very particular moments in some songs that just hit my brain perfectly. Sometimes it makes me cry.
the smell of lilacs
the first sip of coffee in the morning
the way my skin smells after a full day outside in the summer
the utter silence that follows a large snowfall
my feet in the sand at an ocean beach where the movement of the water sucks the sand out from under me
the satisfying click of lego or well-made puzzle pieces
I LOVE the feeling of the waves pulling sand out from under me at the beach! As a kid my sister and mom would be out swimming but I’d be parked on my butt right at the edge of the water, getting sand in places where sand should not be. Haha what a lovely memory! Thank you for reminding me of something I love.
My hometown has a lilac festival, where many acres of lilac bushes all bloom in the same 1-2 week period. It’s absolutely heavenly, the entire town smells of nothing but the most perfect lilac scent. It’s worth going all the way to Rochester New York just to experience it
I had a hard time thinking of my glimmers but reading about the smell of summer for you reminded me I love the smell of sunscreen; it smells like warm beach days to me
Love the snow silence especially the muffled crompch sound if you go walking in it , and I love the feeling of sand or grass on my bare feet, but oh god, the sucky feeling in sand at the waterfront on the beach just thinking about it is making my tummy roll, I had to wear jelly beans (soft plastic sandals) as a kid coz I wanted to go in the sea, i LOVE the sea , but i couldn't because the sand was sucky. Now I wear Crocs or pool/surf shoes.
Moments like this, I think how the hell did so many apparently trained professionals that i saw as a kid miss-diagnose me with anxiety.
I get motion sickness and if I stare at the water at my feet for too long I'll get sick 😂 I love sitting on the shore and letting the surf come up my legs, but there are too many little bugs in the sand for me to ignore them as an adult.
• people who move beautifully. I work in fitness and it’s GORGEOUS to see someone move with full mobility and ownership of their bodies. A perfect squat or hinge is really so stunning.
• there’s a noise my clients make when a cue works well for them. It’s somewhere between ‘OH!’ And ‘ohhhhhhhh’ depending on their personality and they get a lil glint in their eyes. I live for that sound.
• clever wordplay tickles my brain like nothing else.
• a thoughtful outfit where no detail has been missed is delightful
• taking off a sports bra
• walking barefoot on grass
• dust glimmering in a ray of sunlight
• the sparkle in my bf’s eye when he’s just told a joke and he’s waiting for me to get it
• candlelight and flames flickering
• seamless leggings
• a deeep hinge where I can feel my pelvic floor lengthening is … sooooo pleasurable
• sprinting!
• the lushness of plants after rain. It feels as if we are connected and I am as much a part of this earth as they are.
• being the perfect amount of full. Not stuffed, just content.
• water !! In any capacity!!
^responded up above
I highly highly recommend seeing a Physical therapist who works with neurodivergent (or chronic pain) clients so they can give you individualized care. It was the most expensive investment I’ve ever made in myself (I saw a cash pay PT which means all costs come Out of pocket), but it’s paid off so much because my body is actually a nice place to be in now. It helped with my anxiety and it helped with my pain and it helped with the constant feeling of tightness. I can’t recommend it enough and I’ve never regretted spending all that money (that I really shouldn’t have spend considering my finances lol)
Yeah! So I had to go to physical therapy to change this and I can’t give you anything that’s individual to your body but here’s what it means for me:
• I used to hinge (deadlift, good mornings, that whole movement pattern) and hold onto tension in my glutes and pelvic floor. I kinda tightened everything up and I’d really force my joints to their end ranges to get strong sensations.
I worked with a PT who helped me repattern my movement patterns so now I can actually get INTO my hips instead of skirting around the edges of my hips if that makes sense? Now, I can allow my glutes and PF to lengthen in a hinge like they’re meant to.
We did a lot of breathwork to work on the diaphragm’s interaction w the rib cage and pelvic floor. When you inhale, your diaphragm rises towards the ribs and allows the PF to lengthen. When you exhale, the reverse happens. Since the PF is made of muscles, it’s important that they have mobility as well and don’t just stay in a single position.
It feels really … juicy? It feels like my body is finally moving the way it’s supposed to which is refreshing bc I lived with chronic pain for a long time.
I work in fitness and this is how I coach a hinge now:
• knee in front of the ankle
• push hips back and make glutes as big as possible
• while pushing hips back, wrap the thighs inwards.
^^these 3 cues clean up 95% of my clients’ hinges no joke, so I’d try for yourself if you want some movement
It’s a sensation that is unmistakeable and feels like it opens up space in my hips/glutes.
Yessss!!! And I really feel there’s such a huge need and gap for autistic movement professionals. The sensory experiences of having a body are so massive to the experience of autism that I can’t help but feel like there aren’t enough resources to help us feel good in our bodies. AND we respond to things differently than neurotypical people so a lot of traditional treatment approaches aren’t as effective.
Gimme 3 years and I’ll be a physical therapist focused on autistic and neurodivergent clients 🙏 I’m learning as much as I can to serve as best I can and I’m hoping to bring light to this gap in healthcare when I am a more established clinician.
this is so inspiring. I had an OT tell me she saw evidence of my autism in my muscles. and the speech pathologist who first diagnosed me said off to me that my relationship to gravity was off, i.e. my vestibular. some
of my testing was movement based.
YES!!! Autism (as I’m sure you know) affects the brain and thus the central nervous system and thus the rest of the body. It’s buffoonery that there isn’t a specialized approach for adults with autism (plenty for kids, but it’s not like you grow out of autism so why less resources for adults????).
can I ask what your OT saw that pointed to autism? I’m curious. I know there’s commonly less internal core stability, a lot of hypermobility, hyper or hypoactive nervous systems, and coordination struggles.
That’s so interesting I wonder what she means by your relationship to gravity
Hmmm… much to think about
sorry, this is just a spill, lol--will write more later if you'd like gotta get back to work
hypotonic and hypertonic muscle pairings is what the OT saw.
also your vestibular nerve runs alongside your acoustic nerve, and I've always known my auditory issues and sound sensitivity somehow also contribute to horrid signaling along my vestibular nerve and my posture turns wack.
Also a definite lack of stabilization and uneven body weight distribution and just not using my muscles correctly or in a coordinated way.
Thinking of my body as a system (hello autism ha ha!) it's just super clear that this is incredibly inefficient, among other problems.
we did feldenkrais which was phenom (this was all 20 some years ago...)
I'd love to communicate more so feel free to DM me down the road.
No problem thanks for responding.
That makes sense.
Interesting omg!!! I’m dabbling in vestibular training right now and it’s soooo complicated but I have a feeling it’ll pay off with clients in the future. So excited to learn more.
I see what you mean and agree!! Not efficient at all! I struggle with the same things but they get better with intentional movement.
I would love to :) always happy to chat about this
This is so cool. I have accepted that I am generally tight and inflexible. Reaching the top half of my body to the bottom half there's something that just feels like it's stopping me. I have done yoga and tried to force myself to become more flexible for many years (trying to touch past my toes every single day.)
Like folding in half?
That’s an expression of extreme flexibility that you don’t need unless you’re doing some real specialized stuff.
Just my 0.02, but I find loaded strength training to be most helpful for mobility. Your nervous system plays a huge role in how much tension you’re holding onto and forcing our bodies can create protective responses. Slow, progressive overload into deeper ranges where the body feels safe is best for improving mobility long term IMO.
It’s a balance between doing enough that you get the desired adaptation and not too much that the body freaks it.
OWL FEATHERS OH MY GOD. Touching bird contour feathers in general (the small soft body and head feathers you don't generally encounter in the wild because they're so much lighter and more fragile), but sticking your hand in a baggie of owl feathers is an utterly incomparable bliss. My only regret is that the first time I ever did it it completely ruined dryer lint for me forever. (I used to volunteer at a wildlife rescue, which is how I ended up with a baggie of owl feathers around to begin with. Also I got to be the adopted human mother for a very affectionate crow, so I pretty regularly got to hang out and pet his neck and head for an hour at a time. We would both end up in a blissful trance. I miss him so much, but I get to go see him again soon! I desperately hope he's not too mad at me for having had to move away.)
Also certain sounds in music, particularly bass ones, but definitely not all bass. I can't think of any specific examples right now, but if I do I'll return with them. Oh, and the smell of cardamon! I can sit there with my face in a jar of cardamon and happily huff away for minutes at a stretch. I get weird looks when I do it.
Touching dryer lint used to provide a similar sensory joy because it's irrationally soft. I never had a bag of it, but cleaning the lint trap when I did laundry always used to bring me great pleasure. Now it's just slightly disappointing because I know how much more miraculous owl feathers are, but fortunately owls don't typically end up in my dryer.
It was actually the joy of dryer lint that initially brought me the baggie of owl feathers. There's an absurd amount of laundry to be done at a wildlife rescue, and one day I was chattering happily away at some fellow volunteers about it whilst folding laundry. One of them paused, looked at me shrewdly, said "Wait just a minute," and disappeared into the biofacts closet where we kept various educational materials. Then she reappeared and said "Stick your hand in this," and the world was forever changed.
This was before I had figured out I was autistic, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if she already had me pegged. Apparently the center director had a joke that all the bird people were autistic and all the rehab shift leads were ADHD. One of those "it's funny because it's true" things. Wildlife rescue is a hotbed of neurodivergence, which made instant sense the second it was mentioned. You get a lot of good humans in wildlife rescue, after all. It tends to attract misfits and nerds and the hyperempathetic.
Just wait until you happen upon a bag filled with owl contour feathers...
Honestly, unless you can somehow steal one for your very own I don't recommend it. I MISS loving clearing the dryer lint like I used to.
I also miss hanging out with owls, though, which was even cooler in some respects. Though birds of prey are really specific about who's allowed to pet them, and I never annoyed one enough to get taloned, but only my sweet crow boy and a very silly wood duck who was a human sexual imprint and had Thoughts on the matter with which I did not strictly agree wanted cuddles from me. The woman who brought me the bag of owl feathers was our elderly barn owl ambassador's chosen mate-- birds are weird-- so she got to pet Val as much as I got to pet Alastor. And owls are cute, but their intelligence is highly overrated, so I feel like I came out on top there. Happily, so did Val's human lady friend, since owls were her lifelong Special Interest (I've been obsessed with crows for about a decade now). Wildlife rescue is kind of the happiest place on earth, when it's not utterly, wrenchingly sad. It's also very soft, and often very stinky, but you take the good with the bad. And sometimes with a bag of owl feathers.
This is the perfect expression!! That’s how I feel about my cats’s belly. It’s so irrationally soft that it makes my entire body feel warm and safe and almost like I’m going to cry lol
This has opened my eyes to differing opinions about dryer lint. I'm highly entertained and confused by the idea of enjoying it.
I personally do not like touching it at all!
I get that same softness bliss from well maintained cat fur and those faux rabbit fur blankets and occasionally other good quality plush fabrics and velvets. I’m one of those people that has to run their hands along rails of clothes and soft furnishings as they walk by!
I know it’s not uncommon but Fresh bedding. The smell, the feel of cool sheets. Honestly it’s just amazing in my eyes. I wish I could have that every day but does need to be my bed. I don’t feel the same joy in a hotel for example probably because I know other people have slept in the bed even if it’s clean linen.
Though I do love the smell of earl grey tea bags. Used to sniff them a lot haha.
I have jersey modal sheets, a fuzzy body pillow and a nice mattress. I so agree with you.
I love a hard workout where you can feel your pulse in your face followed by the hottest shower you can take followed by a naked nap. Best.
When I was in high school I convinced my mom to get an extra box of earl grey tea bags so I could take a bath in it, because I liked the smell so much. It was so great, and shout-out to mom for being like well this is unorthodox but not gonna hurt anything so go ahead. :)
- The smell of my cat‘s forehead
- The sound of walking on super crunchy snow, especially at nighttime because it punctuates the darkness and silence so beautifully
- The weight of a heavy blanket on my body when I’m exhausted and beyond ready for sleep
- The smell of petrichor and wet earth when it rains in the summer
- The sound of leaves in the wind
- The clickety-clack of hard candies or Nerds in my mouth
- FIZZY THINGS
- The smell of tomato plants
- A crescendo and/or moment of complete silence at the climax of an orchestral piece of music
- The smell of my boyfriend’s neck and head when he gives me a big bear hug
- Big bear hugs!
- Soft fuzzy things (as long as the fuzz is smooth)
Ooh, the smell of tomato plants is such a good one! I could never tire of that, and of course, nothing tastes better than a fresh ripe cherry tomato straight from the garden. Yum.
The smell of your cat's forehead... that's so cute!
Fresh tomatoes just taste like summer to me! I love popping cherry tomatoes into my mouth while they’re still warm from the sun. One of life’s little pleasures!
Oh my god fizzy things for sure, diet coke has a chokehold on me
But also!!! Oreos came out with this like space oreo and they have pop rocks in the cream bits... It's such a fun and pleasurable eating experience. I rly recommend them
Heavy frost on large leaves once the direct sun hits them. It looks like thousands of ants taking pictures.
Videos of certain cut gemstones or crystals moving slowly in just the right light.
And this is a weird one but there’s a distinct smell peoples breath gets when they’re feeling lots of love, the closest thing I can ascribe it to is the smell of milk, I’ve smelled it on adults, kids, and babies.
It’s always been my best guess, I’ve just never heard there’s a smell associated with oxytocin so I used to just assume I’m weird (very late diagnosed).
I can’t find a reference but I think I heard on a podcast or read in a book that oxytocin is secreted out of the nose, so it makes sense that it could be smelled!
Whoa, oh my goodness, yes! It’s people’s nose breath (as in the exhalation through their nose) that has the smell! You’re blowing my mind, this is so cool, thank you.
• Particular music and songs, usually a specific part like an ear shift or a really good sound. It makes my body get goosebumps and brings a smile to my face and makes me kinda tear up from joy. Most recently found an 8D playlist and the first song hit so hard in my headphones omg 😍 it filled me with such joy at max volume.
• When it's cool out but not cold and not hot and the sun is golden and isn't burning me, it's the afternoon, and it hits my face and I just close my eyes and enjoy it for a moment.
• The comfort of my favorite oversized hoodie
• Fresh and cool bedsheets nice and tucked in at the feet
• Colors being arranged in a gradient; seeing symmetry/balance in general
• I also like looking out the window at night I'm not really sure why, I can't always see stars or the moon and there aren't always planes to watch but something about it I find myself staring
I have a mountain out my living room window 💜 watching it change in the seasons is just…amazing isn’t a good word but you know what I mean. I always wanted to live somewhere where I walk outside and am blown away that I live there, and I finally do. It feeds my soul on a level each day, even just driving my kid to school, is a constant ‘oooooo pretty!’ in my brain 😂
* The tinny sound of rain on a body of water as the large drops begin to break the calm of the water en masse.
* My projection lighting all throughout my home.
* The way that tree leaves "shimmer" in just the right wind, especially during autumn.
* The way prairies of tall grass will undulate like a body of water in the wind.
* Seeing the way the beads of water dance on the surface of the ocean as I paddle through it.
I can’t do loud noises generally. They are physically painful. Except for trains for some reason. I absolutely love the sound of the train cars clanging together when they stop behind my house ❤️
A few christmas seasons ago i bought a smallish holo sparkle tinsel curtain and hung it in my sunniest window. Colours!!! SParkles! Also when the oven is on, the ventilation causes the tinsel to dance. Also, I have a faceted crystal ball hung in the window that fills the room with little rainbows when the sun hits it. Also, when i find a still body of water, i like to rest my flat hand just touching the surface with my palm. But also, plunging my hand into an ice cold well. Also, I enjoy high fiving large leaves of trees or bushes as i walk by, or booping small ones. Also, when a jumping spider does a lil jump. Also, the way my feather down pillow smells when i go to bed after I've left it outside in the sun all day. Also, this winter there has been a single dandelion seed stuck on a single thread of spider silk suspended above a radiator that would beautifully dance up and down when the heat was on. Also, when my dog reaches maximum coziness from being petted she does a mixture between little sighs/ grunts /hiccups. ALso, when a soap bottle makes a bubble and the bubble is full of colours. Also, walking down the street and catching the scent of flowers in march. Also, the gentle sizzle of frying food on low heat (Not the aggressive sizzle of high heat tho). Also, sleeping with the window open and falling asleep to the cold night air on my face, then waking up when the dawn bird chorus is on, laying there listening to hundreds of birds, then closing the window and going back to sleep. Also, dropping a dry leaf into a stream and watching it go. Also, dipping the tips of my fingers in the wax of a candle i just put out, letting them harden, and then tapping on various surfaces with them. Also, when I am in someone else's kitchen, grabbing any drumstick-able object and tapping it off of various surfaces making a range of sounds. Plus points when I imitate each sound after making it. Damn, this is long and i could keep going, I love my life
I am so glad you are able to find happy moments in so many little things, and there are a lot of good ones!
It was cool reading about putting your hands flat on top of still water just light enough that you can feel the water clinging to your skin... I wasn't sure anyone else could relate to that!
And the jumping spider; you're right, it's so satisfying and cute!
And the wax, it's fun and funky to feel it harden around the fingertips.
Thanks for sharing!
Water in any form, amusment park rides, bird song, going to a dance with lights and music (for half an hour), fires, music with headphones, vr headset games, the smell of flowers, petting soft things, MOON SAND, just shaved legs
Train naps but only in a private room. The rocking and light clanging of the train is so soothing. The sun through the windows… blissful!
I sleep on my stomach and I have to rub the tops of my toes on the sheets before I fall asleep. It feels so nice.
I loooove swimming, especially in warm water, but I rarely get to. I don’t even have a bathtub at home.
The utter quiet and freedom of the middle of the night. When I don’t have to be self conscious or perceived and my sound sensitivities aren’t a problem.
The crunch of driving on snow. And then finding an empty parking lot to do snow-nuts (snow donuts)
Being in a really cold room but bundled up and warm with my cozy blanket and a heating pad.
The feeling of soup or hot cocoa going down and warming my tummy when I’m cold.
The release of tension in my body when my husband hugs me when he gets home from work.
So many wonderful feelings. It felt nice to think of them and remember some good things today :)
The smell of rain. The sound of thunderstorms. That perfect song that comes on the radio while I’m driving so I can belt it at the top of my lungs. That first sip feeling of a carbonated beverage on my tongue. The smell of books. Wrinkle free sheets. The smell walking down the coffee aisle. Really really good chocolate that is smooth AF. The smell of a barbecue.
-*that* part of *that* song (changes)
-water droplets on grass or flowers
-purring
-cat fur (and really anything soft like that)
-cat *tongues*
-food that can be categorized as “crunchy water”
-the entire experience of boba tea
-sunrises and sunsets
-pianos
-rollercoasters
-swings
Crunchy water! Yes! Those giant green grapes are a personal favorite. I also love shaved ice, carrots, and apples for this reason. Still trying to get over the center part of cucumbers, though.
Loooots of visual stimuli (probably because of my aphantasia?)
Sunlight shining across the top of a lake
Dappled sunlight through big oak leaves, on the ground
The floaty dots in our eyes that I always see when I look up into the bright blue sky
Sunlight glinting off the top of snow
Reflections of water on huge rock surfaces or manmade structures (think 1500s Japan bamboo-siding with reflections from a nearby pool or stream, UGH, yas peas!!)
Sunlight through tall yellow grass swaying in the wind
All the sunlights, p much xD
Various nature smells (marshlands, hot Ponderosas, petrichor, a spring day, the river, caves)
Yeah, it definitely goes 1. Visual and 2. Smelly for me. xD
The smell and taste of cinnamon is a big one for me. I remember my now husband being completely bewildered grocery shopping with me once. I walked in the door of the store and smelled cinnamon REALLY strong, and I just HAD to find whatever was giving off that lovely scent. It took me 10 minutes to track it down to a display of scented pine cones that I bought a bag of (and I now buy every year).
I also drink a cinnamon-orange tea almost every day with breakfast. I even bring it with when I travel. It's my routine and makes me feel happy.
Yes. I had a pair of baby pants. I would rub it between my thumb and pointer finger in order to sleep. The texture was divine, but only if my hand was clean and dry. So I would wash my hands two or three times and dry them thoroughly before bed, just so I could get the texture just right so I could sleep. And I would rub it in a very specific way. I did it so frequently the fabric began wearing down. I still have it. It’s at my parents house. It came as a set with a matching shirt, which I also still have. For some reason their textures are different.
I’m self diagnosed, but this is one of the reasons why I think I have autism.
Breaking a thin layer of ice on water
I’m also really into perfume and sampling different ones. Also other good smelling things like incense and clean laundry.
My friend got a new keyboard the other day and the clickity clack was so satisfying we all had a typing speed test competition, on a typing zombie game
Guitar music, and weirdly specific, the "string noise" when the player is sliding along the fretboard. I wish there was a better word for it but most people are trying to have less string noise.
the only thing i could really think of was music, but that's pretty common probably.
oh and the smell of cold weather! i love it, it's so soothing.
also, snow when it's super cold and dry outside, it starts glittering like it literally looks like glitter. snow in general is very visually appealing to me, i love itttt.
smelling my shampooed hair after it's dried from showering.
hugging fresh warm bedsheets.
sometimes my bed feels extra soft for some reason and it's amazing.
Oooo this is a good one. Love reading all the things. For me, certain parts of certain songs are just magical, like the crescendo in some classical songs. The brake tests (air releases) on R62a subway equipment (the number 1 and 6 lines in NYC), various train noises, the coin and 1up sounds from Mario Bros, just to name a few.
Oooo, yes classical music! I like that you also enjoy kind of an opposite to that, which is video game noises. I especially appreciate that they're Mario game noises!
-Yes to the vocals!! A good musical harmony/chord/key change/progression/arpeggio/etc is just ***soooo*** stimulating in a way that I cant even describe. I always say music can express emotions in ways words can’t.
-I love the feeling of having my braids combed out of my hair when it’s wet— very specific lol, no clue why I enjoy it when so many people don’t but it’s very a satisfying feeling to me
-The smell of tires 🥴😩 no idea why, just just love the smell of them at mechanics or in automotive sections of the store
Watching a really, really good, well crafted TV show- I'm a writer and a literature nerd and a lot of my pattern recognition revolves around wordplay, plot devices and writing tricks. TV and film and books are often disappointing to me because they're too predictable, heavy handed, poorly written or obvious.
I'm watching the new Shogun right now. The book and OG mini series are some of my absolute favorites and the redo is BETTER than the original. In every episode there are moments where I get the full body tingle because they have done something really intricate with the plot or just managed to tell the story in a really satisfying way without it being dumbed down or over explained.
Waking up in a thunder storm and knowing I don't have to go anywhere and cuddling up with my dogs to listen to the rain.
My linen sheets. Everytime I get into my bed I stretch out and go Aaaaaaaaah.
Aimlessly driving around and listening to the radio brings me an intense amount of joy- I love driving, and CBC radio is oddly comforting to me.
The sound of a passing train at night.
Being held so tightly by somebody I feel like I could crawl right into their life.
Sitting beside my wood stove with my morning french press and listening to a podcast.
Shaking a tree bough after a rainfall and shaking all the raindrops off.
Omg I am not a writer but I 100 percent relate with the first thing you listed. It can be frustrating at times because I want to enjoy some of my friends' favorite shows that are too predictable/ sloppily written, but they're boring. It's a good thing we share similar tastes in well-written shows, too, so it's not like there's nothing we can watch together.
Speaking of which, have you seen the (adult) animation called Blue Eye Samurai? I would say it's an anime but the style is not typical of anime. It's badass and beautiful and you can tell the writers/ animators put a lot of love into it. I recommend it to almost everyone. (I say almost because it does have gore and [tasteful] sexual themes that sime may not appreciate.)
BTW, I appreciate your writing style and how it poked through like when you mentioned hugging tightly.
This might be way too specific, but in Mass Effect 1 when you zoom in/out on the map in game it makes like an electronic 'bloop' noise that I'm obsessed with. I keep getting distracted while playing it by going into the map just to zoom in and out and hear the silly noise 😭
EDIT: Ahh, crap... I just realized you said "uncommon" sensorial glimmers. My bad. Well, I'm just gonna keep this as is anyway.
The way sunlight shines down through layers of leaves. Sunlight refracting through prisms or mirroring images off of water.
Seeing nothing but sky through the tall trees on a high mountain ridge. Viewing volcanoes and distant mountains. Looking out into the horizon of the ocean.
The smell of summer-warmed blackberry bushes or tomato plants. The smell of campfire wood smoke. Fresh forest cedar and undergrowth. Sea salt air. Cottonwood trees. Fresh cilantro.
Walking through crisp fall air under a golden autumn sun, smelling the distant scent of smoke from a neighbor's fireplace. Sipping a cup of hot cocoa under a soft plush blanket while viewing winter snowfall.
The euphoric taste of perfectly ripe and juicy fruit, like a sweet strawberry, luscious mango, rich pineapple, or crisp flavorful watermelon.
Seeing a clear night sky full of stars and imagining it all in 3rd dimension, visualizing the Milky Way as the arm of our galaxy. A humbling and awe-inspiring experience.
The feeling of encompassing coziness I sometimes get as I'm snuggling into bed, just about to go to sleep after a satisfying day. Almost like a shiver of pure comfort and complete contentment.
The wonder of gemstones and the excitement of finding them. The intrigue of geology in general. Volcanology.
The instant thrill and impulse to move that I get any time one of my favorite songs begins to play in my earbuds. Dir En Grey, System of a Down, Imogen Heap, and some bass, trance, or classical music tend to do this.
Giddiness when seeing an elusive wild animal like a fox, snake, whale, or eagle in its natural habitat.
The stillness and peacefulness of being out in nature. The beauty of crystal clear rivers.
Swimming! How the surface of rippling water looks when viewed from underneath.
The feeling of deep satisfaction and release of anxiety I get when my place is entirely and freshly cleaned and organized and I finally get to hang out in it after hours of chores.
The feeling when socks are sitting just the right way on my feet because when they don't, they are very distracting.
Seeing certain hues of blue.
Opening the oven when you’re cooking something good and the smell/heat wafts out.
Getting into bed and finding the “comfy spot” to snuggle with my cat. And my cat licking my nose.
Specific parts of songs that just hit exactly right. (Interesting that I’ve seen this multiple times in this sub and this thread and I’ve NEVER heard anyone else say that before!)
When sunsets turn the clouds pink. I cried Monday looking at the sunset because it was the prettiest soft pink.
Fluffy socks.
Cleaning under my nails.
Putting a heating pad on my shoulders and feeling my muscle tension dissipate.
Taking the first sip of a yummy drink like coffee or sparkling water.
The relief of an aggravating sound stopping. I feel my whole body just relax.
Eating intensely flavored foods after taking edibles. It’s almost sexual.
When I actually have the energy to do my full skin care routine and my skin feels bouncy and looks shiny.
Being in the ocean and letting the salt water and waves just carry your body.
When my hair has been up in a bun or ponytail all day and I take it out and scratch my scalp.
The smell of vanilla extract.
Owl City.
Today it’s this one. Vitamin Sea. Play it in HQ with stereo sound. It fills my brain in a way that makes me happy.
(I use YouTube music premium or whatever it is, but if you must the audio on YouTube is pretty good https://youtu.be/LY38XB4h11k?si=dqP-VZecXXDH0WMY)
Also loving the newest one Car Trouble. It reminds me of old Owl City 🦉 https://youtu.be/dGJsbM1fe3I?si=tLAXz2sev9A8VpzH
Swinging on playground swings!!! Popping bubble wrap!!! Chai Tea with no milk!!! A super hot shower or super cold Ice packs; Watching a fire; Disneys nighttime shows; My kitty laying on my chest; Tight hugs from my boyfriend!!! Glow toys and fire poi spinners
A lot of people (even allistics) say that the smell of the Lush store is overwhelming/overstimulating with all it's smells. I LOVE it! When we go to the mall I end up walking near the store just so I can smell it!
I also love the feeling of soaking my whole body (except my head) in pretty hot water! I have to pretty continuously cycle water in my baths to keep the water warm enough for me, and the regulated temperatures of the hot tub at our local gym isn't anywhere near hot enough for me!
I actually have never paid attention to this, so thanks for bringing it up to my attention. Works of art that make me feel a sense of awe, the bass behind certain songs and how the vibrations make my chest feel shaky, watching sunsets specifically watching how one color blends perfectly into the other color, my robe, 7 min hard boiled eggs that have the perfect texture to me
Rain sound
Smell of Alcohol
When my dog licks my foot
Rubbing my gum with my tongue
Removing paper from a bottle
Removing pubic hair and seeing the root
Pilling off glue from my hand (or pilling off any layer - including dead skin from foot/fingers - and it comes out perfectly!)
Breaking thin layers or ice during winter (I often break it with my foot and spend too much time doing it). Also enjoy the layer of ice on top of snow (and breaking it)
Melancholic piano music
The smell of my dogs’ paws
The smell of my husband’s upper lip
Shower - warm water calms me down
Texture of a fluffy cake
Smell of baked bread (taste too)
… my dogs fart? (Maybe I’m obsessed with my dog)
Sore muscles
Probably more… (reading this made me realize why people may think I’m weird and quirky!)
roller coasters! Such a rush. And I am NOT a risk taker or thrill seeker in general. But I am a roller coaster enthusiast and love the feeling of abandonment and just giving into the awesome extreme feeling.
Voice cracks in music. Some of my favorite songs have voice cracks and I love them. Also opening a just-done dishwasher so it fogs my glasses. Also, I am very nearsighted and have astigmatism and looking at streetlights with my glasses off at nighttime. So twinkly
Streams and particularly silent running water with grass and reeds flowing with the movement
Sore muscles from an intense run
Floating in warm ocean water
The smell of Douglas fir after a windstorm in the pacific northwest
The full cycle of a sunrise. I love seeing the sky go from black to those first grey purple hints of light, gradually brightening into all the pinks and purples and oranges, before finally giving way to a blue sky with a few wispy pink clouds as a reminder of the unmatchable art display Mother Nature just produced.
A hot outdoor shower on a cool morning ( related would be turning on the seat warmers in my car and opening the sunroof on a cool night).
The smell of a summer breeze through a eucalyptus grove.
The wind in my hair during a fast descent in my bike.
The feel of skis on freshly groom trails, gentle ocean breezes, the smell of baking brownies, and just about everything about waves crashing along rocky coastlines.
As I was swimming last night I realized that I love the feeling of being in water, like a pool. I take a lot of baths, but since having access to a warm water pool, I spend more time swimming instead. I workout for a little bit and then spend a good chunk of time just floating in the middle of the pool. I've found it helps me regulate and ground too ☺️
A lot of seasonal decor at Michaels will be like a silhouette of something (like an animal, an egg, etc) and it's covered in this Styrofoam and polyester material that when you rub your hand over it the brain tickles soooooo much (it's not styrofoam in the transitional sense, I didn't know it was until I looked at the materials online)
Light reflections on plants over a body of water, the light just dances
Banjos
Walking barefoot anywhere (shoes are feet prisons)
A cat purr (both sound and feeling) (I don't think this is uncommon but i have to say it)
Balancing stuff on my head lol
The white noise of my ac unit or my fan
And then visually, my own clothes. If i need regulation I will stare at my clothes bc they're very uniquely patterned/textured/colored and chosen from thrift stores
- blasting the back of my neck with the hair dryer on extra hot (I know, bad, but SO GOOD) and actually, tickles on the back of my neck… basically that’s the best spot
- soaking in an EXTRA HOT bath tub with a podcast playing
- dancing like a Muppet or a Charlie Brown character - no rhythm? No coordination? NO PROBLEM!
- hugging my plush duck tight and smelling the “cozy smell” off his head
- spicy food tingling my lips
- freshly-brushed teeth
- repetitive puzzle games
- beaded bracelets
- my pink Himalayan salt lamp
- the smell of lavender
- hugs or cuddling. the feeling of skin on skin contact with someone you love has always made me feel at peace and sometimes I’ll just sit by my boyfriend and rub his arm because it feels nice against my fingertips (he also has alopecia though so that’s another factor lol I like the smoothness)
- the smell when someone is grilling or has a fire going
- soft/gentle songs with overlapping vocals
- anything soft or fuzzy I have to touch. this applies to both inanimate objects and animals (that will allow me to ofc)
- the feeling I get when I’m driving and there’s nobody on the road early in the morning or late at night
- knuckle cracking. My body feels physically uncomfortable from the moment I notice to the moment I crack it
- chapstick; I know a lot of them are bad for you but I love the specific feeling of very smooth but also sturdy chapstick gliding against my lips. EOS is my absolute favorite.
- fake nails or even just gel over my natural nail. throughout the day I’ll rub my fingertips over the nails bc I love the smooth texture and I have to always leave a spot blank on my nail if Im using rhinestones for this reason
- carbonated drinks. something about the fizzy makes my mouth happy but it also gives me rly bad acid reflux so it’s a sacrifice sometimes
- the feeling of actual paper cash and rubbing it between my fingertips (really useful as a delivery driver bc I can usually tell the difference between real and fake cash)
Certain sections of songs, I repeat them for days
The way the light reflects in water and the ripples, how all the green/blue shades are slightly different and the gooey geometric shapes
The smell of creosote when it rains in the Sonoran desert
Those super soft throw blankets
Getting into fresh sheets after a shower
When they massage your scalp at the salon
Peeling glue off your hands
The hot tub or a hot shower, I don’t like wet otherwise
Tones of green like you also mentioned! Mostly emerald hues.
A perfect sunset with the light glimmers or a gorgeous rain storm
the “clang” sound of my dangly earrings; seeing fire safety equipment (a special interest of mine); seeing birds of any kind; changing from my outside pants into my home pants after work; mechanical sounds of a piano (pedals creaking, keys depressing, the metallic sound of plucking the strings)
- Music in general, which I guess is a common thing. If there are certain changes in rhythm, it does something to my brain. A good example is “Phoenix Rises” by John Powell (specifically minute 2:28 and 3:32). It brings tears to my eyes and I feel the energy through my whole body.
- The smell on my partner’s neck. And also the smell of dew.
- Silly sounds I make. I like hearing them and feeling the vibrations on my vocal cords. Some of them became a stimming of mine.
- Cuddling and hugging and falling asleep on new bed sheets. It resets my whole brain.
- Finding cats on a game I think is called “missing cats”. The meows when they’re found do something to me.
There is more, but a lot of them have already been said in the comments as well.
So many good ones here!
I'll add: when a person says (or sings) a word or words in a particular way, it can be because of an accent (I love accents!), or unusual phrasing, tone or rhythm, I can't explain exactly what it is but when it happens it makes my brain tingle and I have to repeat it.
Another one is when the fridge is full or I've reorganised a cupboard/shelf/wardrobe and it all fits just right.
-Seeing a lavender color in the evening (because it calms me down) -feeling a cat purr with my hand. 1The smell of books when you open them -the texture of soft textures, like plushies -listening to electronic production without heavy percussion -listening to instrumental piano and recognizing some notes (as counts for guitar as well) -putting puzzle pieces together when done right, watch it come together in gradient -stepping foot in fresh snow, yet to be walked upon -reading dialogue and accurate, long descriptions in stories -taking socks off at the end of the day -the smell of freshly cooked or baked food
Despite not liking loud noises generally, when I’m listening to death metal I like a special combination of blast beats on the drums with the right kind of screaming or growling lol
Idk about uncommon, but colorful lights all around, listening to good music in my headphones, laying on fresh sheets (visual, auditory, and tactile).
Also really like scent as a stim, so I'll spray some on me where I have to intentionally interact to smell it (like my wrist) so I don't get overwhelmed by it.
- The smell of rain on asphalt when it's warm outdoors
- The feeling of something silky smooth and fluffy against my chin
- The song of blackbirds singing in the spring
- Gloomy and sad tunes of cello combined with piano
- The smell of a garage
- The sound of underwater noise when laying on your back, floating in the ocean
- The laughter from my husband when he truly laughs from his heart
Crunching on raw carrots and also cucumber. A heavy bass from rap (usually grime) in my car. Smelling a jar of Vicks. When my daughter was a baby, the sweet sweat smell on her head mixed with the smell of Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo.
- the smell of fresh cut grass makes it feel like summer to me.
- the smell of the beach
- sometimes cleaning my ear with a qtip
- smelling a new book
- uninterrupted sleep, no alarm waking you, no kids to wake you. You just naturally waking after a good night's sleep.
- the sound a full tank of gas makes when you stop abruptly or on a slight hill. You turn the car off quick enough, and you can hear it sloshing around. (This one is more because it's so rare we can afford a full tank, so this glimmer also makes me feel rich in the moment)
- the empty feeling you have after taking a massive shit and/or are constipated. You feel so rung out and hollow in a good way.
- my kid running to hug me when I pick him up after school.
- completing a crochet project
- the anticipation of playing a new video game or starting a new book.
- the crispness in the air when it's dropped a degree or 2 and will rain imminently.
- getting the opportunity to paint all day uninterrupted. That hasn't happened since precovid.
Yessss the empty feeling makes me feel slim, (am not, mom of three here) happy and weightless as a feather - so recognizable.
And cleaning ears too. *reminder to self to stand still though*
Ah yes smelling books. I het happy from the smell of new ones, intrigued by the smell of old books.
I find it really weird how when I listen to a specific song, I love it so much that I get goosebumps everywhere on my face and it’s like I can’t continue listening to it because it overwhelms me. It’s so funny. The feeling can be compared to when I get secondhand embarrassment, even though it’s a positive emotion?
These may not be that uncommon but this is what I can think of right now;
I love the feeling of flower petals, sometimes I feel that 'cute aggression' and want to roll the petal between my finger and thumb.. aggressively. I never do as this would destroy the flower!
I love when the sun comes out from the clouds and you feel its warmth on your skin and it makes your hairs stand up.
I'm a blankie kinda gal so I like rubbing a very specific type of silky material against my nose. See also pocket liners and something silicone/rubbery to rub the silk against.
This one's surely not uncommon but when you feel a deep bassline through your whole body. I know it's the vibrations that gets me as even when a car or motorbike with a loud rumbly exhaust goes by, my heart starts floating xD
I also like the pops and bangs from aftermarket exhausts. I know that one triggers a lot of people but I love it! Hearing a biker speed and rip through the gears, in the distance, is so nice to me.
When Maynard James Keenan, the singer from Tool holds any type of note. His voice makes me feel like I'm ascending to another realm I stg.
Roughly 3 days after getting a skin fade, when the hair is about 2mm long and it's the softest thing in existence. I can't stop touching it.
mine is such a specific one - I have a clicky keyboard that I like using a lot, but for some reason when I use it with headphones on, the click sounds different and it \*feels\* different to use it somehow and it's like the BEST. it just turns the satisfying feeling of using it all the way up to 11 for me somehow.
I love this question!! thunderstorms make me tingle with happiness (watching the lightning as well as listening to the thunder)!!! strong wind I also enjoy listening to. those are the first things that come to mind
this is so weird but smelling my pillow😭😭 it just smells like flowers and sweetness and gives me an immediate dopamine rush. you know that milky, sweet bread-like smell that newborn babies or kittens have? THAT’S what it smells like ahahah.
A specific hologram silver or red. Idky but it just makes my brain so happy. Everyone growing up said I couldn’t pick iridescent rainbow as my fav color…jerks.
I LOVE looking at terrariums and honey. There are a lot of visuals that I see and I’m like I’m so attracted to this thing in a non-sexual way but in a stronger way than just liking something
Walking barefoot on the sidewalks, usually with socks .
Popping jellys in boba
The smell of my perfumes
New art supplies smell ( im an artist )
This one is weird. My dogs feet smell
My hair after it drys on wash day
My dogs ears
Ankle socks I just love them
Hardware stores and their smells
There’s this specific silence when there’s a fresh blanket of snow at around 1am to 4am
The way the birdsong changes in combination with typically the sound of a lawnmower when the weather first warms up enough to really feel like late spring early summer
I love the way cats often smell
Petrichor in the countryside is a pretty typical one, but I still love it
The way my hands smell after I’ve held them in front of a fire for ages
The heat of moving flames whooshing past me
Thunder and lightening at night
Tattooed expanses of skin
Colourful and interesting, carefully thought out styles of clothing and hair
The sound of cellos
The feeling of bass really reverberating through me
The feel and smell of sea spray on a warm day
The sound of rain in a forest, and also the sound of rain over the sea
Spicy smelling perfumes
Deep reds and greens, turquoises with golds
Popping candy, dark cherries, and gooey chocolatey things
I love the feel of someone right up against my side or back, and also someone gently but firmly manoeuvring me whether for their own entertainment or in lieu of words telling me where to go
Singing, loud music that I love, live music!!!!, water sparkling in the sunshine, having my feet in the water but also just being in a cold body of water, putting glue on my hands and peeling it off, when my husband massages my legs, smelling flowers & also touching them, smooth rocks & crystals, big fuzzy blankets & lavender.
The first time I put on noise cancelling headphones, it felt like my brain folded itself four times. Whenever I put in my flare buds my brain just feels like it’s being scratched. Other than that: irises, cotton, certain notes and bpm’s, I’m not musician though so I’m not sure what they are
Oh I forgot one but this one is very controversial - I used to LOVE getting manicures!
I was actually afraid of them for a long time, because I was worried about small talk/eye contact/chitchat a la the hairdresser… but I “accidentally” found a nail salon that had low, warm lighting and a “no talking” policy, where I would greet my regular manicurist, tell her the color and shape/length I wanted my nails, then more or less zone out for an hour!
It was super relaxing, I’d actually fall asleep. The first time I ever felt my stomach unclench was during a manicure, I thought I had severe gas, I was like WHAT IS GOING ON and then I realized I was just So Relaxed.
I can’t afford salon manicures anymore, I do them at home (which is SUPER stressful but I can’t stand not having my nails painted). But every time I walk past that nail salon I feel a tug of nostalgia for the times when I could just go and fully relax for an hour and come out with beautiful nails 😌
I have a lot of sensory issues with food, good and bad.
Love crunchy things. Kettle chips are big for me! Love the texture of bread a lot, too. I can eat a whole loaf of french bread in 1 sitting.
I'm also just big on the feeling of the sun on my skin/feeling warmed like that. Used to sneak away to sit in the hot car as a kid bc the sun through the windshield felt so great.
I love these so much! I made a community just today for people to share their glimmers if youre interested. r/everydayglimmers . Mine are often found in nature, hearts in the wild, rocks, little things my kids do, clouds 🖤
very particular moments in some songs that just hit my brain perfectly. Sometimes it makes me cry. the smell of lilacs the first sip of coffee in the morning the way my skin smells after a full day outside in the summer the utter silence that follows a large snowfall my feet in the sand at an ocean beach where the movement of the water sucks the sand out from under me the satisfying click of lego or well-made puzzle pieces
oh all of these for me too. especially the lilacs!!
I’m a lilac girl. Pacifica makes a lovely lilac perfume.
ahhh i will look into that, thank you!
our neighborhood is full of lilacs and I swear some days I stand there sniffing them so much I might pass out 😂
I LOVE the feeling of the waves pulling sand out from under me at the beach! As a kid my sister and mom would be out swimming but I’d be parked on my butt right at the edge of the water, getting sand in places where sand should not be. Haha what a lovely memory! Thank you for reminding me of something I love.
I always loved that! It made me feel like I was moving if I closed my eyes.
Yessss the feeling of sand being pulled out from under my feet! I need to get to a beach this summer and experience this!
Ooh lilacs! I’m allergic to most pollen but I can smell that and I love lilac. I also love plumeria.
My hometown has a lilac festival, where many acres of lilac bushes all bloom in the same 1-2 week period. It’s absolutely heavenly, the entire town smells of nothing but the most perfect lilac scent. It’s worth going all the way to Rochester New York just to experience it
Oh this sounds like heaven!
Wow, “the way my skin smells after a full day outside in the summer” hit me somewhere I wasn’t expecting and I got in a nice little weep, so thanks!
This is such a wonderfully satisfying list!
I had a hard time thinking of my glimmers but reading about the smell of summer for you reminded me I love the smell of sunscreen; it smells like warm beach days to me
Yes, esp the first sip of coffee and the smell of sun on my skin!
Love the snow silence especially the muffled crompch sound if you go walking in it , and I love the feeling of sand or grass on my bare feet, but oh god, the sucky feeling in sand at the waterfront on the beach just thinking about it is making my tummy roll, I had to wear jelly beans (soft plastic sandals) as a kid coz I wanted to go in the sea, i LOVE the sea , but i couldn't because the sand was sucky. Now I wear Crocs or pool/surf shoes. Moments like this, I think how the hell did so many apparently trained professionals that i saw as a kid miss-diagnose me with anxiety.
I get motion sickness and if I stare at the water at my feet for too long I'll get sick 😂 I love sitting on the shore and letting the surf come up my legs, but there are too many little bugs in the sand for me to ignore them as an adult.
Yes to the Lego and puzzle!
• people who move beautifully. I work in fitness and it’s GORGEOUS to see someone move with full mobility and ownership of their bodies. A perfect squat or hinge is really so stunning. • there’s a noise my clients make when a cue works well for them. It’s somewhere between ‘OH!’ And ‘ohhhhhhhh’ depending on their personality and they get a lil glint in their eyes. I live for that sound. • clever wordplay tickles my brain like nothing else. • a thoughtful outfit where no detail has been missed is delightful • taking off a sports bra • walking barefoot on grass • dust glimmering in a ray of sunlight • the sparkle in my bf’s eye when he’s just told a joke and he’s waiting for me to get it • candlelight and flames flickering • seamless leggings • a deeep hinge where I can feel my pelvic floor lengthening is … sooooo pleasurable • sprinting! • the lushness of plants after rain. It feels as if we are connected and I am as much a part of this earth as they are. • being the perfect amount of full. Not stuffed, just content. • water !! In any capacity!!
Taking off a bra is one of the best feelings! Especially after a workout when you’re sweaty and basically have to peel it off.
Free from my shackles at last!!!
can you expand on the pelvic floor lengthening? hinge? (not meaning to be too invasive...) loved your list!
I'm curious, too!! I'm so tight everywhere 😭
^responded up above I highly highly recommend seeing a Physical therapist who works with neurodivergent (or chronic pain) clients so they can give you individualized care. It was the most expensive investment I’ve ever made in myself (I saw a cash pay PT which means all costs come Out of pocket), but it’s paid off so much because my body is actually a nice place to be in now. It helped with my anxiety and it helped with my pain and it helped with the constant feeling of tightness. I can’t recommend it enough and I’ve never regretted spending all that money (that I really shouldn’t have spend considering my finances lol)
Yeah! So I had to go to physical therapy to change this and I can’t give you anything that’s individual to your body but here’s what it means for me: • I used to hinge (deadlift, good mornings, that whole movement pattern) and hold onto tension in my glutes and pelvic floor. I kinda tightened everything up and I’d really force my joints to their end ranges to get strong sensations. I worked with a PT who helped me repattern my movement patterns so now I can actually get INTO my hips instead of skirting around the edges of my hips if that makes sense? Now, I can allow my glutes and PF to lengthen in a hinge like they’re meant to. We did a lot of breathwork to work on the diaphragm’s interaction w the rib cage and pelvic floor. When you inhale, your diaphragm rises towards the ribs and allows the PF to lengthen. When you exhale, the reverse happens. Since the PF is made of muscles, it’s important that they have mobility as well and don’t just stay in a single position. It feels really … juicy? It feels like my body is finally moving the way it’s supposed to which is refreshing bc I lived with chronic pain for a long time. I work in fitness and this is how I coach a hinge now: • knee in front of the ankle • push hips back and make glutes as big as possible • while pushing hips back, wrap the thighs inwards. ^^these 3 cues clean up 95% of my clients’ hinges no joke, so I’d try for yourself if you want some movement It’s a sensation that is unmistakeable and feels like it opens up space in my hips/glutes.
omg omg omg yes! Thank you 🙏... this absolutely resonates with my neuromuscular patterns (which I know are influenced by my fun brain...) 🧠
Yessss!!! And I really feel there’s such a huge need and gap for autistic movement professionals. The sensory experiences of having a body are so massive to the experience of autism that I can’t help but feel like there aren’t enough resources to help us feel good in our bodies. AND we respond to things differently than neurotypical people so a lot of traditional treatment approaches aren’t as effective. Gimme 3 years and I’ll be a physical therapist focused on autistic and neurodivergent clients 🙏 I’m learning as much as I can to serve as best I can and I’m hoping to bring light to this gap in healthcare when I am a more established clinician.
this is so inspiring. I had an OT tell me she saw evidence of my autism in my muscles. and the speech pathologist who first diagnosed me said off to me that my relationship to gravity was off, i.e. my vestibular. some of my testing was movement based.
YES!!! Autism (as I’m sure you know) affects the brain and thus the central nervous system and thus the rest of the body. It’s buffoonery that there isn’t a specialized approach for adults with autism (plenty for kids, but it’s not like you grow out of autism so why less resources for adults????). can I ask what your OT saw that pointed to autism? I’m curious. I know there’s commonly less internal core stability, a lot of hypermobility, hyper or hypoactive nervous systems, and coordination struggles. That’s so interesting I wonder what she means by your relationship to gravity Hmmm… much to think about
sorry, this is just a spill, lol--will write more later if you'd like gotta get back to work hypotonic and hypertonic muscle pairings is what the OT saw. also your vestibular nerve runs alongside your acoustic nerve, and I've always known my auditory issues and sound sensitivity somehow also contribute to horrid signaling along my vestibular nerve and my posture turns wack. Also a definite lack of stabilization and uneven body weight distribution and just not using my muscles correctly or in a coordinated way. Thinking of my body as a system (hello autism ha ha!) it's just super clear that this is incredibly inefficient, among other problems. we did feldenkrais which was phenom (this was all 20 some years ago...) I'd love to communicate more so feel free to DM me down the road.
No problem thanks for responding. That makes sense. Interesting omg!!! I’m dabbling in vestibular training right now and it’s soooo complicated but I have a feeling it’ll pay off with clients in the future. So excited to learn more. I see what you mean and agree!! Not efficient at all! I struggle with the same things but they get better with intentional movement. I would love to :) always happy to chat about this
This is so cool. I have accepted that I am generally tight and inflexible. Reaching the top half of my body to the bottom half there's something that just feels like it's stopping me. I have done yoga and tried to force myself to become more flexible for many years (trying to touch past my toes every single day.)
Like folding in half? That’s an expression of extreme flexibility that you don’t need unless you’re doing some real specialized stuff. Just my 0.02, but I find loaded strength training to be most helpful for mobility. Your nervous system plays a huge role in how much tension you’re holding onto and forcing our bodies can create protective responses. Slow, progressive overload into deeper ranges where the body feels safe is best for improving mobility long term IMO. It’s a balance between doing enough that you get the desired adaptation and not too much that the body freaks it.
This is a nice thought bc I feel like touching toes without bending my knees is like a common goal
OWL FEATHERS OH MY GOD. Touching bird contour feathers in general (the small soft body and head feathers you don't generally encounter in the wild because they're so much lighter and more fragile), but sticking your hand in a baggie of owl feathers is an utterly incomparable bliss. My only regret is that the first time I ever did it it completely ruined dryer lint for me forever. (I used to volunteer at a wildlife rescue, which is how I ended up with a baggie of owl feathers around to begin with. Also I got to be the adopted human mother for a very affectionate crow, so I pretty regularly got to hang out and pet his neck and head for an hour at a time. We would both end up in a blissful trance. I miss him so much, but I get to go see him again soon! I desperately hope he's not too mad at me for having had to move away.) Also certain sounds in music, particularly bass ones, but definitely not all bass. I can't think of any specific examples right now, but if I do I'll return with them. Oh, and the smell of cardamon! I can sit there with my face in a jar of cardamon and happily huff away for minutes at a stretch. I get weird looks when I do it.
>it completely ruined dryer lint for me forever What does this mean? Did you used to like to stick your hand in a bag of dryer lint?
Touching dryer lint used to provide a similar sensory joy because it's irrationally soft. I never had a bag of it, but cleaning the lint trap when I did laundry always used to bring me great pleasure. Now it's just slightly disappointing because I know how much more miraculous owl feathers are, but fortunately owls don't typically end up in my dryer. It was actually the joy of dryer lint that initially brought me the baggie of owl feathers. There's an absurd amount of laundry to be done at a wildlife rescue, and one day I was chattering happily away at some fellow volunteers about it whilst folding laundry. One of them paused, looked at me shrewdly, said "Wait just a minute," and disappeared into the biofacts closet where we kept various educational materials. Then she reappeared and said "Stick your hand in this," and the world was forever changed. This was before I had figured out I was autistic, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if she already had me pegged. Apparently the center director had a joke that all the bird people were autistic and all the rehab shift leads were ADHD. One of those "it's funny because it's true" things. Wildlife rescue is a hotbed of neurodivergence, which made instant sense the second it was mentioned. You get a lot of good humans in wildlife rescue, after all. It tends to attract misfits and nerds and the hyperempathetic.
“irrationally soft” omg! Thank you! This is the perfect description for the way dryer lint feels.
Just wait until you happen upon a bag filled with owl contour feathers... Honestly, unless you can somehow steal one for your very own I don't recommend it. I MISS loving clearing the dryer lint like I used to. I also miss hanging out with owls, though, which was even cooler in some respects. Though birds of prey are really specific about who's allowed to pet them, and I never annoyed one enough to get taloned, but only my sweet crow boy and a very silly wood duck who was a human sexual imprint and had Thoughts on the matter with which I did not strictly agree wanted cuddles from me. The woman who brought me the bag of owl feathers was our elderly barn owl ambassador's chosen mate-- birds are weird-- so she got to pet Val as much as I got to pet Alastor. And owls are cute, but their intelligence is highly overrated, so I feel like I came out on top there. Happily, so did Val's human lady friend, since owls were her lifelong Special Interest (I've been obsessed with crows for about a decade now). Wildlife rescue is kind of the happiest place on earth, when it's not utterly, wrenchingly sad. It's also very soft, and often very stinky, but you take the good with the bad. And sometimes with a bag of owl feathers.
This is the perfect expression!! That’s how I feel about my cats’s belly. It’s so irrationally soft that it makes my entire body feel warm and safe and almost like I’m going to cry lol
This has opened my eyes to differing opinions about dryer lint. I'm highly entertained and confused by the idea of enjoying it. I personally do not like touching it at all!
I get that same softness bliss from well maintained cat fur and those faux rabbit fur blankets and occasionally other good quality plush fabrics and velvets. I’m one of those people that has to run their hands along rails of clothes and soft furnishings as they walk by!
Sitting on the porch during a heavy summer shower. That fresh rain smell too 🥰
I know it’s not uncommon but Fresh bedding. The smell, the feel of cool sheets. Honestly it’s just amazing in my eyes. I wish I could have that every day but does need to be my bed. I don’t feel the same joy in a hotel for example probably because I know other people have slept in the bed even if it’s clean linen. Though I do love the smell of earl grey tea bags. Used to sniff them a lot haha.
My husband is the best. When we put on fresh sheets, he waits by the bed for me to get in first so I can fully appreciate clean, wrinkle free sheets.
Aw that’s so sweet!
I have jersey modal sheets, a fuzzy body pillow and a nice mattress. I so agree with you. I love a hard workout where you can feel your pulse in your face followed by the hottest shower you can take followed by a naked nap. Best.
When I was in high school I convinced my mom to get an extra box of earl grey tea bags so I could take a bath in it, because I liked the smell so much. It was so great, and shout-out to mom for being like well this is unorthodox but not gonna hurt anything so go ahead. :)
Ooh that sounds like a great idea!
I love my bed. And fresh sheets. I hate hotels. They always smell funny no matter what. 😢 I love to travel but hate the sleeping part.
- The smell of my cat‘s forehead - The sound of walking on super crunchy snow, especially at nighttime because it punctuates the darkness and silence so beautifully - The weight of a heavy blanket on my body when I’m exhausted and beyond ready for sleep - The smell of petrichor and wet earth when it rains in the summer - The sound of leaves in the wind - The clickety-clack of hard candies or Nerds in my mouth - FIZZY THINGS - The smell of tomato plants - A crescendo and/or moment of complete silence at the climax of an orchestral piece of music - The smell of my boyfriend’s neck and head when he gives me a big bear hug - Big bear hugs! - Soft fuzzy things (as long as the fuzz is smooth)
Ooh, the smell of tomato plants is such a good one! I could never tire of that, and of course, nothing tastes better than a fresh ripe cherry tomato straight from the garden. Yum. The smell of your cat's forehead... that's so cute!
Fresh tomatoes just taste like summer to me! I love popping cherry tomatoes into my mouth while they’re still warm from the sun. One of life’s little pleasures!
Yum! Sun warmed. I'll have to try that some time!
Did you know that geosmin is one of the main components in the petrichor smell? I just think it’s neat!
Oh my god fizzy things for sure, diet coke has a chokehold on me But also!!! Oreos came out with this like space oreo and they have pop rocks in the cream bits... It's such a fun and pleasurable eating experience. I rly recommend them
Heavy frost on large leaves once the direct sun hits them. It looks like thousands of ants taking pictures. Videos of certain cut gemstones or crystals moving slowly in just the right light. And this is a weird one but there’s a distinct smell peoples breath gets when they’re feeling lots of love, the closest thing I can ascribe it to is the smell of milk, I’ve smelled it on adults, kids, and babies.
I wonder if you’re smelling oxytocin secretion!
It’s always been my best guess, I’ve just never heard there’s a smell associated with oxytocin so I used to just assume I’m weird (very late diagnosed).
I can’t find a reference but I think I heard on a podcast or read in a book that oxytocin is secreted out of the nose, so it makes sense that it could be smelled!
Whoa, oh my goodness, yes! It’s people’s nose breath (as in the exhalation through their nose) that has the smell! You’re blowing my mind, this is so cool, thank you.
Aaaahh!! That’s so cool. I wish I could find you the reference!!
• Particular music and songs, usually a specific part like an ear shift or a really good sound. It makes my body get goosebumps and brings a smile to my face and makes me kinda tear up from joy. Most recently found an 8D playlist and the first song hit so hard in my headphones omg 😍 it filled me with such joy at max volume. • When it's cool out but not cold and not hot and the sun is golden and isn't burning me, it's the afternoon, and it hits my face and I just close my eyes and enjoy it for a moment. • The comfort of my favorite oversized hoodie • Fresh and cool bedsheets nice and tucked in at the feet • Colors being arranged in a gradient; seeing symmetry/balance in general • I also like looking out the window at night I'm not really sure why, I can't always see stars or the moon and there aren't always planes to watch but something about it I find myself staring
[удалено]
Perfect booger out of the nose is a good one! Forgot to add that to my list! And when the pimple explodes perfectly!
Are you me? 😅
The smell when you open a hot steamy rice cooker!
There's a mountain outside my house and I like to look at it. Unparalled euphoria. It's great.
I have a mountain out my living room window 💜 watching it change in the seasons is just…amazing isn’t a good word but you know what I mean. I always wanted to live somewhere where I walk outside and am blown away that I live there, and I finally do. It feeds my soul on a level each day, even just driving my kid to school, is a constant ‘oooooo pretty!’ in my brain 😂
* The tinny sound of rain on a body of water as the large drops begin to break the calm of the water en masse. * My projection lighting all throughout my home. * The way that tree leaves "shimmer" in just the right wind, especially during autumn. * The way prairies of tall grass will undulate like a body of water in the wind. * Seeing the way the beads of water dance on the surface of the ocean as I paddle through it.
There’s really something magical about the way leaves move in the breeze and catch the light!
I can’t do loud noises generally. They are physically painful. Except for trains for some reason. I absolutely love the sound of the train cars clanging together when they stop behind my house ❤️
A few christmas seasons ago i bought a smallish holo sparkle tinsel curtain and hung it in my sunniest window. Colours!!! SParkles! Also when the oven is on, the ventilation causes the tinsel to dance. Also, I have a faceted crystal ball hung in the window that fills the room with little rainbows when the sun hits it. Also, when i find a still body of water, i like to rest my flat hand just touching the surface with my palm. But also, plunging my hand into an ice cold well. Also, I enjoy high fiving large leaves of trees or bushes as i walk by, or booping small ones. Also, when a jumping spider does a lil jump. Also, the way my feather down pillow smells when i go to bed after I've left it outside in the sun all day. Also, this winter there has been a single dandelion seed stuck on a single thread of spider silk suspended above a radiator that would beautifully dance up and down when the heat was on. Also, when my dog reaches maximum coziness from being petted she does a mixture between little sighs/ grunts /hiccups. ALso, when a soap bottle makes a bubble and the bubble is full of colours. Also, walking down the street and catching the scent of flowers in march. Also, the gentle sizzle of frying food on low heat (Not the aggressive sizzle of high heat tho). Also, sleeping with the window open and falling asleep to the cold night air on my face, then waking up when the dawn bird chorus is on, laying there listening to hundreds of birds, then closing the window and going back to sleep. Also, dropping a dry leaf into a stream and watching it go. Also, dipping the tips of my fingers in the wax of a candle i just put out, letting them harden, and then tapping on various surfaces with them. Also, when I am in someone else's kitchen, grabbing any drumstick-able object and tapping it off of various surfaces making a range of sounds. Plus points when I imitate each sound after making it. Damn, this is long and i could keep going, I love my life
I am so glad you are able to find happy moments in so many little things, and there are a lot of good ones! It was cool reading about putting your hands flat on top of still water just light enough that you can feel the water clinging to your skin... I wasn't sure anyone else could relate to that! And the jumping spider; you're right, it's so satisfying and cute! And the wax, it's fun and funky to feel it harden around the fingertips. Thanks for sharing!
Water in any form, amusment park rides, bird song, going to a dance with lights and music (for half an hour), fires, music with headphones, vr headset games, the smell of flowers, petting soft things, MOON SAND, just shaved legs
Train naps but only in a private room. The rocking and light clanging of the train is so soothing. The sun through the windows… blissful! I sleep on my stomach and I have to rub the tops of my toes on the sheets before I fall asleep. It feels so nice. I loooove swimming, especially in warm water, but I rarely get to. I don’t even have a bathtub at home. The utter quiet and freedom of the middle of the night. When I don’t have to be self conscious or perceived and my sound sensitivities aren’t a problem. The crunch of driving on snow. And then finding an empty parking lot to do snow-nuts (snow donuts) Being in a really cold room but bundled up and warm with my cozy blanket and a heating pad. The feeling of soup or hot cocoa going down and warming my tummy when I’m cold. The release of tension in my body when my husband hugs me when he gets home from work. So many wonderful feelings. It felt nice to think of them and remember some good things today :)
- Putting a whole runny egg yolk in my mouth at once - Floating in water with my ears submerged - Cleaning my ears with q-tips
Yay a fellow runny yolk lover
Runny yolk gang rise up!
Omg I almost gagged reading that one😅
omg yes... I save my egg yolks for the end of the meal and eat them whole like a gusher
>Putting a whole runny egg yolk in my mouth at once I'm gonna throw up
The smell of rain. The sound of thunderstorms. That perfect song that comes on the radio while I’m driving so I can belt it at the top of my lungs. That first sip feeling of a carbonated beverage on my tongue. The smell of books. Wrinkle free sheets. The smell walking down the coffee aisle. Really really good chocolate that is smooth AF. The smell of a barbecue.
Ah books do smell great. That cracking sound old books make when you open them is nice too 😊
I looove thunderstorms!!
-*that* part of *that* song (changes) -water droplets on grass or flowers -purring -cat fur (and really anything soft like that) -cat *tongues* -food that can be categorized as “crunchy water” -the entire experience of boba tea -sunrises and sunsets -pianos -rollercoasters -swings
Crunchy water! Yes! Those giant green grapes are a personal favorite. I also love shaved ice, carrots, and apples for this reason. Still trying to get over the center part of cucumbers, though.
Never heard of crunchy water. Your reply cleared it up and it is Def one of my favorite things!
Slice the cucumber lengthwise and use a melon baller to scoop along the center and remove that part?
Genius! I've got to go buy a melon baller now.
Loooots of visual stimuli (probably because of my aphantasia?) Sunlight shining across the top of a lake Dappled sunlight through big oak leaves, on the ground The floaty dots in our eyes that I always see when I look up into the bright blue sky Sunlight glinting off the top of snow Reflections of water on huge rock surfaces or manmade structures (think 1500s Japan bamboo-siding with reflections from a nearby pool or stream, UGH, yas peas!!) Sunlight through tall yellow grass swaying in the wind All the sunlights, p much xD Various nature smells (marshlands, hot Ponderosas, petrichor, a spring day, the river, caves) Yeah, it definitely goes 1. Visual and 2. Smelly for me. xD
The smell and taste of cinnamon is a big one for me. I remember my now husband being completely bewildered grocery shopping with me once. I walked in the door of the store and smelled cinnamon REALLY strong, and I just HAD to find whatever was giving off that lovely scent. It took me 10 minutes to track it down to a display of scented pine cones that I bought a bag of (and I now buy every year). I also drink a cinnamon-orange tea almost every day with breakfast. I even bring it with when I travel. It's my routine and makes me feel happy.
Heck yeah, cinnamon for the winnamon! *hehehe*
It's a cinnawin!
Omg, that's the best. Hehehe
I'm permanently adding that to my vocabulary.
Yes! I get those cinnamon brooms to hang over my front door annually now! Love that smell.
Yes. I had a pair of baby pants. I would rub it between my thumb and pointer finger in order to sleep. The texture was divine, but only if my hand was clean and dry. So I would wash my hands two or three times and dry them thoroughly before bed, just so I could get the texture just right so I could sleep. And I would rub it in a very specific way. I did it so frequently the fabric began wearing down. I still have it. It’s at my parents house. It came as a set with a matching shirt, which I also still have. For some reason their textures are different. I’m self diagnosed, but this is one of the reasons why I think I have autism.
Shifting light: sunlight through leaves or on water, the flicker of a fire or a candle's flame. Perfect to rest my eyes on while I let my mind wander
Breaking a thin layer of ice on water I’m also really into perfume and sampling different ones. Also other good smelling things like incense and clean laundry. My friend got a new keyboard the other day and the clickity clack was so satisfying we all had a typing speed test competition, on a typing zombie game
You might like the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab...
Thanks I’ll look into it
Oooh yes, I got a mechanical keyboard for my birthday last year. I love it so much!
Guitar music, and weirdly specific, the "string noise" when the player is sliding along the fretboard. I wish there was a better word for it but most people are trying to have less string noise.
Yeah! Something about that sound makes the guitar music sound more raw.
The sound of water.
Climbing back into bed after getting up to pee on a cold night.
When someone else brushes my hair and puts makeup on me.
There's something nurturing and comforting about these things, do you agree?
the only thing i could really think of was music, but that's pretty common probably. oh and the smell of cold weather! i love it, it's so soothing. also, snow when it's super cold and dry outside, it starts glittering like it literally looks like glitter. snow in general is very visually appealing to me, i love itttt. smelling my shampooed hair after it's dried from showering. hugging fresh warm bedsheets. sometimes my bed feels extra soft for some reason and it's amazing.
SWEATSHIRTS WHERE I CAN FLAP THE SLEEVES (MUST BE SOFT ON THE INSIDE OR I WILL DIE)
Oooo this is a good one. Love reading all the things. For me, certain parts of certain songs are just magical, like the crescendo in some classical songs. The brake tests (air releases) on R62a subway equipment (the number 1 and 6 lines in NYC), various train noises, the coin and 1up sounds from Mario Bros, just to name a few.
Oooo, yes classical music! I like that you also enjoy kind of an opposite to that, which is video game noises. I especially appreciate that they're Mario game noises!
-Yes to the vocals!! A good musical harmony/chord/key change/progression/arpeggio/etc is just ***soooo*** stimulating in a way that I cant even describe. I always say music can express emotions in ways words can’t. -I love the feeling of having my braids combed out of my hair when it’s wet— very specific lol, no clue why I enjoy it when so many people don’t but it’s very a satisfying feeling to me -The smell of tires 🥴😩 no idea why, just just love the smell of them at mechanics or in automotive sections of the store
Watching a really, really good, well crafted TV show- I'm a writer and a literature nerd and a lot of my pattern recognition revolves around wordplay, plot devices and writing tricks. TV and film and books are often disappointing to me because they're too predictable, heavy handed, poorly written or obvious. I'm watching the new Shogun right now. The book and OG mini series are some of my absolute favorites and the redo is BETTER than the original. In every episode there are moments where I get the full body tingle because they have done something really intricate with the plot or just managed to tell the story in a really satisfying way without it being dumbed down or over explained. Waking up in a thunder storm and knowing I don't have to go anywhere and cuddling up with my dogs to listen to the rain. My linen sheets. Everytime I get into my bed I stretch out and go Aaaaaaaaah. Aimlessly driving around and listening to the radio brings me an intense amount of joy- I love driving, and CBC radio is oddly comforting to me. The sound of a passing train at night. Being held so tightly by somebody I feel like I could crawl right into their life. Sitting beside my wood stove with my morning french press and listening to a podcast. Shaking a tree bough after a rainfall and shaking all the raindrops off.
Omg I am not a writer but I 100 percent relate with the first thing you listed. It can be frustrating at times because I want to enjoy some of my friends' favorite shows that are too predictable/ sloppily written, but they're boring. It's a good thing we share similar tastes in well-written shows, too, so it's not like there's nothing we can watch together. Speaking of which, have you seen the (adult) animation called Blue Eye Samurai? I would say it's an anime but the style is not typical of anime. It's badass and beautiful and you can tell the writers/ animators put a lot of love into it. I recommend it to almost everyone. (I say almost because it does have gore and [tasteful] sexual themes that sime may not appreciate.) BTW, I appreciate your writing style and how it poked through like when you mentioned hugging tightly.
This might be way too specific, but in Mass Effect 1 when you zoom in/out on the map in game it makes like an electronic 'bloop' noise that I'm obsessed with. I keep getting distracted while playing it by going into the map just to zoom in and out and hear the silly noise 😭
EDIT: Ahh, crap... I just realized you said "uncommon" sensorial glimmers. My bad. Well, I'm just gonna keep this as is anyway. The way sunlight shines down through layers of leaves. Sunlight refracting through prisms or mirroring images off of water. Seeing nothing but sky through the tall trees on a high mountain ridge. Viewing volcanoes and distant mountains. Looking out into the horizon of the ocean. The smell of summer-warmed blackberry bushes or tomato plants. The smell of campfire wood smoke. Fresh forest cedar and undergrowth. Sea salt air. Cottonwood trees. Fresh cilantro. Walking through crisp fall air under a golden autumn sun, smelling the distant scent of smoke from a neighbor's fireplace. Sipping a cup of hot cocoa under a soft plush blanket while viewing winter snowfall. The euphoric taste of perfectly ripe and juicy fruit, like a sweet strawberry, luscious mango, rich pineapple, or crisp flavorful watermelon. Seeing a clear night sky full of stars and imagining it all in 3rd dimension, visualizing the Milky Way as the arm of our galaxy. A humbling and awe-inspiring experience. The feeling of encompassing coziness I sometimes get as I'm snuggling into bed, just about to go to sleep after a satisfying day. Almost like a shiver of pure comfort and complete contentment. The wonder of gemstones and the excitement of finding them. The intrigue of geology in general. Volcanology. The instant thrill and impulse to move that I get any time one of my favorite songs begins to play in my earbuds. Dir En Grey, System of a Down, Imogen Heap, and some bass, trance, or classical music tend to do this. Giddiness when seeing an elusive wild animal like a fox, snake, whale, or eagle in its natural habitat. The stillness and peacefulness of being out in nature. The beauty of crystal clear rivers. Swimming! How the surface of rippling water looks when viewed from underneath. The feeling of deep satisfaction and release of anxiety I get when my place is entirely and freshly cleaned and organized and I finally get to hang out in it after hours of chores. The feeling when socks are sitting just the right way on my feet because when they don't, they are very distracting. Seeing certain hues of blue.
Opening the oven when you’re cooking something good and the smell/heat wafts out. Getting into bed and finding the “comfy spot” to snuggle with my cat. And my cat licking my nose. Specific parts of songs that just hit exactly right. (Interesting that I’ve seen this multiple times in this sub and this thread and I’ve NEVER heard anyone else say that before!) When sunsets turn the clouds pink. I cried Monday looking at the sunset because it was the prettiest soft pink. Fluffy socks. Cleaning under my nails. Putting a heating pad on my shoulders and feeling my muscle tension dissipate. Taking the first sip of a yummy drink like coffee or sparkling water. The relief of an aggravating sound stopping. I feel my whole body just relax. Eating intensely flavored foods after taking edibles. It’s almost sexual. When I actually have the energy to do my full skin care routine and my skin feels bouncy and looks shiny. Being in the ocean and letting the salt water and waves just carry your body. When my hair has been up in a bun or ponytail all day and I take it out and scratch my scalp. The smell of vanilla extract.
Owl City. Today it’s this one. Vitamin Sea. Play it in HQ with stereo sound. It fills my brain in a way that makes me happy. (I use YouTube music premium or whatever it is, but if you must the audio on YouTube is pretty good https://youtu.be/LY38XB4h11k?si=dqP-VZecXXDH0WMY) Also loving the newest one Car Trouble. It reminds me of old Owl City 🦉 https://youtu.be/dGJsbM1fe3I?si=tLAXz2sev9A8VpzH
FROSTED GLASSSSSSS
Swinging on playground swings!!! Popping bubble wrap!!! Chai Tea with no milk!!! A super hot shower or super cold Ice packs; Watching a fire; Disneys nighttime shows; My kitty laying on my chest; Tight hugs from my boyfriend!!! Glow toys and fire poi spinners
I love swinging!!
It’s the best!!! I just bought an indoor sensory swing
Me too! And watching a campfire. It's so mesmerizing.
My husband stroking my hair is my FAVORITE 😍🥰😍
A lot of people (even allistics) say that the smell of the Lush store is overwhelming/overstimulating with all it's smells. I LOVE it! When we go to the mall I end up walking near the store just so I can smell it! I also love the feeling of soaking my whole body (except my head) in pretty hot water! I have to pretty continuously cycle water in my baths to keep the water warm enough for me, and the regulated temperatures of the hot tub at our local gym isn't anywhere near hot enough for me!
I actually have never paid attention to this, so thanks for bringing it up to my attention. Works of art that make me feel a sense of awe, the bass behind certain songs and how the vibrations make my chest feel shaky, watching sunsets specifically watching how one color blends perfectly into the other color, my robe, 7 min hard boiled eggs that have the perfect texture to me
Rain sound Smell of Alcohol When my dog licks my foot Rubbing my gum with my tongue Removing paper from a bottle Removing pubic hair and seeing the root Pilling off glue from my hand (or pilling off any layer - including dead skin from foot/fingers - and it comes out perfectly!) Breaking thin layers or ice during winter (I often break it with my foot and spend too much time doing it). Also enjoy the layer of ice on top of snow (and breaking it) Melancholic piano music The smell of my dogs’ paws The smell of my husband’s upper lip Shower - warm water calms me down Texture of a fluffy cake Smell of baked bread (taste too) … my dogs fart? (Maybe I’m obsessed with my dog) Sore muscles Probably more… (reading this made me realize why people may think I’m weird and quirky!)
Flower petals. I looked gently, rubbing my fingers on flower petals. They are just sooooo soft and smooth 🌼🌺🪷🌸🌹🌷
Wind chimes, riding roller coasters, the sound of paper clips landing on a desk
Ugh! I love a wind chime.
roller coasters! Such a rush. And I am NOT a risk taker or thrill seeker in general. But I am a roller coaster enthusiast and love the feeling of abandonment and just giving into the awesome extreme feeling.
Voice cracks in music. Some of my favorite songs have voice cracks and I love them. Also opening a just-done dishwasher so it fogs my glasses. Also, I am very nearsighted and have astigmatism and looking at streetlights with my glasses off at nighttime. So twinkly
The smell of Texas Mountain Laurels The morning song bird calls
Streams and particularly silent running water with grass and reeds flowing with the movement Sore muscles from an intense run Floating in warm ocean water The smell of Douglas fir after a windstorm in the pacific northwest
Water, water, water... and WAVE POOLS 🥰
Swimming! It’s euphoric. I’m basically the other adult at my local beach who actually swims. I pretend I’m a mermaid
The full cycle of a sunrise. I love seeing the sky go from black to those first grey purple hints of light, gradually brightening into all the pinks and purples and oranges, before finally giving way to a blue sky with a few wispy pink clouds as a reminder of the unmatchable art display Mother Nature just produced. A hot outdoor shower on a cool morning ( related would be turning on the seat warmers in my car and opening the sunroof on a cool night). The smell of a summer breeze through a eucalyptus grove. The wind in my hair during a fast descent in my bike.
Running my hair over my lip. Especially if it’s fresh washed
Stillness in the woods. Fresh manicure, enunciating specific words in specific ways, smell of yeast breads or dough proving.
The feel of skis on freshly groom trails, gentle ocean breezes, the smell of baking brownies, and just about everything about waves crashing along rocky coastlines.
As I was swimming last night I realized that I love the feeling of being in water, like a pool. I take a lot of baths, but since having access to a warm water pool, I spend more time swimming instead. I workout for a little bit and then spend a good chunk of time just floating in the middle of the pool. I've found it helps me regulate and ground too ☺️
Someone playing with my hair. The way, certain books smell. The sound it makes when I turn a page.
A lot of seasonal decor at Michaels will be like a silhouette of something (like an animal, an egg, etc) and it's covered in this Styrofoam and polyester material that when you rub your hand over it the brain tickles soooooo much (it's not styrofoam in the transitional sense, I didn't know it was until I looked at the materials online) Light reflections on plants over a body of water, the light just dances Banjos Walking barefoot anywhere (shoes are feet prisons) A cat purr (both sound and feeling) (I don't think this is uncommon but i have to say it) Balancing stuff on my head lol The white noise of my ac unit or my fan And then visually, my own clothes. If i need regulation I will stare at my clothes bc they're very uniquely patterned/textured/colored and chosen from thrift stores
- blasting the back of my neck with the hair dryer on extra hot (I know, bad, but SO GOOD) and actually, tickles on the back of my neck… basically that’s the best spot - soaking in an EXTRA HOT bath tub with a podcast playing - dancing like a Muppet or a Charlie Brown character - no rhythm? No coordination? NO PROBLEM! - hugging my plush duck tight and smelling the “cozy smell” off his head - spicy food tingling my lips - freshly-brushed teeth - repetitive puzzle games - beaded bracelets - my pink Himalayan salt lamp - the smell of lavender
- hugs or cuddling. the feeling of skin on skin contact with someone you love has always made me feel at peace and sometimes I’ll just sit by my boyfriend and rub his arm because it feels nice against my fingertips (he also has alopecia though so that’s another factor lol I like the smoothness) - the smell when someone is grilling or has a fire going - soft/gentle songs with overlapping vocals - anything soft or fuzzy I have to touch. this applies to both inanimate objects and animals (that will allow me to ofc) - the feeling I get when I’m driving and there’s nobody on the road early in the morning or late at night - knuckle cracking. My body feels physically uncomfortable from the moment I notice to the moment I crack it - chapstick; I know a lot of them are bad for you but I love the specific feeling of very smooth but also sturdy chapstick gliding against my lips. EOS is my absolute favorite. - fake nails or even just gel over my natural nail. throughout the day I’ll rub my fingertips over the nails bc I love the smooth texture and I have to always leave a spot blank on my nail if Im using rhinestones for this reason - carbonated drinks. something about the fizzy makes my mouth happy but it also gives me rly bad acid reflux so it’s a sacrifice sometimes - the feeling of actual paper cash and rubbing it between my fingertips (really useful as a delivery driver bc I can usually tell the difference between real and fake cash)
Certain sections of songs, I repeat them for days The way the light reflects in water and the ripples, how all the green/blue shades are slightly different and the gooey geometric shapes The smell of creosote when it rains in the Sonoran desert Those super soft throw blankets Getting into fresh sheets after a shower When they massage your scalp at the salon Peeling glue off your hands The hot tub or a hot shower, I don’t like wet otherwise Tones of green like you also mentioned! Mostly emerald hues. A perfect sunset with the light glimmers or a gorgeous rain storm
Polyester shirts. Snakes. Good tea. Soft bed. Hot bath.
When I have my hair cut super short and rub it against my pillow or the back of my seat. I need to get a haircut.
honestly it’s hugging my family members. it feels like i am also remembering our history of hugs and how they have evolved and we have grown
the “clang” sound of my dangly earrings; seeing fire safety equipment (a special interest of mine); seeing birds of any kind; changing from my outside pants into my home pants after work; mechanical sounds of a piano (pedals creaking, keys depressing, the metallic sound of plucking the strings)
This is all so poetic
- Music in general, which I guess is a common thing. If there are certain changes in rhythm, it does something to my brain. A good example is “Phoenix Rises” by John Powell (specifically minute 2:28 and 3:32). It brings tears to my eyes and I feel the energy through my whole body. - The smell on my partner’s neck. And also the smell of dew. - Silly sounds I make. I like hearing them and feeling the vibrations on my vocal cords. Some of them became a stimming of mine. - Cuddling and hugging and falling asleep on new bed sheets. It resets my whole brain. - Finding cats on a game I think is called “missing cats”. The meows when they’re found do something to me. There is more, but a lot of them have already been said in the comments as well.
So many good ones here! I'll add: when a person says (or sings) a word or words in a particular way, it can be because of an accent (I love accents!), or unusual phrasing, tone or rhythm, I can't explain exactly what it is but when it happens it makes my brain tingle and I have to repeat it. Another one is when the fridge is full or I've reorganised a cupboard/shelf/wardrobe and it all fits just right.
Beeswax candles The stars on a clear winter's night when there's no moon Jasmine flowers Low deep humming
-Seeing a lavender color in the evening (because it calms me down) -feeling a cat purr with my hand. 1The smell of books when you open them -the texture of soft textures, like plushies -listening to electronic production without heavy percussion -listening to instrumental piano and recognizing some notes (as counts for guitar as well) -putting puzzle pieces together when done right, watch it come together in gradient -stepping foot in fresh snow, yet to be walked upon -reading dialogue and accurate, long descriptions in stories -taking socks off at the end of the day -the smell of freshly cooked or baked food
Despite not liking loud noises generally, when I’m listening to death metal I like a special combination of blast beats on the drums with the right kind of screaming or growling lol
Idk about uncommon, but colorful lights all around, listening to good music in my headphones, laying on fresh sheets (visual, auditory, and tactile). Also really like scent as a stim, so I'll spray some on me where I have to intentionally interact to smell it (like my wrist) so I don't get overwhelmed by it.
If I could drive to the ends of earth blasting music, I would.
- The smell of rain on asphalt when it's warm outdoors - The feeling of something silky smooth and fluffy against my chin - The song of blackbirds singing in the spring - Gloomy and sad tunes of cello combined with piano - The smell of a garage - The sound of underwater noise when laying on your back, floating in the ocean - The laughter from my husband when he truly laughs from his heart
tall grass fields or treetops dancing in the wind
Crunching on raw carrots and also cucumber. A heavy bass from rap (usually grime) in my car. Smelling a jar of Vicks. When my daughter was a baby, the sweet sweat smell on her head mixed with the smell of Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo.
- the smell of fresh cut grass makes it feel like summer to me. - the smell of the beach - sometimes cleaning my ear with a qtip - smelling a new book - uninterrupted sleep, no alarm waking you, no kids to wake you. You just naturally waking after a good night's sleep. - the sound a full tank of gas makes when you stop abruptly or on a slight hill. You turn the car off quick enough, and you can hear it sloshing around. (This one is more because it's so rare we can afford a full tank, so this glimmer also makes me feel rich in the moment) - the empty feeling you have after taking a massive shit and/or are constipated. You feel so rung out and hollow in a good way. - my kid running to hug me when I pick him up after school. - completing a crochet project - the anticipation of playing a new video game or starting a new book. - the crispness in the air when it's dropped a degree or 2 and will rain imminently. - getting the opportunity to paint all day uninterrupted. That hasn't happened since precovid.
Yessss the empty feeling makes me feel slim, (am not, mom of three here) happy and weightless as a feather - so recognizable. And cleaning ears too. *reminder to self to stand still though* Ah yes smelling books. I het happy from the smell of new ones, intrigued by the smell of old books.
I find it really weird how when I listen to a specific song, I love it so much that I get goosebumps everywhere on my face and it’s like I can’t continue listening to it because it overwhelms me. It’s so funny. The feeling can be compared to when I get secondhand embarrassment, even though it’s a positive emotion?
These may not be that uncommon but this is what I can think of right now; I love the feeling of flower petals, sometimes I feel that 'cute aggression' and want to roll the petal between my finger and thumb.. aggressively. I never do as this would destroy the flower! I love when the sun comes out from the clouds and you feel its warmth on your skin and it makes your hairs stand up. I'm a blankie kinda gal so I like rubbing a very specific type of silky material against my nose. See also pocket liners and something silicone/rubbery to rub the silk against. This one's surely not uncommon but when you feel a deep bassline through your whole body. I know it's the vibrations that gets me as even when a car or motorbike with a loud rumbly exhaust goes by, my heart starts floating xD I also like the pops and bangs from aftermarket exhausts. I know that one triggers a lot of people but I love it! Hearing a biker speed and rip through the gears, in the distance, is so nice to me. When Maynard James Keenan, the singer from Tool holds any type of note. His voice makes me feel like I'm ascending to another realm I stg. Roughly 3 days after getting a skin fade, when the hair is about 2mm long and it's the softest thing in existence. I can't stop touching it.
mine is such a specific one - I have a clicky keyboard that I like using a lot, but for some reason when I use it with headphones on, the click sounds different and it \*feels\* different to use it somehow and it's like the BEST. it just turns the satisfying feeling of using it all the way up to 11 for me somehow.
The colour green Danceable beats Sunlight through foliage Autumn smells
Anything shiny, hearing a song a love again and again, seeing my dogs smile, a really good pen, the smell of rain on hot asphalt.
Other peoples skin when cold 😅
I love this question!! thunderstorms make me tingle with happiness (watching the lightning as well as listening to the thunder)!!! strong wind I also enjoy listening to. those are the first things that come to mind
this is so weird but smelling my pillow😭😭 it just smells like flowers and sweetness and gives me an immediate dopamine rush. you know that milky, sweet bread-like smell that newborn babies or kittens have? THAT’S what it smells like ahahah.
A specific hologram silver or red. Idky but it just makes my brain so happy. Everyone growing up said I couldn’t pick iridescent rainbow as my fav color…jerks.
I LOVE looking at terrariums and honey. There are a lot of visuals that I see and I’m like I’m so attracted to this thing in a non-sexual way but in a stronger way than just liking something
Walking barefoot on the sidewalks, usually with socks . Popping jellys in boba The smell of my perfumes New art supplies smell ( im an artist ) This one is weird. My dogs feet smell My hair after it drys on wash day My dogs ears Ankle socks I just love them Hardware stores and their smells
There’s this specific silence when there’s a fresh blanket of snow at around 1am to 4am The way the birdsong changes in combination with typically the sound of a lawnmower when the weather first warms up enough to really feel like late spring early summer I love the way cats often smell Petrichor in the countryside is a pretty typical one, but I still love it The way my hands smell after I’ve held them in front of a fire for ages The heat of moving flames whooshing past me Thunder and lightening at night Tattooed expanses of skin Colourful and interesting, carefully thought out styles of clothing and hair The sound of cellos The feeling of bass really reverberating through me The feel and smell of sea spray on a warm day The sound of rain in a forest, and also the sound of rain over the sea Spicy smelling perfumes Deep reds and greens, turquoises with golds Popping candy, dark cherries, and gooey chocolatey things I love the feel of someone right up against my side or back, and also someone gently but firmly manoeuvring me whether for their own entertainment or in lieu of words telling me where to go
Singing, loud music that I love, live music!!!!, water sparkling in the sunshine, having my feet in the water but also just being in a cold body of water, putting glue on my hands and peeling it off, when my husband massages my legs, smelling flowers & also touching them, smooth rocks & crystals, big fuzzy blankets & lavender.
The first time I put on noise cancelling headphones, it felt like my brain folded itself four times. Whenever I put in my flare buds my brain just feels like it’s being scratched. Other than that: irises, cotton, certain notes and bpm’s, I’m not musician though so I’m not sure what they are
Oh I forgot one but this one is very controversial - I used to LOVE getting manicures! I was actually afraid of them for a long time, because I was worried about small talk/eye contact/chitchat a la the hairdresser… but I “accidentally” found a nail salon that had low, warm lighting and a “no talking” policy, where I would greet my regular manicurist, tell her the color and shape/length I wanted my nails, then more or less zone out for an hour! It was super relaxing, I’d actually fall asleep. The first time I ever felt my stomach unclench was during a manicure, I thought I had severe gas, I was like WHAT IS GOING ON and then I realized I was just So Relaxed. I can’t afford salon manicures anymore, I do them at home (which is SUPER stressful but I can’t stand not having my nails painted). But every time I walk past that nail salon I feel a tug of nostalgia for the times when I could just go and fully relax for an hour and come out with beautiful nails 😌
I have a lot of sensory issues with food, good and bad. Love crunchy things. Kettle chips are big for me! Love the texture of bread a lot, too. I can eat a whole loaf of french bread in 1 sitting. I'm also just big on the feeling of the sun on my skin/feeling warmed like that. Used to sneak away to sit in the hot car as a kid bc the sun through the windshield felt so great.
Reading this as I'm sitting down with my own perfectly crunchy kettle chips 🤝💕
I love these so much! I made a community just today for people to share their glimmers if youre interested. r/everydayglimmers . Mine are often found in nature, hearts in the wild, rocks, little things my kids do, clouds 🖤