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    Tasting the Universe: People Who See Colors in Words and Rainbows in Symphonies
    Unavailable
    Tasting the Universe: People Who See Colors in Words and Rainbows in Symphonies
    Unavailable
    Tasting the Universe: People Who See Colors in Words and Rainbows in Symphonies
    Ebook257 pages4 hours

    Tasting the Universe: People Who See Colors in Words and Rainbows in Symphonies

    By Maureen Seaberg and William Bushell

    3.5/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    “When I spoke of my impressions as a child, I quickly learned that my perceptions were not common; in fact, they were strange. Like many synesthetes around the world, I learned to keep them to myself. Thus I’m grateful for the present day climate of inquiry into and wonder about this nearly forgotten gift…. And while traditional medicine has always fascinated me, and research on this topic is currently burgeoning around the world, I knew I must also call on consciousness experts. As someone who lived inside the experience, I knew that anatomy alone did not, could not, hold all the answers…. The beauty of the individual testimonies in this book is that they are the subjects’ truths as only someone who knows the gift intimately can speak about it; many of them are speaking at length about it for the first time. Their words about such an ineffable experience have helped me find my own.”
    —Maureen Seaberg in Tasting the Universe

    A violinist sees a scarlet form when he plays a certain note; a rock star sees waves of blue and green as she composes a ballad; an actress tastes cake when she utters the word “table.” This fascinating mingling of the senses is called “synesthesia,” and the people who possess this amazing gift are called “synesthetes.”

    Synesthesia is scientifically described as a cross-wiring, or lack of chemical inhibition, between brain neurons that occurs in about five percent of the population, often among “creatives”—musicians, artists, actors, writers, and so on. Scientific research is currently being conducted throughout the world to discover more about this condition. However, experts in the fields of spirituality and quantum physics are convinced that the truth of synesthesia lies not only within traditional science, but also within the realm of the mystical and the ineffable.

    Step into Maureen’s glittering alternate universe as she explores this fascinating subject, combining clear explanations of groundbreaking scientific research with an exploration of deeper spiritual truths.

    Tasting the Universe explains and explores:
  • Why survivors of near-death experiences sometimes “return” with this amazing gift.
  • Why all infants are believed to be synesthetes until four months of age.
  • The experiences of famous synesthetes such as Itzhak Perlman, Billy Joel, Pharrell Williams, and Marilyn Monroe (whose biographer, Norman Mailer, first asserted that she possessed this gift).

    For Maureen, synesthesia is not an idle “brain tick” that can be explained away by science (although it does offer some important clues), but a unique and ineffable ability to tap into and reveal a greater creative universe and even the divine.

    Follow along with her as she takes you on her own personal “Eat, Pray, Love” of discovery, prompted by her often confounding yet always amazing experiences growing up with this gift.
    • LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNew Page Books
    Release dateMar 15, 2011
    ISBN9781601636676
    Unavailable
    Tasting the Universe: People Who See Colors in Words and Rainbows in Symphonies
    Author

    Maureen Seaberg

    MAUREEN SEABERG is an author with several forms of synesthesia and is an expert synesthesia blogger for Psychology Today. She has written for The New York Times; The Daily Beast; The Huffington Post; O, The Oprah Magazine; and ESPN: The Magazine and has appeared on MSNBC, PBS and The Lisa Oz Show on Oprah Radio. She lives in New York. JASON PADGETT is an aspiring number theorist and mathematician with acquired savant syndrome and synesthesia. He is currently the manager of three Planet Futon stores in Tacoma, Washington. His drawings of the grids and fractals he sees synesthetically won Best International Newcomer in the Art Basel Miami Beach competition. He lives in Tacoma, Washington.

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    Reviews for Tasting the Universe

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    • 4/5
      A fascinating insight into Synesthesia (a condition where one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another, as when the hearing of a sound produces the visualisation of a colour). Maureen Seaberg has been a synesthete all her life. Her experience includes, seeing the letters of the alphabet in different colours, having out of body experiences, and seeing colours in her field of vision where there are none. She was 27 before she found out she was a synesthete. This lack of information about the subject, inspired Maureen Seaberg to want to find out as much as she could about it and put a book together, not only to help others but also to satisfy her own curiosity about this extraordinary trait that she and many others live with on a daily basis. In this book, Maureen Seaberg takes us on a journey, spiritual and scientific, examining the current thoughts about Synesthesia, the history of scientific study into the area, and spiritual ideas about it. The author expresses her own views, talks to prominent figures in the scientific world about their views, and also talks to other synesthetes, including famous people, artists and writers, many of whom believe that Synesthesia helps them in their work.Before I read this book, I knew a bit about the subject and was interested to learn more about individual experiences with Synesthesia. I had always thought of it as a condition, which maybe would affect the way people live, but was surprised to learn that it appears to be something that can enhance a person’s life, and indeed the author sees it as a ‘gift’.The idea behind putting the book together is to educate people as to what Synesthesia is, and how synesthetes view the world. The author puts forward her view that rather than being a 'condition' caused by faulty wiring in the brain, as some scientists believe, it may be in fact a form of extra sensitivity which allows the synesthete to somehow tune into something in a higher realm. The book explains how, in meditation, synesthetic episodes are often recorded in non-synesthetes, and some drugs can induce similar experiences.It’s an interesting topic, and the book contains some profound views by synesthetes and scientists about the subject.I enjoyed learning about how each synesthete interviewed by the author had different experiences of Synesthesia, and how varied and individualistic it is.I agree with the author that it can only help to have more books, like this one, available for information about something which appears to be much more common than was once thought. There are various links to websites and resources included in the book for people who may want to find out more.Reviewed by Maria Savva as a reviewer for Bookpleasures.com