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.