COLOR THERAPY - A BRIEF HISTORY

An Old New Age Therapeutic Option

By Darius Dinshah S-C N. [Son of Dinshah P. Ghadiali]

 
It is said that everything that goes around comes around, or there is nothing new under the sun; this is certainly true of color therapy. While details may not exist, gem therapy - a form of color therapy which is still practiced - dates into antiquity. Using a particular colored gem would give an effect similar to using an inexpensive comparably-colored currently available filter.

Color therapy came into a more modern form in the mid-1800s through the efforts of several researchers. Notable among them were General Augustus Pleasanton, and two physicians, Seth Pancoast and Edwin D. Babbitt. Though the electric light was not yet invented, their utilization of sunlight and glass filters served as efficiently as any present-day therapeutic device. The classic reference volume, Principles of Light and Color (by Dr. Babbitt, first edition published in 1878), detailed many case histories successfully treated with color therapy using even a rudimentary device: a colored glass bottle. It has been reprinted through the years in its original 560-page format as well as in edited versions. The original book also covered his thoughts regarding the value of different colors for plant life, in clothing, etc.

A difficult point for many to understand: How can colored light possibly cause a physiologic effect inside a human (or animal) body? Several answers can be given, each may be correct for a particular case or health condition. The first and probably best known is the so-called "blue-light" therapy for some types of neonatal jaundice. Light applied to the skin causes a chemical reaction (photo-oxidation) in blood circulating under the skin, effectively lessening bilirubin levels with the aid of the liver. The second, also by exposure of the skin, is production of vitamin D though it is generated by a higher frequency (ultraviolet) rather than visible light. Third is light energy entering through the eyes. A common misconception is that the eyes function solely in the capacity of visual imaging. Additional light exposure is well-known to cause a beneficial change in "seasonal affective disorder" (SAD), a condition believed to be caused by insufficient light energization through the eyes to the hypothalamus thence to the pituitary gland which controls the endocrine system. The fourth is the author's hypothesis, derived from several sources: Each individual cell in a living organism has a specific function to perform. In so doing, it generates and radiates a specific energy; the cellular energy totality is often termed the "aura". The liver radiates the equivalent frequency (harmonic) of red light, the pituitary radiates green, the spleen violet, circulatory system is magenta, lymphatic system is yellow, and so on. The logic behind color therapy is this: when a particular organ or system is underactive, its auric energy decreases so the appropriate activating color is projected on the affected area (sometimes the entire body). If overactivity is present, such as in excessive fever, the obvious remedy is an opposite (depressant) color. Further, by energizing the natural reparative powers present within us, rather than relying on drugs with their attendant often-dangerous side effects, resistant bacteria are not encouraged.

The next important development in color therapy (Spectro-Chrome, 1920) was the codifying of colors with their chemical and physiologic effects (as in the above paragraph) by Colonel Dinshah P. Ghadiali (Commander, New York City Police Reserve Air Service - photo, circa 1919). He based Spectro-Chrome on Dr. Babbitt's writings, his own experiences as an eclectic medical practitioner in India, and spectroscopic discoveries by Joseph von Fraunhofer, Gustav Kirchhoff, and other scientists of that era. Dinshah (as he preferred to be known) devised a method of combining filters to create colors which do not exist in the visible spectrum. These "artificial" colors considerably expanded the scope of health conditions amenable to color therapy. That important innovation advanced Spectro-Chrome from color therapy in its usual sense to a complete healing system.

Currently, commercial color instruments range to thousands of dollars with little advantage compared to the simplest box/lamp/filter arrangement for less than $50. The light source can be almost any incandescent bulb (or sunlight, but not a so-called full-spectrum neodymium bulb or fluorescent lamp). The selection of Roscolene filters is important so it is advisable to purchase them from the recommended supplier:

Dinshah Health Society, Darius Dinshah, Pres.