When I follow my instinct, magic happens, says American psychic Dougall Fraser

It's not every day that a psychic makes public his trade secrets. But Dougall Fraser would rather help people achieve the life they've always desired. Counted among the best psychics in the United States, Fraser has channelled tarot cards, clairvoyance, colours, intuition and empathy for hundreds. And yet, for someone who did his first 'reading' at the age of 8 and was named the best psychic in his hometown Dallas, US, at the 20, Fraser is frank about his own doubts about his beliefs. “Even though I have been a professional intuitive for over 20 years, I sometimes struggle to trust my intuition,” admits the Los Angeles resident.

The 40-year-old talks about some such struggles, his journey and his learnings in the book Your Life in Color, through which he hopes to get more people to understand the power of colours in connecting with their inner selves. Edited excerpts:

What does being spiritual mean to you?

In my opinion, being spiritual is the awareness that there is something bigger than us in the universe. It is the knowledge that there is a greater reason for our existence. Spirituality means living in accordance with this awareness so we can experience happiness, joy and peace in our being. We all have different paths towards greater spirituality, and in my case, that path involved seeing colour.

How do you harness the energy of colours to do this i.e. be spiritual?

Colour is a physical manifestation of energy in our lives. When we hear about concepts like auras, chakras or energy, it can feel abstract and hard to understand. But we all have a relationship with colour, from our favourites to the colours that we don’t like. This makes the colour a convenient and fun tool to achieve greater spirituality.

There are a variety of ways to harness colour energy. A great place to start is by meditating while visualising colour in your mind. I use a specific meditation technique that involves picturing colour in specific parts of the body, to heighten its energy within us. Another easy way to harness the power of colour is by wearing it.

Many of us already do this with our clothing, but we do not know the meaning behind each colour and how they affect us. Having a deeper knowledge of colour is the quickest path towards harnessing its power effectively. In my book, Your Life In Color, there are a variety of techniques that are effective for activating colour.

Can you explain what you mean by 'shadow force' of a colour?

We all possess the qualities of each colour within us, but they vary from person to person. And just as colour possesses specific positive traits, every colour has a shadow side, or lesson to teach us. Shadow sides of colours allow us to explore the parts of our soul that need tending to. For example, if I see the gold light in someone’s aura, they are most likely self-employed and very good at business. This is considered to be one of the positive aspects of gold energy.

However, if you are the type of person who struggles to find work or feels like you do not have a good business sense, you probably have an imbalance of gold energy. If there is an aspect of our lives that is out of balance, this means that we are exhibiting the shadow side of that colour.

You've mentioned how from an early age, you started to trust your intuition and turned to meditation to cope with your circumstances. When and how did you start to believe in your own gut/intuitive feelings?

I am a childhood sexual abuse survivor, which naturally made me quite wary of trusting people. At that early age, I learned that I could not blindly trust someone just because I was “supposed” to. As a result of that experience, I subconsciously began “tapping in” to other people’s energy to determine whether or not I could trust them. I did not realise it at the time, but I began using my intuition on a regular basis to see how safe I felt in any room. To this day, my first impressions of people are always right.

But I want readers to know that even though I have been a professional intuitive for over 20 years, I sometimes struggle to trust my intuition. Self-doubt is a common reason that people do not listen to their intuition. What I know for sure is that when I do follow my gut instinct, magic tends to happen in my life. It takes practice to raise the volume of our inner wisdom, but it is well worth the effort. Intuition isn't tangible – it’s a sensation. 

In the foreword, you state that your initial experience with seeing colour did not align with what was written about chakras and colour auras in Sanskrit literature. Can you recall some of these instances that demonstrate the difference between how you saw colour and what was documented about the same shade?

I have profound respect for chakras as defined in Sanskrit literature. I do not consider my approach to be better than any other when it comes to colour. My approach is based on my own personal experiences with colour energy. My knowledge of colour evolved over many years of seeing auras around my clients.

At first, I was delighted to simply see an aura and tell my client what I saw. Over time, I began comparing notes on my clients and saw trends with each colour. After doing this for 20 years, I outlined very specific definitions for each colour that works for me.

Sanskrit definitions see green as the colour of the heart chakra, aligned with emotions. In my experience, green is the colour of communication and creativity. I often see green energy around authors, poets, actors and creative people in general. I decided to research colour from various perspectives to see how they align with my experience. In my book, we included a wealth of information about colour from the scientific, cultural, and historical perspectives. And I was intrigued to find various studies confirm that the colour green stimulates creativity.

A colour can be interpreted by different religions to hold different meaning/significance. How do you reconcile these differences?

Colour has a long history of being symbolically associated with religion. In fact, this is one of the best examples of how colour can be used to change our mood or convey a message. For example, white is an important colour for almost all major religions. Christian babies wear white during baptism, and the Pope wears white during public ceremonies as a symbol of purity. Kundalini yogis wear white cotton caps to practice mindfulness. However, in Asian cultures white is often associated with death and mourning.

Colour has existed for all eternity, and so our approach to colour has naturally evolved. There are infinite ways to define colour, but the important thing is to be mindful of how each colour makes us feel. My definitions are based on how I see and experience colour, but I encourage you to form your own relationship with each colour.

What is the process you follow during a 'reading'? Does this vary from person to person?

At the start of a reading, I usually ask the client to say their name a few times so I can hear them speak. When I hear the sound of someone’s voice, I immediately begin to see colour in my mind. It is as though their voice carries an energetic blueprint that I can see. I will then explain to the client what the properties of this colour tell me about them (both their strengths and weaknesses). After this, I will give them everything that I intuitively see going on in their life. My intention is to provide clients with the tools to hone and trust their own intuition so they can make the best possible decisions. I generally request that clients not ask me any questions for the first half of a reading. I want them to see that the information I am receiving is coming through me intuitively, and not directed by any specific questions. However, during the second half of the session, they are welcome to ask any questions they like.

How can a lay person — be they in distress or otherwise — harness the power of colour for their own spiritual well-being?

The easiest way to harness the power of colour is to start being more mindful of it. Pay attention to the colours you love, and also the ones you do not like. If you love a certain colour and wear it all the time, there may be a message that the Universe is trying to convey to you.

Whether or not you believe in psychics or intuition, it’s important to know that colour has meaning. We are surrounded by colour every day, and many people don’t know that it can be used to change your life.