Before You Forget … Read This!

We’re hearing a lot about memory these days. What does it have to do with energy and being? Quite a bit, actually. Joshua Foer, author of Moonwalking with Einstein: The Science of Remembering Everything, tells us that to memorize is to be more mindful and to pay more attention to the world around you. He says that “remembering can only happen if you decide to take notice.” Taking notice is about being present. The more you notice and register in your mind via lively details, the more you truly experience. Your perspective broadens and your life becomes richer.

One of the tricks to remembering is to categorize what you’d like to remember into segments that represent people, objects and actions, make them vivid or “sticky”, and then store them in memory palaces (such as the rooms of your childhood home). Think about your own life and some of the things you can clearly recall. What are some of your happiest moments as a child? What about the saddest or the most frightening? What do you recall about your first job? How about your first relationship? More than likely an array of events, circumstances and situations come to mind. You can probably recall the exact day or time, who was present, where you were, what was happening. The deeper the imprint, the more likely you are to remember.

Although it takes a bit of practice, you can train your memory. As your memory expands, your knowledge base and perspective do as well. In ancient times, the collective memory was maintained and shared orally through the power of story. People memorized the stories and passed them down from generation to generation, expanding the mind. As the written word emerged, the human collective memory shifted from the individual mind to books. Now we are experiencing another significant shift with the proliferation of aids — such as the internet, smart phones with apps that will tell you where to park, what to eat, GPS systems that remember addresses and direct you how to go, and much more — that literally replace our memory. One of the downsides is that we don’t have to remember €¦ our devices do it for us. This trend coincides with our stress-filled lives and the increasing decline of our memories.

Our lives are profoundly shaped by our perceptions and our perspective about life is expanded by our experiences €¦ what we see, feel, hear, touch, and what we know. To help broaden your mind and expand your energy, seek out new experiences and be mindful of them. Observe everything and remember to practice the art of presence every day.

Related articles

• Moonwalking (thefineprints.wordpress.com)
• Memory: Content or Method? (customerthink.com)