Auras & Synesthesia
Posted on Mar 20th, 2006
by 
Cynthia
Cynthia
Excerpted from chapter one of my book,
(Adams Media, 2004).
What’s an Aura?
Auras are our energy bodies in visible, palpable form. They provide us with a great deal of intuitive information about peoples’ general character. They also give us “gut feelings,“ or invaluable and life-saving information in a timely fashion. These “gut feelings“ make all the difference when we learn to trust our intuition and benefit from feeling what’s really happening, rather than merely responding to what seems to be happening on the surface. Seemingly dangerous situations can be quite safe, and seemingly safe situations can be life-threatening.
Because of my “gut feelings“ or heightened aura awareness, I have felt at ease with Masai warriors seated in the car beside me (their long spears sticking out through the open window), with headhunters in Indonesia, and even with Arabs resting semi-automatic rifles over bandoliers of ammunition strapped across their chests. Danger does not always broadcast itself with obvious outward appearances, but instead gives itself away in good or bad “vibes.“ One of the many advantages of having heightened aura awareness is that you will become better able to find yourself in the right place at the right time.
A woman friend of American clairvoyant Edgar Cayce once told him about a shocking incident she had witnessed. “One day in a large city I entered a department store to do some shopping. I was on the sixth floor and rang for the elevator. While I was waiting for it I noticed some bright red sweaters, and thought I would like to look at them. However, I had signalled for the elevator, and when it came I stepped forward to enter it. It was almost filled with people, but suddenly I was repelled. The interior of the car, although well lit, seemed dark to me. Something was wrong. Before I could analyze my action, I said, ‘Go ahead’, to the operator, and stepped back. I went over to look at the sweaters, and then I realized what had made me uneasy. The people in the elevator had no auras. While I was examining the sweaters, which had attracted me by their bright red hues—the color of vigor and energy—the elevator cable snapped, the car fell to the basement, and all the occupants were killed.“ [1]
On a trip with my family to Tijuana, Mexico, when I was eight years old, I once felt extreme menace from a stranger. I was surprised to feel all the hairs on my body stand up simultaneously as I browsed through the marketplace. I felt an ominous presence nearby and sensed I was being watched. Someone was staring at me. As I turned around, I saw a man in his late 20’s sizing me up from about fifteen feet away. I felt cold darkness around him, and felt that he intended to take me away from my family. I moved so fast to get away from him that I knocked sombreros, maracas, and moccasins over in my haste to reunite with the rest of my family. I met up with my sister first, who glared at my rampant disregard for neatness, good manners, and propriety. As I led her to our parents, I looked back to see the shadowy man stand for a moment before turning and walking away.
The Only Thing You’ll Never Leave Behind
Your aura is the source of your inner beauty and inner strength. It is the true energetic essencethat comprises your non-local body, connects you to all possible past and future selves, and links you to everyone and everything you know and love Pregnant women and people in love are often said to “glow,“ because their auras are combined with their loved one’s and are therefore brighter than most other peoples’. Any time two or more people are brought together in love, the auric effect is extraordinary. The energy of people in love attracts more good situations, people, and things to them, which further enhances the experience of being in love.
Auras are indicators of health, vitality, what we’re preoccupied with, and even our personal destiny. When you feel and see auras, you know which choices are best for you, and can discern which things, people, and places resonate in harmony with who you are. You can avoid wasting your time and energy when you recognize your core energetic nature and personal style of relating to the world. You can feel better connected to everyone you love, and better protected from harm.
To those who can see it, the human energy body looks like a luminous ovoid surrounding the physical body, somewhat resembling a giant glowing egg. Each sound, breath, and heartbeat creates ripples and pulses of colorful energy around every living and non-living thing. As emotions change, so does the aura. Over time, habitual thoughts and feelings become a steady part of the auric field. Mothers could well caution their children, “Watch out that you don’t keep that attitude too long—your aura could get stuck that way!“
Your aura is so much a part of you that you could say you’re inseparable, for to lose your vitality and life force is to lose your life. More fun than your shadow, your aura is a real-time presentation of how you’re feeling in general and at this very minute. It’s usually the first thing people sense when they meet you. It gives them a kind of “vibe“ or intuitive hunch about you, since it is the essence of who you truly are.
Many Children See Auras
You may recall having seen auras when you were a young child. Perhaps you could see the mood of your family members as waves and shapes of color that changed as they were angry, happy, or sad. Many children see auras around people and material objects, and can keep this ability if they are encouraged (or, rather, if they are not discouraged). While young children may not yet be able to describe the fullness of perception they experience with their beginner’s minds, they can convey some of their auric perceptions through art. When children can nurture their artistic vision and inner “knowingness,“ they preserve their natural inborn talent to perceive the universe of energy as it truly is. Parents and teachers can provide support and help preserve these natural talents of children by being more aware of the effect of their words when they view children’s art. A supportive mother might say to her artistic toddler, “I like the way you colored your sister red and the dog green,“ even if she doesn’t see a red haze around the sister or a green fog around the dog. The child may not even realize he is drawing something that his mother does not see—but this kind of encouragement will help him keep his perceptions keen.
My first memories of being a baby were a blur of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and feelings. When I was in a room, I saw and felt swirls of colors that ebbed and flowed around me like waves of light in an ocean of color. There was serenity in my solitude, which would change into a cacophony of color when my parents returned to my room. I could see these colors whether my eyes were open or shut, although they seemed brighter and clearer when my eyes were open. As my eyes developed the skill of focusing on objects, I gradually paid more attention to what I could see when my eyes were open so that I could not see so well with them shut. In this way, my natural ability to see auras gradually fell dormant as I grew up.
When I was an infant, all my senses seemed interconnected, most especially vision and hearing. This way of experiencing the world is known as “synesthesia,“ a Greek word that means “perceiving together." Whenever something made a sudden and surprising noise, such as a metal spoon falling off a table and hitting the floor, I would simultaneously witness a piercing flash of color that accompanied the sound. When my mother came home from shopping in a good mood, her colors would enter the house as she was still on the other side of the closed door, fumbling to open it. The auras around everything were vibrant. I perceived a sentience in all these glowing things—whether they were living or so-called “dead.“ Like colorful shadows that go wherever we will go, our auras are the one thing we can’t ever leave behind, for they are our steady companions. Their ubiquitous presence in all things animate and inanimate has led many to wonder what the true nature of this wonderful energy is, and how it interrelates with the physical world.
Some researchers believe that all babies are born synesthesics, although relatively few adults (one in twenty-five thousand) are aware of having this perceptual ability. [2] Synesthesia is obviously common enough that several descriptive terms in both color and music share the same nomenclature: chromatic, color, intensity, pitch, tone, and volume. Several of the world’s best musical composers have seen colors in music. Franz Liszt was known to say things like, “This is too black,“ “More pink here,“ and “I want it all azure.“? Ludwig van Beethoven referred to B minor as “the black key.“ Franz Schubert described E minor as being “unto a maiden robed in white and with a rose-red bow on her breast.“ [3]
_______________
Chapter 1 Notes
[1] Cayce, Edgar. Auras: An Essay on the Meaning of Colors. Virginia Beach, VA: A.R.E. Press, 1945, p. 8.
[2] Cytowic, Richard E. “Synesthesia: Phenomenology and Neuropsychology A Review of Current Knowledge“ in Psyche: An Interdisciplanry Journal of Research on Consciousness, 2(10), July 1995.
[3] Birren, Faber. Color Psychology & Color Therapy. Secaucus, NJ: The Citadel Press, , 1960, p. 163.
(Adams Media, 2004).
What’s an Aura?
Auras are our energy bodies in visible, palpable form. They provide us with a great deal of intuitive information about peoples’ general character. They also give us “gut feelings,“ or invaluable and life-saving information in a timely fashion. These “gut feelings“ make all the difference when we learn to trust our intuition and benefit from feeling what’s really happening, rather than merely responding to what seems to be happening on the surface. Seemingly dangerous situations can be quite safe, and seemingly safe situations can be life-threatening.
Because of my “gut feelings“ or heightened aura awareness, I have felt at ease with Masai warriors seated in the car beside me (their long spears sticking out through the open window), with headhunters in Indonesia, and even with Arabs resting semi-automatic rifles over bandoliers of ammunition strapped across their chests. Danger does not always broadcast itself with obvious outward appearances, but instead gives itself away in good or bad “vibes.“ One of the many advantages of having heightened aura awareness is that you will become better able to find yourself in the right place at the right time.
A woman friend of American clairvoyant Edgar Cayce once told him about a shocking incident she had witnessed. “One day in a large city I entered a department store to do some shopping. I was on the sixth floor and rang for the elevator. While I was waiting for it I noticed some bright red sweaters, and thought I would like to look at them. However, I had signalled for the elevator, and when it came I stepped forward to enter it. It was almost filled with people, but suddenly I was repelled. The interior of the car, although well lit, seemed dark to me. Something was wrong. Before I could analyze my action, I said, ‘Go ahead’, to the operator, and stepped back. I went over to look at the sweaters, and then I realized what had made me uneasy. The people in the elevator had no auras. While I was examining the sweaters, which had attracted me by their bright red hues—the color of vigor and energy—the elevator cable snapped, the car fell to the basement, and all the occupants were killed.“ [1]
On a trip with my family to Tijuana, Mexico, when I was eight years old, I once felt extreme menace from a stranger. I was surprised to feel all the hairs on my body stand up simultaneously as I browsed through the marketplace. I felt an ominous presence nearby and sensed I was being watched. Someone was staring at me. As I turned around, I saw a man in his late 20’s sizing me up from about fifteen feet away. I felt cold darkness around him, and felt that he intended to take me away from my family. I moved so fast to get away from him that I knocked sombreros, maracas, and moccasins over in my haste to reunite with the rest of my family. I met up with my sister first, who glared at my rampant disregard for neatness, good manners, and propriety. As I led her to our parents, I looked back to see the shadowy man stand for a moment before turning and walking away.
The Only Thing You’ll Never Leave Behind
Your aura is the source of your inner beauty and inner strength. It is the true energetic essencethat comprises your non-local body, connects you to all possible past and future selves, and links you to everyone and everything you know and love Pregnant women and people in love are often said to “glow,“ because their auras are combined with their loved one’s and are therefore brighter than most other peoples’. Any time two or more people are brought together in love, the auric effect is extraordinary. The energy of people in love attracts more good situations, people, and things to them, which further enhances the experience of being in love.
Auras are indicators of health, vitality, what we’re preoccupied with, and even our personal destiny. When you feel and see auras, you know which choices are best for you, and can discern which things, people, and places resonate in harmony with who you are. You can avoid wasting your time and energy when you recognize your core energetic nature and personal style of relating to the world. You can feel better connected to everyone you love, and better protected from harm.
To those who can see it, the human energy body looks like a luminous ovoid surrounding the physical body, somewhat resembling a giant glowing egg. Each sound, breath, and heartbeat creates ripples and pulses of colorful energy around every living and non-living thing. As emotions change, so does the aura. Over time, habitual thoughts and feelings become a steady part of the auric field. Mothers could well caution their children, “Watch out that you don’t keep that attitude too long—your aura could get stuck that way!“
Your aura is so much a part of you that you could say you’re inseparable, for to lose your vitality and life force is to lose your life. More fun than your shadow, your aura is a real-time presentation of how you’re feeling in general and at this very minute. It’s usually the first thing people sense when they meet you. It gives them a kind of “vibe“ or intuitive hunch about you, since it is the essence of who you truly are.
Many Children See Auras
You may recall having seen auras when you were a young child. Perhaps you could see the mood of your family members as waves and shapes of color that changed as they were angry, happy, or sad. Many children see auras around people and material objects, and can keep this ability if they are encouraged (or, rather, if they are not discouraged). While young children may not yet be able to describe the fullness of perception they experience with their beginner’s minds, they can convey some of their auric perceptions through art. When children can nurture their artistic vision and inner “knowingness,“ they preserve their natural inborn talent to perceive the universe of energy as it truly is. Parents and teachers can provide support and help preserve these natural talents of children by being more aware of the effect of their words when they view children’s art. A supportive mother might say to her artistic toddler, “I like the way you colored your sister red and the dog green,“ even if she doesn’t see a red haze around the sister or a green fog around the dog. The child may not even realize he is drawing something that his mother does not see—but this kind of encouragement will help him keep his perceptions keen.
My first memories of being a baby were a blur of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and feelings. When I was in a room, I saw and felt swirls of colors that ebbed and flowed around me like waves of light in an ocean of color. There was serenity in my solitude, which would change into a cacophony of color when my parents returned to my room. I could see these colors whether my eyes were open or shut, although they seemed brighter and clearer when my eyes were open. As my eyes developed the skill of focusing on objects, I gradually paid more attention to what I could see when my eyes were open so that I could not see so well with them shut. In this way, my natural ability to see auras gradually fell dormant as I grew up.
When I was an infant, all my senses seemed interconnected, most especially vision and hearing. This way of experiencing the world is known as “synesthesia,“ a Greek word that means “perceiving together." Whenever something made a sudden and surprising noise, such as a metal spoon falling off a table and hitting the floor, I would simultaneously witness a piercing flash of color that accompanied the sound. When my mother came home from shopping in a good mood, her colors would enter the house as she was still on the other side of the closed door, fumbling to open it. The auras around everything were vibrant. I perceived a sentience in all these glowing things—whether they were living or so-called “dead.“ Like colorful shadows that go wherever we will go, our auras are the one thing we can’t ever leave behind, for they are our steady companions. Their ubiquitous presence in all things animate and inanimate has led many to wonder what the true nature of this wonderful energy is, and how it interrelates with the physical world.
Some researchers believe that all babies are born synesthesics, although relatively few adults (one in twenty-five thousand) are aware of having this perceptual ability. [2] Synesthesia is obviously common enough that several descriptive terms in both color and music share the same nomenclature: chromatic, color, intensity, pitch, tone, and volume. Several of the world’s best musical composers have seen colors in music. Franz Liszt was known to say things like, “This is too black,“ “More pink here,“ and “I want it all azure.“? Ludwig van Beethoven referred to B minor as “the black key.“ Franz Schubert described E minor as being “unto a maiden robed in white and with a rose-red bow on her breast.“ [3]
_______________
Chapter 1 Notes
[1] Cayce, Edgar. Auras: An Essay on the Meaning of Colors. Virginia Beach, VA: A.R.E. Press, 1945, p. 8.
[2] Cytowic, Richard E. “Synesthesia: Phenomenology and Neuropsychology A Review of Current Knowledge“ in Psyche: An Interdisciplanry Journal of Research on Consciousness, 2(10), July 1995.
[3] Birren, Faber. Color Psychology & Color Therapy. Secaucus, NJ: The Citadel Press, , 1960, p. 163.
Access: PublicTagged with: art, children, composers, danger, intuition, perception, teachers, parents, human aura, synesthesia, auras, energy body, Edgar Cayce, beginner's mind, Beethoven, Listz, Schubert, gut feelings
art
June 2008
This is amazing! And, very timely. I was just talking to a friend and mentor of mine about the fact that I wanted to open myself up to seeing auras. I can't wait to read more!
It was interesting to read that someone else understands the child's ability to see auras. I first did so in the 6th grade. I remember this very specifically because I have acute myopia, and have been in and out of opthamologists' offices (and glasses!) since I was three… and this event precipitated a battery of tests to see “what was going on, now.”
The school I attended had green chalkboards, on which the teachers would write with yellow chalk. My sixth grade math teacher, Miss Falls, had a ruddy face and strawberry blond hair, and one day I noticed, as she stood before the board, that all around the outline of her head there was a yellowish glowing “ring.” Being a child of scientific parents and, honestly, personal bent, I went home and told my mother about it, and was promptly taken to see my eye doctor, who did all types of tests to make sure there was no disease process in place. He then checked for other things that could cause vision disturbances (including brain tumors,) wondered if the headaches I'd long experienced were connected (they were actually just sinus-related,) and generally poked and prodded at me for the next four years.
Needless to say, all this attention to the phenomenon kept me focused on the glow I would see around people. The more I looked for it, the more I saw it, and eventually I began to associate different colors with different feelings about the person in question. To this day, I have never found an “aura color chart” that was 100 percent in line with my experience, but I *have* found that my own instincts, in conjunction with that “glow” I've been able to see since childhood, has never led me wrong when it comes to getting a feel for others. Incidentally, I didn't come to realize what it was I was seeing until I was in college, some six years after the first incident, and I was reluctant to accept this explanation at first, since it had always been such a tangible phenomenon. Eventually, however, reality beat down skepticism… and now I see it as a valuable tool in interpersonal relationships – not to mention, on occasion, in keeping my family or myself out of harms way.
Just wanted to say Bravo! Another fantastic article. I don't see auras per se, but I get the 'information' from them consciously most of the time in terms of the good and bad 'vibes' you mentioned. My S.O., John, has seen auras and energy his entire life though. Anyway - thanks - a great write up! :-)
Cynthia!
This is great! I remember seeing auras as a child and am starting to see them again around some of my clients in the art therapy work. This was timely for me, too.
Thanks!
Ok……and then I read this. I also “sense” things…….vibes……etc. I don't recall ever seeing anything.
O……what about dreams. I had a dream about my son once……….he was glowing. Three months later the same exact events happened….I have it written down somewhere. Freaked me right out as well as some family members and friends……….as I had told them all about the dream before it happened in reality.
Can you see aura around photos of persons? Do they change according to the mood of the person? This is quite fascinating.
Sensing vibes definitely counts as high sense perception… and some people notice they can see auras best with their eyes closed… since the high sense perception operates independently of our normal senses (which can sometimes interfere).
Dreams often put us in better touch with intuition and high sense perceptions… some people get a feeling out being out of their body, floating around with 360 degree vision (seeing in all directions at once) in the hynagogic state between waking and sleeping. Accessing this state of consciousness, whether in a waking or sleeping dream, can provide highly accurate information in which we know things we are surprised to know.
It’s possible to see auras around photos of people… and they do change according to the moods of the people (usually the auras in the photos stay the same as the time when the photos were taken). Peoples’ auras can change quite a bit over time.