The negative effects of the cool colors

There’s no mistaken the feeling.

The surge of stress is the same for all of us. Your heart rate increases, your body tightens and you feel anxious and tense.

This stress surge is a response to your environment.  It could be a response to work overload, the pressure of trying to make ends meet, impending exams and project deadlines, over scheduling or the never ending attempt to keep up in this fast paced world. All cool color/external experiences.

Whatever the cause, one thing remains the same, our fight or flight mechanism which is part of the base violet realm gets activated… a lot.  This is a good thing because it helps us react and perform when needed.

It gives us a quick burst of energy for survival purposes.  So when we encounter a situation or thing in our environment the alarm sounds, the stress button is pressed and we respond.

But in our modern life this happens too often.  And this is not healthy for us.  One of the hormones (“the stress hormone”) behind the fight of flight mechanism is cortisol.  While there are some positive effects of cortisol in small amounts there are many negative effects to your health in large amounts.  Here are some of the negative effects.

Cortisol  

• Impaired cognitive performance
• Suppressed thyroid function
• Blood sugar imbalances such as hyperglycemia
• Decreased bone density
• Decrease in muscle tissue
• Higher blood pressure
• Lowered immunity and inflammatory responses in the body, slowed wound healing, and other health consequences
• Increased abdominal fat, which is associated with a greater amount of health problems than fat deposited in other areas of the body. Some of the health problems associated with increased stomach fat are heart attacks, strokes the development of metabolic syndrome, higher levels of “bad” cholesterol (LDL) and lower levels of “good” cholesterol (HDL), which can lead to other health problems!

The positive effects of the warm colors (infusing your body with spiritual vitamin C

Expressing the red, orange and yellow realms is a part of the universal experience.  When we express spirituality, compassion, empathy, oneness, love and creativity it betters and evolves mankind.  Collective humanity relies on this expression for survival as much as it relies on the cool color expression.

*But it is also beneficial to your individual health because the warm color expressions like compassion, prayer, meditation, creativity… flip on the relaxation response which counters the negative effects of the flight or fight mechanism.

The relaxation response is the counterpart to the flight or fight response. The relaxation response occurs when the body is no longer in perceived danger, and the autonomic nervous system functioning returns to normal.

During this response, the body moves from a state of physiological arousal, including increased heart rate and blood pressure, slowed digestive functioning, decreased blood flow to the extremities, increased release of hormones like adrenalin and cortisol, and other responses preparing the body to fight or run, to a state of physiological relaxation, where blood pressure, heart rate, digestive functioning and hormonal levels return to their normal state.

Expressing your warm colors balances and counteracts the stress that is triggered when you express your cool colors (work, busy lives, hectic schedules…)

The term spiritual vitamin C is a rainbow framework term that means you are engaging in warm color expressions like meditation, prayer, creative practice, tai chi compassion, oneness, love… Engagement in these activities will turn off your fight or flight response and turn on your relaxation response and infuse your body with spiritual vitamin C.

Turning on your relaxation response =  healthy mind and body.

Expressing your warm colors is as important to your health as nutrition and exercise

Visualization:  When you feel the surge of cortisol and are stressed.  Take a moment to breathe and feel the shift by visualizing the warm colors and your body being infused with spiritual vit. C

Are you taking time to express your warm colors and infuse your body with spiritual vitamin C?

I get lots of ideas in the shower…of all places…the shower.  Yep, while I’m sudsing up I start to feel my mind start swirling with ideas. 

I call it creative meditation.  My husband thinks this is funny and has told me more than once that I’m not meditating in the shower.  He says,  “Meditation is when you sit in a quiet space and repeat a mantra like “om”.  He likes to state the obvious.

I’m quite aware of the traditional form of meditation since I’ve explored and practiced several forms.  And as we explored in the post last week the quintessential form of meditation is powerful.  But this week we’re going to add a creative twist.

My answer to him is that I’m adding another form of meditation to the mix.  Creative meditation in the shower.   OK, so I’m really just labeling something that naturally occurs when you slip into flow but that in and of itself is creativity. 

One of the most fundamental keys to the creative mindset/path is free thinking.  How can you expect to create something if you can only stay within the confines of what already exists?

If I limit myself to thinking the only meditation that exists is sitting in a corner repeating “om”, everything would stop there and I would be limiting my creative thoughts.

–> Which brings me to the reason why my shower is like a fountain of ideas.

Flow

The mysterious flow.  Only it’s not that mysterious.  It’s just a mental state one can slip into when they are absorbed in a task.

Flow is an almost automatic, effortless, yet highly focused state of consciousness.

-Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Flow is the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterized by complete absorption in what one does.

Flow is a lot like a fugue state that you might experience while driving. 

Flow can be triggered by a variety of things. 

Which brings me back to my morning shower I like to call a fountain of ideas. 

Why would a shower trigger a flow state and lots of random ideas?

Well because…

-It’s a space removed from distractions.

-There is a rhythmic quality to the sound of the water.

-Your mind has a chance to disengage from rigid thinking and play with random ideas.

-Your ego is not involved in this setting.

-It’s a pleasant environment.

Taking a shower is or can be just one of many activities that induce a state of flow.

Now, it’s time to go get flowing : )

Have you ever experienced a state of flow?  If so, what activities induced it?     

If you have a moment, reply to me: rainbowframework@gmail.com ( the comments are not working at the moment)

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In a valley below the highest snow capped mountains a man of peace sits in seated meditation. Engaging in a spiritual practice honed for twenty years. Liberated from his thoughts for a time; the light of his awakened mind shines. Infusing his body with spiritual vitamin C and lighting the flame of eternal wisdom.  His loving kindness-based life force is working in tandem with his physical nutrients.  He is able to affect what has long been classified as innate physiological mechanisms.  He knows that happy thoughts make happy molecules and no thoughts make even happier molecules… 

The above passage is an excerpt from the original rainbow framework book written in 2003.  It is an ode to meditation.  I was inspired to write this after reading a study about monks that could meditate and raise their body temperature.

Meditation is one of the most powerful and profound tools you can use to expand your awareness, evolve your consciousness, and tap into oneness and creativity.

Meditation is also one of the most powerful tools you can use to manage your mind, reduce stress and create a sense of well being.    

Meditation is like a mini mind vacation from your thoughts.  The act of meditating allows one to step outside of our thoughts.

If you’ve ever had a racing mind, a knee jerk reaction, negative thoughts, limiting thinking, or destructive patterns then you can appreciate and embrace the value of being liberated from your thoughts for a time.

As you practice meditating you will begin to be able to manage your thoughts and attention and create the necessary space to manage you thoughts instead of your thoughts managing you.  This is expansion in awareness and consciousness.  As Buddha said, “What we think, we become”.   

There are many forms of meditation but the simplest way to get started is to sit for a few minutes in a quiet space and observe your breath for 6 counts in and 6 counts out.     

When I’m going through times that are confusing, overwhelming or super busy I feel drawn to the orange realm and feel a real sense of peace and harmony when I meditate.

Why not liberate yourself from your thoughts for a time and cultivate those happy molecules : )  

*This is the first of many posts on meditation.

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In light of the recent tragedy in Boston,  I thought it would be apropos to talk about the struggle between the warm colors and the cool colors. 

The rainbow framework is design to work in terms of 7 color realms of expression but I also gain a lot of insight and utilize the framework in another way – by viewing life in terms of warm colors and cool colors. 

–>The cool colors have to do with outward expression and the physical parts of our lives. The big themes are survival, enhancements, money and materialism.   

The warm colors are more soulful/spiritual expressions.  The big warm color themes are spirituality, soul, love and oneness. 

The warms colors can be thought of in terms of oneness based and greater good rather than just individual wants.

The cool colors can be thought of as more survival based and individualistic.

Cool color anger can be balanced with warm color forgiveness.

Cool color fear can be balanced with warm color courage.   

Cool color hate can be balanced with warm color compassion.

Cool color destructive acts of violence can be balanced with warm color constructive acts of good.

If you look at the Boston tragedy in terms of warm color expression and cool color expression (depth of violet realm). 

Warm color expression in the form of love far outweighed extreme destructive cool color expression in the form of hate.

The numbers of people rushing to rescue, help, support, heal, aid and love the victims greatly outshone the two individuals that chose to commit a horrific destructive act.

Quite simply it is the expression of our warm colors that keeps humanity and our planet in existence.   

Has fear ever just plunked itself down on your path and refused to get out of the way?

I’m not talking about the kind of fear that shows up if you were to encounter a giant grizzly in the woods.  That fear is overt and the most basic form of fear designed to protect us. 

This base fear is part of the protective mechanisms of the violet realm and works very well in the woods or when we are in a situation that involves a threat to our safety.

Oh no, the kind of fear I’m talking about is sneaky.  It’s the type of fear you encounter when you want to make a career change, get out of a relationship, lose weight, go back to school…  

It can pop up when you want to move out of your comfort zone.  This type of fear comes in many forms and did I mention that it’s sneaky.

S-n-e-a-k-y!

–> It can present as inaction, distraction, resistance, your inner critic, denial, procrastination…

This covert sneaky fear showed up for me this week because I’m pushing past my comfort zone.

Ever since I started the rainbow framework site I’ve been cruising along figuring out what to do at each stage. Stepping outside my comfort zone and pushing up against my edge of evolution.

I have been steadfast in my belief that this is what I was born to do.  I love creativity, psychology, philosophy and self development and I want to help people grow.

I love to nurture people, that’s why I became a nutritionist and then a teacher.  I love to see people reach their full potential and embrace their full expression.

Nothing bothers me more than when people (me included) don’t step into their full potential.

Nothing bothers me more then blocks and distractions that take people off their path and nothing bothers me more than limitations. 

And unfortunately, there’s a lot in our environment that creates these limitations. And then to boot, often, we aren’t aware that we are limiting ourselves.

So as I said, I’m cruising along when all of a sudden this week fear plops itself right in my path and it isn’t budging.  It was tripping me up big time. Once I took a closer look at what was going on, I realized it was fear in the form of inaction trying to bump me off my path.

I wish I had a dollar (green realm) for every time fear tried to bump me off my path.

I thought to myself, ah fear, we meet again.  It wants to protect me and keep me safe but it is confused. 

In my modern day setting, stepping outside my comfort zone is not going to harm me. There’s no scary animal and I’m not in the woods. 

In this scenario, stepping outside my comfort zone is helping me grow/evolve and in actuality is the safest route so I don’t need my base fear protective system getting in my way. 

Fear is a part of our violet realm base survival mechanisms.  And it needs to be managed effectively.  We can’t manage something if we’re not aware of it.  This is why cultivating awareness comes in so handy. 

Chances are fear will always be a part of all of us.  And that’s a good thing as long as we manage it.  In our management, we are evolving this protective mechanism to meet the needs of our modern day life. 

And that’s just cool. 

And that is a perfect example of evolving our consciousness.

We are not just puppets on a fear string; we are taking the master role. 

Again, how cool is that?     

RF Visualization:

When I look at the RF visual I realize that violet represents base survival and the physiological mechanisms that ensure that survival.  I know fear is going to present itself in different forms.  I respect this part of me and its origins but I need to manage it effectively so it does not block my growth and expression in my life. 

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If you think about it, everything that exists besides nature was once a thought in the form of an idea in someone’s mind.

The words you’re reading right now…ideas in my mind yesterday.

The computer, cell phone, or pad you’re reading the words on…ideas from someone’s mind.

The room you’re in and the chair you’re sitting on…ideas from someone’s mind.

Take a moment and scan whatever is in your view right now and you will see a landscape of things that were once ideas in someone’s mind.

Creativity is one of the great expressions of the human experience.  It allows us to give form to a thought. 

Allowing what is internal (warm color) to become a part of the external (cool color) experience.

Creativity is universal

Everyone is creative. 

Although some people may be more connected to their expression or have an inherent ability in terms of a particular form of creativity they express. 

Mozart was phenomenal at music, Picasso painting, Einstein physics. 

My mom’s creativity shone in flower arranging.  My dad’s music and writing.

The point is, creative expression is universal.  And what I love about it the most is the mind boggling ways each individual puts their twist on it.  What’s your twist on it?   

My disconnect from creativity

I had very little to almost no expression creatively until I was older. 

I still don’t fully know what led to this disconnect from creativity (yellow realm)

or why it took me so long to tap into it and start expressing myself.

What I can tell you is the process started as a result of some life experiences that jolted me.  Deaths, moves, births, illness.  Yep, big life events that shake us out of our routine and make us look around and question life.

From disconnection to connection

After a series of these life events, I started expressing myself creatively in many forms (card making, making kid’s furniture, sketching, painting, and dance).    

Eventually my creative expression took the form of writing.  As any writer reading this right now knows…writing is one of the best ways to connect with you inner self. 

The writing eventually led to the rainbow framework which in turn led to a lot more creativity.

Now let’s take a step back here.  I want to make it very clear about the nonlinear way in which ideas and creativity lead you down a path.

If you noticed I said card making was the start of my creative process.  At the time, I had no idea that an activity that involved gluing sequins on a piece of paper would lead me to creating the rainbow framework (which is now my life’s purpose). I’ve never felt as passionate or on purpose than when working on the rainbow framework.

My message is don’t discount where any creative endeavor will lead you.  It may seem like your just making cards (which in itself is great and enjoyable) but each idea and creative act is part of larger context.  The creative process is full of twists and turns just like life.

Yellow realm expressions

Sometimes a creative expression is simple and sometimes it’s a masterpiece but it is always your soul playing.

I love my simple creative expressions as much as a masterpiece.  Just like I can appreciate a simple walk in the park as well as a trip to Italy.

One of my favorite creative expressions was a simple poem I wrote that was inspired by my daughter when she was three:

My Daughter’s Eyes

I see the world in my daughter’s eyes.

The deepest blue oceans

and kaleidoscope skies.

The colorful rainbows -

The butterfly’s flight -

They dance with excitement at every new site.

Yes, it’s simple and it won’t win any awards but I just love it because when I read it it connects me to that lovely day we spent in the yard trying to catch butterflies 10 years ago.  Now that’s the magic of art. Connection.

How have you been expressing yourself creatively?

Maybe you wrote a journal entry, a poem, a joke, a song, a snippet. Maybe you drew a picture, painted a painting, designed a garden.

Maybe you made earrings, designed an app, developed a new program, or create the tastiest chocolate candy ( yum, send me a box : )

Maybe you learned a new piece on the violin, or played the flute for the first time.  Or perhaps you finally had time to complete that children’s book or learn to dance.

Or maybe you planned out how your going to express yourself creatively and the ideas and excitement are starting to flow and  bubble up.

Wishing you joyous creative expression, skies full!

It’s Spring break so my kids and husband are home this week.  We’ve been taking mini trips locally and having fun hanging around.

We took a trip to a local beach and looked at the damage from hurricane Sandy and later this week we’re off to the moma and central park for a fun day in NYC, followed by some hiking (ah, nature!) to unwind from all the demands of our regular schedule.

Oh, and we will be eating lots of treats (there are some scrumptious donuts and cupcakes with my name on them sprinkled (pun intended!) throuhgout the city) as we tour the city…the green juice will have to wait for a few days ; )

The other night I was watching Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure with my son.

You may know the movie but if you don’t. It’s a popular kid/teen movie from the 80’s where the main characters (Bill and Ted) transport historical figures to present day and the historical figures help Bill and Ted give a great presentation at school.

While I was watching it, I told my son that Freud and Socrates were my favorite historical peeps in the movie.

He said, his were Genghis Khan and Billy the Kid.

This exchange prompted my son to ask me the following question:

“Mom, why are you such a bore?”

I laughed and said, “Yeah Genghis Khan and Billy the kid seem a lot more exciting (as portrayed in the movie). Lots of violet realm excitement and energy. Freud and Socrates are so blue realm (intellectual)…not as exciting.

My son said, “Yeah Freud and Socrates are like school stuff and Genghis Khan and Billy the Kid are like an exciting vacation.

The RF has greatly expanded our communication and I am seeing my son’s awareness growing in leaps and bounds because the visual is so simple and helps him “get” life concepts.

*I just want to note that my son loves school, reads all the time so he is not anti learning.

His question to me highlights that need for a little violet realm excitement.

Let me stop right here and say I get a lot of insight and ideas from my kids. Kids are not yet fully socialized and still have a free and playful approach to life.

Kids love excitement, fun, freedom, and playfulness (think violet and yellow realms – a fun combo)

Now back to the question and a practical example of shifting expression and awareness in your everyday life via the rainbow framework.

Life is always a work in progress. We will never achieve perfect balance. The goal is evolving/growing over time and harmonizing/shifting expression.

The masterpiece of your life is making sure that you weave and express all the colors constructively : )

His question made me realized that indeed as of late Jack err…Jill has become a dull woman. There I said it, I’ve been a little dull lately!

I realized that as of late I’ve been spending a lot of time in the blue realm (in the form of intellectual enhancements). I’ve been getting the rainbow framework site going and learning lots of new stuff via online learning (yay for growth and pushing up against my edge of evolution!).

After this realization, I grabbed a sticky note and popped it onto my RF (rainbow framework) visual.

It says:

*Express your violet realm! Do something exciting this week!

After all, I’m a Leo and we do need to roar a bit ; )

What realm do you need more expression in?

“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.” –Albert Einstein

Are you ready to evolve your life? If your answer to that question is yes than you need to take a moment and think about the word consciousness. Albert Einstein realized that to change or solve any problem he needed to go to another level of awareness or consciousness because he did not have enough information or understanding at his current level to solve the problem.

Just like Einstein, you have problems you need to solve. You may not be trying to figure out the meaning of the universe but you may want to figure out the meaning of your personal universe. You may be struggling with the problem of recreating self defeating patterns in your life, getting past limiting beliefs or finding your purpose.

Let’s take finding your purpose as an example of a problem you would like to solve.

You are currently employed and have an enjoyable life but something has been gnawing at you. You don’t feel fulfilled and feel that you could be doing something in your life that would give you a greater sense of meaning and connection. But you have no idea what that would be or how to begin the process of figuring out what the answer to the problem may be.

You are disconnected from your purpose and at your current level of awareness or consciousness you are unable to figure out or connect to what your purpose is. Somewhere along the line you just slipped into autopilot and never gave much thought to things like finding your purpose.

The key to finding your answer and solving your problem is the word consciousness.

A formal definition of consciousness is the level of mental life in which the person is aware as contrasted by the unconscious state (especially, awareness of something within oneself). Now we could be satisfied with our level of awareness/consciousness and go about our lives.

However, many of us want more. We want to play an active role in evolving our consciousness which opens up possibilities that we may have been closed off to or unaware of. If you think about it, we are taught how to learn math, writing and history etc. but who teaches us how to evolve our awareness and consciousness?

The Rainbow Framework helps you Evolve your Consciousness

When people ask me what is the #1 area to focus on when you want to change or expand your life expression, I tell them evolve your consciousness. In terms of the rainbow framework, this means increase your level of awareness and understanding of your internal and external life. Get to know you and actively immerse yourself in an environment that promotes growth of oneself. Read books and articles, watch shows and align yourself with systems that work in regards to creating awareness.

I use the rainbow framework as a daily reminder of the possibilities in my life. All I need to do is look at it and I can immediately see the expression of my inner and outer worlds. I can see the strength of both the cool colors and the warm colors and concentrate on a dynamic interaction between them. I can also see the blocks that get in my way.

If I come across a new concept or read a new book I can plug it in and see how it fits in the framework. This has been an unbelievable resource for me in terms of growth and understanding.

If you want to start expanding your awareness spend time doing subjective activities in the warm colors. A few activities that have been instrumental in evolving my consciousness have been meditating, tai chi, drawing, writing and self reflection. In future posts, I plan to share personal examples of writing that helped point me in the direction of evolving my consciousness.

Warm color activities are surprisingly effective in terms of increasing your level of awareness because they are quiet activities that allow you time to separate yourself from the busyness of your life. They also often open up a connection to a level of thinking that sits below the ego. This level of thinking is a great source of internal wisdom. This internal wisdom is universal and goes beyond out intellect.

As you cultivate this practice you will begin to evolve your conscious awareness and gain insight to the answers you seek.

*It’s important to note that even though I am suggesting that you engage in warm color activities, this does not necessarily mean that you are disconnected from your warm colors. In fact, you may need to expand expression in your cool colors. Regardless of where you want to expand expression, the warm colors are the starting point for initiating awareness as to what is disconnecting you.

Rainbow Framework Visualization

Look at the visual. Realize that it is a tool for evolving your consciousness. Look at the cool colors and think about how much time you spend expressing these realms.

If you believe that your cool color expressions dominate your life, look at the warm colors and plan an activity that will actively engage you in shifting from the cool colors to the warm colors.

This activity is a quiet activity that engages a deeper calmer level of thinking and will help you connect to your core. There should be no judging or competition during warm color activities. The goal is to lean into the experience itself and cultivate a deeper connection to a part of you that you may be disconnected from. Relax and enjoy the freedom of this experience. This connection will help you evolve your awareness. Evolving your awareness sets the stage for all change and growth.

“I’ve been afraid ever single day of my life,
but I’ve gone ahead and done it anyway.” – Artist Georgia O’Keefe

Do you ever hear those little voices of fear in your head?

Nagging little voices that pop up and say things like:

It will never work!

You’re not good enough!

Why even bother trying!

We all hear them at times.

Yesterday, I was writing an article that I was going to submit.
I spent time researching the topic, took 3 hours to write it, edited it and thought it was really good. I attached it to an email and pressed send. The moment I pressed send, a voice said, “That’s not good enough to get published.”  “It probably doesn’t even make any sense.” At that moment, I smiled. Yep, I smiled. That reaction and that smile is the result of a whole lot of growth. Part of my evolution as a person who pushes past fear. In the past, those thoughts would have taken over and prevented me from moving forward. Yes, it’s possible the writing piece may not be a good fit and get rejected but I can always try again.

By meeting that fear with a smile it loses its power. I picture those fear voices as a little group in my head that pop up and heckle me.
They’re like old annoying friends who think they’re helping me by saying negative things but are actually getting in my way. To date, I haven’t been able to shut them up but I’m doing a good job at ignoring them and shifting the the fear into constructive action. If your fear tries to heckle you today, take a deep breath, smile and keep moving forward.

Rainbow Framework visualization:    We’re talking about fear today in the form of your negative inner voice. Fear is a part of the violet realm. We need fear to survive (it can keep us out of harms way) but we need to manage it.

Take a look at your Rainbow Framework visual, find the violet realm. Fear is a part of the violet realm. This is a part of every person and stems out of our need for survival. The action of smiling is an expression of your warm colors (red, orange, yellow).

You are shifting a cool color reaction (fear) with a warm color response (smiling). Every time you do this you become more consciously aware.

When I’ve worked too much with my mind I need to balance it by producing something tangible with my hands. Our bodies were designed to do physical work and this is how people used to acquire their basic needs. This expression is still very much a part of us today.

Nothing is more satisfying then working in the garden. Your hands in the soil, cultivating produce, the luxurious smells of different herbs and eating fresh veggies. I like the natural simplicity of expression in the indigo realm and producing something tangible with my hands.

So in anticipation and honor of the approaching spring I’d like to share my sweet little indigo momentary dream:

It’s warm and my hands are digging in the rich dark soil. I am planting a splendid variety of herbs and vegetables. I have no thoughts roaming through my mind just the pure enjoyment of simple engagement and the anticipation of the fresh wholesome produce I am cultivating. The wind chime hanging on the trellis plays the tune of musical soft breezes and I am in a state of blissful simplicity.

Rainbow Framework visualization: Take a look at the indigo realm on the rainbow framework visual. What’s your favorite way of expressing this part of you. Do you like to fish, garden, produce honey, knit…?