Are you a synesthete? What senses are crossed/mixed?
I experience a rather vivid sound/music -> visual synesthesia.
(I think:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromesthesia)
When I hear music (or anything music-like, tonal, etc), somewhere in the back of my brain/awareness, like on visual imagination canvas (or whatever), things happen; I "see" things.
Depending on what I hear the visuals vary widely, but as a theme I've tried to explain it simply to others like some wild kaleidoscopic-screensaverish/music-visualizer experience... while cautioning that this doesn't do the experience justice; I simply lack the language to explain it properly for the lack of suitable referents... I can try to revise in saying that it has more ...
dimension than anything actually seen with the eyes.
What effect has synesthesia had on your life? Has it been a boon or a bane, etc?
I think it disposes me to approach my selection of music differently than those without this form of synesthesia? That is, often enough I'll seek out and listen to music which "looks" good.
Growing up and well into young adulthood, I though this was something everyone experienced. It was always just "there", and I never felt it novel to talk about. It wasn't until later that I tried to refer to it once, and people looked at me like I was from outer space, haha. Anyhow, with that new perspective, I'm very pleased that I have this strange sensory twist. It can be leveraged into a kind of "natural high", enriches meditation, and is otherwise just a fun place to which I can escape if I close my eyes to music.
What forms of synesthesia are you curious about/would like to have?
I can't say I even understand any of the others, so I don't really want them. Still, they intrigue me in that the notion of synesthesia overall intrigues me.
Any questions for other synesthetes?
I wonder about all forms of it and how it effects other people. But in particular, of course, I wonder about other music->visual types, for compare/contrast purposes, heh.
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