Synesthesia: “A neurologically based condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People who report such experiences are known as synesthetes.” I’ve discovered this neurological condition that I have about two weeks ago via a co-worker. We were all discussing struggling with Dyslexia when I blurted out of nowhere “It’s always a hard for me to read when my letters in books are constantly changing color and moving around or popping out at me”.  My co-worker eyes lit up and said “Oh you’re a Synesthete!” I gave him a blank stare, trying to understand a word I had never heard before. He started prodding me with questions regarding the condition. Finally after answering yes to all his questions, he sent me to the Wiki page I linked above. I was taken aback by the symptoms and ways certain people perceive everyday life. It was like reading about me!  The reality that not everyone sees letters with colors, personality and gender, that numbers have the same connotation. Or the fact that I see my days, months, years and time in a landscape view.  That even those have colors and shapes to them. I can recall numbers, days, and months by going threw my “View”. I can also go by color. For example, October is a burnt orange with a rocky texture. I can go through my months to find October sorting by color then by texture. For numbers and letters: The number 9 is a tall red gentleman that is dark and evil, with a sense of aggressiveness to me. Where as the number 7 is a kind gentleman that is light blue and gracious. The letter A is red, and is a female, she’s also a vowel, which also puts her into another landscape view of vowels that move upward.  When I listen to music, I actually see shapes, color, and strings of music. I sometimes get so drawn into music because I can see each part. It’s like watching an incredible firework show, or like watching Fantasia. I thought my whole life that people saw music, numbers and letters like I did. Realizing that most people live in a world that is more black and white shocked me. I started tearing up realizing that people don’t see music like I do. I can draw music, and then put it away. Then put it back and remember how that song went just by looking at the picture I drew. I have been reading books about Synesthesia and discovering many websites and talking to people like me. It’s an eye opening experience and I am still discovering this gift not as a hindrance, but the ability to view and see the world that only 1 in 2,000 see.  I’ll be writing more posts about this subject since I have shared less than half of my Synesthesia, as I have several types of the disability. Although I agree with everyone else, that this is not a disability, but a gift.  The graphic above that says “Synesthesia” with each letter as a color is how I view my letters. You will see that all the E’s are blue but my S’s change color. The reason for the S’s changing color is due to the color before them, or even yet, the two colors before them. The maroon N and light blue E actually do make a burnt orange color if you put them together and change the opacity. I honestly had no idea this was the case. I just felt and saw that the S needed to be a burnt orange.  I am pretty excited to explore this new world and share it with others. I am hoping to help people use this gift for good and to help improve their creative lives. Infants are born with this but grow out of it as they mature. Although for some it stays with them through to adulthood. It wasn’t that I had a bad case of Dyslexia growing up, but it was that my letters were changing color and had a gender and personality; that I had a hard time putting letters together to form words. Each was an individual and each letter had a meaning to me. Now when I read, I have to push all of those things aside and focus on the words. But then again, even words are colors. Most people do not even know they have Synesthesia because it’s just as natural to them as everything else. Most people feel they are keeping a secret, or just don’t feel the need to tell people about it. For me, I had no idea until two weeks ago that I was different and even though I knew I saw things a certain way, I just thought it was how everyone viewed the world. 
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Synesthesia: “A neurologically based condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People who report such experiences are known as synesthetes.”

I’ve discovered this neurological condition that I have about two weeks ago via a co-worker. We were all discussing struggling with Dyslexia when I blurted out of nowhere “It’s always a hard for me to read when my letters in books are constantly changing color and moving around or popping out at me”.  My co-worker eyes lit up and said “Oh you’re a Synesthete!” I gave him a blank stare, trying to understand a word I had never heard before. He started prodding me with questions regarding the condition. Finally after answering yes to all his questions, he sent me to the Wiki page I linked above. I was taken aback by the symptoms and ways certain people perceive everyday life. It was like reading about me! 

The reality that not everyone sees letters with colors, personality and gender, that numbers have the same connotation. Or the fact that I see my days, months, years and time in a landscape view.  That even those have colors and shapes to them. I can recall numbers, days, and months by going threw my “View”. I can also go by color. For example, October is a burnt orange with a rocky texture. I can go through my months to find October sorting by color then by texture.

For numbers and letters: The number 9 is a tall red gentleman that is dark and evil, with a sense of aggressiveness to me. Where as the number 7 is a kind gentleman that is light blue and gracious. The letter A is red, and is a female, she’s also a vowel, which also puts her into another landscape view of vowels that move upward. 

When I listen to music, I actually see shapes, color, and strings of music. I sometimes get so drawn into music because I can see each part. It’s like watching an incredible firework show, or like watching Fantasia. I thought my whole life that people saw music, numbers and letters like I did. Realizing that most people live in a world that is more black and white shocked me. I started tearing up realizing that people don’t see music like I do. I can draw music, and then put it away. Then put it back and remember how that song went just by looking at the picture I drew.

I have been reading books about Synesthesia and discovering many websites and talking to people like me. It’s an eye opening experience and I am still discovering this gift not as a hindrance, but the ability to view and see the world that only 1 in 2,000 see. 

I’ll be writing more posts about this subject since I have shared less than half of my Synesthesia, as I have several types of the disability. Although I agree with everyone else, that this is not a disability, but a gift. 

The graphic above that says “Synesthesia” with each letter as a color is how I view my letters. You will see that all the E’s are blue but my S’s change color. The reason for the S’s changing color is due to the color before them, or even yet, the two colors before them. The maroon N and light blue E actually do make a burnt orange color if you put them together and change the opacity. I honestly had no idea this was the case. I just felt and saw that the S needed to be a burnt orange. 

I am pretty excited to explore this new world and share it with others. I am hoping to help people use this gift for good and to help improve their creative lives. Infants are born with this but grow out of it as they mature. Although for some it stays with them through to adulthood. It wasn’t that I had a bad case of Dyslexia growing up, but it was that my letters were changing color and had a gender and personality; that I had a hard time putting letters together to form words. Each was an individual and each letter had a meaning to me. Now when I read, I have to push all of those things aside and focus on the words. But then again, even words are colors.

Most people do not even know they have Synesthesia because it’s just as natural to them as everything else. Most people feel they are keeping a secret, or just don’t feel the need to tell people about it. For me, I had no idea until two weeks ago that I was different and even though I knew I saw things a certain way, I just thought it was how everyone viewed the world. 

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  1. carlwalker said: I too have this. I’ve found people have it in varying degrees. Mine is fairly calm, but more prominent with colour and numbers. It can also lead to creating full orchestrated music in dreams, which I also have. Phenomenal experience!
  2. snarphblat posted this