Thu, 26 March 2015
Ever Felt That Skull Melting Stress When Preparing For An Exam? If so, this may be the most important information you ever hear and read. Download the episode and keep reading this post all the way to the end so that you never struggle with passing an exam again. And if your schools days are over and you’re the parent of a student, be their hero and pass this information onto them. These techniques work for everything you need to learn, even difficult topics like memorizing human anatomy. How The Regeneration Of Your Cells Can Set The Stage For Making Your Memory Razor SharpWanna know why you forget so much of the information you read? It’s because we miss so much detail when we only listen or read a book once. Not only that, but you’re a different person the second time around. I learned this from my Uncle Walter. Unfortunately, he died in a train wreck, but he told me something I’ve never forgotten: Read the most important books you’ve encountered at least once every seven years. Every cell in your body will have been replaced, and you’ll be coming to it as a completely new human being. Of course, if you’re re-reading memory improvement books, be careful. Even the best memory improvement books are sometimes wrong. No amount of rereading will fix that. In any case, I’ve taken Walter’s advice to heart, but when it comes to podcasts and audiobooks and learning how to enhance memory, it’s possible to revisit them much sooner. And I love using Audiobook Builder by Splasm in conjunction with my iPhone so that I can get in all that info super-fast without affecting the sound quality. And today’s Q&A gives us the opportunity to talk about how to use this software in combination with the regeneration of your cells to learn and memorize everything you need to pass any exam: Schoolwork Can Be A Ball———- Dear Anthony, When memorizing textbooks, is there a good general guideline as to what key points to place in memory palaces? Only focusing on the most relevant information is a great way to save time when studying, and I am curious if you have a strategy as to what information is placed in a memory palace using your index card method. Are these key ideas derived from what is taught in lectures, or are they based on what is most interesting to you? I have downloaded your video course Memory Secrets of an A+ student as well as read many books on memory, and your methods make learning and memorizing more fun and effective. I discovered that schoolwork can be a ball no matter what the subject is, all thanks to me stumbling upon you website. ———- This question is great. And there are a lot of ways to answer it. For example, How To Memorize A Textbook remains the most popular episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast. But for now, the first thing I would say is that … A Good Lecturer Will Make It Clear To You What Key Ideas Are ComingFor example, I used to write down all the “keywords” on the side of the chalkboard in a column. Students could literally “read” what I was saying and match them against the keywords. It seemed really effective because when the final quiz arrived, hardly anyone had trouble getting 98% or higher. Not all lecturers do things like this, or even present structured talks. Sometimes I don’t follow a plan myself because I like to use tangents and ask questions in the middle of a lecture. In cases like these, it’s a matter of listening for what jumps out at you. I also recommend taking no notes and recording the lecture. Some nice professors will even allow you to place your recording device on the podium. If not, you can still get a decent recording if you sit in the first row. And what are you going to do instead of taking notes? Harness The Secret Power Of DoodlingYour mind will “scan” what’s being heard, and when something strikes you as a key point, write down one or two words in the middle of your doodle. You can mindmap too if you want, but I like doodling. Or sketching. I find that I can listen intently and deeply when doing this. In fact, I’d hazard a guess that I’m paying far more attention than anyone else in the room precisely because I’ve got more than one representation center of my brain operating. At least, that’s my speculation. And that speculation is a key part of learning how to enhance memory in many respects. Here’s What To Do NextGo home and listen to the lecture again with a Memory Palace prepared, and a stack of index cards as described in the How to Memorize a Textbook episode of the podcast. And remember, there are only 4 Memory Improvement Systems You Need to be successful every time you study. If you’ve been given additional reading as part of the lecture, you might want to do that reading first before returning to the lecture. Again, the most important information is going to be the stuff that leaps out at you as the most interesting first. Why? Because you’re more likely to remember this information without the assistance of mnemonics and Memory Palaces. You won’t have to go to the Method of Loci for this stuff – though later you can if you want. And it’s just good practice to do so. But the point is that you go to your Memory Palaces primed with interest. That will make your memory Magnetic. And that way, the not so interesting stuff will stick with greater ease because you’ll be using the power of familiar locations and well-constructed Memory Palace principles. And you’ll be connecting it to what interests you. But of course … A Lot Depends On What The Instructor Is Looking ForSo if you want to be a cutting edge student, here’s what you’ve got to do: Go to the instructor. Make an appointment if you have to. Then ask the instructor to make the evaluation criteria clear to you. He or she may have a specific rubric. And if you can – record this talk! Why? Because when you hand in your work or answer questions on an exam that don’t give you the results you were expecting, you have a record of this conversation. Of course, you don’t want your teachers to feel like they’re under observation in a totalitarian state, but the fact of the matter is that you (or your parents) are paying their wages. You deserve to have the requirements made available to you in crisp, clear and sparkling detail. And That’s How You Know What To Focus On In Your StudiesIt doesn’t get any simpler than that. To review: 1) Pay attention to the things that jump out at you. If you’re interested in these details, they’ll be much more Magnetic. You’ll be memorizing them more for detail and ordered recall than anything else. They’ll also be a great “connecting” device for incorporating the information that you don’t find so interesting. 2) Know what the instructor wants and make sure you’ve memorized that information. When learning how to enhance memory for your studies, it only makes sense to focus on the information they want you to know. The rest is icing on the cake. 3) Come prepared with a well-formed Memory Palace. If you don’t know how, scroll up to the top of the page and register for my free Memory Palace Mastery course. 4) Perform proper Recall Rehearsal 5) Listen to this podcast with Scott Gosnell. He talks about a very special way to build a Memory Palace for prepping for exams. I hope this guidance helps you out. Please let me know if you have any further questions. Further ResourcesNote: The program mentioned at the end of this presentation is no longer available. A modified version of Memory Secrets of an A+ Student (now called The Masterplan) can be found in the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass. If you’re interested in taking that memory training, here’s where to go next: Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass The post How To Enhance Memory And Pass Any Test Or Exam appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.
Direct download: How_To_Enhance_Memory_And_Pass_Any_Test_Or_Exam.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 8:54am EDT |
Thu, 19 March 2015
Have you ever found yourself caged in the prison of memory?I know I sure have … In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, I’m not talking about being trapped in a Memory Palace or anything about memory techniques. I’m talking about how memory can hold you back and keep you down. Like when it leads to avoiding doing new things because someone you know frowned upon it. Or you hold on to a unwanted behaviour because you can’t shake the memories surrounding how you learned it. A myriad of consequences result. These include avoiding new experiences. Treating others poorly because your parents burned certain responses in your mind. Repeating destructive behaviors. Yes, memory can be a terrible jailor.
The Good News Is That There Are Ways To Break Free
In case you’re foggy on what I’m getting at, let me tell you a story about a friend of mine. Sadly, he died a few years ago from cancer. And I miss him. He had a fierce personality, incredible intelligence and acidic wit that that burned impressions into your mind. Although the cancer killed him, these aspects of his personality went untouched until almost the end. The disease got into his brain and then the friend I had known for so long was suddenly no more. It is a strange thing to wait for a body to die after the person him or herself is already gone. “The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living.” |
Thu, 12 March 2015
How To Build Memory Palaces – Even If Your Home Is Microscopic!It’s true. Housing in Japan is notoriously tiny. And that can make it challenging to use them for effective Memory Palace construction. As always, however, I’ve got a solution to suggest. Today’s podcast Q&A will give you plenty of ideas that will boost your success no matter how small your abode may be. And the best part is that you can read the entire episode right here too! Your Cramped Home Is Bigger Than You ThinkHello Anthony, I am just having a few obstacles come up with completing the worksheet and building the foundations of the Memory Palaces. For example, I know that I have been living at various spots throughout my life, but maybe I am not so confident about the layout of say, the school I attended, or the shopping mall I visited, etc. How vivid and detailed do these locations have to be in order for them to qualify as a Memory Palace? Another question would be about distance. What if I cannot remember in detail where things are in my journey of the Memory Palace? For example, walking around campus in my University. Things that I do remember are sometimes far apart from each other. Also, I am just naming spots, like the library, the parking lot, etc. I can probably go online and look at a map and that would most likely jog my memory as I mentally walk through the campus, and it would have the proper names of the buildings and the locations. How do I not get crossed up in a cramped area like my apartment? I live in Japan, and things are unbelievable tight in these apartments. This could be a real challenge. Are there strategies for not getting crossed up when memorizing the layout of a memory palace. Do we stay on one side of the wall or walkway and exit through the other side? For example, the school I work at now. How would I navigate this? (I could also pdf you a map of the layout). Imagine a Square with one side missing. And classrooms go down to the end of each side. Also, are we walking or are we flying / floating through our Memory Palaces since walking through large spaces like a Shopping Mall, or a University Campus, or an Amusement Park would take too much time to navigate? Thank you so much for your help and support. How To Wake Up Your Imagination And Make Even A Fishbowl Seem Like A Football Stadium In Your MindThanks for this question! Ultimately, a lot of these questions will be answered by experience. But based on my own experience, I can tell you this and then expand on some ideas: I personally don’t need my Memory Palaces to be so vivid. However, when I take the time to go through various exercises I’ve created (or heard about from Magnetic Memory Method readers and course participants), each Memory Palace becomes more vivid. And the effects are more immediate, intense and long-lasting. The exercises are simple, but depend upon being relaxed. In fact, all of the technical strategies aside, the number one piece of Magnetic Magic underlying the Magnetic Memory Method is relaxation. The Surprising Techniques That Makes Everything As Easy As Whip CreamSo here’s what to do first: Get yourself in a relaxed state. Use mediation, Pendulum Breathing, progressive-muscle relation and any other principles you know. Everything will come together. Once you’re in a relaxed state, all you need to do is wander through the Memory Palaces. Figure out if you can take a journey through the Memory Palace in a way that follows the Magnetic Memory principles of not crossing your path and not trapping yourself. The journey can be simple or relatively complex so long as these principles are in effect, and you can make a natural journey. I also recommend that you don’t try passing through walls like a ghost or jumping out of windows, etc. Why? Because these activities use mental energy and take the focus from simply going from one station to the next. You need that so you can quickly decode the imagery you’ve created and placed at the station. Can you proceed to memorize using a network of Memory Palaces without following each of these? Of course … but you risk spending mental energy on remembering where to go next. And this prevents you from focusing on what comes next during recall practice. Very Private Matters That Only You Can TackleAgain, personal experimentation is key. Dealing with distances is an interesting issue, but it is again solved by personal experimentation. I use the campus of one of the universities I studied at extensively, but always focusing on individual college or administrative buildings. There were also not any unusual distances between the buildings. But if I were to face long distance issues, I would consider creating multiple journeys and labeling each accordingly. In sum, it sounds like your apartment might not make an ideal Memory Palace. But don’t throw it away! You can save it for when you are at a more advanced level and start working with virtual Memory Palace elements. These would include bookcases and the like. How To Play Memory Like Music In Your MindAs for flying/floating, I came up with the term “Magnetic” because as things work for me, I am simply drawn from station to station. Almost as if a Magnet had pulled me there. You might like to fly or float, but this is something you will learn from practice and experimentation. I realize that I “pass the buck” onto practice and experimentation a lot, but there’s a reason for that. It’s because learning the Magnetic Memory Method is essentially like learning music. There are many elements that come together in order for a musician to produce sound based on reading marks on a page. The Magnetic Memory Method is those marks on the page and you are the musician. Sure, there are a few shortcuts here and there, but if you want to experience the music (i.e. the boost in fluency made possible by memorizing vocabulary en masse) then you’ve essentially got to know 1) How to read the music and 2) How to perform it on your instrument (which in this case is your mind). But There’s A Paradox!A lot of people say “but my mind is different!” To a certain extent that is true. But how music is written and how it is performed relies on the same eyes, ears, fingers that most of us have to work with. And the principles of music are more or less universal. Yet each person who picks up an instrument has the amazing ability to play it in a way that is unique from every other musician. I don’t know if Heavy Metal is your thing, but there is no one else on earth who can write and play riffs like David Mustaine from Megadeth. You can actually use musical terminology to describe his note preferences and some of the flavors and tones he uses. But at the end of the day, only he can do it. This is true of all musicians, whether they are great musicians or not. And this is true of all language speakers. Whether it’s our mother tongue or a second language, we learn it and then use it through a vast network of personal mental associations. These are our entirely our own and yet are still based on universal principles. And That’s A Wonderful Thing!Why? Because you have all the “Rock Star” substance you need to excel. You’ve just got to take this piece of music I’ve given you, fill in the words you want to memorize and then start to perform. The last thing I would suggest to you (for now) is that you start visiting new places and take care to pay attention to their layout. If you haven’t got enough places in your past, the good news is that the future is a big place. There is no end to the new locations you can collect for: a) General enjoyment in life and b) Memory Palace development Carry a notebook with you, make a list of new places you’ve been and take a few seconds to draw a layout or take some photos if that helps. Trust me, you won’t regret it. It’s True: Size Does Not MatterOn the matter of size, I was in Leipzig the other day, but it really doesn’t matter that the hotel room was small. I still made a mental image of it because there are all kinds of occasions where even just a tiny space can quickly provide ten stations for memorizing something. There is no building too large or small for Memory Palace construction and use. I hope these thoughts help you move forward! Let me know if I’ve missed anything or if you have any further questions and I hope to be in touch again soon. Further Resources How to Renovate A Memory Palace The post Memory Techniques Are Big In Japan appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace. |
Wed, 4 March 2015
You’re standing in the Kitchen with the refrigerator door open. You know you’re not hungry, but for some reason you’re staring inside. You think to yourself, “What was the reason again I’m here?” But nothing comes. You’re mind is blank. You can’t remember why you went into the kitchen at. “Curse this short term memory of mine!” you say. “If only I had a better memory…” Do You Make This Epic Mistake About Your Memory?Many people give up on trying to learn a foreign language because they have this notion that they don’t have the memory for all of the vocabulary words involved. We’re here to dispel that myth. Many believe a strong memory is something you are either born with, or are lacking and are doomed for all of eternity. People watch the World Memory Championships and think “Man … I could never be like that”. The truth is, improving your memory is a coachable skill that like any coachable skill, can be improved upon by proper training. We’re not talking about training through rote memory, which is simply the process of memorizing through repetition. We’re talking about the use of Mnemonics. How To Understand Understand |