How Different Colours Affect Us

How do different colours affect our mind? What do different colours mean to us? It has long been argued that colour represents human moods or emotions and this article by David Johnson from www.infoplease.com gives a very interesting account of the role of the major different colours in our world.

Like death and taxes, there is no escaping color. It is ubiquitous. Yet what does it all mean? Why are people more relaxed in green rooms? Why do weightlifters do their best in blue gyms? Colors often have different meanings in various cultures. And even in Western societies, the meanings of various colors have changed over the years. But today in the U.S., researchers have generally found the following to be accurate.

BLACK is the color of authority and power. It is popular in fashion because it makes people appear thinner. It is also stylish and timeless. Black also implies submission. Priests wear black to signify submission to God. Some fashion experts say a woman wearing black implies submission to men. Black outfits can also be overpowering, or make the wearer seem aloof or evil. Villains, such as Count Dracula, often wear black.

Brides wear WHITE to symbolize innocence and purity. White reflects light and is considered a summer color. White is popular in decorating and in fashion because it is light, neutral, and goes with everything. However, white shows dirt and is therefore more difficult to keep clean than other colors. Doctors and nurses wear white to imply sterility.

The most emotionally intense color, RED stimulates a faster heartbeat and breathing. It is also the color of love. Red clothing gets noticed and makes the wearer appear heavier. Since it is an extreme color, red clothing might not help people in negotiations or confrontations. Red cars are popular targets for thieves. In decorating, red is usually used as an accent. Decorators say that red furniture should be perfect since it will attract attention.

The most romantic color, pink, is more tranquilizing. Sports teams sometimes paint the locker rooms used by opposing teams bright pink so their opponents will lose energy. (In England the most successful football (soccer) teams in history have generally worn red as their team colour, for example Liverpool FC, Manchester United FC, Arsenal FC)

The color of the sky and the ocean, BLUE is one of the most popular colors. It causes the opposite reaction as red. Peaceful, tranquil blue causes the body to produce calming chemicals, so it is often used in bedrooms. Blue can also be cold and depressing. Fashion consultants recommend wearing blue to job interviews because it symbolizes loyalty. People are more productive in blue rooms. Studies show weightlifters are able to handle heavier weights in blue gyms.

Currently the most popular decorating color, GREEN symbolizes nature. It is the easiest color on the eye and can improve vision. It is a calming, refreshing color. People waiting to appear on TV sit in "green rooms" to relax. Hospitals often use green because it relaxes patients. Brides in the Middle Ages wore green to symbolize fertility. Dark green is masculine, conservative, and implies wealth. However, seamstresses often refuse to use green thread on the eve of a fashion show for fear it will bring bad luck.

Cheerful sunny YELLOW is an attention getter. While it is considered an optimistic color, people lose their tempers more often in yellow rooms, and babies will cry more. It is the most difficult color for the eye to take in, so it can be overpowering if overused. Yellow enhances concentration, hence its use for legal pads. It also speeds metabolism.

The color of royalty, PURPLE connotes luxury, wealth, and sophistication. It is also feminine and romantic. However, because it is rare in nature, purple can appear artificial.

Solid, reliable BROWN is the color of earth and is abundant in nature. Light brown implies genuineness while dark brown is similar to wood or leather. Brown can also be sad and wistful. Men are more apt to say brown is one of their favorite colors.

COLORS OF THE FLAG

In the U.S. flag, white stands for purity and innocence. Red represents valor and hardiness, while blue signifies justice, perseverance, and vigilance. The stars represent the heavens and all the good that people strive for, while the stripes emulate the sun's rays.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

While blue is one of the most popular colors it is one of the least appetizing. Blue food is rare in nature. Food researchers say that when humans searched for food, they learned to avoid toxic or spoiled objects, which were often blue, black, or purple. When food dyed blue is served to study subjects, they lose appetite.

Green, brown, and red are the most popular food colors. Red is often used in restaurant decorating schemes because it is an appetite stimulant. (think the colours of McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut etc)

Video: Iceman Who Feels No Cold

Dutchman Wim Hof, holder of currently 18 world records, is certainly an extraordinary individual. He has trained his mind to regulate his body temperature allowing himself to withstand subzero temperatures that normal people would simply perish in.

Hypnosis and Religion

From historic times through to the modern hypnosis has been frowned upon by many religions. They have called it the devils work, intoxication, unnatural or ungodly for tampering with or controlling the mind in such an unethical way. This to me would seem a wholly uninformed opinion and I will explain why. If something is not understood by a group of people it is typically consigned to be ‘the work of the Devil’ no matter what it is and without even consideration of further investigation. The truth is religion and hypnosis are actually very closely connected in several different ways.

When I look at the world’s different religions and their customs a lot of what I see is actually hypnosis at work. Prayer for instance is sitting still in a comfortable position with the eyes closed and uttering out loud or in the mind repetitive suggestions of instruction or going through relaxing visualisations to bring about the feeling of peace and love; is that much different from self-hypnosis? When you enter a large cathedral you are hit by a wall of enchanting music, symbols and mottos all around you, candles to fixate your eyes upon while a priest delivers his sermon of pure suggestion. Is that not large scale group hypnosis using both verbal and visual tools for trance? Choir music and chanting are known successful hypnotic methods, as is the tone and pace of the voice of the priest giving the speech, which is possibly why so many fall asleep during service... It is all hypnosis, only with a clearly identifiable religious suggestion as a core theme.

Religions teach us to trust the holy word of their particular God, not to judge, criticise or analyse and merely to believe and accept what you are being told, then reaffirm those beliefs in daily prayer, and in some cases prayer several times per day. Hypnosis works much the same way; you are taught to shut off your conscious mind in order that your subconscious mind can fully absorb the instructions it is listening to, then you must have those instructions repeated daily until they are fully engrained. The less resistance and conscious thought the quicker the results. Religions ask you to give in and give yourself away to their orders often in ceremony, which if anything makes the effect more powerful as the belief becomes stronger.

Religions emphasise trust, positive feelings, faith, belief in some greater power and an all-conquering emotion of love. Religions teach self-improvement and ways to find peace and happiness not only in your own life but in the community as well. Religions attempt to aid people with their mental health, their physical health and their spiritual health. They aim to stop addictions, reduce stress and anxiety, make people happier and to find their path and purpose in life. All these things are the same aims of hypnotherapy!

In the religious setting you sit comfortably while a speech takes you on a hypnotic journey in the form of a story that often has strong visualisations and messages by way of metaphors, before the journey ends and returns you back to the beginning, in much the same way a hypnotherapy session would work, the metaphors and mental images a direct communication with the subconscious (read more here). The visualisation of a heaven or a nirvana draws parallels with the ‘perfect place’ visualisation in hypnosis, a therapeutic place the subject can be anchored to and where they can find peace and tranquillity whenever they need it, like a comfort zone where they are completely safe and free from anxiety.

Many famous religious stories focus on one of the characters having visions or receiving messages directly from a God, and many of these stories to me perfectly describe the experience of an altered state of consciousness, much akin to what hypnosis achieves in session (just think visions of angels as one example). In the hypnotic mind state we can visualise scenarios and interact with them in a most realistic manner. An altered mind state is naturally occurring and is referred to greatly in all the major religions, and has played a huge role in particularly their early beginnings.

The tales of Jesus and other miracle working profits also sounds much like hypnosis at work. Jesus would touch a sick man on the head and tell him he was healed ‘and he was healed’ as the Bible says. Religions heal certain disorders in this way even today using a similar method often in ceremony in front of a delirious crowd, using the method of hypnotic suggestion. The power of religious belief is critical to this miracle cure, if the sick person did not believe in the cure they would not be curable. Like in hypnosis you must let go of your doubts, don’t criticise or analyse, just accept the message as truth and go with the flow in total belief if the cure is to work as it is designed to. Maybe Jesus and the profits were not hypnotherapists, but by the sounds of it they were certainly masters of the altered state of consciousness!

I am not trying to argue that hypnosis use in religion is a bad thing at all. The core global religious ideology as far as I am aware generally concerns self-development, peace to mankind and care for the community. That’s a great message and if everyone followed it we wouldn’t have any wars or conflicts. But when you hear about atrocities being carried out under the flag of religion, the fanatics that carry out these bombings and genocides have literally been conditioned from a young age via the hypnotic religious method. They truly believe they are doing the right thing by their God in killing people to solve their group’s problems and that certain lands are sacredly theirs by some kind of divine right. Madness? Or hypnotic religious mind control? This isn’t a new phenomenon; every religious war in history has been fought using the same method to control soldiers as well as public opinion. How could the Crusades have gone ahead without such mind control? These facts don’t make religions bad and neither does it make hypnosis bad, it just depends on how the tool is being utilised. Religion in the hands of evil can be catastrophic, the same as hypnosis would be.

Hypnosis is merely the name given to a particular utilisation of the altered mind state. This altered mind state is naturally occurring and we experience it daily in day dreaming or in becoming engrossed in a piece of music or a conversation and becoming oblivious to all else around us.. Any person that watches TV is being drawn into trance and their subconscious is bombarded with suggestions to buy products, follow fashion, behave in certain ways, follow one political strain of thought or another etc. As much as anything hypnosis is a transfer of ideas that can become ingrained inside people’s heads. We as humans learn naturally in this way fully absorbing what goes on around us, and this can either be a negative or a positive influence.

Religions are institutions that use various hypnotic methods to teach very large groups of people what they believe are the correct ideals to follow in life; a way to live and be happy in a community. Religious groups should not be fearful of hypnosis because it shares many of the same ideals, especially in helping people improve themselves, and teaches them using very similar techniques. For this reason religion and hypnosis can even complement one another and move forward hand in hand without a conflict so long as respect and understanding are shown. The same could be said of the many different religions as the core underlying philosophies are identical; to help people improve themselves and form healthy communities for the benefit of all. 

Gastric Band Hypnosis: Could it Make You Slimmer?

Dieting can often depend on an element of mind over matter. For Marion Corns, it involved nothing else. The mother of three has lost four stone after allowing herself to be hypnotised - and told she had been fitted with a gastric band.

Believing her stomach has shrunk to the size of a golf ball under a surgeon's knife, the 35-year-old is now able to eat only tiny portions of food. And in the four months following the treatment, her weight has dropped to just over 11st 7lb (1st = 6.4kg), while her dress size has gone down from 22 to a 14 (losing 26kg)

Over five sessions of hypnotherapy, says Mrs Corns, her therapist talked her through every detailed step of the medical procedure as if she were actually inside an operating theatre.

Specialist equipment then filled the hypnotist's room with aromas designed to smell like a hospital, until eventually Mrs Corns began to feel a tightening sensation in her stomach.

Delighted Marion said: 'I have tried every other diet and exercise plan the world has to offer.

'I've tried tablets, WeightWatchers, Atkins, Slimfast, milkshakes and even a personal trainer, but none of them helped me.

'Now I am able to shed up to three pounds a week (1.4kg) because I believe I have had a band fitted into my stomach.

'Bizarrely, I can remember every part of the 'procedure' - including being wheeled into theatre, the clink of the surgeon's knife and even the smell of the anaesthetic.'

A real gastric band operation usually costs £7,000 and has the same level of risk related to any major operation including infection and DVT.

Married housewife Marion heard about the Elite Clinic in Marbella, Spain in August last year when a friend used it to give up smoking. Marion, who lived in the country at the time, discovered the clinic also carried out a revolutionary 'gastric mind band' therapy.

A week later she went back for a consultation session with therapist Marion Shirran, who runs the clinic with her husband Martin. After revealing how the birth of her three children left her with no time to exercise and admitting gorging on mid-morning bacon sandwiches, big lunches and giant-sized dinner portions, she booked herself in for five sessions with Marion.

Using a combination of hypnotherapy and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, she was taken on a 'virtual tour' through the 'operation'. Therapist Marion also used in-depth guided imagery and visualisation to fit an imaginary gastric band around the stomach, forming a pouch the size of a golf ball. During the procedure computer-driven equipment pumped a range of aromas into the room including everything from the hospital ward, the operating theatre and even the recovery room. After five sessions of the treatment - which is 100 per cent safe because it eliminates the risks of general anaesthetic, DVT and MRSA - Marion began to feel a tightening sensation in her stomach.

Marion added: 'Now if I try and eat a large portion I feel a pulling sensation in my tummy as if my stomach is stretching.

'I simply cannot eat large portions of food any more. I did manage to force down a KFC burger once but I felt really sick, as if it was stuck in my throat, and I had to lie down for three hours afterwards.

'I am thinner now than I ever have been and if I can lose another stone I will be exactly the weight I want to be.

'I feel like I fit in now. People don't stare at me anymore.'

Clinic owner Martin began working on perfecting the Gastric Mind Band after a client he helped quit smoking asked him whether it would be possible to convince him he had one fitted.

Martin said: 'This treatment is good for the client, for the NHS and is also ideal for the many overweight adults and teenagers who are sadly part of Obese Britain.

'Although this form of imagined surgery isn't in itself new, its application in the weight loss field is believed to be pioneering.

Martin, who himself has lost 50lbs (22.7kg) through a gastric mind band, said: 'The different therapies help patients rethink their whole attitude to food so they adopt a new lifestyle of healthy eating.

'It is not a temporary solution. It is a long term thing.

'We believe our therapy can be immensely beneficial for individuals who want to control their eating habits for self esteem or health reasons especially the growing number of people, young and old who are developing type 2 diabetes in ever increasing numbers.'

Jacqui Lowdon, dietician and spokeswoman for the British Dietary Association, said she could see why the treatment would be attractive to a lot of people. And she added:

'This is quite a novel idea and I've certainly never come across it before.

'Gastric bands are available on the NHS to those who have problems with their weight, but there are a lot of side effects.

'If this works and people can achieve the same kind of weight loss without surgery, it is important they are getting the correct dietary advice as well.

Written By ELEANOR GLOVER and LUKE SALKELD For The Dailly Mail Online

For full article and pictures here

Read more about Hypnosis weight loss here

Hypnosis: A Muslim Perspective

“Does anyone know the position of hypnosis in Islam?”

“I did ask and was told it was haram….the reason being that it was likened to a state of intoxication, in that you have voluntarily given up your control over your mental faculties….And Allah(swt) knows best”.

This was the reply to the above question I received on a Muslim community group mailing list by one of its members.

Hypnosis is defined as a state of deep relaxation; just short of deep sleep. A popular misconception is that hypnosis is a form of unconsciousness resembling sleep. However, contemporary research suggests that hypnotic subjects are fully awake and whilst focusing attention, have a corresponding decrease in their peripheral awareness. Subjects also show an increased response to suggestions. In one of the first books on the subject, Neurypnology in 1843, Dr James Braid described "hypnotism" as a state of physical relaxation accompanied and induced by mental concentration. It is a state of well-being and the client is fully in control. This means that EVERY single one of us can be and has been in a state of hypnosis; on a daily basis. For example, when we're waking up and put our alarm on snooze and half-awake: this is a state of hypnosis. When we are sometimes watching TV and don't hear the other person; this is a state of hypnosis also. Hypnosis is a state of deep relaxation but short of being asleep. The methods of Hypnosis being referred to here are those that allow the client to be in full control of the suggestions and imaginations that they are given; at which they are in a state to accept or reject them.

A quick research into the history of Hypnosis can show that this was common in Egyptian and Indian sleep temples. Hypnosis was even practiced by ancient Greeks. Furthermore, in his Book titled Kitab Al-Shifa (The book of Healing), the Persian physician Avicenna (Ibn Sina 980-1037) wrote about Hypnosis and referred to it as Al-Wahm Al-Amil. He was seen as the first physician to make the distinction between sleep and hypnosis. He stated that one would be able to create conditions in other people so they can accept the reality of this process of Hypnosis.

If we look at one of the Fathers of modern Hypnosis, Dr Milton Erickson (1901-1980), one who is known widely by any training organisation of Hypnosis; much of his language patterns are those that are already in the Quran. Yes! This is not an extreme comment and nor is it anything taken out of context. How many of us knew this? 

Ericksonian hypnosis combines metaphorical stories which start and don't finish at the same time. They sometimes finish at the end of the sessions or sometimes a few sessions later. This is like in the Quran of many stories of the Prophets (Peace Be Upon Them all); which clearly continue throughout. Amongst many language patterns used; Ericksonian hypnosis also refers to many things with much vagueness. Another aspect clearly found in the Quran. The benefit of vagueness is that it can and does relate to any and every point in time - the less specific, the more it can relate to wider audiences with no limits or lesser limits of time, place and situation.

These are just some of the methods and language patterns that will be used. None of it goes against Islam; and is not 'haraam' (forbidden); a word used much freely and yet only appears in the Quran a few times.

Hypnosis does NOT give the effects similar to that of 'intoxicants'. Intoxicants are physical substances in the form of gas, liquid or solid (powder and tablets, for example). They are man-made substances or natural substances which are processed in a manner to produce these harmful substances. They effect the body, mind and the soul. They block out some neurons and cause imbalance and effect the neurology. Hence they result in effecting the complete body in this manner and clearly don't allow the individual to be in control of one's senses. Regardless of what they are; the purpose of them is to fulfil the individuals need for 'more' for a fulfilment they aren't getting from another area of life. Hence; widely resulting in addiction. They also cause one to say and do things they wouldn't in their own right mind or in their daily normal lives when not using these substances.

Islam may also not have allowed Hypnosis on the basis that it maybe the works of a Soothsayer (fortune-teller) and/or working with Jinns (spirits). This may have been true or maybe true today still in some parts of the world as some people have the ability to communicate with spirits. However, the hypnosis being referred to and applied here has NO link or connection with spirits or fortune-telling. Working with spirits is seen as contrary to Islam on the basis that it’s seen as ascribing power to those other than God. Where-as the primary foundation of Islamic belief is upon the conviction that There is Only One God and all power is with Him. This refers to that we mortals have no knowledge except that which God has allowed us to have. Having belief in spirits and making use of them to intervene between the Hypnotherapists and the client is completely contradictory to Islam and definitely to the modern Hypnosis being referred to here.

Hypnosis does none of that as there is no two-way conversation; just suggestions. Also, the client does not do or say anything which they wouldn't in their right mind. Clearly this is a misconception within the Muslim community. It highlights that a judgement has been made on something without looking into it. As we, the Muslim community, constantly do this; truly we are denying ourselves the means for progression in all areas of education, employment and further advances in any area. If or as long as we continue to think in this much limited manner then so will be the fruits of our labour have the same effect.

There are many Muslims; who are practising and trained hypnotherapists. If anything, they've come closer to their faith rather than further from away it. I even know a Muslim colleague on my training who came from Saudi Arabia to learn Hypnosis. He is a practising Muslim, works in a corporate environment in change-management and has been there for over 10yrs. He states himself; that in Saudi Arabia there is much withdrawal from anything they don't understand. If certain things aren't understood; they are dismissed. I'm not saying this is the case for every aspect in every area of discipline. It is however, in reference to those he has met in his company who are mostly practising Muslims. This is an indication of what is much a problem in our communities and hence gets 'blamed' on religion. This is something much terrible of an example for those looking from outside, into this amazing faith.

This opinion is respected (“That Hypnosis is haraam in Islam as it gives effects of intoxicants”) but it's not one that I will accept for myself. As stated before, it is something of highly much benefit to the community. There has been much of a response as some individuals have seen the value of this and how it can manifest in their lives and those around them.

You are requested and urged to look into this as to what it's benefits are, it's methodologies and purpose; whether you are Muslim or not: regardless. It can be verified by medical doctors that Hypnosis is perfectly safe and accepted by the medical profession as a means of curing some illnesses; whether they are of the body, mind or soul. Medical science will not accept something that includes working with spirits and fortune-telling. Furthermore, hypnosis does certainly NOT give effects of intoxicants; as can also be verified medically. By definition of Hypnosis, The Quran certainly brings about a deep relaxation through reciting or listening to it. Hence, The Quran itself brings about a state of Hypnosis. It was known that even people would fall into trance through speech and conversation with Dr Milton Erickson. Such was the effect of The Beloved Prophet (Peace and blessings be Upon Him) who would talk to people in such a relaxing manner that they felt his warmth; bringing about greater relaxation within them; with an intention of reaching out for the goodness.

Hypnosis is a tool necessary for the Muslim community to allow the recipients to bring out more of their amazing uniqueness that every individual is special and is born with such amazing gifts. Regardless of what area of life you are at; we can always achieve more as we dream in the night; then the days are to fulfil those dreams. It can be used to work with clients to achieve their goals, relieve stress and even improve their health whilst curing some illnesses. It is beneficial and necessary for individuals as well as the Muslim community in order to concentrate and focus deeper upon their daily and personal goals.

Anything that the mind can conceive, perceive, and achieve; the body can physically easily achieve.

Written by Mubashar Latif

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