Skeptical Analysis of the Paranormal Society

"Le doute n'est pas une condition agréable, mais la certitude est absurde."

—Voltaire

"Colour Bath" by Colour Energies

Visit the corporate site here: http://www.colourenergy.com/bath_products.html
Or buy a single-use "Colour Bath" for $3.95 at Equinox Gifts here: http://www.equinoxbooksandgifts.com/html/colour_energy.html

Colour Bath. Will it align Alison's chakras?According to the information included with the "Colour Bath" packet, "...colour is pure energy and... each colour of the rainbow has a different frequency & power which reach you through light rays!"

The "Colour Bath" is designed to align the chakras. Chakras, the "seven basic energy centers of the body," according to sacredcenters.com, are different areas of the body are associated with archetypes, colors, feelings, and bodily functions. So, if one's chakras are out of alignment, it could manifest itself in a physical problem like a backache, or an emotional problem like depression (at least, according to people who believe in such things).

According to the beliefs of "Chromotherapy", or color therapy, one must balance the chakras in order to get rid of the emotional or physical problem. To do this, the sufferer must immerse themselves in the color, either by wearing it, wearing sunglasses tinted with it, or bathing in it.

Such is the background for the "Colour Bath".

Chromotherapy isn't a new concept. In 1969, psychologist Max Luscher conducted a study on humans and color. Luscher claimed the ability to tell, by acceptance and rejections of colors, aspects of an individual's personality.

The color test is now available online. A selection of "favorite" colors from a set of 8 yields a personality profile. When Alison took the quiz, she received the following results:

PROBLEM UNDERLYING THE PRESENT STRESS -- Afraid that he may be prevented from achieving the things he wants and therefore demands that others should recognize his right to them.

DESIRED OBJECTIVE -- Seeks affectionate, satisfying and harmonious relationships. Desires an intimate union in which there is love, self-sacrifice and mutual trust.

CURRENT INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR -- Feels that he is burdened with more than his pair share of problems. However, he sticks to his goals and tries to overcome his difficulties by being flexible and accommodating.

Take the quiz here: http://www.viewzone.com/luscher.html

Unfortunately, the results read rather like a horoscope - they apply to everyone. Not only that, but there is a limited number of results since there is a limited number of colors.

The first statement, the problem underlying the stress, says in summary that the individual may be prevented from achievement. There probably isn't anyone on the planet who doesn't have the same problem.

The second, the seeking of a harmonious relationship, is also fairly universal.

The third statement is more interesting in that it's an immediate contradiction. The negative is balanced perfectly with a positive, so nothing is actually said.

What Chromotherapy neglects to mention is the context in which colors are viewed. A quiz on favorite colors can never tell you anything about your personality without first knowing where you came from (and even then, it's doubtful that any useful information would come of it).

Colors and their meanings vary from culture to culture. Green, for example, in Muslim belief, stands for heaven. To the Irish, it's a symbol of luck.

The cliches of the area also play a part in color symbolism. When someone says "I was so angry, I saw red," or "I was green with envy," they are building on the symbolism for a particular color and changing its association to their beliefs.

Back to the chakras...

Since each chakra is associated with a particular color, before choosing a "Colour Bath", the purchaser has to find out which chakra is out of alignment. This can be done in a number of ways - by self-examination of one's problems, an individual may arrive at a conclusion of the source.

SAPS went to the professionals.

Before purchasing her "Colour Bath," Alison visited a local massage therapist who diagnosed her chakras using a pendulum.

By analyzing the movement of the pendulum when held above each of the chakras, the massage therapist was able to discover that Alison's heart chakra was out of alignment.

The Heart Chakra (Chakra Four) is associated with personal identity and social relationships. Love, compassion and self-esteem all fall under the heart chakra's influence, and it is associated with the color green.

According to the "Colour Bath" packet, bathing in green dye can help balance, love and self control. It also relaxes muscles, nerves, and thoughts, cleanses and balances energy, and gives a feeling of peace, harmony and renewal (which, aside from the emotional part, is what a bath does anyway.)

The ingredients listed for the "Colour Bath" on the packet are as follows:

Without more information about what the color actually is, it's impossible to say whether or not it is 1) safe and 2) easy to buy somewhere else, and for less. We'll take a stab at guessing what it is, though.

The Cajun Candle Factory offers a variety of glycerin-based, skin safe dyes. It even comes in green. A one ounce bottle of green dye is $3.95 - the same price as a "Colour Bath" packet, and with 30% more green.

Testing it out

Very green tub.Alison's word on the color bath:

It was very green. Very, very green. I didn't feel anything happening in my chakras, assuming that's something you can feel. I don't feel any more relaxed than I did before. Actually, I feel slightly less relaxed because the dye makes the water opaque and I've never been a fan of murky water. Not as though Jaws is going to get me in the bathtub, but I like being able to see my own feet.

The bathtub stains from the dye came off after scrubbing.The packet for the "Colour Bath" says that it doesn't dye skin or bathtubs. I think they mean "permanently". The dye, in its undiluted form, was enough to stain my fingertips when I opened the package. I imagine it will come off someday, though. It did also stain my bathtub. After I got out, I scrubbed the tub for about five minutes and got it all off. However, this isn't particularly relaxing, so if one's chakras were finally aligned again, I think the stress over worrying about one's security deposit while trying to ungreen the bathtub is enough to knock them off balance again.

Final Ruling: "Colour Baths" are hooey.

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