Live Inspired!
It’s How You Frame It! “If your birthday falls in the chilly month of November you can seek warmth in your beautiful birthstone Topaz. The most common colors of the crystal are a rich, deep hue similar to maple syrup, clover honey or a fine golden tequila making Topaz such a delicious and delightful stone” -Kimberlin Brown (actress) What do you think? More, how do you frame things? You’re out having a good time; how do you describe it to a friend at a later date? You want to explain how you feel about something important to you; what language/characterizations do you use? You’re having an argument; how are you getting your point across? Of course sometimes, especially in difficult conversations, saying anything at all matters more than exactly how you say it. And sometimes, as we learn from Kimberlin Brown, how you say it can really make a difference. For starters, it’s easy to read this one rather quickly. November is chilly. Enjoy the warmth of the birth stone of the month, and here’s some things we associate with that birth stone that augment that warmth. Well, ok, to say the least, Kimberlin Brown might not be particularly thrilled with that over-simplified version of her thought. Instead, she really treats us to a rich characterization, and she helps me appreciate topaz quite a lot. First, she provides contrast. “If your birthday falls in the chilly month of November you can seek warmth in your beautiful birthstone topaz.” I like how this is framed. There’s a problem (albeit perhaps a small one)—November is a chilly month; it makes sense that you want to seek some warmth, and including the month’s birth stone---because of the qualities of the stone—is a good way to do that. Further, Kimberlin Brown goes on to characterize the color of the stone but she does so in a way that does double duty. She describes the color in concrete terms we can easily relate to, pointing up the connection to food and drink. She’s also linking the color and the foods so closely that you really get a sensual image. You have the snacks themselves—who wouldn’t want that maple syrup, that clover honey or that golden tequila? You have the links between the colors and the objects. Then presto, you have topaz! November is a chilly month, you have the warmth of some pretty wonderful colors, you have some food and drink to keep you satisfied, and you have topaz too. How you frame things can really make a difference, and it seems to me Kimberlin Brown gets the most out of her perspective. How do these ideas resonate with you, and what are one or two actions you might want to take in the next day or so on that basis?
0 Comments
Live Inspired!
When There’s More to the Story “In shades of yellow, brown, honey, green, blue, red, pink and sometimes no color at all, Topaz has a mass appeal. Topaz is often found in an amber gold, yellow, or a blushing pink orange but a pale pink or a sherry red Topaz is very exceptional. The most prized color of Topaz is called Imperial Topaz and features a magnificent orange with pink undertones.” --http://www.jthomasjewelers.com/pages/birthstone-gem-guide What do you think? When do you go for the first thing/impression/feeling/idea that comes to mind, or under what circumstances are you moved to dig deeper? An interesting question—no right answers—but one that’s worth thinking about. Here’s an example. When you ask most people to describe the color of the gem topaz that’s one of the birth stones for the month of November (the other is citrine), they’re likely to point to a gold-brown/honey color. It’s warm; it’s inviting; it combines several wonderful colors, all of them fitting nicely into a season of fall and of Thanksgiving. A perfect color for the birth stone of the month! But What happens when you Take time to check out the color wheel for the “technical” description of the color named topaz. You actually get a different answer to the “what color is topaz” question. Thus, several reliable sources have it that the color officially named topaz is a mellow and quiet light orange. It appears to be the color closely matching the saffron robes worn by many Budhist monks. Hmm, a bit of a mismatch between the color of the gem that’s November’s birth stone and the actual color name. Well, as the quote above suggests, there’s even more. The colors of the gem range well beyond the colors we associate with November’s birthstone or the light orange fitting the color’s definition. . In fact, it turns out that what is called the “purest” form of the gem is actually colorless. That’s right; due to the chemical formula, there’s no color at all. But presto, make some small change, and you’ve changed the color by a lot. First off, out there in the natural world, changes in the chemical composition of the topaz crystal can change the color so that it includes all the wonderful shades of the rainbow—blue, green, yellow, red and even imperial orange—described above. There’s even more colors too including, purple, brown and gray. Wow, who would have thought that what chemists consider as small change within an overall crystal structure could make such a difference. You can also get these colors—and sometimes apparently even more enhanced versions of the colors-- by artificially treating the crystal through various processes, including irradiation, heat or a high tech process called thin-film Deposition. In the end, it turns out that topaz can be just about any color you want! So what do you think? When do you go for the first thing/impression/feeling/idea that comes to mind, or under what circumstances are you moved to dig deeper? If we can generalize from the case of topaz, whichever aspect you choose to focus on-- November’s birthstone, the color wheel or the chemical properties of the crystal, you’re in for a pretty wonderful experience. How do these ideas resonate with you, and what are one or two actions you might want to take in the next day or so on that basis? Live Inspired!
When topaz touches You…. “Whenever you touch topaz, it touches you. It awakens a gentle fire, like wine awakens in grapes. --Pavlo Neruda (poet) What do you think? As befits the words of a poet, there’s a lot here, and Pavlo Neruda packs quite a bit of punch into a couple of short sentences. Indeed, Topaz has a lot going for it. As a popular gem with quite a bit of interesting history, it holds meaning across many cultures. In ancient Greece, people thought the stone would provide strength in times of trouble. “When worn as a necklace, topaz was once believed to drive away sadness and strengthen intellect.” Though the best known version of the gem is the honey-gold color that is the birth stone for November, the “purest” version of the crystal is actually colorless. chemical “impurities” (perhaps actually a good thing)-- along with artificial treatments-- mean the stone can additionally be found in just about any color of the rainbow along with shades of brown and gray. It certainly seems that in some wonderful ways, Neruda has it right on the money: “Whenever you touch topaz, it touches you.” And there’s something even more profound that can happen when topaz touches us. “It awakens a gentle fire” like wine awakens in grapes.” In fact, the color of topaz known as imperial topaz from ancient days has been linked in a number of cultures to the sun. Some even have it that the gem got its name from either the Sanskrit word “tapas” or the Greek word “topazian,”both meaning fire. (the Sanskrit word also means heat.) But as Neruda describes, it’s a gentle fire. Just enough heat to make us feel comfortable; to give us time to sit back and reflect on things that matter; and to ignite some new passions to help us take things to the next level. Topaz isn’t going to hit us over the head or fire us up so much in the short term that we quickly crash and burn out. Instead, it’s here for the long haul, providing a setting to help us reflect and recharge. A pretty wonderful way to spend some time. Finally and from a different perspective, , there’s the possibility of experiencing the world in a “topaz” kind of way. As Neruda says, Even as we touch topaz, it touches us. But what does that really mean? When we touch anything (a friend; an event in our daily life), what about letting it touch us too? Really feel those experiences? Learn from the connections we make? Slow down to enjoy the gentle fire? In these ways, topaz invites us to go deeper as we go about the business of experiencing the world. Whether it’s grapes processing into wine or the ordinary events of our every day lives making a deeper imprint , let topaz connect with that gentle fire to encourage us to let things touch us. Let it help spark our better natures and let it serve as a reminder to ignite our experiences to the fullest. How do these ideas resonate with you, and what are one or two actions you might want to take in the next day or so on that basis? Color Reading Professor
Sally Friedman Services: Card reading, Coaching, Course design Author: 52 quotes to Color Your Weeks…Plus a Few More Website: www.colorreadingprofessor.com YouTube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgGhe7bZNQc2XIcUa_sZmhQ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Color-Reading-Professor-1576642852594254/ Sally Friedman Services: Card reading, Coaching, Course design Author: 52 quotes to Color Your Weeks…Plus a Few More Website: www.colorreadingprofessor.com YouTube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgGhe7bZNQc2XIcUa_sZmhQ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Color-Reading-Professor-1576642852594254/ What I’ve Been Up to: An Important Reframe I was talking to a friend recently about my lack of desire to stay committed to a set path for personal growth: an everyday practice of yoga, a meditation program, or perhaps physical activity. The conversation could easily have turned to a rather negative examination of my unwillingness to commit Instead my friend came up with this great reframe: maybe you just like flexibility! What you do isn’t as important as that you do; it’s the consistency of doing anything in the first place, and the variety and the mixing-and-matching is what’s most interesting. Wow, I learned something about myself, and I didn’t have to be made wrong or go negative in the process! What about you? How could you find a way to unexpectedly turn at least one thing that it’s easy to see as a negative into something positive?? Color/theme of the Month: It Goes Deeper than You Think (as it should at this month of Thanksgiving) *As you’ll see, the color (as defined by one of the birth stones of the month of November) fits the season perfectly. It’s totally a fall color. *It’s a color that stands on its own, and it’s also a combination of colors. One of the colors is associated with characteristics including groundedness, reliability, dependability and stability. Another is traditionally associated with qualities including fun, joy and in the chakra system, self-confidence and will-power. Taken together, these colors certainly provide a recipe for success. Start with developing the fundamentals of stability; what grounds you and what supports you, but at the same time, really enjoy, and don’t forget to go for that which you most want. *The color shares the name of a noted gem stone, including one that is a birthstone for the month. It is one that is mined in nations in all parts of the globe, and historically it has been valued by a wide range of ancient and modern societies. It is said that hanging out with this stone has some wonderful properties: It “helps in establishing a practical point of view when it comes to life in general. It is thought to be able to point in the direction of the most practical solution to any problem or situation. It helps us to walk the distance between point A and point B in our everyday life without losing time.” It “is a powerful stone for strengthening the whole physical body. It balances, soothes and cleanses emotions and thoughts, releases stress, and brings joy. In spiritual sense this stone brings love and peace.” It is said that this stone “represents friendship and trust. It is one of the hardest minerals in nature and its large crystal formations exceed most other crystals in size, resulting in big beautiful specimens for cutting into pendants and rings.” “The ancient Greeks believed that {the color} had the power to increase one’s strength during times of trouble.” *While some trace the origin of the name to an island in the Red Sea, others attribute it to the Sanskrit word for fire. My vote goes to the latter; I like the energy, the passion and the expansion, and of course I like the simple warmth of literal fire that feels so good this time of year. *While the color of (this month’s birth stone) itself is pretty distinct and unique, the gem actually can be found in just about any color and shade you can think of. In its purest form, the gem is actually colorless; a variety of chemical “impurities” and artificial treatments produce different color combinations. Voila, more color (abundance) than you’d think! A lesson to expand our horizons? See things in a more holistic way? Step out in new directions? In honor of the season of harvest, Thanksgiving and the power of going deeper than you think, the color of the month for November 2017 is that combination of brown, gold/yellow and orange that combine to integrate into the honey/amber color of the birth stone of the month, topaz. Note/qualification/point of interest: Actually, when you do the research due-diligence, the color of “topaz” remains something of a mystery. It’s a lot easier to find information about the gem (which due to chemical impurities and artificial treatments shows up in virtually any color you might anticipate) than the color. Official color definitions on the other hand describe a very light orange, which coincides with one of the shades of the crystal. Regardless the birth stone of the month coincides with the color described above. A Resource/Quotes For You: To Enjoy; to Ponder and To Grow *Who knows: these may be the ones I decide to write about/expand on throughout the month; check out the web site to see.) “Whenever you touch topaz, it touches you. It awakens a gentle fire, like wine awakens in grapes. --Pavlo Neruda (poet) “If your birthday falls in the chilly month of November you can seek warmth in your beautiful birthstone Topaz. The most common colors of the crystal are a rich, deep hue similar to maple syrup, clover honey or a fine golden tequila making Topaz such a delicious and delightful stone” -Kimberlin Brown (actress) “Among life’s precious jewels, genuine and rare, the one that we call friendship, has worth beyond compare” -Unknown “In shades of yellow, brown, honey, green, blue, red, pink and sometimes no color at all, Topaz has a mass appeal. Topaz is often found in an amber gold, yellow, or a blushing pink orange but a pale pink or a sherry red Topaz is very exceptional. The most prized color of Topaz is called Imperial Topaz and features a magnificent orange with pink undertones.” Above quotes taken from the following websites http://www.sunnyray.org/Topaz-crystal-properties-and-meaning.htm http://www.crystalsbyrob.com/topaz.html http://www.sensationalcolor.com/color-fashion-beauty/accessorize-with-color/birthstone-november-topaz-2701 https://books.google.com/books?id=TlwClhVaDKEC&pg=PT35&lpg=PT35&dq=The+ancient+Greeks+believed+that+%7Bthe+color%7D+had+the+power+to+increase+one%E2%80%99s+strength+during+times+of+trouble.&source=bl&ots=DyoYJOsT-N&sig=qLYJzxqQ0-pn_Z1edn0e64rCZLk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwia9uSKrajXAhWJSiYKHUGzChkQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=The%20ancient%20Greeks%20believed%20that%20%7Bthe%20color%7D%20had%20the%20power%20to%20increase%20one%E2%80%99s%20strength%20during%20times%20of%20trouble.&f=false |
AuthorI am a Life Coach, a Color Wisdom Card Practitioner, and yes, even a Professor (political science, State University of New York at Albany). I use the Color Wisdom Cards to support clients in exploring priorities and taking concrete actions to stay on track with the goals they set. Because in my own life I have overcome a lot of self-doubt, I want to work with people towards more confidence and self-empowerment. You can do it! What is it you want to do? Categories
All
Archives
June 2021
|