Monday, March 3, 2008

Remember the Best of The Rest

On this blog, and others there’s a lot to be learned. I trust most will be interesting, even entertaining; though some may be seen as a waste, with trivia you’d rather forget. It’s great to be able to forget. We’d go bonkers if our brain were to retain everything. But once in a while we come across something well worth remembering. That’s where the info I share, may prove worthy of your review.

In my blog I will be providing practical tips to improve your memory. You will see my 3 books are about How to remember scripture – since most scripture is worthy of remembering, though there are exceptions. As one woman told me at a book signing. “There are parts in the Old Testament I don’t want to remember.” In fact these are likely hardest for her to forget. And that is one paradox of memory - often the ideas we want to remember most are illusive, and difficult to recall, while those we want to forget remain indelibly anchored. But there are reasons for this, there are rules that govern memory; and the more practical of these (at least the ones I’ve learned) I’ll share. And I invite you to do the same.

I know a fair bit about this subject, but not everything – I’m constantly seeking to learn the best and most helpful methods from the brightest (or anyone else) I can find with worthwhile insights. And while in my books I related these techniques to remembering scripture, they really apply to remembering anything, from school subjects to names, phone numbers and family conversations.

From a pragmatic point of view a good memory is critical to a good life. You might study the scriptures, and be inspired daily. You might learn from other good books and long to apply the lessons learned. You might read of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and desire to emulate him. But in the final analysis if you can’t remember what we’ve read it will be of little value in your daily life. We can only apply what we can remember. Our daily decisions, actions and outcomes – in short our success in life – all depend, in large measure, upon our ability to recall the lessons of the past when needed. It’s no wonder then that Moses commanded “thou shalt not forget” 7 times in Deuteronomy, and father Lehi and Helaman’s last words were “O remember, remember.” In my blog and books I’ll teach you how to do this more effectively.

Finally, because our memory is such an integral part of our life, losing ones ability to remember due to Alzheimer’s disease or other disorders can be devastating for all involved, especially when this comes early in life. As with heart disease and diabetes an “alarming number” of men and women in their 40’s and even 30’s are now developing early-onset Alzheimer’s and related dementias. Why is this? I’ll explain. And I’ll also be talking about how to stem this tide and avoid this plague of modern society.

If you have difficulty sleeping, a history of heart disease, chronic stress, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, depression, gum disease, head injuries, or systemic inflammation of any kind, there is a good chance you will develop some type of dementia, unless you learn what to do, and start doing it now! That too I will share in this blog, though I’d advise you to read more in my latest book – How to Remember Everything in the Book of Mormon. Even if you don’t care about the Book of Mormon, if you care about your mental faculties you will want to read chapters 3, 4, 8, 9 & 11 in that book, and if you want to remember the best of the rest, stay tuned to this blog.

2 comments:

Emily said...

I look forward to reading your blog entries. I attended one class on memory at BYU Education Week and I really enjoyed it!

Doug Johnston said...

David, now if you can only teach me to find my keys!