Skmemory.pdf

MEMORY

HOW TO DEVELOP, TRAIN AND USE IT

By WILLIAM WALKER ATKINSON

Distributed by Secret-Knowledge.com

By ELIZABETH TOWNE

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MEMORY

CONTENTS

I. Memory: Its Importance

II. Cultivation of the Memory

III. Celebrated Cases of Memory

IV. Memory Systems

V. The Subconscious Record-File

VI. Attention

VII. Association

VIII. Phases of Memory

IX Training the Eye

X. Training the Ear

XI. How to Remember Names

XII. How to Remember Faces

XIII. How to Remember Places

XIV. How to Remember Numbers

XV. How to Remember Music

XVI. How to Remember Occurrences

XVII. How to Remember Facts

XVIII. How to Remember Words, etc.

XIX.

How to Remember Books, Plays, Tales, etc

XX.

General Instructions

CHAPTER I.

MEMORY: ITS IMPORTANCE.

It needs very little argument to convince the average thinking person of the great

importance of memory, although even then very few begin to realize just how important is

the function of the mind that has to do with the retention of mental impressions. The first

thought of the average person when he is asked to consider the importance of memory, is

its use in the affairs of every-day life, along developed and cultivated lines, as contrasted

with the lesser degrees of its development. In short, one generally thinks of memory in its

phase of ³a good memory'' as contrasted with the opposite phase of " a poor memory.''

But there is a much broader and fuller meaning of the term than that of even this important

phase.

It is true that the success of the individual in his every-day business, profession, trade or

other occupation depends very materially upon the possession of a good memory. His

value in any walk in life depends to a great extent upon the degree of memory he may

have developed. His memory of faces, names, facts, events, circumstances and other

things concerning his every-day work is the measure of his ability to accomplish his task.

And in the social intercourse of men and women, the possession of a retentive memory,

well stocked with available facts, renders its possessor a desirable member of society. And

in the higher activities of thought, the memory comes as an invaluable aid to the individual

in marshalling the bits and sections of knowledge he may have acquired, and passing them

in review before his cognitive faculties ²thus does the soul review its mental possessions.

As Alexander Smith has said: "A man's real possession is his memory; in nothing else is he

rich; in nothing else is he poor." Richter has said: "Memory is the only paradise from

which we cannot be driven away. Grant but memory to us, and we can lose nothing by

death.'' Lactantius says: '' Memory tempers prosperity, mitigates adversity, controls youth,

and delights old age."

But even the above phases of memory represent but a small segment of its complete circle.

Memory is more than "a good memory"²it is the means whereby we perform the largest

share of our mental work. As Bacon has said: "All knowledge is but remembrance." And

Emerson: "Memory is a primary and fundamental faculty, without which none other can

work: the cement, the bitumen, the matrix in which the other faculties are embedded.

Without it all life and thought were an unrelated succession." And Burke: "There is no

faculty of the mind which can bring its energy into effect unless the memory be stored with

ideas for it to look upon." And Basile: "Memory is the cabinet of imagination, the treasury

of reason, the registry of conscience, and the council chamber of thought." Kant

pronounced memory to be " the most wonderful of the faculties." Kay, one of the best

authorities on the subject has said, regarding it: "Unless the mind possessed the power of

treasuring up and recalling its past experiences, no knowledge of any kind could be

acquired. If every sensation, thought, or emotion passed entirely from the mind the

moment it ceased to be present, then it would be as if it had not been; and it could not be

recognized or named should it happen to return. Such an one would not only be without

knowledge,² without experience gathered from the past, ²but without purpose, aim, or

plan regarding the future, for these imply knowledge and require memory. Even voluntary

motion, or motion for a purpose, could have no existence without memory, for memory is

involved in every purpose. Not only the learning of the scholar, but the inspiration of the

poet, the genius of the painter, the heroism of the warrior, all depend upon memory. Nay,

even consciousness itself could have no existence without memory for every act of

consciousness involves a change from a past state to a present, and did the past state

vanish the moment it was past, there could be no consciousness of change. Memory,

therefore, may be said to be involved in all conscious existence²a property of every

conscious being!

In the building of character and individuality, the memory plays an important part, for

upon the strength of the impressions received, and the firmness with which they are

retained, depends the fiber of character and individuality. Our experiences are indeed the

stepping stones to greater attainments and at the same time our guides and protectors

from danger. If the memory serves us well in this respect we are saved the pain of

repeating the mistakes of the past, and may also profit by remembering and thus avoiding

the mistakes of others. As Beattie says: "When memory is preternaturally defective,

experience and knowledge will be deficient in proportion, and imprudent conduct and

absurd opinion are the necessary consequence." Bain says: "A character retaining a feeble

hold of bitter experience, or genuine delight, and unable to revive afterwards the

impression of the time is in reality the victim of an intellectual weakness under the guise of

a moral weakness. To have constantly before us an estimate of the things that affect us,

true to the reality, is one precious condition for having our will always stimulated with an

accurate reference to our happiness. The thoroughly educated man, in this respect, is he

that can carry with him at all times the exact estimate of what he has enjoyed or suffered

from every object that has ever affected him, and in case of encounter can present to the

enemy as strong a front as if he were under the genuine impression. A full and accurate

memory, for pleasure or for pain, is the intellectual basis both of prudence as regards self,

and sympathy as regards others."

So, we see that the cultivation of the memory is far more than the cultivation and

development of a single mental faculty²it is the cultivation and development of our entire

mental being²the development of our selves.

To many persons the words memory, recollection, and remembrance, have the same

meaning, but there is a great difference in the exact shade of meaning of each term. The

student of this book should make the distinction between the terms, for by so doing he will

be better able to grasp the various points of advice and instruction herein given. Let us

examine these terms.

Locke in his celebrated work, the "Essay Concerning Human Understanding" has clearly

stated the difference between the meanings of these several terms. He says: "Memory is

the power to revive again in our minds those ideas which after imprinting, have

disappeared, or have been laid aside out of sight²when an idea again recurs without the

operation of the like object on the external sensory, it is remembrance; if it be sought after

by the mind, and with pain and endeavor found, and brought again into view, it is

recollection." Fuller says, commenting on this: "Memory is the power of reproducing in

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