Value of Improved Imagination
The unusualness of this picture is dependent upon your imagination. This idea of picture making for memory purposes is two-fold in its value. It results in a better memory and strengthens the productive imagination. The exercises in Book One will help you to use your imagination for these memory pictures, and making them is one of the best exercises for the development of the imagination.
Practice Makes Perfect
You now know how to make a strong impression upon your brain. This has proven to be the most valuable aid to a better memory. Thousands of successful men have learned to use it practically in their work. It is the greatest aid to students in assimilating and recalling their studies.
You have the knowledge, but to be of value you must practice with it sufficiently to prove its usefulness and to learn to apply it accurately. This practice can be gained in a variety of ways; the essential thing is that you train yourself to make strong visual impressions upon your brain, to see the pictures clearly and to know that you are recalling them accurately. For practice let us use a list of common objects.
In order to recall a list of objects or a series of any kind, instead of making separate pictures of the objects, combine two in each impression. If you will follow the method used in making the following Memory Pictures you will find that it will enable you to recall the objects at will. We will use a list of objects that have no natural associations, that you could not easily remember by any other method, yet when you use this visual process the matter is a simple one.
First Picture Association
The first word of the list will be the House, the second Clock. We have already made a strong visual impression of the House, by seeing it in an Exaggerated, Moving, Unusual picture. We could make as strong an impression of the Clock in the same way, but to be able to recall the word following House, we must see the two objects together in the same picture. To see a large Clock standing alongside of the House, will make a strong impression. A stronger one may be made by exaggerating the size and proportion of the two objects. To further strengthen it you can use unusual motion, such as balancing a huge Clock on the edge of the House. Now introduce motion, see the Clock topple and roll down the roof and fall to the ground. To get the full value of this impression upon your brain, close your book and see the picture in your mind's eye. If it does not seem distinct close your eyes, or take a pencil and try to draw the picture. This will help you to see it more clearly. See the Clock rolling down the roof, see it fall to the ground, make it seem real and as distinct as possible.
Add Flowers to the List
