Can toys serve as triggers?

[Marc Ross]

Hello,

Personally, I've looked at pictures of toys from the 1920s and early 1930s; as well as peridcally seen vintage toys at antique stores (the time I feel my PL was young enough for toys). No memories of interest were evoked.

It seems the experience of touch/feel may best yield "deja vu" like memories more than pictures alone!

Marc

 

[Marc Ross]

Addendum....


Hello,


It's surprising that there has yet to be accounts in this Forum; regarding vintage-toys serving as potential triggers to possible PL memories -- esp. considering that children playing with toys may still be young enough to remember possible PL memories of previous childhoods and adult lives alike!


Thank-you

 

[Nightrain]

I think one of the issues with toys is that most people throughout history never had toys to play with other than the usual ball, stick, wheel or corn-husk doll. A great deal depends upon what one would classify as a toy. Most often it was anything that remotely resembled whatever one's imagination wanted it to be. I remember when a shredded wheat box could be transformed into a theater and we cut finger puppets out of the rest of the stage opening to portray the characters in our little play.


As an older child I was fascinated with WWII airplanes as were many other young boys my age. Though I took it for granted, I never stopped to realize that my favorite planes were of the in-line engine types. I hated the big-nosed rotary engines for some reason. I also used my models to regularly "attack" and destroy the wonderful Lionel train set that my father bought me.


However, I think that toys are less likely triggers for past life memories, or they are much harder to validate, because they represent those moments when we are either meditating about our fantasies, or using the toys to recapture even earlier memories; thus, the mental states enabled by the toys become more important than the toys themselves.


On the other hand, I think that adults who collect old toys are, perhaps, drawing their choices from earlier memories of happier times.

 

[Marc Ross]

Vintage games.........


The discussion as to whether or not vintage games may serve as "triggers of sorts" seems to belgong in this thread.


Can vintage, or even long forgotten games e.g., board games, card games, serve as triggers?


Can crossword puzzles act as triggers; as some of the words applied in puzzles may yield "strong deja-vu like memories of interest" -- as some of the words may have been in greater usage at earlier times in history?


Marc

 

[Cryscat]

I believe that Nighttrain's answer to your question is probably not. He did point at that "toys" can be subjective as most people thought out history were too poor to have "toys."


I am guess that for some people, it could be a trigger, depending on who they were in the pl and if their pl parents had enough money to afford toys.

 

[Lady2]

it could be a trigger, depending on who they were in the pl and if their pl parents had enough money to afford toys.

Also: Depending on how far back in time you're talking about, (1900, 1800s, 1500s, ect.), what people back then had for toys would be very different from what we would consider toys today.

 

[Marc Ross]

Cont...


I'll add my (possible) personal PL's childhood.


To estimate possible time-frames of my PLs childhood. My guess (based on possible memories of WWII North Africa May 1943; a time my PL was old enough to serve in the military e.g., support-roles Quartermasters, Transportation Corps) was a childhood in the 1920s, or the 1930 Depression-Era.


As said in original post, I've seen 1920s and 1930s vintage toys; without even the slightest "deja-vu like"


feelings.


Based on other meditation-induced memories; it seems that my PLs family was poor. So NightTtrain's answer may "fit the bill" -- yet I've also had no memories of the most rudementary things poor children use for play.


In my latest update to this thread, I pointed-out the the simpler (largely affordable) games can act as triggers e.g., card games, even a relative's/friend's vintage board-game, as well as crossword puzzles.


The time-periods for a PLs childhood can easily have been 30 to 40-years previous (up through 1970s); hence times when toys/games were advertised on TV and available for play; even if through a relative's/friend's games.


Some of the old-games have been revived; how can revived versions of old-games act as "a trigger of sorts?"


Marc