Our schools and workplaces tell us what we need to know, but they don’t teach us how to learn. That’s the problem. We need to learn how to learn first. The memory palace method, using mnemonic memory techniques, is the answer. It will increase your ability to understand and recall information. You can do it!
The ability to recall data affects every aspect of life, and it all starts when we are children in school. Our school system uses the ability to recall things to measure intelligence. These tests are not an accurate measure of intelligence, but they are easy to administer.
The scary part is that these tests determine which schools we attend and which jobs we can get. These tests do not measure intelligence but the capacity to recall data. Sad, but true. Our employers and education require us to know certain data; they tell us what we should know but not how to learn.
Designing Your Own Memory Palace
Before learning to optimize memory, let’s define it. Memory is the ability to store and retrieve data, making it one of our most important assets. Recalling information (2) is a major aspect of our identity. Our memory works in harmony with two other aspects of the mind: imagination and emotion.
Mnemonic Memory Techniques
These techniques are strategies designed to improve memory and make information easier to recall. Here are some common types:
1. Acronyms: Creating a word from the first letters of a series of words. For example, ROY G BIV helps remember the colors of the rainbow (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet).
2. Chunking means breaking big information into smaller parts. For example, remember a phone number like this: 123-456-7890 instead of 1234567890.
3. Rhymes: Using rhyming phrases to remember information. An example is “i before e except after c” for spelling rules.
4. Visualization: Creating mental images to associate with information. For example, imagine a cat sitting on a gate to remember the Spanish word for cat, “gato”.
5. Association: Link information to specific spots in a familiar place, like rooms in your house.
6. Music: Setting information to a tune or song, like the ABC song to learn the alphabet.
These mnemonic memory techniques tap into the power of our brains’ ability. They help us remember and find information better. As a result, learning becomes more effective and enjoyable.
Historical Perspective
it’s simple. You imagine familiar places or things and infuse them with emotions, colors, and movement. Then, link the items you want to remember to these memorable elements. This method helps boost memory retention.
Learning to use the full power of memory is an age-old technology. These techniques, known as the Method of Loci, date back to the Greek poet Simonides of Ceos, who is often credited with inventing them around 500 BCE (1).
Ancient cultures did not have computers to make calculations. Instead, they discovered how to unlock the powers of optimal learning and increase their minds’ capabilities. They studied how to use their memory because they believed it was the highest form of human technology. It still is! We often forget that the mind is still the most extraordinary computer.
Learn How to Learn — The Memory Palace Learning Strategy
These memory techniques are just as applicable today as ever, and there have been public TV shows on this subject. For example, Jack Lannom ran a TV series in the early 1980s that synthesized and showed these systems.
Our mind is a wonderful tool. It can build countless ways to store information. We can learn how to engage our memory and open its potential. The memory palace method for optimal learning is the technique for building this infrastructure. People who use this technique achieve optimal learning outcomes. Children as young as five can learn all the numbers from 1 to 100 and all the planets in the Universe in and out of sequence. You can do this!
These memory-building tools have existed for ages. It’s surprising that they aren’t widely recognized. These methods are the “best-kept secrets” of learning that should be a part of our standard educational curriculum.
Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think. ― Albert Einstein
All we need to do is learn how to learn, and then we can use our minds to their full potential. The significant part is that we have all the equipment to do it. The main ingredients we need to create a memory place are things we already have: language, imagination, and common sense. We can use these tools to create the most fabulous mansion, a veritable palace.
Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. ― Mahatma Gandhi
When we discover the tremendous power of memory, we open the door to a different level of learning ability. Expanding our ability to learn increases self- and social awareness. Expanding memory creates new connections in the brain. It is the key to optimal learning. We can exceed our expectations if we discover how to use our memory.
The Memory Palace Method for Optimal Learning
Our memories tell us who we are and what we can do. Memories affect our thinking and behaviors; like any other physical or mental ability, we can improve it if we know how. When we improve memory, we increase our overall cognitive ability. If you want to be more intelligent, you need to use the memory palace learning strategy.
There’s a lot more going on with memory than we realize. Memory is a form of time travel, and our memories can differ significantly from what we recall.
Several factors affect memory.
- The passage of time
- The emotions associated with the memory
- Prejudiced or biased values taint memories
- The quality and amount of sleep
- Emotional distress, stress, anxiety, or Depression
- Physical or nervous system disorders (Thyroid problems)
- Vitamin B12 deficiency
- The use of alcohol
- Many medications have negative effects on memory
However, we can overcome these obstacles with some simple learning techniques. We have the innate ability to encode almost infinite amounts of information. We just need to learn how to learn.
The Learning Express Tools of Optimal Learning
The key to this learning system is leveraging memory’s natural ability. We do this through specific, powerful techniques. Designing your own memory palace is easy.
We enhance our memory by using the following elements:
1. Focus on learning for Short Periods, 10 or 15 minutes
2. Build a Memory Infrastructure
3. Use the Power of Your Imagination
4. Engage All The Senses in Learning
5. Build Strong Neuro Connections: Move data from immediate memory to short-term, then to long-term memory.
6. Use Substitution, Association, and Relationship
7. Link Memory with Emotions
The above ingredients are found in many memorable stories. Our favorite stories are easy to remember because they are sequential progressions. Walking up the driveway and into your house becomes the first step in a powerful memory vehicle. We can visualize this routine easily. Our daily routine becomes a memory device to which we can add data. All the great Sages use interesting stories to teach principles.
Three rules govern our ability to recall memories: primacy, recency, and regressive repetition. If you learn to use them, you can make any information part of your permanent memory, retain it, and recall it forever.
The rules of primacy and recency show us it is easier to recall what we learn first and last. The first two items and the previous two items in a sequence are the easiest to remember. These are our memory bookends. The best practice is to break down the information into segments of 5 items; this is an optimal chunk of data.
Regressive repetition is rehearing the new information on a schedule, which increases with time. Repeat the new data within one hour after the session. Repeat it two hours later, followed by a refresher four hours later. The next day, repeat the information three times: morning, afternoon, and evening.
If you forget something, don’t worry. Review your notes, and then reinforce the data you missed by reviewing it mentally. Be sure to stick to the 10 or 15 periods of study. The next day, repeat and review the information twice. On the third day, review the data once. Skip the fourth day. Then, mentally check the data on day five. This routine will make the new information a part of your permanent memory. Don’t worry. The more you use the system, the better your memory will become.
When you review the data, do it forward and backward. Then, start at the middle point and check it in both directions. This strategy will immediately recall the data in and out of sequence.
Focus
Pick a time when you are ready. Mnemonic memory techniques work best when you can practice with 100% focus. So, do not multitask, especially when you are creating the initial memory. The Japanese Tea Ceremony exemplifies how culture uses mundane activities to practice focus. When you learn how to learn, the process should be fun. It helps to keep you focused. The memory palace techniques help to train your focus and concentration.
You achieve more learning with shorter periods and a two—to three-minute break between sessions. Start with two or three five-minute sessions, then stop for two or three minutes between sessions. Then, build up the number of sessions to five or six. Finally, use an audiotape to reinforce your learning. Hearing your own voice is another way to cement learning.
Build a Memory Infrastructure
You will find several basic ways to help create a network for your memories. A memory infrastructure is a mechanism you can use for multiple subjects.
The number association system is one of the most basic but powerful memory devices. If you have a shop with tools, one of the best ways to track them is to place them on a pegboard on the wall. Place the devices in the most logical order on the pegboard. Next, draw around the outside of the instrument to create an outline. The silhouette of the device shows you where it should be at a glance. This way, you never have to think about where it belongs. You look for the shape, and you know where it belongs. Looking at the pegboard, you can see which tool is missing. This way, you never lose a tool, and you stay organized.
The storyline system is another powerful memory system. Pick your favorite story, break it down into segments, and there is your device. You can use any narrative that has a memorable progression. You can also create a story using the routines from your daily life.
The name association system will increase your social credibility with minimal effort. Imagine being able to remember the names of everyone you meet. Yes, it is not only possible but also fun.
Use the Power of Your Imagination
Your imagination is the key to creating memory associations. The imagination is the home of mnemonic memory techniques. The more you use it, the more powerful it becomes. You won’t run out of storage space, the mind’s capacity to expand is infinite.
The more outlandish the visualization you create, the better. Use the power of your creative mind to create unique sights, sounds, smells, textures, and feelings. And this links with our next element.
Engage All the Senses in Learning
When you create memories using this strategy, it is essential to engage your senses. Don’t just create an image—create an exaggerated, outlandish image—do something with it. Use different colors. Turn your pictures into videos that make sounds and smell. Those cookies are purple, smell like cinnamon, and taste like chocolate. They make you feel marvelous. Get the idea.
Create Long-Lasting Neuro Connections
Think about a spiderweb. The web is the visual cue to help you remember. Like a spiderweb, we connect the memory using several memory enhancers. Using several of the enhancers will make the memory easy to recall.
We start by creating a unique and memorable item in our immediate memory. This makes it possible to link the data to our short-term memory, and dynamic repetition solidifies the data in our long-term memory. This memory enhancement technique is one of the best-kept secrets.
You can use this process quickly to lock in and remember people’s names. For example, you meet someone named Sonny. One of the most straightforward name associations is with the sun. So, you associate sunshine coming out of their eyes. You make the image personal. Feel the sunshine on your face and happy emotion with it. From that point on, you will always be able to recall Sonny’s name.
Substitution, Association, and Relationship
These three elements are the threads of the story. When you incorporate them into your narrative, it makes recall much more straightforward. These elements can help us recall unusual names or long data strings. What you can do is break down the term into syllables. Swap syllables for objects or make unique, memorable links for each syllable. Then, you relate everything using a story. It turns unusual and lengthy processes into an account you can easily recall. You can use the memory palace method for optimal learning to recall whole books, word for word.
For example, we want to create something to use as a memory anchor for number one. We visualize the number 1. Then, we pick something that reminds us of this shape, like a flagpole, a pen, or a sail mast.
We make it unusual, something we can remember. We envision it on a playground with a chord attached to the flagpole. Now, hear the clip on the rope as it bangs against the pole, making a noise. To make it even better, paint the flagpole your favorite color. Imagine it is a lovely sunny day. Feel the sun and the happy feeling it gives. Using this flag pole as the memory anchor, we can use it along with many things and add or associate other things with it. In this example, we start with an association and then engage our imagination to add sound and feelings.
Link with Emotions
The last element is learning to link data with emotion because we want our feelings involved in the learning process. In our example above with Spiderweb Connections, we used Sonny’s name and associated a happy feeling in the mix.
Different Memory Place Method Systems
There are several memory infrastructure systems depending upon your need. Like our pegboard example, these structures are the best-kept secrets of memory enhancement. We learn how to develop a memory palace using our environment.
We can expand each of these frameworks almost indefinitely. You can also boost your memory by using an audiotape. It can guide you through the technique and strengthen the memory framework. Record of the data you want to memorize. Hearing your voice will also help to cement the process. The framework of these memory methods includes:
Sensory Symbol Systems
These systems use all five senses to visualize a structure. A pegboard, drawers, or a chain of events like entering a house gives us a complete sensory experience. We can add any elements to these structures.
Theme Systems
We can use themes to create significant groups of data. Creating a topic for a grouping makes it easy to distinguish from other parts of a more extensive data set. For example, you use snowflakes to signify numbers from 400 to 499. Once you learn all the individual numbers, all you do is sprinkle some snow to make them 400s
Sequential Systems
This aspect of the memory works with other memory systems. For example, you may have a theme for a group of numbers from 90 to 100. This theme would be airplanes, so all the numbers in this theme would relate to aircraft.
Topical Systems
These are subsets of data around topics like the solar system’s planets or the steps to a special recipe.
The Story
The memory palace method for learning is built around story narratives. It combines elements of the above methods to create a matrix with several data levels. For instance, you can memorize vast amounts of data in and out of a sequence using a well-known story like The Wizard of Oz. Some call it a memory mansion because it enables you to memorize large data sets, even a whole textbook, using a storyline. Wow!
In Conclusion — Mnemonic Memory Techniques
Use the tools presented here to develop the power of your mind. Create your own memory infrastructure. It will enhance your life. Jump on the learning express.
If learning boosts our mental skills, why don’t more people know this? Why aren’t we taught these basic strategies? Because knowledge is power, and if you want to control people, you limit their knowledge and ability to gain knowledge. They don’t want you to know how to develop a memory palace.
It would seem like an obvious priority to teach people how they use their memory before you have them use it. Before telling people what they need to know, teaching them how to learn makes sense. Learning how to use your memory correctly is the key. The mnemonic memory techniques will make remembering what you need to recall fun and effective.
References
(1) Human Memory Storage.
(2) Memory Recall and Retrieval System.