Indigo children
Film attempts to shed light on a controversial condition
By Beth Jones
777-6493
The Roanoke Times
Beth Evason counseled children with suicidal tendencies in Dayton, Ohio, in the 1980s. They often told her the same thing.
Nobody hears me. I don't know how to do this.
It wasn't until about 10 years ago that Evason found out that a phrase had been coined for those kids who were so different from their peers they felt certain they'd never fit in. They were called Indigo children.
The definition of an Indigo child varies depending on which New Age Web site you visit, but most believers seem to agree that the children have shared characteristics: They're smarter and more emotionally aware than their parents; they're frequently defiant of authority; and sometimes they're psychic.
"These children come more evolved, more aware of who they are consciously," explained Evason, who has a master's degree in counseling and is an ordained minister.
When Evason learned a movie had been made about the phenomenon, she organized a screening at Unity Church of Roanoke Valley, where her husband is an assistant minister. According to the movie's Web site, Unity is one of 500 churches and organizations in 49 states and 35 countries that will premiere the movie Saturday, a date some celebrate as World Indigo Day.
All 216 tickets for the Unity screening were sold the week the event was announced, but the Blacksburg Community for Spiritual Living will also show "Indigo" on Saturday. At press time, the nondenominational church had plenty of remaining seats for showing in Blacksburg's Lyric Theatre.
Evason, who lives in Roanoke County, believes Indigos are born with their memories in place. Depending on a person's beliefs, Evason said, one might interpret this as memories of previous lives or maybe cellular memories. Either way, she said ... "You can't explain it away."
Nancy Ann Tappe, a parapsychology scholar who claims to be able to read auric colors, first coined the phrase "Indigo" in her 1982 book, "Understanding Your Life Through Color." The concept was later popularized by Lee Carroll and Jan Tober in their 1999 book, "The Indigo Children: The New Kids Have Arrived."
While some say the Indigos are a new type of human being, Evason, who runs a "spiritual coaching" business called Angel Walking Communications, argues that the children have been around throughout history only they used to be considered shamans and were far less prominent than now.
"Indigo," the movie, follows a man named Ray (played by Neale Donald Walsch, who penned the "Conversations With God" series) who has lost his family because of "a fateful mistake" and goes on the run with his 10-year-old granddaughter, an Indigo child, to protect her from a kidnapper.
Producer Stephen Simon, whose credits include "Somewhere in Time," "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey" and "What Dreams May Come," directed "Indigo." It was co-written and produced by James Twyman, author of several books including "Emissary of Love - The Psychic Children Speak."
The $500,000 film was financed by thousands of small contributions from folks who wanted the story of the Indigo children to be told.
"Indigo" won the Audience Choice Award at the 2003 Santa Fe Film Festival. Judging from a preview DVD titled "Indigo: Behind the Seen" (which shows New Age poster child Shirley MacLaine applauding the film), "Indigo" has good production values, but there is an after-school-special feel to the writing and acting.
Not everyone who has heard of the Indigos is a believer. On Skepticreport.com, a Web site dedicated to "providing a forum for skeptical and critical thinking," contributor Lorie Anderson, a social worker from Oregon, charged that the Indigo theory gives false hope to the parents of children who suffer from conditions such as attention deficit disorder, autism or bipolar disorder, and that some of the theory's proponents seek to profit financially with little concern for the children.
"Besides parents possibly foregoing beneficial, if not life-saving, treatment for children with mental or neurological disorders, some proponents of the Indigo movement, including James Twyman, infuse children with a false sense of human superiority and a bizarre paranormal identity," she wrote.
For Evason, seeing is believing. She believes her three children and her four grandchildren are all Indigos, with each generation being a little smarter than the one before.
It's important that parents know how to provide structure for the Indigos, who typically resist authority, she said. But she believes the movie's audience goes beyond parents. Maybe a grownup Indigo will see the movie and be launched on a journey of self-discovery, she said. Maybe other viewers have a friend or lover who's an Indigo who needs their understanding.
"What this movie is about is shifting your thought form," said Evason. "What that does is give you room to reframe your experience."
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