When the World Feels Heavy, Reach for Color

Simple ways to let color restore balance and guide you back to yourself

Every week in my coaching practice, I hear a version of the same question: “How do I stay centered when the world feels so heavy?” My clients are smart, compassionate people who want to show up for their families, communities, and careers. However, uncertainty of our times often leaves them feeling drained, reactive, or disconnected from themselves and from a sense of being able to make a difference in the world.

When everything outside feels unstable, we need accessible practices that help us reconnect with our core selves. One of the simplest and most overlooked tools for doing that is color. It may seem decorative, but it is also medicine, a mirror, and a map. The colors we surround ourselves with can restore balance when we feel scattered, offer comfort when emotions run high, and spark motivation when hope feels dim. Before I was taught the magic of color, I prided myself on being the person whose closet was a spectrum of black clothes with accents here and there. 

However, my relationship with color deepened thanks to my friend Bernard Charles, aka The Chromamystic, behind The Color Mage Oracle. Bernard showed me that color is not just aesthetic but energy, guidance, and an invitation to see a shift of perspective in any situation. 

When I first studied Bernard’s Color Mage Oracle, I expected to learn about chakras or perhaps the psychology of red versus blue. What I didn’t expect was the way it awakened my intuition. Bernard taught me that every color carries stories, symbolism, and energy that transcend cultures and centuries. Color is a language we already know in our bones, even if we’ve forgotten how to listen. That realization opened me to seeing color as a mirror of what I was feeling on the inside, and as a tool to shift the energy around me when the outside world felt chaotic.

When I first trained with Bernard, he invited me to see beyond the surface. Each card in the deck carries not only a shade but also a message, a reminder that color has always been part of human language. From the red as a representation of relationships and passion, or pink as a reflection of a gentle kind of love. Bernard’s brilliance is in teaching us how to bring those timeless associations into the present moment as a compass when life feels uncertain. Instead of dismissing this relationship to color as random, Bernard encouraged me to treat them as intuitive signals pointing toward what I might need.

I began experimenting: wearing different shades to see how they influenced my mood, journaling about the colors that felt most present each day, and even meditating with a candle of a specific hue. Slowly, I noticed that color didn’t just reflect my state of being, it actively shaped it. A light blue bedspread and room accents helped me feel calm at the start and end of my day. A bright orange notebook sparked creativity when I felt stuck. Randomly buying myself soft pink flowers reminded me to be kind to myself.

By noticing, choosing, and working with color, we can shift not only how we feel but also how we show up in the world. This practice became This Journal Is Your Mood Ring. At first glance, it might seem lighthearted and playful like the mood rings we wore as kids. Color can be a shorthand for emotions we can’t always name with words.

Thinking about my clients, an entry from my book, Tumbleweed, always feels like a good reflection to share. It represents the feeling of being lost and evokes the image of being carried by the wind, directionless and depleted. Selecting this color in the journal suggests the reader might be feeling lost, but is ready to find direction in what makes them feel fulfilled. When we get to the root of what makes us happy, we gain a new outlook on life. To shift out of this feeling, the call to action is to make a list of things that make you happy and return to this list to reconnect with your inner truth and compass.

However, you don’t need an oracle card or journal to see the shift of perspective through color. 

How to See Color (Everywhere)

Color is woven everywhere in life. Start looking here:

• Closet: Which pieces you reach for on hard days (comfort colors) vs. brave days (activation colors).

• Home accents: Bedding, towels, mugs, candles—the micro-environment shaping your nervous system.

• Food: Cravings often carry color-coded messages (greens for renewal, oranges for zest and creativity).

• Sky + light: Dawn’s soft gold, midday white, twilight indigo—each cues a different mood.

• Screens: Your phone wallpaper, app themes, presentation decks—what palette are you leaning on?

• Nature & seasons: Seasonal palettes can harmonize (or clash) with your current state.

• Language: “Feeling blue,” “green light,” “in the red”—our idioms reveal unconscious color stories.

• Body cues: Notice imagery that pops up during breathwork or meditation (trust that the first color that arrives is where you get to inquire).

Spend one day simply noticing. No fixing, no judging—just “I notice…”

How to Inquire With Color

You can use prompts to translate a color into insight. Here are some examples.

If today had a color, it would be __ because…

Which color am I avoiding—and why might I need it?

What color do I crave when I’m overwhelmed? What does that color offer me?

Which memory does this color pull forward? Is there guidance in that memory?

If my boundary had a color, it would be…

If my purpose had a color today, it would be…

Which colors would bring me back to center right now?

What tiny action would honor this color’s message in the next hour?

Write freely for 3–5 minutes per question and try to listen for direction, not perfection.

From Color to Action: A Mini Playbook

Here are a few suggested actions to turn those insights into steps if you don’t know where to start:

• If you’re anxious (seeing pale blue or lavender): Do: 3 minutes of “color breathing”—inhale blue, exhale purple. Wear: A nazar bracelet to remind you of your safety. Place: A lavender essential oils on your desk as a mindful calm cue.

• If you’re stuck (craving orange): Do: A 10-minute “orange sprint”—creative brain dump with a bright notebook. Wear: Orange socks or lipstick to signal play. Place: A citrus candle near your workspace.

• If you need boundaries (drawn to green or earthy brown): Do: Write a one-sentence boundary in your notes app. Wear: A leather item that feels structured. Place: A green stone by your keyboard as a visual reminder of your worthiness.

• If you’re calling purpose forward (yellow or red): Do: Name one aligned micro-action (email, pitch, or page). Wear: A red ring/pendant to remind you of all you are capable of. Place: A yellow highlighter to make your decisions stand out.

  
  

In times like these, it’s easy to feel powerless. What I’ve learned is that the smallest shifts can be the most profound. Something as simple as choosing to surround yourself with a healing color can change not only how you feel, but also how you show up in the world.

So the next time you feel the heaviness of the world pressing in, ask yourself: What color do I need right now? Trust that answer. Wrap yourself in it, breathe it in, or write it down. Let it guide you back to your truest self. 

If this article sparked curiosity about exploring your relationship with color, consider taking the next step. The Chromamystic has various offers to explore the power of color and find a new way to see the world.