Month: May 2015

The Colors We Crave

Posted on by Brook Thornley

What does it mean when we are drawn to color? We all crave color. That is one of the reasons we can have a big closet of clothes in front of us, and still say, “I have absolutely nothing to wear today.” Because whatever it is we crave may not be in our closet that day.

Each day we wake up and find ourselves in different circumstances and different moods. The color we desire to surround ourselves with in that circumstance usually ends up being the remedy for what we need emotionally and physically to forge forward with our tasks.

Case in point. On one particular day working at Human Art one of our employees was skeptical of this theory. We were discussing it and it made sense to her but, still needing to process it, she decided to go to lunch. When she returned she had in her hands a green soda drink, some bright green licorice, and a pack of green spearmint gum. The interesting thing about this lunch selection was she had purchased her food at a local meat market that also provides lunch. Not really the standard purchases when she usually went there. When she came back she said, “I don’t even know why I chose these items for lunch.” I explained that they were all green and explained the attributes that accompany that color. Green is healing and has the ability to refuel or revitalize you. It represents tranquility and order. Think of when you go to the mountains and walk or run or ride a bike; it feels like you can go forever. But when you come back to the city and the absence of the green it seems like sometimes you can only do a half a block. Because of the rejuvenation of the green while you’re in mountains you seem to have more energy and be able to go longer. As I explained this to the worker she related that was exactly the traits and attributes that she was craving that particular day. She was tired and really was craving some tranquility.

When you are craving a color and need to (and DO) surround yourself with it you are desiring the traits that color possesses. So think of what color you might be craving and the correlating activity that you might need in your life.

 

RED—PHYSICAL

When we crave red we are craving our authentic talents. Red is a grounding color. It helps put our feet back on the ground and allows us to move forward in the best way we know how. When we need red we usually need more physical activity in our lives.

 


ORANGE—SOCIAL

When we need orange we need more social experiences, or sometimes just more connections with people in the social events we are already part of. Orange can bring people together and help them interact in a more meaningful way.

 


YELLOW—LIBERATION 

When we crave yellow we are craving liberation and initiative. Yellow clears the cobwebs of confusion from our mind and allows us to break out in new and liberating ways. It is clarity. It is like the sun shining on a dark day. When we crave yellow we need to jump into activities and get going on them. Usually when we need yellow we lack initiative and just need a jump start.

 

 

GREEN—STRUCTURE

When we crave green we need peace and tranquility, but we also need structure. When we need green we usually need to [provide structure and organize our life. When things feel chaotic and uptight green is the answer. The task is usually organization or creation of structure the areas that we are in charge of.

 

BLUE—INTROSPECTION

When we crave blue we are craving introspection. It is time to sit down and think about what we need based on our own thoughts; our own connection and morals. We start with what is important to us; without somebody else telling or dictating to us what we need. Blue is intangible. We can’t control it; it is completely out of the box. It is like the sky or the ocean—free to think or move in whatever way it desires. Trying to control blue is like fencing in the ocean. You can try to but probably won’t be that successful.


VIOLET—AUTHENTIC SELF

Violet is how we express ourselves. It allows us to see things clearly and get in line with our true self and true convictions. It allows us to get back on track with our inherent qualities and talents. It opens us up to emotional creativity. 

 


INDIGO—LOVING YOURSELF

Indigo is when we crave our authentic self. We just need to be put back together at a cellular level. Indigo helps us see the beauty in ourselves, our surroundings and the life that we created. When we need indigo we need to go out and relate and work with and collaborate with people in the way we do it best. It’s like an infant when they are young they love who they are no matter what anyone else says or believes. They may have their hair a mess, a dirty diaper and food dripping down their belly, but you cannot convince them that they are not the most wonderful person on the planet just the way they are. Indigo takes us back to that.

 

 

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So look at the colors each day see what you crave and allow yourself to be exposed to that color and involved those types of activities that you need. Be true to who you are and think about what you need to be authentic. And remember: everyone is a masterpiece.

 

 

Two Steps to Loving Someone–Crossing all Borders

Posted on by Brook Thornley

2 Steps to Loving Someone

There are times when we will come across people in our lives that seem so different from us that we don’t know how we could ever get along with them, let alone love them. I am here to tell you that it is not only possible but can be a wonderful experience where you can create meaningful relationships you may have otherwise missed out on. It starts with just two steps:

1 – Love yourself. It is extremely difficult to love someone else until you really understand yourself and what your personal design looks like.
The components of loving yourself are….
-Know your authentic self and really understand your attractiveness
-Know all the traits and characteristics that come with your personal design
-Be able to support your attractiveness and preferences without anyone else having to sign off on it (support yourself)2. Celebrate the person you want to love. If you truly want to love them it is critical to begin with celebration.

2 – Celebrate the person you want to love.If you truly want to love them it is critical to begin with celebration.
You can start by…
-Learning their traits and characteristics
-Take the time to understand their design
-Know that opposites attract. While you will probably agree on some things, most things you will see differently
-Learn how to truly understand them while at the same time staying true to your design
-Slow down and listen

When learning to love someone social issues, race, culture, religion and many other issues can become a barrier in a new relationship. The truth is, sometimes they are hard to overcome! Luckily when I approach a new relationship I simply get to just concentrate on that person’s design and the equation of those two simple steps, initially.

Tommy and Brook

When I think of this equation, I think of one of my best friends in the whole wide world, Tommy Bassett. My husband and I adore him. He is truly a friend that I love and could not imagine my life without him.

I met Tommy in a salon one day, years ago. I had just started working there that day and just like any new day on the job, things were intense.  Everything was new to me and status quo to everyone else there. I saw him standing in the back room. Tommy intrigued me and I immediately fell in love with his design. He is the most amazing version of a Saturated-Grayed person with just enough Blackened to be as real and witty as the day is long (in our methodology that means authoritative and private, meticulous but very down to earth, initially introverted).

I, on the other hand, am Saturated and Whitened equally, with very little Grayed and fumes of Blackened. Authoritative and spontaneous (again, in our methodology that means clear thinker, yet very spontaneous and social, most of the time quite extroverted).

In other words, we are complete opposites!

Crossing All Borders
When you truly love yourself authentically for who you are, and celebrate and love the other person for who they are authentically it crosses all borders. The love you learn to have for a person’s authentic imprint knows no bounds!

Brook & Tommy presenting Human Art at the Global Hair Expo in Australia in 2008.

As time went on Tommy and I were able to work side by side and learn more about each other. We had many discussions about each other’s designs and their differences. He caught on to the theory of Human Art so quickly and before we knew it he was on tour with me. We were doing a lot in the fashion industry as far as designing trends based on a person’s design and personality. We had contracts with some major companies and found ourselves on stage everywhere from Las Vegas red carpet shows to European fashion week in Australia presenting hair trends. We also spent many hours in New York working.

We also found ourselves spending a lot of time learning how to be friends. We were both hair dressers, so we thought that was one thing we might have in common; but our approach to that was even sometimes different. It struck us as a little odd that the two of us who had nothing (literally nothing) in common could be such good friends. But our differences as far as social issues, religion, and sexual orientation didn’t come up as much as our designs did. We were so fully involved with celebrating our designs we forgot to spend the same amount of time on those differences.

After one particular event in St. George, Utah at the beautiful Green Valley Spa, we sat down and addressed the differences in an attempted to find one of these issues we had in common.

The contrast went as follows:
Brook                                                                        Tommy
Religious. I call myself a “Molly Mormon”                Loves general spirituality
I have a Traditional marriage                                    Different sexual orientation
15 years older.                                                          15 years younger
More Conservative than liberal                                More Liberal  than conservative

This is just to name a few…

It is important that when I describe these it is in no way to promote a particular cause or lifestyle or to make a stance. It is only to point out that you could not get two friends on more opposite ends of the spectrum. However, we were determined to find something we had in common. After a lot of discussion we found one thing we completely agreed on: we both really love almonds!

Most importantly, we were excited to realize that we could be so different, but by staying completely true to ourselves and at the same time truly celebrating each other’s opposite design and what that really meant (and still means today) we could cross all borders and have a true friendship that is so meaningful.

With that realization I was so happy to know it really does work. There we were, two totally different people, and yet such great friends. There it was, the one-two punch:
First, love yourself and your authentic design
Second, celebrate the other’s authentic self as well

I encourage you to take the time to truly understand yourself…Then forget yourself! Take equal time to celebrate the person you want to love. You may not end up with a friendship like mine and Tommy’s every time, but you will find a respect and appreciation for others that you may have missed before and you will both be better people because of it. I can promise you that.

Remember, everyone’s a masterpiece.

~Brook

What are your thoughts? Is there anyone you’ve had a similar experience with, or someone you’d like to try this with? We’d love to hear from you, leave a comment below! 

Personality Typing Dilemma and How Human Art is Different

Posted on by Brook Thornley

I was talking to a friend awhile back about a personality test she took at work. She told me it didn’t mean that much to her because it was relatively easy to pick the items which supported her outward image as a creative, competent, strong leader in the organization. I told her that I was working on some personality typing with the Human Art theory and she said, “You can have my test if you want,” and tossed it to me.

This experience got me thinking about the dilemma we face when we are asked to take a personality test online or at work. We are all eager to be validated for who we know we are, but it can be scary, at times, to answer questions which may present a side of ourselves which has been disapproved of in the past. We often feel the pressure to mirror what others like about us or what our work culture values.

This led me to think about what I like about the Human Art approach to understanding personality. I remember 25 years ago when Brook’s mother, Donna, was doing my personality reading. At first, I was skeptical because she started holding colors up to my face. It caught my attention when she held up a new growth green color to may face. I already loved the color but then she started to interpret it for me. She said it was like the color of grass under a rock that is determined to get over or around the rock and just doesn’t give up. This trait of perseverance was something that rang true to me and I liked about myself. It was true for me even though not many people had noticed it in me. It lifted me and gave me a little bit of confidence that day. It was powerful to me that someone could bring that forth even though they didn’t really know my history. It became an anchoring point for me to hold as a truth about my personality.

Since that time, I have been able to witness and participate in the Human Art personality discovery process with others. What I enjoy most is that the process does not require the recipient to say anything. When the colors are held up to your face, it is like perfect pitch in music. When your truth is interpreted for you in a strengths based environment, it is life changing.

Being “unique” is no longer a cliché because we can measure your authentic self and reveal the harmonies in nature that you most relate to. For example, I am Grayed and Blackened. With that combination my personality communicates a sensitive, no-nonsense kind of guy. I care about others feelings and want to protect, but at some point things need to get done.

After going through the process, many of our clients will say, “I will never apologize for being me again.” One of my colleagues who attended a workshop told me, “I thought I always wanted to be Blackened in high school but now I know that I am Saturated, and I can see my strengths more clearly.”

Human Art personality assessment is different from others because it helps us to stop comparing ourselves to others. It reveals how we can have opposing traits at the same time, such as being both introverted and extroverted, and in what order they manifest themselves. In relationship compatibility Human Art can help you to know how opposites attract rather than merely matching you on various items of compatibility.

It is fun to discover how you fit into the broader scheme of nature and how you relate to what is true in design. That is what Human Art can do for you.

 

~Rod

(Licensed Clinical Social Worker [LCSW])

“What Am I Best At?” Understanding Your Central Focus

Posted on by Brook Thornley

A client recently asked me,” With my design, what am I the best at?”

Usually I get asked that in a different way. For example, “what job would I be the best at?” or, “what kind of spouse will I be?” When this client asked me so simply, “what am I good at?” I realized we ask ourselves that a lot. My answer is: you are best at being you. You are the master of that because you already know the rules.  We get in trouble when we look externally for the answer to that question or for our worth (that means we are comparing ourselves to someone else). If you find yourself doing that, you will fail. If you stay with your “great” or your “best” self you already know how to do that innately so you will have success.

It’s like ballet dancers in a dance class. Each dancer eventually becomes a graceful and talented dancer; they all just do it in their own way. As young dancers in class one might be very organized in her training with lots of lists to help her practice. Another girl might use her imagination to visualize the dream of being a prima ballerina to drive her to practice. Yet another is social and just can’t wait to get to class each time to see her friends. Years later you can find each one of them under the lights somewhere receiving cheers and a big bouquet of beautiful flowers. So the question should not be “what am I the best at?” the right question is, “how best do I tackle being something great?” (No matter what that “something” is).

 

It all boils down to your Central Focus.
Your central focus describes what is important to you to accomplish and in what way for any event or task.

 

If you are SATURATED……….. The central focus is quality. Whatever you deem to be quality is at the center of everything you do.

If you are WHITENED………. Your central focus is social and change. You need a lot of both things to stay involved in what you are doing.

If you are GRAYED………….  The details are so important. They become your central focus and you feel lost without them.

If you are BLACKENED………… You are the “get ‘er done” type of person. Just fix it!

The Door Fell Off
We often use the analogy of the door to help you figure it out. If you were in a room somewhere and the front door just suddenly fell off, what would your reaction be?

All the Saturated people would stand up and announce, “the door just fell off,” and would immediately take charge and start delegating.

All of the Whitened people would jump up and say, “Wow the door just fell off!” and call all their friends and tell them to come (and bring cupcakes) to see that the door fell off. (In other words, turn it into an opportunity to socialize and have fun).

The Grayed people would start processing the details. Something like, “the door fell off and it is late. We need to get something done about it because it’s almost dark, and oh yeah it might rain. I wonder if there is something wrong with the hinges…” and so on.

Finally, all the Blackened people would just get up and put the door back on.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Remember that we all have all four types of personality in us, so we may relate to each in some way. But we lead out with our dominant one and that is where we find our central focus.

The next time you are thinking of what you are best at, stay true to your authentic self, no matter what it is you are doing. That is what they really mean when people say “just be you.”

And always remember, no matter what you choose to do everyone is a masterpiece.

~Brook