Our Sensory World

[[redacted]]

Well, I'm an artist (though I have mixed feelings with it these days) in part because of feeling enamored with certain aesthetics/sensory archetypes. A way of trying to possess beauty I suppose, as I can draw anything... as long as I can figure out how.

I tend to enjoy the sensory world in general, but trying to talk about it feels annoying. Like when someone goes on about the "beauty of nature" it makes me want to throw up on them because it sounds so wanky and dumb, but... well. The urge to throw up is fairly sensuous in its own way. =P

But yeah, some things are so beautiful it gives me a boner in my usually desolate soul. I don't know how to explain it better than that.

[ledyanoy]

[Mahat]

I'm inferior Se (well unconscious Se according to CT development levels), so I can either ignore or be extremely sensitive to sensory input. I don't really pay attention to my internal sensory experience so I can't really comment on that. But for the longest time, I've always been enamored with art, both aesthetically and symbolically. Aesthetics has always been a fascination of mine as it revs up my Ni with metaphysical and symbolic musings. Art and aesthetics are never without context and it's a joy to parse out the meanings of these things. With that, my experience of the sensory world is highly impressionistic, creating a simulacra-like experience of reality. I need Se to ground and give my impressions body and impact, and to experience a sense of flow with the world around me. Too much layering of direct experience creates a dissociative detachment from it, and reality becomes a ever more impressionistic and surreal simulacra. When I eventually get out of my fugue state, I can experience reality and direct sensory input as a bit of an uncanny yet welcome interruption from my normal flow. I can live in my mind while the whole world passes by. Somewhere else, I wrote about my relationship to Se:

[ledyanoy]

moonlight

[ledyanoy]

[ledyanoy]

Vive that loss of touch sensation is a symptom of MS. I know two people close to me who have MS and all I can say it must be horrible. When it progresses, there is malfunction in the communication from the skin receptors to the brain, so things like burning yourself becomes a risk as only one example.

I love a love/hate kind of thing with sound/hearing. I am extra sensitive and prickly to sounds, which makes some sounds give superlative pleasure in many ways and others extremely horrible and up to rage inducing. One sound that I like in almost any form is water - waves, rain, waterfalls, brooks, rapids, fountains, melting ice. The only exception I can think of is a dripping faucet.

[Vive]

Ahh, the senses, they are such a wonderful thing.

I love coming close to the brink of overstimulation every so often. Exercising until total exhaustion, taking many crazy rollercoaster rides, parties with lots of people and mildly loud music, but enough space to dance or just move around in. I really dislike it when I am somewhere and there 10 people that are bumping up to me, because there isn't even more than a centimeter of wriggle space.

Taste is essential to me. I love to eat and I love a great many types of food. However, I tend to eat fast and my mind is often somewhere else, so I must admit that I sometimes do miss out on properly tasting food. It's something I think I can live without, though. Although I do think I should be more mindful sometimes when eating as it can make a whole lot of difference for how things taste.

I really wouldn't want to go without sound, though. I'm not a musician, but music and sound in general can affect me so much more than just visuals. Not to mention that is a great practical hindrance, like losing your vision. Strictly emotionally speaking, though my hearing is more important to me.

Vision, though can also be unexpectly great. Sometimes, you look at a 'mundane' thing and you think 'mhh.. that's actually pretty neat'. Like standing in the park and looking up at the trees and the leaves and seeing the contrast and all the green and dark green and browns in contrast to a blue sky.



I was just wondering, what would it be like if you lose your sense of touch, can that even happen? I'm not even sure what that would be like. Blind, deaf, having no taste I can somehow imagine or picture, but not feeling pressure or heat, I don't think I can imagine that.

[Princess of Hearts]

Ooh, I realized I forgot to say the most basic things.

In some ways I am not very sensitive at all, I can't get overwhelmed, I love large crowds even though I have social anxiety, noise, smells, strong flavors and spices, bright colors, lights, I am always wanting more stimulation, it's a lot easier for it to be 'not enough' than 'too much'.

I also like rollercoasters, but in moderation, that is one thing I definitely have to be in the mood for and in the right company so I can focus on the experience and not on my body, my reaction to extreme rollercoasters and similar contraptions is most of the time 'No thank you'

However I am also an insanely picky eater, but luckily it's getting a lot better with age, I am also squeamish about many things to the point of panic and I can be very fussy and particular.
As a child I was very picky when it came to clothes and it was impossible to get me to wear things I found annoying, it's possible I'm still like that except I don't notice it because I choose my own clothes.
I am very scared of pain, or expectation of pain more than pain itself and I often imagine it being a million times worse than it is in reality, I don't know how much my body can handle.
I am so scared of pregnancy in the future and possible complications and I have a strong feeling that I'm definitely gonna be one of the less lucky ones, the pain itself would be fine, it is what it has to be, but I just fear my body malfunctioning.
Overall very sensitive, often considered very dramatic for how sensitive I am, I would say I fit HSP but the thing about not getting overwhelmed throws me off.

I looove food, but I would love to not love it even more, I think that for me it's often a cheap and unhealthy substitute for other things, I don't think anything would be legitimately missing from my life if I was not able to enjoy food. There are many things I could enjoy even more so in that sense I don't see food as truly important to me like it might be for some people, but it would surely be very disorienting to lose my sense of taste. Perhaps I take it for granted because it's so easily accessible!

[SpiritoftheGael]

I can't imagine losing my smell or taste ledyanoy I love food so much. I'd say my sensory experiences are overall weird. I am verrry sensitive to some things and don't even notice other things at all. Like I might not notice bad smells around me for whatever reason, but when I met my boyfriend I automatically noticed how safe and wonderful he smelled. I think he is kinda bemused because I'll just bury my nose in him and be like you smell good even when he was just working and he's like what do I smell like? I have no clue lol. Unnameable. Smells like home I guess.

I am really sensitive to textures too. When I was a child, like maybe 3 or 4, I remember there was one pair of socks I'd wear. They had a more silky feel. I said all of the other socks itched my feet. I'm not weird about socks anymore, but I do feel sensitive to pants. I really really hate wearing black jeans. I don't know why but every pair of black jeans I've ever owned have itched my legs. It must be the dye they use. Blue jeans never have the same effect.

I also identified my own food allergies when I was like 3 or 4. I refused to eat eggs as a small child. My parents thought I was just picky, but then I had my allergies tested years later and I was allergic to eggs. I also cut out wheat on my own.

I often get overwhelmed and feel drowned by too many sensations as well. When there's too much noise and light I can get really withdrawn and upset. But other times I don't even notice noise around me because I block it all out. It's very weird.

[Princess of Hearts]

Figured it out, the problem was that I didn't know where to click to get 'Upload Attachments'!
I'm slowly getting a hang of how the site works





I'm obsessed with this sparkle effect. Obviously not real but this iscloser to reflecting my experience, if it was up to me this is what the world would look like
I only wish people in the last one were doing something else


These rooms give me?



I really love the type of home design with lots of ornate shapes, lavish textures and a romantic touch.
I don't love all of the datails in the second one but I think when it comes to images I get attracted to gaudy side of things because it gets the feeling across better.


I used to constantly look at online catalogues and imagining how I'd decorate if I could do it however I wanted, even how I wanted other people's homes to look



ledyanoy no, I don't, I have some ideas but I would rather not share them just yet
Do you have any impressions?
? ??

[ledyanoy]

[ledyanoy]

[ledyanoy]

[ledyanoy]

moonlight.

Out of curiosity, do you know your Cognitive type?

Edit to add: I also have issues with image uploading. I have to go through many tries for my inserted image from files to be accepted by the server. So, I feel you on that.

[Princess of Hearts]

SAME


First thing I will say-summertime.
Everything about summer is just the right fit for me, from the visuals-the sea, beaches, palm trees, beautiful coastal towns, long sunsets, in fall/winter it's like the sky is grey and then suddenly it's black, in summer there are so many stages you can see.
Then the temperatures, the eating ice cream for dinner, the sheer freedom of it.
Down to how I feel about myself, I never feel more like myself than in summer, I can go out right out of the shower with completely wet hair, I get to wear clothes I'm excited about and feel beautiful in and proud to wear. Not pants
I love shine and sparkle and it never looks and feels as beautiful as it does in summer.
I love everything more in summer, it's my season.

When it comes to my living space I am not too fussy because I know my room is too small for what I want it to look like, I can live with white walls, basic furniture, mismatched bedding, etc. and it doesn't affect me, I am also quite messy and care for organization only when it's at the point that I can't find anything anymore, normally I'm not the one to be bothered by how my space looks.
That said, I very much crave having beautiful things here and there, I love looking at home decor, I have nice blankets, love ambient lighting and use it as a substitute for more complicated decor, I put whatever pretty things I have on display to fill the empty spaces and give it a special touch.


When I'm wearing something I really like I can't help but be obsessed with it, I'm constantly feeling my ruffles, my jewelry, thinking about how nice it looks in certain lighting, waving my hair around so I could catch whiffs of my perfume, I just enjoy every second of it
I'm very conscious of how I feel in myself in the moment, for instance in summer (here we go again) I love having hair that's long enough so that I can feel it touching my waist, it makes me feel feminine and summery and mermaid-y.

I love swatching makeup, smelling perfumes, looking for new shampoos and shower gels to try but I try my best to resist, I go through phases when I go manic and buy 5 shower gels at once but then I don't even think about it for months.


Can't think of anything else for now.
I wanted to post some images but I can't do it the way I used to for whatever reason and I don't like the alternative way so I'll try later!