History of Color Therapy

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History of Color Therapy

 

Color therapy is a technique of restoring imbalance by means of applying color

to the body. It was a popular method of cure even in ancient times. Some 2,500

years ago, Pythagoras applied color light therapeutically and `color halls' were

used for healing in ancient Egypt, China and India.

 

Color therapy is rooted in history as far back as the Mayan culture. The Mayan

culture worshiped the sun and based their lifestyles on the elements. These

elements where a controlling force of nature and determined so much of their

existence.

 

In India, Ayurveda, an ancient form of medicine practiced for thousands of

years, is based on the idea that every individual contains five elements of the

universe, which include: earth, water, air, fire, and ether (space). These

elements are present in specific proportions unique to each individual,

including their personality type and constitution. When these elements are out

of balance, Ayurveda works with the energies inherent in the colors of the

spectrum to restore this balance.

 

Color therapy was also used in ancient Egypt. The art of healing with color was

founded by the god Thoth. In the Hermetic tradition, the Ancient Egyptians and

Greeks used colored minerals, stones, crystals, salves, and dyes as remedies,

and painted treatment sanctuaries in various shades of color.

 

In China, Traditional (TCM), incorporates color to be

associated with each organ and elemental system. This healing method looks at

the idea that every individual is a balance of five elements, which include:

wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Each element has an associated color.

Green, red, yellow, white and blue.

 

The first color wheel was invented by Sir Isaac Newton. He split white sunlight

into red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, and blue. He then joined the two ends of

the color spectrum together to show the natural progression of colors. Newton

went a step further and associated each color with a musical note.

 

Johann Wolfgang Goethe began studying psychological effect of colors about a

century after Newton. Goethe created a color wheel showing the psychological

effect of each color. He divided all the colors into two groups: the plus group

(red, orange, yellow) and the minus group (green, blue, indigo, violet). Colors

of the plus group produce excitement and cheerfulness. Colors of the minus group

are associated with weakness and unsettled feelings. Goethe observed that blue

gives a feeling of coolness and yellow has a warming effect.

 

The pioneer of modern color therapy was Niels Finsen of Denmark. Following the

discovery, in 1877, of the bactericidal action of solar ultra-violet energy,

Finsen studied the possibility of assisting the healing of wounds with visible

light. He subsequently used red light to inhibit the formation of smallpox scars

and, in 1896, founded a Light Institute ( now the Finsen Institute of

Copenhagen) for the phototreatment of tuberculosis. In 1932, Gerrard and Hessay,

two

 

Californian psychologists, scientifically established that:

 

• blue light has a calming effect

• red light has a stimulating power on human beings.

 

Blue and red colors are considered at the two extremes with yellow representing

the midpoint. These are also the three principal colors in a rainbow.

 

Dr. Edwin Babbitt has been called the modern founder of the principles of color

therapy. His work on treating a variety of ailments, including burns, nervous

excitability, and cold in the extremities are renowned. He introduced his basic

principles of Rainbow Healing via solarized water in 1878. After thousands of

scientific experiments with water, the Sun, colored jars and colored lenses, Dr.

Babbitt concluded that water, becomes medicated by the seven colored rays of

light, which emanate from the Sun. By placing distilled water into a glass

colored jar or tumbler, he discovered that one can manipulate matter by altering

vibrational frequencies through applied color or sound. This simple yet profound

therapy can be used in meditation, healing, or the co-operative building of form

life. Some people apply Dr. Babbitt's principles of Rainbow Healing, by drinking

the colored, solarized water that corresponds with the color of the Chakra

energy center. Dr. Edwin Babbitt published his findings in his book Principles

of Light and Color.

 

Since " light " is the Universal metaphor for spirituality and enlightenment, it

can be found all around us. Therefore, it is easily accessible, yet only

available to those who notice or care to pay attention.

 

Jakob Lorber (July 22, 1800–August 24, 1864) was a Christian mystic and

visionary who referred to himself as " God's scribe " . He wrote that on 15 March

1840 he began hearing an 'inner voice' from the region of his heart and

thereafter transcribed what it said. Lorber claimed to be unable to understand

many of the things he was told by the inner voice, writing about scientific

objects or concepts such as atoms, elementary particles and the tremendous

energy potential in matter long before they had been invented or discovered. He

wrote of an age of technology when man would invent wireless communication, fly

across oceans and build iron wagons traveling faster than arrows; but also of

the consequences of burning fossil fuels, of air pollution, deforestation and

their potential for great devastation, causing great storms and earthquakes. He

wrote that the Sun or Saturn being inhabited (in spiritual rather than material

form). Even though only a few pages of his manuscript were published during his

lifetime, he predicted that eventually it would all be published and studied

throughout the world, as it is today.

 

In 1851, Jakob Lorber recorded methods by which we can heal our soul, which in

turn heals our body. The Healing Power of Sunlight shows us the path to achieve

eternal health, in the physical world and in the after-life. Today his writings

are more important than ever, because of the ailments that threaten humankind

with ever-increasing force. These ailments are due to an over-abundance of

technical innovation, to the hardships and struggles of everyday life, and to

nourishment, which is not fit for human consumption. The connection with the

source of Nature has been almost completely lost; nor is it surprising that

orthodox medicine has followed the path of " modern science " and attempted to

substitute thousands of chemical preparations.

 

of research and clinical observation, Dinshah, as he came to be known in

America, changed the system of color phototherapy he called Spectro-Chrome.

Dinshah's background in mathematics and physics, helped him to deduce the

physiologic effects of individual colors and how they would correspond with the

actions of certain minerals, which show that color on a spectometer. He assigned

specific " attributes " of the colors to behavioral attributes of physiology. He

also determined formulations with applying colored light directly to the body to

influence physical injury and illness. He was the first to develop a system of

healing utilizing all the colors of the spectrum: red, orange, yellow, lemon,

green, turquoise, blue, indigo, violet plus purple, magenta and scarlet. The

work of Dinshaw Ghadiali was published in his book " The Triumph of

Sprectro-Chrome " .

 

In 1985, Darius Dinshaw published Let There Be Light based on his father's

work. The Dinshaw Health Society was formed in 1975 and still exists.

 

Optometrist, Harry Spitter, developed Syntonics. This system postulated that by

projecting light through a precise combination of 31 colored filters directly

into the eyes, could have profound effects on the glandular and nervous system.

He also felt it could improve vision. He founded the college of Syntonic

Optometry in 1933 in the United States.

 

Every substance on earth contains color. Even the rays cast on earth by

celestial bodies contain color in the form of white light. The rays of the sun

contain seven different colors - violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and

red. These are natural colors, which are highly beneficial to the maintenance of

health and for healing diseases.

 

Light and Color Therapy has been valued throughout history as a remarkable

source of healing. Today, the therapeutic applications of light and color are

being investigated in major hospitals and research centers worldwide. Results

indicate that full-spectrum, ultraviolet, colored, and laser light can have

therapeutic value for a range of conditions from chronic pain and depression to

immune disorders.

 

 

Andrew Pacholyk, MS. L.Ac

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

Therapies for healing

mind, body, spirit