Friday 26 February 2016

Qualities of Memory

Qualities of Memory
 
It is often seen that some people have a good memory and others, bad. We meet a lot of people in our daily routine that they are complaining, “My memory is bad. I forget things very quickly.” Usually, it happens when we try hard to remember something; but when we do not make an effort, we remember things easily. Why is this so? The main reason for this is interest. When we are interested in a subject, we remember every word of it, but on the other hand, lack of interest in a subject prevents us from remembering much. Therefore, the first most important factor and reason for retention is interest. Interest leads to other factors which result in a good and a sharp memory.

If we have interest in a subject, then it is easier to deliberate on it. We can analyze it from different angles and can observe and understand it. Only then we can develop faith and confidence and follow a system. Therefore, interest is a leading factor which plays an important role in the field of memory.

In one of my workshop, I asked the students interested in cricket, when Sunil Gavaskar made his last century? Who the bowler was, when he completed his century, and how many runs he made to complete his century?

One of the boys stood up and answered all my questions, and gave additional information on who the commentator was and what his comments were. He was enthusiastic in passing on his knowledge about cricket. But, when I asked him what he has studied in this class yesterday, he went blank. This happened because he was not interested in what was being taught in class. But since he was interested in cricket, he remembered the century made by Sunil Gavaskar a few years ago.

Thus, it can be clearly seen that when we are interested in a particular subject or thing, the retention is longer than in that of the subject in which we are not interested.

Another fact to be noted is that if the student can remember the runs made by Sunil Gavaskar, he is also capable of remembering his lesson. There is nothing wrong with the memory; it is only the lack of interest in that subject.

Now the question arises about how interest can be developed? The easy way to develop interest is to take up the subject in which one is not interested, for example, mathematics. Suppose you are a student of mathematics and you do not like the subject, but you cannot avoid it. The main aim to create interest. First of all, you should take up the solved examples and try to understand them. Solve the easy sums and then proceed to the difficult ones.

Gradually, you will see that you have developed an interest in mathematics. Therefore, it is essential that to remember a particular subject, the development of interest is important. If the interest is there, the other factors will follow simultaneously.

Concentration:

The best way to make progress in any field is to concentrate on that particular field. Full concentration while doing a job always brings success. But if the work is being done without concentration and without interest, then the efforts are not satisfactory, and success is  far  behind.

It is seen that players who make an effort and concentrate while practicing prove to be good players.

Similarly, there are some students who are completely focused while doing their work. They put in their ideas and thoughts in a marvelous way of which even they are not aware of. This happens due to the concentration with which they are writing.

An artist adds new colors to his canvas. He creates a new picture on the on the canvas. His thoughts are visible in color on the board .he concentrates whole heartedly while using his brush. Behind the successful artist is his concentration on his work.

As I have mentioned before, this book is for the students, and deals with how they can overcome their difficulties in remembering their lesson. But firstly they should know how to develop the art of concentration within themselves.

Let us discuss the problem which every student faces. He thoroughly reads and learns the whole chapter, but is totally bland when asked questions on that chapter. The reason for this situation, and the problem which every student faces, is that when we reads something, two process are working within us:

·         The reading process

·         The thinking process

We are reading with our eyes and also thinking in our mind. When these two process do not work in unison, then there is a break in our concentration and our mind starts jumping to other subjects. We continue with our reading, but no impression is left on our mind. Our eyes are moving but our mind is somewhere else. Other thoughts are occupying the mind.

Therefore, after reading, when we try to recall, we are incapable of doing it. This is because our eyes and mind are not moving in a coordinated manner. We fell that we have read everything actually we have read nothing. Other thoughts keep occupying the mind. For example, if the students have seen a movie, the next day in class they find it difficult to concentrate as they keep thinking about the movie. Thus, at the end of the class, they are absolutely blank as they don’t remember anything being taught.

We also see in our daily life that sometime when we are walking and an old friend of our passes by, we don’t notice him he stops and calls out “what’s the matter? Don’t you remember me?” then we become aware of person.

It also happens that sometimes our mind is working somewhere else, therefore a number of times we do not hear to see what or who is passing by us. That is why some people says “our eyes are blind, where our mind is somewhere else.

Likewise, sometimes when you study for five to six hours and complete two subjects or more, you discover that you do not remember much of what you studied during that time.

Therefore, to overcome this obstacle, the reading and thinking process ought to move in unison. The best way to improve memory is through concentration, interest and observation.

 

Observation:

Whenever we go to a party, we meet and observe other people. This habit of observing others is very common among females. The notice what the other woman and wearing, their hairstyles and jewelers they wear, and everything else from head to toe. One such incident happened when a friend went to her relative’s marriage, where she met someone wearing a beautiful necklace. She appreciated the ornament and inquired about its weight and the name of the jeweler. She was fascinated with the piece.

After ten years, both of them met again on another occasion, and the lady was wearing the same necklace. The necklace was immediately recognized by the friend. She remembered the weight, name of the jeweler and the last time when she saw the lady wearing it.

By this example, I want to show you how observation works in memory retention. Anything which is observed carefully is retained in our memory.

Likewise, a student can observe his lesson and important notes. The subject which is observed carefully leaves a deep impression on our memory and remains there for a long time. In other words, the retention is longer.

Hence the question, how to observe? How can a student use this method in his daily life?

Saturday 9 January 2016

Why do we Forget?

People ask themselves why they forget when they want to remember certain things. There are generally four reasons for forgetting certain things.
§  Motive
§  Revival
§  Interference
§  Suppression
Motive: Motive plays an important role in memory retention. The motive for remembering certain things is interest. This is the most important factor if we want to remember certain things. If a matter comes to our notice which is of interest to us, only then we will remember it without any difficulty. Otherwise, we tend to forget it.
Revival: The constant revival of past events help in increasing our memory. So one needs to go back to those events regularly to keep the memory fresh. The human memory keeps grasping fresh ideas and experiences. Revival helps in keeping past memories fresh. If a person does not go back over the events again and again, then the impression on his memory fades out, leaving everything blank.
Interference: Sometimes when we go about doing our daily tasks, something or the other distracts us. For example, when we enter a room to do something important and suddenly someone call us, we get completely engrossed in the new person. When we finish our conversation with that person, we cannot remember our initial task. This is interference, and our memory cannot recall our earlier thoughts.
Suppression: Our memory has a sort of lever which helps us forget things that we want to. Sometimes, when people go through many problems in life, their memory, gets scarred. Such people voluntarily suppress all thoughts of the events, and gradually blank it out of their memory.

Food also influences memory:
The memory becomes firm when mind and body is pure. Certain food items that be taken:
Wheat, rice, barley, milk, bread, cow’s milk, ghee, sugar, butter, sugar-candy, honey, dried ginger, green pulse, almonds, walnut, banana, apple and fresh fruits. But some the food items are forbidden e.g. Highly seasoned dishes, hot curries, chutnies, meat, fish, chilies, sour articles, tamarind, mustard, all kinds of oil, asafetida, salt, sour curd and stale food.

Certain items like cigarettes, alcohol, salt, food colours and caffeine harm the brain. These foods are forbidden because they block the blood circulation and energy in the body and mind. Certain modern scientist found that the mind needs ‘B-1’ class vitamins and minerals like potassium, magnesium, iron, etc. But these should be used under the doctor’s direction.
There are numerous physical exercises and postures which are typically mental exercises. These help to remove the impurities that block the body and mind. When our body is healthy and our sense and mind are aware and attentive, then the cells of the body are also very active. So whatever we want to remember can be memorized easily.
For this, it is necessary to do certain physical exercises and yoga, in the morning and /or in the evening. Breathing exercise need to be done daily, as breathing has an effect on the mind. We practice these breathing exercises daily, unconsciously. When we are reading a sensational story book, our mind becomes absorbed in the subject. If we close our eyes we will find that our breathing has become hurried. Similarly when we are happy or sad, or we hear some sad news, our breathing slackens. So, when we do breathing exercises continuously, it provides maximum oxygen to our body. This removes the carbon dioxide and other impurities from the body. Due to these breathing exercises our mind can concentrate more. This concentration is the foundation of memory.

Exercises of the five senses purify our sight, sound taste, touch and smell. Through these five senses the information is received and retained in the mind. When our senses are alert, we receive the correct information and thus our retention will be correct, and so will revision and recall. Therefore certain sense exercises are also essential for improving the memory.  


There are certain visualization exercises too. Visualization has a connection with our intelligence. These exercises develop our intelligence as well as develop the photographic memory. Photographic memory means the use of visualization to extreme level. So visualization exercises are useful for memory. Daily meditation is important as this helps to develop awareness. 

How does Memory Works?

Memory works in four stages:
§  It recognizes a thing.
§  The impression is left on it.
§  It retains the impression.
§  It recalls what it has retained.

It is important to study the above points separately and clearly.

Earlier we talked about the five senses and how they help us experience something, the impression of which is left on our minds. We call this ‘Memory’. When we recognize a thing with one sense or two senses working together, it leaves an impression in the form of memory. This impression is stored in the mind, and we can recall it from there.
Here’s an example. Suppose we meet a new person at a party, the person introduces himself or is introduced to us. We look at that person with our eyes and hear his name with our ears, hence we know that person through two senses. His impression is left in the form of memory, which is stored in our mind, called the storehouse. And after some time, when we meet that person again, we are sure to recall his name immediately, i.e. we recognize him once again. This is how our memory works.  

Memory is like a recorder which can record whatever we want to record in it. Now let us look at this picture of a “Recorder”:


Memory = Tape

Play Button = Sense
(Sense of Touch, Taste, Smell, Sight and Sound.)
Recorder = Body
Recording Button = Mind
(Concentrate the mind on one sense or on all senses.)
Fast Forward
Rewind  =  Will
Electric = Bio Energy

Suppose we want to record some songs on a tape recorder or a film on a video cassette, and we push only the “Play Button” and not the “Record Button” then the song or the film cannot be recorded. Similarly, it is the same with the senses and the mind. If they do not work in unison then retention may not take place.
So the first step for good Memory is “Concentration of mind”. But sometimes distractions arise. Why do you think they arise?
There are numerous reasons for distraction. It may be due to:
§  Pain and disease in the body.
§  Blockage in blood circulation
§  Blockage in bio-energy
§  Weak sense organs
§  Weak intelligence and mind
Some of the exercises recommended are:
§  Simple posture exercises for body and blood circulation
§  Breathing exercises for blockage of energy.

§  Exercises for relaxation, exercises for the senses, and exercises of visualization also exercise the mind.

Sunday 25 October 2015

What is Human Memory?

Human Memory:

 We experience many things  in  our daily life through our five senses‚ i.e. touch‚ taste‚ smell‚ sight and sound. Whatever we experience and retain in our five senses is called memory.