The Synesthesia Experience

"""Synesthesia is no mere curiosity, but an important window onto human perception and creativity. This book's first-person contributions by figures such as Itzhak Perlman, Billy Joel, and Marian McPartland round out synesthesia's history and its place in the larger culture. Hand in hand with straightforward scientific accounts, these personal revelations speak to the meaning of the experience--for the individual, surely, but for the collective rest of us as well."" --Richard E. Cytowic, MD, George Washington University, author of Wednesday Is Indigo Blue ""The universe and all of existence is derived from quantum waves of possibilities. According to the research, those people who experience unusual manifestations of these possibilities in the form of the sound and light of synesthesia appear to be privileged by seeing more deeply into Creation than the rest of us."" --Dr. Amit Goswami, quantum physicist, author of The Self-Aware Universe ""If Husserl is right--that all perception is a gamble--then synesthete Ms. Seaberg is one of those gamblers who sits at the table with no one expecting her potency . . . then reveals herself as an artful, Zen monk with the entire Tao in her hand!"" --Vanda Mikoloski, noted consciousness comedienne ""The Synesthesia Experience is not only the brilliant writing of a top, professional journalist looking in on a strange but romantic phenomena, but it is the writing of a person who could embrace the feelings of those she interviews, because author Seaberg herself possesses this remarkable gift of synesthesia. I predict when you pick up this book, you will be unable to put it down, as it will open up for you a whole new world in our universe."" --The Amazing Kreskin ""As Maureen Seaberg beautifully tells us, the conscious minds of synesthetes reach deeper levels of reality, beneath the veil, beyond the cave, to purer realms of meaning."" --Dr. Stuart Hameroff, director, Center for Consciousness Studies, The University of Arizona, Tucson ""Maureen Seaberg explores a dimension of synesthesia long encountered in reports of synesthetes: its relation to mystical and artistic vision. In The Synesthesia Experience, Ms. Seaberg, a synesthete herself, has collected some fascinating accounts by some very prominent and inspiring people."" --Patricia Lynne Duffy, author of Blue Cats and Chartreuse Kittens ""Maureen Seaberg goes beyond theory and abstraction to delve into the real-life experience of the (surprisingly) many whose senses have revealed themselves in ways to which the rest of us are oblivious. She helps liberate people to explore their own senses and discover the colors of sound, the sounds of color, and so much more. This is an exploration of the mysteries of the senses like no other."" --James Clement van Pelt, program coordinator, Yale Divinity School Initiative in Religion, Science & Technology ""Synesthetes, particularly prominent ones, don't often share their perceptions and thoughts. By eliciting personal stories from famous synesthetic artists and scientists, Maureen Seaberg makes us aware of how people use synesthesia in their professional lives. Through these charming tales she gives us new insights into the creative powers of synesthetic ways of perceiving and thinking."" --Dr. Cretien van Campen, psychologist and art historian, author of The Hidden Sense"