Working with Colour - Red

This week's Pagan Blog Project is R, which for me was easy as I am really into colour and its vibrations and benefits etc etc. I started out with a very clinical approach to this blog, but just didn't feel it. I had read something this morning from another blogger which got me thinking about my own blogs - are they real? Are they what I truly believe in my heart or what I have read in books? I hope it is the former as I always try to be authentic, but this morning it just felt clinical. I had a formula based on previous work with colour and it wasn't working for me. So, as I am learning to be more spontaneous (which is anathema to my 4 vibration) I thought I'd just sit and write and see what happens.

So, Red? What do I use it for? What does it mean to me?

I love red, have done so for a while now and it is probably my favourite colour after orange. To me, red is about passion, vitality and life. When I wear it I feel sexual and sensual (especially as a lipstick!), confident and ready to tackle anything - dare I say bullet-proof?

I also feel like me... I am not a pastels girl, and never will be, so wearing strong colours is part of who I am, wearing the standard rainbow colours gives me strength I can't describe. It also fills me with hope, hope that today will be a good day, hope that maybe I can achieve anything, hope that I will get through the day and whatever challenges it may bring (and as a casual High School teacher, these are many!).

I would love to say that I use red for grounding, but until recently I didn't think specifically of grounding techniques so I would be lying. I guess I naturally moved towards it without understanding it properly. I have owned and worn a read pair of boots for a few months now and I love them and wear them any chance I get! I now realise I may have been doing this instinctively as I desperately needed grounding and was unaware of it - I live in my head and have recently discovered my inability to understand the earth element reflected a deep need to be grounded, but that is another story...

In my travels (Inna Segal's book again!), I have learnt that red can be good for improving the circulation (which I often have trouble with), healing wounds and blood disorders, constipation, sciatica, increasing the sex drive and helping with weight loss but I have not had the urge to use it for these issues... probably should see what happens the next time I cross my legs for a period of time in my red boots! An interesting experiment... I may yet have cause to test the other theories out along my journey, but today they remain untested!

I do, however, use it for balancing my base chakra, which I am assuming is common practice. If I have money troubles or issues concerning the home or security, I will wear my boots or another piece of clothing to help balance this chakra. I will also meditate with a red jasper at my base or wear a garnet if the mood strikes me (or if I have the flu, as garnet is great at helping to assist with flu-like symptoms - to this I can attest!). I have also recently 'learned' that red is the numerological equivalent of the number 1, being about all things physical and how you relate to the world around you.

To me though, it is a colour of passion and vitality! I always feel a little sexier when I am wearing it, a little more confident and able to meet the challenges of the day. I do feel just simply better... Blue also does this, but for different reasons... Red is just such a strong colour to me, it gives me strength and for that I am forever grateful.

M is for Meditation

This is a very meaningful topic for me… Mostly because I don’t do it nearly enough! Despite universal nudges that would make Ghandi himself frustrated……

I am a very practical person, and I like to understand the purpose of an activity, whether it be sport or cleaning, I like there to be a reason for me to do it. And the meaning needs to be on a relatively deep level, for example I do not usually like walking, even though I know it is good for my health, unless I have somewhere to go. A destination, other than to return home empty-handed, helps me to focus and get the job done.

What I find with meditation, is that if it is undirected, I do not see the point and often decide to do something else. This results in me sitting down to meditate perhaps once a week, at best… I know there are heaps of meditations on YouTube that I could do, but I often find it hard to do something if I do not know what to expect (which often blocks my psychic development!!), a fear of the unknown is one I have to deal with in this life and I have as yet not discovered how to… It occurs to me while writing this that meditation may be the very thing I need!! Weird, huh?!?! Hardly… anyway, I digress…

So, what is the purpose of meditation? What are the benefits that I can employ in my everyday life?

Without doing any actual research, my first thought is that it gives you time out from your life and the stress of holding down a job and a house (which for a single childless woman is not really hard). This is probably where I get stuck. I don’t really have any stresses, and if I do I tend to deal with it in a positive way anyway. I tend to be very organised and practical with deadlines etc so I rarely get stuck last minute… well, that is if I don’t put things off until the last minute, but then I just tell myself I put myself here, quit your bitching and get yourself out!  

What about the physical benefits? I have had to do some research about this section, as my first draft was just ignorant ramblings about the possibility of it helping with sleep and metabolism and stuff. I really wanted to know so I did it. This is what I found.

Benefits:

1. Reduces stress and anxiety.
2. Slows brain functions (the article does not say why this is a good thing, but I think that anything having a rest has got to be good!).
3. Increases focus.
4. More creativity: through open-monitoring, or guided, meditation.
5. More compassion and empathy: apparently meditation activates the amygdala, the part of the brain that processes emotion, one experiment found.
6. Improves memory.
7. Improves cognitive processes: through more grey matter, which leads to more positive emotions, longer-lasting emotional stability and heightened focus. Apparently, meditation reduces  the effects of age-related damage to grey matter and can reduce the decline of cognitive functioning (link to a reduction in Alzheimer’s?).
8. Boosts immunity: Meditation apparently activates disease fighting genes (recent research) which can help protect against pain, high blood pressure and rheumatoid arthritis.
9. Balances hormone levels: relaxation is linked to higher levels of feel-good hormones such as serotonin.
10. Helps with fertility issues.
11. Stress is linked to decreased digestion and immunity, so perhaps relaxation/meditation can help boost the digestive system and metabolism leading to weight loss?!?!
12. Relieves irritable bowel syndrome.
13. Acts as an anti-inflammatory.
14. Calmness – thoughts occur but are the witness, while in a stressed or ‘ordinary’ mind the thought is the boss. This reduces reaction to situations and allows you to sail through difficult situations. 
15. Sharpens the mind through focusing and expanding through relaxation.

There are literally hundreds of others, one website boasted 100 benefits! I have listed the ones I feel are of benefit to me, perhaps not now but in the future! 

But what about the spiritual benefits? Research suggests that it helps you to discover your true self, sharpen your mind, develop your intuition and expand your consciousness, which I can attest to. I have had some awesome experiences meditating that have helped me on my spiritual journey. Most recently I lit my God and Goddess candle and asked them to be present with me during the meditation and I just sat in their energy, getting to know them and how they interact with me on a physical level, conversing with them to seek clarification on a few topics which they happily gave me. For me, after this experience, I realised that meditation is a way to increase your energy levels to converse and merge with deity, spirit guides and perhaps deceased loved one to get messages or to simply honour them and increase your own connection to ad relationship with them. For me now, meditation is more about connecting with deity and my own spiritual nature and reminding myself that it is a part of who I am. Still, I don’t meditate nearly as much as I should, which is a major issue of neglect on my part, as I am sure that I will feel better if I do meditate every day. I am not sure what it is that prevents me, fear probably – fear of the unknown, fear that nothing happens and probably most importantly fear that something does and I will not believe it (as I am also want to do). Or maybe I am just thinking too much about it and not doing it enough… Maybe I should just sit and breathe deeply and open my mind to the possibilities of it all…… I feel, excluding the obvious physical benefits, it will help increase my connection to deity and my true spiritual self so I need to make a commitment of at least 15 minutes a day. This can be part of my daily ritual to help strengthen my spiritual self and help her to come out more. I know when I did make it a daily habit, part of my routine (even if it was as an escape from a relatively bad situation), I felt more confident, aware and compassionate in my daily life. Perhaps I can get her back, or maybe even evolve to a better me? Sounds like a lovely idea… 

Will I keep the commitment though???? Perhaps I start with 5 minutes a day……