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.