You see the work that I do goes far beyond personal development and motivation. My mission is to dive into the human mind and discover and unlock the mysteries of personal power, tap into unlimited human resources, and optimize the mind-body continuum.

And that is what is so interesting about memory. We all have a fantastic memory. However, sometimes we code the information the first time in a particular way, and go back to accessing it in another way, hoping it will still be there. Well it is still there, but you're not going down the right mental maze to gain entry.

Think about all the letters in the English language. How easy is it for you to remember 26 letters? Now think of all the words these 26 letters can form. And how easy is it for you to remember them?

Think about emotions for a second. How many emotion words can you come up with in 60 seconds? (ex. happy, sad, glad) How many words are there in the English language that convey emotion? Now the words that you came up with the fastest are the ones coded in such a way that you can easily access them.

Now what else is interesting is that most likely these are the few emotions that you cycle through in a given day. Now that doesn't mean you aren't feeling more things, however these are the labels you are cycling through. Now think about all the other emotions you are missing out on. (A good reason to increase your working vocabulary)

Well you mentioned that you bought a memory audiotape program to improve your memory, but couldn't remember to do it. Interesting paradox. Surprisingly enough though, that happens quite a bit.

But what it all comes down to is strategy. Now that is at one level. The other is at the level of intention. How do you know that something is worth remembering? And more importantly how do you remember that?

Because it really is easy to forget the things that aren't important, so long as you remember to forget them, while remembering the important things. And pretty soon, once you are good, getting better, at remembering in such a way that eventually you can trust your own unconscious to forget consciously to remember to forget the unimportant things and remember with extreme precision and accuracy the things that are truly important in your life, you will find your memory greatly enhanced in a delightful way. And isn't that all you are really wanting to get anyway, won't you?

So with intention in place and now having a reason to remember how do you create or access a effective strategy to remember?

And just before, let's make another key distinction. And that is the difference between not making time for something and not remembering to do it. Don't blame your memory when it reminds you of something and you tell it, "Oh, too late, I'm busy now! Try back later." All you will do is piss it off, and it may be less likely to cooperate with you the next go round.

Instead it would serve you far better to thank it each time it does remind you and gently let it know that you have decided to go with another activity at the moment, and you will definitely consider engaging in the recollected activity shortly.

Now this may sound a bit crazy, but it is amazing how well it works. You will get much further by aligning and cooperating with your memory instead of battling it.

So now to discovering a useful strategy. How do you remember something really well? How is that coded in your mind?

Is it picture, sound, or feeling?

If it is a picture, is it big or small, close or far, bright or dim, 2-D or 3-D, in color or b/w, framed or panoramic, moving or still, solid or transparent, etc...

If it is a sound, is it loud or soft or does it build up or go the other way down, pleasant tonality or not so pleasant, quick or slow tempo, high or low pitch, coming from nearby or far away, in stereo or mono, where is it coming from (location- right, left, center, front, back, middle, etc..), rhythmic or choppy, etc...

If it is a feeling, where is it located? Is it heavy or a light feeling, cool or warm, moving or still, pulsating or tingling, etc...

And as you discover this, find out the sequence that best helps you remember it. Pick something you remember, for example your bank PIN. How did you remember it? What did you do first? Make a picture, sound, or feeling. What did you do next?

For example, my strategy for that is to see a picture inside my head of my fingers punching in the numbers on the keypad (Visual Internal-Vi), then say the numbers to myself, as I am reading them of the keypad following my fingers (Auditory Digital-Ad), and then I end with a feeling of "That's right!" (Positive Kinesthetic-Visceral Internal- K-Vi+).

And it has to end with a positive feeling because if it ended with a negative or uncertain feeling, that is my cue to cycle back through to make sure it is the right sequence. And I would continue cycling through making little shifts until I get a positive feeling in the end.

Now this is a simple strategy. And there exist many more complicated strategies. However, if you have a complicated strategy, it is good to condense it to the bare essentials while getting the desired outcome. Many times a person will become to lazy to follow through on a complicated strategy, hence becoming indecisive.

And you can begin to play with this (your own mind) and begin to discover all sorts of neat stuff. Because you already have an amazing memory. Really think about. You emailed me. Think of all the things that go into that. Page outline, paragraph and sentence construction, formation of words and appropriate sequencing to convey a particular message, and of course the letters themselves. What is your strategy for remembering all those things?

Because now you can remember a great much more, quite easily, won't you?

Just relax an play with it. Seriously, have fun! Or better yet, just have fun and forget the seriousness all together! And that is exactly where your strategy of not remembering to the point of forgetting can become quite useful.

Enjoy!


-Oz