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Speaker 1: How to remember occurrences. The phase of memory which manifests

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in the recording of and recollection of the occurrences and

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details of one's every day life is far more important

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than would appear at first thought. The average person is

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under the impression that he remembers very well the occurrences

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of his every day business, professional, or social life, and

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is apt to be surprised to have it suggested to

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him that he really remembers but very little of what

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happens to him during his waking hours. In order to

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prove how very little of this kind is really remembered,

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let each student lay down this book at this place, and, then,

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quieting his mind, let him endeavor to recall the incidents

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of the same day of the preceding week. He will

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be surprised to see how very little of what happened

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on that day he is really capable of recollecting. Then

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let him try the same experiment with the occurrences of yesterday.

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This result will also excite surprise. It is true that

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if he is reminded of some particular occurrence, he will

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recall it more or less distinctly, but beyond that he

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will remember nothing. Let him imagine himself called upon to

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testify in court regarding the happenings of the previous day

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or the day of the week before, and he will

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realize his position. The reason for his failure to easily

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remember the events referred to is to be found in

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the fact that he made no effort at the time

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to impress these happenings upon his subconscious mentality. He allowed

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them to pass from his attention, like the proverbial water

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from the duck's back. He did not wish to be

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bothered with the recollection of trifles, and in endeavoring to

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escape from them them, he made the mistake of failing

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to store them away. There is a vast difference between

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dwelling on the past and storing away past records for

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possible future reference. To allow the records of each day

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to be destroyed is like tearing up the important business

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papers in an office in order to avoid giving them

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a little space in the files. It is not advisable

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to expend much mental effort in fastening each important detail

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of the day upon the mind as it occurs. But

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there is an easier way that will accomplish the purpose,

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if one will but take a little trouble In that direction,

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we refer to the practice of reviewing the occurrences of

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each day after the active work of the day is over.

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If you will give to the occurrences of each day

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a mental review in the evening, you will find that

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the act of reviewing will employ the at attention to

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such an extent as to register the happenings in such

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a manner that they will be available if ever needed thereafter.

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It is akin to the filing of the business papers

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of the day for possible future reference. Besides this advantage,

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these reviews will serve you well as a reminder of

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many little things of immediate importance which have escaped your

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recollection by reason of something that followed them. In the

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field of attention, you will find that a little practice

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will enable you to review the events of the day

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in a very short space of time, with a surprising

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degree of accuracy of detail. It seems that the mind

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will readily respond to this demand upon it. The process

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appears to be akin to a mental digestion, or rather

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a mental rumination, similar to that of the cow when

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it choos the cud that it has previous gathered. The

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thing is largely a knack, easily acquired by a little practice.

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It will pay you for the little trouble and time

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that you expend upon it. As we have said, not

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only do you gain the advantage of storing away these

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records of the day for future use, but you also

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have your attention called to many important details that have

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escaped you, and you will find that many ideas of

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importance will come to you in your moments of leisure rumination.

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Let this work be done in the evening when you

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feel at ease, but do not do it after you retire.

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The bed is made for sleep, not for thinking. You

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will find that the subconsciousness will awaken to the fact

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that it will be called upon later for the records

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of the day, and will accordingly take notice of what

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happens in a far more diligent and faithful manner. The

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subconsciousness responds to a call made upon it in an

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astonishing manner. When it once understands just what is required

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of it, You will see that much of the virtue

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of the plan recommended consists in the fact that in

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the review there is an employment of the attention in

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a manner impossible during the haste and rush of the

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day's work. The faint impressions are brought out for examination,

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and the attention of the examination and review greatly deepen

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the impression in each case, so that it may be

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reproduced thereafter in a sentence. It is the deepening of

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the faint impressions of the day. Thurlow Weed, a well

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known politician of the last century, testifies to the efficacy

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of the above mentioned method in his memoirs. His plan

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was slightly different from that mentioned by us, but you

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will at once see that it involves the same principles,

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the same psychology. Mister Weed says, some of my friends

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used to think that I was cut out for a politician,

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but I saw at once a fatal weakness. My memory

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was a sieve. I could remember nothing, dates, names, appointments, faces.

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Everything escaped me. I said to my wife Catherine, I

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shall never make a successful politician, for I cannot remember,

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and that is a prime necessity of politicians. A politician

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who sees a man once should remember him forever. My

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wife told me that I must train my memory. So

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when I came home that night, I sat down alone

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and spent fifteen minutes trying silently to recall with accurate

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recy the principal events of the day. I could remember,

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but little at first. Now I remember that I could

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not then recall what I had for breakfast. After a

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few days practice, I found I could recall more. Events

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came back to me more minutely, more accurately, and more

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vividly than at first. After a fortnight or so of this,

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Catherine said, why don't you relate to me the events

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of the day instead of recalling them to yourself. It

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would be interesting, and my interest in it would be

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a stimulus to you. Having great respect for my wife's opinion,

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I began a habit of oral confession, as it were,

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which was continued for almost fifty years. Every night, the

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last thing before retiring, I told her everything I could

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remember that had happened to me or about me during

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the day. I generally recalled the very dishes I had

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for breakfast, dinner, and tea, the people I had seen

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and what they had said, the editorials I had written

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for my paper, giving her a brief abstract of them.

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I mentioned all the letters I had seen and received,

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and the very language used as nearly as possible when

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I had walked or ridden. I told her everything that

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had come within my observation. I found that I could

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say my lesson better and better every year, and instead

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of the practice growing irksome, it became a pleasure to

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go over again the events of the day. I am

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indebted to this discipline for a memory of unusual tenacity,

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and I recommend the practice to all who wished to

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store up facts or expect to have much to do

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with influence men. The careful student, after reading these words

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of thurlow Weed, will see that in them he has

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not only given a method of recalling the particular class

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of occurrences mentioned in this lesson, but has also pointed

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out a way whereby the entire field of memory may

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be trained and developed. The habit of reviewing and telling

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the things that one perceives, does and thinks during the

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day naturally sharpens the powers of future observation, attention, and perception.

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If you are witnessing a thing which you know that

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you will be called upon to describe to another person,

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you will instinctively apply your attention to it. The knowledge

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that you will be called upon for a description of

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a thing will give the zest of interest or necessity

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to it, which may be lacking otherwise. If you will

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sense things with the knowledge that you will be called

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upon to tell of them later on. You will give

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the interest and attention that go to make sharp, clear

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and deep impressions on the memory. In this case, the

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seeing and hearing has a meaning to you and a purpose.

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In addition to this, the work of review establishes a

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desirable habit of mind. If you don't care to relate

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the occurrences to another person, learn to tell them to yourself.

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In the evening play the part yourself. There is a

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valuable secret of memory embedded in this chapter, if you

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are wise enough to apply it,