Colors for Self-compassion, Healing, and Recovery

I'm in deep mourning for my adult son, who died at the end of last year. From time to time I go into denial, or experience grief, anger, heartache, anxiety, acceptance, and self-compassion. 

A myriad of feelings ebb and flow inside me, as I process my emotions.

Healing and recovery through self-compassion is a post that appeared on this blog on 2/1/19. It is the first episode, and lists reasons why self-compassion is effective, even during challenging times.

In Part 2 I share ways COLORS have supported me as I journey along. 

I discovered through personal experience and research conducted since 1997, when I became a health and lifestyle writer, that color vibrations bypass human reasoning to work at the cellular level. 

Colors are a conduit for positive energy shifts, and serve as a powerful path for healing and recovery.

Specific colors encourage me make self-care a priority and treat myself with Tender Loving Care (TLC). Colors help me have the motivation to recite affirmations, journal write, and exercise.

Learn how colors can create a sense of self-compassion for you too with tips below.

Now on to color characteristics and how they can nurture you.

BLUE. Brings peace, relaxation, balance, calm, and tranquility. Here's tips to use blue to eliminate pain.

RED. Develops energy, strength, motivation, confidence, will-power, courage, initiative, and focus.

PINK. Soothe your mind, body, and spirit with a color associated with warm feelings, unconditional love, and gentleness. Pink is a mix of red and white combined, and provides a helpful balance of male and female energies that can reduce stress.

Order Colors of Joy Here

ORANGE. Stimulates inner strength, creativity, self-expression, happiness, and puts a new slant on ideas and perspectives. Helpful to relieve depression, negativity, stress, bereavement, and loss.

GREEN. Creates balance, harmony, personal development, self-acceptance, self-compassion, and rejuvenation. Works to lift anxiety, self-pity, and confusion and refresh you.

GOLD. Encourages enthusiasm, balanced thoughts and feelings, and wisdom. It's associated with higher ideals, generosity, and spiritual fulfillment.

TURQUOISE. Reduces stress and fosters cleansing, healing, sharing, friendship, resilience, and tames anxiety and anger.

PURPLE or VIOLET. Symbol of wisdom, dignity, royalty, and spiritual energy. If you seek completion, continuity, or a new beginning, place a purple drawing or representation of a mandala in your home meditation area. Gazing at these hues helps feelings flow freely and enables you to let go of the false illusion of control.

YELLOW. Helps uplift, cleanse, and increases self-confidence. It works on self-control, ability to reason things out, and brings contentment. Yellow stimulates the mind and is healing for depression, despair, fatigue, negativity, sensitivity to criticism, lack of confidence. If you have trouble sleeping, avoid this color as it can produce insomnia or hyperactivity.

Additional Reading and Listening:

Part 1 Healing and Recovery through Self-compassion.

On Death and Dying: What the Dying Have to Teach Doctors, Nurses, Clergy and Their Own Families

Awesome-ways-to-use-colors-for-healing

Ways-colorful-flowers-boost-our happiness

Kristin Neff and a Compassion Break Guided Meditation (5 minutes) 

Mediation to Cultivate Self-compassion by Kristin Neff (20 minutes) and additional choices of meditations from Kristin Neff

💗

Before you go, take a moment to comment. What things mentioned above resonate with you? 

What colors comfort and support you as you travel over the rough patches of life? 

Please share any color insights you have, as they may help my readers and me. Be so kind as to not put links in your comments. I won't be able to publish your comment that way. 

If this post has helped you or you sense it may help others, please pin it or reshare on your favorite social media outlet (with a link back to this post). 

Why not follow me on Pinterest? Say hello and Like my page on Facebook as well.

This post has been shared at pretty-pintastic-party-248

Healing and Recovery through Self-compassion

I've been grieving, since my son died at the end of last year. 

Often heartache clouds thinking, and I don't seem to have much energy to care for myself. 

Slowly I'm finding it's best for overall health to attend support group meetings, reach out to others, journal, pray, meditate, and honor my feelings. 

I'm discovering these and other nurturing practices give me courage to live in the uncertainty of what comes next.  

Many mornings I have to coax myself out of bed, yet I make time to walk in nature, do yoga, or read an inspiring book.

I also have committed to do whatever else is in my power to do, so I can feel less anxious and overwhelmed.

I pray for the power to come to terms with this tragic loss... step by step.

By synchronicity, I read Kristin Neff's book, Self-Compassion: Stop Beating Yourself Up and Leave Insecurity Behind only two months ago. Kristin Neff, PhD, is an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin. She is known for her work on self-compassion. 

Her writing resonated with me and at that point, I was motivated to make my word for the year "kindness."

Both as a health and lifestyle writer and mother, I share reasons why I put self-compassion in the forefront of my day to support me as I mourn.

Reasons to Use Self-compassion for Healing and Recovery
Part 1

Self-compassion helps us identify our suffering and reminds us to take gentle care of ourselves, especially at these times.

Self-compassion is a more effective motivator than shaming or criticizing ourselves.

Self-compassion strengthens our determination to accept and approve of our “whole selves,” including mistakes, shortcomings, dark side, and assets.

Self-compassion furthers healing, and even works on wounds and stressors we may not be able to cope with by conventional means.

Self-compassion helps us fashion a meaningful path away from illness, negativity, setbacks and helps us be resilient and able to move on.

Self-compassion reminds us that every human being is precious, deserving of care no matter what our circumstances.

Self-compassion enriches cells in our brain and body. This behavior enhances physical, mental, spiritual, and interpersonal activities we use to support ourselves. 

Self-compassion accentuates feel-good energy.

"My self-compassion mantra is to treat myself tenderly no matter what! 

You can use it to too. Let the power of self-compassion nurture you as you recover from grief and loss." Nancy Andres

A self-compassionate perspective helps us heal and recover 

If you are at loose ends, struggle with negative self-talk, compare yourself unfavorably to others, or treat yourself critically, why not choose instead to be self-compassionate? 

Test it out for yourself and let us know what happens when you do.

Links to Additional Resources:

Self-care Activities to Encourage Optimal Health

5 Self-care Skills You Need to Know

When Leaving Your Ex Love Yourself

5 Ways to Practice Self- Compassion After Loss

Colors for Self-compassion, Healing, and Recovery


Before you go, please comment below. If you would be so kind, don't put links in your comment. If you do, I won't be able to publish it.

Please share how you use self-compassion now, what areas of your life could use a little more self-compassion, where you've made progress, and where you excel. 

Look for Part 2 Self-compassion on 2/15/19

This post has been shared at Inspire Me Monday Week 369

This post has been shared at pretty-pintastic-party-247

This post has been shared at thursday-favorite-things-374

This post has been shared at pretty-pintastic-party-246

This post has been shared at /happiness-is-homemade

Awesome Ways to Use Colors for Healing and Wellness

Want to learn awesome ways colors can heal, calm, energize, and empower you?

Specific colors have vibrational properties that speed up, balance, or calm down thinking and behavior. 

In fact, colors can influence your emotions, and help you take better self-care. 

Continue Reading and Discover Awesome

 Ways to Use Blue, Green, Red, and Yellow

 for Healing and Wellness.

BLUE
Envision or wear clothes that are a shade of medium blue. Blue is a stress buster and its color energy soothes you, when you're physically, mentally, or emotionally depleted. 

Gazing softly at a blue object calms agitated or chaotic states of mind. That explains why many operating rooms in hospitals are painted blue and the staff wears scrubs of hospital blue. 

Sea blues of azure and sapphire suggest “going with the flow”  as the river, stream, or ocean does.

Want to reduce over-thinking? Think blue and find peace.

Blue is the color of the throat chakra and center for the spoken word (sky blue). The throat is the passageway by which we express feelings through communication. 

Meditating on a blue image before we express ourselves, helps us speak effectively and honestly. Read How to Use the Throat Chakra Here.

Pale blue sheets or blue accent pieces in a bedroom encourages sleep. Blue wall coverings, blankets, or pillows makes the room appear cooler and larger than it actually is.

At the cellular level, blue comforts us emotionally, and helps us detach from things that are beyond our control.

GREEN
Bright green has been adopted by environmentalists to symbolize the planet’s essential need to protect, recycle, grow, and reuse (transform) natural resources. 

Forest green/dark green is often associated with money, prosperity, and ambition. This shade of green works to help us concentrate and suggests prestige, power, and substance.


Green energy often suggests growth, change, and nature. 

Take a cue from nature to visualize the most serene green place you've ever seen. Imagine yourself walking there and travel back to this vision any time you want to feel more tranquil. 

The expression, “to have a green thumb,” means everything thrives in your garden. 

Use your imagination to picture a lush green field, and focus on being present in this scene. Then notice whether your mind and/or body feels more at ease.

Freshen up the energy in your home or office with green plants. 

Display green accent colors on your business website or computer screen saver. 

Eat green foods including pea soup, green salads, and avocados to fuel your body the green way.

RED

Red is a lively color, one that attracts attention. Red suggests the color of blood, rubies, cherries, love, and romance. 

It has the longest wavelength in the visible light spectrum, and can be seen from a greater distance than other colors.

Red is a good color for night lights, traffic lights, and to warn of danger.

Use red for exercise attire, and participate in aerobic exercise a minimum of 30 minutes on most days for good heart health.

Red speeds up metabolism and gives you pep.

Wearing or seeing red can increase appetite. Unless you need to gain weight, don't get an industrial stove in red or use red plates or utensils. This color can cause overeating.

Red energy is useful when you want more courage, self-confidence, self-love, and will power. Read more about this topic here.

YELLOW

Yellow is high up in the list of healing colors. Gazing at daffodils or wearing a yellow tee can stimulate intelligence and also detoxify the body and mind. 

Yellow is particularly helpful with skin problems. Avoid overuse of yellow, as it can hamper digestive health or lead to stomach problems and insomnia. 

The most radiant of all the colors in the visible light spectrum, yellow signals caution. It is used for traffic caution lights and warning signs all over the world. 

When we need nourishment, use the power of yellow energy and munch on yellow fruits and veggies including grapefruit, sweet potatoes, yellow summer squash, and pears. The nutrients in these foods draws on sun energy, and creates clear thinking and liveliness.

Yellow broadcasts a sunny disposition, and wearing it may help you feel alert, flexible, and joyful. 

That's why I selected yellow as a primary color for the cover of the self-awareness journal Colors of Joy: A Woman's Guide for Self-Discovery, Balance, and Bliss.

For tips and encouragement about ways to use colors to heal and grow, pick up a copy or two of the interactive journal Colors of Joy.

It’s guided journal prompts, affirmations, and color themed activities help you and those you gift it to, to discover more joy in daily living. 

Before you go, let me know which colors appeal to you by commenting in the section below. 

Do you have questions or ideas about colors for healing and wellness? Please share that too.

If you would be so kind, don't put links in your comment. If you do, I won't be able to publish it. Thanks for visiting Colors 4 Health and ...

Further Reading

Chromotherapy and Its Scientific Evolution

Relax with Aquamarine and Aqua

What Everyone Needs to Know About the Heart Chakra

Red Energy

Yellow for Self-empowerment

😄

This post has been shared at Pretty Pintastic Linky Party 244

This post has been shared at Sweet Inspiration Link Party 140

This post has been shared at The Pin Junkie Pin Party # 298

This post has been shared at wonderful-wednesday-blog-hop-15

This post has been shared at The Inspire Me Monday Community - Week 365

Tucson Travel or Colorful Staycation

I notice when I'm outdoors exploring interesting things, I get plenty of exercise, benefit from breathing fresh air, and have fun too. 

I invite you along to entertain and maybe even inspire you to travel to Tucson. I love winter here, because there's so many walking, hiking, and biking trails as well as entertainment and cultural events galore.

The color palette of my southwest city delights me. I combined a love for color and desire to maintain good health by taking a staycation right here in Tucson.

The mural above and the pictures below were things I enjoyed seeing the most! 

Holiday Decorations Were Everywhere

My husband and I noticed the Hotel Congress is Celebrating
100 Years this New Years' Eve

New Apartment Building Tucson

Yoga is Popular in Tucson

Mosaic In Downtown Tucson. See Additional Mosaics Here

Although there are many good restaurants in Tucson, my husband and I love eating at the Tasteful Kitchen the most. After we went home to shower and change our clothes, this is what we ordered.

Nancy Andres and a Color-rich Salad at the Tasteful Kitchen

Mushroom Wellington from the Tasteful Kitchen

Eggplant Parmesan from Tasteful Kitchen

Hope you enjoyed this armchair visit to Tucson. Before you go, see my closing photo and links to additional reading.

Why not plan to see the awesome colors of Tucson soon? Enjoy the sights during the day, and take in the gorgeous colors of the desert at sunset.


For additional posts about Arizona see:

colorful-tasty-tucson-tacos

walk-with-me-in-tucson

great-reasons-to-travel-to-flagstaff-az

wordless-wednesday-tucson-street-art

beauty-healing-from-red-rocks-of-sedona

tucson visitor information



I appreciate your interest in Colors 4 Health. When you're planning to be in my neck of the woods, please let me know.

Like or have questions about what you see? Please comment, but don't put links in it. I won't be able to publish it that way.

If you want more of good stuff about colors and a healthy lifestyle, please subscribe to the Colors 4 Health Wellness News.

Although my husband and shared a fun day downtown and and I wrote about it last week, my blogging routine is to post on the 1st and 15th.

Words can't express how heavy my heart is now. Our dear son died yesterday in his sleep.

It is a sad, challenging time for me, yet I am posting to let you know how precious he was to us, and honor our loved one's memory right now. Nan


This post has been shared at pretty-pintastic-party-243/

This post has been shared at sweet-inspiration-link-party-139