Indigo children

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Paranormal / Parapsychology
Terminology
Artist's rendering, based on the writing of Nancy Ann Tappe
Details
Terminology: Indigo children
Definition: Children who possess ESP or related paranormal abilities that indicate a new level of evolutionary development
Signature: An indigo colored aura
Misc
Coined by: Tappe, Nancy Ann (1982) "Understanding Your Life Through Color"
Status New Age belief
See Also: Aura (paranormal)


In the New Age movement, indigo children are children who are believed to represent a higher state of human evolution. The term itself is a reference to the belief that such children have an indigo-colored aura.[1] Beliefs concerning the exact nature of indigo children vary, with some believing that they have paranormal abilities such as the ability to read minds, and others that they are distinguished from non-indigo children merely by more conventional traits such as increased empathy and creativity.

There is no scientific support for these claims.[2]

Some alleged indigo children exhibit precocious cognitive development and are almost certainly intellectually gifted; i.e., they have high IQs and superior general intelligence. The intellectually gifted often display unusual sensitivity, empathy, precocious moral sensibility, as well as greater-than-normal body symmetry. To a person unfamiliar with gifted children, or to an adherent of New Age principles, a child expressing these traits might appear to have paranormal abilities, or possibly a higher level of evolutionary development.

Contents

[edit] Origins

The term indigo children originates from the 1986 book Understanding Your Life Thru Color, by Nancy Ann Tappe[3] [4], a synesthete and intuitive, who as a synesthete perceives color and tastes shapes [5]. She wrote that during the mid 1960s she began noticing that many children were being born with indigo life colors [6]. Currently, Tappe has estimated that 90% of people age 14 to 25 have "indigo life colors" on Tappe's website.[7]

The idea of indigo children was later popularized by the 1998 book The Indigo Children: The New Kids Have Arrived, written by the husband-and-wife team of Lee Carroll and Jan Tober.[8]

[edit] Characteristics and beliefs

According to Nancy Ann Tappe, indigo children are here to build the bridge to the future and show us tomorrow[9]. They are hypersensitives who are highly empathic and intuitive by nature. They can detect, or are in tune with, the thoughts and feelings of others. They are also highly introspective and thus are very self-aware and have a clear sense of self-definition. They are often filled with a strong sense of purpose and the feeling that they need to make a significant difference in the world.

According to Tappe, they are strong-willed, independent thinkers who prefer to be self-guided rather than directed by others. They tend to think outside the box, brilliant and love working with the challenges of mechanics. Computers often are their favorite toys and learning tools. Parents of these children must guide them, not teach them.

The Indigo supposedly has four distinct personality patterns. Tappe's definition of these patterns are 1) The Artist, 2) The Conceptualist, 3) The Humanist, 4) The Catalyst.[1].

Movement is said to be required to keep them better focused. [10][11][12][13][14][15]

[edit] Criticism

Psychologist Russell Barkley has said the New Age movement has yet to produce empirical evidence of the existence of indigo children, and that the 25 traits most commonly attributed to them, he believes, are so vague that they could describe "most of the people most of the time" and were reminiscent of the Forer effect. Barkley also expressed concern that labeling a disruptive child an "indigo" may delay proper diagnosis and treatment that may help the child.[16][17] Others have advised that many of the traits of Indigo children could be more prosaically interpreted as simple arrogance and selfish individualism, which parents with certain New Age beliefs may misperceive.[2]

The indigo phenomena may be the reaction of children watching television shows with an emphasis on magic and New Age-compatible language. An example of this was illustrated in a Dallas Observer article discussing indigo children, a reporter recorded the following interaction between a man who worked with indigo children, and a purported indigo child:

“ Are you an Indigo? he asked Dusk. The boy looked at him shyly and nodded. "I'm an avatar," Dusk said. "I can recognize the four elements of earth, wind, water and fire. The next avatar won't come for 100 years." The man seemed impressed.[17] ”

Readers of the Dallas Observer later wrote in to inform the newspaper that the child's response appeared to be taken from the storyline of Avatar: The Last Airbender; a children's cartoon showing on Nickelodeon at the time of the interview. The editor of the Dallas Observer later admitted they were not aware of the possible connection until readers brought it to their attention.[18]

[edit] Education

Although the mainstream teaching profession does not recognize New Age beliefs about the existence of indigo children, some alternative education groups have set up programs based around the concept.[8][19]

[edit] In popular culture

  • The film Indigo (2003) is about the relationship between a man and his indigo grandchild[20]
  • Maynard James Keenan's musical side project, Puscifer, released a song on the album V is for Vagina entitled "Indigo Children"
  • In the video game Indigo Prophecy, an autistic girl by the name of Jade is believed to be the Indigo Child: the one who holds the secret to the meaning of life[citation needed]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Tappe, Nancy Ann (1982) Understanding Your Life Through Color, Starling Publishers, ISBN 0940399008 (Reprint)
  2. ^ a b Jayson, Sharon (2005-05-31). "Indigo kids: Does the science fly?" (html). USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2005-05-31-indigo-kids_x.htm. Retrieved on 2007-10-23. 
  3. ^ http://www.nancyanntappe.com
  4. ^ Tappe, Nancy Ann (1986)."Understanding Your Life Thru Color," ISBN 0-940399-00-8
  5. ^ Tappe, Nancy Ann (2009)."Understanding Your Life Through Color," Second Edition.
  6. ^ Tappe, Nancy Ann. (2009. Second Edition)"Understanding Your Life Through Color"
  7. ^ http://www.allaboutindigos.com.
  8. ^ a b Carroll, Lee & Tober, Jan (1998). The Indigo Children: The New Kids Have Arrived. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House.
  9. ^ Tappe, Nancy Ann. Understanding Your Life Through Color, 2009 (Second Edition)
  10. ^ "Indigo Children: Subtle Therapies for Sensitive Children". http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Indigo_Children/id/222775. Retrieved on 2007-10-16. 
  11. ^ "Indigo, Crystal and Rainbow Children" (php). http://www.angeltherapy.com/article1.php. Retrieved on 2007-10-16. 
  12. ^ "Indigo Children at Indigoenergy.ca" (html). http://www.indigoenergy.ca/Indigo%20Children.htm. Retrieved on 2007-10-16. 
  13. ^ Lang, Craig R.. "The Indigo Hypothesis – Are Indigo Children a Goal of the Visitor Agenda?" (html). http://home.comcast.net/~lang.craig/Indigo_Hypothesis.htm. Retrieved on 2007-10-16. 
  14. ^ Okelberry, Connie. "The Indigo Children website" (html). http://www.indigochild.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-16. 
  15. ^ "Indigo Children – The Next Step In Human Evolution" (html). http://www.energyconnectiontherapies.com/articles/Indigo.Children.Next.Step.pdf. 
  16. ^ Leland, John (2006-01-12). "Are They Here to Save the World?". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/12/fashion/thursdaystyles/12INDIGO.html?ei=5088&en=277fb750ad762ed9&ex=1294722000&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=all. Retrieved on 2007-10-23. 
  17. ^ a b Hyde, Jesse (2006-03-09). "Little Boy Blue" (html). Dallas Observer. http://www.dallasobserver.com/2006-03-09/news/little-boy-blue/. Retrieved on 2007-10-23. 
  18. ^ "Letters to the Dallas Observer". Dallas Observer. 2006-03-16. http://www.dallasobserver.com/2006-03-16/news/new-age-mumbo-jumbo/full. Retrieved on 2007-10-23. 
  19. ^ Simpson, K. (2004). "The Beach School: Giving Children the Freedom to Learn." Children of the New Earth, 2:1, pp. 92–95.
  20. ^ "Plot summary for Indigo". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379322/plotsummary. Retrieved on 2007-10-23. 

[edit] Further reading

  • Tappe, Nancy Ann (2009). "Understanding Your Life Through Color." (2nd Edition) Texas: Aquila Libris Publishing Company
  • Altaras,Kathy/Tappe,Nancy Ann (2008,2009). "Understanding Your Life Through Awareness." Texas: Aquila Libris Publishing Company
  • Redman, Deb (2001). "Investing in Adult Understanding of Special Children." Chicago: Project Legacy.
  • Lancaster, Dianne (2002). Anger and the Indigo Child. Boulder: Wellness Press.
  • Carroll, Lee and Tober, Jan (1999). "The Indigo Children." California: Hay House, INC.
  • Tappe, Nancy Ann.(1986). "Understanding Your Life Thru Color." California: Starling Publishers
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