THE POWER OF MIND. William Walker Atkinson

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СКАЧАТЬ the dawn of printing, when it became apparent that when thousands of copies of a book might be printed, and the chance of loss reduced, the necessity for the oral transmission of the teachings passed away, and the old art of memorizing almost entirely passed away. Men found it not worth while to memorize things which they could find in the books on their shelves. They overlooked the fact that in allowing the old system to pass out of use, they not only lost the art of memorizing matters of great length, but they also lost the art of training the memory to remember ordinary things, and the result is seen in our condition to­day, when a man of good memory is looked upon as a curiosity. Moreover, many have grown to believe that a good memory is almost an abnormal thing and that the natural condition of man is to have a poor memory. They do not realize that every man has the power to develop his memory very far beyond its present condition. Of course, some men naturally remember better than others, but the man with a poor memory may so develop it by proper training that he can remember better than can the man with a good memory without training.

      The “Cumulative System” differs from other systems, inasmuch as it does not teach how to remember a thing by its association with another thing which is perhaps more easily remembered, or with some thing already fixed in the memory. Instead of this it endeavors to so develop, strengthen and train the mind that it is enabled to easily commit to memory anything which it desires, and is also able to easily recall the thing memorized, by Will.

      One of the beauties of this system is that while you are practicing you are committing to memory valuable information and knowledge, and while you are committing interesting and useful things to memory, you are developing the memory itself. It must be remembered, however, by the student that the great importance of the system lies not in the mere ability to memorize long poems, speeches, etc., but in the developing and strengthening of the memory itself. And not only does it develop in one the power of storing away impressions in the mind, but also trains one in the faculty of recollection—in recalling readily that which has been memorized. The result of an earnest study and application of this system is that (1) the special thing studied will be easily memorized, long remembered and readily recalled; (2) there will be a marked and steady increase in the power of memorizing anything; and (3) a marked increase and growth of the power of recalling anything by an effort of the Will.

      The “Cumulative System” is based upon the theory that the power of memorizing and recollection may be enormously increased by a system of progressive exercises and by frequent reviews.

      The student should select something to commit to memory that interests him, and the subject of which is pleasant. A favorite poem, if long enough, is good. We think that Scott’s

      “Lady of the Lake” is one of the best poems for this purpose, although the student may select any other if he prefers it. The Book of Proverbs, or the Psalms are also good, and some minds find it easier to memorize verses from the Bible than poetry.

      Commence by committing to memory one verse from the Bible, or one verse of a poem, providing the verses of the latter contain not more than four or six lines. If longer, it will be better to divide up the verse into sections of not over the number of lines named. Learn this verse well, until you can repeat it readily, and understand it in all its parts. Learn not only its sound when read aloud, but also its looks in print; its leading words; the arrangement; its meaning. In short, learn it. This will be enough for the first day.

      On the second day the verse of yesterday should be reviewed and repeated aloud. Then another verse should be learned in the same way, and then joined to the first verse and the two reviewed.

      On the third day the two verses previously learned should be reviewed, and a third verse thoroughly learned, and then joined to the previous verses, and then reviewed as a whole.

      Continue this exercise for a month, learning and adding one verse each day, and reviewing as a whole frequently. We cannot impress upon you too often the necessity of frequent reviewing. The gist of the whole matter is in the reviewing, so do not shirk this part of the work in the slightest. The continual addition of verses memorized tends to develop the faculty of memorizing, whereas the constant reviewing is for the purpose of developing and strengthening you in the direction of easy recollection. It is not sufficient merely to obtain good clear mental impressions, but it is of vital importance for you to be able to locate and bring out the things stored away in your mental storehouse. You not only get acquainted with the particular articles you are bringing out every day, but are also developing the “knack” of finding things in the mental storehouse, and of bringing them to view when wanted.

      At the beginning you will probably find that it is often necessary to refer to the book to supply a missing word or line. Do not let this discourage you, for you will soon overcome it. And do not unduly strain the memory by a forced effort to recall the elusive word or line, but take up the book and learn that particular verse over again. If necessary refer to the book a dozen times rather than to go on omitting words or being in a state of uncertainty about their correctness. Do not go on in a slipshod manner, but insist upon exactness and absolute correctness. By insisting upon this from the start, the mind will soon take on that quality.

      Do not miss a day’s exercise. You will find it far better to learn a few lines each and every day than a greater number every few days. The will and the memory are both strengthened by regular exercise and practice. The entire series of exercise will be found to strengthen and develop the will power of the student, and the strength thus gained will be found most useful in other fields of work.

      At the beginning of the second month, learn two verses a day instead of one verse. Keep this up during the second month, learning two verses each day, and reviewing the verse previously memorized, both those of the first month and the verses learned after the two­verse plan has been adopted. You will find that the second month’s work is no more difficult than that of the first month. The two­verse task will be as easy as the one­verse exercise. You will find that your memory has anticipated the increase and that you can easily learn three or even four verses each day, but stick to the two verses, and do not attempt to get ahead of your lesson. The efficacy of this system lies largely in the fact that it leads the student gradually, and develops him in Nature’s own way. And, remember that in the reviewing lies the secret of increased powers of recollection.

      At the beginning of the third month, commence with three verses, and proceed as before, adding each day to your store, and reviewing each day that which you have previously learned. When the fourth month comes adopt the four­verse plan, and so on. Of course there is a limit to this constant increase, of which we will speak a little later on. This limit will be found to vary with the individual, but the most backward student will be able to attain wonderful proficiency with very little effort, by following the gradual and progressive method.

      If the reviewing after a few months takes up more time than you have to spare, drop the new verses and devote the entire time to reviewing. And later on if you cannot review the whole thing in the time at your disposal in one day, divide it in two, and review the first half to­day and the rest to­morrow.

      If, after a time, the task of committing additional verses to memory, seems tiresome, it will be as well to discontinue this part of the work for a short time, but keep up the reviewing, devoting all the time usually devoted to the exercise to the review work alone. Sometimes that part of the mind which attends to the work of receiving impressions will rebel at its daily task, but the other part of the mind which we use to recall things already impressed there will prove to be bright and perfectly willing to work.

      The student will find that certain ways of doing this work best suited to his particular temperament, etc., will suggest themselves to him. He may vary and improve on the plan we have given here, providing always that he does not slight the review work, which must not be omitted or cut down. Cut down the memorizing if you must, but hold fast to the review work. The increased strength of the memory lies in the СКАЧАТЬ