Mighty Memory Book PDF

The Ultimate Memory Training
MightyMemory SystemTM
Improve your memory dramatically.

Learn faster and remember more
Get better grades
Never forget peoples names and faces
Eliminate absent-mindedness
Better jobs, faster promotion, earn more money
Stave off Alzheimers Disease & Dementia
Release Your Mighty Memory

Dear friend,
THE MIGHTY MEMORY SYSTEM TM
Dear Friend,
Thank you for purchasing this Ebook on the Mighty Memory SystemTM, a system for
accelerated learning and enhanced memory. Im very excited for you. In the course of
your journey, your memory would have improved so much, it feels like you have literally
grown another brain! By the end of the course, and following the daily exercises that just
takes 5 minutes a day, your memory would have increased by 200%! You would have
activated your natural photographic memory that has remained dormant. The
principles here are timeless and can be used in any situation that requires pen and paper,
yet it is so easy to learn that a 5-year old kid can learn it and have fun doing so.
FACT: did you now that that the brain is made up of chemical and electrical signals
which are transmitted and received by something called Neurons? There are more
Neurological connectors in the brain than people living on earth! So lets take a look at
how all these connectors work they are a bit like pathways really, but its important to
know roughly how they work so that you will be able to make the best use of any
memory techniques you learn.
The pathways in the brain can be best thought of as being like a small stream that is made
in soft sand by a trickle of water. At first the stream is small, you can disturb the path of
the stream very easily. However after a period of time the stream creates a more
permanent path down which more water can flow without being disturbed until finally
there is a river solid and unswerving. In the same ways when a memory is first formed
it can be easily lost. However, if the memory is recalled a surprisingly few number of
times, then it is retained and cannot be disturbed. Most people believe that when they
remember something once they will remember it for a long time. This is unfortunately
untrue. The other error that is made is that if you remember something now you will
easily forget it. Again, untrue.
The methods taught in this course were adapted from learning technologies by Professor
Bruno Furst . The methods and techniques have been tested and found to have profound
effect in learning and memory enhancement. At the beginning, the methods would seem
ludicrous, absurd or silly, but trust me, they work! Your mind and your memory would
run like a supercomputer, releasing your perfect mighty memory!
Imagine meeting over fifty new people at a party and being able to say good-bye using
the first and last name of every person youve met. Make more money and get faster
promotions at work by learning faster. Making a speech without notes, instantaneously
recalling dates and appointments, things to do, directions, phone numbers, verses of the
bible, facts and figures. Imagine being a student studying for the exams and being able to
recall everything needed to ace the exam and studying in one-third the time to get great
results. This is what I mean when I say youll release your Mighty Memory!
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Copyright 2007, MightyMemory.com
You have to be patient and persevere just a little to reap the rewards later. We will work
on the fundamentals in building your foundation. Once you have the tools, the software
for your brain, you will experience a newfound freedom. Your friends will be amazed.
Your grades will improve by leaps and bounds, by so much in fact, your teachers may
even suspect you cheated.
Not only that, but it has been shown that for those who are elderly, daily mind
gymnastics which this ebook teaches are necessary to keep your memory strong and
keep senility and Alzheimer syndrome at bay. Whatever your reasons for wanting a better
memory, learning to learn is fun, productive and anyone can do it!
During the course, we will be using our imagination on an extensive basis. We shall be
using our imagination to generate stimulus for anchoring our memory. We shall see how
research has shown the importance of stimulus in increasing recall dramatically, so we
shall unashamedly use this fact to our advantage. Einstein said Imagination is more
important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces
the entire world stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution. The more you apply your
imagination to memory, the better your memory will be.
Its a fact that when Albert Einstein died they opened up his head to look at his brain it
was smaller than the average size! However, he used much more than most people. Doing
memory stunts will enable you to retain larger amounts of information and genius is not
so much about being clever, but seeing how one part of life fits with another part of life.
The more you know, the more you can link them together. So start thinking like a genius!
Once again, congratulations and I hope you will prosper by leaps and bounds once
youve successfully completed the course. Remember, you set your own limits.
Martin Mak
The Mighty Memory System
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Contents
Chapter 1
How Good Is Your Observation?
Page 6
Chapter 2
The Basis Of Memory
Page 10
Chapter 3
How The Human Brain Evolved
The Role Of Emotion In Memory
Page 12
Page 13
Chapter 4
Test Your Memory
Page 19
Chapter 5
Link Method of Memory.
Page 15
Chapter 6
The Peg System of Memory
Page 25
Chapter 7
Uses of the Peg and Link Systems
Page 32
Chapter 8
Training Your Observation Skills
Page 35
Chapter 9
How To Remember Speeches, Articles, Scripts and Anecdotes.
Page 37
Chapter 10
How to Remember Long-Digit Numbers
Page 40
Chapter 11
Some Other Quick Pegs Body List, House List, Flag
Pole List, Alphabet List, Rhyme List & Number Shape List
Route Method
Page 42
Chapter 12
How To Learn A Foreign Language
Page 53
Chapter 13
How To Remember States And Capitals
Page 60
Page 3
Chapter 14
Remembering the Presidents of the United States
Page 65
Chapter 15
How To Remember Names And Faces
Page 69
Chapter 16
How To Remember Schedules And Appointments.
Page 74
Chapter 17
Tips for absent-mindedness
Page 76
Chapter 18
Learning The Books Of The Bible (and Biblical Verses)
Page 77
Chapter 19
Remembering Directions
Page 79
Chapter 20
Tips On Listening In A Lecture & Studying
Page 80
Chapter 21
How To Review Effectively
Page 82
Chapter 22
How To Remember Hard Facts From The Hard Sciences
(I)
Learning Chemistry
(II)
Learning Mathematics
(III) Learning Physics
Page 84
Page 86
Page 89
Chapter 23
How to improve your vocabulary
Page 91
Chapter 24
How To Break A Bad Habit
Page 92
Chapter 25
Using Your Trained Memory For Card Tricks
Page 94
Chapter 26
Reconnecting With Lost Memories
Page 98
Page 4
Chapter 27
Effective Study Methods In Memory And Learning
The Role Of Stimulus In Memory
The Importance Of Relaxation And Breaks
The Importance of Scheduled Review For Long Term Memory
Page 100
Page 101
Page 102
Chapter 28
Mind Mapping For Review And Creativity
Page 105
Conclusion
Page 121
Special Health Report On Factors Affecting Memory
Page 123
Page 5
Chapter 1
How Good Is Your Observation?
Begin to weave and God will give you the thread

- German Proverb
Everyone talks about how bad their memory is, but few people ever do anything about it.
The problem is not so much about having a bad memory. There is no such thing as a bad
memory, the distinction is whether you have a trained memory or not. That said, you
are one of the few people in this world who acknowledge the problems an untrained
memory brings and have taken the first step to do something about it.
While at college I was the only person not to have post-it notes spread around the house
and memorized some 100 important history dates and related information in just 2 hours
... While I sat in front of the TV! I am telling you this not to impress you but rather to
impress upon you that having a trained memory is within reach of anyone. In school, I
was a slow learner and developed the rudiments of a trained memory to help me with
schoolwork. Later, while helping with youths coping with dyslexia and an organization
helping the mentally challenged (retarded) people, I started to do serious research into
how to have a trained memory.
Later on, well see a chapter on how a person with dyslexia can have a more powerful
memory than a normal person. In fact a dyslexic person actually have an advantage over
most of us. Many people have told me they wished they could have a trained memory
like mine. Well you dont need to pay a princely sum to have a monster memory, all you
need is to pay a modest sum of money (which you have) and Ill put the riches of your
kingdom at your feet. I said your kingdom because how much you want to progress in
life is all up to you, I can only show you the way, the rest is up to you. Once youve
started on this system, youll be surprised how simple and powerful it really is!
Psychologists and educators have said that we use only a small percentage of our
brainpower. The system here will enable you to use much more than the average person.
Just imagine what 5 minutes a day, 7 days a week, over a month, 3 months or 6 months
will unleash your monster memory and you wouldnt even know youre doing it once
you mastered the system. You can turn your mind into a limitless filing cabinet. Your
memory will explode and as you engage and release your photographic memory. But
heres the kicker, youll have fun doing it.
The key to this system is observation. Heres a test. Which light is on top of the traffic
light? Is it the Red or the Green? You might think this is an easy question. But lets say
you were in a quiz show and this question determines whether you win a million dollars
or walk away with nothing. Now then, which light is on top, the Red or the Green?
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If you have been able to picture yourself in the above position, you are probably
hesitating now, because youre not really sure which light is on top, are you? If you are
sure, then youre one of the minority who has observed what most people only see.
There is a world of difference between seeing and observing; proven, of course, by the
fact that most of the people to whom I put the above question to, either gave the wrong
answer or are not sure. This, even though they see the traffic lights countless times every
day!
By the way, Red is always on top of the traffic light, Green is always at the bottom. If
there is a third color, it is usually amber, for caution, and that one is always in the middle.
Now, if you were sure that Red was the correct answer, let me see if I can hurt your
pride a little with another observation test. Dont look at your wristwatch!
Dont look at your wristwatch and answer this simple question. Is the number three on
your watch dial, the Arabic 3 or is it the Roman Numeral III? Think this over for a
moment, before you look at your watch. Decide on your answer as if it were really
important that you answer correctly. Youre on that quiz show again and theres a lot of
money at stake.
All right, have you decided on your answer? Now, look at your watch and see if you
were right. Were you? Or were you wrong in both cases, because your watch doesnt
have a numeral three at all? Does the date window occupy the space instead?
Did you answer this question correctly? Whether you did or did not, you had to look at
your watch to check. Can you tell me now, the exact time on your watch? Probably not,
and you just looked at it a second ago! Again, you saw, but you didnt observe.
Try this on your friends. Although people see their watches many times every day, few
of them can tell you about the numeral three . Dont feel too badly if you couldnt
answer any of these questions; as I said before, most people cant.
Although the systems and methods contained in this book make you observe
automatically, you will find some interesting observation exercises in a later chapter.
The system will also make you use your imagination with more purpose than ever before.
Ive taken the time and space to talk about observation because it is one of the things
important to training your memory. The other, and more important thing, is your
imagination. We cannot possibly remember anything that we do not observe. After
something is observed, either by sight or hearing, it must, in order to be remembered, be
associated in our minds with, or to, something we already know or remember.
Since you will observe automatically when using my system, it is association with which
we will mostly concern ourselves withl.
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Association, as pertaining to memory, simply means the connecting or linking up of 2 or

more things to each other. Anything you manage to remember, or have managed to
remember, is only due to the fact that you have subconsciously associated it to something
else.
Every Good Boy Does Fine - Does this sentence mean anything to you? If it does,
then you must have studied music when you were young. Almost every child that studies
music is taught to remember the lines of the music staff or treble clef, by remembering,
Every Good Boy Does Fine. Ive already stressed the importance of association and I
want to prove to you that you have used definite conscious associations many times
before, without even realizing it. The letters, E,G,B,D and F dont mean a thing.
They are just letters and difficult to remember. The Sentence, Every Good Boy Does
Fine does have meaning, and is something you know and understand. The new thing,
the thing you had to commit to memory was associated with something you already
know.
The spaces of the music staff were committed to memory with the same system; the
initial system. If you remembered the word, face, you remembered that the spaces on
the staff are, F,A,C, and E. Again you associated something new and meaningless to
something you already knew and to something that had meaning to you.
You might have learned the jingle Thirty days hath September, April, June and
November, all the rest have thirty-one etc., but how many times have you relied on it
when it was necessary to know the number of days in a particular month? If you were
ever taught the nonsense word, VIBGYOR then you still remember the colors of the
spectrum : Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet. This again is the
association and initial system.
I am sure that many times you have seen or heard something which made you snap your
fingers, and say, Oh, that reminds me . You were made to remember something by
the thing you saw or heard, which usually had no obvious connection to the thing you
remembered. However, in your mind, the 2 things were associated in some way. This
was a subconscious association. Right now, I am pointing out a few examples of
conscious associations at work; and they certainly do work. People who have forgotten
many things that they learned in their early grades, still remember the spaces and lines of
the treble clef. If you have read this chapter so far, concentrating as you read, you should
know them by now, even if youve never studied music.
One of the best examples I know, is the one, which was a great help to me in my early
grade spelling classes. We were being taught that the word, believe was spelled with
the e following the i. In order to help us to commit this to memory, we were told to
remember a short sentence, Never believe a lie
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This is a perfect instance of a conscious association. I know for a fact that many adults
still have trouble spelling the word believe. They are never quite sure if the I is first,
or if it is the E. The spelling of the word, believe was the new thing to remember. The
word, lie is a word we all already knew how to spell. None of the students that heard
that little sentence, ever again misspelled the word, believe. Do you have trouble
spelling the word, piece? If you do, just remember the phrase, piece of pie. This
phrase will always tell you how to spell, the word piece
Can you draw anything that resembles the map of England, from memory? How about
China, Japan or Sri Lanka? You probably cant draw any of these. If I had mentioned
Italy, 90% of you would have immediately have seen a picture of a boot in your minds
eye. If you did, and if you draw a boot, you will have the approximate outline of the map
of the country of Italy.
Why did this picture appear in your minds eye? Only because, at one time or another,
perhaps many years ago, you either heard or noticed that the map of Italy resembled a
boot. The shape of Italy, of course, was the new thing to remember, the boot was the
something we already know and remembered.
You can see that simple conscious associations helped you memorize abstract
information like the above examples very easily. The initial system that I mentioned
earlier, can be used to help you memorize many things.
However, the technology that will be taught in this course will be far more powerful. We
will be using pictures conjured up by our imagination. In a way, we will be day
dreaming a lot! We will be using pictures because thats the way our mind works. Its
the software to program our minds. You might be skeptical and say, Wait a minute I
dont think in pictures, that is childs play. Well then, try to think of an Elephant, did a
picture of a huge beast with a long trunk and white tusks appear? Or did the word
Elephant come to mind?
Many years ago, Apple Computers introduced an icon driven operating system for its
Macintosh home computers. The idea was a runaway success. Apple Computers
understood how the human mind works, and introduced a paradigm shift, it taught the
machine how the human mind works with a machine human interface that is icon-driven.
We now know that Apple Computers Inc. have made billions of dollars from this idea.
The system and methods in this book will show you how the principles and ideas of
simple conscious associations can be applied to remembering anything. Yes, thats right,
remembering anything, including names and faces, items, objects, facts, figures,
speeches, the multiplication tables, advance mathematical formula, anything. In other
words, the systems and methods you will learn in this book, can be applied to anything
and everything in everyday life, school, social or business life.
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Chapter 2
The Basis Of Memory
An accurate and retentive memory is the basis of all business successes. In the last
analysis, all our knowledge is based on our memories. A clear example is that you could
not be reading this book right now, if you didnt remember the sounds of the 26 letters of
the alphabet. This may seem far-fetched to you, but it is true, nevertheless. Actually, if
you were to lose your memory completely, you would have to start learning everything
from scratch, just like a newborn baby. You wouldnt remember how to dress, or shave,
or apply your makeup, or how to drive your car, or whether to use a knife or fork, etc.
You see, all the things we attribute to habit, should be attributed to memory. Habit is a
memory. The question that people ask me most often, is, Isnt it confusing to remember
too much? There is no limit to the capacity of the memory. Lucius Scipio was able to
remember the names of all the people of Rome; Cyrus was able to call every soldier in
his army by name; while Seneca could memorize and repeat 2000 words, after hearing
them once. I believe that the more you remember, the more you can remember.
The memory, in many ways, is like a muscle. A muscle must be exercised and developed
in order to give proper service and use; so must the memory. The difference is that the
muscle can be over trained or become muscle bound while the memory cannot. You
can be taught to have a trained memory just as you can be taught anything else. As a
matter of fact, it is much easier to attain a trained memory than, say, to learn to play a
musical instrument. If you can read and write English, and have a normal amount of
common sense, and if you read and study this Ebook, you will have acquired a trained
memory! Along with the trained memory you will probably acquire a greater power of
concentration, a purer sense of observation, and perhaps, a stronger imagination.
Remember please, that there is no such thing as a bad memory! This may come as a
shock to those of you who have used your supposedly bad memory as an excuse for
years. There are only trained or untrained memories. Almost all untrained memories
are one-sided. That is to say that people who can remember names and faces, cannot
remember telephone numbers, and those who remember phone numbers, cant , for the
life of them, remember the names of the people they wish to call. There are those who
have a pretty good retentive memory, but a painfully slow one; just as there are some
who can remember things quickly, but cannot retain them for any length of time. If you
apply the systems and methods taught in this book, I can assure you a quick and retentive
memory for just about anything.
Anything you wish to remember must in some way or other, be associated in your mind
to something you already know or remember. Of course, most of you will say that you
have remembered, or do remember, many things, and that you do not associate them with
anything else. Thats true!. But, if you werent associating knowingly, then you would
already have the beginnings of a trained memory. Let me explain.
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You see, most of the things you have ever remembered, have been associated
subconsciously with something else that you already knew or remembered. What you
subconsciously associated strongly, will be remembered, what was not associated
strongly, will be forgotten. Since this tiny exercise takes place without you knowing, you
cannot help it.
However, I am going to teach you to associate anything you want to, consciously. When
you have learned to do that, you will have acquired a trained memory. Keep in mind that
the system that I teach you is an aid to your normal or true memory. It is your true
memory that does the work for you, whether you realize it or not. There is a very thin
line between a trained memory and the true memory, and as you continue to use the
system taught here, that line will begin to fade. That is the beautiful thing about using
my system. After a while, it becomes automatic and you almost start doing it
subconsciously!
In the next chapter we shall discuss the methodology of using emotions as a brain
stimulus to anchor our memory. It will be more of an academic discussion on why
emotions are such powerful anchors for our brain due to the fact that our ancestors use
the primitive brain as a means of survival and it continues to play a major part as our
brain evolutes.
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Chapter 3
How The Human Brain Evolved
Over millions of years of evolution, the brain has grown from the bottom up, with its
higher centers developing and building onto lower, more ancient parts. As the story of
the evolution of the human brain unfold, we see why the use of emotions as memory
anchors play such an important role in primitive times and in modern times. The
emotions of fear, pain, pleasure, happiness in primitive times and more subtle and
complicated emotions of envy, greed, embarrassment and jealousy in modern times are
built into our psyche.
The most primitive part of the brain, shared with all species that have more than a
minimal nervous system, is the brainstem surrounding the top of the spinal cord. This
root brain regulates basic life functions like breathing and the metabolism of the bodys
other organs, as well as controlling stereotyped reactions and movements. This primitive
brain cannot be said to think or learn rather it is a set of preprogrammed regulators that
keep the body running as it should be reacting in a way that ensures survival. This brain
was very important in the Age of Reptiles. Picture a snake hissing to signal the threat of
an attack. From the primitive root, the brainstem, emerged the emotional centers.
Millions of years later in evolution, from these emotional areas evolved the thinking brain
or neocortex, the great bulb of convoluted tissues that make up the top layers. The fact
that the thinking brain grew from the emotional reveals much about the relationship of
external stimulus and learning and memory; there was an emotional brain long before
there was a rational one.
The most ancient root of our emotional brain is in the sense of smell, or, more precisely,
in the olfactory lobe, the cells that take in and analyze smell. Every living entity, be it
nutritious, poisonous, sexual partner, predator or prey, has a distinctive molecular
signature that can be carried in the wind. During primitive times the sense of smell meant
the distinctive between life and death.
When the new mammals arrived, there came new, key layers of the emotional brain.
These, surrounding the brainstem, look roughly like a bagel with a bite taken out at he
bottom where the brainstem nestles into them, Because this part of the brain rings and
borders the brainstem, it was called the limbic system, from limbus, the Latin word
for ring. As it evolved, the limbic system refined two powerful tools, learning and
memory. These revolutionary advances allowed an animal to be much smarter in its
choices for survival, and to fine-tune its responses to adapt to changing demands rather
than having automatic reactions If a food led to sickness, it could be avoided next time.
Decisions like knowing what to eat and what to reject were still determined largely
through smell. The connections between the olfactory bulb and the limbic system now
took on the task of making distinctions among smells and recognizing them, comparing a
present smell with past ones, and so discriminating good from bad.
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This was done by the rhinencephalon, literally, the nose brain, a part of the limbic
wiring, and the rudimentary basis of the neocortex, the thinking brain.
About 100 million years ago the brain in mammals took a great growth spurt. Piled on
top of the thin two-layered cortex, the regions that plan, comprehend what is sensed, coordinate movement, several new layers of brain cells were added to form the neocortex.
In contrast to the ancient brains two-layered cortex, the neocortex offered an
extraordinary intellectual edge.
The Homo Sapiens neocortex, so much larger than in any other species, has added all
that is distinctly human. The neocortex is the seat of thought, it contains the centers that
put together and comprehend what the senses perceive. It adds to a feeling what we think
about it and allows us to have feelings about ideas, art, symbols, imaginings.
The Role Of Emotions In Memory

In humans the amygdala (from the Greek word for almond) is an almond-shaped
cluster of interconnected structures perched above the brainstem, near the bottom of the
limbic ring. There are two amygdalas, one on each side of the brain, nestled toward the
side of the head. The human amygdala is relatively large compared to that in any of our
closest evolutionary cousins, the primates.
The hippocampus and the amygdala were the two key parts of the primitive nose brain
that, in evolution, gave rise to the cortex and then the neocortex. To this day these
limbic structures do much or most of the brains learning and remembering, the amygdala
is the specialist for emotional matters. If the amygdala is severed from the rest of the
brain, the result is a striking inability to gauge the emotional significance of events. This
condition is also known as affective blindness. A person who has his amygdala
removed will lose all recognition of feeling, as well as any feeling about feelings. The
amygdala is the storehouse of emotional memory, and thus of significance itself. Life
without the amygdala is a life stripped of personal meanings.
Research by neuroscientists now seems to suggest that the hippocampus, which has been
long considered the key structure of the limbic system, is more involved in registering
and making sense of perceptual patterns than with emotional reactions.
The
hippocampuss main input is in providing a keen memory of context, vital for emotional
meaning, it is the hippocampus that recognizes the differing significance of, say, a snake
seen on TV versus a snake in your backyard.
Page 13
The hippocampus remembers the dry facts; the amygdala retains the emotional flavor that
goes with those facts. If we ride on a bicycle in the park and collide with the person we
were trying to overtake, the hippocampus retains the specifics of the incident, like what
stretch of path we were on, were there many people around who witness the incident, was
it a man or woman we crashed into and so on. But it is the amygdala that ever after will
send a surge of anxiety through us whenever we try to pass a pedestrian or another
bicycle in similar circumstances.
Put simply, the hippocampus is the crucial in
recognizing a face as that of your classmate. But it is the amygdala that adds you dont
really like him or her.
The Role Of Stimulus In Memory And Survival
The brain uses a simple but clever method to make emotional memories register with
special potency, the very same neurochemical alerting system that prime the body to
react to life-threatening emergencies by fighting or fleeing also stamp the moment in
memory with vividness. Under stress (or anxiety), or presumably even the intense
excitement of joy, a nerve running from the brain to the adrenal glands atop the kidneys
triggers a secretion of the hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine, which surge
through the body priming it for an emergency. These hormones activate receptors on the
vagus nerve, while the vagus nerve carries messages from the brain to regulate the hear, it
also carries signals back into the brain, triggered by epinephrine and norepinephrine.
The amygdala is the main site in the brain where these signals go, they activate neurons
within the amygdala to signal other brain regions to strengthen memory for what is
happening.
This amygdala arousal seems to imprint in memory most moments of emotional arousal
with an added degree of strength,. Thats why we are more likely, for example to
remember where we went on a first date, or what we were doing when we heard the news
the New York World Trade Center Twin Towers had collapsed. The more intense the
amygdala arousal, the stronger the imprint, the experiences that scare or thrill us the most
in life are among our most indelible memories. This means that, in effect, the brain has
two memory systems, one for ordinary facts and one for emotionally charged ones. A
special system for emotional memories makes excellent sense in evolution, of course,
ensuring that animals would have particularly vivid memories of what threatens or
pleases them.
Page 14
Chapter 4
Test Your Memory
I dont think youll find the tests in this chapter quite as difficult. Even if you do, it
doesnt matter, since no one will know how badly you did on them. If I told you that you
would never again be troubled by forgetting names or faces, or that you would be able to
remember a shopping list of 50 items, or memorize the contents of an entire magazine, or
remember prices and important telephone numbers without pen and paper you would
surely think Id gone mad.
But read and study this book, and see for yourself! I imagine that the best way for me to
prove it to you is to let you see your own progress. In order to do that, I must show you
first how poor your untrained memory is. So take a few moments and mark yourselves
on the tests that follow. In this way, you will be able to take the same tests after reading
certain chapters, and compare your scores.
I feel that these tests are quite important. Since your memory will improve with almost
every chapter you read, I want you to see that improvement. That will give you
confidence, which in itself is important to a trained memory. After each test, you will
find a space for your present score, and a space that is to be used for your score after
reading those particular chapters.
One important point, before you take the test - dont flip through the book and read only
the chapters that you think will help you. All the chapters will help you, and it is much
better if you read from one to the other. Do not jump ahead, of me, or yourself!
Test#1
Read this list of 15 objects just once, you can take about 2 minutes to do so. Then try to
write them, without looking at the book, of course, in exactly the same order in which
they appear here. When scoring yourself, remember that if you leave out a word, that
will make the remaining words incorrect, for they will be out of sequence. I will remind
you to take this test again, after youve read Chapter 5. Give yourself 5 points for each
correct one.
Book, plate, bull, coat, match, razor, banana, wallet, curtains, pot, watch, sunglasses, key,
cup, worm.
Write your score here. __________ Score after learning Chapter 5 __________
Page 15
Test #2
Take about 3 minutes to try to memorize the 20 objects listed here, by numbers. Then try
to list them yourself without looking at the book. You must remember not only the
objects, but to which number it belongs. Youll be reminded to take this test again, after
youve read Chapter 6. Give yourself 5 points for every object that you put with the
correct number.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Radio
Airplane
Lamp
Cigar
Picture
6. Telephone
7. Chair
8. Horse
9. Egg
10. Tea cup
Write your score here __________
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
Dress
Flower
Window
Perfume
Book
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
Bread
Pencil
Curtain
Vase
Hat
Score after learning Chapter 6 __________
Test #3
Look at the 20-digit number below for about 2 and a half minutes, then take a piece of
paper and try to write it from memory. Give yourself 5 points for every number that you
put down in its correct place or sequence. Understand please, that the important thing
here is retentiveness, which you cannot test until you have read Chapter 10.
74927129365837412749
Test # 4
Take 7 to 9 minutes to look at this list of 10 people and their telephone numbers. Then
copy all ten people onto a piece of paper, close the book, and see if you can write the
telephone number next to each one, from memory. Remember that if you were to dial
one wrong digit, you would get the wrong party, so, if only 1 digit in the number is
wrong, you get no score on that particular one, I will remind you to take this test again,
after youve read through Chapter 10. Give yourself 10 points for each telephone number
that you list correctly.
Page 16
Baker
Tailor
Dentist
Mr Goldstein
78639571
19497849
96942854
81423168
Lawyer
Mr Ranjit Singh
Doctor
Mr Kerrigan
55623179
49821357
71423185
28322801
Do not feel discouraged because of the poor marks that you may have received on the
above tests. I have given them to you for a definite purpose. First of all, it is used to
measure your progress as you read through this system. Also, to show you how
unreliable an untrained memory really is.
It does not take a lot of work and study to be able to get 100% on all these tests. I like to
refer to the system in this book as the lazy mans way of remembering!
Memory and observation do go hand in hand. You cannot possibly remember anything
you do not observe. It is extremely difficult to observe or remember anything that you
do not want to remember, or that you are not interested in remembering. If you want to
improve your memory immediately, force yourself to want to remember. Force yourself
to be interested enough to observe anything you want to remember or retain. I say, force
yourself because at first a little effort may be necessary, however in an amazingly short
time, youll find that there is no effort at all required to make yourself want to remember
anything. Without motivation, there can hardly be remembrance.
Take for instance, how many parents complain that their children have terrible memories,
because they cant remember their schoolwork, and consequently get poor marks? Yet,
some of these same children can remember the batting averages of every baseball player
in the major leagues. They know all the rules of baseball or who made what great play in
what year for which team, etc. If they can remember these facts and figures so easily and
so well, why cant some of them remember their lessons at school? Only because they
are more interested in baseball than they are in algebra, history, geography and other
school subjects.
The problem is not with their memory, but with their lack of interest. The proof of the
pudding is in the fact that most children excel in at least one particular subject, even
though they have poor marks in all the others. If a student has a good memory for one
subject, he is good student in that subject. This proves that the student does have a good
memory for things that he likes, or is interested in.
Page 17
Many of us learnt a foreign language while in high school. But not many of us remember
much of the foreign language. If youd traveled to these countries that speak the
language, youd wish you had paid more attention in class.
The trick now is to make up your mind that you will be interested in remembering names,
faces, dates, figures, and facts-anything; and that you will have confidence in your ability
to retain them. This alone, even without the actual system and methods of associations
that will be taught in this system, will improve your memory to a noticeable degree.
With the systems of association as an aid to your true memory, you are on your way to an
amazingly remarkable and retentive memory.
Page 18
Chapter 5
Link Method of Memory.
You can now immediately start to remember as youve been able to before. I dont
believe that anyone with an untrained memory can possibly remember 20 dissimilar
items, in sequence, after hearing or seeing them only once. Even though you dont
believe it either, you will accomplish just that if you read and study this chapter.
Before going into actual memorizing, I must let you know that your trained memory
will be based almost entirely on mental images or pictures. The mental pictures will be
easily recalled if they are made as ridiculous as you can possibly make them.
Here are the 20 items that you will be able to memorize in sequence in a surprisingly
short time.
Curtains
Book
Cup
Banana
Table
Door
Pencil
Bus
Cake
Hammer
Television set
Spoon
Headphone
Telescope
Lamp
Vase
Ketchup
Dog
Shoe
Cigar
Ill teach you now, what I call the Link Method of memory. Ive told you that your
trained memory will consists mostly of ridiculous mental images. So lets make
ridiculous mental images of the above 20 items. Dont be alarmed! It is childs play and
as a matter of fact, it is almost like a game. The pictures or images that come to mind
has to be vivid and crystal clear with lots of actions and emotions. Feel the feel and smell
the smells.
Page 19
For example, if I were to tell you to imagine a lemon, youd have to vividly picture a nice
juicy yellow lemon. Imagine youre holding it in your hand, feel its texture, take a whiff.
Can you smell its fresh lemony citrus aroma? Now imagine taking a nice shining knife
and cut it in half, imagine its juices trickling down your hand. Now take a bite out of one
half. If by now, you have a mouth full of saliva, you have successfully imagined a vivid
picture of the lemon. If not, try again with more details. Remember, more is better.
Back to the list. The first thing you have to do is to get a picture of the first item,
curtain, in your minds eye. Dont just see the word but visualize in vivid pictures,
curtains. You can either visualize the most gorgeous curtains money can buy or you
can imagine or you can imagine the curtains in your own home. The 2nd item you want to
remember is book.
Now then, here is your first and most important step towards your trained memory. You
must now associate or link curtains to, or with, book. The association must be as
ridiculous, ludicrous and silly as possible. Remember, boring is bad. For instance,
you might picture the curtains in your home is made out of many small books. See
yourself drawing your curtains open and seeing a gigantic book outside your house . You
can picture yourself reading a book with the words printed on curtain material instead of
paper. Either one of these is a ridiculous picture or association. A book on how to make
curtains would not make a good association. It is too logical. Your mental picture must
be ridiculous or illogical! Take my word for the fact that if your association is a logical
one, you will not remember it. You must actually see this ridiculous picture in your
minds eye. Please do not just try to see the words. Close your eyes for a second, that
might make it easier to see the picture, at first. As soon as you see it, stop thinking of it
and go on to your next step. The thing that you already know or remember is book,
therefore the next step is to associate or link, book to the next item on the list, which is,
cup. At this point, you pay no attention to curtains any longer. Make an entirely
new ridiculous picture with, or between cup and book. You might see a cup made of
tiny books and leaking as you pour hot water into it and scalding you. Associating it
with pain, emotions or sexual innuendoes would be helpful for later recall. Or imagine a
cup filled with soup with tiny books instead of croutons or your favorite book right at the
bottom of a tower of cups that come crashing down as you pull the book from the bottom
Imagine the crash and the pieces all over the place. Thousands of pieces, more is better.
Pick the association which you think is most incredulous and see it in your minds eye.
I cannot stress, too much, the necessity of actually seeing this picture in your minds eye,
and making the mental image as ridiculous as possible. However, please do not stop for
15 minutes to find the most illogical association; the first ridiculous one that comes to
mind is usually the best to use. Ill give you 2 or more ways in which you might form
your pictures with each pair of the 20 items. You are to pick the one that you think is
most ridiculous, or one youve thought of yourself. Link it with emotions, pain, in
colorful vivid picture. See yourself in the picture.
Page 20
We have now linked curtains to book, and book to cups. We now come to the next item
which is banana. You must make a ridiculous association between cup and banana.
You might want to see yourself peeling a cup like a banana and cracking your tooth as
you try to eat it ouch! Try to associate pain. Or you might want to imagine peeling a
banana and out comes tiny little cups that crash to the floor . See either of these pictures
in your mind for a moment, then stop thinking of it. Youll realize that we are always
associating the previous object to the present object. Since we have just used banana,
this is the previous, or the thing we already know and remember. The present object, or
the new thing that we want to remember is table. So make a ridiculous association or
link between banana and table. You could see a table with legs of bananas or using a
gigantic banana as a table . See the picture you think is most ridiculous.
Now table and door - see your dining table top made out of a door with the door
knob sticking out or a door with table legs sticking out.
Door and pencil - You might imagine losing your keys to the door of your house and
using a giant pencil to crash it down. Or you open your house door and out pours
millions of pencils and they overwhelm you. Like an avalanche.
Pencil and bus - See yourself boarding a bus in the shape of a giant pencil or see yourself
scribbling on the back of a bus, the bus moves off and the puff of black exhaust blows
into your face, choking you. See yourself coughing with a face covered in black soot.
Bus and Cake - See your birthday cake in a shape of a bus. You blow the candles and the
cake moves off like a bus. Or see yourself boarding a bus and you take a seat and squish,
you sit on a cake yuck!
Cake and Hammer - See yourself hammering a cake and the cake and cream flying all
over the room what a mess! Or see yourself eating a large piece of cake and clunk,
there is a hammer hidden inside!
Hammer and Television - See yourself watching a football match and in frustration, you
throw a hammer onto the screen crash! Maybe youre watching a TV program about
giant hammers invading the earth and smashing the buildings and flattening them.
Television and Spoon - See yourself watching television and eating cereal but you forgot
your spoon. The actor on TV realize you are without a spoon and hands you one out of
the TV screen! How weird is that? But weird is good.
Spoon and headphone - See yourself wearing headphone shaped like spoons with the
long handles sticking out. And everyone around you laughing at how ridiculous you look.
Feel the embarrassment.
Page 21
Headphone and telescope - See yourself looking at the moon through a telescope and the
moon is wearing headphones and smiling at you! See the moon grooving to the beat of
the music.
Telescope and lamp - You have just bought a new lamp shaped like a telescope with the
light coming out of the lenses. Or the light switch is too high on a wall and you extend a
telescope in order to turn the lamp on.
Lamp and Vase - Imagine yourself making a bedside lamp out of a flower vase or the
lamp crashing onto a vase and breaking it.
Vase and Ketchup - Picture yourself pouring ketchup out of a vase. Or putting ketchup
instead of water into a vase and putting beautiful bright flowers into the vase.
Ketchup and Dog - Imagine your friend smearing ketchup onto his or her face and your
friends pet dog licking it off your friends face.
Dog and Shoe - Imagine a dog chewing your favorite shoe or a tiny dog sleeping in your
shoe. Or a dog wearing 2 pairs of your favorite shoes and you running after it.
Whichever is the more vivid picture.
Shoe and Cigar - Imagine smoking a cigar shaped like a shoe. Or putting your foot into
your favorite shoe and burning your toes because someone put a lighted cigar into one of
your shoes or a shoe smoking a cigar!
We have finished! If you have actually seen these mental pictures in your minds eye,
you will have no trouble remembering the 20 items in sequence, from curtains to cigar.
Of course, it takes many times the length of time to explain this than to simply do it.
Each mental association must be seen for just the smallest fraction of a second, before
going on to the next one.
Lets see now if you have remembered all the items. If you were to see the curtains,
what would that bring to mind immediately? Books of course. You saw yourself
drawing the curtains open and a giant book outside your window! Now, book brings cup
to mind, because you saw yourself pouring hot water into a cup made of tiny books and
the water spilling out through the gaps scalding your legs. Ouch, ouch - you yell in
pain. You saw yourself peeling a cup like a banana and breaking your tooth as you tried
to eat it. Then you saw a table with long bananas as legs and as you put your casserole
on the table, crash! The legs couldnt hold the weight. Try it! You will see that you will
go through all the items without missing a beat. If you cant remember an item, chances
are, your association is not vivid or ridiculous enough, change it and imagine the colors
and sounds that go with it. Have lots of action.
Page 22
You may realize that you have been brought up thinking logically and here I am telling
you to be ridiculous. Some of you may have a problem with making ridiculous pictures
However, with practice, your pictures will become ridiculous as you get in touch with the
inner kid in you. Have fun doing it. Here are 4 rules that may help you come up with
vivid and ridiculous pictures.
1. Picture your items out of proportion. In my illustration above, I use the word
gigantic to make the items out of proportion.
2. Picture the items in motion whenever possible. Think action, action, ACTION! You
may realize that it is often the most embarrassing or violent episodes in our lives that we
remember. If youve ever been in an embarrassing situation or an accident, you dont
need a trained memory to remember it vividly. You may squirm whenever you think
about that situation and can probably describe the details.
3. Exaggerate the amount of items. In my association between door and pencil, I told
you that you might see millions of pencils coming out as you open the door to your house
like an avalanche. If you imagine the pointed lead ends sticking into you, you have both
action and exaggeration in your picture.
4. Substitute your items. This method can be used quite often. Its a method of
picturing one item instead of another for instance, peeling a cup like a banana or putting
spoons on your ears as headphones.
1. Out of Proportion
2. Action.
3. Exaggeration.
4. Substitution.
Try to get one or more of the above into your pictures, and with a little practice youll
find that a ridiculous association for any 2 items will come to mind instantly. The objects
to be remembered are actually linked one to the other forming a chain and that is why I
call it the link method of remembering. The entire Link method boils down to this ;
Associate the first item to the second, the second to the third, the third to the fourth and
so on. Make your associations as ridiculous and/or illogical as possible, and most
important, SEE the pictures in your minds eye. If you have trouble recalling the list,
chances are, your pictures are not vivid and in detail enough. For example, did the pencil
in your imagination have an eraser at the end? What flavor was the cake? Did it have
icing ? etc.
You may notice the first time you visualize the list, you may have problems. However,
as you review the list a second time, your mind works faster and the pictures come faster
and are more vivid. The reason for this phenomena is that the memory is being engaged
and your mind is starting to release its photographic memory. Try a few more times and
youd notice your mind thinks like a Japanese Bullet Train!
Page 23
In later chapters, you will learn how to apply the link method in a practical manner.
How it can be used to help you to recall your daily schedule or errands, and how you can
use it to help you remember speeches or scripts. The Link method is also used to help
memorize long-digit numbers and many other things.
You can now show off to your friends. Have them make out a list and you make vivid
pictures of this list and call out to it. Your friends can test you a few hours later and
youll still remember it. Best of all, you can recall the list backwards!
By the way, why not try the Test#1 in Chapter#4 again, Compare your score now, with
the score you had before you read this chapter on the Link method.
Page 24
Chapter 6
The Peg System of Memory
A man was arrested and taken for a ride in a police car, He overheard the following
conversation on the police frequency radio. 10-4, this is squad car alpha Zulu 28. 2010 in progress and is hot. 40-9 is no longer in sight. I have sight confirmation of 20-15,
30-12 and 30-15, all are moving fast real fast. Requesting back up of 40-7 instead.
Please advise ETA and your numbers so that we can be ready when you get here. The
reply came hard and fast, Roger alpha Zulu 28, this is Bravo 2-20. We are 5 clicks
from your position. Requesting for 30-5 with 20-10 instead. Roger and out.
The man was impressed with the police lingo and said, You cops must be busy with all
that crime happening in the city, why bother with a small time pick-pocket like me?.
The policeman turned around and said wryly, What crime? That was one of our guys
ordering a croissant with his black coffee instead of his usual doughnut with jelly and
it seems the cafe is running out of chocolate doughnuts fast!
Although the above is just a joke, you must be thinking the law enforcement officers
must spend most of their waking hours memorizing the felony codes as they converse
over the police radio. Let me assure you that it can be both quick and fun, if you ever
want to be a policeman or one whose profession depend on memorizing codes.
First, however, you must learn how to remember the numbers. Numbers themselves are
about the most difficult things to remember because they are completely abstract and
intangible. It is almost impossible to picture a number. They are geometric designs and
they mean nothing in our minds, unless they have been associated to something you
know over a period of time. You may have memorized your own telephone numbers or
address, but you need a method or system to associate numbers in any combination
easily and quickly.
Im introducing to you, the peg system of memory. Like the Velcro on your shoe or
piece of clothing, you need pegs for something to hang on to. The idea has been
developed and modified many times so that it is now easily learnt. However, you must
learn a simple phonetic alphabet which consists of only 10 sounds and with my help, it
should not take more than 10 minutes to learn them.
This will be the most worthwhile 10 minutes youve ever spent, since this phonetic
alphabet will eventually help you to remember numbers, or numbers in conjunction with
anything else, in such a way, you never would have thought possible. I will give you
now, a different consonant sound for each of the digits 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 and 0. These,
you must commit to memory. Ill make this simple for you by giving you a memory
aid for remembering each one. You can use your own body as a memory aid.
Beginning from the foot to your head. Read them carefully and with your full attention.
Page 25
The sound for #1 will always be - T or D. Just remember T for Toes, and wriggle your
toes.
The sound for #2 will always be - N. Just remember kNee and lightly tap your knee or
the lower case n with 2 down strokes.
The sound for #3 will always be - M. Just remember M for muscle and squeeze your
thigh muscle. Or lower case m with 3 down strokes.
The sound for #4 will always be - R. Just remember R for your rear. And give it a pat.
Or r is the last letter of the word four.
The sound for #5 will always be - L. Just remember L for love-handles. Give your own
love-handles above your hips a light pinch.
The sound for #6 will always be - J, ch, sh, soft g etc. just remember your shoulder.
The sound for #7 will always be - K, hard c, hard g. Just remember your collarbone or
two mirror image of the number 7, one on top of the other forms the letter K.
The sound for #8 will always be - F or V. Just remember your face or veil across your
face.
The sound for #9 will always be - P or B. Just remember the top of your head or point.
The sound for #0 will always be soft C or S or Z- Just remember the ceiling above your
head.
The sound for 0 (zero) will always be - S or Z. First sound of the word, zero. Please
keep in mind the letters are not important; we are interested in the sound only That is
why I call this a phonetic alphabet. With some of the digits, Ive given you more than
one letter, but the phonetic sounds of these letters are the same, in each case. Your lips,
tongue and teeth are used in the same identical way to sound P and B or F and V, or J, sh,
ch, etc. The sound of the letter G as in the word gentle or the exclamations gee, this is
easy would be represented by #6, whereas the same letter in the word, go would be
represented by #7. The letters Kn as in the word Knife or Knee would stand for #2
because the K is silent. The letter C in the word cake represents #7 but the same letter
in the word cease would represent zero, since it is pronounced with the s sound. Now,
take a look at the letters again.
Page 26
This completes the system of numerals and gives us the following:

I
t
d
th
y
sh
ch
soft g
tch, dg
k
P
hard g V b
hard c ph
ng
q
0
z
s
Soft c
Close the book and see if you can remember the sounds 1 to 0. You must know them all
before proceeding and out of sequence too.
This simple phonetic alphabet is very
important and should be practiced until it is second nature to you. Once they are, the rest
of the Peg system should be a walk in the park. If you need practice, do it on a daily
basis anytime you see a number for example, if you see the license number 3142, you
should be able to read it as m, t, r, n. A bus number 962 should be seen as p j n. The
word car is 74. The word couch is 76 and the word television is 15802 and so on. None
of the vowels, a e I o u have any meaning at all. Neither do the letters, w, h or y.
(Remember the word why)
Before going any further, complete the following exercises. The first column of words
should be changed to numbers, and the second column of numbers must be broken into
sounds.
Building
Cloud
Mountain
Planet
Computer
_____________
_____________
_____________
_____________
_____________
8276
9187
1937
2067
3987
_____________
_____________
_____________
_____________
_____________
See the end of the Chapter for the answers.
You are now ready to learn some of the pegs I mentioned. I would suggest you know
the sounds thoroughly before you go on to the pegs themselves.
Page 27
We now know a certain phonetic sound for all the digits from 1 to zero and we can make
up a word for any number, no matter how many digits it contains. For example, if we
wanted to make up a word for #21, we could use any of the following:- net, nut, knot,
gnat, neat, note, knit etc, because they all begin with the n sound (#2) and end with the t
or d sound (#1). For #16, we could use touch, dish, dash teach etc. They all begin with
t or d for #1 and end with sh, ch sound for #6. Remember we are interested in the
consonant sounds only.
Do you know how I formed those words? If you do, then I can go ahead and give you the
first few pegs. Each one of the peg words that I will give you has been specially
chosen because it is easy to picture in your mind and that is important.
Since the number 1 contains only one digit and that one digit is represented by the t or d
sound, we must use a word that contains only that one consonant sound. So we will use
the word TIE. Therefore tie will always represent the number 1 to you. As I said, it
is important to be able to picture these objects, so I will give explanations of all those
where I think an explanation is necessary.
The word, NOAH will always represent #2. Picture an old, white haired man on an
ark.
The word, MA will mean #3. Here I suggest you picture your own mother.
The word , RYE will always represent the number 4. You can picture a Rye Bread.
Once you decide on a particular mind picture for this, or for any of the pegs, use that
particular picture always. You can see how I arrive at these words. They all have only
one consonant sound, and that one sound is the one representing the digit of the number.
The word LAW will always represent #5. Here I suggest you picture a policeman or a
judge because they represent the law.
Number 6 is the word SHOE.
Number 7 is the word COW.
Number 8 is the word IVY. You can picture poison Ivy or ivy growing all over the
your house.
Number 9 is the word, BEE,
Page 28
Number 10 has 2 digits and must be made up of a t or d sound and an s or z sound. Well
use the word TOES If youve read the 10 words once, with a little concentration, you
probably already know them. Try it! When you say the number yourself, think of its
sound first, then try to remember the peg word. Test yourself in and out of order. You
should know that #3 is ma, without repeating, tie, Noah, ma.
To show you how fantastic your memory can be with my little memory aids, you can do
this until the words become second nature to you. If you come to a number, and you
think you cant remember its peg - think of the sound for that number, and say any
words that come to your mind, starting with, and containing that particular consonant
sound only. When you say the right one, it will sort of ring a bell in your mind, and
youll know that thats the right one. For instance, if you cant think of the peg word for
#1, you might say to yourself, toy, tow, tea, tie as soon as you say tie, youll know
that that is the correct word.
You can see, now, what Ive done. Ive built you up slowly with each item. First I gave
you an aid to remember the phonetic sounds, now those sounds are your aid to remember
the very important peg words and the peg words will help you to remember anything
where numbers are involved,. Make sure you know them well.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Tie
Noah
Ma
Rye
Law
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Shoe
Cow
Ivy
Bee
Toes
Once you feel you know the first 10 peg words thoroughly, Ill show you how to use
them for remembering objects in and out of order. Ill give you a list of 10 objects, out of
sequence and prove to you that you can remember them after reading them only once.
9
6
4
7
3
-----------
wallet
radio
bottle
soap
bulb
5 --2 --8 --1 --10 --
computer
ceiling fan
clock
pencil
cloud
The first one listed is #9. All you have to do is make a ridiculous and illogical
association of the peg for #9, which is bee and wallet. If you have realized the
importance of actually seeing these ridiculous associations in your mind, youll have
no trouble. For this first one, you might see yourself opening your wallet and a swarm of
bees coming out of it and stinging you. Just see the picture and try to imagine the
painful sensation as they sting you.
Page 29
#6 (shoe) --- radio You can see yourself putting your shoes to your ear and listening to
music broadcast.
#4 (rye) ---bottle. You can see yourself putting a bottle in between 2 slices of rye bread
like a sausage and trying to eat it. Crunch, ouch! That hurt!
I am giving you one or more ways that each object can be associated ridiculously with its
peg word. You are to use only one of these pictures for each one Use one that I give or
one that you think of yourself. The first illogical picture that comes to mind is usually the
best one to use, because that is the one that will come to mind later on. Ill help you with
the first 10. Later on, you should be doing it on your own.
#7 (cow) --- soap. Picture a cow standing on its hind-legs taking a shower and using a
bar of soap to wash itself. Or see a cow chewing on a bar of soap and as it moos,
bubbles start to come out of its mouth.
#3 (ma) --- bulb. You can see your mother with a bulb above her head. And every time
she talks, it lights up. Or see your mother with a necklace of lighted Christmas bulbs
around her neck going on and off.
#5 (law) --- computer. You can see your laptop or computer with legs patrolling the
streets like Robocop.
#2 (Noah) --- ceiling fan. You can see Noah hanging onto a ceiling fan going round and
round going wheee , he is having fun.
#8 (ivy) --Clock. Imagine ivy climbing up a grandfather clock.
#1 (tie) --- pencil. Imagine yourself or someone wearing a pencil as a tie. Or imagine
yourself scribbling something on someone white tie.
#10 (toes) --- cloud . Picture yourself with super long legs reaching out and touching the
clouds with your toes. Feel the ticklish sensation.
Now take a piece of paper number it from one to ten, and try to fill the objects in order
from 1 to 10 and try to fill in the objects in order without looking. When you come to
#1, just picture your peg word, tie, and the ridiculous picture of you wearing a pencil as a
tie, so you know #1 is pencil. Then picture Noah hanging on the ceiling fan having fun
going around in circles with his white beard trailing as he swings and you know #2 is
ceiling fan.
Page 30
You will not only remember the listed objects, the beauty of this system is that you can
remember them out of sequence and backwards.
You should now be amazed at you own memory. We will now proceed to remember peg
words listed from numbers 11 to 25. You should learn them as you learn the first 10.
You can use this method as a party trick by having friends list out 25 items and you
remembering them in a heartbeat. Have your friends call out any number and you can list
the item. See the shock on their faces!
Please do not go to the next chapter until youve memorized the peg words from 1 to 25.
11
12.
13.
14.
tot
Tin
Tomb
Tire
15.
16.
17.
18.
Towel
Dish
Tack
Dove
19.
20.
21.
22.
Tub
Nose
Net
Nun
23. nemo
24. Nero
25. Nail
For tot it is best to picture a child that you know. For #12, you can see the object made
out of tin. For tomb, picture a gravestone. For #23, you can see nemo the clown
fish. For #24 (nero) you can picture a roman playing a fiddle.
If you know the pegs from 1 to 25 thoroughly, you might want to take test#2 in Chapter 4
once again. Try it and then compare your present score with the original one.
Answers for exercise in Chapter 5
Building
Cloud
Mountain
Planet
Computer
95127
751
3212
9521
73914
8276
9187
1937
2067
3987
FNCJ
BTVC
TPMC
NsChC
MBFC
Page 31
Chapter 7
Uses of the Peg and Link Systems
The Link and Peg systems of memory are 2 of the 3 ways that your trained memory will
be based upon. The 3rd system is a system of substitute words or substitute thoughts
An example of how to use the Link system is to use it for your grocery list. Simply link
the first item to the second item, the second to the third, so on down your list. You can
memorize a different list the next time you go shopping without fear of confusion. The
way our memory works is incredible. It is like a filing cabinet. You can memorize or
forget a list at will. Retaining a list in your memory is one of motivation and desire. If
you have a list with no immediate use but one which you feel will be useful in the future,
simply go over the list in your mind the day after you memorized it and then again in a
few days later. After a few times, the list will be etched in your memory to be used when
you need it.
The key difference between the Link and the Peg systems is that the Link is used to
remember anything in sequence while the Peg is for anything in and out of order. The
Peg system is extremely useful for remembering telephone numbers, catalogue numbers
and long-digit numbers (e.g. Credit Cards) and addresses.
We can now use the Peg and Link system or a combination of both to remember errands
to be run for the day.
Lets say you have to have your car engine tuned; see your dentist; collect a parcel at the
post office; buy a birthday present for your niece; buy dog food; repair your wifes
watch; collect your suit at the laundry shop and buy milk powder for your baby, buy
flowers for a sick friend, buy beer for tomorrow nights football game. Using the link
method, see a vivid picture of your dentist tuning your car engine with a tuning fork, out
jumps a parcel and it explodes in mid-air raining confetti of postage stamps, a strong
wind blows and the stamps get stuck to a nicely wrapped present with a giant red ribbon,
along comes a dog which rips the ribbon apart, the dog gets entangle in the red ribbon
and crashes through the window of a watch shop, out of the smashed windows comes
giant walking watches wearing nicely pressed suits. Some of the walking watches take
out bottles of milk to feed crying babies in prams that the terrified mothers have
abandoned. The watches are ticking and they explode into flowers of different colors and
hues. It then starts raining heavily, you taste the raindrops and it is beer! Of course,
you dont need to do the errands in the sequence. That might not be convenient, unless
the errands are arranged in this manner (maybe they are all along the same route). Each
time you complete an errand, go over the link in your mind. Go over the link to see if
youve missed out on any errands at the end of your run.
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We can use the Peg system for the same thing. Just think of tuning your car engine with
the peg word for #1 (tie). You might see yourself wearing a tie with a car engine tied to
the bottom of your tie.
Dentist to Noah (#2)
Post Office to Ma (#3)
Birthday present to Rye (#4)
Dog food to Law (#5)
Wifes watch to shoe (#6)
Your suit to cow (#7)
Milk powder to ivy (#8)
Flowers to bee (#9)
Beer to toes (#10)
Lets begin your with your second errand. Vividly imagine Noah screaming in pain in
his ark as the dentist pulls out one of his tooth. Picture your mother trying to slot her best
home-baked apple pie into the mailing box at the post office. Picture yourself tying a
red ribbon on a rye bread sandwich. Picture a dog in a white wig in a judges uniform.
Imagine someone with a ticking shoe and taking off her high-heeled shoes to check the
time. Imagine a cow wearing a neatly pressed suit and tie. Imagine an Ivy plant
climbing up a gigantic towering milk bottle. Imagine a bee giving flowers to his lady bee
and the lady bee blushing. Imagine soaking your tired feet and swollen toes in ice-cold
buckets of beer.
Well go further into remembering schedules and appointments in later chapters. Before
going to bed or before your day starts, go through your errands as explained, thats all
there is to it.
Before going on to the next chapter, please learn the pegs for #26 through to #50. They
follow the rules of the phonetic alphabet as do all the pegs.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
Notch
Neck
Knife
Knob
Mice
Mat
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
Moon
Mummy
Mower
Mule
Match
Mug
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
Movie
Mop
Rose
Rod
Rain
Ram
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
Rower
Roll
Roach
Rock
Roof
Rope
50. Lace
If the item associated with #26 were cigar, you could see a giant cigar with a notch in
it. For mower picture a lawn mower. For #41(rod), picture a fishing rod.
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Be sure you know the peg words for 1 through 50 One way of doing so is to write them
on cards for each 10 words and practice them when you are waiting for someone or while
in the queue for something. Then if youre feeling lucky, do all 50 in one shot. You
shouldnt have problems remembering all 50 in a short time.
Page 34
Chapter 8
Training Your Observation Skills
TOURISTS
IN
THE
THE
SUMMER
Have you read the phrase in the box above. Read it again to makes sure you know what
it says. Repeat what it says aloud. Now go back to it and check it to make sure it is
right. Some of you may think this is a silly exercise but its important for you to be
absolutely sure of what it says. Now if youve looked at it closely at least 3 times, what
does it say? Does it say Flowers in the summer? Are you sure? Check it again. Have
you looked at it again? If you still insist that it reads Flowers in the summer, guess
what? Your observation is not as keen as it should be.
If you check it out one more time, it actually says Flowers in the the summer! Yes
there is one the too many in the phrase ! This little exercise goes to prove that our
sense of observation needs to be sharpened. Although my system actually forces you to
observe if you apply them, your sense of observation can be strengthened with a little
practice. As a practice, try to list on a piece of paper, the stuff in your room. After
youve finished, take a blank piece of paper and go around your room and write down the
things you see. Compare the 2 lists and see what youve missed.
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If youre sitting on a subway or a bus, take one second to glance at the person standing or
sitting opposite you (dont stare as it is rude), then open your eyes again and take a quick
glance and see what youve missed. Think of a colleague or a friend in school and try to
imagine his/her face as vividly as possible. What are the colors of their eyes,
complexion, which side is the hair parted, type of nose, lips, the color of their spectacle
frames (can you remember if they even wear spectacles?). Do they have freckles? Then
the next time you meet, see how much you actually see correctly. Youll find that
with practice, your observation skills gradually improve over time. If you need more
practice, go to the supermarket and using the Peg or Link system, try to remember the
prices of items. With time and with constant practice, youll find your observation skills
are becoming sharper.
Before reading any further, I would suggest that you memorize the Peg words from 51 to
75.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
Lad
Lion
Lime
Lure
Lily
Leech
57.
58.
59.
60.
61.
62.
Log
Lava
Lip
Cheese
Sheet
Chain
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
75. Coal
Chum
Chair
Jail
Choo choo
Check
Chef
69.
70.
71.
72.
73.
74.
Ship
Case
Cat
Coin
Cam
Car
For #63 chum, you can picture a close friend. For #54 lure, you can picture a bait. . For
#73 cam, you can picture a camera.
Page 36
Chapter 9
How To Remember Speeches, Articles, Scripts and Anecdotes.
Making speeches can be a frightening affair. Not only must the speaker know his subject
well, he must also be able pace his speech, gauge the audience reaction, tell relevant
jokes and stories to keep the audience interested , mind his diction, adjust his vocals and a
lot of areas of concern. Taking all these into account, it is no wonder that most people
fear making speeches. However, there are people who relish making speeches, they
remember their speeches well, speak and look confident, and inject humor at the
appropriate moment. It is no secret that the best speech-makers prepare well beforehand.
But even with timely preparation, it is easy to forget what one is suppose to say or even
falter due to nervousness and this can lead to awkward situations.
Some people memorize their speeches word for word. But this can present a problem if
the words are mixed up or somehow forgotten. Then there are those who get around the
problem by reading from script. But somehow, you will lose touch with the audience as
you continually look down on a piece of paper. And if you lose your place on the paper,
it can be a few seconds of embarrassment. The best way to make speeches is to lay out
you thoughts and ideas and link these thoughts or ideas. There are no words to forget
since youve not memorized any. If you wish to memorize your speech, flowing from
one thought or idea to the next, use the Link method and you would be forming a
sequence.
To prepare, you might want to write down your key thoughts by using KEY WORDS on
a piece of paper. Then link sub-thoughts with arrows forming branches as they come
into your head. By the time you finish, you just have a piece of paper (maybe 2) with
KEY WORDS as your thoughts. You can start linking the key words by the methods
already discussed.
For example
Lets say you need to make a speech on how to invest in luxury watches. You have
wrote down your key words on a piece of paper and the points you want to make. (1)
Returns on Investment (2) Types of watches to invest in (3) The time frame to wait (4)
Pitfalls to look out for (5) Safekeeping your expensive watches
You have 5 key words, Returns, Types, Safekeeping, time frame and pitfalls. All
these works are rather abstract so you may have to break up certain syllables in a word to
something you can easily picture and sounds the same. For returns, it sounds like rat
turns. For types, we imagine a typewriter. For safekeeping, we imagine a giant
safe. For time frame we imagine a picture frame and for pitfalls, just think of a hole in
the ground. We can now begin to imagine a vivid picture with lots of action in a totally
nonsensical manner. Think of a giant rat turning and rolling a typewriter down a hill.
Down it goes faster and faster, the rat runs after it yelling Stop come back, the keys
Page 37
from the typewriter starts coming off and the rat steps on them yelling Ouch!, the safe
goes through a giant picture frame. The rat stops to admire the intricate carving on the
frame before running through it and chasing the typewriter which finally falls into a deep
pit, down and down it goes until it hits a safe at the bottom of the pit with a loud, clunk.
And expensive watches pours out of the opened safe.
You may have to start out with 2 or 3 key words for some thoughts. List as many of
them as you need to remember the entire speech. As you progress with the idea, the
amount of key words will be lessened. More importantly, the confidence you gain by
knowing that you remember your talk will show as you deliver it. Just remember that
you must take care of your thoughts and the words will follow.
So just remember the main thoughts of the speech and the incidentals, the ifs, ands, buts ,
whys and wherefores will follow.
The same idea goes when you read an article and want to remember it. Just take note of
the main points. The main point of the article will link to the sub-point for which key
words have been chosen. So like the tiny hooks of a Velcro, the entire article can be
remembered.
The same idea of linking Key Words can also be used for lyrics and scripts. Of course, it
is usually necessary to memorize them word for word. You just have to go over them
more often, but the key word idea will make it easier. If you have trouble remembering
your cue in a play, you can remember the last word of the line prior to yours and make a
link to the first word of yours? The same system can be used for remembering jokes.
You can hear lots of funny stories and jokes and forget them the next day. Simply use
the Key Word system to link the words in the punch line and the entire joke comes to
mind.
Before we proceed any further, let us learn the last of the one hundred peg words.
76.
77.
78.
79.
80.
81.
Cage
Cake
Cave
Cop
Vase
Fat
82.
83.
84.
85.
86.
87.
Phone
Foam
Fur
File
Fish
Fog
88.
89.
90.
91.
92.
93.
Fifi
FBI
Bus
Bat
Bone
Bum
94.
95.
96.
97.
98.
99.
Bear
Bell
Beach
Book
Puff
Pipe
100. Disease
Page 38
For #89 (FBI) -- Think of secret agents in trench coats.

French poodle named fifi.
For #88 (Fifi) - Think of a
Now try to count from 1 to 100 with your peg words only. You can practice when you
are in a queue, in a traffic jam, or commuting by bus or train. If you go over them just
once in a while, theyll soon be lodged in your long-term memory.
Page 39
Chapter 10
How to Remember Long-Digit Numbers
Any number, whether they are telephone numbers, credit numbers, historical dates can
be made to mean something and be remembered. Using the Peg and he link system, you
are forced to concentrate on the numbers, it is simple and it can be retained for very long.
For example, try to memorize 244682775865
24
Nero
46
82
77
roach phone cake
58
lava
65
jail
Think of the peg words as you focus on the numbers and move from left to right across
the row of numbers. Think of Nero with his fiddle sitting on a giant roach. The roach is
making a call on a phone and climbing on a large piece of cake. Suddenly a volcano
erupts and hot lava comes flowing down and moves the giant roach into a jail cell.
In about half a minute, you should be able to make this association. Go over it once or
twice and see if it gets memorized. In repeating the number , all you do is change the
picture back to peg words into numbers.
You have just committed to memory, a 12-digit number linking 6 objects with your
imagination. Intelligence experts tell us that the average adult should remember a 6-digit
number forwards and backwards, after hearing or seeing it once. The superior adult does
the same with an 8-digit number. Youve just done the same with a 12-digit number!
If youve grasped the concept of what Im teaching, you can use your imagination and
use 4 words to memorize a 12-digit number. Just make up words to fit 3 digits at a time
and link them.
Instead of using 2-digit words, we have 3-digit Peg words.
539
Lamp
127
Tank
922
Banana
327
Monkey
You can vividly imagine a street lamp in the way of a rolling army tank, it gets rolled
over and crushed. The tank fires salvoes of bananas like shells at a giant monkey that
gobbles up the bananas as they fly towards it.
Page 40
If youre using this method to remember telephone numbers for example.

Paul Smith 35-82-05-76
You might want to picture a Black Smith with a long pole (Paul) hitting a mule. The
mule (35) runs to a phone (82) booth and calls the police (law-05). The police arrives
and puts the Blacksmith in a cage (76). If you think youd be confused with the sequence
of the numbers, simply use a peg word for the last 2-digit which is not part of he list
example Catch or Cash. However, I dont think you would ever find it necessary to
memorize a phone number that you didnt intend to use for a great period of time. After
making the call a couple of times, your natural memory will probably tell you which set
of peg words come first. In this case you might not need to use the link method or think
of a word for the last 2 digits that are not in the list.
If a long digit number can be broken down into groups of 4 digits that can make up
meaningful words, use them. A 20-digit number can then be broken up into 5 words.
For example.
4952
aeroplane
7115
cattle
9514
boulder
7169
ketchup
1204
dinosaur
You can now make up a ridiculous picture story of how an aeroplane flies over a herd of
cattle, it drops a gigantic boulder on the cattle and flattens them. Ketchup oozes from
beneath the boulder . A big dinosaur comes along and starts licking up the ketchup.
Sometimes it is not possible to form words with 4 letters, in which case you can break it
down to 2-digit, 3-digit, 4 or even 5 or 8-digits words. Let your imagination flow. Now
try the test #3, in chapter #4 and see the progress that youve made!
Page 41
Chapter 11
Some Other Quick Pegs
There are other great ideas thought up on how to devise peg lists. You may on occasion
need a short list to help you recall. You can use the body list that Ive mentioned earlier
in the chapter.
Body List
1. Toe
2. Knee
3. Muscle
4. Rear
5. Love handles
6. Shoulder
7. Collar
8. Face
9. Point
10. Ceiling
House List
Room 1 - Living room
1. Small Bench
2. Sofa
2. TV Set
3. Piano
4. Wine rack.
Room 2. - Kitchen
1. Refrigerator
2. Oven
3. Microwave
4. Island
5. Kitchen sink
Room 3 - Study Room
1. Book shelf
2. Study desk
3. Computer Station
4. Lamp
5. Showcase.
Room 4. - Bedroom
1. Dresser
2. Full length mirror
3. Bed
4. Walk in wardrobe.
5. Side table.
Page 42
The house list is a powerful peg list as it links already known items in your house Since
the items are known, all you need to do is review it 10 times during a 72-hour period to
commit the sequence into the long term memory bank. It should not take more than a
minute each time. Thats right, 10 minutes total over a 3-day period to lodge it into your
long-term memory! All you need to do is go from room to room according to the layout
of your house and identify items that are placed in its usual place to be used as pegs. For
example, if I were to enter my house, the first room would be the living room, followed
the kitchen, the study room and finally the master bedroom. In each room I then identify
items that are in its usual place as I move my eyes across the room. In my living room
for instance, there is a small bench where I sit to put on my shoes before I leave the
house. Obviously, it will be the first thing I see as I enter the living room from the
outside, followed by the sofa which I sit on to watch my favorite TV shows and the
piano is near the TV followed by the wine rack nearby.
The flag pole list

1 --2 --3 --4 --5 --6 --7 --8 --9 --10 ---
Flag pole
See Saw
Tripod
Car
Five point star
Dice
7-Eleven Store
Sexy woman
Police car
Bowling Ball
11. --12 --13 --14 --15 --16 --17 --18 --19 --20 ---
Chop Sticks
Clock
Witch
Rose
Rugby Team
Candy
Jackpot machine
Voting Booth
Golf Club
Spectacles
The above list is easy to remember and comes in handy when you need to remember
things while on the move, like running errands, grocery list, to-do lists etc. Let me
explain how I came up with the list. The #1 look like a flagpole with a flag flying in the
wind. #2 is seesaw as it goes up or down, only 2 ways, 2 people sitting on each side. #3
is a camera tripod with 3 legs. #4 is a car with four wheels, 4 doors etc. #5 is a fivepointed star. #6 is dice as it has only 6 faces. #7 is a 7-Eleven convenience store. #8 is a
sexy woman with a curvaceous, hourglass body. #9 is a police car as most emergency
numbers start with 9 like 999 or 911. #10 is a bowling ball, 10 frames, 10 pins, a strike.
#11 looks like a pair of chopsticks for Chinese meals. #12 is a grandfather clock as it
has only 12 digits for the hours. #13 is often associated with being unlucky and here,
Ive used a witch to represent that. #14 - I link to Valentines day on February 14 where
roses are given to the ladies. #15 - Rugby team as there are 15 players in a team. #16 Sweet sixteen which is linked to candy. #17 is linked to a jackpot machine commonly
Page 43
called the one arm bandit and 7 is considered lucky. Picture yourself pulling the lever
of one and an avalanche of coins start pouring out!. #18 - 18 years old is the age where
most citizens are eligible to vote. #19 is linked to golf clubs - the inverted golf club looks
like a 9, 19th hole. #20 is link to a pair of spectacles for 20/20 perfect vision correction.
Lets say your wife calls you up in the office and ask you to pick up 12 items before you
come home. She needs ketchup, spaghetti, infant milk formula, lettuce, tomatoes, frozen
minced beef, a loaf of bread, batteries, detergent for the laundry. She also needs you to
pick up some dry- cleaning at the launderer and some photos that she wanted developed,
and aspirin from the pharmacy. You can picture a flag that is covered in Ketchup on a
flagpole or a giant bottle of Ketchup being used as a flagpole. Some kids sitting on a seesaw made of spaghetti, a bottle of milk taking photographs with a camera on a tripod,
See yourself wrapping a toy car in a leaf of lettuce and eating it. Picture someone
throwing tomatoes on a 5-point star and the tomatoes sticking on the pointed ends. See
someone mincing meat in a meat grinder and out comes dice instead of minced meat.
See a loaf of bread wearing a 7-Eleven uniform and greeting you behind the cash register.
See a sexy young woman in a tight fitting dress and she is talking slower and slower until
someone puts batteries in her mouth. See a police car chasing a giant box of detergent on
wheels. See your neighborhood launderer pressing your dry cleaning with a huge
bowling ball. Picture someone eating photos and negatives with a pair of chopsticks.
See a giant clock going ding dong ding dong very loudly and your wife holding her head
and yelling Give me an aspirin!
Alphabet List
You can also use the alphabet to make up a list of 26 Pegs. Just use ones that sound like
the letter.
A --- Ape
B --- Beer
C --- Sea
D --- Dean
E --- Eel
F --- F15
G --- Jeans
H --- Edge
I --- Eye
J --- Jail
K --- Cake
L --- Hell
M --- Ham
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
---------------------------
Ant
Oar
Pea
Queue
Ark
Ass
Tea
Ewe
Veal
Walrus
Axe
Wine
Zebra
Instead of using the obvious Bee for B, Ive used B for Beer so as to avoid conflict
with the basic peg for #9. F15 is a premier fighter aircraft made in the US and used in
many countries. For H, you can imagine the edge of a cliff. For R, you can imagine the
Page 44
biblical ark, a big ship holding 2 animals of every kind. W is the exception to the
sounds like rule. You can use anything that starts or looks like W, like twin peaks.
Ive used walrus. The above alphabet list would come in useful for remembering
Chemistry elements, physics and mathematical formulas using alphabets and are highly
abstract. Incidentally, if you start linking the letters in the alphabetical sequence, you
can link them to the numerical position, for example, #1(Tie) - Ape, #2 (Noah) - Beer or
you can chain Ape all the way to Zebra. This way, you can recite the alphabet
backwards, cool isnt it?
The Rhyme List
IN 5 MINUTES TIME YOU WILL BE ABLE TO RECALL A 10 ITEM SHOPPING
LIST IN ORDER, BACKWARDS, FORWARDS, AND INSIDE OUT!
I know you can do it because Ive taught this method to a group of youths with dyslexia
and their memory recall improved TEN-FOLD! Take each number between 1 and 10. I
will be using numbers in the text to make it easier for you to read. Now create rhymes for
each of those numbers. You should do it yourself, but here is what I use. This is not
exclusive and you may prefer your own rhymes. What is important is that they are
memorable, and solid concrete ideas emotions will not work. You are working with
pictures not ideas!
1 Bun
2 shoe
3 tree
4 door
5 hive
6 sticks
7 heaven
8 gate
9 wine
10 hen
MOVE ON TO THE NEXT STAGE ONLY WHEN YOU ARE SURE THAT YOU
CAN REMEMBER YOUR OBJECT RHYMES.
Now, when you say the word 1, immediately you should have the rhyme of a bun (in
my case). 5 would make you think of a beehive. You will get quicker in time, like when
a trickle of water becomes a stream, and it will take less effort.
This is your peg system.
Now I am going to give you another list this time to remember
Hat
Coat
Dog
Page 45
Mouse
Car
Jacket
Sofa
Light bulb
Candle
Briefcase
Your task now is to join your RHYME to the appropriate object that you want to
remember. For example the sixth item on our list is a jacket. 6 rhymes with sticks, so
imagine the jacket being beaten up with some sticks or a similar image. Maybe the jacket
is playing the drums. Do the same for each item on the list. Here is a simple table to help
you.
As you memorize each picture, try to make it move - have action in it, and keep it clear in
your mind. Use the power memory booster tips of humor, larger than life etc. as
mentioned earlier. Dont worry about forgetting earlier items. They are still there. Just
concentrate on each picture as you get to it.
Now, close your eyes. Say to yourself 1 and recall the rhyme. What was the rhyme
linked to. Amazingly as you go through each object you will recall the number, then the
rhyme, and finally the picture which includes what you are trying to remember. But
perhaps what you will find most unnerving is that once memorized, you will find it hard
to stop your memory from throwing out the information! Images will tumble out faster
and faster as you get used to using your memory. Its very strange at first, but you will get
used to it.
Page 46
Number Shape List

A number has a shape all of its own, but needs a little interpretation. The graphics in this
section will help you.
0 is an orange
1 is a paint brush
2 is a swan
3 is a camel
4 is a yacht
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5 is a hook on a fishing line
6 is a trunk of an elephant
7 is a cliff
8 is a snowman
9 is a golf club
10 is a bait
Page 48
Using the guidelines for number rhymes, this time memorize a new list of 10 items, but
this time link the pictures of the SHAPES system to the objects. i.e. Link your first item
with a paintbrush (for 1) the second with a swan, the third with a camel etc. So, if a car is
at position 5, you might be imagining pulling a car from a river using a hook and line.
How to turn 10 into 100!
A bit clever this . Firstly, you will need to decide which system you like best, rhymes
or shapes. If it is rhymes, then that is the BANK, and the shapes become the PATCH.
Vice versa if you preference the other. It works like this. Lets assume that you prefer
rhymes. 1-10 is the same as a simple list. From No. 11 upwards you create
COMBINATION IMAGES. Each image will always have a bun in it, but the bun
interacts with the 10 shapes lists. So for example number 11 would be a paint brush
painting a bun a color. Number 15 would be a bun on a fishing line. All the numbers from
11 to 19 are the shapes, but the bun means it is HAS A 1 AT THE FRONT. In the
THIRD 10 (21-30) then each shape will interact with a shoe! So number 28, would be a
snowman wearing a pair of shoes. See the table over for further clarity.
Patch
Bank
1Brush
2Swan
3
Camel
4
Yacht
5
Hook
6
Elephant
7
Cliff
9
Club
8
Snowman
8
10
Bat &
Ball
10
See
Note
1
Bun
2
Shoe
3
Tree
4
Door
5
Hive
6
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
Sticks
7
Heaven
8
Gate
9
Wine
Note: for the first bank it is not necessary to have a number, as the first 10 will stand on their
own. However, you could have NIL = HILL. If you decide that your Bank should be the
shapes system, and the patch should be the rhyme system then use the following table.
Page 49
Patch
Bank
0
Orange
1
Brush
2
Swan
3
Camel
4
Yacht
5
Hook
6
Elephant
7
Cliff
8
Snowman
9
Club
1
Bun
1
2
Shoe
2
3
Tree
3
4
Door
4
5
Hive
5
6
Sticks
6
7
Heaven
7
8
Gate
8
9
Wine
9
10
Hen
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
The way to use this system obviously is to introduce the object to be remembered into
this new composite image. So if you wanted to remember a clock at number 86 (IN THE
FIRST TABLE), then you would have an elephant stood knocking (movement and
sound) on a gate, and on his back is a giant clock. The reason for needing the idea of a
BANK and PATCH system is that an image is just that, an image. So when you
DECODE the image you will need to know which came first. Otherwise you would be
asking yourself if your placement of the clock was at number 86, or 68. This confusion
would create an unstable memory image that might be forgotten. In fact, in this version
number 68 is sticks and a snowman. Look now at the second table what would the
image be for a car at number 73? Work out which system you prefer and then stick to it!
How and why does it work?
We can retain separate images in our minds quite easily, and by using this kind of system
of combining different elements the images remain quite distinct from one another.
Because they are sequence based with a system we are already used to that of counting
we are sure that we have not missed anything vital. But there is one more thing which I
will touch on now, but will be dealt with a little more later on, and that is the process of
recall and long-term memory. The act of remembering creates the effect of strengthening
the chemical bonds of a memory or in the analogy of the stream, it widens it to a river.
If you simply look again at the information to remind yourself then you are not actually
remembering. There are optimum times for this process to be efficient, which will be
covered later. But for now it is worth realizing that using a systematic approach you will
be able to recall far more information without the need to recourse to the quick glance to
Page 50
remind yourself if you have forgotten anything. Such glances keep memories in the shortterm area of your mind, and true power memory is information which goes into long-term
memory.
In fact the amazing thing is that once the memory has been firmly fixed in the mind, you
will no longer need the system to recall the information as it will become part of your
normal thinking, so do not be concerned that you are going to end up with 1000s of
elephants running around in your head because the systems covered here are simply a
tool to help you 1) retain the information in the first place 2) get it into long term
memory.
What about erasing information?
Now that is the really clever bit. You can either let your mind lose the information over
time (around 4 days!) or you can erase it manually. All you have to do is to go through
the images without their attached items and you are ready to start over a bit like erasing
a tape recording or recordable CD or disk which has just been re-formatted. One last
thing as we move on. Hopefully you will be realizing that your memory is very
impressive in fact why not start impressing others now by doing a demonstration? Its a
strange feeling the first time you manage it because somewhere inside of you, you
probably didnt think that it would work without all the strain and effort that you used to,
or still do, put in at school. In fact because it is all just about remembering pictures you
probably will enjoy it!
Using the objects or landmarks or a familiar route
If you take a regular journey to somewhere, using the same route over and over, the
chances are that right now you will be able to sit down and recall each individual step
along the way. Whether you are walking, driving or a passenger, familiarity will mean
that you have in your mind both sequence and unique images all ready to drop in your
lists or other information that you want to store away.
Imagine a train journey that you might take to work, you ride past stations that you can
identify not only by sight, without reference to a sign, but you know which station is
before it and which station is after it.
All you need to do to memorize your information is place your key images on each
station. Of course if you can identify other points in your journey bridges, fields, office
blocks and so forth then you will have many more points of reference that will provide
you with the building blocks and pegs for your memory system.
Whats more, because of the flexibility of this system, and because it relies on nothing
more than familiarity with the real world, it is very easy to drop in the other systems.
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Earlier you learned how to create a system of 1000 images, but if you had a journey of 10
stations, you could use each station in combination thereby increasing to 10 thousand
separate images! Believe me, this is not impossible and you can search the Internet to
find such record breakers!
As you can see, although the above lists is easy to remember and highly effective.
However, the phonetic list is probably one of the most versatile and unlimited in its use.
Page 52
Chapter 12
How To Learn A Foreign Language
EVER since people began to engage in trade and commerce and thereby to come into
contact with foreigners, they have had to learn the language of the country with which
they wished to do business. Because acquiring a foreign language is one of the oldest
branches of knowledge, one would think that during the many years which have passed a
method could have been found for making the study-process easier and the learningprocess more effective. In reality, however, only the last few decades have produced a
small number of volumes based on a truly rational method. Most textbooks still prefer to
follow the tradition sanctified by long usage.
When we are learning a foreign language, the new words are the most important thing,
and before we do anything else we must learn to translate them from our mother tongue
to the new language. The further we progress in the foreign language, the further into the
background this linking of words recedes until finally, when we can really speak the new
language well, we think in it naturally, without translating.
The average man applies the method which he uses in learning a vocabulary of foreign
words; that is, he repeats the two words one after the other until he thinks he has them
fixed in mind. What is the weakness of this method? It does not take long to find it. The
human mind is so constituted that it is always looking for something new. If the
vocabulary or words to be memorized are repeated one after the other in a more or less
mechanical fashion, they offer nothing new for the mind to grasp. It wanders and busies
itself with something else while the lips mechanically keep on murmuring the words.
What happens is the exact opposite of concentration. It is a direct invitation to woolgathering, for such absent-mindedness really ensues when we try to learn something yet
at the same time let our minds be occupied by something else.
So how many words can you hope to retain? Well the average human being has a
vocabulary of around 12 thousand words, though there is no official figure for to get a
proper answer you would need to interview all people from all cultures and find the
average. For a foreign language you may be talking around 5000. You can hope to learn
competently around 20 to 30 words a day. That means that to get to a language that you
can consider yourself fluent in you will be looking at around 6 to 12 months of daily
work. That seems an awful lot, and the scary thing is that what happens if you forget all
the preceding work? When I was younger trying to learn French that was often the
problem - I would learn the vocabulary for the vocabulary test, and get full marks. But I
would have forgotten it all by the time I got to the summer exam so flunked!
Page 53
Thats because I didnt use a system but tried the repetition method. I was so good at
repeating it that I found that I could recite it onto the test paper. The first thing to do is to
recognize that a foreign word, unlike the words of our native language, are similar to
numbers in the fact that they are sounds that dont make a lot of sense to us. What we
need to do is to turn those sounds into recognizable clues to the foreign word we are
learning. This means finding substitutions. It sounds complicated and the instructions
below may seem a little long winded, but your brain works at lightning speed and will get
the hang of it soon enough.
Lets take the French word for window, "fenetre". This is how you do it: break it down
into its phonic (sound) parts .... Fan-ate-raw. Simply imagine a giant fan eating raw meat.
Another french word - La tete - meaning head. Now I know that the tete is a gallery, so I
put a head image, giant sized, in the tete gallery.
Next, Ill present to you two ways to learn a foreign language. You can choose either
one, depending on your preference, but there is no rule to say you cant incorporate both.
Method 1 uses a substitute word in English (or your native tongue) that sounds or looks
as close to the foreign word as possible. I call it a bridging word as it bridges the
original word in English to that in a foreign language.
Poehlmann points out, quite correctly, that Latin textbooks for beginners usually
introduce farmer-agricoa early in the course. The student must keep impressing this
word on his mind by the usual process of repetition until it sticks. How much easier it is
for the student to learn that acre is ager, aided by the similarity in sound of the two words.
If in addition he has learned that to cultivate is colere, no extra time or thought need be
spent on the compounded word agri-cola (ager colere). This example is but one of
thousands which could be cited from foreign-language textbooks.
It is more logical and to the point for anyone who wants to learn a foreign tongue to study
first of all those words which are spelled the same, or nearly the same, in his own
language. In English-German there are, for instance:
roseRose
ringRing
goldGold
grassGrass
rustRost
manMann
Then follow the words which, while differing in spelling, yet have a fairly similar sound:
steelStahl
moonMond
fatherVater
comekommen
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Whether such words are few or many depends upon the degree of relationship between
one's own language and the particular foreign one.
If thought-associations like those given above cannot be made, that is, if the foreign word
sounds entirely different from the same word in our own language, we can lighten our
task of learning it by employing linking words.
Naturally this plan again offers various possibilities. The simplest and most effective is to
find a linking word in one's own language, a word which in meaning is similar to the
given word but in sound resembles the foreign word to be learned. If we go back to the
Latin, we find the following example:
In Latin, hand is manus. In English, we have the word manufacturer, originally someone
who made something by hand. If we therefore insert manufacturer as the linking word
between hand and manus, we use this chain of thought: I am trying to think of the Latin
word for hand. Hand reminds me of the man who makes something by hand or causes it
to be made by hand, therefore manufacturer. If I know this word, I can easily recall the
Latin word manus.
Another example: To know is cognoscere in Latin. These are entirely different words,
and there is apparently no connection between the two. But if I know someone I can say I
recognize him. This word is so similar to the Latin term I am trying to think of that
memorizing the latter offers no further difficulty.
There is a twofold advantage in learning words in this way: First, stupid, parrotlike
repetition is done away with. The habit of endless repetition, as I have pointed out, tends
to destroy concentration. Second, terms learned by the method I have outlined make a
much deeper impression and remain in the memory much longer, once they are learned.
The reader cannot check this assertion offhand; but try to learn foreign terms with the aid
of a modern textbook or by inserting your own linking words and you will shortly see
how astonishingly well you remember them. Now, of course, there are a great number of
terms for which it is impossible to find linking words as closely related in meaning to the
words in one's own language as the cited examples. In spite of this fact we need not
discard our method. Basing my conclusions on an extensive study of many languages, I
have found that in almost all instances it is possible to discover a word in our own
language that is similar in sound to the foreign word. Once I know such a word, with a
little practice in inserting linking words I can make a connection in my own language
whenever a natural connection does not exist. The following examples demonstrate this
point: The English word tomb is entirely dissimilar and has no relationship to the German
word Grabmal. But it is easy to form a connection between tomb and grave, and the latter
word sounds so much like the German word Grab, that remembering it presents no
difficulty.
Page 55
Since actual practice is much more instructive than theory, I shall present a series of
examples, emphasizing the fact that the etymology of the words is entirely beside the
point. I assume that the etymology of the word is unknown to the reader, for if it is
known, we can naturally dispense with mnemotechnical aids (bridging word).
Examples for English-French:

English
Top
women
share
danger
insanity
middle
busy
death
house
hot
noon
mail
song
speed
food
duty
clock
shadow
ear
Bridging Word
summit
feminine
part
risk
demented
center
occupied
mortal
mason
brilliant
midday
post
chant
rapid
nourishment
function
hour .
umbrella
aural
French
sommet
femmes
part
risque
demence
centre
occup
mort
maison
brullant
midi
poste
chanson
rapidit
nourriture
fonction
horloge
ombre
oreille
Examples for English-German:

English
basement
cloakroom
tomb
merchandise
duty
soft
assist
boy
dog
savage
Bridging Word
cellar
wardrobe
grave
ware
toll
weak
help
young
hound
barbarian
German
Keller
Garderobe
Grabmal
Ware
Zoll
weich
helfen
Junge
Hund
Barbar
Page 56
letter
flower
flour
enemy
meat
Road
Carpet
Table
Shave
brief
bloom
meal
fiend
flesh
way
tapestry
dish
razor
Brief (a brief letter)

Blume
Mehl
Feind
Fleisch
Weg
Teppich
Tisch
rasieren
Examples for English-Spanish:

English
Child
Horse
Door
Heart
Mind
Neck
at once
prize
table
knife
scale
wages
untruth
star
Bridging Word
infant
cavalry
portal
core
mental
collar
prompt
premium
mess
cut
balance
salary
false
stellar
Spanish
infante
caballo
puerta
corazn
mente
cuello
pronto
premio
mesa
cuchillo
balanza
salario
falsedad
estrella
Examples from English-Latin:

English
Home
Big
Peace
Chief
King
Slave
Life
Light
Shelter
Bridging Word
domicile
magnify
pacts
principal
reign
serve
vital
luminous
protection
Latin
domus
magnus
pax
princeps
rex
servus
vita
lux
tecta
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Method 2 of Learning a foreign language

Using your vivid imagination to break up a foreign word to form pictures
A word in a foreign language is nothing but a group of sound if you are not familiar with
the language. Thats why theyre so difficult o remember. If you plan to learn a foreign
language, you can use the system of Substitute Words. Substitute words or ideas are
used whenever you want to remember something that is abstract, or unintelligible, it
cannot be pictured, yet must be remembered. This method is important when you need to
remember names, complex mathematical formulas or a foreign language.
Make up a substitute word when you come across a foreign word that means nothing to
you, or is intangible and unintelligible. The substitute word , phrase or thought sounds as
close as possible, to the word youre trying to replace, and it is tangible and can be
pictured in your mind. Any word that you may have to remember, for example a foreign
language that is meaningless, can be made to mean something to you by using the
substitute word or thought. You can break down each syllable of the foreign word to
something that sounds like something you know and can be pictured.
The Spanish word for cat is gato. That sounds like gate. So you can imagine a cat
hanging by its claws on a gate and the gate slams shuts on its paws and the cat falls off.
The Spanish word for rice is arroz. This is easy, imagine going to a Spanish
restaurant and ordering a rice dish and it comes on a big plate full of tiny arrows.
The Spanish word for room is cuarto (pronounced quarto). Picture a room piled high
with quarters.
The Spanish word for cup is taza. Picture tarzan in his loincloth having a cup of
English tea. Or tarzan swinging on a vine, the vine snaps and he falls into a giant cup.
The Spanish word for hello is Hola. Picture yourself saying hello to someone down
in a manhole.
Now for some French words,
The French word for friend is amie - You can picture all your friends in army
uniforms.
The French word for news is nouvelle. This sounds like new veil. You can picture a
famous male Newscaster or Newsreader wearing a veil and reading the evening news on
television. It wouldnt work as well with a female newscaster as the former picture looks
ludicrous and tends to stick.
Page 58
The French word for shirt is liquette - Picture someone pouring a colored liquid
onto your shirt.
The French word for bread is pain. Imagine yourself biting into a French loaf with a
stone in it. It is pronounced as Pun. So you can also imagine yourself punting a loaf of
bread over the Eiffel tower.
So thats it. When you are learning something that makes no sense to you, like a foreign
language, make substitute words with similar sounds that you can picture in your mind
and make it meaningful..
From experience I know that at first glance these methods of learning terms will seem
odd to many of my readers. Put it to the test of actual practice, however, before forming
an opinion. Just make the following experiment: In the next few days learn one or two
hundred foreign words by the method you usually employ: in the following few days
learn the same number in the same language (naturally different words) by the method I
have outlined, that is, before the insertion of linking words of your own choosing. Then
let the whole thing alone for a week or two, without even thinking about it. After about
two weeks see how many words you remember of those you learned by the old method
and how many you learned by the new method of employing linking words.
I can tell you in advance that the using either Method 1 or Method 2 is sure to be 100 or
200 percent higher, that is, you will have remembered at least twice as many words,
perhaps even three or four times as many as you learned by your old method.
Do not form a hasty opinion, but wait until you have tried the experiment yourself.
Practice is the only sure test of a workable method of study.
Remember that everything new first meets with opposition and that every forward step is
apt to be greeted with a headshake. That is only human.
When railroad trains were invented and the first train was to swoop along at the then
unheard-of speed of twenty miles an hour, the Prussian Academy of Medicine proclaimed
that no one could suffer such speed without going crazy, and in all seriousness demanded
that a high wooden fence be erected along the entire length of the track, so that innocent
bystanders would not be scared out of their wits by the sight of the madly speeding
monster.
It took Gillette many years to convince men that his razor is safer than the old-fashioned
blade. Dozens of illustrations come to mind, all proving that the new always meets with
opposition. In the present instance, you have a great advantage over Gillette: You need
invest no money, build no factories, nor the like. You have only to make an experiment
with your own mind before you come to a decision on the matter.
Page 59
Chapter 13
How To Remember States And Capitals
Our next problem is to learn how to master names which are especially difficult to
remember and for which we cannot easily find meaningful words of similar sound. How
shall we set about memorizing, by a simple method, a rather long, collective series of
difficult names? As a concrete example, let us take the forty-eight states of the US.
There are some people, of course, who visualize the map so clearly that they can name
the states according to their geographical location, that is, reel off their names as though
reading from an actual map. A person who can do this naturally does not need any
mnemotechnical aid, since mnemotechny should be employed only when certain facts are
hard or impossible to retain naturally. But even these persons will find it worth while to
read the solution of this problem carefully, because the same method can be used for all
sorts of other things difficult to memorize.
First of all, write down the complete list of names serially in this instance, the states of
the United States. Beside each state write words of similar sound which have a sensible
meaning. The degree of similarity in sound is an individual matter. For the person who
relies greatly on aid the sound must be very like that of the word to be memorized.
The relationship here resembles that of actor and prompter. The actor who knows his
part pretty well needs to be prompted only occasionally, but the actor who is just
beginning to learn his lines has to rely on the prompter during the whole performance.
Taking the states in alphabetical order, we begin with Alabama. The word nearest in
sound to Alabama perhaps is alabaster. Then there are allah, alas, alarm and all able.
These rather exhaust the possibilities, although you may think of a few more. Going
down the list of states in this way, we have something like the following:
1.
Alabama
Allah, alarm, alabaster, all able, alas, Alp
2.
Arizona
aristocrat, arithmetic, arena, area, arid arid

zone
3.
Arkansas
4.
California
ark, arc, archaic, architect, archives,

archaeologist
caloric, calibre, calico, calipers, call
5.
Colorado
color, college, colleague, collect, collision,

colonist
6.
Connecticut
connect, connexion
7.
Delaware
delegate, delectable, deliberate, delicious,

deliver, delusion
Page 60
8.
Florida
florist, florid, floor
9.
Georgia
George, geography
10.
Idaho
Ida, idea, idol, idle
11.
Illinois
ill, illness, illiterate, illogical, illicit, illegal
12.
Indiana
Indian, india-rubber, indicate, indigo, in

direct, indiscreet
13.
14.
Iowa
Kansas
can (verb), can (noun), candidate, cancel
15.
Kentucky
kennel, ken, Kenneth, Kent
16.
Louisiana
Louis, Louise
17.
Maine
Main
18.
Maryland
Mary, married, marriage
19.
Massachusetts message, mass (a lot), mass (in church), massive, master, massage
20.
Michigan
mischance, misshapen, Michel, mission
21.
Minnesota
mineral, minister, minute, mingle, Minnie
22.
Mississippi
misses, misuse, miss, missed
23.
Missouri
Miss Urey, miserable, misrule, misuse, misunderstand, miss
24.
Montana
mountain, month, Monday
25.
Nebraska
nebulous, Neptune, nap
26.
Nevada
nephew, never
27.
New Hampshire ham, hemisphere, hamper
28.
New Jersey
jersey, jerk, jerry, Jerry
29.
New Mexico
maximum, mechanic, new mechanism
30.
New York
York, yawn, yoke, yore
31
32.
North and
cars, carols
South Carolina cars, carols
Page 61
33.
34.
North and
South Dakota
doctors, code, day coach
35.
Ohio
high road, Oh I
36.
Oklahoma
oak, o'clock
37.
Oregon
origin, original, or, oar, orange, ore, organ
38.
Pennsylvania
pencil, pen, paint, pensive
39.
Rhode Island
road, wrote, rode, rodent
40.
Tennessee
tennis, ten
41.
Texas
taxes, takes, taxi
42.
Utah
43.
Vermont
utter, to utter, utterance, you, utensil,

utopia
verse, vermin, vermillion, very
44.
45.
Virginia
W. Virginia
Virginia, virgin
46.
Washington
Washington, wash, washing done
47.
Wisconsin
whisky, whisk, whisker, wish, wisdom
48.
Wyoming
why, wine, whine, why omit
For the present we are not trying to memorize the states in any particular order. Our
problem is merely to associate substituting words for the individual states, naturally one
word for each state. The simplest way is to make up a story incorporating one of these
key words for each state. Such a story might read:
George and Louis, two doctors, rode with the Misses Mary and Ida in taxis on the
special mission. The two cars came from the arid zone of Mexico over the nebulous
mountains and took the main road connecting Kentucky and New York.
George was an architect and the son of a minister. His business flourished, he drank
whisky and wine to prevent illness and ate two Virginia ham sandwiches, which were
delicious. He played tennis, had a daily massage, lived in a Utopian world and played
the organ in his alabaster home.
Louis was a vermilion Indian, who wore a colored jersey over a calico shirt, which he
never washed. He wrote an I.O.U. with his pencil and canceled his 10 o'clock date with
Miss Urey in Ohio.
Page 62
The names of all forty-eight states are in this story. Every boldface word was chosen
from the key words previously given. Only forty-five words are given in boldface
because the Carolinas, Dakotas and Virginias are introduced only once, but in every
instance the word two appears with it (two doctors, two cars, two Virginia ham
sandwiches).
As you will see, this little story can be memorized merely by reading it through four or
five times. It will take only ten or fifteen minutes if you have improved your memory
steadily by doing our exercises. It usually takes hours to memorize the names of the
forty-eight states, and anything learned so tediously and arbitrarily is apt to be forgotten
in a few weeks or months. The little story quoted here is so easy to remember that you
run no risk of forgetting it. Merely note: the first paragraph tells about the trip George
and Louis made; the second describes George's personality; and the third, Louis's
personality.
But let me again remind the reader: one remembers best the stories he invents himself. If
you would like to remember the states, I suggest that you make up a story yourself, using
the key words given above or others of your own choosing. You will remember this story
more easily because your own creative activity is involved.
In order to show you that the story given above is not the only possible one, I cite a
second, built on the same system and following the same rules. This example is better
because it incorporates the states in geographical order. It begins with the Eastern states
and progresses through the Middle West to the Far West.
A man rode down to Main street where he bought some very delicious hams. Then he put
on his new jersey and went in a pensive mood to hear mass in a New York church.
In connection herewith he observed on the floor two paintings of the Virgin Mary by
Michel, heard two carols and listened to the wisdom of a preacher. He met George and
Louis, but alas he missed Kenneth.
Outside under an oak he said to Miss Minnie: "Oh, I want to tell you, you can collect
the ten dollars I owe for the new arc, since I was ill, but I never could understand why it
takes so much new mechanism to put it up."
When he got home, he said to Ida: "You call to that Indian hiding behind those two day
coaches to wait for a nebulous day before washing the ore in those arid mountains.
Now that you have memorized the states, suppose you take the next logical step and learn
their capitals. Because we remember those things best which have meaning in
themselves, we choose substituting words for the capitals as well as the states. The
factors we have considered before hold true for these words too, that is, the more nearly
they sound like the original word and the more simply they can be connected in meaning
with the original word, the better they are. Let us begin with the first state in alphabetical
order:
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The capital of Alabama is Montgomery. Montgomery reminds us of mountain (if one

knows French, so much the better, for mont means mountain), and among the key words
for Alabama we have Alp. Alp and mountain are closely connected in our minds. So we
can easily impress the following on our memories:
AlabamaAlpmountainMontgomery.
Here are some further examples:
Florida
floor, tall house, Tallahassee
Georgia
Atlantic seaboardAtlanta
Idaho
idle boysBoise
Illinois
illspring feverSpringfield
Iowa
I owe moneyDes Moines
Maine
MayAugustAugusta
Minnesota
ministerpreachSt. Paul
New Jersey
jerseycloth tentTrenton
New Mexico
sandySanta Fe
North Dakota
NordicBismarck
Ohio
high in historyColumbus
Pennsylvania
pencilhurryHarrisburg
Texas
taxicarAustin
Wyoming
O MingChineseCheyenne
Washington
Capitolseat of lawOlympia
The associations suggested here are so easy to formulate that further explanations are
unnecessary. It is possible to learn and remember the names of the forty-eight state
capitals by this method in about one half-hour, while memorizing them in the traditional
manner would consume many hours and even then be unreliable.
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Chapter 14
Remembering the Presidents of the United States
Every American should know the names of the Presidents, but the task becomes more
involved when we attempt to remember names in a definite, unchangeable order. The.
little stories in the preceding chapter illustrated how much easier the task of memorizing
is when we are completely free in using our substituting words in a composition.
In learning the Presidents of the United States we have no such freedom, for in this case a
serial order is the most important factor. While this restriction makes composition of the
story a little more difficult, it does not affect the system itself.
First we list the Presidents and find substitute words for their names, a process which
need not be explained again. Then we work out a story embodying these substitute words
just as we did in the case of the states, except that in this instance we must use them in
historical order. The story might run somewhat like this:
In Washington Adam was jeopardized by a mad monster. Adam and Jack ran to the
bureau, but in their hurry they broke a tile or poked a tailor. They filmed more buildings,
pierced by a cannon which was linked by John to a grand tree.
The haze over garden and field sheltered Arthur, who cleaved his way in a hurry. He
cleaved mockingly as he cried: "A rose taffeta dress will hardly be the right thing in a
college; but whoever desires rose veils may truly wear them?
The underlined words mean:
Washington
Adam
jeopardized
mad
monster
Adam
Jack
bureau
hurry
tile
poked
tailor
filmed more
pierced
by a cannon
linked
John
grand
haze
garden and field
Arthur
Washington
Adams
Jefferson
Madison
Monroe
Adams
Jackson
Van Buren
Harrison
Tyler
Polk
Taylor
Fillmore
Pierce
Buchanan
Lincoln
Johnson
Grant
Hayes
Garfield
Arthur
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cleaved
hurry
cleaved
mockingly
rose
taffeta
will
hardly
college
whoever
rose veils
Cleveland
Harrison
Cleveland
McKinley
Roosevelt
Taft
Wilson
Harding
Coolidge
Hoover
Roosevelt
This story is somewhat harder to learn than the one about the states, because of its
prescribed order. Nevertheless, one can learn this list without special effort in half an
hour, while to learn the Presidents without such aid takes much longer.
Every American is expected to know not only the names of the Presidents in
chronological order but also the dates of their terms. The latter, too, is considerably
lightened by mnemonics, but before we attempt it we need further preparation.
The following interesting version of the list of Presidents was worked out by Mr. Edwin
C. Silvey. It is excellent in that it avoids many connecting words. This series, a masterpiece in phonetics, is also easy to learn:
Washing done, a dame gave her son medicine. We know
Washington
Adams Jefferson
Madison
Monroe
at times that son, a wine bum, had his son dial (telephone) her:
Adams Jackson Van Buren Harrison
Tyler
broke; tell her
Polk
Taylor
fill my
Fillmore
John's son groaned

Johnson
Grant
purse By cannon and gun

Pearce Buchanan Lincoln
to haze
Hayes
our field.
Gaield
Are they
Arthur
gleeful and merry, son? Cleve and Mack when they rose felt
Cleveland Harrison
Cleveland McKinley
Roosevelt
tough. Well, son, Hearty!
Taft
Wilson
Harding
College over.
Who's fooled.
Coolidge Hoover Roosevelt
However, if you are not a poetic person you can always fall back on the peg system.
Below is an illustration of using the peg system and arranging the Presidents according to
their term in office using selective words.
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Now, in learning the dates, we must be careful to select words which have a close
connection with each President or with the substituting words in the story. Since it is
taken for granted that anyone would know the centuries of the respective presidential
terms, we need substituting words for the last two figures only. And as we need concern
ourselves only with two figures in each case, it makes no difference how many
consonants there are in the substituting words in addition to the initial two.
Here are the key words, with explanatory notes in case they are not clear:
1. Washington 1789 Washington fable (there are many fables about George Washington)
1
2. Adams
797 Adam
epoch (with Adam and Eve began a new epoch in world
history)
3. Jefferson
1801
statement of rights (Jefferson wrote the
Declaration of Independence)
4. Madison
1809 mad
spiteful (both words have a similar meaning)
5. Monroe
6. Adams
7. Jackson
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Van Buren
Harrison
Tyler
Polk
Taylor
Fillmore
Pierce
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
Buchanan
Lincoln
Johnson
Grant
Hayes
Garfield
Arthur
Cleveland
Harrison
Cleveland
McKinley
Roosevelt
27. Taft
28. Wilson
29. Harding
30. Coolidge
31. Hoover
32. Roosevelt
33. Truman
1817 monster
1825 Adam
1829 Jack
attack
knowledge (the apple from the tree of knowledge)
unbending (Andrew
Jackson was unbending)
1837 bureau
mocha (on the bureau is some coffee)
1841 hurry
ready
1841 tile
hard
1845 poke
relent or relax
1849 tailor
robe
1850 film
lucid or illustration
1853 pierced
limb (a limb pierced
by a bullet)
1857 cannon
lock
1861
shot (Lincoln was shot)
1865 John
jolly (similar to John in sound)
1869 grand
chap
1877 haze
coke (smoke from coke makes haze)
1881
Garfield the cartoon cat is Fat
1881 Arthur
feat (King Arthur's feats)
1885 cleave
fly or flay
1889 hurry
evaporate (moisture evaporates hurriedly)
1893 cleave
boomerang or bomb (it cleaves the air)
1897 mockingly beguile
1901 rose
sweet (the rose is the sweetest flower)
1909
1913
1921
1923
1929
1933
1945
will
hard
college
rose
true
supreme (Taft was on the Supreme Court)

tomb (Unknown Soldier's Tomb)
nut
name or number
unhappy (the 1929 crash)
give mama a rose
ruler
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34. Eisenhower 1953 flower

35. Kennedy
1961 can
36. Johnson
1963 john
37. Nixon
1969 nick
38. Ford
1974 ford
39. Carter
1977 cart
40. Reagan
1981 ray gun
41. Bush
1989 Bush
42. Clinton
1993
bloom
shot (in a different century as Lincoln)
Little John is a Chum
chip or nick
car
cart
fad (Star Wars program never took off)
He was fabulous in defeating Iraq.
the economy boom in his time
All of these auxiliary key words have been chosen to be remembered after one or two
readings. Thus you can learn the dates for all Presidents in from five to ten minutes; a
task which might take you hours in the old-fashioned way of memorizing. And, as a rule,
memorized dates vanish from one's mind soon. If you try this out on your circle of
friends, you'll find very few who remember their Presidents, even though they must have
memorized them for school.
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Chapter 15
How To Remember Names And Faces
How many times have you bump into someone on the street who you recognize but fail to
remember the name? I would say most of us The reason for this is quite simple. Most of
us are what we call eye-minded In other words, what we see register in our brains
more than what we hear. You always see the face, but usually only hear the name.
Thats why most of us have to say I recognize your face, but I cant remember your
name. Not only can this be embarrassing, but can sometimes hurt in business and may
cost you money or a promotion.
Where I come from, they can be 2 or 3 shops selling the same things or have similar
services. In such a situation, wouldnt it be great if you could remember all your
customers names and rise above the competition? What if you were working as a waiter
or waitress to pay your way through college? Think of the extra tips you can get by
remembering your customers name and what they ate the last time. If you were a valet
at a swanky hotel, think of the extra tips you can get by remembering peoples names.
Think of the impact you would have made on the first day of your job by remembering
the people you were introduced to .
There is nothing more pleasing or sweeter sounding than someone hearing his own name
or having it remembered by someone. The main reason that most people forget a name is
because they never remembered it in the first place. You may have been engrossed in
other areas, like what food youd like to have for lunch or did you answer the email from
your boss. You may be thinking that youll never meet this person again, so why bother
as you give a courteous smile and say Nice to meet you.
Therefore, rule #1 for remembering names is BE SURE YOU HEAR THE NAME IN
THE FIRST PLACE. If you didnt hear the name right, ask the person or the introducer
to say it again. Trust me, the person being introduced would not feel offended but would
be happy you take an interest in his or her name. If the name sounds interesting, you may
wish to ask the person being introduced how to spell it. That would generate interest in
your mind and helps you to remember better. Try to use the persons name when you say
good-bye or if the person is being led off. Say something like, Good-bye Mr Goodrich,
it was nice meeting you. This rule alone will boost your chances of remembering names
by 25% or more.
The method which we are going to use to remember names, especially last names is to
make silly pictures to help us remember. No matter how strange a name sounds, how
long it is or how difficult to pronounce, you can always find a substitute word or thought
for it. For example, if youre introduced to a Mr Donohue, you can picture a hill made
out of donuts. If youre introduced to a Mr Wilson, simply imagine a giant tennis racket
with a W on the strings.
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How to remember faces

Whenever you meet someone new, look at his face and try to find one outstanding
feature. We call this the see peg. It is a place for us to put down the information. The
information is turned into a picture and mental glue to hold the picture to the peg. The
see peg can be anything; small eyes, large eyes, thick lips, thin lips, high forehead, low
forehead, lines or creases on the forehead, long nose, broad nose, wide nostrils, narrow
nostrils, large ears, small ears, ears that stand away from the head, dimples, clefts, warts,
mustache, lines on the face, large chin, double chin, type of hairline, jutting chin, small
mouth, large mouth, teeth, anything. It could be something the person is wearing or an
accessory. For example, a big red tie, a flower in the hair, a crazy hair do, colored hair, a
loud sweat shirt, etc. The see peg forces you to focus on the person and to engage your
memory.
Someone else may choose something else outstanding about the person that is different
from you, it does not matter. The thing that stands out to you is the thing that will be
obvious and outstanding when you meet this person again. When you have decided on
the outstanding feature, you are ready to associate the names to that particular part of the
face. For example, Mr Wilson parts his hair at the center, imagine a tennis net in the
middle of his head and 2 tiny persons playing tennis on his head. Or Mr Roberts has a
large mole on his left cheek, picture a Robot trying to yank the mole off his face. Mr
Morwick has busy eyebrows, picture tiny lawn mowers trying to trim the wicks sticking
out of his brow.
The thing is this, the substitute word and the outstanding feature chosen is an individual
thing, the things you choose are the right ones to use. Aside from finding an outstanding
feature, there are other things that can be taken into consideration such as manner of
speech, speech defects, character, type of walk, manner of bearing etc. Some people may
think its too cumbersome and rude to stare at a persons feature and trying to find a
substitute word, but trust me, it only takes a moment. After just a little practice, youll
find that youve found a substitute word for the name and have associated it to an
outstanding feature on the persons face in less time than it takes to say hello.
The same goes for remembering a persons first names, for example for Mary, you can
picture a person getting married or a little lamb. For Sebastian, you can imagine a Sea
Bass, a big fish. For Justin, you can picture a dustbin. Some people have other titles like
doctors, judges or a rank in the military. The other person may be offended if you do not
address them by their titles, like Dr John Howard. So to help you remember, you can use
their names in conjunction with something youd associate with their profession like a
stethoscope, a needle or white doctors uniform. For a judge this would be a white wig or
a gavel. For a military person you might want to remember a captain by a pilots
uniform, a colonel with a fried chicken in his hands (Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried
Page 70
Chicken), a General with stars across the person's forehead etc. Remembering a right
persons name at the right time may mean a lot in the future. It may mean a job
promotion, a business opportunity or a big sales contract. So please try to remember
peoples names for your own sake.
Lets begin with a example Lets say were invited to a party of 50 very influential people
and you need to remember ALL their names before leaving the party. Below are a
sample of six which Ill use as an example.
From left is a top Chinese heart surgeon Dr Lee Yung Jin, leading ceramic composite
researcher Stephanie Steinburg, NASA Propulsion engineer Craig Hanson, Indian
Astronomer Hema Sanjay, German millionaire Helmut Koeller and Californian
businessman Jose Sanchez.
Starting from the left, the Chinese gentleman is wearing spectacles and with small eyes.
Chinese, spectacles and small eyes, these are our see pegs. Well substitute his name
into something we can picture like Lee jeans and Yung Jin sounds like engine.
So picture him at the top of a pagoda, he cant see far as his eyes are too small, to get a
birds eye view, he puts on his Lee jeans which are strapped to rocket engines. He flies
high into the sky in a thunderous roar. Suddenly his engines give up and he falls back
to earth. He quickly takes off his spectacles to be used as a parachute. You can hear his
heart beating very loudly as he glides down.
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The second person is wearing an olive green sweater which well use as our peg, Her
name Stephanie sounds like Stepping on an elephant and for her last name, Steinburg,
Stein sounds like shine and burg sounds like a ice berg.
Picture her wearing a
sweater made out of green olives, a small elephant comes along and starts plucking the
olives off her sweater. She runs into a dark room and shines a torchlight and finds an
iceberg. She climbs on top of the iceberg, jumps off and steps on the baby elephant.
The baby elephant gets angry and starts smashing plates, cups and bowls (ceramics) into
pieces.
Third from left is a gentleman with a crew cut which well use as our seepeg. His
name Craig sounds like crate and Hanson sounds like Hen and son. Picture
him opening a crate and out comes baby male chickens wearing bow ties (sons of Hen).
The male baby chicks climb on top of his head and start pecking and pulling on his hair
giving him a crew cut He gets angry and starts launching small rockets at them to scare
them off.
Next to him is a pretty young Indian lady with a toothy smile, our see peg is therefore
Indian and toothy smile. Her name Hema sounds like hammer and Sanjay sounds
like sun and jay as in jay bird. Picture yourself coming out of your house with a
hammer at into bright sunshine. You see this Indian lady starts dancing , bollywood
style and flashes a toothy grin at you. The reflection from the sun on her teeth blinds you
and you throw your hammer to try to stop the glare which hits a Jay bird in flight. You
can see stars (astronomy) circling the Jay birds head. You may think this Indian lady is
pretty and if you meet her at a party, you might want to have her phone number. But
who carries a pen and paper to a party? With my system, now you can memorize phone
numbers on the fly!
Fifth from left is a gentleman with a moustache and a beard which well use as our see
peg. His first name is Helmut which sounds like helmet and Koeller sounds like
Curler. Picture the person with a helmet on his head. You have a hot curling iron in
your hand and you try to curl his hair but he is wearing a helmet. You then start curling
his beard and he takes off his helmet to hit you and he starts throwing bales of money at
you.
Last is the Californian businessman Jose Martinez who deals in exotic fast cars. Well
substitute his first name with Hose and his last name with martini. He is slightly
tanned and wears a T-shirt inside his shirt which well use as our see peg. Picture this
man bringing in a large fireman hose and starts filling up glasses with martini, the Martini
gushes out and the floor is wet. He takes of his T-shirt to try to dry the place but in vain
as the Martini keeps flowing out. He quickly zips off in his Ferrari and comes back with
tanning beds to try to dry the place.
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You may think the above information as daunting to remember. But go through it one
more time and the pictures become more vivid. Now look at the picture again. Youll be
surprised at your recall. Thats because of a phenomena of the brain . Thinking in
pictures happen at the speed of light. If you still have problems recalling, make your
picture more detailed, engage more emotions and actions. Soon youd get a hang of it.
Here are some sample first names and similar sounding picture words.
Alan - A lion
Brandon - Branding
Cecilia Silly ear
David - Star of David
Dennis - Dentist or tennis
Ernest - Ear Nest
Frank - Frankfurter
Gerard - Giraffe
Hank - Handkerchief
Isaac - Eye sack
Jeffrey - Jet on a tree
Karen - Current (Electricity)
Leroy - Leaves on a toy
Marsha- Marshal
Natalie - Net with leaves
Oliver - Olive
Pauline
Quinton
Rachel
Samuel
Teresa
Ursula
Victor
Wendy
Yvonne
Zach
- Pole on a line
- Queen weighing a ton
- Ray shining on shell
- Uncle Sam on a mule
- Trees
- Urn in the cellar
- Viking
- Windy
- Yellow van.
- Zebra with a sack
Now go back and attempt Test#4 in Chapter 4
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Chapter 16
How To Remember Schedules And Appointments.
Wouldnt it be nice to be able to remember your schedules and appointments in your
head rather than relying on a Palm Pilot? Well you can with Peg word system and its
easy. Every hour of every day of the week can be associated with a Peg Word.
Assuming that your Monday is the 1st day of the week for you, you associate the #1 to
Monday, #2 to Tuesday, #3 to Wednesday and so on. You will therefore associate a 2digit number and its Peg Word to every hour of a weekly schedule. For example,
Monday 2pm would be #12 (Tin), Wednesday 9am would be #39 (Mop) and Thursday
5pm would be #45 (roll). The only exception is 11 oclock and 12 oclock that are made
up of 2 digits. With 11 and 12 oclock as the exception, you can form 3 digit Peg Words.
For example Friday at 11 oclock is 511 (Latte) and Saturday at 12 oclock is 612 (show
down). The alternative is to use the regular peg words for 1 oclock and 2 oclock and
new peg words for 11 oclock and 12 oclock.
For example Tuesday at 11 oclock would be a new peg word, nut. The word net is
reserved for Tuesday 2 oclock., Wednesday at 12 oclock shall be Man, Mane or
Mine, the regular word Moon is reserved for Wednesday at 2 oclock. Thursday 11
oclock can be Red, Ride , Rude or Rat. The word Rod is reserved for
Thursday 2 oclock. So lets say on Thursday at 12 oclock you have a lunch
appointment with your significant other and at 2 oclock, you have to go to the dentist.
Just picture your significant other wearing a thick red fur coat (if it is summer) or a red
skimpy outfit (if it were winter). Then picture your dentist trying to yank your bad tooth
out with a long rod.
#10 escapes this problem as it is thought as a zero. Lets say you have an appointment to
see your optometrist to have your eyes checked on Wednesday 10am. You will then
associate #30 (mice). You can then imagine a giant white mice testing your eyes.
Dont worry about the confusion caused by whether the appointment is A.M.or P.M.
Youll know by the event, for example a dentist appointment cannot possibly be at 10pm
or a lunch date cannot possibly be at 12 midnight!
When you wake up each morning or if youre a night person, the night before, go over all
your pegs for that day or the day after. As the day progress, you might want to check the
Peg list of schedules in case you miss one out. With time and with practice, you can
throw away your note pad or your Palm Pilot.
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Remembering Anniversaries, Birthdays and Historical Dates

If you want to remember peoples anniversaries or birthdays, just associate the people or
substitute words for their names, to the date. For example if your friend Stephanies
birthday is on June the 9th, picture and Elephant climbing up steps (Step phant) and the
peg word for 69 and entering a ship at the top of the steps. Of course some dates cannot
be associated with a Peg word, for example, June 17th , in which case you can use 2 Peg
words, one for the month and one for the day. Lets say your friend Jeannette has her
birthday on June 17th, then think of your friend wearing Jeans made out of nets wearing
over-sized shoes (06) and stepping on tacks (17)
Dates of history can be remembered in a similar way using the letters system. Break the
number down into two groups of two, or else keep it as a 4-digit number (unless it is
below 1000 of course!) Create your object from this to remember, and then link it to the
key event in history.
In college we often had to learn more than 30 dates for exams. I had problems until I was
taught this method by a history professor who had number dyslexia, called dyscalculia.
How could he remember such things, they were meaningless? For weeks before the exam
all my friends had sticky notes all over their rooms with the dates and key events on. I
knew from experience I could garner about 30% into my memory, if I was lucky.
It was two nights before the exam I finally sat down, and tried the new technique. An
hour later I had the lot. It does seem at the time to take a long time, but if you were to
compare the accumulative time that most people spend on rote learning, revision and
checking, the systems are much faster - you also retain information for longer. It is a
useful point to make however that if you need to learn a lot of dates, then it is also wise to
learn them as you would any other list and make sure that they are organized. Think of it
like a shopping list where you also memorize the best-before date as well. This will
enable you to revise your list accurately whether or not you are near your source material
in fact this is crucial for learning techniques I have discussed earlier.
If you wish to remember historical dates like when did Columbus landed in America,
1492 you can imagine Columbus ship made out of tires and bones or just think of
Columbus blowing a Trombone.
The Battle of Britain took place between July and October 1940. We can use the
numbers 7, 10 and 40. (Our natural memory would tell us in was in the 19th century).
You can imagine a picture of cow, toes, rose. You can see Spitfires shooting at cows
holding roses in their toes. I know that cows do not have toes but this makes the picture
more ridiculous.
Page 75
Chapter 17
Tips for absent-mindedness
Do you constantly misplaced your things? Do you waste precious time looking for your
car keys, your glasses or the pencil that is stuck behind your ear? Ladies, do you drive
your husband up the wall when you cant find that lipstick that goes with your dress?
Men, do you drive your wives crazy when youre late for that important dinner and cant
locate your cuff-links? If so, youre in the ranks of millions of people who are absent
minded. Please dont confuse absent-mindedness with poor memory. They are entirely
different. People who have good memories can also be absent-minded. I believe you can
solve this problem with just a little effort and with tips Im giving you . But please
realize that like all exercises, it has to be practiced.
Actually, absent-mindedness is
nothing more than inattention. If you were to pay attention where you put your car keys,
naturally youll be able to find them when you leave the house. Therefore if you put
things away without thinking or doing things mechanically, youll forget where they
are, because you never remembered in the first place. For instance, when you leave your
house, you sometimes worry whether youve locked the door simply because you locked
it unconsciously, without giving it a thought.
The solution to the problem then is to consciously associate the action with vividly
imaginative action. For example, if you put your car keys on top of the TV set. Then
consciously imagine something ridiculous, like the TV set exploding as soon as the keys
are placed on top. Or the TV set swallowing your car keys with a gulp.
Another way is when you put your keys down link them to where you are putting them.
So, if you put them down on the sofa enlarge those keys to huge size, and imagine them
changing into a person, who looks like a key. Give him a name. Next time you will know
where they are. What happens if you put them down in lots of different places how will
you know where you are up to? Well the chances are that you will not have this
confusion, its quite amazing. However, at least you will know the places where to look
first. Lets say you need to put a letter in the mailbox before you catch your bus to school
or work. For most people, the last thing they do is to lock the door or gate. If so, then
imagine as you close the door, the door is a giant envelope or as the door to the lift open,
inside is a giant envelope.
For some petty actions, simply thinking of the action as you do it should suffice. For
example, when you turn off the iron, simply see yourself turning it off. When you set
the alarm clock, simply close your eyes and see yourself setting it. Your natural memory
will take over and you dont have worry about whether youve turned off the iron when
youre out of the house or get out of bed to check on the alarm clock. Of course the key
to remembering these petty actions is to practice at it, it may take some willpower but
when you see the results, youll want to do it more often and before you know it, youve
acquired a habit.
Page 76
Chapter 18
Learning The Books Of The Bible (and Biblical Verses)
If youre one of those who have to look at the contents page of your bible whenever a
verse is quoted in Church, its time to learn the books of the bible in sequence. And all it
takes is a few minutes!
Lets take the New Testament as an example
Im substituting the chapters with words of my own, you can use yours if its easier to
picture or remember.
For the first 3 books of Matthew, Mark Luke, Im replacing with the letters, MML which
seems like the acronym for Marmalade. Next comes the books of John, Acts, Romans or
Jar. I now have Marmalade in a jar. Corinthians sound like Coring Indians. For
Galatians, Im replacing with Gals, Ephesians with Efficient. Philippians with a
Phillips screw driver. Colossians with Colossal. Thessalonians with Dress.
Timothy with time, Titus with a Swiss-made Titus watch. Philemon with lemon,
Hebrews with brew as in brewing tea. James with Jam. Peter with a pit. John
with a toilet. Jude with the actor Jude Law and revelations with revving an
engine on a Harley Davidson motorbike..
Heres my story. Red Indians are making the marmalade in jars. They are also making
other kinds of jams. A group of Indians are coring apples and they are girl Indians (gals).
They seem to be very efficient as they use Phillips screwdrivers to core the apples.
Along comes a colossal red Indian woman wearing a pink polka dot dress. She checks
the time on her big Titus watch on her wrist. She squeezes some lemon juice into a tea
she is brewing with the jam. She doesnt notice a big pit and falls into it. The other red
Indian girls see this and knock excitedly on the door of a toilet and out comes Jude Law
on his motorcycle. He throws a rope into the pit and ties the other end to his big Harley
Davidson and revs the engine loudly and pulls out the big red Indian lady.
Go through this story a couple of times and make the picture more vivid as you do. In a
few minutes, you would have remembered the books of the New Testament. You even
know the books backwards! So youll never lose your place in the bible in church when
the Pastor refers to the other books. You can practice with the books of the Old
Testament. They are a lot more fun.
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Remembering Biblical Verses

Lets take Romans Chapter 12 Verse 21 which says Do not be overcome by evil, but
overcome evil with good.
Lets picture a Gladiator with Armour of tin (12), you can picture your favorite can food
labels still stuck on his Armour. He is fighting a ferocious monster and tangles it in a big
net (21). When he has the monster in the net, he offers the monster some candies (with
goodies)
Psalm 119:114 You are my hiding place and my shield. I have put my
hope in your word
For Psalm we can picture a Palm tree. Picture a tot (11) being chased by a bee(9) he
hides behind a Palm tree. The tot takes out his Rye (4) bread sandwich which he uses as
a shield and then traps the bee between the 2 slices. He then hop (hope) on the sandwich
and throws a thick heavy book (word) at it to try to kill the bee inside.
Tip : For the chapter and verse numbers, you can use either the peg list or the flag pole list
or you can create a new word from the numbers. This is useful if you have many verses to
remember and to avoid confusion between the verses.
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Chapter 19
Remembering Directions
Lets say youre driving into a city or town that youve never been before and you got
lost. You decide to ask for directions. You stop your car and ask someone how to get to
the hotel you want. The directions may go like this Turn left at the second intersection,
then keep driving till you come to the First State bank, then make a right turn, keep going
until you see the gas station and make left. The hotel you want is just after the library.
You thank the person and turn to your traveling companion and say, I hope you
remember what he said..
Instead of irritating your mate, heres a way to remember directions using your
imagination. First we turn the abstract terms left and right into something we can picture.
For left, we picture a leaf. For right we picture a Rat. Now, when you ask for directions,
remember to always ask for landmarks and what the landmark look like. This way, its
easier to make a picture or a movie in your head. So lets say the person said turn left at
the 2nd intersection. You can ask, Is there something I should see at the 2nd
intersection. The person may reply, Oh yeah, theres a yellow mail box. So you
know you can picture Noah which represents 2 trying to shove a big leaf into a yellow
mailbox.
You can also ask what the First State Bank looks like. If it looks like a building with a
lot of glass windows, then picture a big Rat throwing rocks at the windows and breaking
them and shards of glass come raining down. Ask the person what kind of gas station is
it, is it an Exxon, Mobil etc. Then picture a big mountain of dry leaves catching fire at
the gas station and the gas pumps start exploding and theres a huge ball of fire. You can
then ask for a description of the library and you should be able to get to your destination.
So when your traveling companion asks Did he say turn left or right at the intersection,
you can say I dont know but Ill know when I get there. This may be a bit
discomforting to your companion but you know youll get to your destination.
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Chapter 20
Tips On Listening In A Lecture & Studying
Before we begin on our introduction on how to study cold hard facts in school, Id like to
briefly outline the correct way of writing notes during a lecture or class. Some of us
would scribble notes feverishly as the lecturer speaks on a topic. Unfortunately, you
may not be able to remember much because the mind is too focus on the writing to make
any tangible connection between what was said and what the memory is associating with.
I would suggest you invest in a variable playback speed tape recorder with a pitch
adjuster to record the lecture.
As the lecturer speaks, write down key words instead of long grammatically correct
sentences. Use symbols freely, like arrows or pictures, no one is going to grade you on
your notes or your handwriting. Imagine that the speaker is talking to you directly and
you are the only person in the lecture. If you ask questions on something you do not
understand or ask the lecturer to rephrase something you do not quite understand, like
Excuse me, do you mean to say this and that, is my understanding correct? this will.
boost your memory recall by more than 50%.
If youre someone who is prone to drifting off in a daydream, these tips will help you
focus on what is being said. The reason why we daydream is because we have this
supercomputer in our head, that is our brain, and it is not being engaged in a meaning
full way. It is thinking at the speed of light and the information that is coming through is
too slow. It therefore needs something to occupy itself and therefore it starts to
daydream. Another reason is that you do not feel connected to the topic. Using the
above tips, even if it is a boring subject, you can boost your attention span 5 times!
When you get home, you can playback your recording at twice the speed. If the audio
sounds funny, use the pitch adjuster. When you come to a part where you think you
might be tested, write it down on your notes, in red and in exclamation marks, whatever
that draws your attention when you revise your notes
You now have keywords from your lecture, which you can break it down to similar
sounding words that can be pictured. You can start using the linking and chaining
method on the words. And you now know the important parts of the lecture, which may
be tested. At this point, you probably remember more than the person who is too busy
writing down chunks of notes. And youd probably do better in the tests.
Tips For Studying
When you have the right techniques, studying actually becomes fun. You need to be
aware that memorizing as you read seems to be a slower process than the traditional way
of read, take notes, analyze, learn. But the ACCUMULATIVE time is far shorter, and
this should be kept in mind. Following is the suggestion for more effective studying.
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Overview: Take a moment to read the contents list. Give yourself time to form an opinion
of what might be in the contents of those chapters. What questions do the titles raise?
Next, read through all the subheadings and continue to form your thoughts. Also at this
stage create links with any information that you are already aware of, even if it is a
completely different subject or topic. This will give you links to areas that you are
already familiar with. It is not memorizing as such but you are creating a mental
environment where you can build information bridges later.
The overview stage is very important. It is a little like when you are traveling some
distance and would need a map to work from. You dont just set out but instead look
where you are going, create reference points along the way and understand your route.
Study is not like reading a novel in that novel writing is about unveiling a hidden plot for
pleasure: an academic work is communicating a concept by careful explanation using
preceding argument or explanation to get to a final point. To know the final point is
therefore preferable. From this overview stage you can now begin to build your virtual
mind map. Put in the key central area, and position in your virtual world areas of the
town that you will need in which to store the information. It may take a couple of study
sessions to get to this stage, but it is worth it.
Next is how you study the text itself and keep your interest at a maximum. An effective
way is titling. As you create your images from the headings and subheadings, you need to
connect in the text itself. To do this, for each paragraph find a word or phrase from that
paragraph that you feel best summarizes the text around it. This is your key thought and
you attach it in the correct place in your mind map -. Create a mental picture. For
example, say the phrase you were trying to remember was the medium is the message; I
would imagine 3 men stood before me, one is short, one is medium sized, one is tall, and
the middle medium sized on is giving me a letter.
You will find that when you recall it later you will be able to bring forth the main thrust
of the idea.
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Chapter 21
How To Review Effectively
Right at the beginning of this book I talked about the mind being like a filing cabinet, and
about short term and long term memory. Short-term memory is useful for those day-today tasks, such as getting ready in the morning. You need to remember those things that
you have just done, such as cleaning your teeth, so that you dont keep going back to do
them over and over again. Likewise, you wouldnt want to remember every time in your
whole life that you have cleaned your teeth!
Unfortunately, you cant decide when something goes into your memory where it will go
into short term or into long term! In fact, it will ALWAYS go into short-term memory
first and it requires further work to get it into the long-term memory area. Its like having
a filing tray and a filing cabinet. You can store only so much in the filing tray and you
need to get it into the cabinet. Rote learning appears to work because you are using
familiarity, but in reality you are putting materials directly into your long-term memory,
and this is not how the mind was designed to work. Its the difference between building a
guide path and then strengthening it into a path, road, carriageway and finally a
motorway/freeway; and trying to build the freeway from scratch with no guide
whatsoever. It is my belief that this, coupled with boredom (the brain doesnt like doing
things over and over; it stagnates and STOPS learning) makes it very hard work and
makes you tired. But there is more...
When you RECALL a memory there is a much more profound chemical change going on
which establishes stronger memory links much quicker. Rote or familiarity-based
learning does not create the same strong chemical changes. This being the case it stands
to reason that you should form images, and then recall them once they are in your head so
as to create the stronger memories.
But again, just doing it over an over isnt only boring but unhelpful (too much keeps it in
short term memory) and will not give you space to learn more. The secret is the timings
of when you study, and when you recall, and giving your mind the physical time to create
the chemical bonds. The feeling is that you are recalling it just before you have forgotten
it. This is how you do it.
Study for just 20 minutes, forming your images and image links as you go. Immediately
at the end of the 20 minutes recall all the information. Then take a break for 5 minutes.
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At the end of the 5 minutes, recall the information once more. You can now continue
studying for another 20 minutes. Repeat with this block of information recall
immediately. Then after 5-minute break, recall ALL the information so far. Do this as
many times as you like for new sections of information - it helps if before you sit down to
study you decide what one section is, find your own balance. Leave half an hour at the
end of your study period for rest. Do something else completely different, dont study or
read. A manual hobby perhaps, listening to music etc.. You will find that the information
in your head wants to be thought about. Try not to, as doing so will keep some of the
information in the short-term memory.
After half an hour recall as much information as possible. Walk around your virtual town.
You will get a feeling if you miss anything. At this point you can very quickly read over
your text to make sure you got everything dont reread it in detail, perhaps just
headings, as it will put the information back into short term. If you missed anything, use
power memory boosting techniques to get it firmly established.
An hour later recall the information one more time. Next day recall again. Do not look
anything up even to remind yourself before you recall it. If you cant remember
something then come back to it. It is the act of recall which builds the bonds, and a
struggle for memory will be made all the more firm. If at any point you want a quick
review, dont decode the information, keep it in picture format. Say waiting for a bus or
the kettle to boil - its amazing how quickly you can flip through the images. This is a
useful technique to practice just before falling asleep at night as your subconscious will
continue to process the information.
Recall the information weekly for 3 more weeks, and then monthly after that. As more
information is tied into the original you will discover that you will find recall is easier. If
you are studying a book, each time you recall any information you should make sure that
you also recall the basic structure that hasnt yet had further information attached to it.
This will enable you to place newly learned information as part of a pattern for the whole
rather than in isolation. Build into your study pattern this time for recall, as it makes
revision much easier, if not completely unrequired as the information becomes familiar.
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Chapter 22
How To Remember Hard Facts From The Hard Sciences
Learning Chemistry
Element
Iron
Sodium
Potassium
Gold
Symbol
Fe
Na
K
Au
Atomic Number
26
11
19
79
Atomic Weight
55.847
22.989
39.098
196.966
You may be able to get by memorizing the above facts by rote learning. But doing it for
the entire periodic table would be mind-numbing. Here are some suggestions on how to
go about it using the memory system.
Iron (Fe) - You can picture a normal household iron. F - F15 fighter jet. E - Eel. 26 Notch. 55-Lily
847 - frog
Now lets engage your photographic memory using your imagination with lots of action.
Youre a new rookie pilot and they are ironing your call sign on your brand new F15
fighter jet. You take off and fire missiles at your first target. But instead of missiles,
slippery eels start to fly from the wing tips. As the eels zoom towards the target, you
notice they have deep notches on them. The eels hit a lily pad and a frog sitting on a lily
pad and it explodes into pieces.
Sodium - Lets break down the syllables into similar sounding words. So sounds like
Sew, dium sounds like dime. (Na) - Ant and ape. 11 is tot. 22 is nun. 98 is puff and 9
is bee
Lets begin. Lets imagine you sewing dimes on an ape. Giant ants are carrying the
dimes to you as you sew them. A tot comes up and kicks the ape. A nun who is puffing
on a cigarette tries to stop the tot and she is stung by a bee and she lets out a big yelp of
smoke.
Potassium. The syllables sound like pot+ass+yum. K is represented by cake. 19- tub. 39
-mop 09 is soup and 8 is ivy.
You can think of a big pot on the ground and in it is a cake. An Ass comes along and
kicks it and starts eating the cake that is inside. Yummy the Ass exclaims. The Ass
notice there is a tub nearby. He takes a mop and stirs the contents of the tub and realizes
its soup of Ivy bubbling inside. And the Ass starts drinking the soup.
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Gold. Symbol Au -Ape and ewe. 79 is cop. 19 is tub, 69 is ship and 66 is choo choo.
Imagine a golden Ape riding on an Ewe like a mythical creature on a busy road. It is
stopped by a cop who is riding in a tub with wheels. The cop puts both animals on a ship
but the ship runs on a track like a train and moves off like a train going choo choo.
If you remember that atomic number of the elements is about half of its atomic weight,
you do not have to worry about where the decimal point lies and your natural memory
should guide you.
To remember elements with Valency 1. Picture a sharp flagpole shooting into the sky
and it punctures an air ship filled with hydrogen, the hydrogen catches fire and explodes.
On board the air ship is a girl named (Lina) wearing a gigantic ruby ring (Rubidium).
She grabs the cake she is eating (K) and jumps off. But she falls into the sea (Cesium).
She notices the Eiffel tower and swims towards shore to France (Francium)
To remember elements with Valency 2. Picture an old man (Noah-2), and he sees a large
ripe berry (beryllium) on top of a hill Noah is hungry and decides he wants to eat the
berry. He takes a large horseshoe magnet (Magnesium) and tries to pull the berry off the
hill with magnetism. Strangely enough, the berry is magnetic and comes rolling down
the hill. Noah panics and uses his mobile phone to call (Calcium) a strong (Strontium)
muscular man to help him. The man comes with a long bar (Barium) and hits the berry
with the bar as it comes down like a baseball bat. The giant berry flies into the sky and
lands on a radar (radium) station.
Using this method, if someone were to ask you, what valency is Potassium, symbol
K?, you can immediately picture the girl Lina jumping off the hot air balloon with the
Cake, Valency 1.
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Learning Mathematics
Learning The Multiplication Tables The Easy Way
Do you remember trying to memorize your times (multiplication) tables? Most people do
it by rote learning repeating the times tables over and over again. However, you can
make it fun for your kid and your child will WANT to do the times table the fun way.
Think of a crazy picture like your mother trying to catch a cow with a net. She is running
all over the place with a net trying to snare a cow. And there you have it, your child has
just memorized;
3 (ma) x 7 (cow) = 21
Simple isnt it?
Lets do another one.
9 (bee) x 8 ( Ivy) = 72 (Coin)
Imagine a bee on a poison ivy. The bee starts to itch from the poison and starts to fly in
an erratic manner and finally crashes into a tall tower of coins. Imagine the sound of the
coins crashing down on the bee.
How about trigonometry functions?
The cosine function of an angle is defined as the adjacent side of a triangle divided by its
hypotenuse.
Cosine sounds like cousin., adjacent can be broken up to 3 syllables that sounds like
add, jar and cents. Hypotenuse sounds like hippopotamus. So lets picture your
cousin sitting on a hippopotamus adding cents into a jar.
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The sine function of an angle is defined as the opposite side of a triangle over its
hypotenuse.
Imagine yourself singing off key opposite a hippopotamus. The animal gets angry and
starts charging at you and you run as you sing. Or you can imagine Oprah (Opposite)
Winfrey sitting on top of a hippopotamus and singing.
The Cosine Rule

The cosine rule states that, for the triangle ABC in Diagram 1,
a2 = b2 + c2 - 2bccosA
Diagram 1
For complicated equations, you can replace the equal symbol = with similar pictures
like the parallel bars used in gymnastics, goal-posts, British double-decked buses, a pair
of stilts, railway tracks etc. For the addition sign, you can use images of things that
attaches to other things like handcuffs, Velcro, safety pin, superglue, lasso, paper clips,
etc The minus sign can be replaced with a flying object like a spear, a flying bullet a
dart or the action of pushing something away etc. You can replace the square symbol
with anything that ordinarily exists as one, like you only have one head, a belly button or
a nose. If you picture an animal with 2 heads or 2 noses, etc, that should stand out! For
multiplication, you can use things that become or comes in many like confetti, a
swarm of locusts, a herd, a flock. Or imagine putting an object into a machine that
multiplies like a photocopier machine or imagine something that multiplies itself like
bacteria. A square root sign looks like a house or a slide to me, use your imagination for
the picture that suits you best. The divide sign looks like a see saw or you can
picture something that is underneath another picture.
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Here, for a2 Im picturing an baby ape with 2 heads, b2 is represented by a giant baby
with 4 eyes, c2 is represented by a 2-tailed cat etc.
Lets start with our story. Picture in your minds eye, in vivid detail, an ape with 2 heads
kicking a football over a goalpost, the heads are talking to each other as the ball flies, the
ball hits a giant 4-eyed baby that is walking its pet, a 2 tailed cat (C2 )on a leash (+).
The giant 2-headed baby gets angry and throws its giant rattle (-)which hits a hive. A
swarm of bees (multiply by b) comes out of a hive that stings Noah (2) who throws
confetti (multiply by c)to try to get rid of them. Out of nowhere many 2 headed apes
who are cousins of the original ape including a giant mama ape comes along and takes
the baby 2- headed ape in her arms (multiply by cosine A)
You may want to accentuate the parameters that are important like picture the baby 2headed ape with red fur as distinct from the other apes, the 2-tailed cat having striped tail,
Noah throwing colored confetti and the bees with bright yellow and black stripes on their
bodies and big stings and a giant mama ape wearing an apron.
Look at the formula itself and go through the story a few times. In less than 2 minutes,
the formula should be committed to memory by your natural memory. Try the formula
again a few hours later to check if you can still remember the ridiculous picture youve
made.
Tip: Write the formulas you wish to remember with its accompanying story on cards and
carry it with you. Review them 10 times over a 72-hour period. You can do it anywhere,
on a bus, queuing at the bank or post office, waiting for food to arrive etc. Each formula
should take about a minute or less to review. The formulas should be lodged in your
long-term memory for easy recall later.
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Learning Physics
Newton's First Law of Motion:
I. Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to
remain in that state of motion unless an external force
is applied to it.
You can use the flag post peg list for this one. Picture a flagpole with an apple attached
to it with a string. The apple is moving round and round the flagpole. Along comes
Newton draped in a Jedi costume and he stops the apple in mid flight using the Force
as seen in Star Wars.
Newton's Second Law of Motion:
II. The relationship between an object's mass m, its
acceleration a, and the applied force F is F = ma.
Acceleration and force are vectors (as indicated by
their symbols being displayed in slant bold font); in this
law the direction of the force vector is the same as the
direction of the acceleration vector.
Picture two very fat (F) mamas (ma) on a see saw (2nd Law).
Newton's Third Law of Motion:
III. For every action there is an equal and opposite
reaction.
Picture your ma (3rd law) holding 2 sumo wrestlers at bay. One of her left and the other
on her right.
Heres an example of a physics equation dealing with motion and acceleration

S = ut + at
Where S is the distance traveled, U is the initial velocity, t is time in seconds, a is
acceleration.
S - Ass
U - Ewe
A - Ape
T - Tea
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Picture an Ass walking on long stilts as it needs to travel a long distance. It sees an Ewe
frolicking in tea leaves (multiply by t). the Ewe is leashed to an Ape (+) and drinking 2
cups of tea (one in each hand) while standing on 1 leg ().
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Chapter 23
How To Improve Your Vocabulary Quickly
It is important for a person to have a varied vocabulary to stand out in a crowd. A person
who is able to articulate well will, all things being equal, be able to get a better job, find a
better mate or be more persuasive in their arguments. For instance, there are few things
which bore an audience more and make a lecture more thoroughly monotonous than the
constant repetition of words.
An address is always more effective if the speaker can vary his vocabulary as well as his
sentence structure. The good speaker employs a vocabulary of 10,000 to 15,000 words,
whereas the average vocabulary embraces only 2,000 or 3,000 words. The other terms
either are theoretically familiar to the student of public speaking but not freely used, or
else they remain unknown to him. In order to enrich his vocabulary he should pay
attention to unfamiliar words when he runs across them in books or newspapers or in his
attendance at lectures, and even in his daily intercourse. He should impress them on his
mind and, if need be, write them down. He should, as a further step, accustom himself
gradually to use them and so in time widen his vocabulary. But if he reads or hears words
whose meanings he does not know, he should never neglect looking them up in a
dictionary or an encyclopedia.
Lets say you just come across a new word Flamboyant which means showy in
appearance or manner. You can break down the word in 3 syllables Flame, boy and ant.
Picture a boy in a circus show in colorful costume, blowing flames from his mouth to kill
some ants.
Orate To speak, often pompously. Orate sounds like orange or a crate. So imagine a
person speaking very loudly on top of a crate of oranges. And then imagine people
throwing oranges at him.
Convoluted, which means coiled or twisted. Well replace con with a convict and
voluted sounds like electrocuted with volts . Picture a convict trying to escape from
prison by climbing a high voltage fence, he gets electrocuted and lands on the ground, his
body twisted like a pretzel.
Amorphous, which means without definite shape or form. Like clouds or spilled milk
for example. The word sounds a lot like more furs. You can picture the clump of furs
from a shedding cat or a dog , all without definite shape or form.
A picture that is thought out by yourself is more likely to be remembered and with
practice, it should take just a few seconds to imagine and to make it stick.
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Chapter 24
How To Break A Bad Habit
We have at our disposable, a supercomputer like nothing else that has been created by
man, that is our subconscious mind. Together with the thinking or conscious mind, it is
a complex and lightning fast network of thought and association that powers our daily
lives. As the brain processes information, one thing reminds you of another, which
reminds you of something else. By training our mind in a particular way, we have learn
how to manage the information in an order that is linked to other bits of information
which we can retrieve and juggle with whenever we need them.
However, as we go through life, our unconscious mind makes certain associations that
may be harmful to us and which we dont think about, until its too late. This leads to
erroneous associations leading to bad habits like smoking, drinking and overeating. It
may be in the past, wed some stressful situations that made us respond in a way that
spawned our bad habits. These habits, through bio-chemical associations, have lodged
itself into our neural network of association. Such bio-chemical factors like nicotine in
cigarettes, the fats and the sugar in our food and the alcohol in vodka or whiskey that
gives us the temporary pleasure to take us away from the stressful situation at hand. So
powerful are these associations that it makes our bad habits tough to break.
To this end, Id like to share with you one of my own bad habits, which is overeating. I
grew up in the part of the world where cuisines from any country is readily available.
Coupled with a busy lifestyle, my weight ballooned and I was overweight by 20 pounds
in no time. The turning point for me came when I went for my medical examination and
was told my cholesterol level was off the charts and my blood pressure was too high. I
decided to try the techniques discussed in this book to help me overcome my weight gain.
The first thing to do was to associate massive pain to my weight problem. I imagine the
cholesterol clogging my arteries and giving me a cardiac arrest. I imagined the blood
pressure being too high for my blood vessels to handle and they were weakening. I
imagined myself being hook up to one of those dialysis machines I see on Fund Raising
Shows on TV when my kidneys failed.
When you change any associations of food and the pleasurable feelings, the mind cant
tell that which is real and that which is imagined. So I decided to create an alternate state
of reality for myself. I linked tremendous pain with the food I like most. The sweet stuff
like cake and ice cream, the fried stuff like chicken and French fries. I started my
exercise program, and boy was it tough at first!
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I woke up an hour earlier each day to begin a morning walk or jog. I started lifting
weights at the gym. Every time someone offered me a piece of cake or every time I see a
fried chicken commercial, I would tell myself how many miles it would take to burn off
the calories if I ate that stuff. I started to drink fruit and vegetable juice and imagined it
giving my body the life force it needs. Every time my wife and I ate at a restaurant, we
would ask the waiter for an extra plate so that we can share some of the food instead of
ordering the large portions. And there was always salad at our table. I associated
pleasure with my morning jog and walk. I bought an MP3 player to listen to those songs
that I would otherwise not have time to listen to, due to my busy schedule. I imagined
getting admiring looks from people who appreciate a fit taut body. I bought nice clothes
a size smaller and imagined myself in them. My weight started coming down, slowly but
surely.
Its not an easy process if the bad habit is deeply ingrained but if you associate massive
pain with the habit youre trying break and massive pleasure to being successful, youll
succeed. Use your vivid imagination and picture yourself getting rid of your bad habit.
How much healthier you would become if you gave up smoking. Imagine yourself with
clean teeth without the tobacco stain and the bad breath. Imagine yourself breathing
easier without coughing. Imagine yourself conversing closely with an attractive member
of the opposite sex because you no longer have smokers breath. Imagine yourself
drinking fruit juice instead of whisky, vodka or brandy. Imagine how much healthier you
can become when you give up alcohol. Imagine the alcohol killing your brain cells the
next time you feel an urge to down a glass. Make your imagination work for you and
dont give up! Remember vivid with feelings is the key.
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Chapter 25
Using Your Trained Memory For Card Tricks
This is another neat trick, but is fairly simple in operation. Cards are of course somewhat
ambiguous (you will by now be getting used to the fact that this is true for much in our
world being like that) and so you will have to give them some sort of solid imagery
Thankfully with our technique, we have an established system. Because they are so
simply and logically created you will find that you will be able to hold the information
with around 30 minute of study. The system combines the phonetic letter and number
system together with the first letter of each of the suits to create a new word and therefore
memorable object. Just a word of note before I divulge this secret: the court cards.
The jacks are simply pictured as the card suit that they are. So the jack of hearts is a
heart.
The queens. Apart from the queen of hearts (which is simply a queen) the letter of the
suit has been substituted for the first letter of the word queen, and then the closest rhyme
used. Its clubsy but it works!
The kings Similar to the queens, the only anomaly is the king of clubs, which again is the
word King. See below for the full details.
AC
2C
3C
4C
5C
6C
7C
8C
9C
10C
JC
QC
KC
cat
can
comb
cote
coat
cash
cock
cuff
cap
case
club
cream
king
AH
2H
3H
4H
5H
6H
7H
8H
9H
10H
JH
QH
KH
Hat
hone
hem
hare
hail
hash
hog
hoof
hub
hose
heart
queen
hinge
AS
2S
3S
4S
5S
6S
7S
8S
9S
10S
JS
QS
KS
Suit
sun
sum
sore
sail
sash
sock
safe
soap
suds
spade
steam
sing
AD
2D
3D
4D
5D
6D
7D
8D
9D
10D
JD
QD
KD
date
dune
dam
door
doll
dash
dock
dive
deb
dose
diamond
dream
drink
As usual, decide for yourself as to your own imagery.

So here are a couple of fun things to do with this. First you can memorize whole lists of
cards, but to really do well you must do this in under 5 minutes, which is considered
average, and under 3 minutes to stand any chance against the grand masters. But hey, 5
minutes is still good! It is quite simple, go through your favorite peg list, and associate
each card in shuffled order with the peg word.
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But how about card counting - that is remembering what cards have already been played
in a game so that you are more readily able to calculate the odds of a certain hand being
possible. It is not as hard as remembering every card in play, instead a bit of reverse
psychology is used. When a card is played you imagine it destroyed in your mind. Now
you can do this with imagery - for example run over it in a steam roller, burn it, eat it,
tear it up, freeze it, feed it to a tiger, or stamp on it. Just so long as you distort the card
each time. Now, if you are waiting for a certain card to appear instead of having to go
through the whole deck or remember a long list of cards, just ask yourself if it has yet
been destroyed. If your card is still clear of damage then you perhaps have a winning
hand. If you play a number of hands, you may find that it would get confusing to use the
same distortion method. So the recommendation is that you should use a different
distortion method over the course of 7 hands, before returning to the first method. This
way you will keep most information in your scratch memory.
A similar trick would be for the audience to remove 5 cards from a shuffled deck. Now
go through the whole deck and mentally destroy the cards. Once done lay the cards to one
side, and simply go through the deck in SORTED order in your head. Each time you
come to a card that you have not mentally destroyed you can shout it out. If however
you can get this last stage to below 20 seconds (which is doable - the imagination can
work quick and sift images rapidly) then it is possible to go through the cards, identify
and place the unburned cards into a simple 5 place peg system, and then after 20 seconds
reveal all cards at one time.
In this way you could claim that your mind has organized the cards and then thrown out
the results in one go. Heighten the tension with some suitable clock countdown music.
There are other various things you can do with this. For example if you use a stacked
deck you can create your own individual stack, and no one would be the wiser.
Here is a nice trick. Work with a partner on the other side of a stage who knows the
system, perhaps even blindfolded. Ask a volunteer to shuffle your deck. Then proceed to
switch (using your favorite method) the deck for your own stacked deck. Have someone
in the audience call out a number between one and 52. You could do this with a thrown
ball, which bounces around a bit. Make out that this is so that it is a truly random
selection and that you could have had no influence on the deck at all. The volunteer on
stage then counts down the cards to that number. They are asked to look at the card,
concentrate on it. You will not look at it so that you can not be seen to be cheating. On
the other side of the stage your blindfold partner calls out (after the usual strain!) the
card. They know the card of course because it was the number called out by the other
volunteer from the audience.
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Another trick. First, use a fan or other method, cards face up, to show that all the cards
are different, but personally you are memorizing the 3 cards, and order, BENEATH the
top card. Palm off by any lift technique these 4 cards and pass the deck to a volunteer for
a good shuffle. Take the pack back replacing the cards on the top of the deck. Place the
deck on the table and have the volunteer cut the deck into 2 smaller decks, then tell him
that you will take one deck and ask that they touch one. If he touches the deck containing
the top 4 cards thank him for choosing the deck and allow him to keep it. If he chooses
the other deck then remove it from the table. However you do this, the volunteer must
end up with the portion that contains the top 4 cards Now ask your volunteer to remove
the top card and place it in the middle of the pack of cards. Finally, ask that they carefully
remove the next three cards and place them on the table. As you know these cards you
can use them in another illusion, or else reveal them in whatever way you prefer.
Next trick. Pre-order a packet of any 20 cards and memorize the order of the cards - in
this case it is important to use a CIRCULAR STORY METHOD to memorize the order
of the cards in that the last card image links back to the first. Now you are ready. Place a
pack of cards on the table and ask a spectator to cut the cards, but not to complete the cut.
Next to remove the card they have cut to and place it to one side. Next, they should
complete the cut. What this does is to keep the order of the cards still in the story order,
except for the one removed. Have the volunteer look at the card and remember it, and
then without you touching the pack to place the card back anywhere in the pack. Because
you memorized the pack in a circular story, it doesnt matter where the first cut is made
because the order of the cards will, in a circular sense, remain the same. The removed
card however should have fallen to the top of the pack in the story, but of course it will
now be out of order. So, to identify the chosen card simply go through the memorized
pack in order from the first card and see which card doesnt fit the story. The quick way
of course is to realize that card, IMMEDIATELY BEFORE THE CARD NOW ON THE
BOTTOM in the memorized sequence of the cut deck is the missing card. If you wish
you can just glimpse the base card to name the missing card. Try this trick out with a
simple deck of all the hearts in order backed onto all the clubs in order, and watch the
movements of the missing card. So in this example if the bottom card is the 2 of hearts,
you will know that the moved card is the ace.
AND YET ANOTHER .... Palm any 3 cards from a deck and place them in your pocket
(though you can do this without the palm and simply place 3 cards in your pocket before
the show starts). Ask a volunteer to shuffle the pack as much as they want to and then to
deal 4 cards face up onto the table. Ask them to look with you at the cards on the table
and to choose just one card, but not to touch it or to give the game away in any other way.
As they are doing this take some time to explain that Derren Brown uses suggestion
methods to make people choose the card he wants them to, or else is able to read the
choice of a person by their body language - they must do all they can not to move and
you will not influence their choice of card at all. Secretly however during this time of
drivel you are memorizing the order of the cards top to bottom.
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Once they have made their choice you should collect the cards IN THE ORDER IN
WHICH YOU HAVE MEMORISED THEM and place them in your pocket ON TOP OF
THE CARDS YOU SECRETLY PLACED THEIR EARLIER. Now ask the volunteer to
concentrate on their card ... As they do so remove one of the originally placed cards in
your pocket - one of the three - and look at it, then place it back in the center of the pack
saying, not that one. Do the same for the next two cards. Everyone now thinks that you
have just one card in your pocket whereas in reality you have the 4 cards dealt by the
volunteer, and of course one of them is the choice of the volunteer. Now, with a mystical
grin (or a knowing one if you cant do mystical!) ask the volunteer for their choice of
card. As soon as they tell you count down to the correct choice in your pocket and reveal
it with a flourish. 3 cards done like this is pretty good .... But how about trying 9 cards in
the pocket and asking for 10 to be dealt! The hardest part is not the memory of the cards,
but rather the counting of cards in your pocket. To aid counting, makes sure all the cards
lie long edge upwards in your pocket, and each time you place your hand in your pocket
pause, as if feeling for the right card. In reality you rotate the 3rd card of the volunteers
choices in your pocket by 90 degrees lie up wards) - on the second dip count a further 3
from this rotated card and rotate the sixth card, and on the third time count 4 and rotate
the 10th card. This makes identification of the spectators card smoother than counting
through all 10 as you will be able to quickly identify your marker cards. This will
hopefully be of interest and will point you in the right directions for further development
of your memory skills
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Chapter 26
Reconnecting With Lost Memories
Here is a simple technique on how to retrieve lost memories. Lets say youve lost
something valuable, it may be valuable in money terms or you have an emotional
attachment to it, like a ring or pendant.
You should pick a quiet or relaxing moment,
just before bedtime and after a relaxing bath would be ideal. Then tell your body to
relax.
You can use a technique often times used by hypnotists. Here is a variant of it. Lie down
on a couch or in your bed. Imagine every part of your body to be like a tightly wound
bunch of rubber bands, and you gradually unwind. As you do so, start tensing up the
body part and relaxing. Starting from your toes, start to curl up your toes and then relax,
followed by your ankles, up your calves, your knees, your thighs, your buttocks,
abdomen and then chest. Then clench your fist and relax, followed by your forearm,
upper arm, shoulder, neck muscles, your facial muscles and then the your forehead.
Imagine as you tense and release each body part, a warm sensation flows over it as you
relax.
As you go into a calm and relaxed state, focus your thoughts on the memory youre
trying to retrieve. When was the last time your saw the item or use the information?
Then gently tell your subconscious mind Dear subconscious, you know and see all
things, I trust that you know where is the ____________ . Let me know the answer.
Keep repeating the phrase Let me know the answer like a lullaby as you focus on the
problem. Vividly imagine the last time you were using it. Vividly imagine how relieve
or happy you would be if you found it. You have to make the feelings as real as
possible.
If you awaken and you do not have the answer, get busy about something else. When
you are preoccupied with something else, the answer will come to your mind like toast
pops out of the toaster.
Years ago, a good friend of mine dropped by my house for tea. She remembered that I
used to teach her young daughter how to remember her schoolwork which worked very
well for her. My friend asked me if Id any techniques for lost items. She had lost her
wedding ring a few weeks ago and it meant a lot to her. Her husband had promised to
buy her another, but she felt an attachment to it. At first I said I couldnt help because
my techniques dealt with how to organize and process new information for later recall,
not lost information. Then it hit me. A few years earlier, during a psychology class, I
was taught the basics of hypnotism and the power of suggestion. I then taught her basic
relaxation techniques and how to communicate with her inner self.
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A few days later, I received a phone call from her and she was thrilled to inform me that
shed found her ring. As she tried my suggestion, a few days later, she had a strong
intuition and a small voice that kept telling her to Ask Sarah. So she ask Sarah, her
daughter, if shed seen the ring. Her daughter replied that she had found it in the
driveway as her mother was taking groceries out of the car. She took it and placed it on
her study desk. My friend had not previously notice it as it was beneath some notes and
letters on her desk. Somehow, her subconscious had heard the tinkle as the ring hit the
driveway and linked it to the fact that her daughter was with her in the car.
So for example, if youre trying to recollect where you put an important letter, as you
follow the relaxation technique, try to imagine when was the last time your were reading
the letter. When you receive it and what time was it, was the TV on? What program was
on? Was it a documentary or a comedy? Was there anybody else in the room? Was there
music playing? Try to vividly recollect the last moment before the item went missing.
Were you in good mood or bad? Did you receive a phone call from someone? How was
your health? Did you have an ailment acting up, a headache or cold? These questions
may seem unimportant but your mind is an associating machine and every bit of
information is linked to some other bit of information. By asking these tiny questions,
were trying to recreate the background and trying to find a link back to the information
were trying to retrieve.
Sometimes it may take 1 session and the lost memory pops right back in your head. But
depending on how long the item is lost or what are other memories are blocking it, it may
take several sessions. But keep trying and trying and in most cases, your mind will reveal
to you what youve been looking for. Remember to stay relax, focused and keep asking
yourself those background questions.
Tip
You are encouraged to listen to the 10-minute Mighty Memory Alpha StateTM mp3 file
to help you with trying to retrieve lost memories. It contains more than 100 subliminal
memory affirming messages which encourage your subconscious to release lost
memories to your conscious mind. Just keep trying, playing the mp3 file a couple of
times everyday, especially before sleeping. Use the above methods to talk to your
subconscious to program it release the lost information when the time is ripe.
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Chapter 27
Effective Study Methods In Memory And Learning
The Role of Stimulus In Memory
The role of stimulus in anchoring memory is an important one. As weve already seen,
we can use humor, vivid imagination, sexuality, symbolism, color and exaggeration as
our stimulus. The graph below indicates that we recall more from the beginning and
ends of a learning period. We also recall more when things are associated or linked
(Peaks A, B and C) and more when things are outstanding or unique. From the graph, it
is clear that under normal circumstances and with understanding fairly constant, we tend
to recall more at the beginning, gradually decreasing our recall and more at the end of
learning period; (Green curve)
From the graph it is clear that under normal circumstances and with understanding fairly
constant, we tend to recall; more of things which are outstanding or unique (the
psychologist who discovered this characteristic was Von Restorff, and such a
memorization event is know as the Von Restorff effect), and considerably less of things
from the middle of learning periods.
Graph showing how stimulus can increase memory recall
100%
More
Stimulus
75%
Less
Stimulus
50%
25%
0%
Point in time where
Learning starts
Point in time where

learning ends
If recall is going to be kept at a reasonable level, it is necessary to find the point at which
recall and understanding work is greatest harmony. For normal purposes, this point
occurs in a time period of between 20 to 50 minutes. A shorter period does not give the
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mind enough time to appreciate the rhythm and organization of the material, and a longer
period results in the continuing decline of the amount recalled.
The Importance Of Relaxation And Breaks
If a period of learning from a lecture, a book or the mass media is to take 2 hours, it is far
better to arrange for brief breaks during these 2 hours. In this way the recall curve can be
kept high, and can be prevented from dropping during the later stages of learning. The
small breaks will guarantee eight relatively high points of recall, with four small drops in
the middle. Each of the drops will be less than the main drop would have been, if there
were there no breaks at all.
Breaks are additionally useful as relaxation points. They get rid of the muscular and
mental tension which inevitable builds up during period s of concentration
2 of 8 High points
Of recall
recall curves when

when planned breaks are taken
100%
75% -
50% -
25% -
0% -
1 hour
Point in time where
Learning starts
2 hours
Point in time
learning ends
Blue curves represent when periodic breaks (gaps) are taken during 2 hours learning
Red curve represent recall curve when no breaks are taken for 2 hours or more.
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The Importance Of Proper Scheduled Review For Long Term Memory

One of the most significant aspects of proper review is the accumulative effect it has on
all aspects of learning, thinking and remembering. The person who does not review is
continually wasting the effort he does put in to any learning task, and putting himself at a
serious disadvantage.
Graphs Depicting Memory Enhancement After Scheduled Reviews

2nd review
st
1 review
rd
4th review
3 review
100%
75%
50%
25%
0%
10 minutes
24 hours
1 week
1 month
The red graph shows maintained knowledge without review

The orange graph shows maintained knowledge with 1st review after 10 minutes
The green graph shows maintained knowledge with 2nd review after 24 hours
The brown graph shows maintained knowledge with 3rd review after 1 week
The blue graph shows maintained knowledge with 4th review after 1 month
The red graph shows a typical learning session where no review of the knowledge has
taken place. The graph shows memory recall rises for a short while after learning but
plunges steeply thereafter. (80% loss of detail within 24 hours)
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The initial brief rise takes place at the very moment the learning period has ended. But
the brain needs a few minutes to complete and link firmly all the interconnections within
the new material i.e. sink in. If review is done after 10 minutes, this will allow time to
assimilate the new information. If no review takes place, the decline within 24 hours will
be rapid and 80% of information can be lost. The enormous drop must be prevented with
proper notes review.
If review is organized properly, recall can be kept at a high point shortly after learning.
In order to accomplish this, a programmed pattern of review must take place, each review
being done at the time just before recall is about to drop.
The first review should take place 10 minutes after a one-hour learning period and should
itself take 5 minutes. This will keep the recall high for about one day, when the next
review should take place, this time for a period of 2 to 4 minutes. After this, recall will
probably be retained for about a week, when another 2-minutes review can be completed
followed by a further review after about one month. After this time the knowledge will
be lodged in Long-Term Memory. This means it will be familiar in the way a personal
telephone number is familiar, needing only the most occasional nudge to maintain it.
The first review, if notes have been taken, should be a fairly complete note revision,
which may mean scrapping the original notes and substituting for them a revised and
final copy. The second, third and fourth review sessions should take the following form;
jot down on a piece of paper, everything that can be recalled. This should be checked
against the final notes and any connections or additions to what has been recalled should
be made.
Each time a person approaches a new learning situation, his recall of previous knowledge
gained will be at a very low ebb, and the connections, which should be made
automatically, will be dismissed. This will mean that his understanding of the new
material will not be as complete as it could be, and that his efficiency and speed through
the new material will also be less. This continuing negative process results in a
downward spiral that ends in a general despair of ever being able to learn anything each
time new material is learned, it is forgotten, and each time new material is approached it
seems to become more oppressive. The result is that many people after having finished
their formal exams, seldom, if ever, approach books again.
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Failure to review is equally as bad for general memory. If each new piece of information
is neglected, it will not remain at a conscious level, and will not be available to form new
memory connections. As memory is a process which is based on linking and association,
the fewer items there are in the recall store, the less will be the possibility for news
items to be registered and connected.
On the opposite side of this coin, the advantages of reviewing are enormous. The more
you maintain your current body of knowledge, the more you will be able to absorb and
handle. When you study, the expanding amount of knowledge at your command will
enable you to digest new knowledge far more easily, each new piece of relevant
information. The process is much more like that of the traditional snowball rolling,
where the snowball gets rapidly bigger the more it rolls and eventually continues rolling
under its own momentum. This will enhance your confidence, your work and your life.
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Chapter 28
Mind Mapping For Review And Creativity
In dealing with the subject of memory and accelerated learning, the topic of Mind
Mapping has to be mentioned. However, I would recommend that you dont try this
system until you have grown confident using all the other systems, and that you are able
to create strong images in your head in under 5 seconds. If you cant do that yet, dont
worry. With only a couple of days practice you will be able to, and when you can, return
and have a go at one of the most powerful uses of the memory system I can imagine.
Also, its fun.
Invented by Tony Buzan, Mind Mapping creates colors and images on a piece of paper
which by their very nature are more memorable. They are also fantastic tools for being
able to pull together information and cross-reference it, without the restrictions of the
linear page. The tool of mind mapping is particularly useful as a replacement of note
taking during review of a subject after a learning session or as a tool of creativity to
brainstorm a problem. As discussed in the previous chapter, the importance of scheduled
review of learned material cannot be over emphasized for long-term memory building.
We are predominantly operating in left mode not long after we have started school, and
take this preference into adulthood. The common belief is that the left mode will develop
our intellectual skills, while the right mode is comparatively unimportant. This is not
true. The right mode is equally important, and creatively, in its purest sense, is born
from the interaction of both modes with each other. If teachers operate in left mode, and
students think in right mode, we get disharmony. If two heads are better than one, then
two brain hemispheres are better than one, much better.
The dominance of the left mode is commonly perceived as being responsible for
spawning intellectuals whereas right mode dominance produces artists. This is not
entirely accurate, because true intelligence or artistry depends upon the active interaction
of both left and right modes of thinking. Creativity, in its purest sense is the balanced
participation of the left and right hemispheres constantly communicating with each other
via a bridge of between two and three hundred million nerve fibers known as the corpus
callosum, the interstate highway which transports us from mediocrity to genius.
One extremely powerful and enjoyable way in which to achieve such communication is
through the practice and application of Mind Mapping, which calls upon both
hemispheres, and thereby dramatically boosts ones ability to recall immense quantities
of data. The technique of Mind Mapping is as close as one can presently get on paper to
reproducing the natural thought processes of the human brain. Amazingly simple to learn
and strikingly powerful in application, it calls upon your brains innate desire to perform
swiftly, extensively and in natural harmony with its own physiology. The skill of Mind
Mapping allows an individual to not only access his or her own intelligence, but also to
accelerate it greatly.
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This is a technique that very quickly shows you how to learn with total effectiveness,
how to record information dramatically, and how to remember that information for
whatever length of time we need to retain it, for purposes of later recall.
By using the left and right attributes of our brain hemispheres, such as colors, images,
words, dimensions, lines, order, structure, imagination, and so on, within the same Mind
Map, we are able to rapidly expand and explore an idea in either note form, or as a verbal
presentation, and convert it into a graphical picture. This comes as close as one can to
taking a photographic snapshot of our thought process on that topic. But since we cannot
install a camera inside our brain, this skill is indispensable for anyone in any profession,
of any age or sex, equipped simply with the desire to maximize their brainpower.
The radiant structure of a Mind Map follows the natural architecture of the human brain.
It is very easy to learn the laws associated with this skill, and the following pages take
you step by step over the entire process. A Mind Map reflects the natural radiance of our
thought processes. Harmonize with nature and you harmonize with genius.
1. Start out with a blank sheet of white paper. The size can be A4, letter or A3 or any
size large enough to expand your thoughts on. Blank paper lets you have total freedom
for writing and drawing. It allows you to use both hemispheres of your brain. White
paper is initially recommended as it is user-friendly for a new skill being learned. Paper
with lines and margins is not always brain-friendly and does not help in making your
thoughts flow.
2. Use the paper on its side, like this

It is in the landscape format as as
oppose to portrait. Words and images have lots of room to spread out, and are thus
never confined to space between lines and margins.
3. Begin at the center

Every thought is born as a central speck somewhere
within the brain. Ideas then hook onto the initial thought, and radiate outwards, like the
sun
4. Draw a central image that is your very special, own idea, about your story, subject,
topic or thoughts. A picture is worth a thousand words. It frees up your mind to
remember and think of many more ideas and things. Your thoughts focus much better,
your memory improves like never before, and the whole exercise is simply great FUN!
Use at least three or four colors for the central image. Color tickles the right side of your
brains cortex and helps you greatly with your imagination and memory. It is also much
easier and more enjoyable to pay attention to material when it is in color.
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Keep the size of the central image to approximately between 5 cm to

5.50 cm for the size of writing paper commonly used. This size has been proven
to be just right and allows the Mind Map to develop without any worries about
running out of space. If the image is too big, it wont let all your thoughts fit on
the page; if too small, you will find it difficult to develop when you have a rush of
ideas, i.e., your central image will not have enough area to accommodate all the
main branches.
Do not enclose and trap the central image in a frame or
border.
Let it remain open.
Every image is unique in shape
as well as in appearance.
A frame imprisons the image,
robbing it of its freedom. A free image is easier to remember
and much more enjoyable to play with.
5. The central image is attached to a few main themes radiating outwards. These are
somewhat equivalent to the chapter headings of a book, except that we can use either
words or images to represent our thoughts, not just words alone. The main themes
emphasize their prominence by being connected to the central image. They are cupped
within and on the main branch, thereby permitting their relative importance to be
highlighted through direct association with the central theme.
If a word is being used, it must be printed in CAPITAL letters. Printing (as oppose to
joined-up, cursive writing) makes it very easy for the brain to capture snapshots of the
words. It helps us to read and remember much better and faster. However, lower-case
letters can be used as you branch outwards, indicating relatively decreased priority.
It must be placed on a line (Main Branch) of the same length. Remember word length =
line length, as longer or shorter lines interrupt and break the flow of thoughts, whereas
words written to match the line length helps to make the connections easier to remember!
thicker at the
The main branches are thick, curved and organic, i.e.,
central image, tapering outwards. Curved lines look beautiful, graceful, and flowing.
They reflect nature, and are therefore natural. They are more fun to do, and therefore
are easier to remember!
They are connected directly to the central image. Connections dramatically emphasize
the relationship between the main themes and central thoughts. The brain works best
through associations; separate, disconnected fragments are brain-hostile
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Remember, write only one word per line (branch). See examples below.
Because each word and image has millions of possible associations. Therefore, if you
give it its own freedom, you will get many more ideas from it, and be able to remember it
more clearly.
6. Add more main theme branches to the central image. This will make your main
themes easily recognizable, and help to set off more and more thoughts in motion. (Of
course, all the different main themes are still connected with each other, simply because
they all connect to the central image).
7. Start adding second, third, fourth levels of thought. These words or images sit on
their own branches, but are very much linked to the main branches that triggered them.
The words and images you started with, make you think of so many other words and
images, one connected with the other. Attach them, to whatever word or image triggers
them. Let your thoughts flow freely; it is not necessary to finish one branch before
proceeding to the next.
Remember: Lines (branches) are connected, and thinner. Connected lines create
relationships and a structure. They also show levels of importance, as from a branch to a
twig. So, the main branch would be the first level, the next one the second level, the next
the third, and so on.
Words should again be printed, but may be lower case (i.e., not capitals) if you want to
show them to be less important; this is usually done towards the outer sections of the
Mind Map. The typeface, size, style, and versatility of the letters and words convey
information about their importance and meaning. Script merged with images or symbols
are fabulous for provoking creativity.
Use images wherever possible, instead of, or in addition to words. Mix them up with
words if you wish. Thoughts have a natural capacity for athletics. By this I mean they
move around very fast. Let them bounce around freely; hop, skip, jump and slide around
the Mind Map as the links, connections, and associations occur to you. Your brain has an
infinite capacity for generating and receiving a multitude of ideas, at varying speeds.
Like a trillion-tentacled mega octopus, it is able to pluck out and chuck out ideas at
random. The Mind Map allows you to catch them and put them into a formidable format
for action.
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8. Add new dimensions to your Mind Map. Use different colored highlighter pens. Add
arrows, symbols, and codes, and different styles for each. Sometimes enclose branches
of a Mind Map with cloud-shaped outlines in colors, so that they hug the shape of the
branch. The unique shapes of these, cloud outlines serve as powerful memory anchors.
All these items help to make important points stand out, so you can remember better.
The outlines will create unique shapes (as you find in clouds, or in maps); the arrows,
symbols, and codes, can show the connection between different branches. This will save
you having to repeat writing the same information, unless of course, you wish to do so for
a particular reason such as for placing added emphasis on a point.
Let us begin with an example on the next page. Our topic is TRANSPORTATION. We
will develop it according to the Laws of Mind Mapping. Just as nature grows through
nourishment, so does a Mind Map. You will soon learn to appreciate the beauty of your
brain blossoming.
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Step 1
Start With The Central Image
The paper should be ;
Blank
In landscape (placed sideways)
The central image should :

-
illustrate what the topic is all about

not be enclosed inside a frame or box.
have at least three or four colors
be approximately 5 cm high and wide for A4 paper and
approximately between 6.5 cm and 7.5 cm for A3 paper.
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Step 2
Add A Main Branch To The Central Image
The main branch should be:
Touching the central image, anywhere

Filled with color
Shaped with graceful, curved lines, thicker at the central image, tapering to a point outwards.
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Step 3
Add A Word Or Image On The Main Branch
The main branch should have the word or image:

Sitting on the branch, and should represent one of your main ideas about the topic.
Of the same length as the branch. If words, only one word per branch.
Written in capital letters, of a reasonably large size (if it is a word)
In colors of your choice
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Step 4
Add Words Or Images Off The Main Branch And Then Off The Next Levels Of Branches
The words or images should be;

Sitting on thinner branches, and should represent your ideas about the sub-topic
Of the same length as the branch
Shaped to follow the curvature of the branch
It must be written in capital letters, but smaller than the sub-topic if it is a word
In colors of your choice
Note : The image here is located on the third level of expansion, and represents a type of boat (dinghy) associated with the
previous level, Boats, itself a development from Water. The word Boats as well as the image for boat have been depicted
here for showing the options, but only one need be selected.
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Step 5
Add Further Main Branches And Expand Them As You Did In Step 4
The symbols placed over Land and Water respectively, of the Historical main branch serve the as cross-reference. This saves
you having to repeat the same information, if it comes crops up in the other branches, for example, the main branch Present. Later,
from the Present main branch, the second symbol placed on a second level branch coming off Water). This means that all
information related to Historical branch is also relevant here.
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Step 6
Keep On Going, As You Did In Step 5
You can play with the Mind Map and add empty branches to provoke new ideas. Put them onto the branches as they occur to you.
The use of the curly arrow (any shape will do) to create or move into additional space is a very useful device, as it does not restrict
you in an area where you might be feeling trapped.
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Mind Map On The Sense Of Touch ( An Illustration)

Our sense of touch comes initially and largely from our skin, which has an outer, dead
surface, constantly being eroded, but never wearing out. This micro-thin layer covers
two main layers which are alive. The top half-millimeter or so is called the epidermis,
beneath which is the dermis, about two millimeters thick. New cells are constantly being
pushed up, where near the surface, they get squashed flat and die. But the constant
regeneration of the skins outer surface is necessary as the simple acts of bathing,
washing our faces, and scratching result in the removal of dead skin. This flexible
platform of dead cells is waterproof, and is constantly being renewed via touch.
Approximately every two weeks, the epidermis gets completely renewed.
The dermis provides the skin with its strength and ability to stretch. In this region, vital
glands, nerves, hairs and blood vessels are located. Skin conditions millions of sensitive
nerve-endings and sensory receptors (mechanoreceptors) which signal the brain with
information about light touch, temperature, pressure, pain, vibration and sensations.
An interesting phenomenon called stereognosis (Greek: stereos, solid, three-dimensional
gnosis, knowledge) refers to the ability to identify unseen objects by handling them. This
ability depends upon the sensations of touch and pressure, as well as on the participation
of sensory areas in the parietal lobe of the cerebral cortex.
Our Mind Map contains additional information on this subject, and can be transcoded
into written form in the notes below;
Proceeding from main branch to main branch, we have
Sources
The main sources of raising awareness within ourselves about the sense of touch come
from the skin (the bodys largest organ, with an area of about 2 square meters, and
weighing approximately 3 kg). The areas of greatest sensitivity are at the tips of your
lips, tongue, teeth and fingers (of course, this is directly proportional to the thickness of
callus, the thickened, dead, outermost layer of our skin). The skin essentially responds to
the sensations of temperature and pressure, with the latter accommodating the perceptions
of texture and weight, which actually depend upon how much pressure is being applied as
any moment on the surface of your skin on different parts of your body.
The normal body temperature, which would correspond to the inside temperature of your
skin, ranges between 36.1oC and 37.8oC, regardless of the external temperature. The
temperature of your skin on the outside is approximately 33oC though the temperature of
your earlobes under those conditions, would be in the region of 27oC (due to the low
volume of blood present there, and its relatively slow movement).
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You will lose consciousness if your inside body temperature rises above 41oC or falls
below 33oC. The exact location of the temperature sense receptors on our skin has not
yet been determined, but it is suspected that they may be a part of, or in the same location
as, the pressure receptors.
Sense Of Touch
Your sense of touch is developed through the interaction between your brain and your
body. They link up due to the existence of memory which exists not just in your brain,
but also in your muscles and joints via the myriad sense cells. So this sense of touch
would be related to a body-sense; the scientific name for it is kinaesthesis
(Greek:kinesis or motion + aesthesis or perception), also known as position-sense.
Your body is a complex mechanism with numerous maps of its functions and responseabilities. These maps work in connection with your vision, that is, what you see, and
sense of touch, what you physically feel. Nevertheless, the maps are constantly
changing, purely because we never stay exactly the same size and shape in the course of
our lives.
The sense of touch is the earliest one developed, and is felt in a foetus as early as the
seventh week of pregnancy. Of all the senses this sense has the broadest range.
The skin has eight types of sensors (as categorized here, but this could be further
expanded). They respond to light touch, pressure, heat, cold, pain, vibration and tickling.
The high concentration of light touch receptors in the fingertips gives them enhanced
tactile sensitivity, allowing for the presence of callus, of course. Pain is a vital element
among the sensors because it awakens us to the presence of injuries, if we were say,
bleeding, we could stanch the flow of blood or perhaps, suffer from a fatal infection.
Hence, pain helps us to record, remember,and avoid those places and circumstances
which may be dangerous to us. It is for these reasons that pain receptors are the most
numerous.
Benefits
The benefits of having a sense of touch are obvious from the point of giving and
receiving care, love, and affection. This results in physiological growth, creates bonding,
as say between a baby and mother, or any two people, and in fact, can be synergetic with
regards to establishments of harmony in society. Touching can also reduce stress levels
in people, if it is done with pure, genuine, good intentions. For people who are blind, a
sense of touch is vital for reading, and therefore, in learning, thanks to the existence of
Braille which is read with the fingertips. The Braille alphabet consists of raised dots
which form letters and words. An experienced reader can read up to 50 words a minute.
Cortex
The cortex is the uppermost (cap) part of the brain. It is where we perceive the sensation
of touch. The somatosensory cortex is the region where we sense our awareness of body
position, pain, heat and cold. The motor cortex recognizes and controls our voluntary
movements, such as winking.
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Review On The Sense Of Touch Mind Map

1. What are the main sources from where we perceive the sensation of touch?
2. Where is the greatest sensitivity to touch perceived?
3. What is the largest organ in the human body?

approximate area it covers?
How heavy is it, what is the
4. What is the range for normal body (inside) temperatures?
5. What is the standard temperature for your earlobes?
6. Above what temperature will one lose consciousness?
7. What is the scientific name for your sense of touch?
8. How many types of touch sensors does our skin have? Can you name them all?
9. Why can pain be a good thing?
10. Name four benefits of touching
11. What is the speed in words per minute for a good Braille reader?
12. Where is the brains cortex located?
13. Which category of touch receptor is the most numerous in the human body?
14. In which cortex do we sense our awareness of body position, pain, heat and cold?
15. What is the approximate temperature of your skin on its outside surface?
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Conclusion
Researchers at Northwestern University, US, believe that we think with the same parts of
the brain that we use to perceive objects, and that a vividly imagined scene or event can
leave the same brain trace as a real or experienced event. We all know just how easy it
is to remember experienced events, and if we recall that event on an even vaguely regular
basis the result is that we will remember it. But what exactly is going on with
remembering ?
Well certain memories are just that - real engrained chemically strong bonds that operate
at a purely subconscious level. Driving a car would be good example - or even talking.
Talking and reading are interesting because they use iconic memory, and iconic
recognition. Its almost like the working memory of a car. Usable data is brought out of
long-term memory and into short-term memory, and then used in whatever the task is
required at the time. For example reading. Each word is recognized as a whole, and
translated into data, and then the word goes back into long-term memory. This happens
automatically but only because of years of practice. It has been found by researchers that
children with speech difficulties also have memory problems, and this iconic memory
may be the victim. Researchers have also found that recognition is infinitely more
powerful than simply recall alone. What we are doing with a memory system, is not
recalling information in its truest sense of the word. What we are doing is attaching an
easily recognizable systematic key to ambiguous lists and items. As soon as you come
across a word, it enables a recognition attachment to another object. That information
alone should help you in the development of your own systems. Having a good memory
though could in the end save you time. An experiment was conducted in America
between two sets of first graders - American and Chinese. In a timed test the Chinese
children completed 3 times more problems than did the American children. It seems that
the reason for this was that they repeat basic skills more often, which meant that they
knew the answers to basic problems without needing to recalculate them each time. This
frees up space in the brain for sorting through the other areas of the problem, which
makes the brain overall more effective. This principle is how a genius would think, as
they would learn to apply solved problem from one area of life to another area with little
thought. If you practice your memory, some mnemonists suggest, you will find that you
are able to encode and decode almost at a subconscious level - all information you hear,
see or read. I have yet to meet the person for whom this is true. Oh, and those 1st
graders? By the third grade they were so way behind that they never caught up!
You now have the basis and foundation of a trained memory. The system is so far
reaching and applicable than what has been stated above. It could literally run into
thousands of pages if all applications where a trained memory is needed, is listed. You
are only limited by your imagination.
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I do hope I have given you a glimpse of what can be done with my system, the rest is up
to you. I urge you to spend 5 minutes a day reviewing the peg lists and practice what you
have learned. If you do this for 5 minutes everyday, for a week, a month, 2 months it
all adds up and youre on your way to a perfect, million-dollar memory. You can practise
with the newspaper you are reading, look at the faces in the news and look at their names
and make a see peg and change the persons name into pictures. Read a magazine and
breakdown the article into key words and link the key words to form a story. Try to
recall the article a few hours later, when youre at lunch, waiting for a friend, brushing
your teeth, anywhere. Just practise..
This course is really designed to bring forth the power you already possess. The power
that you have and the abilities that you possess just needed to be released. These
techniques really can turn your life around. May you never be the same!
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SPECIAL HEALTH REPORT ON FACTORS AFFECTING MEMORY

In this report, we shall be examining some physiological reasons why we cant think
clearly and why it can affect our memory.
Stress has been known to affect memory. Here Id like to discuss 2 kinds of stress
Emotional and Physical.
Emotional stress is an elevated level of a particular type of emotion; it can be a positive
emotion like happiness or negative like fear, anxiety or anger. Physical stress is caused
by factors that overstrain the bodys physical limit. For example strenuous physical
activity like weight lifting, running a marathon, childbirth or even a mundane activity like
reading can cause physical stress.
Although both emotional and physical stress is part of everyday living, we need to
balance it out so it does not overwhelm us
If you are facing great emotional stress in your personal or work life, there are several
ways to deal with it. Learn to view things in a positive light or what lessons can be
learned from it. I like the story of a man who was stranded on a deserted island. One
day, the hut he was living in caught fire and burned to the ground. It was his most
precious possession, keeping him dry in wet weather and cool in hot weather.
Despondent, he dropped to his knees and cried out to God, Why, God, why!?. Soon his
tears of anguish turned to joy when he saw in the distant horizon, a ship heading straight
for his little island. After he was rescued, the captain of the ship told him, We have
sailed this route many times for years and always thought the island was deserted, until
we saw your smoke signal.
If its a matter of great personal loss, learn to move on and see the brighter side of life. I
know this is sometimes easier said than done, but think about it, what choice do you
have? Thinking positive thoughts may not be the only solution, you just got to move
mentally, physically and spiritually. You can learn a new hobby or make new friends,
anything to get your mind of whatever is bothering you. Learn to relax and let go, take a
vacation or do something more affordable like take a hike to the nearby hills or forest, sit
by the sea, go fishing or do some gardening Youll be surprised how being close to
nature can calm your senses. You can also give your time as a volunteer to people less
fortunate than you. That way, your problems dont seem so big all of a sudden. Just
remember, it is more blessed to give than to receive.
Sometimes just the very act of trying to remember something causes you stress. Usually,
the harder you try, the worse it becomes, just like when youre trying to remember
someones name or a solution to a problem. Learn to let go, take a long walk, take a long
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bath, knit a sweater, bake something or watch something funny on TV. Sometimes the
solution just pops right into your head in the midst of doing a relaxing activity.
If its a question of stress brought about by poor health, you can cleanse your body by
fasting, exercising and taking plenty of fruit juices. I cannot over emphasize on 2 factors
that are the elixirs of life, exercise and fruit juice. Fasting cleanses your body inside out,
exercise (even a leisurely daily stroll) just gets your body cranking and sends oxygen to
the cells of your body and fruit juices flushes out the toxins from your body and
rejuvenates it with precious enzymes from within. Invest in a good fruit juicer, itll be
the best investment youll ever make, trust me on this. I have found that doing simple
basic Yoga exercise balances everything out. If you have not tried it before, you can find
out where you can learn it in your community or you can borrow a book from the library
to learn a few basic movements. It is not necessary to bend yourself into a pretzel to gain
benefits. Just keep it simple. Dont be intimidated by the pictures of lithe bodies bent in
impossible positions, do the simple exercise in your own degree and it becomes yours.
Nutrition and memory
The body and mind are intertwined and work synergistically, each affecting the other. If
you are feeling bad physically, your emotions are affected as well which in turn affects
your memory. On the other hand, if you are physically healthy, you feel better
emotionally and the same problems dont seem so pressing. You feel more dynamic and
vibrant and your memory capacity improves in tandem. The best way to make sure that
you stay physically healthy is by the food you eat. As you are doing the exercises in this
book or any other heavy brain work, be aware of the digestive times of certain foods.
You are advised not to take heavy meals prior to brain heavy activities. After a heavy
meal, blood goes to the digestive organs. Its not only the quantity of food that affects
your concentration. Certain foods take longer time to digest than others. For example,
Pork takes longer to digest than other meat. Beef takes less time, then comes poultry and
fish. When it comes to complex carbohydrates, whole-wheat pasta is healthier but tend to
take longer to digest than regular pasta. Vegetables and fruits are digested very quickly.
If you must have a filling meal before an important meeting or class, have a meal with
more vegetables and fruits, salads would be a good choice. You wont feel lethargic and
will be more mentally alert because the digestion wont slow you down.
Foods to avoid.
Turkey is rich in tryptophan, an amino acid that promotes sleep. Think about the meals
where turkey is served, were you feeling mentally slow and lethargic? Were you
sleeping at the couch, if its after a family Thanksgiving dinner? Keep away from turkey
if its an important business deal, meeting or school test that comes after.
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Sugar can affect the memory because it makes the pancreas secrete insulin, which is the
hormone needed to break down sugar so that it can be used by the body. A sudden
uptake of sugar makes the pancreas produce more insulin to deal with the sugar load and
you get a sugar rush. You get high for an hour or so but crash after that and your
mental processes slow down. When I talk about sugar, Im referring to the processed
sugar found in coffee, soda, candy or baked foods Fructose, which is the sugar found in
fruits is absorbed faster into the bloodstream, and affects the pancreas in a smaller degree.
White flour is a simple carbohydrate. There is a difference between simple and complex
carbohydrate. Simple carbohydrates like white flour have a high glucidic rate and are
therefore high in sugar and that makes the pancreas work overtime to produce high levels
of insulin to break it down.
White-flour products like bread are hard on the digestive tract as well. If you need to be
convinced, mix white flour with water and you get a white paste. This paste is what lines
your intestinal tract. You get slightly constipated and blood rushes to your digestive
organs to help with the digestive process. As a result, less blood is available for your
brain and your thinking slows down. If you take whole-wheat flour and mix it with
water, nothing happens and it will not harden. Whole wheat is a complex carbohydrate
that has a relatively low glucidic rate. Your pancreas doesnt have to work as hard and
you dont have that much of a sugar highs or lows.
Coffee and alcohol.
Some of us just needs that cuppa in the morning to kick start our day. It is the caffeine in
the coffee that makes the neurotransmitters fire rapidly away and as a result, we feel
mentally alert. However, the slowdown comes pretty quickly and last longer. Until you
take another cuppa, thats why coffee is also addictive. Alcohol on the other hand works
the opposite way, by slowing down the neurotransmitters, which in short, makes you
dumber, faster.
Aspartame and MSG (monosodium glutamate). Although the research is mixed on these
2 ingredients in found in colas and snacks, its effect on individuals who are allergic to
them are a cause for concern. They just make the neurotransmitters fire in a random
manner and people who are allergic to MSG for example, are known to just collapse and
remain unconscious for a few minutes, so approach with care.
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Memory Boosters
Magnesium helps to build bones, make proteins, release energy stored in muscles and
regulate body temperature. They also help maintain memory function in middle age and
beyond. The adult daily nutritional requirement for magnesium, a trace mineral found in
foods such as dark green, leafy vegetables, is around 400 milligrams. But studies show
that as many as half of us do not consume enough. Magnesium helps regulate key brain
receptor important for learning and memory. Strong evidence suggests that magnesium
deficit may lead to decreased memory and learning ability. Maintaining proper
magnesium levels in the cerebrospinal fluid is essential for the maintaining the brains
ability to learn and remember.
Lecithin has also been found to be beneficial for memory. If you want to increase your
memory power, eat foods rich in lecithin. Lecithin is a phospholipid, which is a class of
fats. Lecithin contains choline, a building block of the many neurotransmitters in the
brain that form the basis of thought and memory. If you have high levels of lecithin in
your brain, you think quicker and faster. Geniuses who have IQ s in the region of 150200 have high lecithin in their brains. Foods rich in lecithin are soybeans, organ meats,
eggs and wheat germ. You can also take in lecithin in the form of supplements and can
be easily found in most pharmacies or health stores. If you have to take lecithin as a
supplement, read the recommended dose on the outside. Also check the PC
concentration, which refers to the purity of the lecithin you are buying. It should be in
the 30-35% range.
Gingko biloba, extracted from the leaves of the ginkgo tree improves oxygenation to the
brain. It makes you more alert mentally and substantially improves your brain power and
memory functions.
Guarana is a herb with properties like caffeine without the side effects, like the jittery
feeling some people have on drinking strong coffee. It is also found in health stores.
Water And Fats
It might not be too surprising to note that there is a significant link with good nutrition
and a powerful memory. After all, the building blocks of the brain are organic, the
electrical signals are produced from the body. The results are that the better you eat the
better you are able to perform.
This goes the same for water. Carla Hannaford, Ph.D., in Smart Moves: Why Learning Is
Not All In Your Head; says that the brain is between 75% and 90% water! Which means
that if you get dehydrated your memory and attention will suffer. And dont wait until
you are thirsty - by that time it is too late! If you want to be at peak fitness, drink 6 pints
minimum a day.
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In a controlled study co written by Gordon Winocur, Ph.D., a senior scientist at the

Rotman Research Institute in Toronto and a psychology and psychiatry professor at the
University of Toronto, rats who were fed a diet consisting of 40% fat--similar to what
many Americans eat, showed reduced cognitive function. "[The reduced ability] was
widespread, and it ran the spectrum of cognitive functions--memory, spatial ability, rulelearning and so on," says Winocur, whose study was published recently in the journal
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory. Rats that ate a diet high in saturated fat suffered
more impairment than those who ate mainly unsaturated fat. (psychology today, July
2001)
Nutrition List
Fruits Vegetables
Blueberries
Blackberries
Cranberries
Strawberries
Raspberries
Plums
Avocados
Oranges
Red grapes
Cherries
Red apples - Kale
Spinach
Brussels sprouts
Alfalfa sprouts
Broccoli
Beets
Red bell peppers
Onions
Brewers or nutritional yeast
Nuts and seeds
Legumes
Wheat germ
Dairy products
Lean meat and poultry
Seafood
Eggs
Whole grains
Spinach and leafy greens
Carrots
Asparagus
Broccoli
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Salmon
Sardines
Bluefish
Herring
Mackerel
Tuna
Cocoa
A nice cup of the right kind of cocoa could hold the promise of promoting brain function
as people age. In an age increasingly ageing world, medical researchers are seeing more
cases of dementia and are looking for ways to make brains work better.
One potential source of help may be flavanols, an antioxidant found in cocoa beans that
can increase blood flow to the brain, researchers disclosed at the annual meeting of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr Ian MacDonald, of Britains
University of Nottingham, reported on tests given to young women who were asked to do
a complex task while their brains were being studied with magnetic resonant imaging.
Among the women given drinks of cocoa high in flavanols, there was a significant
increase in blood flow to the brain compared with subjects who did not drink the cocoa,
he said.
This raises the prospect of using flavanols in the treatment of dementia, marked by
decreased blood flow in the brain, and in maintaining overall cardiovascular health, he
said.
The next step, Dr MacDonald said, is to move from healthy subjects to people who have
compromised blood flow to the brain.
Dr Norman Hollenberg, of Harvard Medical School, said he had found similar health
benefits in the Cuna Indian tribe in Panama. They drink cocoa exclusively.
But the cocoa typically sold in markets is low in flavanols, which usually are removed
because they impart a bitter taste, Dr Hollenberg said.
But he added, a lot of fat is removed from the chocolate used in cocoa, I see a bright
future for cocoa, he said.
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Sleep, Learning And Memory

It is a well-known fact that a restful night's sleep is vital to a healthy mind and memory.
Disrupted sleep or insomnia can affect brain function. A chronic lack of sleep will even
force the brain the take micro-naps. The dreams that we have while sleeping are the
pathways through which our unconscious mind communicate with our conscious mind.
A lack of sleep appears to disrupt the functioning of the hippocampus, an area of the
brain that forms new memories.
The latest of the medical journal Nature Neuroscience reported on Harvard Medical
School investigators who recruited 28 volunteers who were either randomly deprived of
sleep for two days and a night or who were allowed to sleep normally.
They looked at and tried to remember a large set of pictures while a scanner screened
them, mapping their blood flow, and hence cerebral activity.
The subjects were then allowed two full nights of sleep before a second test in which they
had to spot the original slides in a batch that included new pictures.
The sleep-deprived group did worse in the first test than those who had slept. But in the
second test, those who had been sleep-deprived did much better than those who had
earlier slept.
The scanner showed that in the first test, hippocampus activity among the sleep-deprived
was far lower.
Previous research had found that sleep after learning is vital for consolidating memory,
but hard evidence has, until now, been lacking as to the effects of lack of sleep before a
memory is created.
These results demonstrate that an absence of prior sleep substantially compromises the
neural and behavioral capacity for committing new experiences to memory, said the
study.
It therefore appears that sleep before learning is critical in preparing the human brain for
next-day memory formation.
In a separate study work on rats, by a team from Princeton University found that a lack of
sleep affected the hippocampus. It found that the stress hormone corticosterone caused
the effect. The researchers compared animals which were deprived of sleep for 72 hours
with others which were not.
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Those who missed out on rest had higher levels of corticosterone and produced
significantly fewer brain cells in a particular region of the hippocampus. When the
animals corticosterone levels were kept at a constant level, the reduction cell
proliferation ended. This may explain why people who experience lack of sleep face
concerntration problems and other difficulties.
If you're having trouble falling asleep at night, head to the kitchen and reach for some
kiwifruit. A study by Taipei Medical University has found that eating two kiwifruits an
hour before going to bed can improve your sleep quality by as much as 40 percent.
And here's a handy tip; If you find it a hassle to peel the kiwifruit, simply cut it in half
and scoop the contents out with a spoon.
A cup of Chamomile tea before bed is now as commonplace as a nighttime milky drink.
The fragrant flower has been used for centuries to treat frazzled nerves, skin complaints,
digestive disorders and period pain. Its effects have been confirmed by a study that
found German Chamomile tea boosts levels of compounds in the body that relieve
muscle spasms and increase antibacterial activity.
Exercise Your Mind

The more you work your brain, the more likely you will stave off Alzheimers disease
Just a modest amount of mental stimulation can go a long way towards warding off
Alzheimers disease. This is the opinion of researchers who created mice genetically
modified to get a condition similar to it.
Researchers at the University of California-Irvine studied hundreds of mice altered to
make them develop abnormalities known as plaques and tangles in brain tissue that are
considered hallmarks of Alzheimers disease in people. Writing on Tuesday in the
Journal of Neuroscience, they said periodic learning sessions-swimming in a tub of water
until finding a submerged platform to stand on-slowed the development of those two
abnormalities in the mice.
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The remarkable thing was that just by learning infrequently, they still had a very
dramatic effect on the Alzheimers disease pathology, said Kim Green, one of the
researchers.
So it suggests that in humans, if you learn more and more and more, its going to have a
huge, beneficial effect, Green added.
The findings highlight an idea that also has emerged in other research-that exercising
ones mind is important to staving off Alzheimers disease, the degenerative brain
malady that is the most common form of dementia among the elderly.
Smart link
Green noted that other studies have found that highly educated people are less likely to
develop Alzheimers than people with less education.
There is no known cure for Alzheimers, which gradually destroys a persons memory
and ability t o learn, reason, make judgments, communicate and carry out daily activities.
What we have shown is that by learning by stimulating your mind, youre able to protect
against the development of the pathologies associated with the disease, Green said.
Crossword puzzles reading books, learning a new language-anything you can do to
stimulate the brain is going to be beneficial, we think.
The mice were given a very mild learning experience-essentially figuring out a maze
but in the water - for a week at a time every three months. The sessions were four times
daily for a week at two, six, nine, 12, 15 and 18 months of age.
The mice that performed the task experienced slower development of the protein beta
amyloid clumping in the brain and forming plaques, gooey build-up that accumulates
outside nerve cells, the study found.
These mice also experienced a slower build-up of another protein in the brain.
Hyperphosphorylated-tau, that can lead to the formation of neurofibrillary tangles-twisted
fibers in brain cells.
Green said the researchers are looking into whether more frequent and intensive learning
sessions might provide bigger and longer-lasting benefits.
Alzheimers disease first affects parts of the brain controlling memory and thinking. As
it advances, it kills cells elsewhere in the brain. Eventually, if the patient has no other
serious illness, the loss of brain function will prove fatal.
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Learning Two Languages Slows Down Dementia

Researchers find that probable Alzheimer's patients who speak two languages get
dementia four years later than their peers.
Speaking two languages delays the onset of memory lapses, neural dysfunction in the
brain, in particular dementia, a study found.
Researchers in Canada, where the official languages are English and French, examined
132 patients with a diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease.
It appears that having learnt and speak two languages or more may delay the onset of
neural deterioration as compared to those who did not, the researchers wrote in a study
published in the February issue of the journal Neuropsychologia.
The patients spoke 25 different languages, including Polish, Yiddish, German, Romanian
and Hungarian. Previous studies have shown that lifestyle factors such as physical
activity, social involvement and education may improve overall brain health.
Bilingualism may help the brain build what is called a cognitive reserve, which may
provide protection against the onset of dementia, the Canadian researchers said.
"There are no pharmacological interventions that are this dramatic," said Dr Morris
Freedman, director of the Memory Clinic at Baycrest Research Center for Ageing and the
Brain in Toronto, in a statement today.
The difference in dementia onset remained even after the researchers factored in the
possible influence of culture, immigration, formal education, employment and gender on
the results, the study said.
"The data show a huge protective effect," said co-investigator Fergus Craik in the
statement. The research so far is consistent with that of other countries where speaking
two or more languages in the population shows less people in the population have
problems with dementia. Asian countries like Singapore where the Chinese citizens are
not only fluent in English and Mandarin, they are also adept at the other dialects of the
Chinese languages (of which there are four main Chinese dialects), in addition to the
Malay and Indian languages. Most if not all on this tiny island can speak at least two
languages. it is therefore not surprising that such countries have comparatively lower
rates of dementia per capita population.
Page 132
So do take the time to exercise your mind, all the exercises and tips in this book will help
you keep a sharp mind for a long, long time.
END OF REPORT
Page 133
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The Ultimate Memory Training

Improve your memory dramatically.

Release Your Mighty Memory

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Special Health Report On Factors Affecting Memory

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Begin to weave and God will give you the thread

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Association, as pertaining to memory, simply means the connecting or linking up of 2 or

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