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The following is
taken from ‘Foundations of Anthroposophical Medicine, A Training
Manual’; Edited by Guus van der Bie and Machteld Huber.
1. Colour
Therapy
'The colours of
the visible spectrum of light (the rainbow) are related to various
physiological processes in the organism. The warm colours work on
everything connected to metabolic processes in physiology;
different shades of blue and purple correspond more to nerve-sense
processes. Green connects these areas with one another and is
related to the quality of the middle.'
The
Rainbow, by
Rudolf Steiner
'The rainbow!...I
feel within me a mood of pray: that is how the rainbow begins, in
the most intense violet, that goes shimmering out and out into
immeasurable distances. The violet goes over into blue, - the
restful, quiet mood of the soul. That again goes over into green.
When we look up to the green arc of the rainbow, it is as though
our soul were poured out over all the sprouting and blossoming of
Nature's world. It is as though, in passing from violet and blue
into green, we had come away from the Gods to whom we were praying,
and now in the green were finding ourselves in a world that opens
the door to wonder, opens the door to a sensitive sympathy and
antipathy with all that is around us. If you have already drunk in
the green of the rainbow, you are already on the way to
understanding all the beings and things of the world. Then you pass
on to yellow, and in yellow you feel firmly established in
yourself, you feel you have the power to be man in the midst of
Nature, - that is, to be something more than the rest of Nature
around you. And when you go over to orange, then you feel your own
warmth, the warmth that you carry within you; and at the same time
you are made sensible of many a shortcoming in your character, and
of good points too. Going on them to red, where the other edge of
the rainbow passes once again into the vast distances of Nature,
your soul will overflow with joy and exultation, with ardent
devotion, and with love to all mankind.'
2. Speech As
Therapy
In speech
strengthening takes place directly through the breathing: soul pain
becomes transformed. The upsurging stream of breath from the
diaphragm is constantly gripped and released, awakening the
placement in the forming of vowel and consonant. Words are breathed
in, and set free in space, time and rhythm. The human being
experiences his own individuality.
The
Significance of Air (The
following is taken from 'Anthroposophical Therapeutic
Speech')
'The medium in
which speech finds its expression and which the sound is shaped is
the air. This is the element receiving the colours, shapes and
sounds of speech, carrying them through space. It is not possible
to speak in a vacuum. Thus, it makes sense to take a close look at
the nature of air.
Let us picture the
shore of a lake on a calm summer day with a path, lined with
flowers and trees, leading to it. The picture obviously rests in
itself, remains unchanged, static in a perhaps sublime and yet
lifeless calm that may be experienced as oppressive or paralysing.
However, as soon as a breeze springs up everything changes.
Suddenly there are waves on the water surface, dust is blown up,
leaves are rustling. Thus the first impression we have of the air
is one of movement.
If we enter more
deeply into the picture we will become aware of the transformation
brought about by the movement: the waves lapping on the sandy shore
wash the sand into the water, blossoms are pollinated, dry branches
drop to the ground, the surface of the path is changed. Thus, any
movement of the air begins a process of transformation, both in the
living and the inanimate world.
In a certain sense
any movement means overcoming gravity. What is rigid comes into
motion, what is heavy becomes light. This phenomenon of air bring
about lightness is shown, for instance, by the fact that an object
filled with air is able to float on the water. Warmth and light are
carried by air, completely permeating the latter so that they may
be transmitted to the substances of the earth.
These phenomena of
the external air underwent an internalisation during the course of
evolution, in that organisms arose which possess their own internal
breathing. However, as soon as a creature is able to breathe
independently it can overcome the forces of gravity and move away.
It movement is not passive, induced from the outside, but the
result of an inner urge to move. In animals this is
species-specific and determined by instinct. In human beings
movement is generally meaningful expression of inner intentions of
the soul or the spirit. '
Air
brings about
lightness
Air
causes
movement which leads to transformation
Air
conducts light and
warmth, which brings about brightening and
enlivening.
Speech
as Formed Exhalation
'Speaking about
speech we may quite naturally resort to a terminology that is
connected to art. Speech may be called malleable or sculptured when
the breath stream is shaped and formed by many strong consonants.
When the sounds create the mood or the pictures, it is painting
with sound. The music in language is experienced in the resounding
vowels and in its inherent melody.'
3. Creative
Writing
Poetic rhythms
link sound to colour and musical qualities in their dynamic
relation to earth, water, fire and air.
From
‘Sing
Me The Creation’, by Paul
Matthews:
'In the past
decade or so, another approach to creative writing has sprung up.
Instead of the deadly approach to the technology of language,
aspiring writers are now doing inner visualization work, paying
attention to dream images, shifting attention to the inner world.
The intention here is to learn how to stay close to the image, and
to write directly out of the inner experience of image. Such
psychological approaches to creative writing put the emphasis on
creativity rather than the act of writing.'
The
Quintessence
Here, gathered
back into the seed, is all that we have worked with. At the centre
stands the ‘I am’, the primal sentence (logos) which contains all
possible grammars within it. It is both subject (inner) and object
(outer); both noun (form) and verb (movement). It is the four
sentence types folded in one. All names and grammars that we know
have fallen from that source, but through activating the ‘I am’
within us their given elemental powers can be worked through and
filled with the ideals here inscribed around it.
N.B. A seed is not
a summary; it is a fire placed under the earth to bring things into
motion. So it can be left to you to quicken it by exploring what
qualities and acts of language arise when these elemental powers
decide to collaborate –
Earth = the
statement Air = the exclamation
Water = the
question Fire = the command
i.e. when
Statement and Question listen to each other.
when Question and
Exclamation wonder about each other.
when Exclamation
and Command are moved by one another.
when Command and
Statement give ground to each other.
when Question and
Command wish each other well.
when Statement and
Exclamation partake of each other’s qualities.
Much of this is
embodies (in a more artistic form) in William Blake’s painting of
Adam, where we see the earthly image of the ‘I am’ forming and
informing, moving and being moved, in the overlap between inner and
outer where living language arises.
© Copyright 2005 Katherine Rudolph, Exploring The Word In Colour
And Speech |
