MEMORY HOW TO DEVELOP, TRAIN AND USE IT/PART 1
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!"
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