Hues and Humor – the God Force in You

How do you know you are connected to the God of your being? Through color and laughter! I know it doesn’t look obvious, but there is a reason that hues (colors) and humor (laughter) sound similar: because ‘Huw’ is an ancient word for God.

According to www.wikipedia.com, “In Sufism Hu or Huwa is the pronoun used with Allah or God, and is used as a name of God. Allah Hu means "God, Just He!" In Arabic Allah means God and with Hu, as an intensive added to Allah, means "God himself." Hu is also found in the Islamic credo La Ilaha Ila Allah Hu, meaning "There is no god but He".” (In Judaism we also say, “the Master of the Universe, Blessed be He”.)

At the risk of sounding like Robert Graves, who had a seriously optimistic view of how words connect with each other, I do believe that there is a relationship between ‘Hu’, human, humor and hues/colors. Whether the connection is based on word structure or not, there are certainly connections between the four concepts.

What makes us human? We have almost identical physiology to every other mammal, and brain functions that are similar but more advanced than most higher primates. However, we are the only species that consistently demonstrates three qualities at a higher level than just about any other animal:

1. Sense of humor and the capacity for laughter
2. Color sense and acuity, both physically and emotionally
3. The spark of divinity, meaning an enhanced sense of self-awareness

So let’s take a look at these three…

Have you ever considered how rare it is to hear animals laugh, or see them play tricks on each other? There are a few exceptions: monkeys occasionally hide things on each other, and the kea (a parrot from NZ) is known for teasing other birds. Dophins sound like they laugh, but do they really? It’s hard to tell. Humans are the only species with sufficient mental and language skills to create jokes, whether verbal or physical. And we do it all the time! When we lighten up with humor, that’s when we are closer to the higher, more complex intelligence called God.
Color sense may sound like a technical ability but it also stems from the higher brain functions of a more advanced ‘triune’ brain which is only found in primates. Most animals are color blind; they have simpler brains that are only wired for emotion and immediate response to environmental stimuli. (Cats do not, in fact, have the kind of brains to plan world domination; it only looks like they’re plotting.)

Another aspect of that advanced brain is the use of color analogies in describing mood. Ever felt blue with sadness? Red with rage? Green with jealousy? Yellow with jaundice? Or maybe grey with depression, not to mention seeing things only in black and white… Color names and meanings are pretty much universal, which is also tells us something.

Picture a cut-glass glass globe hanging in the middle of a room. When the sunlight hits the glass, it sparks rainbow hues across the walls and ceiling, right? Every human being has an inner crystal, and when the light of God hits that inner prism, the light defracts and spread rainbow hues all over the your energy field. When any of your facets isn’t able to light up, then that part of your life is dead. Thus it is essential that you have all your ‘hues’.

Humans also seem to be the only species with enough self-awareness to also have a sense of God. According to holon theory, every part of the universe is made up of parts and wholes; the the wholes always use the characteristics of their constituent parts plus additional qualities that are higher and more self-aware. For example, atoms combine to make molecules, which make cells, which mark organs, which combine to create bodies with awareness. The same is true for the nonphysical: beliefs, thoughts and emotions all combine in higher and higher levels of awareness and intelligence. This means that there must be a higher level of consciousness or self-awareness than we normally experience, and when you strip out all religious and cultural patterns, that more complex intelligence is what we call God.

If you want to be more human, then it stands to reason that you want to draw on that higher intelligence of “Hu”. To get those hues out into the world, to read your own records, to have the best and highest intelligence possible, you need that light of God, the light that takes you higher than you know how to get yourself. To make it all more fun, obviously you need a sense of humor, too – and boy, does that explain Jewish jokes!

The Torah says, Love your neighbor as yourself. The Buddha says, There is no self.
So … maybe we’re off the hook?