Tasting The Universe: People Who See Colors in Words and Rainbows in Symphonies: A Spiritual and Scientific Exploration of Synesthesia - Softcover

Maureen Seaberg; Foreword By William C. Bushell

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1601631596 ISBN 13: 9781601631596

Publisher: New Page Books, 2011

Synopsis

"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.

About this title

Review:

"Tasting the Universe 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 Tasting the Universe, 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--Reviews

About the Author:

Maureen Seaberg has lectured on synesthesia and spirituality at the Towards a Science of Consciousness Conference at the University of Arizona-Tucson. She herself has higher and lower synesthesia, both concepts and forms appear to her in color (her k's are teal and her 8's are aubergine). A journalist for 20 years, Maureen has had articles featured in the New York Times, the Daily News, Irish America, ESPN the Magazine, and other publications. She has also covered breaking news for MSNBC and appeared on NBC, CNN, and PBS. Maureen earned a BA in journalism with a minor in Spanish from Penn State University, and a certificate of superior-level Spanish from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

About this edition

• Publisher: New Page Books
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1601631596
• ISBN 13: 9781601631596
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288