How to Develop the 'Sherlock Holmes' Intuition

The quick wits and sharp observational skills of Sherlock Holmes used to analyze and solve the greatest mysteries is legendary. And even though Sherlock Holmes often expressed a need for the sleuthing to stick to the facts his actions would often demonstrate that he was very reliant on his intuition as well and clearly saw both logic and intuition as equal partners in solving the mysteries before him. !hile it isn"t possible to intuit everything in life there are times when listening to our intuition is both sensible and helpful in reaching conclusions about such things as relationships connections with others and the suitability or otherwise of certain life choices. As for being able to work out what makes other people tick there are some intuitive tricks you can rely upon to help you guess reasonably accurately and your intuition can easily be developed with a little practice and perseverance by following these easy steps. 1.- Be accepting of your intuition. Holmes summarized his intuition thus# $%t was easier to know it than to explain why % know it. %f you were asked to prove that two and two made four you might find some difficulty and yet you are quite sure of the fact.$ &et many people who consider themselves as $concrete$ thinkers reliant on evidence'based thinking processes tend to dismiss intuition as a folly and unreliable. %t hasn"t helped that intuition has long been attached to the supernatural ( the oracles seers witches wizards and other mystical sources in history. %t is unfortunate that the misuse of intuition by charlatans has tarred its reputation but that doesn"t mean it isn"t a valid part of our thinking and decision'making processes provided it is balanced with examination of the facts and evidence before you. )any human beings have experienced making decisions on a $gut feeling$ from time to time and have found the outcome to be satisfactory and sometimes even life'saving. *iewing intuition as $an educated counselor$ is a helpful way to perceive it+ we receive guidance from our subconscious drawing on experience accumulated over the years often in times of danger or problem'solving. And while the inexactitude of intuition simply means it cannot be relied upon alone as a source of reaching any conclusion this means that all initial suppositions theories and hunches must be tested by logic and analysis of facts not that it must be removed altogether from our processes of deduction. ' )uch good intuition is simply drawing from lengthy experience and proven habit. %ndeed Holmes summed this up when he stated# $,rom long habit the train of thoughts ran so swiftly through my mind that % arrived at the conclusion without being conscious of intermediate steps$ ' -emember that the easiest person to fool is yourself. As such never make unfounded accusations allegations or deductions at any stage of your process of reaching conclusions ( about anything. %t"s also wise to find yourself someone trustworthy and independently minded to sound out your conclusions. 2.- earn how to !e!uce things from stu!ying a person. %t is possible to work out quite a bit about how a person is feeling whether or not they"re lying the things left unsaid etc. by keen observation of the person before you. !hile some people are more attuned to reading the body language of others everyone can learn this art if willing. Some of the things that you can do to improve your people reading skills include# ' /earn to read body language. There are plenty of books and online sites devoted to reading body language. 0heck out bestsellers such as A 1efinitive 2uide to 3ody /anguage by Allan 4ease and 3arbara 4ease and others. 5ust be aware that reading body language does have its limitations because some people are good actors or deceivers and sometimes you simply make terrible mistakes and misread the signals. 3alance body language reading with other sources of intuition

and the facts. ' !atch for the signs of lying and honesty. %f you"re going to be sleuthing or deducing like Sherlock Holmes then you"ll definitely need to know how to spot the signs of a liar and a truth'teller. ,or more details on how to do this see How to spot lying etc. ' Try people watching. Spending some time every week simply watching people in their daily comings and goings as you sit somewhere comfortable can teach you a great deal about people"s habits mannerisms interactions and personalities. !hile there is a lot of guesswork involved in people watching 6deliberately because that"s what makes it fun7 you can also try to hone your guesswork down to spotting specific behavioral traits and mannerisms that can serve as future reference for you. ,or more details on how to people watch read How to begin people watching. ".- Improve your powers of o#servation. 8ne of the most notable things about Sherlock Holmes was that he observed things that other people missed+ he was often stating such things as $&ou see but you do not observe. The distinction is clear. $ This isn"t magic and it isn"t psychic mumbo' 9umbo. %t is simply about being very observant and taking time to spot the things that often get overlooked when people panic assume and rush around without consideration for the finer details. %mproving your powers of observation can be done in various ways and each requires practice. )oreover if you can stay calm and think clearly when in a pressured situation you"re already well ahead of many people. This is part personality part confidence part common sense and part awareness of your surroundings and it can take time to perfect if it doesn"t come naturally to you. 8ther ways to improve your observation include# 0oncentrate on improving you three most used senses ' sight smell and sound also sometimes referred to as S':. The very fact that these are our most used senses means that we tend to take them for granted and make assumptions about what they detect. %t is here that you must become more refined and fine'tune ways in which you use these senses in order to make better use of them. ' ;otice the right details that others miss by being discerning. ;ot every detail before you has value. <se your discernment to focus on the details of relevance and significance ' $%t is the highest importance in the art of detection to be able to recognize out of a number of facts which are incidental and which are vital.$. And don"t dismiss the smallest details ' Holmes made it clear that $The little things are infinitely the most important.$ ' 4ractice with spotting style puzzles. 4uzzles that ask you to find the difference between different images puzzles that ask you to find hidden words and images and puzzles that require you to navigate through mazes are all ways of honing your observation powers. 4ractice these frequently and time yourself to find things faster and faster without panicking. ' =uick quiz yourself and start learning to pay more observational attention to your surroundings. Here"s an example of observing# >ver been to grandma"s house? %s it a two story house? %f it is how many steps are there to reach the second story? How many bedrooms are there? How many beds are there in the bedrooms? %f you don"t know you see but don"t observe+ in short teach yourself to take in all the detail you can. $.- isten #etter. )any of us don"t listen because we"re too busy smug lazy certain of the answer before we"ve learned anything selfish preoccupied insecure whatever. The art of listening can never be over'emphasized and Sherlock Holmes was a master at this art. %t may seem like magic when someone recalls everything you"ve told them but in actual fact it"s simply good concentration courtesy and memorization put to excellent use. A good listener will pick up not only what is said but also that which is not said the gaps which often tell the other half of the story.

%.- &ever un!erestimate people. Holmes recognized the complexity of others ( $A complex mind. All great criminals have that.$ Avoid being arrogant or simplistic in deducing the motivations of others and give credit where it is due. ' 1o not disdain the information gathered from simple sources. 4opular literature such as magazines and tabloids and the daily gossip can teach you much. /istening to and reading these things will open up your mind to the way many people tick and whatever is popular is what a large proportion of the population is likely to be striving to achieve or think so you can glean much from reading about these things. After all Sherlock Holmes used to read the Agony Aunt columns in the paper and clearly used this as a source of information about how people tick. Soak up everything and don"t be an intellectual snob or you cut off half your sources of real information. '.- Bring logic to the fore. %ntuition is useful but a poor master and it needs to be reined in by logic and factual analysis. 2oing with your gut and not facing the facts is bound to lead to trouble so be prepared to let logic balance your intuition making it more than mere speculation and guesswork. Holmes advised that $%t is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence. %t biases the 9udgment.$ Take heed of his words and be sure to apply the evidence to your theories. ' ,or example# &ou observe a stain in your friend"s shirt. !hat kind of stain is it? ,ood? /ogically that means he"s careless. !hat? &ou know for sure that he"s very tidy and neat? Then logically he was in a hurry to get out of the house. !hy? %s he on time for every class or meeting? 8f course he is since he"s very tidy and neat so what happened? )aybe he overslept. So you go to him or her and ask $1id you oversleep today?$ %f you"re right have fun with the reaction. So the train of thought is# stain ' food ' he"s tidy ' hurrying ( oversleep. (.- )naly*e any situation using a step-#y-step process. Holmes was good at a process of elimination by which he would discard the improbable the illogical the uncertain and whittle down his observations deductions and theories to reach what he believed to be the only conclusion. %ndeed he stated that# $>liminate all other factors and the one which remains must be the truth.$ The process used goes like this# ' Always change the theory to fit the facts not the other way around. <se established quantifiable evidenced facts to develop further your theory. And if the facts mean that elements of the theory no longer hold discard that part of the theory forthwith+ persisting with the theory in face of opposing facts will create a false conclusion no matter how much you"d prefer it to be the conclusion. ' Think about who is benefiting? >stablish a motive+ this could be greed anger 9ealousy. 1on"t forget to think of the positive motives too ( protection of another guarding of a reputation generosity to a fault etc. ' Think how a person did what they did? How did the 9ewels get out of the case without someone hearing? How did he manage to break the necklace when it required at least two people? How did that work report end up in someone else"s hard drive? How did she get to the restaurant before everyone else even though she had no car? ' As stated earlier keep working on the details+ most people be they criminals detectives or the average 5oe and 5o do not observe all the details and this is how they are caught or found out. ' 2o through the who when what where and why facts.

+.- ,n!erstan! how to rea! a situation. There are three parts to reading a situation# ' See. !hat do you see that is happening? ' 8bserve. !hat do you notice that is different+ a stain a crease? ' 1educe. !hat does this imply? -.- Be hum#le. %n A Study in Scarlet Holmes stated $&ou know a con9urer gets no credit when once he has explained his trick+ and if % show you too much of my method of working you will come to the conclusion that % am a very ordinary individual after all.$ %n other words he didn"t consider it benefited anyone to know his method or manner in great detail and indeed to reveal such would dispel the entertainment and effectiveness of what he did. ,ollow his example and keep your intuiting and deducing methods close to yourself and avoid going around accusing people of anything until you"re absolutely certain. 1..- /alk through your conclusion with a truste! person. Holmes was a guarded person and trusted people only when they had proven themselves trustworthy and loyal. %n turn those persons had Holmes" complete trust such as !atson. 3y the same token $nothing clears up a case so much as stating it to another person.$ so be sure to open up and talk through your conclusions with someone you do trust to use them as a sounding board when you"ve worked through the deductions. 11.- Stay open to the possi#ilities. !hile what you see before you may seem as clear as day appearances can be deceiving in many ways. Sherlock Holmes was well aware of this and used to his advantage in unraveling a variety of possibilities not explained openly by what the eyes see and the ears hear. He balanced intuition with logic he drew conclusions from details and he listened carefully. &et he also kept an open mind and accepted that some possibilities may yet be unexplained+ he once said that $/ife is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent.$@ABC That doesn"t mean that such things are not capable of explanation but it does mean that there are more wondrous things than we"re possibly yet acquainted with in this world and it doesn"t pay to have a closed mind to the possibilities. 12.- 0lan !owntime1 party time1 an! leisure time into your life. Sherlock Holmes worked hard when sleuthing but he also loved his leisure and being languid. 1educing things and pushing your intuition to its limits can wear you down and re9uvenation is an essential part of ensuring that you continue to stay sharp focused and clever. /ips2 ' ;ever take anything for granted. >ven the most insignificant entity may present valuable insight into circumstances. ' !hen faced by confusion with regards to a decision to be made collect all your verbal and non' verbal facts. This may aid your decision making process. ' -ead some $Sherlock Holmes$ books by Sir Arthur 0onan 1oyle to study more of his style manner of thinking and deductive processing. &ou might also like to read about the real life experiences of Sir Arthur 0onan 1oyle in seeking to help people wrongly convicted of crimes. ' /istening to your "intuition" can be be very helpful in day'to'day situations like predicting the outcomes of meetings and understanding the people you encounter in your everyday life.

3arnings2 ' 1on"t push yourself to believing each and every thing that body language may indicate. 3ody language is right DE percent of the time but trust it too much and you may end up in a great blunder. ' 1on"t make quick decisions without analyzing all the facts. %n fact the more time you give yourself for reflection the better. ,ast decisions are only good for those technically trained to respond to specific situations under pressure such as airline pilots power plant operators and police. >ven then mistakes are made. So when it comes to sleuthing deducing and intuiting give your thinking processes plenty of time. ' 1on"t tell anybody about your initial insights unless you are a AEE percent sure you"re right. %f you end up making a weird prediction that is unfounded and based on nothing more than your hunches and the actual result ends up being something totally different people will begin to think you"re too 9udgmental and may consider you unreliable. ' Try your best not to overlook anything. Always look for signs in "clusters" and not at an individual isolated fact. /hings 4ou'll &ee!2 ' 2ood observation ' Some amount of study and reflection+ some Sherlock Holmes novels ' Ability with logic ' 0uriosity ' Something to keep notes with so you can go over them later 6optional7

How to 5ea! Bo!y anguage

;oticing the signals that people send out with their body language is a very useful social skill. Some of us can read it naturally and some of us are notoriously oblivious. ,ortunately with a little extra attentiveness you can learn to read body language and with enough practice it"ll become second nature. 1.- 0ay attention to how close someone is to you. The closer they are the warmer they are thinking of you. The farther away that someone is the less they actually care of the situation or person. %f you move slightly closer to them do they move slightly further away? That means they don"t want your interaction to be any more personal than it already is. %f they don"t move further away then they are receptive. And if they respond by getting even closer to you they probably really like you or are very comfortable aroundFby you. ' %t is worth noting that personal space is culturally fluid+ keep in mind that what is considered close in one country is far away in another.

2.- 3atch their hea! position.

' 8verly tilted heads are either a potential sign of sympathy or if a person smiles while tilting their head they are being playful and maybe even flirting. 6;ote that people with vision problems such as amblyopia will also have a tilted head.7 ' /owered heads indicate a reason to hide something. Take note if someone lowers their head. %f it is when he is complimented he may be shy ashamed timid keeping distance from the other person in disbelief or thinking to himself or herself. %f it is after an explanation then he may be unsure if what he said was correct. ' %t should be noted that some cultures see this as a sign of respect. ' 0ocked heads mean that they are confused or challenging you depending on eye eyebrow and mouth gestures. Think of how a dog slightly cocks its head when you make a funny noise. ' 8n the other hand when coupled with a smile a tilted head will mean they genuinely like you and are engaged in playful conversation.

".- ook into their eyes.

' 4eople who look to the sides a lot are nervous lying or distracted. However if a person looks away from the speaker it very well could be a comfort display or indicate submissiveness. /ooking askance generally means the person is distrustful or unconvinced. ' %f someone looks down at the floor a lot they are probably shy or timid. ' Some cultures believe that looking at someone in the eyes is a sign of disrespect so this could explain why someone is avoiding eye contact with you. ' 1ilated pupils mean that the person is interested. Geep in mind however that many drugs cause pupils to dilate including alcohol cocaine amphetamines )1)A /S1 and others. 1on"t mistake having a few drinks for attraction. Also some people have permanently dilated pupils 6a condition known as mydriasis7. ' %f their eyes seem far away that usually indicates that a person is in deep thought or not listening. 6;ote# <nfocussed eyes may also be a sign of binocular vision problems.7 $.- See if they're mirroring you. )irroring is another common gesture. %f someone mirrors or mimics your appearance this is a very genuine sign that they are interested in you and trying to establish rapport with you. Try changing your body position here and there. %f you find that they change theirs similarly they are mirroring.

$.- 6heck their arms.

' 4eople with crossed arms are closing themselves to social influence. Though some people 9ust cross their arms as a habit it may indicate that the person is 6slightly7 reserved uncomfortable with their appearance or 9ust trying to hide something on their shirt. %f their arms are crossed while their feet are shoulder width or wider apart this is a position of toughness or authority. ' %f someone rests their arms behind their neck or head they are open to what is being discussed or 9ust laid back in general. ' %f their hands are on their hips they might be waiting or impatient. ' %f their hands are closed or clenched they may be irritated angry or nervous.

'.- Be aware of nervous gestures2

' %f someone brushes their hair back with their fingers this may be preening a common gesture if the person likes you or their thoughts about something conflict with yours. They might not voice this. %f you see raised eyebrows during this time you can be pretty sure that they disagree with you. ' %f the person wears glasses and is constantly pushing them up onto their nose again with a slight frown that may also indicate they disagree with what you are saying. /ook to make sure they push up their glasses with an intent not casually ad9usting them. /ook for pushing on the rim with two fingers or an extra motion of wiggling the side of their glasses. The frown or raised eyebrows should tip you off. 6;ote# A frown may also indicate eyestrain.7 ' /owered eyebrows and squinted eyes illustrate an attempt at understanding what is being said or going on. %t"s usually skeptical. This is presuming they are not trying to observe something that"s far away. 6;ote# A squint is another possible sign of vision issues.7 ' %f they are staring into space then they are most likely think deeply about the past or they could be thinking of you

(.- 3atch their feet2

' A fast tapping shifting of weight laughing or movement of the foot will most often mean that the person is impatient excited nervous scared or intimidated. ' ;ote though that some people with A1H1 will constantly 9iggle their legs. %t doesn"t mean anything it"s entirely subconscious and while eccentric it can"t be stopped. ' %f the person is sitting feet crossed at the ankles means they"re generally at ease. ' %f while standing a person seems to always keep their feet very close together it probably means they are trying to be $proper$ in some way. ' %f they purposely touch their feet to yours they are flirting. ' Some people may point their feet to the direction of their interest. So if it"s pointing at you heFshe may be interested in you.

/ips2 ' %t"s easy to spot a confident person+ they will make prolonged eye contact and have a strong posture. They may also sit or stand very cricked. /ong eye contact can also be found in lovers" eyes. ' %f a person talks at a fast rate and mumbles or isn"t clear on what they are saying they could be nervous or might be lying 6trying to stall for time7 or not telling the full truth 6being vague7. 63ut be aware that some people do actually mumble7 ' !atch the face it will usually give off a quick involuntary and sometimes subconscious twitch when something happens that irritates excites or amuses them. ' 8bserving in context is key to understanding body language. ' Geep in mind that each person has their own unique body language called baseline behaviors. ' !hen observing others be subtle about it. ' 4ay special attention to changes in body language rather than the body language itself. ' %f a person looks up at the sky or to the sides they are usually thinking about you. ' Some people touch their face andFor play with their hair when they are flirting. ' !hen a person closes hisFher eyes longer than the time it takes to blink that usually means that heFshe is feeling stress alarm or despair 6although it could mean that their contacts are dry this will sometimes be accompanied by rubbing of the eye7. 3arnings2 ' 1o not 9udge a person solely by their body language. ' 1on"t isolate yourself by constantly examining body language when interacting with people. 8therwise there is no reason to gain a social upper hand anyway. This is paralysis by analysis. ' 1o not spend too much time looking at and analyzing the other person"s body language. Try to look at their face while you are talking to them.

How to ook 0eople in the 7ye

Some people struggle to make eye contact with others. This is considered a basic component of social interaction in some cultures. ,ailing to make eye contact suggests to some that you"re shy+ to others it indicates rudeness or boredom. Some people have the opposite problem. )aking eye contact for a long time can indicate you"re very outgoing+ to others it indicates aggression and over' confidence. This skill is especially important when you are at a 9ob interview+ the employer will think you"re hiding something or you"re not confident and most likely they will not hire you. Although this process is as natural as breathing for many people it"s difficult for many others. 1.- 5ela89 As with anything else the more you think about it the more self'conscious you"ll become. &our nervousness can then be misinterpreted. 2.- 6oncentrate on one eye. Switching from left to right and back all the time will make you appear insecure inattentive and confused. %t may help to prefer the left eye because the right side of the brain controls emotions but controls the left side of the body. %f you don"t believe this 9ust pretend you did because you have to choose an eye anyway. ".- )voi! staring. 5ust look directly into the person"s eye in a relaxed manner. -emind yourself that you are hoping to have a pleasant conversation with this person '' there"s no need to be anxious. $.- isten. 1uring the conversation if you focus completely on what that person is saying you won"t have to worry about making eye contact correctly+ if you are truly listening you will 9ust naturally focus your eyes on hisFher eyes. -emember that maintaining eye contact is how you quietly prove to a person that you are interested in what he or she is saying. %t"s a vital way to demonstrate respect. %.- Show 7ye :agnetism. Try not to look away instantly when something else calls for your attention. %f somebody calls you don"t look away as if you 9ust got rescued from a boring conversation. %nstead slightly hesitate before looking at your caller. /ooking away then quickly looking back is also a good idea. -emember though important disruptions such as dangerous or priority interruptions warrant instant attention. '.- Smile with your eyes. Smiling with your eyes generates a more relaxed feel which is needed for a nice casual conversation. Hostile eyes or false smiles tend to make uncomfortable conversations and the person will probably try to end the conversation.

/ips2 ' %f you can"t maintain eye contact because you"re bored wait for a pause in the conversation and then change the topic. ' 8r use a polite excuse to withdraw from the conversation# $8h % didn"t realize the time. %"m sorry+ % have to dash off to an appointment. %t"s been so nice talking to you.$ ' %f you can"t stay focused or you can"t do it at all you can try looking at the bridge of the nose in between the person"s eyes. ' &ou can also look into someone"s eyebrows which gives the illusion of staring into their eyes. This is a very useful ability it makes you seem like you really care. %t also makes you seem like you have much more confidence. ' &ou can practice by imagining the person"s face while talking on the phone or chatting online. ' Short but frequent eye contact is the least likely to cause offense. 3arnings2 ' Simply gaze at the other person"s eyes+ don"t stare. Staring intensely will make you look phony or worse like an obsessed stalker. ' %f you try the look'in'the'eyebrow'or'bridge'of'the'nose make sure those are the only parts you are looking at. 1o not dash your eyes around their face. %t looks like you"re staring at their blemishes pimples blackheads burns skin deformities moles etc.

How to Dilate or Shrink 4our 0upils on 6omman!

!hat"s the secret to giving someone the $evil eye$ or $bedroom eyes$? %t"s all in the size of your pupils believe it or not. Scientists have actually studied how the way we feel about the things we see affects the size of our pupils 6welcome to the world of pupilometrics7. &ou can gain some insight as to how someone feels about you 6or someone or something else7 by observing changes in their pupils and you can also affect the way someone feels about you by changing the size of your pupils. So whether you want to stare down an enemy or make someone fall in love with you this article is for you. BI; 0,0I S 1.- If you are going to #e in a setting you can control1 !im the lights. 4upils grow to let in more light so if the lights are dim they will grow. That"s part of the reason why candlelight and dim lights are so romantic...

2.- ook in the mirror. Try tensing your stomach in a variety of ways and see if it increases your pupil size. Some people can dilate their pupils in this way although the underlying mechanism is unidentified. %t could be connected to the feeling of $butterflies in your stomach$ that you get when you like someone. ".- 0icture something that gives you an a!renaline rush< look for any size change in your pupils in the mirror. Some people report that their pupils dilate when they feel adrenaline in their system. %n addition to dilated pupils adrenaline also causes your mind to race muscles to tense up and breathing to go faster. Through biofeedback people can learn to $drive$ their adrenaline levels up or down.

$.- =ocus on o#>ects that are far away. &our pupils will get bigger as your eyes ad9ust to a further viewing distance. Another way to approach this is to suddenly blur your vision as much as you can. %f you"re doing this correctly your eyes will feel very relaxed+ if you start to see double you"ve probably crossed your eyes and need to start over. !ith these techniques you won"t be able to observe your own eyes so you"ll need to record yourself or have a friend watch.

%.- /ouch up your photographs. %f you"re putting up pictures of yourself such as for an online dating profile edit them to make your pupils larger. Studies have shown that when men are shown two pictures of the same women but one photo has been edited to make the pupils larger the men invariably think the women in the edited photos are $friendlier$ and $prettier$ and they can"t explain why. %f you study advertisements carefully you"ll see that most of the models" pictures have large pupils. &ou can bet 4hotoshop played a hand in that. '.- /hink a#out someone or something you love or hate< /ove and hate are extreme emotions so if you think intensely about someone you love a lot or someone you absolutely hate your pupils will get bigger. S:) 0,0I S

1.- Increase the amount of light reaching your eyes. 2.- 5ela8 your stomach an! try to keep your pelvis an! hips as aligne! with your shoul!ers as possi#le. ".- =ocus intently on something close to you.

?ID7@2 ?@ ,&/)54 0,0I DI) )/I@&

/ips2 ' Some magicians watch pupil size to detect when the card that someone picked is being shown. )aybe you can use this trick to turn the tables on them. ' Shrinking and enlarging your pupils rapidly will startle most people. ' These tricks will be additionally effective if you have naturally light eyes because the contrast between your iris and pupil will make the size of your pupils more noticeable. 8n the other hand very dark eyes can be appealing as well because they can make the entire iris look like a large pupil. 3arnings2 ' &our pupil shrinks in bright light for a reason ' to avoid overstimulating your nerves. 1on"t dilate your pupils on a sunny day or if someone might take a picture of you or turn on the lights+ you could damage your eyesight. ' A romantic interest who"s more interested in $playing the field$ than in settling down for a long term relationship is likely to be turned off by large pupils possibly because it signals a desire for a strong emotional bond rather than 9ust a physical one.

How to Spot ying

>ver wondered if a friend was lying to you about that new video you sent her? 8r if your child was lying about doing their homework? !ell read this and you may find out the truth. 1.- /ry to see if their voice is straine!1 in a lower or higher pitch than normal1 or >ust soun!s plain weir! for some reason. 2.- ook out for eye contact. 4eople who lie will often refuse making eye contact with others. ".- Do they take long to respon!A They might be thinking up an excuse or a lie. $.- iars often make little movement with their #o!y. %.- 78pressions on that persons face will often #e limite! to their mouth instea! of the whole face. '.- Sentences with contractions are more likely to #e truthful. (.- Is their #o!y shakingA This is a sign of nervousness and nervousness is common when people lie. +.- If the person has lie! #efore in the past1 #e cautious of anything he or she says. -.- iars will often want to get out of the su#>ect as fast as possi#le. To do this they make fake being tired or sick or will bring up another sub9ect. 1..- /o spot a liar >ust keep asking them Buestions. The deeper into the lie they get the harder it will be for them to make up information and stick to it. This will also lead to them panicking therefore giving off vital clues. %t"s also not true that every liar breaks eye contact ' we break eye contact in every conversation we have it"s 9ust our brains way of searching for the information we need. A person who"s making a point of keeping eye contact is more likely to be lying as they"re probably trying to convince you and themselves that they aren"t lying. /hings 4ou'll &ee! ' 4atience ' Someone you think is lying.

How to Begin 0eople 3atching

4eople watching involves observing people to get a feel for the beauty and rhythm of the community around us. ,or some people watchers it"s about creativity using the moments of watching to try and guess at another person"s story 9ust from mere observation and embracing the fun of what is in effect an amateur social science. 4eople watchers observe speech in action relationship interactions body language and activities+ it"s also common to include listening in to conversations. %ndeed all the senses can be put to good use when people watching even down to trying to guess a person"s perfume or aftershave as they walk by. Here are some suggestions for en9oying the art of people watching. 1.-Deci!e the parameters of your people watching. %t helps to know why you"re watching. There can be any number of reasons but the main impetus is observation of how other people live and behave and guessing at their motivations and life stories. And people watching is not about feeling superior to others or 9udging them+ more than anything you"re a non'9udgmental observer with a penchant for unearthing life"s stories as an art of love and empathy. Some reasons for people watching include# ' %t"s relaxing and en9oyable. Seeing other people have fun dressed up going about daily activities is en9oyable and even soothing as you sit somewhere comfortable like a cafe or park bench under the sun. 4eople are fascinating so this reason really needs no more explanation. ' %t passes time while you"re waiting or while you"re sitting with people who don"t interest you much but you"re obliged to stay with them. ' %t restores a sense of wonder. 0hildren are renowned for people watching and 9ust by trying it again you can regain this sense of wonder for a brief moment in time. ' %t"s informative. %f you"re writing a book or developing characters for a play observing people can be an excellent way to find traits and styles for your characters. %n addition if you"re an actor observing other people is a window to other ways of standing walking talking and interacting in a natural environment. And it"s a great opportunity to test your learning or theories about body language. ' %t"s an excellent source of artwork or photography. %f you"re an artist or a photographer unaware people can make brilliant sub9ects. ' %t"s inspiring. !atching people can lead to writing a symphony movie script or a blog post. ' %t"s a healthy alternative to ,acebook creeping.

2.- 0ractice naturalistic o#servation not intrusive nosiness. ;aturalistic observation is the practice of observing sub9ects in their natural habitat. This means being unobtrusive unnoticed and non'interfering. The moment you become any of these things the spell is broken and you"ve interacted and it"s no longer $people watching$. ' -ealize that some places are better for people watching than others. ;ew &ork 0ity 4aris )iami -io de 5aneiro and *enice present ideal venues for people watching because people know they"re on display and being seen. Any city where people dress up to show the world their fashion flair or sense of style is likely to be an ideal people watching place. /ess so the country town or the little city unless you can do so with great care and not draw attention to yourself. ' Some observation methods are likely to be more acceptable in some places than in others. Taking photos of people in ;ew &ork 0ity usually won"t have anyone blink an eyelid+ doing so in the only main street of a local town might raise concerns. Gnow where it"s fine to take shots of people and where it"s frowned upon and don"t cross that line. %f someone does see you taking photos of them and they don"t like it oblige them by erasing the shot+ this isn"t about causing bad feelings.

How to Be 6alm
)ost of us could find more space for calm in our lives for those moments of being able to stand back and assess what is happening around us with a mind that is settled patient graceful and wise. 0alm people affect other people in a positive and reassuring way+ their ability to remain unfazed and focused during life"s petty ordeals through to outright crises is a source of amazement to the ma9ority of us and often we"re grateful for being at the receiving end of such calmness. And yet it isn"t something that only the few have access to ( anyone can choose to be calm and to foster it as an approach toward life. 0almness can be reached through various routes each of which may be out of balance in your life at present. ,or example your diet may not be adequate in terms of good nutrition or you may be avoiding exercise in favor of slipping in a few more hours of intense work or study. 8r you may not have discovered the values of implementing activities that are aimed at bringing calm into your life directly such as meditation en9oying solitude or using aromatherapy. All of these sources of balance are explored in this article as a way of finding calm. 1.- 5eflect upon your sense of calm right now. 1o you consider yourself to be a calm person or someone who is always caught up with a sense of urgency a need to be busy all the time and a desire to be at the heart of all things loud and dramatic? !hat does being calm mean to you? %t"s probably a good idea to write out your ideas about what being a calm person means to you as this is something you can continue to reflect upon and work toward over time. ' As part of your reflection consider the psychological issues that you might confront regularly such as panic attacks or phobias. These can prevent you from reaching a state of calm and yet they"re treatable aspects of your emotional makeup provided you"re willing to deal with them. Talk over the possibilities with a trusted therapist or your doctor. 2.- 5eali*e that #eing calm is an internal issue1 not an e8ternal factor. %t can be tempting to blame your external life for your lack of inner calm. After all traffic 9ams deadlines missing socks demanding bosses pushy clients queues keeping up with the 5oneses and many other facets of modern life can lead you to feel that the pressures create the lack of calm. &et ironically the pressures are not the source+ it is a crisis driven mindset that causes the lack of calm. 3y being internally calm the pressures are alleviated+ they don"t go away but they are all manageable and far less disturbing when you approach life with an inner calm. ,eeling calm and competent leads to fulfillment and happiness. %nside each of us has a nature that is deep silent and stable ( indeed our natural state is to be calm. However we make choices about how to react very early on in life and sometimes those choices usurp our inner calm whether it"s because we choose to be drama prone or the center of attention or to express the $always busy$ self to others. -ecognizing that these are choices is an important step in regaining your calm.

".- Be kin! to yourself. 3eing calm begins with being self'loving 6which does not mean being self' absorbed7. %t"s all too commonplace for us to take a negative tone with ourselves and to be our own unkindest critic. 0alm cannot settle when you feel nothing but self'criticism self'loathing and a lack of self'trust+ if these are your main inner feelings then you"re too busy running internal self' deprecating chatter for calm to descend. -emind yourself frequently that it is okay to love and trust yourself. ' Talk gently to yourself. !hen the self'deprecating negative talk wells up remind yourself that you matter and that you deserve respect and that such negative talk hasn"t got a place in your life. ' -eassure yourself with such phrases as $% can deal with this.$ ' Gnow how valuable you are. -emind yourself daily of the virtues strengths and beauty that you bring into the world. ' 3e kind to yourself 9ust as you are kind to others. ' -emind yourself that it is human to err. %t happens daily all around the world. Simply remind yourself when something goes wrong# $% am so human.$ ' /ove the image staring back at you in the mirror. That"s you and you matter. $.- 0ractice forgiveness with yourself an! with others. 3eing unable to forgive compels you to discontent and internal war. Holding old grudges being bitter and fueling constant anger create an inner turmoil that chains you to reliving past hurts. 1o you really en9oy lugging that ball and chain around? !orst still your health is impacted by long'lived grievances and your blood pressure heart rate physical and spiritual health will be suffering. %t is hard to live a calm life when you constantly hate feel a need to avenge and see ghosts in every shadow. ,orgiveness allows room for kindness and self liberation. ,orgiveness nurtures a sense of calm because you no longer spend a big part of your life resenting other people. -emind yourself that when you forgive you remove the toxic feelings from your life+ it is not about condoning what another person did but it is about no longer letting that person"s actions run your outlook on life. %.- Be patient. 4atience is the begetter of calm. %mpatience is the source of agitation and turbulence. %mpatience says $% want it ;8!$ and when $it$ doesn"t appear now you"re liable to lose your temper and let the blood pressure rise. %mpatience is often linked to unreasonable expectations about the world and other people 6you expect too much of both yourself and of other people7 and is often linked to perfectionism which allows of no space to make errors or slow down. A calm person on the other hand is fully aware that errors occur sometimes and that speeding things up is liable to bring on errors not alleviate them. '.- Seek to #e wise. !isdom enables you to know when it really is okay to worry. )ost of the time it is not okay to worry. )ost of the time the news the rumors the negativity the volatility the insane highs and lows of human systems are but noise. /isten to too much of it and you sink into the mire of the rat race ever running somewhere without a clear map forward. That will create intense disquiet and unease in your life. The wise person knows what to read who to listen to and when to ignore the rumors 6most of the time7. The wise person looks into the future and plans for it while remaining anchored in the present but drawing on the strengths from the past. The wise person is calm because the wise person accesses knowledge and knows how to use it for betterment of life. -esponding to sensationalism and fear is $so yesterday$ for the wise person.

(.- 5efuse to #e hurrie!. )any people try to push push push and make for the exit even before the door is open. 0onsider all the times when a plane lands and everyone rushes to get off but all they do is end up standing in a queue. !here is the fire they"re attending that it"s so urgent to be the first out the door? 3ecome assertive about your wish to not be hurried unless it"s a life and death situation in which case your common sense will inform you that it"s really time to move. ' -ecognize that a lot of staying calm returns to being assertive. %t takes courage to stand up and assert your need to take things more slowly and to deflect the hurry and bustle of others. -ead How to be assertive and reassure yourself that you can assert yourself when it"s needed. +.- =in! pathways to calm. 3esides looking within and discovering how better to nurture yourself through kinder self'talk and practicing forgiveness and patience there are some very real activities you can put into place that will induce a sense of calm into your life. And the more regularly you bring these activities into your life the more that your feelings of calm will become ingrained and expected. !hile the following pathways are simply guidance unless you try some of them you won"t know whether or not they"ll benefit a calmer you# - :e!itation2 This is number one on the list. )editation is a powerful means for exploring your inner self and shutting out the noise. )editation induces stillness and allows you to explore yourself and brings you to a state of peace and calm. And meditation is best summed up as being about $being$ ( being rather than doing. )editation can work for anyone as it"s about learning to live in the moment undistracted not tied to the past or the future your mind and emotions are under your mastery and you are truly aware. There are many forms of meditation and this isn"t the place to explore them and some are likely to be more inviting to you than others so that"s an exploration you"ll need to undertake. %n short though meditation is likely to be the greatest tool for bringing calm into your life. See the meditation category for more articles on ways to meditating. - Breathing2 4ay attention to your breathing. Train yourself to slow it down when the pressures increase. - :in!fulness2 0losely related to meditation mindfulness is about being consciously aware of what is around you as you"re moving through your daily life. %t"s about drawing yourself back into the moment. - &ature2 Spending time in nature simply observing and allowing yourself to be enfolded in its presence will bring calm upon you. ;otice the comings and goings of the creatures around you and listen to the trees and plants around you. Simply sink into it... - Self soothing2 Spend more time soothing yourself to reduce the panic and fears than to the problem. The problem will usually be manageable but only when you"ve calmed down. -.- /ry improving your !iet an! e8ercise regime. 1iet and exercise are basically about taking good care of yourself+ neither are about forcing you to follow a regimen that imposes unhappiness upon you as some approaches to these activities appear to suggest. 1iet is about healthful eating as a lifestyle choice while exercise is about getting out and about so that your body moves and isn"t sub9ected to sitting positions all of the time. And both have the ability to bring calm into your life. !ithin your diet it is possible to improve your mood through the types of food you choose including foods that contain mood boosting effects ( read up on the science behind foods and mood. And exercise will increase your feel'good chemicals which bring a sense of greater calm. ;ot only that but the self'discipline and endurance stamina required by exercise will help to create calm because you recognize that you are physically strong and capable able to find the energy and

strength to work through anything in life. 1..- /ry aromatherapy solutions. Aromatherapy has proven benefits in the realm of calming and the use of particular essential oils can help to bring about a state of calmness after a period of stress and agitation. This field is quite complex and it"s a good idea to read through a good aromatherapy reference if you"re keen to find ways to induce calmness through aromatherapy but most people can recognize the instantaneous benefits from scented interactions such as having a massage a foot rub a dabbing on a perfume or a spraying a lovely room scent. A good place to get started is to try aromatherapy baths ( see How to take an aromatherapy bath for more options. 11.- /hink calm. Help your mind remain calm through keeping your thoughts calm and through keeping your mind decluttered. !hen you feel frustrated smile about it and think about the sensible and calm ways you can approach the matter before you. ' Geep to'do lists and to'get lists on paper in a notebook or in an electronic form freeing up your mind for more important and creative thoughts than the lists of things to do and buy. ' 0ount your blessings. !hen the chips are down look for the things you can express gratitude for. There is always at least one thing you can find and while you can choose to see only the negatives ask yourself why you want to only see those. 12.- 0ractice eBuanimity. /ife will continue to throw stressors and curveballs in your direction whatever you state of mind you"re in. -ecognize that life is strewn with critics and naysayers and they"re often people who could do it better... but don"t. Are you going to let such people cause you unease and discomfort? 8r are you ready to practice equanimity? >quanimity is a state of being that /eo 3abauta promises gets easier the more you practice it. >quanimity is about maintaining evenness of mind under the presence of pressure and stress. %t requires that you maintain a positive mindset even when under attack. This is really hard to maintain if your mindset is negative and fearful. And yet it is liberating once you begin implementing it regularly and you will even discover that people respect you a lot more for being able to maintain an even keel and remain ob9ectively detached from what is happening. As /eo 3abauta suggests learn to let things roll off you don"t take things personally and realize that we"re not the center of anybody else"s world and that there are always many other reasons for why someone attacks us in a mean way.

How to Be 0atient
%t has never been easy to be patient but it"s probably even harder now than at any time in history. %n a world where messages can be sent across the world instantly seemingly everything is available with a few clicks of the mouse and a swift movement of your thumbs can take you into a fantasy game world it"s very hard not to expect instant satisfaction. 3ut patience remains a valuable tool in life. !e don"t always get instant gratification and some of the best things in life require years of hard work and waiting. ,ortunately patience is a virtue that can be cultivated and nurtured. %t does take time to fulfill this goal but once this has grown into an ordinary skill for you you certainly won"t be disappointed at what life can offer you with some spare time. &ou will be surprised by how boring restless and lagging hours can evolve into a passing time of relaxation and peace of mind. 1.- Cournal. 2et a notepad or a piece of paper and a writing utensil such as a pencil. ,or one to two weeks whenever you get that rushed feeling and the sense of impatience write down whatever it is that feeling is associated with 6>xample# 5uly A ' Astronomy class.7 )ake sure that you take note consistently and consecutively'each time the feeling occurs. &ou will notice that you are more aware of 6and subsequently more prepared for7 the feeling of impatience. &ou will also be able to observe the sense of impatience ob9ectively and which events give rise to it. &ou may come to the conclusion that circumstances surrounding the feeling are not causing you angst ' the feeling itself is. %n these ways you will be able to better control impatience when it besets you. 2.- /ry to figure out why you are in such a hurry. !e tend to lose our patience when we"re multitasking or when we"re on a tight schedule expecting the day to pass within 6what it seems like...7 only a few short minutes of busyness and chaos. %f you"re stretching yourself too thin you should reconsider your to'do list before you attempt to change your natural reaction to an overwhelming situation. Try to spread out your tasks so that you"re doing only one thing at a time without leaving yourself twiddling your thumbs in eagerness of something to busy yourself with. 1elegate responsibilities to others if you can+ this in itself may be a test of your patience but you have to learn to share the load. ".- 0inpoint the triggers that often influence you to lose your patience. %mpatience creeps in insidiously and if you feel anxious worried or unhappy you may not even realize that the underlying cause of these feelings is impatience. To reduce the frequency of impatience it helps to be aware of it. !hich events people phrases or circumstances always seem to influence you lose your cool? Sit down and make a list of all the things which cause you anxiety tension or frustration. At the core of most triggers is a reality that we have a hard time accepting. !hat are those realities for you? $.- @vercome #outs of impatience. %n the long run developing patience requires a change in your attitude about life but you can immediately make progress by learning to relax whenever you feel impatient. Take a few deep breaths and 9ust try to clear your mind. 0oncentrate on breathing and you"ll be able to get your bearings. %.- ook for patterns. 3eing aware of your impatience also gives you a chance to learn from it and perhaps uncover a relationship or circumstance that is simply not healthy or constructive and that you may have the power to change. ,igure that out and you can then think logically about the problem issue and decide whether or not your impatience is warranted or helpful. %t usually isn"t but when it is you can then figure out ways to fix the root problem rather than simply feeling stressed about it.

'.- et go if you can't !o anything a#out the impatience trigger. %f there isn"t anything that you can do to resolve whatever has triggered your impatience 9ust let it go. >asier said than done yes but it"s possible and it"s the only healthy thing to do. %nitially you will probably find it difficult to let go if the matter is important to you''waiting to hear back after a 9ob interview for instance''but you should be able to alleviate impatience that"s caused by issues of less consequence 6i.e. waiting in line at the grocery store7. %f you make a concerted effort to be more patient in relatively inconsequential short'term situations you"ll gradually develop the strength to remain patient in even the most trying and enduring situations. (.- 5emin! yourself that things take time. 4eople who are impatient are people who insist on getting things done now and don"t like to waste time. However some things 9ust can"t be rushed. Think about your happiest memories. 0hances are they were instances when your patience paid off like when you worked steadily towards a goal that wasn"t immediately gratifying or took a little extra time to spend leisurely with a loved one. !ould you have those memories if you had been impatient? 4robably not. Almost anything really good in life takes time and dedication and if you"re impatient you"re more likely to give up on relationships goals and other things that are important to you. 2ood things may not always come to those who wait but most good things that do come don"t come right away. +.- 78pect the une8pecte!. &es you have plans but things don"t always work out as planned. Accept the twist and turns in life gracefully. Geep your expectations realistic. This applies not only to circumstances but also the behavior of those around you. %f you find yourself blowing up over your child or your spouse accidentally spilling a drink you"re not in touch with the fact that people aren"t perfect. >ven if the occasion is not an isolated incident but is instead caused by their repeated neglect and carelessness losing your patience isn"t going to make it any better. That"s something to be addressed with discussion and self'control. -.- ;ive yourself a #reak. The meaning of this is twofold. ,irst take a few minutes to do absolutely nothing. 5ust sit quietly and think. 1on"t watch television+ don"t even read. 1o nothing. %t may be hard at first and you may even feel pretty impatient after a minute or two but by taking some time out you can essentially slow your world down and that"s important to develop the attitude necessary to develop patience. Second stop holding yourself and the world around you to unreachable standards. Sure we"d all be more patient if babies didn"t cry dishes didn"t break computers didn"t crash and people didn"t make mistakes''but that"s never going to happen. >xpecting the world to run smoothly is like beating your head against the wall. 2ive yourself a break. 1..- 5emem#er what matters. ;ot focusing on what matters most in this life fuels impatience. )ove the world toward peace by being kind generous in forgiveness of others being grateful for what is and taking full advantage of what matters most. !hen other less important things fuel our impatience taking time to remember any one of these items reduces our tendency to want something different right now. 11.- )lways remem#er that you will eventually get what you want. 6this requires maturity and patience to understand and accept.7 %f you work hard at something this may be the truth but most of the time you have to be patient to get what you want. ,or others this may come as easy but the only thing that matters is that you know how to occupy yourself even in the dead of times. 5ust remember patience is a mental skill that you will never forget so cherish patience as a ma9or step for you in life. %mpatience is something not to be proud of but something that you should attempt to train yourself out of before it is something that overthrows your life.

/ips2 ' 3oredom can make it difficult to be patient. %f you"re waiting in the doctor"s office and the only thing you can concentrate on is the ticking clock good luck trying to be patient. %f however you can read a book or do a crossword puzzle time will fly by 6or at least creep less slowly7. %f you"ve nothing to do while you"re waiting 9ust try to appreciate the fact that you have nothing to do. %n a fast'paced world opportunities to do nothing are rare and should be cherished for their time to be unHbothered by minor things. ' 8nce you are able to change your attitude so that you are a patient person you will find that patience can help you endure any tribulation no matter how long'lasting or difficult. )ore importantly perhaps patience can help you achieve your goals. ' )any people find that meditation and yoga helps patience ' 3eing patient with others is a form of respect for them. ;obody is perfect and if you want to be a good parent boss spouse or friend it"s important to recognize this and to be patient with people. $1on"t sweat the small stuff$ is a good motto. &ou and everyone around you will be more relaxed and able to get along much better. ' 1eveloping patience is not easy and you"ve got to be motivated to become more patient. &ou can do it however and you should. 4atience can reduce your stress levels and improve your health and longevity and patience can actually make you happier. !henever you find yourself growing impatient think about the positive effects of patience and remember that impatience only makes things worse. ' %nstead of becoming annoyed by a distraction 6such as a crying baby on a long flight7 try 9ust being a passive observer. %f you make it daily practice to observe things and events without 9udging or forming an opinion being able to acknowledge something without allowing it to annoy you will become easier with time. ' 4eople that are patient tend to have better lives. ' -emember for every minute you are angry you lose IE seconds of happiness. ' 8ne way to release stress is to write about it. Studies have shown that people who write about their emotions tend to become more calm and learn to accept the emotions that they are experiencing. so the next time you feel angry 9ust write about it and try to meditate over why you would be so angry. ' A quote from 5ames 0lavell"s Shogun# JGarma is the beginning of knowledge. ;ext is patience. 4atience is very important. The strong are the patient ones. 4atience means holding back your inclination to the seven emotions# Hate adoration 9oy anxiety anger grief fear. %f you donKt give way to the seven youKre patient then youKll soon understand all manner of things and be in harmony with >ternity.L ' /ook at the big picture of being patient because that"s what matters most. )ore than likely good things come out to those who are patient. ' !aiting for things is a good way to be patient.

3arnings2 ' 4atience should be no excuse for procrastination. !hile patience can help you be 8G with doing nothing it"s important to understand that idleness breeds impatience and stress. ' 3e patient with others who display little patience+ if you seemed to feel bothered too much by them make an excuse to locate yourself somewhere else and take a break from their anxiety' inducing behavior. ' %magine yourself when that specific period of time is up.

How to isten
/istening to the world around you is not often a skill that is consciously practiced. ;evertheless it is a skill that is definitely worth cultivating. Active and engaged listening can help you to better understand other people the interactions of society and the world around you. The more you listen the more you learn. 1.- 5emove !istractions an! tune in. Turn off the television or the radio and put down anything else you are reading or doing. ;otice the sounds that are around you. Some of the sounds may be whirring fans ticking clocks whistling birds rustling leaves nearby conversations buses and truck engines children playing games etc. !hat do these sounds remind you of and how do they make you feel? 1o you find them comforting or distracting? 1o the sounds tell a story and do they motivate you to feel like writing or creating something of your own? 2.- 0ay attention. ,ocus on what you are listening to rather than formulating what you think you should say in reply to a conversation. !hat is the other person really trying to say? Are you digesting their words properly and reading between the silences and noticing the body language? /et your ears do some of the assessing for a change. !atch the person"s face eyes and body. All communicate different things often more accurately than words. ".- isten to one thing only. Try listening to one person or thing at a time. ,orget trying to multi' task ' instead give one person piece of music or gushing waterfall all of your auditory attention at once. %f many elements are present such as in symphonic music try listening to the overall sound as a holistic sound. %t can be a very interesting exercise to try. Alternatively try listening 6with focus7 to a single instrument as it travels through the flow of the entire orchestra. $.- Stop once in a while an! >ust listen to music. !e are so used to having music in the background now that we don"t often make it the sole focus. %f it is appropriate close your eyes and focus entirely on the sound. %.- ,se soun! as an important memory tool. /istening is a pathway to learning. <se sound as a memory trigger when you are studying or learning something new. %f you find it hard to keep listening for example during a lecture or lesson spend some time building up your powers of concentration every day. Set goals for staying alert an extra M minutes each time and use note taking as a form of helping you to listen. '.- Stop thinking too much. %f you keep thinking about everything you will stop paying attention to what you hear. /ips2 ' 4ractice listening with something fun or informative. 2et an audio book or a recording of a humorist or comedian or listen to the radio. ' 1on"t listen only to people. 8nce in a while tune in to background noises or the sounds of the city. 3etter yet go for a walk in the woods or the country and listen to the sounds of nature. ' !hen listening to someone speak quickly possibly in a language different to your native one always imagine the meanings of what they"re saying and the gist of the conversation rather than thinking of the specific words and phrases they"re using. 1on"t think of how you"re trying to figure out what they"re saying in the words think of what they"re trying to pro9ect to you in the conversation and form images of it.

' ;otice a person"s tone of voice mannerisms manner of speaking accent and habits. Geep quiet and let the other person talk. %n a conversation respond with questions gestures and words that demonstrate that you are listening. 4ut yourself in the other person"s shoes. Try to imagine how he or she feels or what she is thinking. ' /istening is not hearing. /istening is knowing what is going on and hearing is 9ust hearing something. 3arnings2 ' 8verly loud noises can damage hearing. !ear hearing protection or cover your ears.

How to Buil! /rust

Trust is a ma9or part in the foundation of interpersonal relationships whether it is between parents and children friends or lovers. %t is 9ust as easy to build trust as it is to break it down on a daily basis. %f your interpersonal relationships are plagued by that deadly element called $suspicion and fear $ then you might find success if you put effort toward trust'building. Trust is heart warming a great attribute often abused and broken by many. !e learn to trust as we learn to love. %f trust comes by so easily it is also lost and destroyed by a single moment of breaking and in a fraction of a second all hope and security can be lost. 1.- Do what you say. 4ossibly the most important step to building a foundation of trust is to do what you say you will do. At least try doing it. >ven if it is a small thing canceling or failing to follow through will create hairline fractures in your trustworthiness. >nough of those and the foundation will crumble. 2.- &ever lie. Sounds easy right? ;ot always. %t"s surprisingly simple to find yourself saying a little white lie to protect your friend lover or even your parents. 3ut if you tell the truth even when the truth isn"t perfectly pleasant you will become much more trustworthy. Gind of a no'brainer right? %f you never lie people will sense that and you will be much more loved and appreciated for your honesty. ".- ?olunteer information. !hen an opportunity to be vague arises don"t take it. *olunteer information to your listener to prove that you have nothing to hide. Example of breaking down trust: "How did the meeting with the lawyer go?" "It went fine." Example of building trust: "How did the meeting with the lawyer go?" "It went fine. The whole day was stressful, getting all the do umentation together, and we barely made it on time. !ut we both signed and he said it would get mailed out tomorrow." &ou aren"t saying anything differentNthe meeting with the lawyer went fineNbut by volunteering information you are proving that you have nothing to hide. $.- Don't omit important !etails. The main reason it is best not to omit important details is because it is hard to keep up with a string of omissions. 4eople will start to notice contradictions in your stories and you will be considered a liar even if you are only omitting a little. Tell people things they need or want to know if you begin to provide reliable information they will trust you. %.- If you !o have secrets1 let it #e known. &ou shouldn"t be forced to give up your most personal feelings and secrets 9ust to be trustworthy. >veryone is entitled to privacy. 3ut the key to being trustworthy while also maintaining your privacy is to make the boundary clear. Example: "I am not ready to share my feelings on my ex"wife right now, but I promise you ha#e nothing to worry about." This gives your listener a chance to prove heFshe is understanding and patient but most importantly it gives your listener a sense of security. >ven if they don"t like being shut out they know that you will eventually divulge. 4retending the secret completely doesn"t exist will leak out unintentionally and simply make them suspicious.

'.- Don't mask truths. An off'shoot of $;ever lie$ is never to mask truths. Sometimes it seems harmless to $morph$ the truth into something more palatable to preserve your ego. ,or example a man not admitting that he"s broke that weekend may instead claim that he lost his credit card. The loss of a credit card is a harmless possibility but the risk of the truth emerging 6or the risk of your listener perceiving the lie7 will fracture trust. Tell the truth no matter the cost. (.- Deep secrets. ;o gossip allowed. ;ever blab someone else"s story. >nough said. &ou can only trust people who are discreet and those who can keep the same silences or protect your confidences. +.- If you !o lie1 a!mit to it. Sometimes it feels unavoidable to lie. %t is best to confess to your lie as soon as possible and explain your motives. %f you get caught don"t deny it. That is simply another lie. -.- Speak your feelings. 4eople who only convey hard facts come across as cold and distant. 1..- /ell the truth. %f being honest and truthful is critical you must be seen as someone who speaks the truth. 11.- Honor your promises. Trust requires that people believe you are dependable. 12.- Show openness. This implies relying on a person to give you the full truth. )istrust comes as much from what people know including what they do not know. 1".- Show consistency in your #ehavior. This relates to your reliability and predictability. %t also determines your ability and good 9udgement in handling situations. 1isplay loyalty. This refers to your ability to protect others to be on same side in their presence but most importantly in their absence. 1$.- Do not #reak promises1 however small an! insignificant they may seem. Trust requires that people know you are dependable. 1%.- Be competent. 2ain the respect and admiration of others by displaying adequate interpersonal or professional ability. 1'.- Demonstrate a strong moral ethic. This is particularly important in relationships. The other must feel confident that you will not falter or show betrayal in any form when away from the other. 4eople must not doubt your ability to be true or dedicated. 1(.- Be neutral when place! in !ifficult pre!icaments. 1o not choose sides until you make certain that you know the hard facts. 1+.- )im to #e o#>ective an! show fairness. !hen making decisions or taking actions consider how others may perceive this in terms of ob9ectivity and fairness. 1-.- Do not !isplay !ou#le stan!ar!s. Show consistency in your behavior.

How to Stop /hinking /oo :uch

2enerally we should think before we speak or act but sometimes we think so much that we fail to speak or act at all 6paralysis by analysis7 and allow that thinking to breed anxiety. This article will offer some advice to help you know when it is time to stop thinking and move on. 1.- Dnow when thinking #ecomes thinking too much. Thinking is something we need to do to survive so it is hard sometimes to 9udge when we are doing too much of it 6not unlike eating.7. A good rule of thumb# you know you are thinking too much when you start thinking the same thoughts over and over again 6ruminating7. 2.- :e!itate. %f you feel like you don"t know how to stop thinking you need to learn what it"s like to $let go$ of your thoughts so that it"s something you can do deliberately. %magine that thinking is like breathing+ you do it all the time without even realizing it. 3ut if you need to you can hold your breath. )editating will help you learn how to release your thoughts. ".- 0ut your thoughts !own on paper. Thinking is a mental tool that is ideally used to analyze your options ob9ectively. So on a piece of paper or on a computer define a problem write down your options and list the pros and cons for each option. Seeing your thoughts in front of you like that will also help you stop cycling through them in your head. 8nce you can"t think of anything more to write your mind has done its 9ob and it"s time to stop thinking. ;ext# ' ,ollow &our %ntuition. %f two or more options seem equally appealing thinking more will not make things clearer. This is where you listen to something deeper. ' Ask for advice. &ou may have exhausted your own thinking power but someone else might be able to offer a different perspective that makes the decision clearer. $.- )ct. At this point you"ve used your mind you"ve listened to your gut and you"ve gotten a second opinion. ;ow you must be bold. 8dds are if you think too much it"s because your fears get the best of you and you don"t want to mess up. 3ut there comes a point where you have to $fish or cut bait$. %.- ive in the :oment. 8nce you"ve resolved the thinking process and taken action focus your awareness on the here and now. &our mind will be tempted to pore over your decision making you doubt yourself and worry but what"s done is done. Stop !orrying and Start /iving. /ips2 ' !henever you feel overwhelmed with thoughts take a moment to relax and analyze before paralyze. ' 3e neutral and use the brain to communicate information effectively. The mind and action processor will work effectively when hormonal change and adrenaline flow are minimal.

How to Stop 3orrying an! Start iving

>veryone worries to various extents. %t could be about something little like what you think you got on a test or something big like getting a ma9or surgery. 1o you worry so much that you worry about worrying too much? %n the end if you 9ust worry about what"s going to happen tomorrow when will you have the time to live today? These simple steps could make you relax. 1.- ive in the moment1 most of the time. !orrying is something we do when we think about bad things that might happen in the future. So the less you think about the future the less you"ll worry. %mmediately stop the thought as soon as you recognize that you are worrying. The more you worry the more worried you"ll feel. Take out time for yourself. Take a shower and fix yourself up for the next day of school or work. &ou"ll feel better about yourself and you"ll stop worrying. Still it"s impractical to not think about the future at all if you have any sort of responsibilities. The next few steps will address that. 2.- /ackle your worries hea!-on1 an! swiftly. &ou can still anticipate problems and plan for them without necessarily worrying. The key is that when the worry enters your head you immediately address or resolve it somehow and then let it go. See How to 3e 4roactive. /et"s say you worry a lot about a house fire. Sit down as soon as you can and make a plan to implement all the steps in How to 4revent a House ,ire maybe one or two steps a week. ".- If a worry enters your hea! at an inconvenient time1 !esignate another time to a!!ress it. %f you start thinking about house fires during your child"s school play for example you might think to yourself $%"ll go home and make a plan at AE p.m. when the kids are in bed. There"s no use in thinking about it until then.$ $.- )nother approach is to make a list of all the fears that worry you. 2o through them one by one and make plans. Then... %.- :ove on. @nce you !evelop a reasona#le plan1 an! commit to following it1 there's no nee! to !well on the worry anymore. /et it go. The danger in worrying is when a scenario that you dread lingers in your head. Sure you could always do more like anticipating every possible outcome and taking every possible step to prevent each unwanted outcome from happening but you"ll spend your life preventing bad things from happening rather than en9oying the good things that have already happened. And you won"t even be able to stop all bad things from happening anyway. ' )aybe you need to learn to be comfortable with risk. %f you believe you"ve done enough to decrease the chances of something happening by say DMO accept that as good enough. There are simply no guarantees in life. '.- Don't recycle the past. )any of the worries we have about the future are fears that the past will repeat itself. !hether it was heartbreak or an in9ury or a natural disaster it haunts us and we want to do everything in our power from preventing it from happening again. (.- Stop trying to save the worl!. %f you feel like it"s your 9ob or responsibility to stop bad things from happening 6perhaps to your family your business or at all7 you"re placing too much pressure on yourself. There is such a thing as a hero complex and you might have it. The thing is you"re only human and to set yourself an unattainable standard will only cause pain and disappointment. Take the advice in How to 8vercome )artyr Syndrome to heart.

:emory 0alace

0eg :emory System

The 4eg System is a mnemonic method for learning and remembering lists of items. The method works by associating each item in the list with a previously learned $peg word$ that represents the numerical position of the item.. ,or very short lists peg words can be simple rhymes for the numbers for example# A.' 3un P.' Shoe :.' Tree B.' 1oor M.' Hive I.' Sticks Q.' Heaven D.' 2ate R.' !ine AE.' )en AA.' /eaven 6dough7 AP.' Shelve ,or long lists you can use the )a9or System to generate peg words for any number 78ample Suppose you wish to remember the order of signs of the Sodiac. To remember this sequence you would create memorable images that link together the peg word for each number with the corresponding zodiac sign. ,or example# ;umber A P : B M I Q D R AE AA AP Sodiac Sign Aries 6-am7 Taurus 63ull7 2emini 6Twins7 0ancer 60rab7 /eo 6/ion7 *irgo 6*irgin7 /ibra 6Scales7 Scorpio 6Scorpion7 Sagittarius 6Archer7 0apricorn 62oat7 Aquarius 6!ater'carrier7 4isces 6,ish7 4eg !ord 3un Shoe Tree 1oor Hive Sticks Heaven Skate !ine )en /eaven Shelve Association A ram with a bun caught in its horns A bull in high heels Tweedledum and Tweedledee up a tree 0losing a door against an army of crabs A lion attacking a bee hive A girl twirling batons 0loud formation in the shape of a set of scales A roller'skating scorpion An arrow shot at a glass of wine )en riding goats 4ouring water over bread dough A shelf of fish heads

6omments The 4eg System 6especially when combined with the )a9or System for generating peg words7 is wonderfully versatile The main disadvantage is that if you use the method for many lists you may have trouble remembering which of many possible associations to the peg word is the correct one.

:a>or :emory System

The )a9or System 6also known as the phonetic memory system7 is a mnemonic method for creating peg words for use with the 4eg )emory System. The method works by associating the phonetic sound of particular consonants to each numeral. )emorable words or phrases can then be generated to represent any number by linking successive consonant sounds together using vowel sounds.. 8nce the word or phrase to represent the number has been formed it is then used as a peg word by linking it with the item you wish to associate with the number. earning the 0honetic 6o!e %t is recommended that you learn the following standard set of numeral'sound associations. These have been well tested over the years and make it easy to generate words representing particular numbers. ;ote how the different letters corresponding to each numeral make similar phonetic sounds and require similar positions of lips and tongue. ;umeral E A P : B M I Q D R ;ull 0onsonant sounds s z soft c d t n m r l sh 9 soft ch soft g k hard g q hard c hard ch f ph v b p All vowels plus w wh h y Aid for )emory z is first letter of zero The letters have 8;> downstroke n has T!8 downstrokes m has TH->> downstrokes+ also m looks like : on its side r is is last letter or ,8<-. / is the -oman letter representing ME g is like I twisted round k is made up of Qs Script f is like D b is like upside'down R+ p is mirror of R 0an be added anywhere to make words or phrases

=orming 0eg 3or!s To create peg words for any number choose a word or phrase that is pronounced using a sequence of consonant sounds that corresponds to the sequence of numerals in the number. *owels 6and w wh h y7 can be freely used as fillers between consonants 6or at the beginning or end of words7. &ou will generally have several words or phrases that you could choose to represent a number. &ou should always choose the word or phrase that is most memorable. 2enerally words and phrases that are easily visualised are best.

78amples ;umber E A PE :B QBI PMRR IDM:BP 0onsonant Sequences 6s z7 6t d7 6n7 6s z7 6m76r7 6k q hard c hard g7 6r7 6sh 9 soft g7 6n7 6l7 6b p7 6b p7 6sh 9 soft g7 6f ph v7 6l7 6m7 6r7 6n7 Some 4ossible !ords F 4hrases S>A S88 T>A 1A& ;8S> ;88S> ;AS% )A-> )880A--%A2> 2A-A2> 2A-%SH ;A%/'484 G;>>/'3A3& SH8*>/')8-; 5%*>'/A)3'-<;

;ote# ,or long numbers form a sequence of words that you can then connect using the /ink System 6omments The )a9or System when combined with the 4eg System is a both powerful and versatile. &ou can use it for example to learn# '1ates of historical events. ,or example the first voyage of 0hristopher 0olumbus in ABRP can become 08/<)3<S'T<-3A; 6visualise 0olumbus wearing a turban7. 'The Atomic ;umbers of the elements. ,or example Silver 6BQ7 can become S%/*>-'-80G+ <ranium 6RP7 can become <-A;%<)'3A; '3est ,ilms at the 8scars. ,or example The Silence of the /ambs 6ARRA7 can become /A)3S' 4>T or 4>T'/A)3S if you want to recall the date of the award7. ;ote that you don"t always need to use the full year when you already know the century. '8lympic 2ames venues. ,or example Tokyo 6ARIB7 can become T8G&8'0HA%- 6visualise an elaborately decorated 5apenese chair7 '4hone numbers. ,or example Alice 6B:DB'PMBPA7 can become A/%0>'-88)',8-';%/'->;T. '&our credit card 4%; numbers. ;ote that you can often change your 4%; number to one that will make an easy'to'remember word. '&ou will soon find that the small effort you put into learning the )a9or System will be richly rewarded.

earn to 5emem#er 7verything2 /he :emory 0alace /echniBue

%"m working on an ebook about memory techniques. %f you are interested in knowing when it is ready be sure to subscribe to our newsletter. %n this post %"ll teach you how to have perfect recall of lists of items. /ength is not much of an issue it can be your shopping list if AE items or it can be a list with ME AEE or even AEEE. And in a forthcoming post %"ll show you how you how to apply this technique to learning new languages. Sounds good doesn"t it? The technique we"ll be learning is called the memory palace and is also known as the method of loci 6for the latin word locus meaning place7 and also the mind palace. A very useful tool in everyone"s toolbox. /he memory palace The memory palace technique began in the Mth century 3.0. when Simonides of 0eos poet was attending an unfortunate banquet in Thessalia. !hile he was away to talk with a courier who asked for him outside the hall"s ceiling crumbled killing everyone. There was no way to recognise the corpses... <ntil Simonides realised that it was no problem to recall who was where without having done any effort. Think about it# %t is not hard to remember who sits beside the host where your friends sit who is beside them and so on. This dawned upon Simonides and he is credited as the $inventor$ of the memory palace technique. !idely spread through antiquity there was not a lot of written accounts on it# it appears in the anonymous -hetorica ad Herrenium and 0icero"s 1e 8ratore. %t is not that strange that there were no written accounts it is like writing a book about how to put your trousers on. >verybody knows how to do it. The memory palace is well suited to how our brains have evolved. 3ack in our nomadic days we needed to know how to get somewhere 6the lake the plain7 and remember what was there 6fresh water hunting7. 3y taking advantage of this fact we can build an array of impressive memorisation techniques to ordered or unordered lists. -emembering lists may sound lame who wants to memorise a list...? 3ut lists are 9ust an ordered array of knowledge. !hat you study for a history exam is a list of ordered dates accompanied by facts and causes 6sub'lists7. !hen you learn a new recipe it is a list. A telephone number is a list of numbers. A poem is a list of phrases. 4our first memory palace2 #uil!ing an! filling /et"s start by creating our first memory palace. %t does not need to be a palace in fact it should not. 5ust think of your home and as a sample %"ll assume is really small# from the door you get to a small hall connected to a living room which leads to a kitchen a !0 and a bedroom with a balcony. This is a sample to memorise correctly you have to visualise your home or any other place you may know very well. &ou can of course use this mental image of an imaginary house but memorising may be harder be warned. ;ow consider the following shopping list# lettuce bacon onion rings S1 card and oranges. !e want to memorise it. % picked a short list to make the post shorter and make it fit in our small

imaginary home# try your hand with a longer list if you don"t believe we can do it with longer lists. To remember the list we have to place each item somewhere in our mind palace. This of course can mean one item per room or several items per room each one in a special spot in the room. The simplest method is to put each item in its own room when you are confident enough create additional trapping space in each room. Thus our small M'room house could be easily a M AE or AM places memory palace. To place an item we have to visualise it in the room and to make sure we remember it it has to be an extremely odd image. %t has to leave a clear impression and to do so it has to be surprising bizarre or sexual among other options. %f the image is dull remembering it is close to impossible. 3egin with the list. !hen we enter the front door we are greeted by Germit the frog only that this special Germit is made of lettuce like a talking lettuce. 0an you see it? ,eel the freshness of /ettucit"s leaves? %n the living room a stampede of pigs followed by Gevin 3acon with a fork should be bizarre and clear enough. %n the kitchen Scarlett 5ohansson plays hoola'hop with an onion ring. &ou enter the bedroom and to your surprise the bed is a gigantic S1 card# you can hide the bed by pressing it in to be read. ,inally you open the balcony to find that the sun is now a big luminous orange. %t starts to drip 9uice over the desert in front of your window. &ou should put all these images in a place you know like the palm of your hand# your home the house you grew up your office. This is very important. &ou may not believe it works at all but you will be surprised. % wrote the first part of this post in the afternoon and now more than : hours later % still can see clearly all the images. 8f course this is a short list... 3ut it would not matter# you could remember a list M times as long as easily as with this one. =in!ing an array of memory palaces To remember a lot of things you need to have a lot of places to put all these memories. &ou will need to find your own array of memory places. The first time % considered this problem % thought about creating imaginary palaces linked somehow by corridors. The problem? Artificial palaces get blurry very quickly and you tend to forget them. %t is far far better to use real places or at least places you can revisit in real life like pictures from a book levels in a computer game or buildings you can visit. Then % started to think about houses and places % could use... And % found that there are plenty. % still remember school mates houses from AI years ago hotels %"ve been buildings % have visited. % am sure you will find a huge array of places you can use. To begin with the technique use very known places like your house or office and as you get more confident with the technique start using older places. &ou can read more about this in 3uilding &our )emory 4alace 0ollection. =inal wor!s &ou have to get the knack of the method. 2et some degree of experience in converting everyday ob9ects 6like lettuce7 into long'lasting impressions 6like Germit the lettuce'head7. This only comes with practice like walking around your images of memory palaces. 4ractice practice practice. 3y the way can you recall the shopping list above?

How to Buil! a :emory 0alace

At the !orld )emory 0hampionships top competitors memorize the order of PE shuffled decks of cards in an hour and more than MEE random digits in AM minutes among other events. Think you have what it takes? 3elieve it or not almost everybody has the capability to perform such amazing feats. 0ompetitive memorizers donKt necessarily have Jbetter memories$ than the rest of us+ instead they learn and perfect a variety of mnemonics 6memory aids7 to improve their ability to quickly learn and recall 9ust about anything. 8ne of the most useful and widely used mnemonics is the memory palace a place or series of places in your mind where you can store information that you need to remember. !ith time and practice anyone can build a memory palace and they are useful for far more than 9ust memory competitions and trivia. HereKs how to build your own# 1.- Deci!e on a #lueprint for your palace. !hile a memory palace can be a purely imagined place it is easier to base it upon a place that exists in the real world and that you are familiar with. A basic palace could be your bedroom for example. /arger memory palaces can be based on your house a cathedral a walk to the corner store or your whole town. The larger or more detailed the real place the more information you can store in the corresponding mental space. 2.- Define a route. %f you will need to remember things in a certain order it is essential that you follow a specific route through your palace both in the real world and in your mind. Thus once youKve decided what your memory palace is decide how you will travel through it. %f you donKt really need to remember things in order this step is unnecessary but still useful as it makes memorizing your palace easier. ".- I!entify specific storage locations in your palace or along your route. !hen you use your memory palace you will put individual things to be remembered 6a number a name or a part of a speech that you will be giving for example7 in specific locations. Thus you need to identify as many locations as you think you will need. !alk through your structure or along your route and really observe it. %f your palace is actually a route such as your drive to work the storage locations can be landmarks along the way# your neighborKs house a crossroads a statue or a skyscraper for example. %f the palace is a structure you can put things in the different rooms. !ithin rooms you can identify smaller locations such as paintings pieces of furniture and so on. The key is to make sure the locations you choose are distinct from each other so that no location can be mistaken for another. $.- :emori*e your memory palace. ,or your memory palace to be effective you need to commit it to memory perfectly. The best way to do this is to actually draw out a blueprint 6or a map if the palace is a route7 which shows the landmarks or storage locations you have chosen. Try visualizing the palace when you are not there and then check your mental image against the map to make sure you have remembered every location and put them in the correct order. 4icture the landmarks in as much detail as possible# make sure your mental image includes their colors sizes smells and any other defining characteristics. %.- 0lace things to #e remem#ere! in your palace. 8nce you have constructed your palace and have it firmly implanted in your mind you are ready to use it. 4ut a manageable amount of information in each place. ,or example if your palace is your house and you are trying to remember a speech you might place the first few sentences on your doormat and the next few in the keyhole of your door. 1onKt put too much information in any one place and if certain things must be kept separate from others put them in different places. )ake sure that you place things along your route in the order in which you need to remember them if applicable.

'.- ,se sym#ols. &ou donKt necessarily need to put a whole string of words or numbers in a given location in order to be able to remember it and trying to do so can be unwieldy and counterproductive. 2enerally all you need to store in each location is something that will 9og your memory something that will lead you to the actual idea youKre trying to remember. Thus if you are trying to remember a ship picture an anchor on your couch. %f the ship is the <.S.S. !isconsin picture the anchor made out of cheese. Symbols are shorthand and make memories more manageable but they also can be more effective than picturing the actual thing you are trying to remember. (.- Be creative. The images you put in your palace should obviously be as memorable as possible. 2enerally images will be more memorable if they are absurd 6out of the ordinary7@see warningsC or if they are attached to some strong emotion or personal experience. The number APB is not particularly memorable but an image of a spear shaped like the number A going through a swan 6which looks like the number P7 and splitting the swan into B pieces is. &es itKs disturbing but thatKs part of what makes it stick in your mind. +.- Stock your palace with other mnemonics. There are many simpler mnemonics that you can use in combination with the memory palace. As an example suppose you need to remember a great deal about music composition. As you enter your kitchen you could see a little boy eating a piece of chocolate fudge which would evoke the first'letter mnemonic J>very 2ood 3oy 1eserves ,udge $ which would in turn allow you to recall the order of notes on the lines in treble clef 6>231,7. -.- 78plore your palace. 8nce you have stocked your palace with evocative images you need to go through it and look at them. The more you explore your palace the more easily you will recall its contents on demand. %n your mind you want to see 5ames 5oyce for example sitting on your toilet as if he belonged there and was really an integral part of your bathroom decor. 1..- ,se your palace. 8nce you have memorized the contents of your palace you can recall them simply by mentally walking through it or looking around it. %f you need to give a speech 9ust follow your route in order as you do so. %f you need to remember that your girlfriendKs birthday is )arch AI simply go into your bedroom and see the soldiers Jmarching$ on the bed to the tune of the DEs cult classic JSixteen 0andles.$ !ith practice you will be able to start anywhere in your palace or along your route to recall a specific piece of information. 11.- Buil! new palaces. A memory palace can be reused over and over again if you need only commit things to memory for a short time. 5ust replace the existing contents with new ones and youKll soon remember only the new ones. %f you need to remember the contents of your palace for a long time you can keep that palace as it is and create new ones in which to store other information as needed. %f your house contains the phone numbers of everyone you know you can walk to your workplace if you need to remember the order of a deck of cards. /ips2 ' &ou will need to prepare each new memory palace as you did the first so you may want to develop new ones before you need them. ' There are many variations of the memory palace such as the -oman -oom and the 5ourney. They are all based on the )ethod of /oci which sprang from the recognition that people are very good at remembering locations and if you can associate abstract or unfamiliar ideas with a well'known location you can more easily recall the things you want to.

' There are a number of books and memory'enhancement products available to help you learn how to build a memory palace. They can be costly however and not all are effective for all people. 4ractice the steps above and you may save yourself some money. ' 3e persistent. The memory palace is a very powerful tool but it is not necessarily easy to master. %f youKre looking for a quick fix to help you keep track of things get a pen and paper but if you really want to improve your ability to memorize things take the time to learn and practice this method. ' Also keep in mind that the modern age of computers brings many easy ways to build your own virtual palaces or simply choose from many of the other creations already online and take a virtual tour of them whenever you like. The impact is somewhat stronger than a drawing which makes the imprint into your mind quite effortless.

Develop 0erfect :emory 3ith the :emory 0alace /echniBue

The )emory 4alace is one of the most powerful memory techniques % know. %tKs not only effective but also fun to use N and not hard to learn at all. The )emory 4alace has been used since ancient -ome and is responsible for some quite incredible memory feats. >ight'time world memory champion 1ominic 8K3rien for instance was able to memorize MB decks of cards in sequence 6thatKs PDED cards7 viewing each card only once. And there are countless other similar achievements attributed to people using the )emory 4alace technique or variations of it. >ven in fiction there are several references to the technique. %n Thomas HarrisK novel Hannibal for example serial killer Hannibal /ecter uses )emory 4alaces to store amazingly vivid memories of years of intricate patient records 6sadly it was left off the movie7. 8f course most of us are not in 1ominicKs memory championship line of business 6or in HannibalKs line of business for that matter7. 3ut still the )emory 4alace technique is amazingly effective in all kinds of endeavors such as learning a foreign language memorizing a presentation youKre about to deliver preparing for exams and many others N even if all you want is to 9og your memory. /he :emory 0alace The )emory 4alace technique is based on the fact that weKre extremely good at remembering places we know. A T)emory 4alaceK is a metaphor for any well'known place that youKre able to easily visualize. %t can be the inside of your home or maybe the route you take every day to work. That familiar place will be your guide to store and recall any kind of information. /etKs see how it works. $ %teps to &se the 'emory (ala e Te hni)ue 1. 6hoose 4our 0alace ,irst and foremost youKll need to pick a place that youKre very familiar with. The effectiveness of the technique relies on your ability to mentally see and walk around in that place with ease. &ou should be able to Tbe thereK at will using your mindKs eye only. A good first choice could be your own home for example. -emember that the more vividly you can visualize that placeKs details the more effective your memorization will be. Also try to define a specific route in your palace instead of 9ust visualize a static scene. So instead of simply picturing your home imagine a specific walkthrough in your home. This makes the technique much more powerful as youKll be able to recall items in a specific order as weKll see in the next step. Here are some additional suggestions that work well as 'emory (ala es, along with possible routes: U,amiliar streets in your city. 4ossible routes could be your drive to work or any other sequence of streets youKre familiar with. UA current or former school. &ou can imagine the pathway from the classroom to the library 6or to

the bar on the other side of the street if thatKs the route imprinted on your mind7. U4lace of work. %magine the path from your cubicle to the coffee machine or to your bossKs office 6it shouldnKt be hard to choose7. UScenery. %magine walking on your neighborhood or the track you use when 9ogging in a local park. 2. ist Distinctive =eatures ;ow you need to pay attention to specific features in the place you chose. %f you picked a walkthrough in your home for example the first noticeable feature would probably be the front door. ;ow go on and mentally walk around your )emory 4alace. After you go through the door whatKs in the first room? Analyze the room methodically 6you may define a standard procedure such as always looking from left to right for example7. !hat is the next feature that catches your attention? %t may be the central table in the dining room or a picture on the wall. 0ontinue making mental notes of those features as you go. >ach one of them will be a Jmemory slotL that youKll later use to store a single piece of information. ". Imprint the 0alace on 4our :in! ,or the technique to work the most important thing is to have the place or route AEEO imprinted on your mind. 1o whatever is necessary to really commit it to memory. %f youKre a visual kind of person you probably wonKt have trouble with this. *therwise, here are some tips that help: U4hysically walk through the route repeating out loud the distinctive features as you see them. U!rite down the selected features on a piece of paper and mentally walk through them repeating them out loud. UAlways look at the features from the same point of view. U3e aware that visualization is a 9ust a skill. %f youKre still having trouble doing this you may want to develop your visualization skills first. U!hen you believe youKre done go over it one more time. %tKs really important to JoverlearnL your way in your )emory 4alace. 8nce youKre confident that the route is stamped on your mind youKre set. ;ow you have your 4alace which can be used over and over again to memorize 9ust about anything you want. $. )ssociate9 ;ow that youKre the master of your palace itKs time to put it to good use. /ike most memory enhancement systems the )emory 4alace technique works with the use of visual associations. The process is simple# you take a known image N called the memory peg N and combine with the element you want to memorize. ,or us each memory peg is a distinctive feature of our )emory 4alace.

The memory pegging technique is the same one described in the article T%mprove &our )emory by Speaking &our )indKs /anguageT so if you havenKt read it yet % highly advise you to do so. As described in that article thereKs a Tright wayK of doing visual associations# )ake it crazy ridiculous offensive unusual extraordinary animated nonsensical N after all these are the things that get remembered arenKt they? )ake the scene so unique that it could never happen in real life. The only rule is# if itKs boring itKs wrong. Although we can use the technique to memorize tons of information letKs start with something very simple# using our THomeK )emory 4alace to memorize a groceries list. /etKs suppose the first item in that list is TbaconK# )entally transport yourself to your )emory 4alace. The first feature you see in your mind is your homeKs front door. ;ow in a ludicrous way visually combine TbaconK with the sight of your front door. How about giant fried bacon strips flowing out from underneath the door reaching for your legs 9ust like zombies in those 3'movies? ,eel the touch of the Jbacon handsL on your legs. ,eel the smell of darn evil bacon. %s that remarkable enough? ;ow open the door and keep walking following the exact same route you defined before. /ook at the next distinctive feature and associate it with the second item to be memorized. Suppose the next item is TeggsK and the second feature is Tpicture of mother'in'lawK. !ell at this point you already know what to doV The process is always the same so 9ust keep mentally associating images until there are no items left to memorize. %. ?isit 4our 0alace At this point you are done memorizing the items. %f youKre new to the technique though youKll probably need to do a little rehearsal repeating the 9ourney at least once in your mind. %f you start from the same point and follow the same route the memorized items will come to your mind instantly as you look at the 9ourneyKs selected features. 2o from the beginning to the end of your route paying attention to those features and replaying the scenes in your mind. !hen you get to the end of your route turn around and walk in the opposite direction until you get to the starting point. %n the end itKs all a matter of developing your visualization skills. The more relaxed you are the easier it will be and the more effective your memorization will be. =inal /houghts !hat % like about the )emory 4alace 6and other pegging methods7 is that itKs not only extremely effective but also quite fun to learn and use. !ith 9ust a little bit of experience the lists you memorize using the )emory 4alace will stay fresh in your mind for many days weeks or even more. Also have in mind that you can create as many palaces as you want and that they can be as simple or as elaborate as you wish to make them. >ach of them is a Jmemory bankL ready to be used to help you memorize anything anytime. Associating physical locations with mental concepts is the most powerful memory combination % know. )ost other memory techniques 6supposedly more sophisticated than the )emory 4alace7 are at least in part based on the concept of physical locations being used as memory pegs. Have you already used )emory 4alace or a similar technique? !hat do you think? Any opinions or testimonials to share?

/he memory palace

% used to boast that % didnKt need a diary that % remembered pretty much everything % needed to know that % had a great memory and that % can remember a lot of information without the need of notes 6other than phone numbers. Since getting a mobile phone % have become incapable of remembering any numbers at all7. This wasnKt Jshowing offL as such 9ust demonstrating the power of the techniques % had learned and developed to improve my own memory. As with most psychological feats anyone can do it if they are so inclined and % hoped to Jlead by exampleL. However recently % have found that my memory has been failing me. -ather embarrassingly % canKt even remember peoples names on training courses. So % have been going back and reviewing and revising all the techniques % have learned and developed over the years to improve my memory. 8ne of my favourite 6and one of the most powerful7 techniques is the J)ethod of /ociL or J)emory 4alaceL. The )emory 4alace has been used since ancient -ome and is responsible for some quite incredible memory feats. >ight'time world memory champion 1ominic 8K3rien for instance was able to memorize MB decks of cards in sequence 6PDED cards7 viewing each card only once. As chance would have it this technique was demonstrated in a recent episode of The )entalist 6Season P >pisode AA# J-ose'0olored 2lassesL7 but % first came across the technique in Thomas HarrisKs JHannibalL back in ARRR. %n this the third book in the Hannibal /ecter series 6sadly cut from the ( frankly awful ( film adaptation7 1octor /ecter uses the technique to recall extensive details of his patients records 6we learn in the previous books in the series that /ecter is a JmnemonistL ( someone with the ability to remember unusually long lists of information7 and is able to internally ad9ust his perception of time so that he may Jquietly wander the halls of his own psycheL. 3ut in Hannibal this principle is expanded to depict the entire scope of /ecterKs Jmemory palaceL+ a four'dimensional building containing all the works of art texts and detailed memories 6including gruesome details of his murders7 which he wishes to preserve intact. Since reading the book the idea of a memory palace fascinated me and % tracked down details of how to develop one for myself this was around the time % was 9ust starting to get into ;/4 and associated fields. How Do 4ou Do ItA The great thing about the memory palace technique is that it is simple and quick to learn. % often teach it as part of my )aster 4ractitioner training and in about AM minutes % can teach people to be able to recall a list of PE or more random ob9ects. The memory palace technique is an association or JpeggingL 6more on that term in a moment7 technique based around Jspatial mnemonicsL or placing items to be remembered in specific locations 6in your thoughts7. et me e8plainE 3efore % begin a note to ;/4ers ( this is a technique based largely around visualisation 6but of course utilises all the senses to some degree7 if you donKt consider yourself a JvisualL person or maintain you do not learn or remember things JvisuallyL you need to work or building up your

visual sense. The -epresentational System you work with is the one most suitable for desired outcome ;8T the one you 9ust happen to prefer 6unless you really want to limit yourself?7. 1. 6hoose 4our 0alace &ou will need to pick a place that youKre very familiar with. The effectiveness of the technique relies on your ability to mentally visualise and Jwalk aroundL that place with ease. &ou should be able to Tbe thereK at will using your mindKs eye only. )ost people 6and % also recommend this7 start by using their own home 6you can choose a different place expand this one location or design your own once you get the hang of this technique7. 2. 6hoose a 5oute 8nce you have picked a location that you can visually clearly 6it doesnKt need to be as clear or clean as Jreal lifeL but it needs to be detailed7 you need to be able to define a route around your )emory 4alace. %n that route JtagL specifically defined sections where you can place information 6which is why your house is so good it has rooms in it which are perfect sections.7 ,or example when % started this technique % chose the house % lived in at the time so my sections were# +.,ri#e -.!a k garden ..(atio /.0it hen $.1ounge 2.Hall3%tairs 4.1anding 5.!edroom one 6.!athroom +7.!edroom two 6we lived in a small house and used to use the back door to go into the house.7 2o through you chosen )emory 4alace and walk around the route your have chosen as you do break it down into manageable sections 6AE is a good number to start with but it can be more or less depending on what feels comfortable7. ". )ssociate9 ;ow it is time to add the information you want to remember. The )emory 4alace technique works with the use of visual associations. The process is simple# you take a known mental location called the Jmemory pegL and combine it with the element you want to memorise. ,or us each memory peg is a distinctive section of our )emory 4alace. 8nce you have got the hang of it you can add more JpegsL by breaking each section down into specific feature 6for example you could break your lounge down into specific pieces of furniture# sofa coffee table television etc7 or adding more sections or locations. % found to begin with adding P items to remember in each room was ideal. %f you do this decide

how you are going to look around the room 6to make sure that you do not transpose the information in that section7 so always scan the section left to right for example. To really imprint your items that you want to remember you need to make the image crazy huge ridiculous silly funny and totally over the top. )ake it unique and exciting if it is boring you are doing to JwrongL and it probably wonKt work for you. So say you want to remember PE things on your shopping list# Transport yourself to your )emory 4alace and walk around it a couple of times to familiarise yourself with it JemptyL 6this is particularly important if you use it regularly to make sure you have removed the other associations7 then you want to start adding each item on your list to a section of the 4alace 6so with PE items in this case you need to add two items to each section7. So say the first thing your list is bacon you place that in the first section of your )emory 4alace 6which in my place would be my drive7 but donKt 9ust plonk a packet of bacon there make it crazy and memorable. So what could you do to make it memorable for you? )aybe a frying pan cooking bacon? 8r a big cartoon pig? !hatever works for you. 8nce you have the image firmly in place move to the next item on the list and do the same. ;et the i!eaA 2o through the list as many times as it takes to get the images locked in place so you can walk through your )emory 4alace and recall each item easily with 9ust one stroll 6very quickly with practice it will only take one Jwalk throughL7. And there we have it : simple steps to create a memory palace that you can use to remember information. &ou can use it to store short term information such as a shopping list or the contents of training or talk your giving 6this is what % mainly use it for7 or you can use it to store longer term information 6% use mine to store pin numbers and password7. $. Cust a few final hints '*isit your )emory 4alace regularly to keep the image clear in your mind mentally walk the route on a regular basis 6especially if you are using it to store long'term information '<se it. <se it every day to recall simple pieces of information the more you practice the better you will get and the faster you will get there. '%f you intend to use a )emory 4alace to store longer term information it may be worth using a different palace for the this purpose or a section of your main palace that you only visit to for this information '-elax. 8ver thinking your memory palace will actually make it harder to store and recall information. So there we have it a simple yet incredibly effective way of memorising a lot of information maybe you are study for exams at the moment? %f you are you can use this to memorise and recall all the information you need.

)rs :emorativa2 the )rt of :emory

0art @ne2 /he ,ses of :emory %n the current occult revival the Art of )emory is perhaps the most thoroughly neglected of all the technical methods of -enaissance esotericism. !hile the researches of the late 1ame ,rances &ates6A7 and more recently a revival of interest in the master mnemonist 2iordano 3runo6P7 have made the Art something of a known quantity in academic circles the same is not true in the wider community+ to mention the Art of )emory in most occult circles nowadays to say nothing of the general public is to invite blank looks. %n its day though the mnemonic methods of the Art held a special place among the contents of the practicing magician"s mental toolkit. The ;eoplatonic philosophy which underlay the whole structure of -enaissance magic gave memory and thus techniques of mnemonics a crucial place in the work of inner transformation. %n turn this interpretation of memory gave rise to a new understanding of the Art turning what had once been a purely practical way of storing useful information into a meditative discipline calling on all the powers of the will and the imagination. This article seeks to reintroduce the Art of )emory to the modern !estern esoteric tradition as a practicable technique. This first part $The <ses of )emory $ will give an overview of the nature and development of the Art"s methods and explore some of the reasons why the Art has value for the modern esotericist. The second part $The 2arden of )emory $ will present a basic Hermetic memory system designed along traditional lines and making use of -enaissance magical symbolism as a basis for experimentation and practical use. /he :etho! )n! Its Development %t was once almost mandatory to begin a treatise on the Art of )emory with the classical legend of its invention. This habit has something to recommend it for the story of Simonides is more than a colorful anecdote+ it also offers a good introduction to the basics of the technique. The poet Simonides of 0eos as the tale has it was hired to recite an ode at a nobleman"s banquet. %n the fashion of the time the poet began with a few lines in praise of divinities '' in this case 0astor and 4ollux '' before going on to the serious business of talking about his host. The host however ob9ected to this diversion of the flattery deducted half of Simonides" fee and told the poet he could seek the rest from the gods he had praised. Shortly thereafter a message was brought to the poet that two young men had come to the door of the house and wished to speak to him. !hen Simonides went to see them there was no one there '' but in his absence the banquet hall collapsed behind him killing the impious nobleman and all the dinner guests as well. 0astor and 4ollux traditionally imaged as two young men had indeed paid their half of the fee. Tales of this sort were a commonplace in 2reek literature but this one has an unexpected moral. !hen the rubble was cleared away the victims were found to be so mangled that their own families could not identify them. Simonides however called to memory an image of the banqueting hall as he had last seen it and from this was able to recall the order of the guests at the table. 4ondering this according to the legend he proceeded to invent the first classical Art of )emory. The story is certainly apocryphal but the key elements of the technique it describes '' the use of mental images placed in ordered often architectural settings '' remained central to the whole tradition of the Art of )emory throughout its history and provided the framework on which the Hermetic adaptation of the Art was built.

%n -oman schools of rhetoric this approach to memory was refined into a precise and practical system. Students were taught to memorize the insides of large buildings according to certain rules dividing the space into specific loci or $places$ and marking every fifth and tenth locus with special signs. ,acts to be remembered were converted into striking visual images and placed one after another in these loci+ when needed the rhetorician needed only to stroll in his imagination through the same building noticing the images in order and recalling their meanings. At a more advanced level images could be created for individual words or sentences so that large passages of text could be stored in the memory in the same way. -oman rhetoricians using these methods reached dizzying levels of mnemonic skill+ one famous practitioner of the Art was recorded to have sat through a day' long auction and at its end repeated from memory the item purchaser and price for every sale of the day. !ith the disintegration of the -oman world these same techniques became part of the classical heritage of 0hristianity. The Art of )emory took on a moral cast as memory itself was defined as a part of the virtue of prudence and in this guise the Art came to be cultivated by the 1ominican 8rder. %t was from this source that the ex'1ominican 2iordano 3runo 6AMBD'AIEE7 probably the Art"s greatest exponent drew the basis of his own techniques. )edieval methods of the Art differed very little from those of the classical world but certain changes in the late )iddle Ages helped lay the foundations for the Hermetic Art of )emory of the -enaissance. 8ne of the most important of these was a change in the frameworks used for memory loci. Along with the architectural settings most often used in the classical tradition medieval mnemonists also came to make use of the whole 4tolemaic cosmos of nested spheres as a setting for memory images. >ach sphere from 2od at the periphery through the angelic celestial and elemental levels down to Hell at the center thus held one or more loci for memory images. 3etween this system and that of the -enaissance Hermeticists there is only one significant difference and that is a matter of interpretation not of technique. Steeped in ;eoplatonic thought the Hermetic magicians of the -enaissance saw the universe as an image of the divine %deas and the individual human being as an image of the universe+ they also knew 4lato"s claim that all $learning$ is simply the recollection of things known before birth into the realm of matter. Taken together these ideas raised the Art of )emory to a new dignity. %f the human memory could be reorganized in the image of the universe in this view it became a reflection of the entire realm of %deas in their fullness '' and thus the key to universal knowledge. This concept was the driving force behind the complex systems of memory created by several -enaissance Hermeticists and above all those of 2iordano 3runo. 3runo"s mnemonic systems form to a great extent the high'water mark of the Hermetic Art of )emory. His methods were dizzyingly complex and involve a combination of images ideas and alphabets which require a great deal of mnemonic skill to learn in the first place. Hermetic philosophy and the traditional images of astrological magic appear constantly in his work linking the framework of his Art to the wider framework of the magical cosmos. The difficulty of 3runo"s technique though has been magnified unnecessarily by authors whose lack of personal experience with the Art has led them to mistake fairly straightforward mnemonic methods for philosophical obscurities. A central example of this is the confusion caused by 3runo"s practice of linking images to combinations of two letters. &ates" interpretation of 3runonian memory rested largely on an identification of this with the letter'combinations of /ullism the half'0abalistic philosophical system of -amon /ull 6AP:M'A:AI7. !hile /ullist influences certainly played a part in 3runo"s system interpreting that system solely in /ullist terms misses the practical use of the combinations# they enable the same set of images to be used to remember ideas words or both at the same time.

An example might help clarify this point. %n the system of 3runo"s 1e <mbris %dearum 6AMDP7 the traditional image of the first decan of 2emini a servant holding a staff could stand for the letter combination be+ that of Suah the legendary inventor of chiromancy or palmistry for ne. The decan' symbols are part of a set of images prior to the inventors establishing the order of the syllables. 4ut in one locus the whole would spell the word bene. The method has a great deal more subtlety than this one example shows. 3runo"s alphabet included thirty letters the /atin alphabet plus those 2reek and Hebrew letters which have no /atin equivalents+ his system thus allowed texts written in any of these alphabets to be memorized. He combined these with five vowels and provided additional images for single letters to allow for more complex combinations. 3esides the astrological images and inventors there are also lists of ob9ects and ad9ectives corresponding to this set of letter'combinations and all these can be combined in a single memory'image to represent words of several syllables. At the same time many of the images stand for ideas as well as sounds+ thus the figure of Suah mentioned above can also represent the art of palmistry if that sub9ect needed to be remembered. 3runo"s influence can be traced in nearly every subsequent Hermetic memory treatise but his own methods seem to have proved too demanding for most magi. )asonic records suggest that his mnemonics passed on by his student Alexander 1icson may have been taught in Scots )asonic lodges in the sixteenth century+ more common though were methods like the one diagrammed by the Hermetic encyclopedist -obert ,ludd in his History of the )acrocosm and )icrocosm. This was a fairly straightforward adaptation of the late )edieval method using the spheres of the heavens as loci although ,ludd nonetheless classified it along with prophecy geomancy and astrology as a $microcosmic art$ of human self'knowledge. 3oth his approach to the Art and his classification of it remained standard in esoteric circles until the triumph of 0artesian mechanism in the late seventeenth century sent the Hermetic tradition underground and the Art of )emory into oblivion. /he :etho! )n! Its ?alue This profusion of techniques begs two questions which have to be answered if the Art of )emory is to be restored to a place in the !estern esoteric tradition. ,irst of all are the methods of the Art actually superior to rote memorization as a way of storing information in the human memory? 4ut more plainly does the Art of )emory work? %t"s fair to point out that this has been a sub9ect of dispute since ancient times. Still then as now those who dispute the Art"s effectiveness are generally those who have never tried it. %n point of fact the Art does work+ it allows information to be memorized and recalled more reliably and in far greater quantity than rote'methods do. There are good reasons founded in the nature of memory why this should be so. The human mind recalls images more easily than ideas and images charged with emotion more easily still+ one"s most intense memories for example are rarely abstract ideas. %t uses chains of association rather than logical order to connect one memory with another+ simple mnemonic tricks like the loop of string tied around a finger rely on this. %t habitually follows rhythms and repetitive formulae+ it"s for this reason that poetry is often far easier to remember than prose. The Art of )emory uses all three of these factors systematically. %t constructs vivid arresting images as anchors for chains of association and places these in the ordered and repetitive context of an imagined building or symbolic structure in which each image and each locus leads on automatically to the next. The result given training and practice is a memory which works in harmony with its own innate strengths to make the most of its potential. The fact that something can be done however does not by itself prove that it should be done. %n a time when digital data storage bids fair to render print media obsolete in particular questions of

how best to memorize information might well seem as relevant as the choice between different ways of making clay tablets for writing. 0ertainly some methods of doing this once'vital chore are better than others+ so what? This way of thinking leads to the second question a revival of the Art of )emory must face# what is the value of this sort of technique? This question is particularly forceful in our present culture because that culture and its technology have consistently tended to neglect innate human capacities and replace them where possible with mechanical equivalents. %t would not be going too far to see the whole body of modern !estern technology as a system of prosthetics. %n this system print and digital media serve as a prosthetic memory doing much of the work once done in older societies by the trained minds of mnemonists. %t needs to be recognized too that these media can handle volumes of information which dwarf the capacity of the human mind+ no conceivable Art of )emory can hold as much information as a medium'sized public library. The practical value of these ways of storing knowledge like that of much of our prosthetic technology is real. At the same time there is another side to the matter a side specially relevant to the Hermetic tradition. Any technique has effects on those who use it and those effects need not be positive ones. -eliance on prosthetics tends to weaken natural abilities+ one who uses a car to travel anywhere more than two blocks away will come to find even modest walks difficult. The same is equally true of the capacities of the mind. %n %slamic countries for example it"s not at all uncommon to find people who have memorized the entire =uran for devotional purposes. /eave aside for the moment questions of value+ how many people in the modern !est would be capable of doing the equivalent? 8ne goal of the Hermetic tradition by contrast is to maximize human capacities as tools for the inner transformations sought by the Hermeticist. )any of the elementary practices of that tradition '' and the same is true of esoteric systems worldwide '' might best be seen as a kind of mental calisthenics intended to stretch minds grown stiff from disuse. This quest to expand the powers of the self stands in opposition to the prosthetic culture of the modern !est which has consistently tended to transfer power from the self to the exterior world. The difference between these two viewpoints has a wide range of implications '' philosophical religious and 6not the least7 political '' but the place of the Art of )emory can be found among them. ,rom what might be called the prosthetic standpoint the Art is obsolete because it is less efficient than external data'storage methods such as books and distasteful because it requires the slow development of inner abilities rather than the purchase of a piece of machinery. ,rom a Hermetic standpoint on the other hand the Art is valuable in the first place as a means of developing one of the capacities of the self the memory and in the second place because it uses other capacities '' attention imagination mental imagery '' which have a large role in other aspects of Hermetic practice. /ike other methods of self'development the Art of )emory also brings about changes in the nature of the capacity it shapes not merely in that capacity"s efficiency or volume+ its effects are qualitative as well as quantitative '' another issue not well addressed by the prosthetic approach. 8rdinarily memory tends to be more or less opaque to consciousness. A misplaced memory vanishes from sight and any amount of random fishing around may be needed before an associative chain leading to it can be brought up from the depths. %n a memory trained by the methods of the Art by contrast the chains of association are always in place and anything memorized by the Art can thus be found as soon as needed. >qually it"s much easier for the mnemonist to determine what exactly he or she does and does not know to make connections between different points of knowledge or to generalize from a set of specific memories+ what is stored through the Art of )emory can be reviewed at will.

1espite our culture"s distaste for memorization and for the development of the mind generally the Art of )emory thus has some claim to practical value even beyond its uses as a method of esoteric training. %n the second part of this article $The 2arden of )emory $ some of these potentials will be explored through the exposition of an introductory memory system based on the traditional principles of the Art. 0art /wo2 /he ;ar!en of :emory 1uring the -enaissance the age in which it reached its highest pitch of development the Hermetic Art of )emory took on a wide array of different forms. The core principles of the Art developed in ancient times through practical experience of the way human memory works best are common to the whole range of -enaissance memory treatises+ the structures built on this foundation though differ enormously. As we"ll see even some basic points of theory and practice were sub9ects of constant dispute and it would be impossible as well as unprofitable to present a single memory system however generic as somehow $representative$ of the entire field of Hermetic mnemonics. That is not my purpose here. As the first part of this essay pointed out the Art of )emory has potential value as a practical technique even in today"s world of information overload and digital data storage. The memory system which will be presented here is designed to be used not merely studied+ the techniques contained in it while almost entirely derived from -enaissance sources are included for no other reason than the simple fact that they work. Traditional writings on mnemonics generally divide the principles of the Art into two categories. The first consists of rules for places '' that is the design or selection of the visualized settings in which mmemonic images are located+ the second consists of rules for images '' that is the building up of the imagined forms used to encode and store specific memories. This division is sensible enough and will be followed in this essay with the addition of a third category# rules for practice the principles which enable the Art to be effectively learned and put to use. 5ules for 0laces 8ne debate which went on through much of the history of the Art of )emory was a quarrel over whether the mnemonist should visualize real places or imaginary ones as the setting for the mnemonic images of the Art. %f the half'legendary classical accounts of the Art"s early phases can be trusted the first places used in this way were real ones+ certainly the rhetors of ancient -ome who developed the Art to a high pitch of efficacy used the physical architecture around them as the framework for their mnemonic systems. Among the Hermetic writers on the Art -obert ,ludd insisted that real buildings should always be used for memory work claiming that the use of wholly imaginary structures leads to vagueness and thus a less effective system. 8n the other hand many ancient and -enaissance writers on memory 2iordano 3runo among them gave the opposite advice. The whole question may in the end be a matter of personal needs and temperament. 3e that as it may the system given here uses a resolutely imaginary set of places based on the numerical symbolism of -enaissance occultism. 3orrowing an image much used by the Hermeticists of the -enaissance % present the key to a garden# Hortus )emoriae the 2arden of )emory. The 2arden of )emory is laid out in a series of concentric circular paths separated by hedges+ the first four of these circles are mapped in 1iagram A. >ach circle corresponds to a number and has the same number of small gazebos set in it. These gazebos '' an example the one in the innermost circle is shown in 1iagram P '' bear symbols which are derived from the 4ythagorean number'lore of the -enaissance and later magical traditions and serve as the places in this memory garden. /ike

all memory places these should be imagined as brightly lit and conveniently large+ in particular each gazebo is visualized as large enough to hold an ordinary human being although it need not be much larger. The first four circles of the garden are built up in the imagination as follows# /he =irst 6ircle This circle corresponds to the )onad the number 8ne+ its color is white and its geometrical figure is the circle. A row of white flowers grows at the border of the surrounding hedge. The gazebo is white with gold trim and is topped with a golden circle bearing the number A. 4ainted on the dome is the image of a single open >ye while the sides bear the image of the 4hoenix in flames. /he Secon! 6ircle The next circle corresponds to the 1yad the number Two and to the concept of polarity+ its color is gray its primary symbols are the Sun and )oon and its geometrical figure is the vesica piscis formed from the common area of two overlapping circles. The flowers bordering the hedges in this circle are silver'gray+ in keeping with the rule of puns which we"ll cover a little later these might be tulips. 3oth of the two gazebos in this circle are gray. 8ne topped with the number P in a white vesica has white and gold trim and bears the image of the Sun on the dome and that of Adam his hand on his heart on the side. The other topped with the number : in a black vesica has black and silver trim and bears the image of the )oon on the dome and that of >ve her hand touching her head on the side. /he /hir! 6ircle This circle corresponds to the Triad the number Three+ its color is black its primary symbols are the three alchemical principles of Sulphur )ercury and Salt and its geometrical figure is the triangle. The flowers bordering the hedges are black as are the three gazebos. The first of the gazebos has red trim and is topped with the number B in a red triangle+ it bears on the dome the image of a red man touching his head with both hands and on the sides the images of various animals. The second gazebo has white trim and is topped by the number M in a white triangle+ it bears on the dome the image of a white hermaphrodite touching its breasts with both hands and on the sides the images of various plants. The third gazebo is unrelieved black and is topped with the number I in a black triangle+ it bears on the dome the image of a black woman touching her belly with both hands and on the sides the images of various minerals. /he =ourth 6ircle This circle corresponds to the Tetrad the number ,our. %ts color is blue its primary symbols are the ,our >lements and its geometrical figure is the square. The flowers bordering the hedges are blue and four'petaled and the four gazebos are blue. The first of these has red trim and is topped with the number Q in a red square+ it bears the image of flames on the dome and that of a roaring lion on the sides. The second has yellow trim and is topped with the number D in a yellow square+ it bears the images of the four winds blowing on the dome and that of a man pouring water from a vase on the sides. The third is unrelieved blue and is topped with the number R in a blue square+ it bears the image of waves on the dome and those of a scorpion a serpent and an eagle on the sides. The fourth has green trim and is topped with the number AE in a green square+ it bears on the dome the image of the >arth and that of an ox drawing a plow on the sides.

To begin with these four circles and ten memory places will be enough providing enough room to be useful in practice while still small enough that the system can be learned and put to work in a fairly short time. Additional circles can be added as familiarity makes work with the system go more easily. %t"s possible within the limits of the traditional number symbolism used here to go out to a total of eleven circles containing IQ memory places. %t"s equally possible to go on to develop different kinds of memory structures in which images may be placed. So long as the places are distinct and organized in some easily memorable sequence almost anything will serve. The 2arden of )emory as described here will itself need to be committed to memory if it"s to be used in practice. The best way to do this is simply to visualize oneself walking through the garden stopping at the gazebos to examine them and then passing on. %magine the scent of the flowers the warmth of the sun+ as with all forms of visualization work the key to success is to be found in concrete imagery of all five senses. %t"s a good idea to begin always in the same place '' the first circle is best for practical as well as philosophical reasons '' and during the learning process the student should go through the entire garden each time passing each of the gazebos in numerical order. 3oth of these habits will help the imagery of the garden take root in the soil of memory. 5ules for Images The garden imagery described above makes up half the structure of this memory system '' the stable half one might say remaining unchanged so long as the system itself is kept in use. The other changing half consists of the images which are used to store memories within the garden. These depend much more on the personal equation than the framing imagery of the garden+ what remains in one memory can evaporate quickly from another and a certain amount of experimentation may be needed to find an approach to memory images which works best for any given student. %n the classical Art of )emory the one constant rule for these images was that they be striking '' hilarious attractive hideous tragic or simply bizarre it made 6and makes7 no difference so long as each image caught at the mind and stirred up some response beyond simple recognition. This is one useful approach. ,or the beginning practitioner however thinking of a suitably striking image for each piece of information which is to be recorded can be a difficult matter. %t"s often more useful therefore to use familiarity and order rather than sheer strangeness in an introductory memory system and the method given here will do precisely this. %t"s necessary for this method first of all to come up with a list of people whose names begin with each letter of the alphabet except G and W 6which very rarely begin words in >nglish7. These may be people known to the student media figures characters from a favorite book '' my own system draws extensively from 5.-.-. Tolkien"s -ing trilogy so that Aragorn 3oromir 0irdan the Shipwright and so on tend to populate my memory palaces. %t can be useful to have more than one figure for letters which often come at the beginning of words 6for instance Saruman as well as Sam 2amgee for S7 or figures for certain common two'letter combinations 6for example Theoden for Th where T is Treebeard7 but these are developments which can be added later on. The important point is that the list needs to be learned well enough that any letter calls its proper image to mind at once without hesitation and that the images are clear and instantly recognizable. 8nce this is managed the student will need to come up with a second set of images for the numbers from E to R. There is a long and ornate tradition of such images mostly based on simple physical similarity between number and image '' a 9avelin or pole for A a pair of eyeglasses or of buttocks for D and so on. Any set of images can be used though so long as they are simple and distinct. These should also be learned by heart so that they can be called to mind without effort or

hesitation. 8ne useful test is to visualize a line of marching men carrying the images which correspond to one"s telephone number+ when this can be done quickly without mental fumbling the images are ready for use. That use involves two different ways of putting the same imagery to work. 8ne of the hoariest of commonplaces in the whole tradition of the Art of )emory divides mnemonics into $memory for things$ and $memory for words.$ %n the system given here however the line is drawn in a slightly different place+ memory for concrete things '' for example items in a grocery list '' requires a slightly different approach than memory for abstract things whether these be concepts or pieces of text. 0oncrete things are on the whole easier but both can be done using the same set of images already selected. !e"ll examine memory for concrete things first. %f a grocery list needs to be committed to memory '' this as we"ll see is an excellent way to practice the Art '' the items on the list can be put in any convenient order. Supposing that two sacks of flour are at the head of the list the figure corresponding to the letter , is placed in the first gazebo holding the symbol for P in one hand and a sack of flour in the other and carrying or wearing at least one other thing which suggests flour# for example a chaplet of plaited wheat on the figure"s head. The garments and accessories of the figure can also be used to record details# for instance if the flour wanted is whole'grain the figure might wear brown clothing. This same process is done for each item on the list and the resulting images are visualized one after another in the gazebos of the 2arden of )emory. !hen the 2arden is next visited in the imagination '' in the store in this case '' the same images will be in place ready to communicate their meaning. This may seem like an extraordinarily complicated way to go about remembering one"s groceries but the complexity of the description is deceptive. 8nce the Art has been practiced even for a fairly short time the creation and placement of the images literally takes less time than writing down a shopping list and their recall is an even faster process. %t quickly becomes possible too to go to the places in the 2arden out of their numerical order and still recall the images in full detail. The result is a fast and flexible way of storing information '' and one which is unlikely to be accidentally left out in the car. )emory for abstract things as mentioned earlier uses these same elements of practice in a slightly different way. A word or a concept often can"t be pictured in the imagination the way a sack of flour can and the range of abstractions which might need to be remembered and discriminated accurately is vastly greater than the possible range of items on a grocery list 6how many things are there in a grocery store that are pale brown and start with the letter ,?7. ,or this reason it"s often necessary to compress more detail into the memory image of an abstraction. %n this context one of the most traditional tools as well as one of the most effective ones is a principle we"ll call the rule of puns. )uch of the memory literature throughout the history of the Art can be seen as an extended exercise in visual and verbal punning as when a pair of buttocks appears in place of the number D or when a man named 1omitian is used as an image for the /atin words domum itionem. An abstraction can usually be memorized most easily and effectively by making a concrete pun on it and remembering the pun and it seems to be regrettably true that the worse the pun the better the results in mnemonic terms. ,or instance if '' to choose an example wholly at random '' one needed to memorize the fact that streptococcus bacteria cause scarlet fever rheumatic fever and streptococcal sore throat the first task would be the invention of an image for the word $streptococcus.$ 8ne approach might be to turn this word into $strapped to carcass $ and visualize the figure who represents the letter S with a carcass strapped to his or her back by large highly visible straps. ,or scarlet fever '' perhaps

$Scarlett fever$ '' a videotape labeled $2one !ith The !ind$ with a large thermometer sticking out of it and an ice pack on top would serve while rheumatic fever '' perhaps $room attic fever$ '' could be symbolized by a small model of a house similarly burdened with the thermometer sticking out of the window of an attic room+ both of these would be held by the original figure whose throat might be red and inflamed to indicate the sore throat. Again this takes much longer to explain or even to describe than it does to carry out in practice. The same approach can be used to memorize a linked series of words phrases or ideas placing a figure for each in one of the gazebos of the 2arden of )emory 6or the places of some more extensive system7. 1ifferent linked series can be kept separate in the memory by marking each figure in a given sequence with the same symbol '' for example if the streptococcus image described above is one of a set of medical items it and all the other figures in the set might wear stethoscopes. Still these are more advanced techniques and can be explored once the basic method is mastered. 5ules for 0ractice /ike any other method of Hermetic work the Art of )emory requires exactly that '' work '' if its potentials are to be opened up. Although fairly easy to learn and use it"s not an effort'free method and its rewards are exactly measured by the amount of time and practice put into it. >ach student will need to make his or her own 9udgement here+ still the old manuals of the Art concur that daily practice if only a few minutes each day is essential if any real skill is to be developed. The work that needs to be done falls into two parts. The first part is preparatory and consists of learning the places and images necessary to put the system to use+ this can be done as outlined in the sections above. /earning one"s way around the 2arden of )emory and memorizing the basic alphabetical and numerical images can usually be done in a few hours of actual work or perhaps a week of spare moments. The second part is practical and consists of actually using the system to record and remember information. This has to be done relentlessly on a daily basis if the method is to become effective enough to be worth doing at all. %t"s best by far to work with useful everyday matters like shopping lists meeting agendas daily schedules and so on. <nlike the irrelevant material sometimes chosen for memory work these can"t simply be ignored and every time one memorizes or retrieves such a list the habits of thought vital to the Art are reinforced. 8ne of these habits '' the habit of success '' is particularly important to cultivate here. %n a society which tends to denigrate human abilities in favor of technological ones one often has to convince oneself that a mere human being unaided by machines can do anything worthwhile. As with any new skill therefore simple tasks should be tried and mastered before complex ones and the more advanced levels of the Art mastered one stage at a time.