Comforting/Euphoric Sounds + Memory

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I suppose this is back to the old memory topic in a sense...I have noticed that certain sounds bring about a sense of nostalgia and also of euphoria/elation, as well as all the memories that might have had that sound in them, including smells... hard to describe... it is like this totally relaxed, euphoric state just bought on by a sound that brings back the sensory memories from a point in my past, usually childhood.

Seagulls, for example, have this effect on me...hear them, and I am instantly transported to the seaside and to being a child again, with the waves lapping at the shore and the sounds...and just the entire atmosphere of the experience.

With the sound of birds singing in summer...has to be a specific birdsong of the kind you would find in an English back garden...I am taken back to childhood days spent sitting in the grass in the back garden, reading with the cat beside me and to the elation of being in the sunlight...

Does anyone else experience this?
I cannot complain about it as the feelings of euphoria can be quite intense!

The beat of a drum calms me.

Sometimes though, sounds evoke feelings of sadness too. Still, it is the good, melancholy type of sadness - not the overwhelming panic.

I guess the others didn't see the whole thing. I guess it is AMAZING I don't have a FANTASTIC memory, etc... because one interesting thing I noticed, especially lately, is that once it gets to a certain point(With visualizing), which doesn't take long, I almost get a high! I guess that is like what you get.

Steve

I get both extremes.

Quite often I find myself recalling sounds that bring back pleasant memories, and yes, no matter how much the weight of the world bears down on me, for a moment I just get lost in the past.

But if these are the sounds that bring dreams, I'm far more frequented by the noises that herald nightmares. Bad memories have a tendency to dig under my skin like barbs, and innumerable times a day they come back to me in full force, usually brought on by something that reminds me of something that reminds me of that one time...

Now that I think of it, the good sort of auditory memories really only fall under one category: my dog. I really love that mutt to death, and now that you've got me thinking, I think he's the only 100% positive influence in my life and 100% devoid of negative memories. Hence the echoes, perhaps?

This is why I'm so glad I finally got the courage to come to this page - I learn more about myself in a day than I do in a year on my own.

I get relaxed when I hear horse huff on pavement. I don't know why that sound makes me happy?

Walking in the warm humid air last night I was reminded of the feeling of playing outside
at night as a kid. I think it was a smell that triggered it and the lack of most sound (it was 3 am).

The sound of my cats purring is an endless source of comfort to me.

The sound of birds chirping and the sound and feel of a warm gentle breeze sooths my weary soul.

In general, just the sound of nature relaxes me. It can even be the creaking of a tree branch.

And as far as the sound of random things that I like, for some reason, I really like the sound of certain types of rock rubbing together. The kind you find at train tracks. Don't know why. I just think it's a cool sound.

But yeah, birds chirping and a gentle breeze whipping through the trees = nirvana.

I have experienced something like this, Graelwyn.

I've already made a couple of threads on this kind of thing:
http://www.wrongplanet.net/modules.php? ... eece323e66
http://www.wrongplanet.net/modules.php? ... eece323e66

Any nostalgic sound will comfort me...liek old video game music and cartoon theme songs.

Certain techno songs have a calming effect on me. Usually, it's the fast pulsating ones with occasional slow moments. It's especially true with European or Israeli techno music, as it tends to have more of a mind-altering vibe to it. Even more so if the song is in a language I can't understand, which makes me focus more on the melody. Why? I have a few pleasant memories associated with this kind of songs.

That's funny. Techno almost always gives me a headache. But, then again, it means nothing to me.