Sometimes I envy the dizzying speed with which my toddler’s mood can change. This is not a good thing, since he goes from laughing to maniacal crying and back again before I manage to get his velcro shoe off. (Or does he want it back on?)
I know it seems crazy, but the upside is that when the worst of the tantrums occurs, he gets over it way before I do. Everything may look calm in our little world once he’s done crying but I often end up carrying the guilt, anger, exhaustion, and general doomed feeling with me for hours.
I hate to have something trivial (like the wrong color of race car socks) live on in the form of a bad mood that I transfer to other people or let my mood distract me from being present in the good moments that happen later in the day.
There are a ton of tools the savvy parent can use to combat tantrum-induced doom. Deep breathing helps. Calling in backup helps. Exercising helps. I use all of these, but I’m always looking for more ways to stay balanced.
That’s why I reached out to Bailey Gaddis, author of the new book Feng Shui Mommy: Creating Balance and Harmony for Blissful Pregnancy, Childbirth and Motherhood. Bailey is a childbirth prep educator and birth doula with experience as a home organizer in Los Angeles. She uses an emphasis on feng shui and has worked a great deal with the emotions and energy that various colors produce.
She has been kind enough to provide the color guide and an excerpt from her book to help me (and every other parent) use the color we bring into our environments as a source of positive energy.
If nothing else, arming yourself with this info is a great reminder of the mood you want to be in, and as a result you will likely get there faster.
Colors emit messages that are absorbed by the eyes, perceived in the mind, and felt in the soul. The colors surrounding you should be harmonious with the needs within you. Particular characteristics emanate from different hues, making them prime influencers of your inner climate. It’s like each color is a guru for different emotions.
But you’re the Master Guru of your emotions, so follow your intuition when introducing new colors into your home. If the color feels good to you, you’re exploring the right part of the rainbow. If a color you introduce feels off, kick it out.
The golden guru of inner warmth, hope, and miracles. You can soak in the warming effects of yellow during all waking hours by indirectly basking in the sun, the glow of a lamp, or a favorite item or image that is kissed by yellow. If you feel yourself sinking into a funk, seek out something in a shade of yellow, focusing on the hue until you become aware that your spirits are brightening.
The guru of success, fresh life, and renewal, orange radiates zesty fun. It pulls you out of the monotonous by sparking fresh ideas and enthusiasm for creating powerful shifts in your life. Hold something orange when you need an extra dose of inspiration.
The guru of sexual energy, red invigorates feelings of romance, courage, and adventure. Red evokes vitality and passion, serving to enliven your physicality if you’re feeling romantically dry, bodily drained, or internally depleted. Hang an image that’s heavy with the tone of the red in your bedroom to focus on when your libido needs incentive to get going.
The guru of nourishment and creativity, pink ignites whimsy and imagination. It guides you into a dreamy, contemplative space where you can play with ideas without being weighed down by their potential pitfalls. Place a pink Himalayan salt crystal lamp in the bedroom or nursery to invite in a nurturing presence.
The guru of grace, honor, and exploration, purple inspires the spirit to dive into its past, unearthing forgotten knowledge and wisdom. This regal color supports you in realizing your highest ideals, which can serve as your beacon of intention. This is a helpful color to have near when you’re creating your birth preferences.
The guru of fluid serenity, blue demands nothing of you, allowing you to just be. Blue is a wonderful color to lean into when life seems chaotic and overwhelming because it leads you back to your loving center and inspires a deep trust for the voice of your intuition. Because of its calming nature, blue was my “birth color” (the color I focused on during birth), and it’s the birth color of many of my clients.
The guru of health and renewal, green is a direct link to the natural world and the wisdom of Mother Nature. Green helps harmonize your heart energy with your emotions, supporting you in times of transformation and rebirth. This color can be a good inspiration if you need to make big decisions or begin big projects.
The guru of simplicity. I’d like to reframe the common misconception of beige as boring or bland so that it’s recognized as an enhancer of clarity and calm. Beige is a favorite feng shui color for nursery rooms as it promotes nourishment, inner balance, stability, and health – good stuff for Mom and baby.
Because the emotions of the other people living in your home matter, have them weigh in on how the colors you’re introducing make them feel. You don’t want to be the only blissed-out being in the house.
ParentCo.
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