The amazingly cold weather hasn't stopped my exotic grove from putting on a bit of a show for the first day of the year. As I type I'm half swooning from the scent of arabian jasmine. There's a whole new flush of hot pink allamanda flowers and, of course, the fully opened amaryllis is quietly commanding an unavoidable focal point.
If you read my other blog then you know I'm currently immersed in studying the color purple with a special sketchbook/journal dedicated to my efforts. Have been wanting to post on this blog about an interesting phenomenon I experienced at the very beginning of this project but I also wanted to wait until the process formed some kind of logical conclusion. I feel like the progression completed itself today so here goes.
When I first brought the color purple front and center in my mind, I noticed I was strongly pulled towards some associations that weren't very pleasant - an ongoing psychic awareness of mottled purple bruising, melancholia, more unbidden images of bruising patterns and let's get a bit of extra foam on that sense of profound melancholy* shall we?
This shadowy preoccupation lasted for about 48 hours. Then I moved forward with associations I might have expected from myself - eggplants, a variety of flowers, radicchio, a particularly favorite party dress I had in kindergarten as well as a handful of established esoteric correspondences. While I was describing the earlier interlude (and how relieved I was once it shifted) in my writing journal something very significant occurred to me.
In flower essence healing work (of course this is not just true of essence work but that is the context where I'm most familiar with what I'm about to articulate) there are times when a particularly-needed remedy will evoke an array of responses that are experienced in ways that are most often termed unpleasant or flat-out unwanted. This is most generally known as a Healing Crisis - although various ultra new agey types often lobby for terminology that's less upsetting.
In my variety of experiences the period of disturbance/crisis generally lasts from 48 to 72 hours. The actual degree of difficulty that's felt is directly relational to (a) how much energy an individual puts into resisting an eruption of what might be termed psychic or emotional negativity when their stated aim is feel better/good, and, (b) how long the individual has consciously and deliberately repressed depth-charged emotions, thoughts and physical sensations that need to be experienced and released in the name of ultimate balance and organic homeostasis.
Can you see where I'm going with this? It's now my belief that I experienced a purple-based healing crisis. It seems to make all the sense in the world that something like this could - and in fact when necessary should - occur but it's something I hadn't previously considered and haven't heard discussed among my colleagues.
For a long while now I have kept notes on colors that certain personalities avoid or claim to hate; have also kept tabs on what sorts of people gravitate to bright colors as well as those who shun them. Out in the larger arena of "life" there are any number of social and cultural footnotes on what's at stake/what it therefore means to like or avoid any given color but for years I have tried to push through that and look at people rather than tape loops.
Now I am expanding my interest in color associations so that my awareness can include a deeper look at color-based experience that fits the definition of a healing crisis. If there are any blog readers who would like to discuss this with me please do get in touch. As always privacy is of paramount importance to me; whatever is shared isn't going to be re-packaged here online or much of anywhere else. I'm simply curious and would welcome input.
Violet is the color associated with the crown chakra and so I thought a culmination of my purple-awareness would probably embody some type of elevated and trans-personal consciousness. Have been in that space for much of the day and that seems like a lovely and appropriate way to welcome a new calendar year into be-ing.
There is still a lot for me to explore about this color and how it alters its form through different ratios of combined red and blue. I wonder where I'll be in the sense of larger development and what will be going on for those I love and in the larger world once this little sketchbook is completely filled ...
* A few days after Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast I prepared an essence blend of giant red mustard and lavender flowers. This was co-created on a local hilltop where I kept a flower garden that was specifically "built" for essence preparation and other forms of co-creative experimentation. Since then this blend has been a very powerful and dependable ally for me whenever I'm feeling depressed or sensing empathic impingement from somebody else's depression. I started working with the combo during my purple based disturbance - feeling it no coincidence that lavender flowers are a lovely blue-violet color and that yellow (the color of mustard flowers) is violet's natural compliment.
A fascinating post. My BJP work has been on halt for more than a month now. It seems that my 3 colour theme (black/red/white) is inducing some kind of healing crisis. I can see beautiful patterns done with these 3 colours, but I can only think of dramatic things. I have even thought of introducing new colours. Green and orange in particular.
However I know that I have been exploring darkness for a long while, and the choosing these colours was not coïncidence.
And er... I've been told before that I put to much energy into resistance ;o)
Posted by: Helene H | January 02, 2009 at 05:40
"fascinating" was the word that came to me as well upon reading this post.
Posted by: Elisabeth Hallett | January 04, 2009 at 22:22
Helene - I have yet to begin a December page. I have ideas but my creative fire and motivation just doesn't seem to be happening. Trying to just accept that for now and not get preoccupied with interpreting what it means.
Elisabeth - high praise for somebody who digs deep the way that you do ...
Posted by: Acey | January 04, 2009 at 22:41