How to Develop your Memory
How to Develop your MemoryCHAPTER I. MEMORY: ITS IMPORTANCE.CHAPTER II. CULTIVATION OF THE MEMORY.CHAPTER III. CELEBRATED CASES OF MEMORY.CHAPTER IV. MEMORY SYSTEMS.CHAPTER V. THE SUBCONSCIOUS RECORD-FILE.CHAPTER VI. ATTENTION.CHAPTER VII. ASSOCIATION.CHAPTER VIII. PHASES OF MEMORY.CHAPTER IX. TRAINING THE EYE.CHAPTER X. TRAINING THE EAR.CHAPTER XI. HOW TO REMEMBER NAMES.CHAPTER XII. HOW TO REMEMBER FACES.CHAPTER XIII. HOW TO REMEMBER PLACES.CHAPTER XIV. HOW TO REMEMBER NUMBERS.CHAPTER XV. HOW TO REMEMBER MUSIC.CHAPTER XVI. HOW TO REMEMBER OCCURRENCES.CHAPTER XVII. HOW TO REMEMBER FACTS.CHAPTER XVIII. HOW TO REMEMBER WORDS, ETC.CHAPTER XIX. HOW TO REMEMBER BOOKS, PLAYS, TALES, ETC.CHAPTER XX. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS.Copyright
How to Develop your Memory
William Walker Atkinson
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 "a 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—thus 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"—it 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,—without
experience gathered from the past,—but 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 existence—a 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 fibre 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 faculty—it is the
cultivation and development of our entire mental being—the
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
meaning 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 sight—when 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 the mind former impressions, or
percepts. Remembrance and Recollection are the exercise of that
power, the former being involuntary or spontaneous, the latter
volitional. We remember because we cannot help it but we recollect
only through positive effort. The act of remembering, taken by
itself, is involuntary. In other words, when the mind remembers
without having tried to remember, it acts spontaneously. Thus it
may be said, in the narrow, contrasted senses of the two terms,
that we remember by chance, but recollect by intention, and if the
endeavor be successful that which is reproduced becomes, by the
very effort to bring it forth, more firmly intrenched in the mind
than ever."
But the New Psychology makes a little different distinction from
that of Locke, as given above. It uses the word memory not only in
his sense of "The power to revive, etc.," but also in the sense of
the activities of the mind which tend to receive and store away the
various impressions of the senses, and the ideas conceived by the
mind, to the end that they may be reproduced voluntarily, or
involuntarily, thereafter. The distinction between remembrance and
recollection, as made by Locke, is adopted as correct by The New
Psychology.
It has long been recognized that the memory, in all of its phases,
is capable of development, culture, training and guidance through
intelligent exercise. Like any other faculty of mind, or physical
part, muscle or limb, it may be improved and strengthened. But
until recent years, the entire efforts of these memory-developers
were directed to the strengthening of that phase of the memory
known as "recollection," which, you will remember, Locke defined as
an idea or impression "sought after by the mind, and with pain and
endeavor found, and brought again into view." The New Psychology
goes much further than this. While pointing out the most improved
and scientific methods for "re-collecting" the impressions and
ideas of the memory, it also instructs the student in the use of
the proper methods whereby the memory may be stored with clear and
distinct impressions which will, thereafter, flow naturally and
involuntarily into the field of consciousness when the mind is
thinking upon the associated subject or line of thought; and which
may also be "re-collected" by a voluntary effort with far less
expenditure of energy than under the old methods and systems.
You will see this idea carried out in detail, as we progress with
the various stages of the subject, in this work. You will see that
the first thing to do is to find something to remember; then to
impress that thing clearly and distinctly upon the receptive
tablets of the memory; then to exercise the remembrance in the
direction of bringing out the stored-away facts of the memory; then
to acquire the scientific methods of recollecting special items of
memory that may be necessary at some special time. This is the
natural method in memory cultivation, as opposed to the artificial
systems that you will find mentioned in another chapter. It is not
only development of the memory, but also development of the mind
itself in several of its regions and phases of activity. It is not
merely a method of recollecting, but also a method of correct
seeing, thinking and remembering. This method recognizes the truth
of the verse of the poet, Pope, who said: "Remembrance and
reflection how allied! What thin partitions sense from thought
divide!"
CHAPTER II. CULTIVATION OF THE MEMORY.
This book is written with the fundamental intention and idea of
pointing out a rational and workable method whereby the memory may
be developed, trained and cultivated. Many persons seem to be under
the impression that memories are bestowed by nature, in a fixed
degree or possibilities, and that little more can be done for
them—in short, that memories are born, not made. But the fallacy of
any such idea is demonstrated by the investigations and experiments
of all the leading authorities, as well as by the results obtained
by persons who have developed and cultivated their own memories by
individual effort without the assistance of an instructor. But all
such improvement, to be real, must be along certain natural lines
and in accordance with the well established laws of psychology,
instead of along artificial lines and in defiance of psychological
principles. Cultivation of the memory is a far different thing from
"trick memory," or feats of mental legerdemain if the term is
permissible.
Kay says: "That the memory is capable of indefinite improvement,
there can be no manner of doubt; but with regard to the means by
which this improvement is to be effected mankind are still greatly
in ignorance." Dr. Noah Porter says: "The natural as opposed to the
artificial memory depends on the relations of sense and the
relations of thought,—the spontaneous memory of the eye and the ear
availing itself of the obvious conjunctions of objects which are
furnished by space and time, and the rational memory of those
higher combinations which the rational faculties superinduce upon
those lower. The artificial memory proposes to substitute for the
natural and necessary relations under which all objects must
present and arrange themselves, an entirely new set of relations
that are purely arbitrary and mechanical, which excite little or no
other interest than that they are to aid us in remembering. It
follows that if the mind tasks itself to the special effort of
considering objects under these artificial relations, it will give
less attention to those which have a direct and legitimate interest
for itself." Granville says: "The defects of most methods which
have been devised and employed for improving the memory, lies in
the fact that while they serve to impress particular subjects on
the mind, they do not render the memory, as a whole, ready or
attentive." Fuller says: "Surely an art of memory may be made more
destructive to natural memory than spectacles are to eyes." These
opinions of the best authorities might be multiplied
indefinitely—the consensus of the best opinion is decidedly against
the artificial systems, and in favor of the natural ones.
Natural systems of memory culture are based upon the fundamental
conception so well expressed by Helvetius, several centuries ago,
when he said: "The extent of the memory depends, first, on the
daily use we make of it; secondly, upon the attention with which we
consider the objects we would impress upon it; and, thirdly, upon
the order in which we range our ideas." This then is the list of
the three essentials in the cultivation of the memory: (1) Use and
exercise; review and practice; (2) Attention and Interest; and (3)
Intelligent Association.
You will find that in the several chapters of this book dealing
with the various phases of memory, we urge, first, last, and all
the time, the importance of the use and employment of the memory,
in the way of employment, exercise, practice and review work. Like
any other mental faculty, or physical function, the memory will
tend to atrophy by disuse, and increase, strengthen and develop by
rational exercise and employment within the bounds of moderation.
You develop a muscle by exercise; you train any special faculty of
the mind in the same way; and you must pursue the same method in
the case of the memory, if you would develop it. Nature's laws are
constant, and bear a close analogy to each other. You will also
notice the great stress that we lay upon the use of the faculty of
attention, accompanied by interest. By attention you acquire the
impressions that you file away in your mental record-file of
memory. And the degree of attention regulates the depth, clearness
and strength of the impression. Without a good record, you cannot
expect to obtain a good reproduction of it. A poor phonographic
record results in a poor reproduction, and the rule applies in the
case of the memory as well. You will also notice that we explain
the laws of association, and the principles which govern the
subject, as well as the methods whereby the proper associations may
be made. Every association that you weld to an idea or an
impression, serves as a cross-reference in the index, whereby the
thing is found by remembrance or recollection when it is needed. We
call your attention to the fact that one's entire education depends
for its efficiency upon this law of association. It is a most
important feature in the rational cultivation of the memory, while
at the same time being the bane of the artificial systems. Natural
associations educate, while artificial ones tend to weaken the
powers of the mind, if carried to any great length.
There is no Royal Road to Memory. The cultivation of the memory
depends upon the practice along certain scientific lines according
to well established psychological laws. Those who hope for a sure
"short cut" will be disappointed, for none such exists. As Halleck
says: "The student ought not to be disappointed to find that memory
is no exception to the rule of improvement by proper methodical and
long continued exercise. There is no royal road, no short cut, to
the improvement of either mind or muscle. But the student who
follows the rules which psychology has laid down may know that he
is walking in the shortest path, and not wandering aimlessly about.
Using these rules, he will advance much faster than those without
chart, compass, or pilot. He will find mnemonics of extremely
limited use. Improvement comes by orderly steps. Methods that
dazzle at first sight never give solid results."
The student is urged to pay attention to what we have to say in
other chapters of the book upon the subjects of attention and
association. It is not necessary to state here the particulars that
we mention there. The cultivation of the attention is a
prerequisite for good memory, and deficiency in this respect means
deficiency not only in the field of memory but also in the general
field of mental work. In all branches of The New Psychology there
is found a constant repetition of the injunction to cultivate the
faculty of attention and concentration. Halleck says: "Haziness of
perception lies at the root of many a bad memory. If perception is
definite, the first step has been taken toward insuring a good
memory. If the first impression is vivid, its effect upon the brain
cells is more lasting. All persons ought to practice their
visualizing power. This will react upon perception and make it more
definite. Visualizing will also form a brain habit of remembering
things pictorially, and hence more exactly."
The subject of association must also receive its proper share of
attention, for it is by means of association that the stored away
records of the memory may be recovered or re-collected. As Blackie
says: "Nothing helps the mind so much as order and classification.
Classes are few, individuals many: to know the class well is to
know what is most essential in the character of the individual, and
what burdens the memory least to retain." And as Halleck says
regarding the subject of association by relation: "Whenever we can
discover any relation between facts, it is far easier to remember
them. The intelligent law of memory may be summed up in these
words: Endeavor to link by some thought relation each new mental
acquisition to an old one. Bind new facts to other facts by
relations of similarity, cause and effect, whole and part, or by
any logical relation, and we shall find that when an idea occurs to
us, a host of related ideas will flow into the mind. If we wish to
prepare a speech or write an article on any subject, pertinent
illustrations will suggest themselves. The person whose memory is
merely contiguous will wonder how we think of them."
In your study for the cultivation of the memory, along the lines
laid down in this book, you have read the first chapter thereof and
have informed yourself thoroughly regarding the importance of the
memory to the individual, and what a large part it plays in the
entire work of the mind. Now carefully read the third chapter and
acquaint yourself with the possibilities in the direction of
cultivating the memory to a high degree, as evidenced by the
instances related of the extreme case of development noted therein.
Then study the chapter on memory systems, and realize that the only
true method is the natural method, which requires work, patience
and practice—then make up your mind that you will follow this plan
as far as it will take you. Then acquaint yourself with the secret
of memory—the subconscious region of the mind, in which the records
of memory are kept, stored away and indexed, and in which the
little mental office-boys are busily at work. This will give you
the key to the method. Then take up the two chapters on attention,
and association, respectively, and acquaint yourself with these
important principles. Then study the chapter on the phases of
memory, and take mental stock of yourself, determining in which
phase of memory you are strongest, and in which you need
development. Then read the two chapters on training the eye and
ear, respectively—you need this instruction. Then read over the
several chapters on the training of the special phases of the
memory, whether you need them or not—you may find something of
importance in them. Then read the concluding chapter, which gives
you some general advice and parting instruction. Then return to the
chapters dealing with the particular phases of memory in which you
have decided to develop yourself, studying the details of the
instruction carefully until you know every point of it. Then, most
important of all—get to work. The rest is a matter of practice,
practice, practice, and rehearsal. Go back to the chapters from
time to time, and refresh your mind regarding the details. Re-read
each chapter at intervals. Make the book your own, in every sense
of the word, by absorbing its contents.