Here are some excerpts directly from the book written by Barbara Bowers back in 1989:
The reality of our world is a shifting, evolving, dynamic energy field. As part of this ecosystem, humanity is growing and developing. As the needs of the whole shift, changes need to be made in the parts that make up the whole. So, it is with the auras. A new color- Indigos-has emerged with skills and talents different from those of the other colors. I see Indigo as a new color invested with new talents and abilities that will be necessary for our evolution. Indigos have unique characteristics for which we can only guess the purpose.
Parents of Indigo children have a special challenge- how to nurture and cultivate their unique children while at the same time helping them exist in the mainstream of contemporary society. The parents of some of these children will love and support their differences. Other Indigos will not be so lucky. In this chapter, I will be putting forth what I know intuitively about these children.
The significant thing about Indigos is that they have leadership capabilities unlike those we have heretofore experienced. They understand what it means to be a fully actualized human being without having been taught that concept.
The most difficult thing for an Indigo to develop is patience and forbearance. Because they seem to have already grasped what it means to be authentic, they have little tolerance for others who struggle with this issue. Indigos are not without compassion. However, their form of compassion is to give other human beings time and space enough to find their own answers, to come to their own resolutions.
"When Indigos question society, society changes."~Hilarion
APPROACH TO PHYSICAL REALITY
Indigos have a biochemical system that has differing needs and considerations than other aura colors. Acceptance of their more sensitive systems pays rich dividends for parents.
Indigos seem to register emotional, physical, and psycho-logical input at an unusually high frequency, in the same way some audio equipment is designed to pick up sound waves in the upper ranges. Consequently, their systems reach overload more quickly. This means that they tire more easily, can become confused from too much noise or chaos. Like the Crystal aura color, they have extremely sensitive neural systems. Excessive excitement or prolonged stimulation can cause them to withdraw into themselves. Adults misunderstand this behavior as being contrary or difficult, when it is simply the Indigo attempting to find emotional respite.
As infants, they are alert form the start. The most frequent comment from parents
of Indigos is that the baby was awake, wide-eyed and curious from the moment of birth. These infants do not seem have the unfocused eyes of a newborn.
Because of their unusually sensitive systems, Indigos need an environment that is more placid and quiet than that required by other children. When subjected to extended periods of strenuous stimulation, their nervous systems become easily overladed causing them to become irritable and out of sorts. These children are not spoiled. They simply have different needs. One way to assist them is to play classical mucis of the baroque period, which provides a stimulus for the logical side of the brain so that the intuitive side is free to roam. It allows them to feel more at peace with themselves, able to adapt to the shifts and changes in their environment more easily and quickly.
As infants, indigos develop at a very rapid rate. As they ponder the problems of manipulation, it is as if the observer is seeing the step by step thinking of the indigo.It is fascinating to watch them as they discover, observe and interact with the physical world, sorting and sifting data, making decisions and achieving successes far beyond usual expectations. These children are very gifted, but in a new and different way. They tricky want to understand, not for the sake of enhanced self-esteem or for the privileges that come to the gifted child, but because of their natural inquisitiveness.
In temperament, Indigos incorporate both male and female characteristics simultaneously. As a result, post-pubescent Indigos have no attitudes or values about sexuality, heterosexuality, homosexuality, or bisexuality. It is all the same to them. They mate soul to soul rather than body to body. Sexuality is not an expression of masculinity or femininity, but rather the capacity of one human soul to interact with another soul. They choose their partners carefully.
MENTAL ATTITUDES
Keen intellectual alertness is one of the most gratifying as well as exasperating aspect of Indigos. They are bright and inquisitive with an intelligence that cannot be measured by traditional psychological tests. Since these children seem to be born knowing everything, they are not asking for information but for verification of the knowledge they already have. It's as if they are testing others to find out if they are trustworthy. They ask thoughtful questions that demand insightful, considered responses. A response such as, "Because I said so," or "Things have always been done this way," will only elicit further, penetrating questions from an Indigo. Early on, usually before age two, Indigos have a remarkable grasp of abstractions such as time, distance, and space. These concepts are meaningful to them. They are not being precocious, they have a deep need to understanding verify what they know. Because Indigos get to the essence of things, they are not fooled by appearances. When it is time for them to know, they will not be put off. For the adults in the Indigo child's life there will be no peace until a question has been answered satisfactorily.
The implication for the education of these children are awesome. They are gifted and unimpressed with their giftedness, so any system that is unresponsive to their needs is in trouble. Independent without being arrogant they relive solo molecules floating though the space of their reality. They are eager to learn and experience. However, Indigos are inherently unwilling to adapt to a standardized learning pattern. The traditional school system, with its emphasis on lockstep learning, does not work for these children. Indigos' learning process must follow and flow from they own internal rhythm.
Learning for them is not random or haphazard. They learn in a milieu whereas information is interrelated and interconnected. Subjects, topics and ideas cannot exist in isolation for these children. They see the world and ideas as interconnected. Subjects, topics and ideas cannot exist in isolation for these children. They see the world and ideas as interconnecting pieces of a larger organizational structure. To learn about a given subject without considering the implications in other areas of knowledge is incomprehensible to them. They need to understand how the pieces fit together. Indigo children learn best when they are encouraged to follow their own interests. They have a capacity for pursuing topics deeply rather than skimming the surface. They resent teacher imposed decisions as to what and how they should learn. Indigos want to complete one area of study before moving to the next idea, theory or concept.
To be at the whim of adults who think they know when it is time to clean up is frustrating for Indigos. They need their own special place-their own room, a table, a corner of the family room-where they can keep their projects set up, without having to clean up after each work session.
They think in a matrix pattern, conceptualizing everything simultaneously. Indigos see the whole pattern and all of the individual pieces of the pattern at the same time. As a result, they sometimes have difficulty explaining their ideas and images to others. However, they will hammer their listener with data and examples until they have communicated their ideas and the listener has expressed comprehension.
The learning needs of Indigos are eclectic and their learning styles are diverse. Learning programs need to be geared to their quicksilver shifts in interest, their need to know principles and their need to be in charge of their world. When they are bored, frustrated or intellectually underestimated Indigos frequently withdraw in to themselves and become increasingly unwilling to make the effort to stay involved emotionally, or mentally, sometimes even dropping out of school between fourteen and sixteen years of age. They are not arrogant and do not consider themselves brighter or more astute than their peers. They simply want the freedom with a certain amount of guidance to pursue their interests and to satisfy their need to know .
Authority figures must respect and contend with the Indigo's individuality. Indigo's cannot be coerced into doing anything they do not want to do; they will not simply accept whatever consequences are meted out. Indigos will remain cooperative as long as they are not patronized. They become incredibly stubborn when they feel put down and will cheerfully disrupt an entire classroom.
EMOTIONAL MAKEUP
On many levels, Indigos are never children at all, even though in their early years of development they can be very childlike. They seem more mature than others of the same age, reacting with sympathy and understanding to life's little dramas. Indigo children are more self contained than other children, needing less interaction with family and peers. They do well if given large amounts of time alone to pursue their own interests and activities. They have active imaginations and often talk to themselves, lost in another reality. They do well in environments that place clear and safe limits on their behavior while not curtailing their need to explore and discover. Before including an Indigo child in the decision-making process, adults need to state clearly the expectations, limitations and goals. Indigos are quick to cooperate when presented with clear-cut options, limits and boundaries.
Few of the normal developmental learning steps apply to Indigos, so parents are often at a loss as to what to do to assist, understand and motivate the Indigo child. These children cannot be emotionally bribed, nor can they be shamed into conforming to social standards and customs. Indigos will accept the consequences of their behavior rather than go against what they believe to be true. Neither can these children be manipulated through guilt. It is not an emotion they seem to understand. Going without meals, being deprived of privileges, giving up toys or activities -such punishments are of no consequence to an Indigo. They are especially meaningless if the adult tries to justify the punishment by saying," do this because I say so."
Indigos are very clear about what they want. If an adult gives them choices, then the adult must be prepared to follow through. Choices offered and not delivered threaten the credibility of the adults in an Indigo's life. Promises are remembered. Indigos are not fooled by such vague words as "someday,"and "soon." They want to know exactly which "someday," or precisely how "soon." Without meaning to nag they will remind you of your promises, which they see as a part of your responsibility to them. They do not hold grudges or resort to emotional blackmail. They simply remember who can be trusted and who cannot.
Indigos can communicate openly and spontaneously with only a few people. Early in their lives they learn to be guarded and selective in sharing their thoughts, ideas, and emotions. They trust only cautiously. .
Discarding the old for the new is not easy for Indigo children. For them, newer is not always better. They seem to think that by wearing a garment or playing with a toy, they endow the object with aspects of themselves. To throw it away simply because something new has arrived to take its place, without acknowledging the personal essence instilled in the object, causes deep emotional pain for an Indigo. Parents would do well to initiate rituals around saying good- bye to the old, whether it is an ancient and grubby stuffed animal or the family automobile. These children have an inherent sense of cycles and endings. To ignore this intuitive knowing is to disparage one of the basic gifts of these children.
Indigo teenagers often feel isolated and out of sync with their peer group. Their sense of loneliness and isolation is similar to that experienced by a minority within a group. In despair, they often retreat into a mist of drugs and alcohol in an attempt to hide from loneliness rather than make a rebellious life-style statement. They know they do not fit the expected pattern, and often they feel like the black sheep or the misfit of family, school, and society. Indigos at some deep level, understand that we are all interrelated as family with no dividing lines and no areas of ownership or separation. Seeing so clearly this lack of distinctions, they feel the isolation of their knowing. They are gentle souls looking for a haven and understanding.
SOCIAL STYLE
Indigos will always tell the truth, no matter how brutal it may seem to others. They are not governed by society's rules. They will not behave in a certain way simply because an adult promises them acceptance or love as a reward for doing so. To an Indigo, there is no such thing as guilt. They have no way of understanding guilt because it is not their life purpose to be "good." It is their purpose to find new ways of allowing the rest of us to express ourselves in a way that will allow us to continue to function as a world. Goodness, niceness, and acceptability are values that haven meaning for an Indigo. These concepts are not motivators fo them. They will obey a rule because they agree with the moral premise behind it , and they will behave in a certain way because they want to be in a relationship which is in which sharing and negotiating are required. But, they will not obey as a result of coercion. They are able to say no and mean it; no amount of prodding; promising, pleading or punishing can make them change their minds.
As children Indigos have a social itnellegiance far beyond their years. As adults, they are very selective about whom they associate with. As they grow older, they find it more and more difficult to explain their differences and they choose friends and companions who accept them as they are. They often prefer to be alone rather than try to conform.
Indigos often choose mates who are their best friends and companions first, and lovers second. They also choose individuals who have strong personalities firmly rooted in contemporary society and reality. Indigos need the buffer of their mate and family to make them feel safe in the world. They need someone they can trust. In an intimate relationship they do not want to monitor their behavior; therefore they choose mates who are sympathetic to their need to communicate soul-to-soul and their unwillingness to conform. The gentleness and emotional commitment of the Indigo are the rewards for those who are in a relationship with them.
Personal Power And Leadership Style
Indigos are the leaders of the new age because they follow their own inner direction. They will not lead by force, will or personality. Their power is in their indifference to accepted rewards and their refusal to be manipulated. Indigos will lead by making us rethink and reexamine our beliefs, values and ways of doing things. By questioning standard practices they will begin to expose the lack of logic in much of what we do. They lack the dictatorial administrative ability of a Violet (aura color). They see the alternative realities of the lavenders and know the changes that that are coming in technology, science and invention. These children are our hope.
The cornerstone of their personalities and of their personal power and leadership style is their refusal to be manipulated or coerced in any way. Once they have decided on a course of action, nothing can dissuade them from pursuing it. No consequence is so severe, no punishment so harsh, as to make Indigos abandon their goals. Indigos are not angry, recalcitrant or stubborn. They have simply considered all the facts and then made up their mind.
The most important aspect of the Indigos is this adherence to their internal value system, an adherence that seems to be with them from birth. It is not learned or acquired. It just is. Indigos are fully actualized human beings who can incorporate all the challenges and potentials of life within themselves, They are born with the knowledge that lief is joyful and can remain so, not by being good, but by confronting lust, greed and envy and integrating them into one's being.
Spirituality
Spirituality as expressed by an Indigo is an example of what it would be like to live without the guilt and fear used by many religions to intimidate and manipulate. Indigos sense the nature of their own divinity, that part of themselves that is a reflection of perfection. Indigos accept their spirituality as a fact of being.
Indigos seem to have been born knowing everything. They seem to come into this existence with all of the information of other times, other places, intact. It is as if they remember where they have been prior to being born. This may be a result of spiritual evolution, or it may be an innate characteristic of the indigo color.
Indigos have a unique relationship with the higher power. Most of us consider the Higher Power to be above us; our spiritual evolution is a process of reaching and striving to elevate ourselves through knowledge, spiritual practices, and examination offer own inner selves. Indigos seem to have an inner sense of the Higher Power. To an Indigo, the Higher Power is a daily reality, not a theological concept. God is. Indigos see our striving after spirituality as posturing- much the way Christ saw the Pharisees.
Indigos find it easy to conform to institutionalized spiritual practices. Even as young children they have a gift for spiritual pursuits such as meditation, and an appreciation of ceremonial accoutrements such as incense, medicine rocks and smudge sticks. They often choose them as playthings. They intuitively incorporate reverence and honor into their behavior, handling the spiritual objects with love and respect. They respond easily and naturally to prayer and meditation rituals; they seem to love the quiet time as well as the space. Indigos are spiritually eclectic, able to incorporate many spiritual traditions, rituals and symbol systems simultaneously, taking peace and comfort from each. They are not bound by old traditions, habits or belief systems. These children know that there is an order and a pattern to the universe that has little to do with the rules and regulations others make up. They are able to construct a holistic spirituality within themselves, to build an inner temple capable of accommodating many divergent belief systems.
Because Indigos are born knowing everything they have easy access to the whole spectrum of what is known in the paranormal or psychic world. Because they know-and know that they know-they are less willing than others to filter out or deny these alternate realities. Many of these children sense the technology of the future. To them, our civilization seems as barbaric and superstitious as King Arthur's court appeared to the Connecticut Yankee.
Career Options
Currently, Indigos find great satisfaction working with their hands in occupations that require them to pay attention to the process that is not intellectually demanding. Many of them have become artisans or even repairmen. They are intelligent, soft-spoken, hardworking and dedicated employees. They do well in jobs that allow them flexibility and freedom but incorporate limits and guidelines.
For the future, as new needs and situations arise, Indigos will move into leadership positions because they have firsthand knowledge gained from experience. They will know what we need in the future based on what we have in the present.
Financial Choices
Indigos have a very poor understanding of money. They see it as a part of the manipulative system used by some people to control and direct the actions and behaviors of others. Indigos will work because they enjoy the work, because it brings benefit and pleasure to themselves and others, and they feel useful doing it. If they find a job boring or more work than they bargained for they will simply quit.
Indigos are not lazy. To observe Indigos working on a project that interests them and absorbs their full attention is to see what tenacity really is. They simply know what they want and what they don't want.
This leaves Indigos in the precarious position of trying to figure how to support themselves while doing what they enjoy. One of the ways is for them to live communally. Living in a situation where they share expenses and responsibilities works well for them.
