Anyone heard of Synesthesia??

[jjnewbin]

hey there,

yeah i have synesthesia too, the alphabet has always had colors and numbers do too, usually very specific. this has often helped me memorize phone numbers and spellings...i just remember the color of the numbers! i also see sounds sometimes, usually sort sounds are the ones that cause a swirling image in my head.

synesthesia is just when the brain sort of cross-references 2 or more of the senses. i have found that sometimes this is not a good thing when i work on developing intuition because of all the associations i have in my head with things.

for example, sometimes i work trying to figure out (intuit) the first word of a page of a book just by first thinking of the number of the page.

well, this is not easy, because if i am going to check on page 159, i start associating the colors of the page number (1=white, 5=black, 9=red) with an outcome...and since letters also have color for me, i start expecting letters to pop up with those colors too. too many subjective associations to be objective!

but i am sure that there is something positive that come out of this sensory confusion we have. i would be interested in knowing what others think, if they have it.

PS, synesthesia isn't just color and sound stuff like i have, some people have associations of smell or taste with sounds!

jj

[Tom]

A while back, numbers had distinct feelings (tactile) for me. They seemed like they were more alive than the people around me. This would be back in the early to mid 80s. When people just told me their names, I would forget both the name and face. If they made up a five digit number, I would remember the number when I saw them and it was eventually possible to remember the name with the number. It amused people that it was easier for me to call them by the number than by their name, but it was the only think that worked for me. They found the explanation disturbing.

[Senara]

Hooray!!  Someone else knows how I feel!  I have the same form as you do JJ the letters numbers words everything but that's it.  I don't see or taste sound or anything.  I only discovered that it has a name and other people have it as well about a year ago so I'm still pretty excited to share.

I was wondering if you have an unusual amout of de ja vu's or precognitive dreams JJ?  I go through cycles where I'll have de ja vu 2 times a day for a while and then it just stops for weeks or months even.  The same with the dreams.  Out of the blue I'll dream of someone and then hear from them the next day.  But they happen in spurts too.  My intuition and/or gut feelings, however, are usually right on the money.  Even before I knew there was a name for what my brain does.

Anyway I was just curious

So Tom?  You don't do the number thing anymore?  If you don't do you have any idea why it stopped or started in the first place?  I thought I was the only one with weird quirks![]  I also have a spelling fetish.  Sometimes i'll catch myself spelling every word that I think - how dumb is that?  Maybe I need a straight jacket!![]

Senara

[kifyre]

Winged Wolf, a member of this forum, has theorized that synesthesia is actually one of the primary ways that people first come to know transphysical phenomena. Because our higher senses are not validated and encouraged when we are young, the "wiring" in the brain doesn't develop to make sense of this input. As people begin to do energy work, meditate, or just feel, the brain interprets this new type of sensory input as best it can, possibly in terms of one of the "usual" senses, such as sight or taste. (And possibly eventually gives this input its own channel, and it becomes just "knowing" or "feeling.") Therefore, people who are already wired, um, flexibly(?), may have an easier time getting a handle on new input.

However, this is only a theory, and there are many other possibilities as to how higher senses come online. For example, as one's consciousness begins to strengthen, the senses of a person's higher bodies may naturally become available for use. (And then maybe brain flexibility is advantageous...)

It's interesting to note that even advanced practitioners seem to refer sometimes to "flavors" of energy and vibrational tones. (And we can't forget there are people who can see energy and energetic structure quite clearly... Maybe it's a combination of higher senses and synethesia or something else entirely.)

Mark

[Tom]

True. Numbers are not what they once were for me. It was just a specific exmple and the most memorable for me now. The combined sensations were always stronger and more interesting than everything else. At the time, though, there was something else interesting to me. I would suddenly find that everything in existence would lose its meaning. It was like waking up from a dream, but while clearly awake to begin with. After standing there for a period of time I would come back to myself and have to put the pieces together again, such as my name and reason for existing. It was frightening at the time, but it would be nice to be able to re-create the experience. When I was around 5 to 10 years old, I was much more intelligent and talented than at any time since then.

[Senara]

Hmmmmmm That sounds like the "oneness" was that it possibly?  Maybe "oneness" and the blending of the sensed are related?

Senara

[link]

Wow, experiencing synesthesia all the time as part of your daily seems overwelming. I have experienced it temporarally when I smoke pure DMT or eat a bunch of LSD, and the experience is particularly intense. For people who live with this condition, is it something you are grateful for and benefit from, or is it something you wish would go away?

[Kodemaster]

Senara,

I have synaesthesia and believe I have psychic abilities.

When I was about 11, a series of commericals would come on TV, all ending with the phone number 1-800-257-1257. I always thought it was an "ugly number", as 1 = white, 2 = blue, 5 = red and  7 = gray. I always wished the number was 1-800-251-1251 as red, white and blue was a lot prettier than red, blue and gray...

Off the website: "According to one estimate, approximately 1 in 25000 people experience some form of synaesthesia.  "

That's it? To think I once thought everyone did that number thing...

I definitely look deeper than other people...whether this condition affects my ability, I have no idea...

[Senara]

Did you not know that you had it Jen?  I only discovered it had a name about a year ago.  Before that I thought it was just a quirk of mine.  I don't have psychic abilities that I'm aware of but It definately helps me in my OBE attempts.  I've accomplished in one month what it's taken my husband almost a year to do.  Boy is he mad.  Do you think it helps you in that area as well?

Personally I love it.  I know now that that is why I have such a good memory.  It helps me all day everyday and I wouldn't give it up for anything.

It's not as intense as you may think Link.  I can read normally - when I read I just have trained myself to see the written word in black and white.  But when I take the word and put it in my mind's eye - then it takes on the color.  It's fun being special!  hehe

[Kodemaster]

Like you, I did not know it had a name until a year ago...I either thought everyone did it, or that it was just a quirk of mine...

[Senara]

Hello All!

I've got a question.  I have synesthesia.  Here's a link for the curious.

http://wabakimi.carleton.ca/~sscott2/sam/Synaesthesia.html

Anyway - I thought I was normal till I discovered this.  After doing some reading my husband proposed that possibly this has helped me be more in tune to the mysteries of the mind - like ESP precognitive dreams and so forth.  So I was curious if any of you have it too and if you feel that it has helped you look deeper than "normal" people do or perceive things differently or better for that matter.

Any input would be appreciated!!

Thanks! - Senara