Got "memories" from media (books, games)?

[KazeCraven]

Sometimes, especially from the right kind of music, I'll get "memories" of something really bizarre, like elves dancing in the forest or that sort of thing. I just thought of it now, because I was playing some music on my violin, and I just got to the point where I could play it pretty well at a decent speed.

So, now that we're (hopefully) on the same page...

Do you ever feel like you 'remember' something that obviously didn't come from your own experiences?

If so, what do you attribute this to? Something you've read? Overactive imagination?

Feel free to elaborate on anything that comes up related to this.

 

[acd]

I get a sense of nostalgia while reading certain literature.. historical fiction from pre-revolutionary China.. And I certainly don't envy anyone having lived during that time who was a woman.. bound feet.. resigning oneself to living with your husband's concubines.. the alienating (from my perspective) ceremious ways one prostrates oneself in relation to others.. etc. etc.. Yet these types of novels are real cozy to me..It's so odd.

I've thought about it.. and I think it is because it's vastly different than any culture I've been exposed to. And I can't help but intensely identify with the characters while simultaneously comparing myself and them. So it's very evocative of my own feelings and memories about relationships.
I wonder if that even makes sense.

 

[jakowatt]

short answer: yes.

And I can't help but intensely identify with the characters while simultaneously comparing myself and them. So it's very evocative of my own feelings and memories about relationships.
I wonder if that even makes sense.

Makes a lot of sense to me Imagination and Empathy go hand in hand.

...what do you attribute this to? Something you've read? Overactive imagination?.

Could it simply be my 'active imagination'? (sans 'over')

And I attribute this phenomenon to all the expressive artwork I've been exposed to, created, or shared with others throughout my lifetime (and lifetimes passed???).
I do a lot of drawing/videoing/animating in my free time and I find that ideas I've generated are constantly in transit between the fantasy world and the world of reality.
And I find that as time progresses it requires more and more effort for me to differentiate between fantasy and reality what with all the crazy books, wacky cartoons, and cgi-aided movies I've read or watched.

I'll add that I often have very vivid, memorable dreams as well. So sometimes maybe these memories or flashbacks aren't necessarily separate from myself, but also weren't something I actually 'experienced' in this reality. I watch a lot of movies in my head...

fantasy = reality

Some people may think I'm crazy. I know I'm crazy. I'd only really be crazy if I claimed I wasn't and tried to convince people of it.

 

[TinyBubbles]

how do you distinguish a memory from a fantasy? or a fantasy from a subconscious dream? they all kinda merge together after a certain point. this could also be your past self talking to you =P

 

[jakowatt]

how do you distinguish a memory from a fantasy? or a fantasy from a subconscious dream? they all kinda merge together after a certain point. this could also be your past self talking to you =P

You make a very valid point, April May.
I've been fooled enough times by my physical senses that I've learned to either question my physical reality or just simply accept that anything is possible and continue onward.

collective consciousness?
collective unconsciousness??

 

[TinyBubbles]

You make a very valid point, April May.
I've been fooled enough times by my physical senses that I've learned to either question my physical reality or just simply accept that anything is possible and continue onward.

collective consciousness?
collective unconsciousness??

that's what i'm trying to do, constantly. also, hehee April May, that made me smile

 

[KazeCraven]

how do you distinguish a memory from a fantasy? or a fantasy from a subconscious dream? they all kinda merge together after a certain point. this could also be your past self talking to you =P

Hmmm. I suppose it depends on whether you can trace it back to a particular time and place, and whether it obeys the laws of reality. But the more realistic the fantasy and the more fuzzy the 'true' memories, the less clear any distinction between the two becomes.

A past self could also be an explanation.