marlborough Cigarette ads because I loved the subliminal irony of them. They would have the cowboy scenes with the background being an orange sunset, or the mountains of the Southwest, even a forest fire…all subliminal for the burning embers of the end of the cigarette! And, the ad was predominantly orange, which I would then point out as being the color for treating asthma.

The one particular commercial that gets my attention when it comes to asthma and COPD is the ad for Symbicort which helps “control” your asthma. The current commercials are not the silhouette ads but the one I am referencing is with the gentleman polishing his green truck. (I was going to embed, but they won’t let me…) It gets my attention first with the green truck, as that is not a common color for trucks but also the background is predominantly green with the yellow fading in with it.

In advertising, green is a wonderful color to use as it helps establish new relationships. The abundance of green helps support the underlying message of taking care of you, and as they slip in the yellow of the background, there is yet more attention drawn to open up the emotion center associated with ego and self-worth and that is what yellow activates.

I often talk about the combination of yellow with green as having the underlying message of “creating a new relationship with self”. And in this commercial, the tag line is about “Now I can turn my ‘want to’ into ‘can do’”. He is redefining his relationship with himself and his “new life” which has green all over it! The yellow also provides an environment of learning and information, so you are more open to the message he delivers. This is just an all around wonderful use of color to promote and support the underlying message.

It is interesting that the word “control” is used given the body’s messages with asthma. I also pay attention to the word “rescue inhaler” as that is also very “telling” in terms of what asthma represents: the fear of being out there on your own, but knowing you can be “rescued” at any time relieves the fear and thus relieves the symptoms. And with that being said, I am sure it is no accident that the typography for the brand “Symbicort” is red! this color is all about survival, fear, and control, and it does get our attention!

Have a great week, I hope this helps you understand a bit more about color and asthma, and how color can be used to support an underlying message. If you are learning from asthma, examine how much orange is in your environment, and your life. Do you need to add a bit of orange? Find some small ways to introduce it back into your life and see how color can make a difference! Blessings to you, Catherine