(Balance; A Changer's Art, part 3. Read parts 1 and 2 first)
So I'm wrapping up my thoughts, for now, on this whole change topic. First I talked about Balance and making sure you change gradually and healthily to make it lasting. Then I talked about perspective, and applying change to reality to make it practical. Now I want to address my thoughts on how to keep going forward towards perfection, especially when it feels like you're not going anywhere.
So here's an activity for ya. Take a piece of paper and rip it into a bunch of random sized pieces. Then take the biggest and rip it into two, then the next biggest. Keep finding the biggest pieces and rip them in half til you get down to a small pile of confetti. Really, go ahead and do it.... Here's the point. As you get going, the big pieces stand out and then when ripped, they are just part of the pile. Those will be out of the focus, and others will stand out that hadn't before. You'll cycle through until those same pieces become the bigger ones again, grab your focus to be ripped, then blend in again. As they get smaller, the size of the rip becomes smaller, and the number of pieces to rip increases.
I'm trying to illustrate how change works in our lives. We start with huge changes, especially when first starting anything new, like a sport, or first joining the church. The changes are obvious and huge at first. One change makes a huge difference. But as we get farther and farther, there are more changes and they become smaller. Things that were small and out of sight, eventually become the big ones and require attention again. The learning curve is fast at first. It's easy to become proficient at something, but to become a master takes much much more. This is also illustrated with a stone being polished, or a piece of wood being sanded smooth. The rough grit sandpaper first knocks off huge edges. Then you keep switching to finer and finer paper and the edges you knock down become smaller and smaller. The thing that makes it tough, is that you have to start all over and redo the whole thing every time you switch sandpaper grit. The first rough grits are done quickly, but the finer you get, the longer it takes. Imagine you could zoom in your view on the piece of wood. You'd see a bunch of jagged edges that obviously need work. When you get most of the jagged edges off, it starts to look fairly smooth; so then you zoom in again, and it looks all jagged again. The list of edges to knock down gets big again, even though you made progress. Now you have a ton of sanding to do again.
O hope you can see the analogy in life. If we're working we make progress. When we do, the next logical step is to zoom in to finer details and find that there are tons of things to work on again. We did just make tons of progress, but now it's time to go to work again on the same things. The key is to know that you're making progress, and though the list of things to change may actually go up, the overall smoothness is increasing. This gives me hope when I see my 'list of things to change' go up. It's overwhelming at times, but actually is a sign that I'm getting somewhere. God wants us to be perfect someday, and there is a process to get there. The first few edges go quick and are obvious, but the finer points take more time and attention.
This of course all relates to the atonement and to the sacrament on Sundays. I have yet another cheesy analogy. Repentance and the sacrament is like on a computer when you put stuff in the trash. Then, later you empty the trash. If you don't first put it into the trash, emptying it won't do anything. At the same time, if you put it into the trash but don't empty it, it's not totally gone. Repenting is similar. It is done daily, and puts our sins on the chopping block, but they aren't gone til you "empty the trash", or take the sacrament. We must prepare for the sacrament be repenting first, then we can be cleansed. If we allow sin back in, or a virus back on our computer, we have to repeat the process. Sometimes we have to hunt around to find the sin, or change, to be put into the trash. We have the ability, because of Jesus Christ, to be made clean every week, and set a new resolve to make changes again. This is one of the greatest blessings that has been given to us. God says that no unclean thing can enter into His rest, and this is the process to make us clean. In Mosiah 3 http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/3?lang=eng it talks about the healing power of the atonement and the pains Christ went through to know our pain. This is the central message of all the prophets and the scriptures they wrote. Through Christ we CAN be cleansed from sin to live with God again someday!
Repentance is synonymous with Change. Repentance is Happiness; Change is Happiness! That is the main thing I want to get across in all of this. Change is what it's all about. Repentance makes it possible. Repentance is possible because of Christ. "Wanna be Perfect, Repent Perfectly." - Ed J. Pinegar. He also said, "The greatest thing we'll do in this life as an individual is Repent." I have such a Testimony of repentance. That is why I'm spending my life calling others to repent. I'm calling others to Happiness. I know it works because I've felt that happiness. I know it's true because I've seen myself change and become smoother. I know the burden can go away, that there is a way to overcome and be Perfect in Christ. I know the way is here on earth today. Sacrament has meant more to me on my mission than ever before, and I hope everyone within in the sound of my voice (or sight..or whatever) will continually evaluate what sacrament and repentance means. God loves us, this is proof. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Counter-Balance
(Balance: A Changer's Art part 2, read part 1 first)
So I'm still on this balance kick in my head these days. After my last post, I've been thinking a lot about putting change into reality. The real life goes something like this. Say you're on a new diet. You do pretty good for a time, you make progress, but the tension of missing out on your favorite food builds, you're suffering through food you don't like and just holding on. Well, according to the metal spring idea (previous post), you're pulling past the bending point, and you'll balance back out to being someone that eats just a little bit better in the end. Sounds great right. Well what happens in life is you can't take it any more, or you forget about it, and let caution go to the wind. You go on an eating binge, and gain all the weight back from before plus some. Now you're worse off than you started, you're heading down because you have momentum that way, and you have one more dissappointment discouraging you from trying again. What gives?
Here's my thoughts on this dilemma, it's all about the boiling water and the frog again. It has to not only be gradual, but comfortable. You can't just start eating a totally different diet than before and expect to just like it and keep it up. You're body is used to the old diet, and will actually need those old foods you used to give it. You're body is ramping up to have a huge backlash that can be counter-affective. The solution is easing your way to change. This is the same way Satan eases us away from the good. He makes one little justification here and there til we are so far down we don't know how we got there. Well that's because he's got a great strategy. It Works! Just use it for yourself. Ease your way up, one adjustment at a time. With the diet, just cut out one type of food; or just cut out one extra snack per day til that becomes the normal balance you have. Then make another adjustment towards where you want to go. Enjoy the ascent upwards.
Another idea I have with this is Perspective. Your diet in a day has a range of many flavors, from bitter to sweet, to salty and spicy. You need a bit of every flavor to get the balance you have for the day. It's good to have each flavor, and check it off your list (in sensible portions). Well if your balance includes that extremely sweet piece of cheesecake, that becomes a necessary part of your taste list for the day. On a scale of 1-10 of sweetness, that cheesecake becomes a 10. If you have a carrot, it's like a 5 on the list. If you try to cut out everything from 6-10 in sweetness, you'll be totally off balance, and eventually need all of it plus some. You have to plan for all of it and then you won't eat it with a vendetta, more of a fulfillment of the plan. Well if you can cut out just that piece of cheesecake from your diet, and make that your push for the week, all of a sudden your sweetest thing for your balance becomes that bowl of cereal or something. Not quite as sweet. That's now the 10. Now that carrot actually bumps up to a level 7 or 8. If you can slowly adjust your balance to where that carrot is ideally the sweetest thing you eat in a day, now that will become the 10. It will actually taste better. You'll be comfortable with what you eat. Now you eat vegetables and enjoy it, instead of suffering through a huge change. Now this depends on complete abstinence from the sweetest thing. Once you have even one bite, now the scale is reset and it's all restarted. Planning, preparation, and prayer are vital.
Now I'm not the skinniest guy in the world, and I sure love cheesecake, so you may be wondering about taking diet advice from me. I'm still working on this one. One thing at a time right... It's a process. :) But this can apply to our life and the gospel in so many ways. As we progress toward perfection, we make gradual changes. It isn't a burden if we depend on Christ and slowly balance our self to our new lifestyle of righteousness. If we're too drastic, we may bounce back and do even worse than before, with a downward momentum and discouragement to try again. But, if we push the little changes, one at a time, allowing Christ to shoulder the burden, we can make lasting change. It takes planning, preparation, discipline and prayer. Christ will help us if we make the plan for ourselves and make the changes. He can help us push past the hard times when the temptations seem bigger. He can help us adapt and make the changes permanent so we can be at a good balance, ready to make the next adjustment. He makes it all possible. Allow Him to help you. I know that as I have made changes in my life, I have enjoyed them. I know that I am who I am today from putting the burden on Christ, and I'm in His debt. I enjoy who I am today and look forward to using Christ to make many more changes in the future. God is happy when we are happy. If it is a righteous change we desire, he will help us. I Know He Will. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
So I'm still on this balance kick in my head these days. After my last post, I've been thinking a lot about putting change into reality. The real life goes something like this. Say you're on a new diet. You do pretty good for a time, you make progress, but the tension of missing out on your favorite food builds, you're suffering through food you don't like and just holding on. Well, according to the metal spring idea (previous post), you're pulling past the bending point, and you'll balance back out to being someone that eats just a little bit better in the end. Sounds great right. Well what happens in life is you can't take it any more, or you forget about it, and let caution go to the wind. You go on an eating binge, and gain all the weight back from before plus some. Now you're worse off than you started, you're heading down because you have momentum that way, and you have one more dissappointment discouraging you from trying again. What gives?
Here's my thoughts on this dilemma, it's all about the boiling water and the frog again. It has to not only be gradual, but comfortable. You can't just start eating a totally different diet than before and expect to just like it and keep it up. You're body is used to the old diet, and will actually need those old foods you used to give it. You're body is ramping up to have a huge backlash that can be counter-affective. The solution is easing your way to change. This is the same way Satan eases us away from the good. He makes one little justification here and there til we are so far down we don't know how we got there. Well that's because he's got a great strategy. It Works! Just use it for yourself. Ease your way up, one adjustment at a time. With the diet, just cut out one type of food; or just cut out one extra snack per day til that becomes the normal balance you have. Then make another adjustment towards where you want to go. Enjoy the ascent upwards.
Another idea I have with this is Perspective. Your diet in a day has a range of many flavors, from bitter to sweet, to salty and spicy. You need a bit of every flavor to get the balance you have for the day. It's good to have each flavor, and check it off your list (in sensible portions). Well if your balance includes that extremely sweet piece of cheesecake, that becomes a necessary part of your taste list for the day. On a scale of 1-10 of sweetness, that cheesecake becomes a 10. If you have a carrot, it's like a 5 on the list. If you try to cut out everything from 6-10 in sweetness, you'll be totally off balance, and eventually need all of it plus some. You have to plan for all of it and then you won't eat it with a vendetta, more of a fulfillment of the plan. Well if you can cut out just that piece of cheesecake from your diet, and make that your push for the week, all of a sudden your sweetest thing for your balance becomes that bowl of cereal or something. Not quite as sweet. That's now the 10. Now that carrot actually bumps up to a level 7 or 8. If you can slowly adjust your balance to where that carrot is ideally the sweetest thing you eat in a day, now that will become the 10. It will actually taste better. You'll be comfortable with what you eat. Now you eat vegetables and enjoy it, instead of suffering through a huge change. Now this depends on complete abstinence from the sweetest thing. Once you have even one bite, now the scale is reset and it's all restarted. Planning, preparation, and prayer are vital.
Now I'm not the skinniest guy in the world, and I sure love cheesecake, so you may be wondering about taking diet advice from me. I'm still working on this one. One thing at a time right... It's a process. :) But this can apply to our life and the gospel in so many ways. As we progress toward perfection, we make gradual changes. It isn't a burden if we depend on Christ and slowly balance our self to our new lifestyle of righteousness. If we're too drastic, we may bounce back and do even worse than before, with a downward momentum and discouragement to try again. But, if we push the little changes, one at a time, allowing Christ to shoulder the burden, we can make lasting change. It takes planning, preparation, discipline and prayer. Christ will help us if we make the plan for ourselves and make the changes. He can help us push past the hard times when the temptations seem bigger. He can help us adapt and make the changes permanent so we can be at a good balance, ready to make the next adjustment. He makes it all possible. Allow Him to help you. I know that as I have made changes in my life, I have enjoyed them. I know that I am who I am today from putting the burden on Christ, and I'm in His debt. I enjoy who I am today and look forward to using Christ to make many more changes in the future. God is happy when we are happy. If it is a righteous change we desire, he will help us. I Know He Will. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Balance; A Changer's Art
Part 1
So last post I talked about change, and I want to share another idea that I have on the subject. Balance. Life is all about balance. We hear that all the time. What does it really mean? More to the point I want to make, How can we find balance as we change?
I think about the routine I get into, the balance I find. We all have an equilibrium in life. You can see it in small patterns like how you wake up in the morning and prepare for the day (on my mind a lot as a missionary), or you can see it in an over-all pattern of a month or a year, or the direction you're life is heading 50 years down the road. The issue I want to speak on is how to change our pattern. Change is necessary, especially when we are humbling our self and recognizing the need for change in many things. But our body doesn't like drastic shock. The old story of the frog in boiling water comes to mind, or trying to quit a bad habit cold turkey. While it is possible, it's not necessarily the best way for us. Our system needs to change gradually if it's going to be permanent and healthy.
With that said, I want to illustrate an idea I've had rolling around in my head for some time now, and struggle to find words for. I like to imagine you are swimming down a stream that is pulling you down a fast current. To change your course, you'll have to swim for a time against the flow. This takes work, and even pain if you will. To make a change, you have to go against the norm, almost to the extreme. You'll be facing the shore as you swim, but that's not the new direction you want, just a means to get you there. In real life it shows it self in practicing something (or role-playing). To get good at a golf swing, you'll work on the grip, then the stance, then addressing the ball, then keeping your head down, etc. None of these actions you'll actually use in the game, but they prepare you for the real thing, so you've changed the way you swing, or the course you're going.
The other idea that goes along with this is back to the issue of balance. Say you work real hard for a time. After a while you're body gets tired, and you balance it with adequate time resting. If you over-exert yourself, you can actually need extra re-coup time. In the end, the over exertion wasn't worth it because you did less than you would have if you'd have gone a steady pace for twice the time and not needed extra time to re-coup. The idea here is that if we're going to try to change something, we have to push against the grain, and expect a backlash of the opposite. I imagine a piece of metal you're trying to bend to a new place. If you pull it to the place you want it to be, then let go, it will spring back and forth til it's right back to where it started. If you want to bend it and make it stay, you have to bend it past it's bending point and past where you want it to end up. Now when you let go, the metal will still spring back and forth, possibly past the old place it was, but once it settles, it will have been adjusted to a new direction. That's what takes work. It takes pain, and against-the-grain effort.
This is the idea I'm attempting, with a lot of words, to explain. To change, we must go against the grain, we must work at it, must go through some pain. If we only push to what we want to be in the end, we'll bounce back to where we started. To make a lasting change, we have to push past where we want to end up, then when we balance back out, we'll be where we want to be in the end.
The kicker here is Christ. He is the one that allows us to push past the bending point, to go through the pain, to go against the grain to the extreme. He takes upon him the burden. He makes it possible to change. If we rely on Him, we can swim against the flow, we can be the only one in our group of friends or family to hold the standards we have. We can decide to become something new and make a lasting change. We can decide that our direction is off a little and make adjustments.
I know this is true. I know life has major and minor changes, and the major changes are just a whole bunch of minor ones. I know that it is truly through Christ and His gospel that we can find the direction and changes we need to make. I know we can make lasting change in all things from little day to day habits, to life long patterns that direct our course to eternal life. The pain of change can and will be lessened, or even removed, if we rely on Jesus Christ. Allow Him to change you. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
So last post I talked about change, and I want to share another idea that I have on the subject. Balance. Life is all about balance. We hear that all the time. What does it really mean? More to the point I want to make, How can we find balance as we change?
I think about the routine I get into, the balance I find. We all have an equilibrium in life. You can see it in small patterns like how you wake up in the morning and prepare for the day (on my mind a lot as a missionary), or you can see it in an over-all pattern of a month or a year, or the direction you're life is heading 50 years down the road. The issue I want to speak on is how to change our pattern. Change is necessary, especially when we are humbling our self and recognizing the need for change in many things. But our body doesn't like drastic shock. The old story of the frog in boiling water comes to mind, or trying to quit a bad habit cold turkey. While it is possible, it's not necessarily the best way for us. Our system needs to change gradually if it's going to be permanent and healthy.
With that said, I want to illustrate an idea I've had rolling around in my head for some time now, and struggle to find words for. I like to imagine you are swimming down a stream that is pulling you down a fast current. To change your course, you'll have to swim for a time against the flow. This takes work, and even pain if you will. To make a change, you have to go against the norm, almost to the extreme. You'll be facing the shore as you swim, but that's not the new direction you want, just a means to get you there. In real life it shows it self in practicing something (or role-playing). To get good at a golf swing, you'll work on the grip, then the stance, then addressing the ball, then keeping your head down, etc. None of these actions you'll actually use in the game, but they prepare you for the real thing, so you've changed the way you swing, or the course you're going.
The other idea that goes along with this is back to the issue of balance. Say you work real hard for a time. After a while you're body gets tired, and you balance it with adequate time resting. If you over-exert yourself, you can actually need extra re-coup time. In the end, the over exertion wasn't worth it because you did less than you would have if you'd have gone a steady pace for twice the time and not needed extra time to re-coup. The idea here is that if we're going to try to change something, we have to push against the grain, and expect a backlash of the opposite. I imagine a piece of metal you're trying to bend to a new place. If you pull it to the place you want it to be, then let go, it will spring back and forth til it's right back to where it started. If you want to bend it and make it stay, you have to bend it past it's bending point and past where you want it to end up. Now when you let go, the metal will still spring back and forth, possibly past the old place it was, but once it settles, it will have been adjusted to a new direction. That's what takes work. It takes pain, and against-the-grain effort.
This is the idea I'm attempting, with a lot of words, to explain. To change, we must go against the grain, we must work at it, must go through some pain. If we only push to what we want to be in the end, we'll bounce back to where we started. To make a lasting change, we have to push past where we want to end up, then when we balance back out, we'll be where we want to be in the end.
The kicker here is Christ. He is the one that allows us to push past the bending point, to go through the pain, to go against the grain to the extreme. He takes upon him the burden. He makes it possible to change. If we rely on Him, we can swim against the flow, we can be the only one in our group of friends or family to hold the standards we have. We can decide to become something new and make a lasting change. We can decide that our direction is off a little and make adjustments.
I know this is true. I know life has major and minor changes, and the major changes are just a whole bunch of minor ones. I know that it is truly through Christ and His gospel that we can find the direction and changes we need to make. I know we can make lasting change in all things from little day to day habits, to life long patterns that direct our course to eternal life. The pain of change can and will be lessened, or even removed, if we rely on Jesus Christ. Allow Him to change you. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Consistent Change....
Today I have been really thinking about the idea of Change. I came up with an acronym for CHANGE. Christ Has A New Guiding Energy. All change is possible through Christ. He is the one who enables us to put off an old habit or sin, and become a new person, every day. He has taken upon him the big guilt and the huge pain for sin, but he has also taken on him the little feelings of dislike for a habit, like popping knuckles or negative speaking. He can take upon him everything we want to be rid of and allow us to move on. I know it is through the atonement of Christ that I can overcome any thing big and small. I know we all can use Christ in our life. I think we have used him in our life, without even realizing it sometimes. He is the reason we are able to come to this life and become better.
I'm thinking about this so much because I have been looking back on my mission and realizing how much I have changed already, and how much I am shocked with it. I has been a gradual process, although the incline is pretty steep on a mission. But Change Is The Point. The phrase "The only consistency in life is change" has never been more real and obvious in my life. I hope I never go back to who I was before. I hope I keep changing and continually overcome my big and small shortcomings. I know we all can change more and more as we recognize the need for it, and the source from which it is possible. Christ's energy is what fuels that, whether we realize that or not. I know this is true, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
I'm thinking about this so much because I have been looking back on my mission and realizing how much I have changed already, and how much I am shocked with it. I has been a gradual process, although the incline is pretty steep on a mission. But Change Is The Point. The phrase "The only consistency in life is change" has never been more real and obvious in my life. I hope I never go back to who I was before. I hope I keep changing and continually overcome my big and small shortcomings. I know we all can change more and more as we recognize the need for it, and the source from which it is possible. Christ's energy is what fuels that, whether we realize that or not. I know this is true, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Remember What?
MEMORIZING!!!!
All right, so I'm doing a bit of a different kind of post today. As I have served my mission, I have had many opportunities to use my memorizing skills for practical use. I Absolutely love to memorize, and it hasn't always been that way. I have been giving my spiel to many people that want to memorize better, and I figured now would be a good time to offer help and insights on how to make it funner and easier.
First off, We Are All Good At Memorizing. That's the first thing you have to learn. No one is worse or better at it. Memorizing is just programming your brain. Some of us are better at programming, but we all have a functioning brain capable of being programmed. You memorized your name, your birthday, your native language. Your brain can store info that is put into it the right way. So before I get into any techniques and all the "normal" topics associated with memorizing, I want to address the BRAIN!!!
Our brain doesn't know right from wrong, that's our heart's job. All our brain does is take what you give it. Ever learned someone's name wrong, and were thoroughly convinced you knew their name, only to find out later that you got it wrong in the first place? How hard was it to re-learn that name? When your brain learns something, it creates a synapse, kind of like a hard drive stores info, or like carving words onto a gold plate.... That wrong name got sunk deep into your synapses or onto the gold plate of your mind. In order to fix it, you have to reset your chisel and form a deeper groove than the last wrong one. The deeper the groove, the deeper the correction needs to be. Also, if the groove is shallow, you can move to a new flat spot and start a new groove that will overtake the old one, but if the first groove is pretty deep, you have to start the new one partially in the old one, then it becomes really hard to fix it, and the chisel wants to fall into the old groove.
So the next idea that helps us train our brain is the concept of "creating space." Your brain needs a place to put these bits of info. It's like making a folder on a computer or making an outline of what you are going to write on the plates. If you train your brain to look outside to another source for the info, it will learn to do that every time it needs that particular info. Let me illustrate. If' you're memorizing the books of the bible and you start listing them off; Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus...... then you can't remember. If you then look at the list to get the answer, your brain has just been taught that the Correct answer is Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, look at the list and see Numbers... Remember, it doesn't know what is right, just what you program. So the solution is to create space while you are learning. If you can't remember, try to search your mind hard, try to connect those synapses with the right info. It's in there somewhere. You read it before. You made the first scratch on the plate. If you still can't think of it, make a guess! Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,.....um....Watermelon. You know it's wrong, but now you made a place for the right answer. Getting to techniques, you can associate Watermelon with Numbers, which makes no sense at all, but now your brain has a place for the info and it knows not to look at anything to get it. You can then start drilling the correct info deeper and deeper.
This idea of brain training is the foundation of good memorizing. Techniques like associations, backwards and forwards, learning from the end first, assigning numbers, repetition, stories, rhymes, visuals, and so many others out there, are vital and wonderful if used properly. If used wrong though, you can drill bad grooves in your mind and really cause a mess of info that does you no good. You can literally teach yourself Not to remember something. The best strategy is to memorize the same thing in many different ways. If you program it correctly on many different sets of synapses, then when you go to search for the info you need, you will have more than one place to find the correct answer. If the association, the number, and the rhyme fails you, then the visual you made can bail you out. When you have many techniques, that's when speed and long term memorizing truly happens. Once you have it right, with no hick-ups, then it's time to repeat repeat repeat repeat repeat........ Make sure you have the groove and then make it as deep as you can.
Another concept that I want to address is fixing mistakes when you do program them in. It's hard to do it right the first time. As a musician, I like to improve my sight-reading skills so that I get it pretty close the first time and have fewer mistakes to fix. Rarely is it perfect the first time, but that is the goal. To fix a mistake, you have to isolate it. As I memorized "The Living Christ" document http://lds.org/library/display/0,4945,90-1-10-1,00.html I would read two sentences and then immediately try to repeat them back. You would be surprised how many times you can just repeat it pretty close. If you can't get it word for word, say the basic idea, make some space, and then fix the words one at a time. Practice over the hick-up spots over and over. The illustration with the Bible books again; If the hick-up lies between Leviticus and Numbers, say That over and over, so when you get to Leviticus, you have a flow into the right answer. There is a connection that hasn't been made yet between those two bits of info. Say Leviticus Numbers, Leviticus Numbers, Leviticus Numbers. Then go back a step, Exodus Leviticus Numbers, Exodus Leviticus Numbers.... With music, if you're playing along and you reach a spot you have to pause for every time, your brain thinks the song has a pause there. It doesn't know what is right, it knows what you've taught it and repeated over and over. To fix it, slow down that spot with the hick-up to a speed where the hick-up is gone. Then repeat it over and over til it's easy. Then speed it up slowly. Keep repeating over and over the right way. Make that groove deeper than the old one. Again the more times you play it the wrong way, the more times you have to play it the right way to over-compensate for the bad groove. That is why it's so much easier to get it right the first time before you drill it in wrong very deep. If necessary, do it extra slow the very first time so it's pretty free of mistakes. It'll then be easier to fix and speed up.
The last idea to go along with all of this is Sleep! Heard the phrase "sleep on it" before? There is so much wisdom in that. As you sleep the grooves you made all day sit in your mind and unwind. There is only so much your brain can store in one day. As you sleep on it, you'll actually have it deeper than when you went to bed. All the more reason to make sure you have it right before you sleep. It's better to do a little at a time correctly, than a whole bunch kind of scattered. When I did "The Living Christ" I'd do a paragraph a day, get it right, repeat all day, then sleep on it. I love to repeat one last time right as I'm falling asleep. The next day I would have it better than I left it. There's value in many small repeats, over trying to cram for hours at a time. The concept even applies to many times in a single day. Repeat, then put your mind somewhere else, then come back repeat again, and so on. Your brain is getting training at gathering the info from a totally different subject, which deepens the grooves even more.
I have many techniques that I use, many ideas that come to me, and many ways that I like to memorize, but they all boil down to understanding what is happening. Everyone can memorize. Just understand what is happening and how to do it right. Memorizing is fun and can be very useful.
I'll visit this subject more and maybe update it later, but for now, this'll do. Go try, have fun, God Bless!
All right, so I'm doing a bit of a different kind of post today. As I have served my mission, I have had many opportunities to use my memorizing skills for practical use. I Absolutely love to memorize, and it hasn't always been that way. I have been giving my spiel to many people that want to memorize better, and I figured now would be a good time to offer help and insights on how to make it funner and easier.
First off, We Are All Good At Memorizing. That's the first thing you have to learn. No one is worse or better at it. Memorizing is just programming your brain. Some of us are better at programming, but we all have a functioning brain capable of being programmed. You memorized your name, your birthday, your native language. Your brain can store info that is put into it the right way. So before I get into any techniques and all the "normal" topics associated with memorizing, I want to address the BRAIN!!!
Our brain doesn't know right from wrong, that's our heart's job. All our brain does is take what you give it. Ever learned someone's name wrong, and were thoroughly convinced you knew their name, only to find out later that you got it wrong in the first place? How hard was it to re-learn that name? When your brain learns something, it creates a synapse, kind of like a hard drive stores info, or like carving words onto a gold plate.... That wrong name got sunk deep into your synapses or onto the gold plate of your mind. In order to fix it, you have to reset your chisel and form a deeper groove than the last wrong one. The deeper the groove, the deeper the correction needs to be. Also, if the groove is shallow, you can move to a new flat spot and start a new groove that will overtake the old one, but if the first groove is pretty deep, you have to start the new one partially in the old one, then it becomes really hard to fix it, and the chisel wants to fall into the old groove.
So the next idea that helps us train our brain is the concept of "creating space." Your brain needs a place to put these bits of info. It's like making a folder on a computer or making an outline of what you are going to write on the plates. If you train your brain to look outside to another source for the info, it will learn to do that every time it needs that particular info. Let me illustrate. If' you're memorizing the books of the bible and you start listing them off; Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus...... then you can't remember. If you then look at the list to get the answer, your brain has just been taught that the Correct answer is Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, look at the list and see Numbers... Remember, it doesn't know what is right, just what you program. So the solution is to create space while you are learning. If you can't remember, try to search your mind hard, try to connect those synapses with the right info. It's in there somewhere. You read it before. You made the first scratch on the plate. If you still can't think of it, make a guess! Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,.....um....Watermelon. You know it's wrong, but now you made a place for the right answer. Getting to techniques, you can associate Watermelon with Numbers, which makes no sense at all, but now your brain has a place for the info and it knows not to look at anything to get it. You can then start drilling the correct info deeper and deeper.
This idea of brain training is the foundation of good memorizing. Techniques like associations, backwards and forwards, learning from the end first, assigning numbers, repetition, stories, rhymes, visuals, and so many others out there, are vital and wonderful if used properly. If used wrong though, you can drill bad grooves in your mind and really cause a mess of info that does you no good. You can literally teach yourself Not to remember something. The best strategy is to memorize the same thing in many different ways. If you program it correctly on many different sets of synapses, then when you go to search for the info you need, you will have more than one place to find the correct answer. If the association, the number, and the rhyme fails you, then the visual you made can bail you out. When you have many techniques, that's when speed and long term memorizing truly happens. Once you have it right, with no hick-ups, then it's time to repeat repeat repeat repeat repeat........ Make sure you have the groove and then make it as deep as you can.
Another concept that I want to address is fixing mistakes when you do program them in. It's hard to do it right the first time. As a musician, I like to improve my sight-reading skills so that I get it pretty close the first time and have fewer mistakes to fix. Rarely is it perfect the first time, but that is the goal. To fix a mistake, you have to isolate it. As I memorized "The Living Christ" document http://lds.org/library/display/0,4945,90-1-10-1,00.html I would read two sentences and then immediately try to repeat them back. You would be surprised how many times you can just repeat it pretty close. If you can't get it word for word, say the basic idea, make some space, and then fix the words one at a time. Practice over the hick-up spots over and over. The illustration with the Bible books again; If the hick-up lies between Leviticus and Numbers, say That over and over, so when you get to Leviticus, you have a flow into the right answer. There is a connection that hasn't been made yet between those two bits of info. Say Leviticus Numbers, Leviticus Numbers, Leviticus Numbers. Then go back a step, Exodus Leviticus Numbers, Exodus Leviticus Numbers.... With music, if you're playing along and you reach a spot you have to pause for every time, your brain thinks the song has a pause there. It doesn't know what is right, it knows what you've taught it and repeated over and over. To fix it, slow down that spot with the hick-up to a speed where the hick-up is gone. Then repeat it over and over til it's easy. Then speed it up slowly. Keep repeating over and over the right way. Make that groove deeper than the old one. Again the more times you play it the wrong way, the more times you have to play it the right way to over-compensate for the bad groove. That is why it's so much easier to get it right the first time before you drill it in wrong very deep. If necessary, do it extra slow the very first time so it's pretty free of mistakes. It'll then be easier to fix and speed up.
The last idea to go along with all of this is Sleep! Heard the phrase "sleep on it" before? There is so much wisdom in that. As you sleep the grooves you made all day sit in your mind and unwind. There is only so much your brain can store in one day. As you sleep on it, you'll actually have it deeper than when you went to bed. All the more reason to make sure you have it right before you sleep. It's better to do a little at a time correctly, than a whole bunch kind of scattered. When I did "The Living Christ" I'd do a paragraph a day, get it right, repeat all day, then sleep on it. I love to repeat one last time right as I'm falling asleep. The next day I would have it better than I left it. There's value in many small repeats, over trying to cram for hours at a time. The concept even applies to many times in a single day. Repeat, then put your mind somewhere else, then come back repeat again, and so on. Your brain is getting training at gathering the info from a totally different subject, which deepens the grooves even more.
I have many techniques that I use, many ideas that come to me, and many ways that I like to memorize, but they all boil down to understanding what is happening. Everyone can memorize. Just understand what is happening and how to do it right. Memorizing is fun and can be very useful.
I'll visit this subject more and maybe update it later, but for now, this'll do. Go try, have fun, God Bless!
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