You Are The Light Of Your Spirit
on wearing black with neutrals + cultivating a strong radiant body
I felt you, raising an eyebrow, yesterday when you opened this post!
You quickly scrolled down and stopped at the 3 silhouettes I put together: you saw me in a pair of black tailored trousers, and a pair of dark denim jeans.
What happened to the beige woman? you wondered.
Were you disappointed? Were you judging me? Were you thinking “I am less than you”?
Maybe you’ve been “influenced” by me in the past… when I used to be advocating for a white-or-die life.
Maybe you’ve asked yourself in the past “What’s with all the whites?” and tried it out for yourself, and maybe you embraced it, or not.
When living in Mallorca (300 days of sunshine a year) wearing white every day and everywhere just made sense, it was easy, I was pregnant, feeling radiant anyway, and amongst the yogic crowd, I was just fitting in. Wearing white, back then, was my new normal (after 10+ years of Parisian life), and the worst that ever happened to me was spilling my turmeric latte on my white dress. The light on the island, as I remember it, is so bright, so rich, and so delicious, that wearing black was not even a question.
But one baby and two moves later, first in Eastern Europe and then in Northern Europe, where we have four seasons and (too) many rainy days, I found myself screen-grabbing more outfit ideas including a black pair of trousers or washed black denim. If I wanted to leave the house without staining my white denim (on rainy days), I had to either learn how to fly or… diversify my choice of bottoms. I resisted as long as I could until I realized I was not leaving the house enough because I was missing outfit options.
The good news is that, in my world, there is evidence to support all theories. So here is my new theory:
It’s about finding what is serving me the best at the moment — and seeing the potential of a black piece to reveal the shine and the brightness of a white, cream, or camel piece of clothes (95% of my wardrobe).
Have a second look at the collage above. The neutral colors pop more thanks to the black bottoms. Black bottoms + black shoes = longer legs (I’m 1m60, could use this!), while the eye is drawn to your upper half-body. More eyes on YOU.
When wearing white, especially in a big city, you are most likely to stand out from the crowd: you suddenly appear like an angel falling from the sky, you reflect the light, and you become the light. It can feel strange at first, almost vulnerable… Maybe that’s why most people would just pick darker colors, just to blend in… But that’s not what we signed up for! We are here for the radiance, right?
From a yogic point of view, wearing white amplifies your sattvic qualities, you are becoming more of an angelic human:
“Your personality is unified to Spirit, you are graceful, peaceful, disciplined, intuitive, sensitive, and see God as personal and present.” (Yogi Bhajan)
I have nothing against this!!
I have this experience when wearing all white while working from home: I feel clear, I feel good, and I feel like myself. At the core, I am consistent with who I am (if you are here, you know this!).
Now. I started to track my purchases (including clothes, shoes, bags, and accessories) in a spreadsheet earlier in January… To assess better where I am at with my style, keep track of my expenses (girl math), adding some elements such as the date of purchase, the link to the online shop, the full retail price, the price I paid, if I kept or returned the item, the size, and the color… I want to be able to see where I’m getting influenced and how it translates, and if there are some days in my moon cycle1 when I’m more prone to shopping!
This came from my intention to bring something NEW to my wardrobe, maximizing what I already own, without buying another white t-shirt or white denim jeans. So here are the few items I bought in 2024 so far:
The best part is that it goes with everything I already have: it truly does maximize my existing wardrobe.
I feel more playful, too.
It’s… liberating as well: now I can go out, feeling put together without worrying too much about the splash of rainwater on the bag of my legs. It’s also reconnecting me with my Parisienne roots where wearing black is the default mode…
Now to the question: “But don’t you feel less radiant?”
Radiance has become such a buzzword.
This publication is — overall — about The Radiant Woman. Through our weekly Light Letters, I want to question her style, lifestyle, and philosophy.
Has “radiant” become a better way to say “young, rich, and beautiful”?
Is it rather about inner beauty? Is it about projection and perception? Is it about confidence and personal power? Is it about a divine glow?
In my simple words — take them or leave them — it is your inner light shining through. When radiant, you are bright and beautiful.
Connected to our Radiant Body, this light is… dimmable.
When this inner light is dimmed, it feels harder for you to attract what is meant for you, to “manifest” your dream life, or to go even unnoticed…
When this inner light is big (it goes way beyond your aura) and bright, your presence is tangible, you are powerful, and the opportunities you have been calling in are being magnetized to you while what is not meant for you is being pushed away (because something better for you it’s on its way).
A strong and bright radiant body is your best PR: it does the talking for you, attracts opportunities that are meant for you, and, like a bouncer, sends away what’s not good enough for you. Your best agent. Here is an applied example and a story of how a strong radiant body can get you a Hermès Birkin bag (without playing the Hermès game), and how a weak radiant body can make you “invisible”.
Nobody asks (yet), but I will suggest the Meditation for the Radiant Body with the mantra Ajai Alai:
You may practice this for 30 days, 11 minutes a day, and send me an email on what you are noticing (I know, we need to bring some sort of meditation club back, right?).
You might experience feeling greater courage, attracting everything correct for you to you, and repelling what is not meant for you (rejection is protection!).
“Nobody can be you the way that you can be you.”
Carla Harris
Now, if you need an extra-boost, please consider blocking 30 minutes of your time before next Sunday to watch this talk by Carla Harris:
She has a strong radiant body, and I could listen to her for hours…
Through the power of her words (since it’s the theme of the month here), she elevates us and our radiance.
I’m inviting you to do the exercise she suggests — and use it for whatever you’re willing to manifest in your life.
Pick three adjectives that you would like people to describe you when you are not in the room (it’s when decision about your future are made).
Those three adjectives must be absolutely consistent with who you are (your authentic self)… and that are also valued by the other party (your organization, or space you’re looking to go deeper in, may it be a job, a new position, a new business, a new relationship).
Where they intersect is how you must behave consistently if you want to train people to think about you in a certain way. It’s the power of your projection, it’s your Radiant Body, it’s the opportunities coming your way.
“Perception is the co-pilot of reality. How people perceive you will directly impact how they deal with you.”
Carla Harris
Does wearing black impact one’s radiance? Yes… and no.
Just like anything else, it’s about how intentional you are about what you do and what you want to project out in the world.
Try things, be playful, and create a daily practice that reflects both the lifestyle you have and how you want to be perceived.
This is your life, your experience, and this Light Letter is not pure theory to satisfy the ego: it’s an invitation for you to take away what resonates and implement it for yourself.
Infinite blessings,
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