Sensory Kaleidoscopes

Our aesthetic perceptions of the world around us affect how we feel. When we perceive the environment around us as beautiful, our emotions are affected in a positive way. Colours, textures, sounds and fragrances pull us into the moment; they emotionally move us.   

-   Mandy Aftel, Essence and Alchemy

Philosophers and psychologists have long pondered about our human predisposition to get caught up in overthinking, in overdoing. Even before the complexities of the digital age, continuous mental distractions have been able to disconnect us from ourselves and the world around us, heightening our levels of worry and stress. Writers, thinkers, scientists and artists across millennia and cultures have invariably reached a shared truth. Reconnecting with our senses allows us to harness our overly busy minds. Sensory awareness heightens our state of wellbeing and enhances our experience of the present moment. Of life itself.

- on synaesthesia -

Imagine waking up every morning to the taste of sunshine or seeing your friend’s name shimmering in a rainbow of colours.

Synaesthesia (from the Ancient Greek ‘syn’ - together- and ‘aisthesis’ - sensation)  is a fascinating perceptual phenomenon, in which the world is experienced in unusual ways, as if one sense merges with another. Despite being known for about 200 years, there is no commonly agreed upon model for how and why synaesthesia emerges, but Richard Cytowic, a leading neurologist in the field, describes it as "an enhanced connectivity between different sensory modalities".

In most of our brains, sensory pathways remain distinct. However in a synaesthetic brain these pathways intersect, leading to blended sensory experiences. The most common form is known as grapheme–colour synaesthesia. Here, letters or digits automatically trigger a colourful perceptual experience- for example, the letter ‘m’ may induce “seeing” the colour blue . The second most prevalent form is time unit–colour synaesthesia (colours triggered eg by “Monday”, or “January”),  followed by musical sound–colour synaesthesia (experiencing music as colours) and lexical-gustatory synaesthesia (tasting words).

The vibrant interplay of senses that characterises syneasthetic experience offers a rich source of inspiration, challenging us to explore beyond the ordinary and engage with the world in novel, multisensory ways. Synaesthesia has left an indelible mark on art, music, and literature, but the idea of it is accessible to all of us. For all that our perception seems like a coherent, singular sensory experience, it is inherently fed by many distinct yet compounded senses. A continuously flowing stream of sensations feeds our perception of the world, a multiplicity of messages that come together to write the experience of every moment of our lives. 

- on harmony -

At La-Eva, sensory harmony in central to everything that we create.  The importance of harmony is now receiving much attention in research, with studies showing that harmony is not merely relevant to wellbeing, but rather a defining principle, a golden thread running through its myriad dimensions. Our emotions are driven by the way we process and integrate information from our senses, and sensory balance is essential for a well regulated nervous system. When our senses are in harmony, we navigate our environment comfortably, with a sense of peace and clarity.