Memory systems can be great, but sometimes turning recall over to your intuition is what you need to recapture a memory for something that happened in the immediate past or long ago. Using your intuition can even help you recapture a dream or remember what you said in a conversation with someone.
I had several such experiences myself while writing this book.
In one case, I had been using some files for my August bills and income receipts, and afterwards I sent out some letters using preprinted return addresses, which I kept in several other files on my desk. A few days later, I went to the file cabinet where I keep my bills and receipts, but the August files weren’t there—and when I looked in all the logical places in the room and several other rooms, they weren’t there either. So I tried to reconstruct everything I did or might have done using those files, from making phone calls to paying bills, but nothing seemed to work. I even looked several times through the file cabinet where the files should have been, thinking maybe I might have misplaced them in the wrong order. But that didn’t work either. They were simply gone.
Feeling very frustrated, I let go of my thinking mind, asked the question to myself, “Where did I go?” as if I were that file, and walked through my house, giving myself over to my experience in each room. Suddenly, as I came to the file cabinet, I felt drawn to a small rack of shelves beside the file cabinet, where I had put the file for preprinted return addresses, and picked it up. And there at the bottom of the stack were my two file folders of August bills and income received. Memory accomplished. I hadn’t used conscious thinking or any particular image system. I just gave the task over to my unconscious, which drew on its own traces of memory, which were out of my awareness, to lead me to pick up the files in the rack of shelves, where I had inadvertently put the August files.
Another time, I had left my car in a large parking garage with several levels. I was in a rush to get some books and papers onto a wheeled cart so I could get to a meeting. As a result, I forgot to do the usual techniques to imprint where I was parked in my memory, including looking at the sign with the letter and number of my section of the lot. So when I came back and saw a sea of cars, the task of finding my car seemed daunting. But then, intuition came once again to the rescue. I stopped thinking consciously about where I had parked the car; I stopped trying to create mental maps and reconstruct where I had gone as I drove into the parking lot. Instead, I let my intuition take over. Without thinking about where I was going, I walked back to the car, letting my mind unconsciously backtrack how I had walked out of the parking garage to my meeting.
I also used this approach to think about some of my earliest memories by projecting myself back into my childhood when I was about four or five. It was like I was right there again, recalling one of my very first memories of being at a large train station, crossing the tracks, and feeling awed by the vastness of it all, as I walked quickly to keep up with my mother who had taken me on a trip to Florida by train to see my grandmother. (Those were the days before people normally went to airports to take planes.)
Finally, I used this intuitive approach to recapture a dream, where I had only the sense that I had been dreaming and a fleeting image of what had been the end of the dream, before it slipped away, like a stealthy jaguar, going back to hiding in the jungle. Consciously, I couldn’t seem to pull the dream out by that last image; I couldn’t pull on the tail of the jaguar to tease it out. Instead, I relaxed with that last possible image in mind, projecting myself back into that dream state I had been in. Suddenly, I was there, re-experiencing the dream again, and a few minutes later, when I opened my eyes, the dream was in my mind, letting me record it before it flitted away again out of my working memory, unlikely to be recalled again. Dreams often do not go into long-term memory once they are gone; unless you do something to preserve those images, they normally slip away for good.
Certainly, any kind of memory process will work better, including tapping into your unconscious, when you have made a clear impression of something. That’s because the memory trace is brighter, louder, or otherwise more intense, so you can see, hear, or experience it better. But even if you have only imprinted something slightly or the trace has faded, these intuitive techniques can help you dig back into the more flimsy impressions in your unconscious to retrieve information.
A good way to think of this process is to recognize that every impression, every sensation, no matter how minor, makes some kind of imprint on the neurons in your brain. Researchers have found that this is the case by tapping certain parts of the brain, using special probes to trigger certain memories. Also, they use the PET (positron emission tomography) scan technique to show which areas of the brain are activated when you perform different memory tasks.
As a result, researchers believe that all impressions that create memories can be found somewhere within the brain. In other words, every image we see, every sound or conversation we hear, every experience we have that gets transferred into our long-term memory from our working memory gets registered someplace in the brain. Although many of these memories fade from consciousness and many are just lightly recorded, they are there, somewhere, though other experiences that leave little impression may not get transferred. That’s why certain processes, like hypnosis and deep concentration, as well as certain physical stimuli, can pull the memories that do get transferred back. The less clear, more faded impressions will be harder to tap, since they are so much fainter. But they are still there. While some researchers may claim that all experiences are registered, others suggest it is just the experiences that become part of the working memory. Perhaps consider the process like traveling on a bus. Some memories will go to the end of the line—into the working memory—where they get recorded and the record is there to be retrieved later, but others get off early on—like everyday working memories, and after they slip off, they are gone forever.
In turn, a good way to trigger the recall of a memory is to try to go back to or recreate the time when you first created that impression in your brain cells. This return—along with your intense focus—helps to evoke the event or setting that will remind you of the memory and pull it into the present. This approach works because it’s like making the memory live again; it’s like finding a book you really find involving. You open up the book and as you read it, you project yourself back into the pages, so you actually experience what’s on that page. Instead of just an abstract, detached perception of what is there, you are reliving the experience; you are making that page, which is like your memory, come alive; you are making it more intensely, vividly real.
For example, to recall a name, imagine the person before you, perhaps at your first meeting. To recall a phone number, visualize a time when you looked up the number in a book, wrote it down on a piece of paper, or dialed it. To recall where you put some object, imagine yourself in the situation where you last had that object and notice what you did with it when you put it down. To recall a route, imagine yourself in the car or on foot traveling along it from where you started. To recall some information from a book or movie, visualize yourself reading the book or watching the film. To recall what happened at an event or in a particular situation, imagine yourself there as vividly as possible and play out the scene in your mind.
Don’t try to think about what you are experiencing; just be in a very receptive state where you experience and feel and let your unconscious bring the memory back to you. It’s as if you are letting your unconscious talk to you, paint a picture, or write a script for you in your mind’s eye, while you just watch, listen, and experience what is happening, like a spectator in an audience.
In short, the key to recalling things when you have trouble doing so is to trigger your unconscious to bring the memory to you. You start the process by getting into a very relaxed, meditative state, in which you see the scene by drawing on as many of your senses as possible, so you recreate the original experience to feel yourself actually there. Then, it’s not like you are trying to remember something that once happened. Rather, with the help of your unconscious or intuition, you are seeing and experiencing that incident now, so you can recall through re-creation and re-experiencing it, much more than you otherwise could.
There are varying ways to tap into your intuition. These techniques help you release your unconscious processes, so you can dig back into the inner storage area in your unconscious to retrieve it.
Whether you want to recover a name, a telephone number, the location of an object, a route you traveled, or whatever, to recall it you must recreate the original experience in your mind as realistically and dramatically as possible. If you’re in a setting where you can replay the experience in reality, do it. That will help you recapture the memory.
When you first try doing this technique, you might do some preparation to get you in an alternative dreamy or meditative state of mind. Use a relaxation technique, such as described in Chapter 7, to get in this altered state, but not so relaxed that you fall asleep. The hynogogic and hypnopompic states, when you are drifting off to sleep or first wake up and are only partially conscious but not asleep, are other examples of the kind of state to be in to release your unconscious. Thus, if you don’t fully rouse yourself in the morning when you first wake up, you may be able to recapture that dream.
When you get accustomed to using this technique, you can do it anywhere. You don’t even need to close your eyes. You can simply focus on releasing your conscious mind; then focus on your inner mental screen and see the image there before you or listen to your internal tape or CD player. Just be receptive and let the image or sounds flow into your mind.
While you can will yourself to go back in time to re-experience a particular event, whether in recent times or in your long-ago past, it helps if you can put yourself in the actual setting—as I did when I was by the file cabinet, and I suddenly felt drawn to pick up some files. Similarly, being in the parking lot at the spot where I had originally left my car to go to the meeting helped to pull me back, so I was able to unconsciously retrace my steps.
When you first start using this method, don’t expect to have instant recall right away. Take a few minutes to settle down and visualize yourself in the setting. After a while, with practice, the process becomes much faster, so you will soon be able to retrieve a memory within moments.
The following recall techniques will help you remember names, phone numbers, where you put an object, a route you traveled, or something you read or saw in a movie. Also, these techniques will help you recall situations and events. Plan to practice each one for a few days. Then, after you feel comfortable with the technique, you can use it as needed. Begin practicing each technique by getting relaxed and closing your eyes. Later, you’ll find you can do it without closing your eyes.
Consider these techniques supplements to anything else you might do to remember, such as rehearsal and chunking. Basically, they all work by helping you return to the situation where you first engaged in a particular activity, whether or not you consciously did anything to encode the experience in memory at that time. Then, once you return to the original scene in your mind or by physically going there, you let go of your conscious mind and let your unconscious pull out whatever you have unconsciously recorded in your unconscious mind.
This technique will help you recall the name you are trying to remember.
Visualize the person before you. Imagine that you are meeting for the first time, and review this first meeting very closely. Be aware of who else is there, the setting, and so on. Make your picture as complete as possible.
Then, greet this person as you did when you first met, and listen carefully as he or she tells you his or her name.
This technique, similar to the one above, should help you retrieve the phone number you need.
Visualize a telephone before you and see the person you are going to call near a phone, awaiting your call.
Now imagine you are opening your telephone book or computer calendar to the name of this person. The number will often appear, but if it seems hazy, begin dialing the number, and as you dial, the number will become clear.
Alternatively, if you have recently written down the person’s number, visualize yourself in that situation. The person is telling you his or her number and you are writing it down. Notice the setting where you are. Be aware of the type of paper you are using to write your note. Then, see yourself writing the number and repeat it to yourself as you write it. The number will appear clearly before you and you will remember it.
This will help you find the item you are looking for.
Think back to the last time you had that object. Where were you? What were you doing with it? Visualize yourself using that object. Then, when you are finished with it, observe what you do with it when you put it away.
And they say you can’t go home again!
Visualize yourself in a car or on foot, as in your original experience. Don’t try to retrace your steps backwards, but begin where you started. Now see yourself leaving from this starting point. Be aware of the surroundings you pass. Notice how far you go and look for significant route markers or landmarks. Speed up on straightaways, and pay careful attention to what is around you when you make a turn. Keep going until you get to your destination.
This is not a technique for studying and is certainly not meant to replace your regular study routines (chunk, categorize, rehearse, review, and repeat). However, it can help you retrieve information from a book or article that you were casually reading.
Visualize yourself reading the book. Hold it in your hands and feel it there—be aware of its size, shape, and texture. If it was an article in a magazine, remember what was on the cover, feel the glossy pages, smell that special magazine-y smell.
Begin turning pages, until you get to the page you want. Then, look down the page to the appropriate paragraph or line and read.
This will help you recall a scene you saw in a movie.
Experience being at the movie as intensely as possible. Sense the darkness around you; sink down in your seat; smell and taste the popcorn.
When the movie comes on the screen, see the title vividly, and fast-forward the film to what you want to recall.
Then, slow the projector to normal speed again and watch the scene unfold that you want to see. Watch the characters act and converse just as you did at the movie itself, and you’ll see the movie again vividly in your mind.
Aren’t you lucky! A movie was made of that very situation—and you were the director. Watch the daily rushes.
Imagine yourself in the situation as vividly as possible. Notice the setting, the buildings, the people around you. Imagine you are a movie director and this is a scene that is about to unfold before you. You hold the script in your hands, and at your cue, the actors in the situation begin to play out the scene. You are able to notice everything, hear everything they say.
If you want to move ahead faster in the scene, simply turn a page of your script, say “cut,” and direct the actors to start again in a later scene.
Once you have gained practice in recalling the memories you want with these techniques, feel free to develop your own imagery to help you recall any situation or event. For example, you may see yourself as an investigative reporter covering a story rather than a movie director filming a script.
The key to recall is to imagine yourself as vividly as possible in the situation you want to remember. Then, you use your mental picture or recording of that situation to stimulate your unconscious memory of the original event.