Color Meditation

“Is there also such a thing as ‘the essence of color’? For me, the essence is the spiritual aspect that lives in color. Making this spiritual aspect accessible is the purpose of this book.” — Kees Veenman

We are all familiar with the world of color, but can we learn to experience color more intensely? Can we learn to penetrate colors in a more profound way? This book takes the reader into the activity of the colors of the spectrum by investigating them meditatively. The author explains aspects of color phenomenology and prepares the reader for color meditations, including some that he has incorporated into his own personal practices.

Kees Veenman, a phenomenologist who specializes in colors, begins by observing the spring gold and the autumn gold of trees before introducing the phenomenological method whereby his research connects with Goethe’s theory of color and that of Rudolf Steiner. Using numerous examples and experiments, Veenman guides the reader toward the dynamics and essence of colors, describing his research into the nature of colors along with fresh questions that help us penetrate the world of colors ever more deeply.

The author also considers light therapy and the relationship of colors to the seasons, as well as to fairytales. The reader is encouraged to meditate with and in colors to discover and experience, among other things, consciousness of Christ. All of this is presented with clear descriptions supplemented with color images.

Color Meditation is for those who want to appreciate the phenomena and wonders—the being—of color more deeply and fully understand how color can enrich one’s soul and spiritual activity.

“The correspondence between the emergence and effect of a color outside us and the appearance within us is found in the polarity between light and darkness. Light is a symbol of clear day consciousness, whereas darkness represents the impenetrability of the will. Here we come to the intimate relationship between the world of colors and that of human consciousness with its active and passive side.” — Christine Gruwez (foreword)

Translated by Laura Liska from Kleurmeditatie (Uitgeverij Pentagon, Amsterdam, 2015). Cover image by Beppe Assenza (1905–1985): Eklipse, watercolor, 23.5 x 20.5 in.