What would you call “A union of the senses”? Combining one sense with another, seeing a form or color that so many of us cannot see. Can you hear sounds in response to a smell or feel something in response to a sight or a touch? Synesthesia, is a fascinating condition, and is specific to each person. Synesthesia is a condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another (as when hearing a sound produces the visualization of a color), or a sensation felt in one part of the body because of stimulus applied to another. Many people have this condition and do not even realize it.

Studies show that women are three times more likely as men to have Synesthesia, and in the U.K., eight times as many, but the reason’s for this is still unknown. It seems to be a dominate trait and inherited. Although right-handed people can have Synesthesia, left-handed people are more likely to be a “Synesthete“, (a person having Synesthesia). The most common form of Synesthesia is colored letters and numbers, and occurs when someone sees a certain color in response to certain letters. (For instance, a person with Synesthesia may see green when they stub their toe, or see the word kite as yellow or the number 1 as red. (Like… Each time I see a guitar I see purple, or, each time I hear a guitar, I taste cherries). This condition is not thought about, but just happens. It is seen outside of the body rather than in the minds eye and, the perception would be the same each time. Most often, the secondary perception is remembered before the primary perception (ex: A person having Synesthesia (a Synesthete) who sees the color yellow with the name Mike would remember the name as yellow rather than remembering Mike). Genetic forms of this do exist however and you may see lines, shapes or colors in response to smell, but not something complex such as a room filled with many belongings.

Studies in Hypnosis has shown that extra brain connections are not needed to experience cross-sensory interactions and that it is a change in inhibitory process, (a process that restrains an action, emotion, or thought). Contrary to popular belief findings suggest that people with Synesthesia do not necessarily have extra connections in their brain, but rather, their brains may be simply doing more “cross talking”.

Here is a Synesthesia Experiment: Read a list of random numbers between 0 and 9 at a rate of about one every three seconds, for example: 8,4,7,9,3,2,6,1,5,0. After each number is read ask a person or people to write down a number and what color they associate with each number. Collect the answers and save them as Answers #1. A couple of weeks later, repeat the experiment, but change the order of the numbers. Collect the answers and save them as Answers #2. When you compare the answers #1 with answers #2, a person with Synesthesia will have all or most of the same number-colored pairs on both answers 1 and 2. (this can also be done using letters instead of numbers).

Synesthesia reminds me of what it was like as a child when learning my colors, numbers and shapes, only now having a much deeper and grown up level of knowledge and learning.

No one knows what binds all of our perceptions together into one complete whole, but, understanding these perceptions and studying them may someday help in understanding how we are able to perceive our world.

Whether connections are “cross talking” or re-wiring themselves, we are getting closer each day and progressing in way’s like never before. A little closer to, Thy Kingdom come thy will be done! Who knows, Maybe!… A fascinating condition never the less.