ANTHONY METIVIER�S MAGNETIC MEMORY MONDAYS \M 1 Vol.

9 People around the world dream

of becoming fluent in another language or becoming experts in a professional field
using the powers of their memory alone. Yet so few will ever develop the vocabulary
needed to achieve these goals. Even with the best intentions and the best of
instructors, people struggle to memorize enough material to excel in their dream
language or chosen field of expertise. Why is vocabulary such a struggle? Many
people blame a lack of time. Some claim that memorizing the words they need to know
is too hard. Others try to learn by rote, desperately copying the words they need
to learn hundreds of times by hand, or by playing repetitive language-learning
videogames. The biggest excuse heard around the world is the saddest of all: far
too m any people claim that they have a bad memory. I sympathize with this. I used
to love claiming that I have a poor memory. In fact, the first time I studied a
foreign language, I silently swore in English so vehemently about my �bad memory�
that I would have been kicked out of class if my teacher had heard me speaking my
frustration out loud. And he didn�t even know English! I remained irritated with w
hat I perceived to be my poor memory until I decided to do something about it. I
studied memorization and ultim ately devised the unique Magnetic Memory system
described in my books. It is an easily learned set of skills based around the
alphabet, one that you can completely understand in under an hour. It is a system
that will have you acquiring countless vocabulary words at an accelerated pace.
Instead of struggling to learn and retain one or two words or pieces of information
a day, you will find yourself memorizing dozens of words every time you practice
using my strategies. It pleases me immensely to help people memorize foreign
language vocabulary and specialized terminology, especially when people regularly
describe to me how easily they were able to memorize their first dozens of words in
under an hour using the Magnetic Memory method. These achievements are thrilling to
me, thrilling for the people who use the techniques and they will thrill you too.
Magnetic Memory Mondays Newsletter Volume 9 By Anthony Metivier, PhD
www.magneticmemorymethod.com For Memorizers Everywhere WAIT! If you aren�t already
subscribed to this newsletter, you can sign up at: http: / /
www.magneticmemorymethod.com/signu p /. As a subscriber to the prestigious Magnetic
Memory newsletter, you�ll receive a free set of Magnetic Memory worksheets that
will help you achieve your memorization goals. W hilst subscriptions are currently
free for readers of my books, I�m not sure how much longer I�ll be making this
offer. Subscribe now and get the only information that will keep your memory
magnetic for years to come. And for a limited time only, subscribers will receive a
45- m inute interview I conducted with legendary world memory expert Harry Lorayne.
Sign up now. Table of Contents More Memory Palaces Than You Can Shake A Magnet At
The Old Magnetic Memorizer And The Vocabulary Sea The Charlotte's Web Of Memory
Palaces You're So Magnetic I Bet You Think This Memory's About You Empty The Cup To
Make Room For Memory A Magnetic Not-To Do List For Memorizing Foreign Language
Vocabulary Mnemonic Examples Outlawed. Banned. Burned To The Ground The Memory
Coach Who Would Not Be King Reach Out And Memorize Something We Already Know The
Magnetic Memory Method Works. But For Magnetic Memorization Purposes Only Magnetic
Memorization Translation W ith "Uncle Ez" A Psychologically Magnetic Memorization
Secret Don't Forget To Memorize Your Pills Here's How to Memorize A Song Fake It
Till You Memorize It Magnetic Memorization. Magnetic Rehearsal and Magnetic
Borderblur Memorization Doom. Gloom and Gut-Wrenching Despair Memorizing The Other
Trombonist Memorizing Vocabulary Down Under Magnetic Memory W ritten In A Country
Churchyard The Grapes of Memory Palace W rath How To Memorize A Bank With A Gun How
To Memorize W ith Someone Magnetically New Memorizing Kanii Can Be Easy (If It's
Done Magnetically') Don't Let Anyone Steal Your Magnetic Memory Retype To Memorize
- Is He Insane? The Weirdest Memory King In The World Foreword First off,
CONGRATULATIONS on laying the new foundation of your Memory Palace learning
experience. This volume of the Magnetic Memory Mondays newsletter is truly
groundbreaking. For the first time there is a collected package of tools,
strategies and insights needed to succeed with memorization techniques of every
kind ... ... an activity that I can promise is THE MOST IMPORTANT AND MOST EXCITING
PART OF LEARNING because learning and memorizing is the fastest path to
specialization in any field, ranging from learning foreign languages to memorizing
flight plans. The opportunity you have before you now is indeed an exciting one ...
You now have in your possession the supplementary tools and ideas that have helped
enable THOUSANDS of ordinary people with no special memory abilities to turn their
passion for memorization into a complete success. Now, you might be wondering, w
hat do I do first? Here's a STRONG recommendation. Take a moment to answer the
three quick questions I've concluded below. You can easily email me your answers
with "Memory Questions Answered" in the subject line for a free gift that will
continue your education in the art of memorizing specialized terminology. That's it
for now - you have lots to do and a very exciting adventure ahead of you! Chances
are you�ll already a member of the Magnetic Memory Family if you�re reading
this ... but if not, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter and watch your email
inbox for ongoing announcements. And make sure to get in touch with any questions
you may by email at learnandmemorizefa)zoho.com. Dedicated to m ultiplying your
vocabulary and Magnetizing your mind, Anthony Metivier Founder of the Magnetic
Memory Method www.magneticmemorymethod.com learnandmemorizefa)zoho.com Magnetic
Memory Question #1: W hat is your personal "Memory Myth" about your memory,
including any programming you may have received as a young person or continue to
receive in your daily life? How does this m yth affect how you think about your
memory? Magnetic Memory Question #2: W hat is the "distance" between where you are
now with your memory skills - and where would you like to be in the future? Please
be as specific as possible, including something like a deadline for when you would
like to see a difference achieved (five m inutes from now, tomorrow, next month,
next year, etc). Magnetic Memory Question #3: W hat is your education "action plan"
for completing this course so that you have total control over the improvement you
would like to see in this area of your life? Again, email your answers to me for a
special gift. More Memory Palaces Than You Can Shake A Magnet At Dear Memorizers,
You are amazing. The sharing of ideas, questions and comments that flows through
the Magnetic Memory Family is enlightening, elucidating and always educational. A
while back I placed some additional training in my foreign language vocabulary
memorization video course about finding enough Memory Palaces and received even
more ideas from this participant. Enjoy the wealth! Hi Anthony, I just listened to
lesson 38 about the problem finding new memory places. One strategy that worked
very well for me to come up with m any possible routes is to go through some
trigger lists of places from past m em ories.: Education/Work o Kindergarten o
Schools o Universities o Libraries o Office o ... Leisure o Cafe's o Cinemas o
Clubs, Bars, Discos o Zoo's o Shopping Malls o Gym's o Sport Events o ...
Celebration Places o Churches, Chapels o Birthdays Party Locations o (Graveyards) o
Amusement Parks o Galleries & Museums o ... Living o Personal Apartments & Houses o
Friend's, Relatives' App. & Houses o Grocery Stores o Liquor Stores o Tailors o ...
Routinized ways from one of the mentioned locations the another location o From
home to school o university to cafe o ... Hope this idea may help some people to
quickly generate new locations. Thank you kindly for these ideas! I think they will
help, and if you're reading this and can think of any more, by all means, please
send them in. No one should be starving for Memory Palaces in a world as developed
as ours! Dear Memorizers, It was Peter Drucker who said that effectiveness is more
im portant than efficiency. Yes and no. Especially when it comes to boosting
fluency using something like the Magnetic Memory Method. You see, the Magnetic
Memory Method, just like anything that dares call itself a "method," does require a
certain am ount of efficiency. W hat does this mean? For our purposes, it means
baby steps, or in more adult language, micro-movements and/or Kaizen. We start with
one Memory Palace and 10 stations. Then we practice using associative imagery along
a journey from station to station. From there, we build another Memory Palace until
we have 26 altogether. Easy peasy, but the whole thing is grounded on the idea that
in order to be effective in our language learning efforts, we're going to need
efficiency. Language is like an ocean, after all. Bring a teaspoon or a bucket, the
ocean doesn't care, but you're not going to be taking any of it home without some
kind of shape or form to carry it with. The Old Magnetic Memorizer And The
Vocabulary Sea Try using your hands. Go ahead. It will slip through your fingers
and evaporate before you've left the beach. Bring a spoon and you might make it to
the end of the beach before dropping it. Bring a bucket, on the other hand (all 26
Memory Palaces as taught in th e Magnetic Memory Method!. and you can take that
ocean water home and pour it into your aquarium where entire phrase-fishes and
grammar octopuses swim, ready for use whenever
you need them. The spoon and the bucket are different levels of efficiency and
will lead to different levels of effectiveness. Naturally, I w ant only the best
for you, dear Memorizers, only the Magnetic best. If you're not already on my boat
and sailing the Magnetic ocean blue, here's where to hop on board:
https://www.udemv.com/language-learning-onlinemagnetic-memorv/ Use coupon code
"teaspoonorabucket" for an ocean-sized discount on your one time investm ent in
filling your memory with Magnetic schools of vocabulary fishes. Dear Memorizers,
Here's an im portant question about building enough Memory Palaces and potentially
reusing them (and why you probably shouldn't when it comes to memorizing foreign
language vocabulary). The Charlotte's Web Of Memory Palaces 1 have read one o f yo
u r books and currently on the 2nd book (Re: Spanish). 1. I f l make a memory
palace o f m y home...such as, one station the living room... could I make 100 or
moreplaces in the room to leave images? Or is th a t too many places? Better to
make more rooms and lessplaces to leave things? 2. Do yo u re-use a palace or a
room after yo u have learned the inform ation ( that the inform ation is in long
term memory)? Thanks for this great question! W ith experience and practice, you
can definitely have 100 or more stations in a single room. This works especially
well with virtual Memory Palace elements such as book cases. For example, you could
say that a room has 10 imaginary bookcases with 10 shelves each. Then you would set
a num ber of rules, such as always traveling the shelves from top to bottom and
clockwise throughout the room. You also w ant to obey the rules of not crossing
your own path and not trapping yourself at all times. Obeying these rules is almost
always possible, but I've talked to some people who find themselves having great
results by being a bit more relaxed with these conditions. It's really up to every
individual to experiment and arrive at something that works based on the universal
principles. As for re-using Memory Palaces, this is entirely possible and something
memory champions do all the time. However, there is a huge caveat here for language
learners. Since we are not memory champions (at least not typically), it doesn't
really make sense to reuse Memory Palaces or assum e that because something has
gone into long term memory the original mnemonics will be of no use anymore. In
fact, it's quite the opposite if we are going for fluency. The reason is that over
time, we get to understand a great deal about how a language works by retaining its
multiple parts, particularly the "shapes" of words and how different word parts
alter meanings in several ways across several groupings. Being able to revisit
these words in a cataloged m anner over time also deepens our familiarity with and
ability to use mnemonics at ever increasing levels. They can become a kind of
reference guide for making new associative images, particularly if you are using
the principles of "word division" and "bridging images." Another way to think about
this is that we are building a spider web of words in our minds. The entire
construction is powerful, flexible and responsive when all the strands are tight
and easily m aintained by a quick visit. But by letting sections purposely lapse or
simply not attending to them, the structure as a whole is at risk as individual
areas start to suffer. This metaphor isn't perfect, but I hope it will help you see
w hat I mean. But if you do w ant to sweep some of the spiderweb away, this is as
simple as imaginatively traveling through a Memory Palace and either seeing
yourself or conceptually sweeping the place out. Some people like to get really
involved and even see themselves on their knees with a bucket as they scrub the
floor. I think I would use a janitor's Zamboni myself... I hope this answers your
questions. Feel free to get in touch at any time if you have any more. You're So
Magnetic I Bet You Think This Memory's About You Dear Memorizers, Here's an
interesting question about "dividing" cities into different sections for storing
the genders of nouns. As you'll read, I'm not personally a fan of the technique,
but you'll also note that I don't think it won't work for others. There's more than
one way to roll a Magnet (i.e. Magnetize your Mind). Here's the question: 1 hope yo
u don't m ind me w riting to yo u like this as yo u m ust be a busy man. Please
note that this w ill cease when 1 have m y Memory Palace in place. A t the m om ent
I am seeking advice on how to construct it. 1 know I didn'tfollow yo u completely
but 1 have placed a lo t o f yo u r ideas into various sheets I am putting together
listsfo r prefixes and suffixes as yo u advised: like your Abraham Lincoln fo r
'Ab� etc etc. However I wonder what yo u think o f the three districts (I am
copying fro m Josh) (der, die, das.) and using yo u r 26 Palaces follow ing on fro
m yo u r book. M y one snag is, 'w ill 1 get confused i f I use the same station fo
r each area, i.e. the fro n t door' Your comments would be gratefully received cool
or otherwise. First off, the Josh this Magnetic correspondent is referring to is
the very same Josh of http: / / mnemotechnics.org. If you're serious about
improving your memory, you're going to want to head over there lickety-split, get
signed up and start participating. In my not very humble, but always Magnetic
opinion, that is .;) Anyhow, I haven't read Josh's technique in its entirety, but m
any people have suggested splitting a city into different parts to deal with the
articles. I find this method unworkable because cities are not cleanly organized
and dividing them into different quadrants has never worked for me. It's too vague
and unstructured for my mind, and and the borders of cities are not clearly
defined. W hat could work is using a particular neighborhood just for words of one
gender, but I would have to experiment with this in order to find out how it works.
However, as Magnetic Memory readers and video course participants know, I find it
much more efficient to have fixed images that give me the articles arranged in
alphabetized Memory Palaces that are themselves filled with alphabetized journeys
that follow the principles of word division, compounding, bridging figures and the
like. W ithin these journeys, a boxer or boxing gloves always indicates masculine,
a skirt feminine and fire always indicates the neutral nouns (if the language in
question has them). Working in this way, I can simply move from station to station
and indicate the gender by including trigger information in the associative
imagery. Of course, other people need to come up with their own images, but these
are the ones that work for me. You can feel free to use them, or come up with your
own. As for the m atter of getting confused that you mention, the best thing to do
is experiment and find out w hat works for you. I think it's quite normal and
natural to experience about of confusion now and then when you're starting out with
something new. It's like playing the guitar. You might mess up a note or two for a
while in the beginning as your fingers learn the fretboard, but before you know it,
you're getting it perfect most of the time. However, even the most experienced
musicians sometimes trip up from time to time, but as professionals, they're able
to find their way back. And, as an aside, this is a key point about using Memory
Palace recall methods during conversation. Some people worry that they'll look
strange wandering through Memory Palaces to find the words they w ant to use while
speaking with other people. But it rarely happens. Even in our mother tongue, we
search for the words we w ant to use and sometimes fail to find them. However, with
regular use of a dedicated memorization strategy, you'll find that all aspects of
your memory will improve and any "blips" in your "performance" will just be normal
and natural as you "play" the language you have studied. I hope these thoughts
help. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I am indeed a busy
Magnetic Man, but I answer each and every question to the best of my ability w
ithin 24-36 hours. Why? Because that's the way my Magnets roll. Until next time,
divide the city like a pie (or not) and then teach someone else w hat you've
learned about Memory Palaces. Teaching a skill is one of the best ways to learn it
and helping people improve their memory is one of the best ways we can make the
world a better place. The more we remember, the more we can remember. And the more
we learn, the more we can learn. Dear Memorizers, One of my favorite experiences
during my university years took place in the Scott Library at York University. I
was wandering the stacks after the professor of a course I was taking on Kafka said
that we simply m ust read Paul Ricoeur. Eventually I found one of his books on the
shelves and, wiping away the dust, started reading deeply into the old pages.
Ricoeur, it turns out, is rather famous for w hat he calls "the hermeneutics of
suspicion." I won't get all academic on you, but basically this means that we need
to stop trusting language to bring us fixed meanings because words always have more
than one meaning and they always need to be interpreted, often more than once and
on more than one occasion. Anyhow, I got to thinking about old Ricoeur after I
received the following, possibly because this writer uses the name "Paul" in his
example: Empty The Cup To Make Room For Memory I learned about memory palaces a fe
w years ago and I was amazed a t how well it worked fo r learning lists. About 15 m
inutes after reading about it fo r the fir s t tim e 1 memorized a list o f 20
objects and could say them forw ard and backward days later. 1 thought about how 1
could use it fo r language learning but it didn't seem applicable. 1 already used
bizarre/violent/sexual m ental pictures to learn new vocabulary but didn't see how
adding the image to a memory palace could help. A fter reading yo u r book I'm
still not sure. A s I was reading through it I kept waiting fo r yo u to talk about
how to recall the words but yo u never did other than the very b rief m ention o f
conversation. How does the memory palace help with recall compared to ju s t the
images? The only way I could see it helping was i f yo u linked each word to its
palace but yo u never m entioned this. For example, I f I can't remember the word
"help" in Russian but I've added the name "Paul" to m y image o f the word then I
would know it began with the letter n. I thought about having a person or item in
each image wear a tshirt with the name o f the individual palace on it but it seems
to be a lo t o f work fo r m inim al return. I can ju s t use the same concept in m
y individual pictures w ithout using the memory palace a t all. A m i missing
something? How does placing the item s along a path help with recall? First off,
let me say that in no way are your doubts unwarranted. But sometimes we have to
empty the cup of the m ind so that it can be filled with new things. At the same
time, we w ant to read as widely into the m atter of mnemonics as we can because
there are interesting angles to be understood everywhere and ever thinker about
memorization strategies and memory tricks has something unique to add. As far as my
writing is concerned, there is indeed a chapter in the book on rehearsal and its
benefits for developing recall. Revisiting the words using a Memory Palace journey
is the alternative to using index cards or spaced repetition software and it works
gangbusters because you're using your own internal resources to find the words
you've already memorized instead of an external device that you will rarely (if
ever) have with you when engaged in real conversation. By using a Memory Palace
journey with the kind of rehearsal strategy I talk about you are training your m
ind to find the words in a completely organic manner, one that in a very short
period of time will become magnetic. I deeply apologize if the chapter in question
doesn't clarify this and will be addressed in the next edition. Until then, I m ust
adm it that a lot relies upon personal application and experimentation. I know that
m any have their doubts, and this is fine. However, every person I have coached or
who has used the system independently as prescribed (with their own personal
experimentation and adaptation which I also encourage as necessary throughout the
book) and gotten back to me later has had massive results. In any case, I have a
video about the rehearsal strategy that you may not have seen depending on the
edition of the book you read: www.y<mtube.com/watch?v=UMPMuOvfke4 I do hope these
thoughts help you on your Magnetic Memorization journey. Please feel free to
contact me with questions at any time. Until next time, interpret the Magnetic
Memory Method for yourself with as much suspicion as you please and then teach
someone else w hat you've learned about Memory Palaces. Teaching a skill is one of
the best ways to learn it and helping people improve their memory is one of the
best ways we can make the world a better place. The more we remember, the more we
can remember. And the more we learn, the more we can learn. A Magnetic Not-To Do
list For Memorizing Foreign Language Vocabulary Dear Memorizers, I started creating
to-do lists some years ago when I decided I would carry a notebook with me at all
times. It was orange and I vowed I would only ever write in pencil as I sat on a
bench and started sketching. As an aside, the reason I started sketching was to
train myself to be more visual. I still draw daily and it has had amazing results
when it comes to creating associative images in my Memory Palaces. The more I draw,
the more Magnetic my images seem to become. In any case, I also use the notebook to
create to-do lists and this habit has been very effective when it comes to getting
things done. Of course, Derren Brown in Tricks of the Mind makes the very
interesting observation that items in to-do lists tend to get down even more
diligently when they are stored in Memory Palaces, not just on paper. In any case,
the opposite of to-do lists are not to do lists, and I wanted to share this article
with you that I found. It's called "The Not To-Do List For Successful Language
Learners" by John Fotheringham (he seems like a pretty Magnetic dude). Here's the
link: http://l2m asterv.com /blog/linguistics-andeducation/methods/not-to-do-list I
have to admit, however, that I don't agree with point 5. Why? Because there are no
words that are "out of context." Language is a living, breathing, organic entity.
To even suggest that you could memorize a word out of context is like saying you
should never comb your mustache because it doesn't belong to your scalp. Noway,
Jose. Every word is worth is worth memorizing, especially if you're using a
dedicated memorization strategy like the Magnetic Memory Method. W hat makes it so
cool? So effective? So easy? So Magnetic? Why I'm glad you asked. For starters, it
uses at least 26 Memory Palaces. If you're reading this, you already know that I go
into great detail about w hat a Memory Palace is, how best to build one and the
best ways to prepare and predetermine them for memorizing foreign language
vocabulary. You also know that I don't have much patience for calling these things
"memory tricks." Magical, they are, but tricks, they ain't. I also teach you all
about bridging figures, word division, compounding and a whole host of other little
intricacies that some think make the whole m atter to complex, but most find
utterly fantastic once they put their nose to the Magnetic and give these ideas the
fourteen seconds or so it takes to start applying them today. Anyhow, here's one
more "do not" to add to this list. If you're n o t interested in using one of the
most compelling, easy to use and absolutely dazzling memorization systems for
rapidly boosting foreign language vocabulary, don't click on the following link and
do not use coupon code "donot" for a special, limited num ber (there are only ten
for the next 24 hours) discount on your investm ent in the Magnetic Memory Method.
Mnemonic Examples Outlawed, Banned, Burned To The Ground Dear Memorizers, More and
more I am asked to write articles about the Magnetic Memory Method. Naturally, I'm
thrilled to do it. However, recently I was asked to give some mnemonic examples. In
other words, create lists of how to memorize words using associative imagery. No,
no, no and a thousand times no. Why? Because it doesn't help anyone, dear
Memorizers. Not a Magnetic shred. Yes, I sometimes share associative imagery I've
used for the purposes of teaching others by modeling mnemonic techniques as I've
developed them for the Magnetic 21st century, but I never, ever, ever suggest that
people actually use these. You know, I don't m ind being a polarizing figure in the
world of mnemonics. I have no fear of telling you that this stuff is work. Some
people will run away kicking and screaming because they're looking for magic
bullets. And that's fine. More Magnetic bullets for you and me, dear Memorizers.
But the "work" I'm talking about is more like "play." Often reckless play in the
image laboratory of your mind. Let me stress two words: Your mind. Not mine. I
don't know if you know Weird Al or not, but using him as a bridging figure for
words that start with "Al" works gangbusters for me. Maybe you'd prefer Al Bundy.
The point is that, just as I can't sit with you and spoon feed dictionary words
into your brain, I can't spray associative imagery into your brain either. There
are all kinds of people who write books on mnemonics who do, however. They cram and
shove and force their books and training products full of examples as if the
learner is going to use those exact mnemonics. It makes me sad. Why? Because coming
up with associative imagery is easy to do. I've covered the topic in all of my
books, given multiple, extended trainings throughout the previous volumes of the
Magnetic Memory Newsletter about being more creative and I've openly discussed the
ways that I myself have become more creative using exercises such as learning how
to draw and going to art galleries to build my pool of visual vocabulary. Is it
work? By one definition, yes. And yes, walking through the Louvre put some strain
on my feet. But damned if it wasn't worth it when I sat down to memorize some
vocabulary and had a head full of zany images lapping at my Magnetic heals like
rabid dogs waiting to m unch down all the words I could throw at them. So no, I
won't create lists of examples beyond the demonstrative work I've already done. In
fact, in the article I wrote, I went into greater detail than I've done here to
prove why using the mnemonic examples of others probably won't work. And when the
article comes out (if it comes out), I'll share it with you. Just shoot me an email
and say: "send me the antimnemonic examples article when it's done" (or something
like that). In the meantime, stick to your Magnetic guns and then teach someone
else w hat you've learned about Memory Palaces. Teaching a skill is one of the best
ways to learn it and helping people improve their memory is one of the best ways we
can make the world a better place. The more we remember, the more we can remember.
And the more we learn, the more we can learn. Dear Memorizers, I started coaching
other people in using mnemonics for memorizing foreign language vocabulary quite
some time before I fully wrote out the Magnetic Memory Method, let alone turned it
into a video course. In my earliest books, I offered coaching and wound up meeting
some amazing people as a result. But no m atter how amazing some
people are, that doesn't mean they are right for my style of coaching. Have a read
through the following inquiry and my response to learn more about why. The Memory
Coach Who Would Not Be King Dear Anthony, 1 think I need some help with producing a
good memory palace and be able to apply yo u r suggestions in a way that I can
remember them. So 1 would like some lessons with you. I do have Skype and use this
medium fa irly well and a t the m om ent 1 have a native speaker Teacher who is in
m y opinion very good. However l STILL cannot speak German as l would like to-do
and this is due to the fa c t that l cannot remember the words ( which 1 kno w)
coming into m y m ind as fa st as 1 would like. To be honest it is the same with m
y English, (and not in m y opinion associated with old age.). L am 77years old. Now
to start with L would i f possible like to start with 3 areas which L know very
well. 1 have explained this to before. 1 would like to use the der, die, das fo r
these areas. This im m ediately tells me the gender o f the word. 1 have w ordsfor
the plurals o f nouns which 1 have printed out and this provides me with a basic
outline. Ho wever the tricky b it is the Memory Palaces and 1 am not sure how to
construct these. 1 like yo u r alphabet system and some o f yo u r words a refirst
class. 1 have called ver = fu r (a fu r coat) but 1 notice that yo u have called it
Vera. My wife is Veronica and is called Vera fo r short.. 1 should and w ill use
this word now. 1 have been working diligently on w riting a list o f suffixes and
prefixes down with a view to substituting a word fo r them when 1 have fin ish ed
the list. 1 have still to-do the Alphabet and I have thought o f using the
telephonic system. 1 am not sure. A nd th a t�s a sfa r as 1 have g o t with the
Mnemonics system. A t the m om ent 1 am still involved with the Goldlist system but
this has taken a back seat since 1 read yo u r book. Thank you very much for this
note and your confidence in my approach to mnemonics for memorizing foreign
language vocabulary. And a hearty congratulations on your amazing progress so far!
I have essentially retired from personal coaching/training and take new clients
only on a very exclusive basis. The requirement to get into personal training with
me starts with filling out and subm itting the Magnetic Memory Worksheets (see
attached). Filling out these worksheets is something very few people are willing to
do and this reluctance limits their success with the Magnetic Memory Method overall
and makes the personal training I offer little more than inspirational (because I m
ust adm it that I'm a pretty inspirational chap to hang around with). However,
without the critical step of filling out the Magnetic Memory Worksheets, the client
is not technically using the Magnetic Memory Method and I haven't really got
anything further I can do to help them. That said, if you are willing to fill out
these Worksheets, which guide you through the process of identifying at least 26
Memory Palaces and finding at least 10 stations within each Memory Palace, then I
can and will help you further along your quest because you have proven your
willingness to do the basic groundwork. Some people can fill out the Magnetic
Memory Worksheets in under an hour. In my personal experience, and the experience
of most people I've agreed to coach, filling them out takes between 2-5 hours. Some
people struggle with finding that m any Memory Palaces in their past, which is one
of the reasons why I created the Magnetic Memory Newsletter. I don't know if you've
signed up for it or if you have any of the back issues, but you'll find literally
dozens of ideas that will help you improve your understanding of the Magnetic
Memory Method and mnemonics in general. Plus, you'll learn how to find countless
Memory Palaces based on your personal experiences in life. I've created the
Magnetic Memory Newsletter to be a kind of "coach in a newsletter," a daily
reminder for those serious about improving their memory skills and using their m
ind to memorize foreign language vocabulary that they can do it and it is only a
less-thaneffective attitude about the power of the hum an m ind that stands in the
way. I've also created a video course that you may not be aware of. In this course,
you can hear my voice as I walk you through all of the steps with highlighted words
and concepts on the screen. As a member of the course, you get all of the previous
issues of the Magnetic Memory Newsletter included and I update the course nearly
every week with a new audio training that you can easily listen to for new ideas
and inspiration. Also, there is an emerging discussion in the questions area where
people share ideas. For example, there was recently a really great set of
suggestions about how to find Memory Palaces for that tricky letter X. If you read
the questions and answers, you will learn even more. And of course you can post
questions of your own at any time. I endeavor to answer them w ithin 24-36 hours.
Here's the link to the course where you'll also find a lesson in the promo video
and a full introduction to the course in the free sample video:
https://www.udemv.com/language-learning-onlinemagnetic-memorv This course may or m
any not be for you, and you may still w ant to seek out my personal coaching after
taking it. Nonetheless, the real price of entry to my personal help is filling out
the Magnetic Memory Worksheets. Yes, some people complain that I should be more
flexible about this prerequisite, but the fact of the m atter remains that filling
out the Magnetic Memory Worksheets is Lesson 1, Exercise 1. It's kind of like
learning music. Your teacher can explain the notation system, but until you've sat
down and learned to read and see how those notes correspond to your instrum ent,
the teacher can't help you understand the duration of the notes, much less play
scales. And then, of course, practicing playing scales is something the student has
to do on his or her own before "proving" to the teacher that time has been spent on
the work. But unlike m any music teachers I know, I often fire clients. More often
than that, I fire them before they have a chance to become a client because they
don't to the essential groundwork which costs them nothing more than some time
spent moving pleasantly through their own personal set of Magnetic Memory Lanes.
Even if I don't fire clients, I limit the training to four hours and only continue
with people under circumstances of ongoing guidance and inspiration because they've
proven that they are truly devoted to developing these skills. In sum, I do hope
that you will take me up on this incredible offer to fill out and subm it your
completed Magnetic Memory Worksheets so that we can proceed with personal training,
but if not, or if in the meantime you would like access to more training, check out
the back issues of the Magnetic Memory Newsletter (see the links in my Magnetic
signature below) or take advantage of the coupon I've created just for you to join
my video course community. Please let me know at any time if you have any
questions. Reach Out And Memorize Something Dear Memorizers, Here's a cool little
idea that came in from Jon, who wrote this wonderful article about my video course.
His article has a great title, so make sure to read it: Memorize the Dictionary?
Are You Serious? H i Anthony, S till enjoying the learning journey! I'm still a
little slow with the process, partly because I'm still shifting around things a b
it to customize the techniques fo r Chinese tones and fin d what works best. One
thing I'vefound really helps me in the compounding process is to associate tactile
things with the scenes - textures - this kind o f m aterial rubbing against that
whether it's plastic slapping against glass or the touch o f vinyl, hair or such
things. Those types o f images really seem to stick fo r me perhaps like none
other. I'd be curious i f this is som ething pretty universal fo r memorizers or i
f a sm aller percentage are more inclined this way. W ould like to know i f you
have any experience or knowledge about this! I know it's popular to talk about
'visual learner' or 'tactile learner' and so fo rth . B ut I've actually never
before stum bling on this identified m yself as a so-called tactile learner. I've
never fo u n d those classifications very meaningful actually. I t seems to me m
ost everyone tends to place themselves in the 'visual learner'group by default. I'm
glad to hear that you're experimenting and would love to hear about - and share
with others - your variations on the technique. Yes, it's odd that everyone is a
visual learner by default. Greater focus on the kinesthetic, auditory, gustatory,
olfactory and conceptual approaches to learning could really help a lot of people.
Although I haven't worked with the kinds of tactile images you are talking about, I
do use a lot of auditory "images," which is to say making sure I imaginatively hear
w hat I see. A classic example that I use very often is when I set something down
that I know I'm going to lose, like a set of keys or a pen. I see them explode in
that location, but I also take a second to make sure I've heard the location. I'll
pet ten Magnetic hens that if I focus on the texture of the flames and the physical
nature of the dirt flying out all over the place, I'll not only have more fun with
this technique, but also experience more instant recall (it's already might
Magnetic, but I'll always welcome even the tiniest am ount of increased Magnetic
Memory Might whenever I can get it). And I really like your tactile approach more
and more the more I consider it. As I've discussed m any times, I'm not
particularly visual and always need to encourage m yself in this direction through
drawing daily and looking at art in a way that is normally outside of my
interest. Doing that, of course, has been great. Not only do I appreciate art
more, but it also uses dorm ant parts of my brain, which leads to all kinds of
other great effects. Also, it's worth mentioning that when I memorize faces to go
along with the names, I "see" myself drawing their faces quickly into a sketchbook.
I'm willing to bet that imaginatively feeling the pencil and paper in my
imaginative hands will add a great deal more effectiveness to this technique). It's
also worth mentioning another major tactile idea I've heard of from a course
participant and I wound up trying it for myself with great results. This approach
involves, not imagining associative imagery in terms of kinesthetics, but actually
running one's hand along the wall of a prospective Memory Palace. For example, if
you are using your home, this person discovered greater success merely by taking a
moment to run her hand along the walls she experienced much greater success. I
decided to give this a try just to see w hat would happen, and it actually does
have a compound effect. I don't know exactly why this should be - 1 am, after all,
deeply familiar with the place I live. Nonetheless, the associative imagery I
placed along the journey seemed to stick even more vibrantly than usual. Of course,
I have Memory Palaces all over the world and it's impractical to get in a jet just
to make physical contact with them all ... but for future Memory Palaces, this is
entirely doable and I highly recommend it. I did it throughout my trip in Sweden
and now these Memory Palaces are far more vibrant in my m ind than the ones I have
used before after merely staying in a hotel room. In the meantime, I'm going to try
your idea of making the images themselves more tactile, spread the word about this
strategy and enjoy the results. We Already Know The Magnetic Memory Method Works,
But ... Dear Memorizers, Here's are some Magnetically glowing words of trium ph I
received in the mail recently: A ll m y memory palaces are in place and it works
well with "normal" words. I t is a little more difficu lt to memorise vocabularyfor
w ordslike "in, to, only, at, on..." But I'm getting there, slowly but surely. Have
noticed that I should not be too eager to try to learn to many words a day... not
yet... in fo u r days I have managed to memorize approximately 90 words. All I
really w ant to add to these words of success beyond a hearty congratulations on
your phenomenal success is this: I think you're right that in the beginning slow
progress is better than rushing. In fact, setting a daily limit that you gradually
increase is great over the long run in terms of developing consistency and fluency.
For Magnetic Memorization Purposes Only Dear Memorizers, I'll introduce this today
only by saying this letter call and response is long, detailed and packed with
Magnetic power. Hi, Anthony, i f yo u have the time, I would like to ask yo u a
question about how to organize images in a journey when there are thousands o f
images needed and how to choose support images i f there are so many, and how to
choose images used to encode inform ation, again, when there are so many. M y
question therefore relates to the m ethod o f loci or any variation thereof.
Infact, m y question actually points out a dilemma that is perhaps not readily
obvious. First, again tim e perm itting, I w ill describe two ideal points about m
ental images in the well known m ethod o f loci. The image, especially i f a
support image, has to be intim ately remembered enough, visually, that it can be
envisaged in detail and perhapsfor an extended duration rather than a mere split
second, which is often the case with images that are less ideal fo r this method. 1
say that the images has to be intim ately remembered in that i f it is not it
doesn't not serve as a very useful mnemonic tool fo r this method. Another
essential fa cto r about this m ethod seems to be the location. A room or apartm
ent or work place, one's house etc, are all ideal in that we see them everyday.
They are easily m anipulated in the m ind's eye and as objects are visually
corroborated by short term memory as well as by long term memory. But, they are lim
ited in number or, in size. In a larger place that is not memorized visually in the
long term but with which we are somewhat recently fam iliar, the spatial dimensions
seem easy enough to remember, but as we all know, spatial dimensions are o f little
use in mnemonic terms. However, i f we choose a largerplace as ourpalace orjourney,
we then have to satisfy the two factors I fir s t outlined. One o f them is o f
course the detail o f the images, and another is organization. Ho w does one
organize so big a place so th a t it is navigable? This question seems rather naive
a t first, but in practical terms, this question asks how one can memorize so many
thousands o f words and how one can know where to fin d , say, word 3,457 versus
word2,029. To give some perspective, in one's own apartment, it is easy enough to
say, "in every room attach fiv e images, fro m le ft to right andfrom top to
bottom. "But in ajourney or palace where one is encoding over fiv e to ten thousand
images, it is very d ifficult to fin d rooms that are organized in as convenient
and memorized a way as they are in one's own apartm ent or house and which are so
unforgettably well known to him. The dilemma is clearer when we choose a workplace
or the like, the quality o f the images in mnemonic terms being absolutely ideal in
m ost cases. Like I said, such images in a workplace (home, apt, etc) are
corroborated by both short and long term memory, often. But, i f we do in fa c t
choose such a place, then the availability fo r images is very, very lim ited;
whereas, i f we choose a largerplace, then we lose the quality o f the images and
the images to be encoded are much less likely to be recalled and w ill inevitably
require a great deal o f repetition, defeating somewhat the p oint o f the m ethod
to begin with. Instead o f using these two m ethodsfor so much inform ation, a Dr.
Chooi memorized a dictionary o f more than eight thousand words. This fe a t is no
doubt very hard. He explains that he attached his encoding images onto support
images and that the support images were attached to the page number, which was itse
lf made up o f a number and corresponding image in his head. This is certainly
ideal, but only i f each support image is used to support a single encoding image,
or a possibly two or three. B ut i f each support image is fille d up with fiv e or
ten encoding images, then th a t is very different fo r the recall process. 1 guess
1 could compare it to a sponge. I f a sponge has a fiv e percent saturation level,
the sponge is very easy to carry while also retaining the water. B ut i f it is
saturated to say a level o f 80 percent, a t a p oint it w ill become difficu lt to
retain the water and likewise to carry. I f every support image is used to support
ten or so other images, it is also very im portant how they are attached to the
support image. I f they are attached one atop the other instead o f all over and
around the support image. Forgetting a single image where six more rest means
effectively forgetting the six other images. Yet, again, one can hardly consider
attaching various images all around the support image i f it is so weak a feature o
f his memory, as m ost o f the visualpast is when it is so little repeated. I am
sorry m y message is so long. It's ju st th a t I have tried this m ethod a lo t o
f tim es and repeated it on some occasionsfor a set o f words th a t I later fo rg
o t because I was unable to recall the encoded images, I assume because o f the
problems I explained here. I f yo u do not understand som ething I have explained,
or do not have the time, please let me kno w. Thank y o u fo r yo u r help! First
off, congratulations for the efforts you have been making in memory improvement.
Second, thank you kindly for this set of fascinating questions and deep
introspection into using mnemonics for storing foreign language vocabulary. The
first thing I would like to suggest is that the sponge metaphor you have used is
great, but ultim ately irrelevant. The m ind is not like a sponge, nor is it like a
computer, which is the other dom inant metaphor people mistakenly use to describe
the operations of the hum an brain. The m ind is a flexible entity that, while
certainly limited, is limited to the degree that we accept limitations and fail to
forge forward with new ideas, loopholes and other internal innovations. W ith
specific reference to Memory Palaces, it is extremely unlikely that the body is
going to visit so many places that the m ind will become too saturated to contain
them all. True, you can't think of every place you've visited all at once and you
might forget the order of where you've been or maybe forget to include a place that
you've been or perhaps you didn't pay attention to places you've seen at all in the
first place, but the m ind can actively retain all of these places. And you can
specifically train it to do so even better when you visit new places from here on
in. And the more places you visit, the more "space" you have in your head in which
to roam. That means more space in which to place associative imagery that will
trigger the material you w ant to remember. The m ind doesn't get any heavier and
the journeys you create won't decay (even though the locations themselves will
likely change drastically over the years). Should a person experience any trouble
revisiting certain locations, it's easy enough to mentally walk through them and
re-constitute them with a bit of focus. You are right that familiar places are more
manageable. Derren Brown mentions some scientific research that supports this in
Tricks of the Mind. I gave away my copy to a friend so I can't look
up the reference for you right now, but I'm sure the research is very interesting
and quite correct. That said, I believe that places can be made more familiar with
a simple trick that one of my readers and video course participants mentioned to
me. It involves simply running your hands along the walls. That might be weird to
do in a m useum, but this works gangbusters in terms of making Memory Palaces much
more vivid and responsive. Although it's not always possible to make physical
contact with places like the Louvre, for example, even pretending to do this will
help a great deal. And one should spend a bit of time really making the Memory
Palaces bright and vivid and large in the m ind just as one would with any and all
associative images he or she creates. As with most limitations, the num ber of
places we are familiar with is up to us. Anyone can self-consciously add a new
library, museum, restaurant, hotel room, pub, house of a friend (or lover), concert
hall, etc. You can go to these places with the specific intention to make them
familiar to yourself. And if you live out on the countryside, there are fields and
forest paths and abandoned graveyards, etc. I accept no excuses in this area
because people serious about using Memory Palaces can get serious about finding all
the Memory Palaces they'll ever need within a 25-50 kilometer radius. As to
managing the journey through different Memory Palaces, I don't think there is
anything particularly difficult about this so long as you take care not to trap
yourself or cross your own path. You do need to engage in some preparation and
predetermination exercises in order to ensure success with this, but that's a minor
thing that people using Memory Palaces should be doing anyway. A lot of the
problems people have with forgetting the images they've created to trigger the
target information is easily explained. They haven't: a) made them large, vibrant,
colorful and exploding with zany, exaggerated action. It takes just a few seconds
to a few moments to really "meditate" on, not just the images themselves, but their
vibrancy. Just today someone suggested adding "texture" to the images and even
thinking about how it would feel for the fabrics and material reality of the images
to interact with one another. Concentrate on getting real with these elements of
your associative imagery and you'll see results. b) the memorizer hasn't made the
action memorable enough. I'm sorry, but you've got to apply a rubberneck principle
here. It's got to be as intense as a car crash. This is probably the num ber one
thing that turns people off from mnemonics. It's not that they're prudish or that
there's something wrong with them. They just aren't willing to go the distance in
the cinema-houses of their minds. I believe that they can turn the juice on by
refusing to censor themselves, but you can't lead a horse to the Magnetic water and
force it to drink. You can just show them w hat works. Incidentally, it's worth
pointing out that the whole Memory Palace technique comes from an accident. Well,
it's probably a m yth that Simonides of Ceos was at a party where the building
collapsed and he was the sole survivor who just happened to have used a memory
stunt to recall everyone in attendance. But the point remains the same: there's a m
onum ental accident in the origin story for a reason and we need to pay close
attention to that and implement, implement, implement. c) the memorizer has not
compounded the imagery. d) the memorizer has not rehearsed the material they've
memorized, (i.e. the person is just dabbling, rather than seriously developing
their understanding and abilities the same dedicated practice a m usician would use
to advance). e) the memorizer is using no inherent, organization strategy. W hen it
comes to memorizing foreign language vocabulary en masse, it is im portant to use
word division and bridging figures. It's also im portant to focus on particular
kinds of words according to your needs. I do advocate sitting with a dictionary and
going in alphabetical order, but I also think people should make several passes,
focusing the first time on the words that interest them rather than trying to be
comprehensive. For this purpose, they may w ant to create multiple Memory Palaces
for each letter. Or they might want to clean out Memory Palaces they've already
used. There are different Magnetic strokes for different Magnetic folks, and
although my Magnetic Memory Method is based on universal principles, it's like a
sonnet. You can write an infinite num ber of lines that will be entirely unique and
still result (usually) in a poem. How good the poem is depends on practice with the
technique and the receptivity of your audience, which in the case of foreign
language fluency can be tremendously forgiving. Plus, you get to get better as you
"live" the poem, which isn't the case with poetry on the page. I can go on and on,
but for more ideas like this, I would suggest reading the previous volumes of the
Magnetic Memory Newsletter. I think they will give you Magnetic loads of food for
thought that will continue to deepen your thinking and hopefully settle your
worries so that you can move forward. Take these ideas, and in the words of John
Cage, "begin anywhere." ... but unlike John Cage, just make sure that "anywhere" is
in a carefully predetermined and prepared Memory Palace based on a location that
you're familiar enough with to create as m any stations as you need based on
carefully decided goals. It could be ten words per Memory Palace or a thousand. The
goals will dictate how you build your Memory palaces. On that note, I will conclude
by suggesting that you focus on word frequency. We tend to think that we need
thousands upon thousands of words and that this will m ultiply into a veritable
googleplex of unmanageable images that don't cohere. Your first 800 words will be a
remarkable landmark that will teach you so much about using a memorization strategy
like the Magnetic Memory Method (which you will obviously adapt to your own
learning style and habits) that the next 800 will be putty in your Magnetic hands.
Please let me know if you have any further questions or if I have somehow failed to
address your questions in the m anner you were hoping. I tend to focus on the can
instead of the can't and know that with experimentation the fear that you won't be
able to recall the associative imagery you've built will disappear. In fact, the
num ber one teaching I stress is relaxation while memorizing and planning to
memorize. With a touch of meditation and the progressive muscle and breathing
exercises I teach, worry, concern and fear about losing w hat you've memorized will
be minor. Dear Memorizers, Ezra Pound was nuts. And not always in a good way! But I
like to focus on the good stuff, so let's forget about him barking bizarre radio
broadcasts during World W ar II and focus on w hat he said about translation.
Basically he thought there were three qualities to language. 1. Melopoeia 2.
Phanopoeia 3. Logopoeia The first indicates the sound or melody of language, the
second the imagery that language can evoke and the third the concepts, logic and
ideas that language can be used to build. Anyhow, I thought about these
distinctions when I read about avoiding word-for-word translations when learning a
foreign language: http://www.lingholic.com/avoid-word-word-translationslanguage-
learning/? utm source=rss&utm medium=rss&utm campaign=avoidword-word-translations-
language-learning Let's apply this problem and its solution to using Memory Palaces
to memorize foreign language vocabulary. Magnetic Memorization Translation With
'Uncle Ez" It won't take much work. If you w ant to think in your target language,
as suggested by the article (which you should be doing), then the best option
you've got is to use a dedicated memorization strategy that uses Memory Palaces
(maybe one Magnetic day I'll tell you about the Magnetic Memory Method video course
which teaches you have to do this). If you're using Memory Palaces filled with
associative imagery, then you will definitely be thinking in your target language.
You'll be thinking about its melopoeia, its phanopoeia and its logopoeia all at the
same time. Sounds good, right? The reason why it works this way is because you've
trained yourself to use images and actions to help you decode the sound and the
meaning of the words in your dream foreign language - I prefer "dream foreign
language" to "target language" whenever possible, don't you? But if you're not
using a dedicated memorization strategy, you've got to hum and haw for your words
based on rote learning. You've got no anchors, no locations, no mess of imagery to
help you along. You can't think in the target language because you can't think your
way back to the words you've learned. I'm sorry, but it's true. Rote learning is
like chasing a fly with a newspaper. You swat and you swat but that fly just keeps
dodging you. But when you use the Magnetic Memory Method, watch out babycakes. W
ith my carefully tailored methods, your images will have already been Magnetically
sealed inside your Memory Palaces, places you know intimately well, places you can
smoothly and quickly navigate in order to find the words you've memorized using all
those lovely and enjoyable rules of exaggeration, vibrancy, color and zany action.
It's really easy and fun to do, let's you play with your creativity and things you
already know and will bring the music, the concepts and the imagery of the language
you are learning directly to mind. Magnetically. If for some reason you haven't
already got a ticket inside, here's where to go right now:
https://www.udemv.com/language-learning-onlinemagnetic-memorv Dear Memorizers, I
saw a shrink once. Actually more than once, but only one of them was truly
remarkable. He had his office
in M anhattan w ithin walking distance of Central Park, which made going to
therapy a pleasant adventure even if sitting in that little office having my m ind
sucked Magnetically dry wasn't all that fun. But it was interesting. Freud had the
theory that we resist saying what's really on our minds and that we even resist
remembering things that displease us or threaten to cause our ego harm. That's why
m any psychoanalytic offices are designed to be hypnotically calm. It's to help
over come the "fear anxiety" that emerges when we are asked to confront repressed
memories. W hat does this have to do with the Magnetic Memory Method? My theory has
always been that we often forget information because we're fearful of forgetting it
in the first place. We have a lot of anxieties about losing things, everything from
losing our car keys to losing our minds. It's why a lot of people "resist" using
memory techniques. They know w hat they are, they know how they work and they
know ... A Psychologically Magnetic Memorization Secret ... they're utterly
convinced... ... and they insist that a dedicated memorization strategy just simply
won't work for them. That's fear talking, dear Memorizers. All resistance comes
from fear. Big ol' ugly nasty fear. How to overcome this fear? It's simple. You
don't have to go to a shrink. You don't have to take a walk through Central Park.
You've just got to sit down for a little while and relax. When you relax your m ind
and your body, you overcome the little resistances that create worry and doubt and
fear. That stuff gets in the way of Magnetic Memorization results. And you do w ant
results, don't you? As it happens, I teach some really simple relaxation techniques
that work gangbusters when you use the Magnetic Memory Method. Go here to get
started and use coupon code "relax" for a very relaxing discount on your one-time
investm ent in the only memorization training that will make your m ind Magnetic
for the rest of your life (and possibly even beyond).
https://www.udemy.com/language-learning-online- magnetic-memory/?couponCode=relax
Dear Memorizers, Here's a really cool article about using mnemonics to remember
your medication: h ttp ://www.tele-management.ca/2013/ 10/helping-olderpeople-with-
medical-advice/ The results of this experiment are not surprising. Yes, there are a
lot of doubters and naysayers about mnemonics (hardly a day goes buy without some
sour Magnet railing against me), but the fact of the m atter is that this stuff
works. Even amongst the elderly. In fact, as the article suggests, the ability to
visualize and apply visualization to things you w ant to memorize does not fade
with age. And as I've told you about before, dear Memorizers, the amazing Kasper
Bormans is doing great work helping people with Alzheimer's remember the names of
their loved ones b v teaching them to use Memory Palaces. But w hat the researchers
seem to forget is that visual tactics alone can produce even more dramatic results
when they're combined with other elements of our sensory perception. Instead of
just imagining drinking orange juice to help remember the medication, for example,
the person can imagine that they FEEL the sensation of the juice in their mouth and
the cold glass in their hand. They can imagine that they SMELL and TASTE the orange
juice. They can imagine the WEIGHT of the glass in their hand. They can Don't
Forget To Memorize Your Pills imagine the SOUND of the juice And I'm sure there are
other dimensions that can be added here as well, but the point being is that by
using more than one representation system, the benefits and the results of using a
mnemonic strategy are greatly increased. Another quick point here that I've taught
you about before comes to mind. It's about using sounds and sensation to help
remember the locations of various objects. For example, instead of just setting
your keys down somewhere, imagine that you see, but also hear an explosion and
really, mentally feel the force of the flames and the dirt flying through the air.
Make all of these elements are large, colorful, vibrant and filled with zany
action. I guarantee you that you will always know where your keys - or pill bottles
- are located in your house. Keep these points in m ind the next time you memorize
foreign language vocabulary or whatever it is you might be memorizing and
definitely help your health out by never forgetting to take your meds. Until next
time, drink some juice and then teach someone else w hat you've learned about
Memory Palaces. Teaching a skill is one of the best ways to learn it and helping
people improve their memory is one of the best ways we can make the world a better
place. The more we remember, the more we can remember. And the more we learn, the
more we can learn. Here's How to Memorize A Song Dear Memorizers, I received this
question a short while ago about memorizing music. H i Anthony, First o f a ll -
thanksfor a great course - 1 have learned a lotfrom it. 1 am a musician so I was
wondering i f yo u have any creative ideas on how I could apply this memorizing
technique to improvisation in music. When yo u improvise yo u typically have these
musical patterns th a t yo u have internalized into memory to choose from . B ut
these are very abstract compared to written/spoken words. For instance I m ight
have a rhythm idea th a t says 1 and 2 ( where notes should be played on the beat o
f "1", "and" as well as on "2" o f the bar. Or 1 m ight have a blues r iff
containing the notes C,E, G, A. Should 1 try to come up with some word/picture that
reminds me o f this riff/rhythm - or how would yo u do it ? Thanks in advance
Thanks for your note! First off, congratulations for thinking about applying
mnemonics to memorizing music. It's a great strategy, and as I'm sure you know, be
it playing an instrum ent or singing, you can't focus on truly interpreting music
you haven't memorized. As it happens, I have written about memorizing music several
times in the Magnetic Memory newsletter - which is free for you to download in
Lecture 35. Just scan the Tables of Contents and you'll find the writings. I'm also
thinking of writing a book on the m atter and possibly creating a video course if
people find the book useful. In brief, I have experimented with color coding the
strings or giving them a bridging figure (pretty easy for me on bass), assigning
images to frets in order to create mini-stories that help trigger longer phrases
and using the Major Method with the frets in tablature style. The Major Method
assigns a sound to each num ber like this: 0 = sa 1 = ta or do 2 = na 3 = ma 4 = ra
5 = la 6 = cha or ja 7 = ka 8 = fa or va 9 = pa This works best when you have each
string coded. So let's say, using my bass: E = Ernie (from Sesame Street) A = Alf
(the alien) D = Donald Duck G = Garfield If you had a phrase that went, start on
the A string: 5 - 7-8 Then: 5 - 7 - 8 on the D string, It would be Alf singing La-
Ka-Va and then Donald Duck singing the same. For each pattern on the fretboard, the
song they sing changes. For double digits, you just increase the syllables: 11
becomes ta-da (or ta-ta), 22 becomes na-na, etc. W ith practice and proceeding
based on your own images, you can get this down really quickly and actually look at
the hands of another m usician as he's improvising and do some amazing call-and-
response stuff. The short coming here for some people is that these sounds are not
particularly visual. The solution (if you need a visual element to memorize the
patterns): Don't consider the first fret num ber one. Call it 11. That way you can
make an image from the syllables. Fret 2 becomes 12, which could make the words,
tin, tan or ton, all of which are visual. In this case, the memorization strategy
gets heavily weighted down and will be best used for personal study memorizing long
pieces. But even then, I think the simple auditory num ber system works best and I
use it often for Bach cello pieces I am memorizing so that I don't have to
repetitively memorize the material by rote. I hope these ideas help! Let me know if
there is anything further I can do for you. Fake It Till You Memorize It Dear
Memorizers, It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the most
Magnetic of times. I was stuck in Vancouver without a clue of w hat to do with
myself. Luckily, I had at least a little bit of income from a teaching gig that was
flexible enough to let me be my Magnetically maverick self without getting drowned
in rules and policies and procedures (which in most schools lead to the destruction
of learning, rather than its inception). Anyhow, I wound up going to an "Idea
Party." It was held in a hair salon after hours, a room filled with entrepreneurs
and other people doing great work, looking for the big break that would take them
to the next level. The idea is this: everyone gets on the hot seat for 5-10 m
inutes and explains their dream to the attendees. W hat it is they really w ant to
do in life, w hat they would be doing if they simply could not fail. Then, the
attendees come up with ideas that will help the person on the hot seat make their
dream come true. The whole concept of the "Idea Part" is based on this book, which
you can read in its entirety for free on the author's website: www.wishcraft.com
Anyhow, I won't bore you with w hat my dream was at the time, but the best advice I
got was: "Fake it till you make it." W hat this clever little phrase means is that,
instead of getting drowned in worries and sorrow and thoughts about w hat can't be
done, you just get out there and do it. Even if you don't know what you're doing.
Luckily, you have the Magnetic Memory Method to give you a solid set of guidelines
when it comes to using a Memory Palace system for memorizing foreign language
vocabulary, but a lot of people still need help getting started. That's why I've
created the Magnetic Memory Worksheets. Go ahead and download them from the course
if you haven't got them or have lost them. If you're not in the course but have
read one of my books, you should have received a link for the Magnetic Memory
Worksheets (click, click, click). I've had people tell me that there's no way they
can come up with 26 Memory Palaces. Sorry, dear Memorizers, but that attitude don't
cut it. If you haven't got 26 Memory Palaces, chances are there's one reason: you
haven't sincerely tried to fill out the Magnetic Memory Worksheets. Until the pen
is on the page, you're right. There is no way. But once you've sta rted ... Fake
it. If you can't find a Memory Palace for the letter B, ask yourself, w hat would
the Memory Palace for letter B be if I could identify one? You'd be surprised just
how effective little psychological tricks like this can be. Another strategy is to
ask yourself why you can't come up with one. Usually the answer will give you the
answer, if you know w hat I mean. Here's an example: Me to myself: Why can't you
come up with a Memory Palace for the letter X? Me to myself: Because I haven't gone
to the library to look at the biography of Malcolm X and then imaginatively
associated the library with Malcolm X so that it can serve as my X Memory Palace.
If you don't get the answer the first time, keep probing. Make something up. Find a
way. The same thing goes with coming up with wild, zany, exaggerated, larger-than-
Magnet associative imagery for storing and recalling foreign language vocabulary in
your Memory Palaces. Me to myself: Why can't I come up with an image for the German
word Rindfleischetikettierungsuberwachungsaufgabeniibertragu ngsgesetz? Me to
myself: Because you're not practicing the principles of word division and bridging
figures to get yourself started. And you should know better - you invented them!
Then I explore w hat happens if I get started working with these principles along
with all the other core ideas in the Magnetic Memory Method. Even if I don't feel
like it (because "feeling like it" can also be faked to great effect). Even if it
seems to hard (a terrible lie). Even if it doesn't work gangbusters the first time
(though it almost always does when the Method is adhered to). The point is: Fake it
till you memorize it. The Magnetic Memory Method makes it as easy as it's going to
get. But only if you get past the internal barriers holding you down. And you know
me and my old Magnetic Memory Newsletters are always here to show you how. To
remind you not to quit. To heap on the finer details. To help you simplify when it
gets too complex (keep sending your questions). To inspire you when thing get
tough. To keep you (and your mind) infallibly Magnetic. Magnetic Memorization,
Magnetic Rehearsal and Magnetic Borderblur Dear Memorizers, I was astonished the
first time I visited Europe and drove from Germany to France. The border crossing
was like a ghost town. Literally. The customs booths had been abandoned, the
windows bordered and the stripey gates that normally fly up and down between
vehicles removed. Tumbleweed and sagebrush were the only things missing. Of course,
the Swiss and the Czech still m aintain borders in some places, but overall it's
surprising how easy it is to travel between the countries unperturbed by borders.
Some people think that uncontrolled borders invites crime and terrorism, but
overall, I think its a wonderful sign of sophisticated civilization. Anyhow,
today's question reminded me of all this in a way. Let's get started: Anthony, I've
created a project fo r m yself o f learning the Berlitz 601 Spanish Verbsbook. Some
o f the verbs are so close to each other that they "relate". For example a regular
verb and its reflexive counterpart. Curious i f yo u have ever had two stations o f
close proxim ity in a palace interact, exchange or pass-off an activity or
attribute(s) to the next? Thought I would ask. I t could be one o f those rules
like "crossingyour own path " that cold g et one into trouble later. A ny thoughts
or advice on this? Thanks for getting in touch with this question! In some ways,
such connections are like having a runner pass the baton to the next image. In
other circumstances, two station can actually contain the same image in a chain.I
actually have come up with a term for situations like this. I call it "borderblur."
Overall, I think that borderblur can only be helpful and rarely get one into
trouble - so long as the rehearsal process is observed. The reason why rehearsal is
so im portant is that it is essentially "internalized rote learning." I distinguish
it strongly from rote learning with index cards because you are drawing upon
material in your m ind without looking to an external "crutch." There's a huge
difference between writing out a list of memorized words - even where borderblur is
involved - and then checking it against the record. One comes to know one's inner
routines so well within a short period of time that it is no longer necessary to go
through the testing process. And when the words are needed, the m ind flies to the
word without having to follow the path or even decode the images. I liken it to the
training wheels falling off the bike, or Forrest Gump's leg braces falling away
when he was ready to run. How does one properly rehearse? I cover this in my books
and the video course, but in case you need a reminder, the approach I recommend
involves splitting the month into a roughly alphabetical spread. In other words,
rehearse the words in your 'A' Memory Palace on the first day of the month, 'B' on
the second, 'C on the third, etc. Water, weed, repeat. Sometimes you'll w ant to
"repair" some of your images by making them stronger through the compounding
process. That's a good thing. It's a healthy part of practice. And the more one
practices, the better one gets. The faster everything happens and the less
necessary rehearsal becomes. And then the problem of words "relating" is an asset
because one knows how to play them like notes on a scale. One knows how to bend
them like a spoon ... almost as if there were no spoon (somehow I feel so old
making references like that to The Matrix!)... Of course, without rehearsal, you're
right that one could get in trouble. But I have my faith in those who implement and
then adapt the Magnetic Memory Method to their own learning style, their own
successful discoveries and their own ongoing needs. I hope these ideas help. Please
keep in touch and let me know how you fare. Memorization Doom, Gloom and Gut-
Wrenching Despair Dear Memorizers, I've told you about how using "memory tricks"
helped me overcome depression long before I developed the Magnetic Memory Method.
There's no secrets and certainly no shame about it. People get depressed. Ain't
nothing new. Before depression, was melancholy. Some called it "deprimare" (Latin).
Some called it "melas" (Greek). The names may change, but the state remains the
same. Depression is the sort of thing that can happen to anyone, at any time, for
any reason ... or for no reason at all. I hope it never does happen to you, dear
Memorizers, but if it does, I highly recommend that you supplement your medical
treatm ent with mnemonics. I'm not a doctor (at least not the medical kind), so I'm
not qualified to offer medical advice. I can only tell you that when then black
bile of melancholia hit me during my graduate studies, it hit hard, it hit bad and
it did it's best to sink my Magnetic ship into the Magnetic sea. Music and magic
had always helped, so I found myself farting around with a deck of cards. I could
barely concentrate, but just to keep my m ind running, I read books on card m
anipulation and eventually wound up with a few books on card memory. Mnemonica by
the great Juan Tamariz was one of them. He teaches a few cool memory tricks, but a
lot of them am ount to rote learning disguised in the fancy robes of song and dance
(it's by Juan Tamariz, after all). It all sounded too complex, and it was. It's no
secret to regular Magnetic Memory newsletter readers that I learned a lot of from
Harry Loravne, but as it happens, my favorite program (besides my own) on card
memorization was created by the controversial Kevin Trudeau. It's an audio program
called Mega Memory, and although I have to adm it to you that it's got loads of
conversational filler, there are three great things about it: 1. At least he's
entertaining to listen to. 2. He explains card memorization exceedingly well. 3.
He's excellent at overcoming objections. He simply refuses to accept that there is
a single person in the world who cannot work memory miracles. That is quite
possibly the m ost im portant refusal any of us could ever make. It has been done.
Can be done. Will be done. Anyhow, the more I started working with these ideas, the
more my mind cleared up. It was utterly amazing to me, but just getting started and
memorizing the order of three cards blew away so much fog that I soon found myself
with 6 cards, then thirteen. I took a break after that. It was too overwhelming. I
think that first time around it took me about ten minutes to get 13 cards. I was
blown away. The first time I did a full deck, it was probably 30-40 minutes. This
was based on the strategies I had learned from other people. Using the Magnetic
Memory Method as I later devised it based on universal principles known for
thousands of years and new strategies born out from years of depression-lifting
research and experimentation, memorizing an entire deck takes a m atter of m
inutes. Sure, there are World Memory Champions who can do it in 30 seconds.
Sometimes even less. But I tend not to write for their benefit. I write for people
like me and you. And I especially enjoy writing for people who, like me, have
experienced the doom, gloom and gut-wrenching despair of depression and other
aspects of mental illness. If you haven't tried mnemonics, take a hint from the
composer John Cage: "begin anywhere." That's w hat I did and it zoomed me up and
out of those dark places. Sure, little dips come now and then. It's bound to
happen. But the problem is that those little issues haven't got nothing on
mnemonics. Because when you start to taste the power of using the natural
capacities of your m ind to instantly recall complex information, including the
sound and meaning of foreign language vocabulary you've never seen before - that's
hard to forget. It's hard to stay depressed with that kind of power, even if you
wanted to (the desire for which is one of depression's trickiest tricks). Anyhow, I
know George Carlin would w ant to give me a Magnetic kick to the teeth if he heard
me trying to "share" like this, but since he's no longer around... ... let's you
and I take the our mnemonic happy pills and then teach someone else w hat we've
learned about Memory Palaces. Teaching a skill is one of the best ways to learn it
and helping people improve their memory is one of the best ways we can make the
world a better place. The more we remember, the more we can remember. And the more
we learn, the more we can learn. Memorizing The Other Trombonist Dear Memorizers, I
remember the frustration I felt with the exam in front of me as if it were a
Magnetic yesterday. My fingers were sweating around the pencil as I tried to
recognize the notes coming at me through the headphones. I had failed banjo class
and wasn't much better at playing the recorder, but success in both of these were
prerequisites to getting into concert band class where I desperately wanted to play
bass guitar. I had forgotten all the notes, so as I often did as a student pegged
with a learning disability, I simply played "answer roulette," adding random
answers just to get the test over and done with. And of course I failed. But I
persisted. Somehow I convinced the teacher that I could play in band. And I won. I
wasn't allowed to play bass, but trombone. Close enough. But somehow I still
struggled to read the notes. No one had taught me how to use mnemonics and Memory
Palaces. Luckily, there was another kid playing the trombone. It was pretty easy to
watch the position of his slide. I played that way for the entire first year.
Matching and mirroring the other trombonist. Of course, the gig was up the
following year when we got two different trombone parts. I had to learn to read. It
was a hard, long, arduous process and all the more so because I had become so
accustomed to taking the short cut of watching the other guy. Nonetheless, I
persisted and a year later I was playing bass guitar in a band and have been
playing it ever since. Even then, I needed to watch the hands of the other guitar
player in order to learn. Since developing my m ind using Memory Palaces, I've
overcome a lot of these weaknesses and have managed to become good with notation
and absorb a lot of music theory. And over the years, m any people have asked me
about how to memorize music. Today's question continues that theme: Hello A nthony,
Thank y o u fo r all the great inform ation and the course. Tm still a t the
beginning stages. Is there a way o f using yo u r m ethod to remember the notesfor
sheet music? M any thanks. Thank you for getting in touch and for your kind words
about the course! It would mean the world to me if you would help spread the word
by leaving a short review because that helps me continue bringing you valuable
ideas about improving your memory. Each and every short sentence in support of this
goal helps. As it happens I've written about memorizing music several times in the
Magnetic Memory Newsletter and addressed the idea again the other day in an
upcoming newsletter. Since you're in the course, you can easily visit Lecture 35
where you can download all eight volumes of the Magnetic Memory newsletter. I could
also email them to you if you like. If you browse through the Table of Contents
you'll find several installm ents dealing with music memorization. In brief, a lot
depends on whether or not you already know how to read music. If that is not the
case, then things like "Good Birds Don't Fly Away" are great for memorizing the
staff, especially if combined with a short Memory Palace journey to help the m ind
have a path to follow from image to image. As for memorizing sheet music, I've had
great success using journeys through rooms and visually "painting" the sheet music
on the walls using vibrant colors and action. You can assign an image to each note,
but typically this isn't necessary. Simply going through the imaginative process is
tremendously helpful and I can usually get between half-apage to a page of sheet
music onto a wall. Note, however, that I have only memorized Bach's cello pieces
which represent a relatively simple spread of notation. I would need to rethink a
great deal about chording for guitar or piano. But rest assured that with some
imagination, application and experimentation, there is a way to memorize sheet
music. In the meantime, I am developing a book on the topic so that I can give it
my most in-depth attention. As with all of my materials, I do not pretend to have
the ultim ate solution, only ideas for experimentation in the Magnetic m ind of all
who are willing to give these techniques a go. Please let me know if there is
anything further I can do for you. Memorizing Poetry At The Crossroads Dear
Memorizers, There was a cool movie I adored as a kid called "Crossroads." It
featured Ralph Macchio as an up and coming guitar player who goes up against the
devil and his lightning fast fingers, played by the amazing Steve Vai (regular
readers of the Magnetic Memory Newsletter will remember that amazing video I shared
about him a short while ago). For some people, using the Magnetic Memory Method is
like meeting the devil at the crossroads. You've got all the tools and you've been
playing with them long enough to understand how things work and even make a little
magic. But m astery is the goal and it seems like only the Magnetic devil has it.
It simply ain't so. The real key to understanding a movie like Crossroads is we are
all blessed with equal potential for talent, but the more talented we are, the
larger the demons we face will be. I was reminded about this movie by the letter I
received below and the use of the word "crossroads" and just w ant to say before I
answer it that for anyone out there struggling, you've just got to keep playing. No
m atter how big the struggle, m astery is in moving forward. If you play guitar,
then it's moving forward with six strings and your fingers. If you're using the
Magnetic Memory Method, then it's moving forward with a dedicated series of Memory
Palaces and the principles of action, imagery, bridging figures, compounding and
all the other details I've given you. Keep riffing with these and I guarantee that
you will outmemorize even the devil. And if such a figure did exist, he would
probably have the biggest memory of all. H i Anthony, I am a t a crossroads again.
I have m y palaces and rooms all lettered, I've set up m y excel ready fo r German
words. I've cleaned out the rooms, and even run m y hand around all o f the walls.
The rooms are in pow erful focus even the eight corners o f each room. I am
starting to collect a number o f the German words together. Some I can give M
nemonics to others are a b it d ifficult yet. I use split words, create links and
visualize actions. BUT here's the problem - A s I have notice with other people's
questions, 'what do I do that word?' I'm trying to place it in the room. I seem to
g et to a p oint o f putting it in the room. I think o f an object [say a bed]. I
have M nemonicised the word [ I don't know i f that is a real word] B ut nothing
has happened - word hasn't linked with the object. I think on the object again and
there's a blank. Can yo u describe in more detail what you actually do m entally to
make th a t connection, or have I g o t it all wrong? I hoping to g et more ideas
fro m the video program a t the m om ent that I'm working though. Also the poetry
book seems to be sim ilar to me � I have separate poetry room - say in it, is a
bookcase with em pty video boxes in it. Do 1 p u t a line o f poetry in a box - do
Ip u t 1 verse in a box - or do Ip u t a wholepoem in a box. I can recite a double
linked poem with 3 7 verses straight o ff with no problem. B ut I've never had to p
u t them in rooms. The poem s are A lbert and the Lion and the Return o f Albert,
they are very descriptive and veryfunny poems. Thanks as ever for your questions!
In the Magnetic Memory Method you don't actually "link" the word to the object. You
place it by, on, beside or near the object - and all of this assumes that you are
using a single room to contain multiple stations. You can also place just one word
in a station. The "link" between the words placed at the stations is the journey,
which is why we base it on a natural journey we could actually take through a
building or other location. If we get into trapping ourselves or crossing our own
path or fantasy elements such as passing through walls or floating off balconies,
we wind up spending too much m ental energy on the procedure. Let the journey be
the link between the stations and the words and the visual associations you create
do the work of triggering the word. If you have difficulty with this, concentrate
on making sure the journey is tight. Then focus on making the imagery as bright,
vivid and detailed as you can. The job from their is to experiment with the kinds
of images that bring back the sounds and meanings of words the best for you. Using
a dedicated rehearsal schedule and experimentation, I'm confident you'll succeed.
As for lines of poetry, you'll notice that I advocate m inivignettes. In the
examples I gave, a single line can mean moving from a desk to an imaginary fridge
in the corner of a classroom. Again, the principles are the same: let the journey
be the link between the images that recall the information. I hope these answers
help. Let me know if I can do anything further for you. Memorizing Vocabulary Down
Under Dear Memorizers, It was grade five when my class had an exchange teacher for
half a year. He came from the state capital and was really great. We all loved his
accent, and perhaps because he was visiting from another country, he seemed to go
super easy on us. W hen he left, he invited each of us to write him a letter. I
think I was probably the only one to take him up on the offer. And if that's true,
I was the only one to get a letter back. And w hat a letter! I'll never forget how
heavy the envelope felt and how amazing the stamps from the other side of the world
looked in my young eyes. The handwriting was crisp and clear and in black ink -
something we students were forbidden to write in. Anyhow, today's question reminded
me of this teacher and something he talked to us about quite a lot, the lives and
cultures of the Aborigines. Now we all have the chance to learn something about
their vocabulary. H i Anthony, Ifo u n d yourfabulous resources via Udemv, where 1
am one o f yo u r students. 1 am halfw ay through the course, and enjoying it so
much, I also purchased yo u r "How to Learn and Memorize German Vocabulary" - even
though I'm not learning German a t the moment. I hope yo u don't mind, but I'd like
to seek some clarification about applying yo u r methodologies to some very
different languages: those o f Central Australia; in particular, Arrernte and
Pitjatjatjatjara. I'm an anthropologist working as a trainer a t the Aboriginal
Interpreter Service, in Alice Springs, Australia (capital o f the outback). I'll
use Central/Eastern Arrernte (pronounced uh-rrun-duh - trill the double Y ) as the
example, because it's a language I've been chipping away a t fo r 12 years. I am
able to have a basic conversation in Arrernte, but I'd like to expand m y
vocabulary to go beyond a basic level. Arrernte uses only 15 letters o f the
English alphabet to start its words, even though there are 29 sounds in Arrernte,
many o f which don't form ally start words (although in everyday speech, people
often drop the 'A' soundfrom the beginning o f words). A significant number o f
Central/Eastern Arrernte words start with the letter 'A'. To give yo u an idea ju s
t how many words start with 'A' in Arrernte, there are 587 pages in the
Eastern/Central dictionary and 303 o f them are devoted to words that begin with
the letter 'A'! M y fir s t question is this: given the sheer volume o f words
starting with ju s t one letter, what strategy do yo u suggest fo r constructing
memory palaces and stations? Should it be any different to German or any other
European language? M y plan was that I should I work through the A's, and group
them by the second letter, which can be any o f the 29 sounds comprising the
Arrernte alphabet? (Eve attached a file so you can see the sounds I'm talking
about). My second question: You write about memorizing a pack o f cards to help
prepare yourself. Cards are really, really boring to me - and have a lo t o f
negative connotation to me, with many o f m y Aboriginal frien d s being problem
gamblers. W hat would yo u suggest that 1 use instead o f cards to help meprepare
myself? I'm sure I'll have other questions as I go along on m y journey. Thank yo u
againfor yo u r wonderful system and yo u passionfor this subject, Cheers. Thanks
for your message! It's great to hear that you're enjoying the course and I really
appreciate learning about your experiences with Arrernete. Let's begin with card
memory first: by all means, steer clear of anything that brings a negative
association to your language learning progress. Although I think it's very im
portant not to judge the associative-images our imaginations bring to us when we're
memorizing (when we memorize in a relaxed state, our minds tend to bring us the
most appropriate imagery for the task at hand), that's no reason to deliberately
bring negative associations into the game. Poetry would be my suggestions for
practicing and building up your memory chops. In fact, there are three kinds of
poetry you can use in your drills: 1) Poetry in your mother language 2) Poetry in
the language you are studying 3) Nonsense poetry (or poetry based on invented
language structures such as Ursonate: h ttp://www.costis.org/ x/schw
itters/ursonate.htm ) The nonsense poetry strategy is particularly effective
because you're training your m ind to come up with associative-imagery based on
abstract information with a "material" presence (conceptual word forms that have a
concrete presence in the mouth during acts of utterance). This will rapidly train
you to memorize words in your target-language where the degree of abstraction will
waver from word to word with a gradual dim inishing of abstraction the more word
division strategies allow you to "guess" w hat words mean upon first sight (just
the way we were able to guess at w hat words "must" mean when reading as young
people). If poetry doesn't interest you, m any people like to memorize numbers.
However, I don't personally find this to be effective training for vocabulary
memorization - unless you are memorizing the numbers using the words of the
targetlanguage. But even then, I haven't found much use for it. However, other
people might, so it's worth experimenting with. You can also practice memorizing
dates, facts, geographical data such as state capitals, politicians, actors,
grocery lists, ingredients - all of these things whenever possible or relevant in
the target-language. As for dealing with this massive am ount of words for the
letter 'A,' I recommend multiple Memory Palaces. For German, for example, 'A' could
inhabit four or five Memory Palaces. Another strategy I've seen people using is to
use the principle of word division for individual Memory Palaces when there are a
lot of instances of that particular division. "Ab" words have a huge presence in
German, for example. But if you're not following the principle of word division to
construct the Memory Palaces, you could structure your system like this: Memory
Palace A1 Memory Palace A2 Memory Palace A3 etc.... Grouping your 'A' words by the
second letter sounds like a great strategy. The only deficit I can think of is that
you might lose track of the fact that some of these words actually start with an
'A.' This may prove to be a non-issue, but a lot depends on how you define
"fluency," or going beyond the basic level, as you've put it. I certainly welcome
your further questions and look forward to engaging with them. Please let me know
if I have failed to address any of your concerns in the present email so that I can
answer more completely. Until next time, close your eyes and then teach someone
else w hat you've learned about Memory Palaces. Teaching a skill is one of the best
ways to learn it and helping people improve their memory is one of the best ways we
can make the world a better place. The more we remember, the more we can remember.
And the more we learn, the more we can learn. Magnetic Memory Written In A Country
Churchyard Dear Memorizers, I'll never forget the first time I could recite a poem
directly from a Memory Palace. It was just a short little thing. But I was so
enthused that I was skipping around the apartm ent as if I'd won the lottery (and
when you advance with mnemonics, that's essentially what's happened). Later, I
remember sitting with a coaching client who doubted these feats. There were lots of
books around so I said "pick one." She pulled Homer's Iliad down from the shelf.
Heavy stuff. But no problem. I memorized the first page in about fifteen minutes,
and it only took that long because I described everything I was doing as I went
along, including the construction of the Memory Palace. Her jaw dropped. Then she
got busy. A week later, she recited back to me her first 100 memorized words. I
don't like showing off and I'm not a big fan of demonstrating. But sometimes you've
got to thrown down in order to inspire. In any case, I thought about this coaching
client's trium ph when I received the following letter (by the way, I am no longer
available for personal memory coaching except by email correspondence). H i
Anthony, I ju st had to write back again this morning. A fter lying in bed I
pondered on why 1 was able so easily able to memorise all the verses o f A Ibert
and the lion, w ithout a palace to p u t it into. Your last em ail apprised me o f
the' jo u rn e y T h e n it struck me th a t the whole poem is a journey and it is
already mnemonicised. A nd that is why 1 was able to visualise the whole thing so
easily. Iam attaching the poem for yo u to read and you w ill see. So then quietly
sitting a t m y breakfast table before anyone else had arisen. 1 took a printout o
f W illiam Wordsworth's - Daffodils, Ju st fo u r verses. I selected m y old treatm
ent room and the objects that were in it. 1 drew it on paper first. Plus a little
object beside each thing in the room such as -10,000 and an eye. [signififying 'ten
thousand saw a t a glance.'] Then line by line 1 m entally spoke the individual
lines to the objects in the room in continuous succession one by one starting at
the door and working round in one direction u n till was back a t the door. Then 1
needed the fin a l verse which I added outside the room. This was couch with me
lying on it in pensive mood, as m y heart fille d with glee and danced with the
daffodils. W ithin h a lf an hour 1 had the whole thing installed in m y m ind and
was able to recite itperfectly. A nd I still can. Actually that was quite thrilling
and gave me that boost that 1 needed
because I seemed to have broken through that barrier, opened that door, and walked
through. 1 had really been struggling with that problem. 1 never like to let
anything beat me, s o l persist. Thank yo u A nthony. No w I can mo ve on to other
things, and 1 a dozen pieces o f poetry that I want to absorb. One is Thomas Gray's
'Elegy W ritten in a Country Churchyard' It's a long one. Congratulations on these
great results! It's funny you would send this today. Just this morning my
girlfriend asked me about the lyrics to "Wenn ich mir was wiinschen diirfe." You
can listen to it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsrzeV95maO She wanted to
know if I could still sing the song after memorizing the lyrics back in April. My
answer? But of course. W ithout hesitation, without undue thinking and with only
the vaguest attention to my Memory Palace for the song, I went through it from
beginning to end. I made one small slip up, but quickly corrected it and she was
duly amazed. Of course she was amazed. Why? Because memorization strategies like
the kinds you and I implement are real magic. Keep up the Magnetic Memory alchemy
with poetry and your German and feel free to expect that your memory is only going
to get better and better the more you explore, experiment and practice. The Grapes
of Memory Palace Wrath Dear Memorizers, Remember that tragic John Steinbeck novel,
The Grapes o f Wrath? I loved the movie too, all crisp and black and white as the
poor folk left one farm to find another. Well, I was thinking about this great
story some time ago while answering a question over in my video course. Just like
sometimes folks gotta pick up and scurry on over to sum' place else, we've got to
modify our Memory Palaces. This Q&A will show you how: I can see how to use palaces
and stations to memorise a dictionary or some other word list in alphabetical order
- since thejourney through a palace follow s a predefined order. How, though, do 1
add new words later on that pop p randomly? Thanks for this great question! There
are several ways to approach this issue. First, it's very helpful to have a
"memorize on the fly" Memory Palace available to you at all times. I have one for
memorizing names and faces which I have written about in this book (if you look
through the old announcements above, there is still a way to get the audiobook
version of this book for free, but it won't last much longer): http: / /
www.amazon.com/Memorize-Specifically-DesignedSuccess-Magnetic-ebook/dp/B00EFDCCX6 I
also have a Memory Palace ready for random stuff and a Memory Palace prepared for
new words that I might learn either through conversation or reading and the
dictionary on my iPhone. As for "magnetizing" these words into an alphabetized
Memory Palace, a lot depends on how you've built and used your journeys in the
first place. If you are using entire rooms as stations for just one word, then you
have the four corners, the furniture, shelving, etc. to memorize into. If not, I
suggest incorporating imaginary "virtual" Memory Palace elements. I've written a
lot about this in the downloadable materials you'll find in Lecture 35, so please
make use of those. In short, the most effective method is to place imaginary
bookcases with a pre-determined number of shelves and a pre-determined plan for
navigating those shelves (for example, always started at the top and moving to the
bottom, or vice versa). In my experience, when Magnetic Memorizers get this far
into their practice, they have no problem shifting, sorting and moving things
around. After the first 200-300 words using the Magnetic Memory Method, the m ind
becomes incredibly flexible. Plus, it's im portant to remember that mnemonics, when
used as prescribed, are kind of like training wheels for many people. Depending on
your goals, you need not necessarily hold the entire dictionary in your head and
wander from page to page in order to experience massive boosts in fluency. You'll
find that that mnemonics are often like "training wheels" on a bike. With strong
enough associations in a series of properly constructed Memory Palace journeys and
sufficient rehearsal and testing (see Lecture 14), these training wheels will fall
away when you are engaged in conversation, reading, watching a movie, etc. Of
course, you'll be able to track back to where in your Memory Palace network those
words live, but this won't be necessary in order for you to recall the sound and
meaning of words or recognize them when you encounter them. All that said, another
thing you can do is simply create more than one Memory Palace for each letter.
Let's say that you've had one pass at the letter 'A' in a letter 'A' Memory Palace
and you haven't really got it set-up to go back and modify. You can take a second
pass at the letter 'A' in Memory Palace A2. I've heard from some people that this
method works magic, particularly people who are studying languages where individual
letters sometime have hundreds, if not thousands of entries. I hope these ideas
help. Please let me know if you have any further questions. How To Memorize A Bank
With A Gun Dear Memorizers, I used to play a pretty terrible trick on complete
stranger. But it doesn't quite have the same flavor after one particular
incident... Luckily I was only seventeen, so learned after that to play the prank
only on friends. I was at the bank one day waiting to withdraw cash from the
machine. I was standing behind a woman who was beeping buttons and waiting for her
cash and without really thinking about it, and certainly with no sinister purpose,
I said as she walked away, pointing at the ground behind her: "You dropped your
pocket." (I bet you thought I was going to say that I had a gun, didn't you, dear
Memorizers?) The prank works wonders because people hear that they dropped
something and then instantly pat their pockets, which by virtue of design, cannot
be lost. But this woman was displeased with the prank and after yelling at me
actually hit me with her purse! Anyhow, it was definitely the wrong time and place
for such a stunt. And I guess I've pulled another little stunt with the title of
today's Magnetic Message, but that's only because I wanted to address those of you
who might be getting started with mnemonics for the first time. Here's a great
introductory method for memorizing lists. It goes by different names, but I like to
call it The Gun Method. The first thing to do is memorize a list of rhymes and
associate these with numbers. You can rhyme any words you like, but the idea is
that the words should be visual as often as you can. Here are the rhymes I use.
They're actually pretty standard and basically the same as the ones Richard
Osterlind, the amazing m entalist from whom I learned the method. The difference is
that he uses a certain am ount of concepts whereas I focus more on objects. One is
a gun. Two is a shoe Three is a bee Four is a door Five is a hive Six picks up
sticks Seven is Kevin Eight is slate Nine is wine Ten is a (pig) pen Eleven is
Sven's hen Twelve is a shelve The difference with Osterlind's list is that he uses
rhymes like "eleven goes to heaven." Although heaven certainly can be used to make
a mental picture, it causes a blip in my own memory work on the rare occasions that
I use this technique because heaven is a concept, a place and certainly no place
that I've ever seen. To expand on this a touch further, places are vague because
they're so large. For example Paris would be better than France, but the Eiffel
Tower would be even better because it's a singular object that has concrete status
whereas a city or a state is more like a concept agreed upon by a government and
its people. Technical m inutia aside, let's have a look at how this technique can
be used. It's simple, really. Let's say that you w ant to buy carrots. It's at the
top of your list. If you rhyme one with gun, then you can see a giant carrot with a
gun, and perhaps he's shooting baby carrots at ... Celery, which is trying to
protect itself with a shield made of stinky shoes. The celery is also wearing shoes
and throwing shoe ninja stars decorated with celery leaves back at the gun-wielding
carrot. You know the drill by now, dear Memorizers. The larger, the more colorful,
the more vibrant the image and the more zany the actions, the more memorable the
target information becomes. Notice too that I've linked these two items together by
involving the images in a mini-vignettte. Doing so is not strictly necessary, but
it compounds the imagery and therefore strengthens your recall of the target
imagery. Let's take this one step further. As you know, dear Memorizers, I place a
premium on Memory Palaces. Location-based memory strategies are always superior to
having mnemonics floating around, or worse, having the by-products of rote learning
completely untethered to anything whatsoever. No m atter w hat mnemonic strategies
you use (linking, peg, etc.), these will always be far better served by locating
them somewhere. This effect occurs for two reasons. First, you increase the ease of
recall when you know "where" to look for the material you've memorized. Not using a
location is kind of like placing your memorized material on a key ring that floats
in a void. You can never find the key ring because you never put it anywhere. The
second reason has to do with unconscious fear. We have deep anxieties about losing
things, be it the aformentioned key ring, our wallet or things we've remembered.
Worst of all we fear losing our minds, and not being able to recall information
we've learned or should be able to remember is intertwined with the classic concern
that the m ind itself can be taken away or misplaced. Therefore, just like in Real
Estate, the name of the Magnetic Memory game is location, location, location. If
you're not already in the Magnetic Memory location training, why not give
it a try: https://www.udemv.com/language-learning-onlinemagnetic-memorv I'll even
sweeten the deal. Use coupon code "oneisagun" for a special one-time investm ent
price. Or simple click this link to have the coupon directly applied now:
https://www.udemy.com/language-learning-online- magnetic-memory/?
couponCode=oneisagun Bang bang, baby. Until next time, invest in your memory skills
and then teach someone else w hat you've learned about Memory Palaces. Teaching a
skill is one of the best ways to learn it and helping people improve their memory
is one of the best ways we can make the world a better place. The more we remember,
the more we can remember. And the more we learn, the more we can learn. How To
Memorize With Someone Magnetically New Dear Memorizers, Way back in Volume 2 of the
Magnetic Memory Newsletter. I gave you 88 Themes for speaking with tandem language
partners. I also gave you some resources for where to find tandem partners. How has
that been working out for you? A member of the Magnetic Memory family wrote in
recently to share a little tip. He loved the idea of having a tandem partner and
going to meetings with other language learners, but as a senior citizen, hanging
out with a lot of whizzbang whippersnappers (i.e. young people) was not exactly his
Magnetic cup of tea. His solution? Google. Quite possibly the ultim ate Magnetic
living and breathing and searching through computers located around the world (for
w hat are computers if not externalized Memory Palaces?), Google is a great tool
for w hittling down to some very fine details. To find other senior language
learners to practice with, he used the following search terms: Los Angeles senior
citizen language learning Los Angeles language learning 80s Los Angeles tandem
partner 80s Los Angeles senior citizen tandem partner After a bit of sifting and
sorting, it turns out that quite a few elder ladies and gents are out meeting
together to memorize foreign language vocabulary like its going out of style. W hat
if you try and find nothing (not everyone lives in a sprawling jungle like LA after
all)? Well, you can always place an ad online using a local bulletin board. You can
print out an ad and stick it on the wall in your local community center and some
grocery stores have bulletin boards too. There's always a way, dear Memorizers.
There's always a way. By the way, you can be any age to use this trick just by
changing the search terms to match the date on your birth certificate. And you
never know: if you're single, you might just find someone to grow Magnetically old
with. Memorizing Kanji Can Be Easy (If It's Done Magnetically) Dear Memorizers,
There's a giant Magnetic welcome to join the fold as part of answering this great
question: Hello A nthony, 1 am afrustrated learner o f Japanese, and 1 am living
inJapan. 1 ju s t don't see the language coming quick enough. Ho w does your m
ethod work with kanji f memorization along with a ll the other nuances o f nihongo
0 . / kno w it's possible because other people have becom efluent in a short period
o f time, but they m ust have very different ways o f approaching and thinking
about the language than 1 do. 1 am w illing to p u t in the work, but don't want to
spin m y wheels and waste precious time. Can yo u r m ethod revolution and
transform the way 1 learn and study? 1 hope so, because 1 need a kick ass m ethod
versus being kicked in the ass by m y subpar study efforts and methods. I hope yo u
can help me solve this puzzle. M y life and career path depends on it. Warm
regards. Thank you very much for your note! First off, I recommend you read back
issues of the Magnetic Memory Newsletter. You'll find tonnes of ideas that will
point you in the right direction if you w ant to incorporate the Magnetic Memory
Method into your language learning practice. You might also w ant to joint the
newsletter so you get daily messages that will inspire you to keep going no m atter
how high the walls of frustration may build. I help people unbuild them all the
time. As for Kanji, there's been a small, but substantial amount of discussion
going on about this in my video course. You're certainly welcome to join that
discussion and you'll also find videos on how to use a very unusual but effective
Memory Palace technique that I developed after a long series of mysterious and
unusual events and circumstances. I also frequently update the course in response
to questions. This stuff works miracles, and that I guarantee. Check out this
letter I received recently: / spent two hours on Sunday organising m y memory
palaces and their stations using the picture dictionary as a guide and voilail have
60 new words in m y head already. Your system is amazing. 1 am having no problem
creating graphic images and they ju s t WORK! I'm able to remember all these new
words effortlessly. I'm a very visual & kinaesthetic person, and I even act out
some o f the images. They ju st stick in m y head. Thank yo u so m uchfor sharing
this system. But praise aside, I'll also be honest with you: I'm not offering magic
bullets in my materials. But here's the thing: Jack never would have grown that
beanstalk if he hadn't planted the beans first, so there's really no point in
taking my video course or reading my newsletters or investing in one of my books
without making a commitment to bring your willingness to experiment with the method
to the table. That said, the Magnetic Memory Method is far, far easier than digging
a hole in the ground. And it's more fun too. But if you're worried about the giant
at the top of the beanstalk, don't be. Why? Because Jack prevailed. And he had an
amazing, life-changing adventure along the way. It all started with some beans, a
shovel and the desperation and pain he felt, two conditions he needed in order to
get to work in the first place after receiving a "call to adventure" (the details
of which vary in different versions of the story). And if you w ant to invest in
the Magnetic Memory Method, you're welcome to it and here's the place to go:
https://www.udemv.com/language-learning-onlinemagnetic-memory/?
couponCode=magneticiack I'm offering magic beans. Magnetically magic beans. You'll
notice there's a coupon code on that URL: "magneticjack." Anyone can use it if they
ready to hear my call to adventure and wrestle the giant of foreign language
vocabulary with new found - and Magnetic - powers. Please let me know if you have
any further questions. Don't Let Anyone Steal Your Magnetic Memory Dear Memorizers,
As you may or may not know, I'm very fond of magicians ... largely because I am
one. Not a working pro, m ind you. But I have performed in front of large groups of
people and recently I took things to a whole new level when I stole my first watch.
Have you ever seen a magician do this? No, of course you haven't, and that's just
the point. Here's w hat happened: Some friends asked me to perform for them at a
bar, so I showed up prepared with an entire show. Before I got started, a guy who
had seen me working my miracles before asked me if I could do a trick just for his
girlfriend. "But of course," I said. I let a little sparkle twinkle in my eye and
promised him he would not be disappointed. As it happened, I wound up concentrating
on this young woman throughout the entire show. Why? Because she was wearing a
watch. In all my years of performing magic, I've never seen anyone ever wearing a
watch. In our world of Smart Phones and Stupid Phones, it's just not that common
any more to see people all gussied up with the time bolted to their wrist. And
that's when I knew I had to steal it. And give it back, of course. As dramatically
as possible. I'm not going to tell you exactly when or how I stole it, but let's
just say that the old notion that magicians use misdirection is nonsense. We use
focused attention. It's the same focused attention I directed into massive bouts of
applause when at the end of my show I asked this young woman w hat time it was. She
was shocked to find her watch missing and utterly flabbergasted when I let her read
the time from the watch I was wearing on my wrist. Her watch! Anyhow focused
attention is w hat you're going to read about today in this Q & A about Magnetic
Memory Magic. Let's get started. I have understood that the Magnetic Memory
Equation is ultim ate tool in shaping the Memory. B ut I �m not able to g et
started smooth. I �m trying to make some word but it is not working. I �m trying to
learn Serbian, There pronunciation is not problem as yo u read what yo u write. W
hat ifin d i m ending up with is more o f story rather than an equation. To give an
example: Carobna = Magic in Serbian. No w I have a story which goes like this: A
magician is on stage and he pulls out a black charcoal (carbon) and says CAROBNA
and it turns into diamond. Now as 1 understand, word is ok, The action is also
conveying the meaning how do 1 correlate the image with pronunciation. A ny
suggestion as to how i can improve the process. Thank you. Thanks for this im
portant question! First off, congratulations on the progress you've already
achieved. Based on your description, you have the workings of a potentially
profound mnemonic. In terms of improving, here are five "troubleshooting" tips that
solve most Magnetic Memory Method issues that members of our family sometimes face.
I'm going to go through each of these and am confident that you can use the
information to improve your results. 1. The first issue is the m atter of location.
Have you created a dedicated Memory Palace with multiple stations through which you
can travel in a "natural" way without having to think about the journey? This is a
very im portant step because if you're only creating images, story-images or image-
vignettes, the "magnetization" of the material in your m ind will not be nearly as
effective. The point: just like in
Real Estate, "location, location, location" is the name of the game. 2. Next, it's
very im portant that you make your image, or story large, vibrant, bright and
colorful. The material really needs to stand out. It needs to blare loudly the way
dance music bounds from speakers in a club. This one is a tough not for a lot of
people to crack and it has been for me as well. But I've trained myself to be more
visual over the years and all it takes is practice. I've gone to art galleries and
even taken online drawing lessons. I now sketch every day and this has made me much
more visual in my imagination. 3. Your image or your story (which should be
imagistic) needs to have action. Action is a means of not only exaggerating your
imagery, but helping you recall sound and meaning. It is much easier to "see"
action as well. If you can conceptualize it - as you clearly can judging by your
example - then you can layer it over with imagery and exaggerate it. It's just a m
atter of taking a second to focus on this process of adding visual and action-based
elements to the concept/image that you've created to trigger recall. 4. Not
rehearsing recall can be a huge problem. Even if you had the magical ability to
memorize music the first time you heard it, you would need to practice playing it.
The body needs muscle memory, not just concept memory. That's why a regular
schedule of reciting w hat you've memorized is key (see Lecture 14). Note that the
rehearsal methods I teach do not involve rote learning. They require you to rely
100% upon internal and imaginative strategies and only later check w hat you've
produced against a w ritten record. 5. Memorizing without being relaxed is a
problem for many people because the m ind resists in several ways at once. These
are resistance to work, resistance to confidence and belief and resistance to
imagination. All of these are easily overcome using the relaxation techniques
taught in Lecture 24. Please focus on all five of these points with "carobna" and
any word that you wish to learn and let me know if you have any further questions.
A follow up with your observations would also be great! Your Movie Tickets To
Magnetize And Memorize Dear Memorizers, People often point out that memory isn't
like a movie. I mean, think about it. W hat was the last movie you saw? Can you see
it again exactly the way it ran the first time on the screen, frame by frame in
your mind? Chances are the answer is 'no.' But here's the thing. You can
reconstruct it. You can rebuild the skeleton and flesh in the details. In other
words, you can put on a hard hat and build a new version of something you've seen
before. Scientists know that some of those details you fill in will be fabricated
and added. I've read research in which people, after being told a story that made
very little sense in terms of plot order, reordered the details so that it did make
sense to them. Sometimes they left out a detail or two, sometimes they added fresh
new material. But overall these people were able to rather accurately redescribe
the basic plot even if they had reordered it. And that's a beautiful thing. Over
the next week or month or year (or for as long as you try the experiment I'm about
to propose), think about each new foreign language vocabulary word you learn as a
movie. Give it a skeleton and flesh out the details. Let me show you w hat I mean.
Erinaceous is a weird English word that means "like a hedgehog." To make a movie
out of this I see my friend Erin tossing an Ace of Spades at a Moose who is chewing
on a hedgehog for breakfast. How do I make this truly Magnetic? Using the Magnetic
Memory Method. Of course. In brief, that means locating this little movie in a
Memory Palace, ideally along a carefully planned and predetermined journey that
follows the key principles of not trapping yourself and not crossing your own path.
It means making the image large, vibrant, colorful and bursting with zany action.
So it's not just some bland image of Erin throwing an Ace of Spades. She's really
whipping it. It's like a space shuttle reentering earth's atmosphere, bursting with
smoke and flames as it whips through the air. And the reaction of the moose and the
hedgehog on his mouth is extreme. It takes just a second to focus on principles.
And then the next thing to do is test. It's been a while since I reminded you about
this video I made for you back in the day, but it will help you out with that
process: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMPMuOvfke4 And that's that. Become a film
director, make little movies out of the words you w ant to learn and if you need
more help, this is the right thing to do for your memory:
https://www.udemv.com/language-learning-onlinemagnetic-memorv Coupon code
"magneticcinema" makes your one-time investm ent in this revolutionary approach to
online language learning tastier than butter on popcorn. Retype To Memorize - Is He
Insane? Dear Memorizers, Just a quick suggestion for you as you work on becoming
more fluent. Pick a book in your target language that you find interesting. It
could be fiction or non-fiction. It could be a magazine or newspaper article.
Anything, so long as it has pages, paragraphs and sentences. Open that up and sit
in front of your computer. And retype it. It doesn't m atter if you know all the
words (use the Magnetic Memory Method and you'll know them sooner than you dreamed
possible). Why do this? It gives you much deeper familiarity with the rhythm s and
patterns of the language. It increases your feel for the pace of the grammar. And
it opens your unconscious m ind to the deeper structures of the language. Do one
page a day - every day - and you'll learn more about your target language in one
year than most people learn about their dream language over a lifetime. W hat am I
retyping? Doktor Faustus by Thomas Mann. It takes me about 20 m inutes per page.
And the benefits are massive, particularly in training myself to better obey the
rule that the verb in German almost always comes last in countless grammatical
constructions. It's one of the hardest patterns for English native speakers working
on German to pick up, even after years of study and the accumulation of tonnes of
vocabulary. W hat book or article will you retype as you implement this key
strategy immediately and begin to feel its positive effects immediately? The
Weirdest Memory King In The World Dear Memorizers, This guy says that he's the
memory king of the world. I don't w ant to be snide, but when people say that the
Magnetic Memory Method is too much work, I often think about systems like the one
taught by this memory king. W hat makes the memory king's work so unwieldy in my
view is that it requires you to memorize a poem to in order to recall the States of
America. That's all well and good as a Memory Trick, but it then requires you to
decode a poem during recall. I guess that's well and good too, and when using
mnemonics, there's no way to get around decoding. Then again, there's no way to get
around decoding no matter how you go about recalling memorized information. We're
always interpreting the images and impressions that our m ind brings us as we work
to bring information to the Magnetic tips of our tongues. The focus, then, is not
on do we decode but on how we decode. If I wanted to memorize all 50 States of the
USA, I certainly wouldn't construct a poem to do it. Poetry is a beautiful thing
and if I'm going to memorize one, I w ant it to be for the sake of poetry alone.
("I" before "e" except after "c" excluded, of course.) W hat I would do instead is
build a Memory Palace with 50 stations. Surprise, surprise. Then I would memorize
the states in alphabetical order. Why? Because in addition to the journey itself
always triggering the next location of the mnemonic, the alphabetization also
triggers the next word. Arizona m ust follow Alaska and Alaska m ust follow Alabama
due to the glorious, wondrous and effectively elegant preeminence of the alphabet.
Then, when you w ant to rehearse the information you've memorized - which you
should in order to maximize retention - you simply need to exhaust the options.
Because 'k' comes after 'i,' Arkansas m ust follow Arizona. You'll sail over to
California next because there are no states that start with 'b.' Honestly, I don't
think you'll need to additional features of alphabetization for memorizing US
States. We need the principle of alphabetization much more frequently when dealing
with words we've never encountered before. That's why I created the Magnetic Memory
Method and have put it into as m any formats as I possible can. Ebooks, paperbacks,
audiobooks and a video course. And since today is the last day of the m onth (I've
been pretty quiet about it for the past 29 days, hiding it down below in my
signature), I'd like to remind you that coupon code "november2013" unlocks that
video course for you with a very special discount you can apply immediately in
order to join over 2600 memorizers who enjoy learning by video. Here's the link:
https://www.udemv.com/language-learning-onlinemagnetic-memorv Remember: coupon code
"november2013" will work an additional bit of magic for you on your one-time
investm ent with a Magnetic Right Decision guarantee backing you up for 30 days,
every step of the way. Has the coupon expired? Just shoot me an email and I�ll send
you a new one: learnandmemorizefa)zoho.com. Further Resources For Memory &
Memorization Techniques I�ve mentioned Harry Lorayne several times in this book, so
let�s start with him. The Memory Book: The Classic Guide to Im proving Your Memory
a t Work, a t School and a t Play is a wonderful resource. Get it here: http: / /
memorizegermanvocabularv.com/harrylorayne Lorayne�s website is also well worth
visiting: http://w ww.harrvlorayne.com / If you�d like to hear a nearly 2 hour long
interview with the m an himself,
check out You�re Only an "Aha!�M om entfrom Greatness on this website: http://w w
w .hardtofindsem inars.com /H arrv Lorayne Inter view.htm You�ll also w ant to read
Tony Buzan. I recommend Use Your Perfect Memory. http: / /
memorizegermanvocabularv.com/tonybuzan A recent memory book that has gotten
everyone talking is Joshua Foer�s Moon walking with Einstein: The A rt and Science
o f Remembering E very thing has an appearance by Tony Buzan that is a delight to
read. His success with memorization skills is absolutely stunning. Here�s the link:
http: / / memorizegermanvocabularv.com/moon walking Perhaps my favorite audio
program is Dominic O�Brien�s Quantum Memory Power: Learn to Improve Your Memory. He
reads the book himself, making it a wonderful experience. His passion for
memorization techniques really shines through. http: / /
memorizegermanvocabulary.com/quantum m em orv power You�ve probably seen Kevin
Trudeau hawking his products on late night television infomercials. Don�t groan,
however. His Mega Memory is one of the best memory products I�ve ever encountered.
He talks a lot, but in Mega Memory, everything he promises is right there, ready to
be learned. http: / / memorizegermanvocabularv.com/megamemorv From the world of
magicians and mentalists, I recommend Richard Osterlind�s Easy to Master M ental
Miracles. http: / / www.mymagic.com/dvd/dvd-osterlind.htm This book includes tons
of other ideas as well that will have you amazing your friends. Tricks o f the M
ind is Derren Brown�s third book. It includes a very powerful chapter on
memorization that will take you further on your journey as a memory artist:
http://memorizegermanvocabularv.com/DerrenBrown Here is Anne Merritt�s article on
vocabulary memorization: http: / / www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationadvice/9
8 1618 5 /Foreign-languages-how-to-memorisevocabulary.html Finally, if you find any
resources that you think should be included in future editions of this book, please
do not hesitate to send them to me at learnandmemorizefa3zoho.com. Do you like this
newsletter? Has it helped you improve your Memory Palace work with tangible
results? If so, I w ant to ask you to help me tell other people about it. Since
2007 I�ve made my living entirely by writing and teaching. Yet, I have done very
little promotion for my books. Nearly every sale has come from people passing on
the good news through word of mouth. So now I�m asking YOU to please help me spread
the word. My belief is that the more people on earth that are able to cultivate
bilingual skills (if not trilingual and more), the better our world will be. The
vocabulary memorization skills described in my books genuinely help people who use
them and the results are real. Here�s how you can help. If you have an email list
of friends and contacts, why not send them a message about this newsletter and its
contents? Discuss the newsletter on web forums and message boards. Print out a few
relevant pages and leave them in any common area where you work or meet with
people. You can print your name on the copies so that people know they belong to
you and use the material to start great conversations about language memorization.
If you have friends or contacts in the press or media, tell them about this
newsletter. They will definitely get a good story, article or feature out of it. I
can easily be contacted by emailing: learnandmemorize@zoho.com. Write a review of
the newsletter and tell people where they can find it. Post your review on Amazon.
If you write guest blogs or speak on podcasts, mention how this newsletter has
helped you. If you are a teacher, include this newsletter as part of your course or
your next product launch. You could also invite me Spread the word! to be a speaker
and have me offer your students individualized coaching while I�m there. Contact me
for details. Thank you. Anthony Metivier learnandmemorize@zoho.com In Volume One,
you�ll learn: http: / / www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Memory-MondaysNewsletter-
ebook/dp/B00C4Y44K2/ * How to use dice to improve your memory. * How to lower any
hurdles that may be hindering your progress. * Why you should try to learn each new
skill you find difficult at least twice. * How to extend your Memory Palaces to
include 3000 words and more. * How to use "Big Box" stores as Memory Palaces. * How
to memorize textbooks so you can ace exams. * How to use video games and TV shows
as Memory Palaces. * Why perfectionism may be slowing you down. * How to motivate
yourself to memorize. * The best time-management techniques for memorization using
Memory Palaces. * How to use free email services to memorize new vocabulary. * W
hat to do if you're not a particularly visual person. * The importance of paying
attention in the first place. * How to avoid the "Memorization Kryptonite" that may
be holding you back. * And much, much more ... Looking for more of the Magnetic
Memory Mondays Newsletter? http: / / www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Memorv-
MondaysNewsletter-ebook/dp/BOOCMCSF38/ * How to use variety drills to improve the
speed and consistency of your memory. * The 6 negative beliefs you need to
eliminate in order to achieve your memorization goals. * Why mistakes are essential
for learning and memorizing. * Why one German professor defends memorization
techniques for language-learning against the naysayers. * How to combine the Peg
System with Memory Palace journeys for m axim um memorization effectiveness. * How
to create "Palimpsest" Memory Palaces for memorizing more than one language at a
time. * Why & how collaborating with a memorization partner can boost your fluency
by 100%, 200%, 300% and even more. * How to memorize new vocabulary in context. *
Where to find an exclusive - and free - online correspondence club for language
learners. * How to use to chart out and utilize larger places such as convention
centers as Memory Palaces. * How to memorize names the fast and easy way. * Why
building trust with your own memory is key to success (and precise instructions on
how to do it). * How to identify and use the "frames of fluency" as you
effortlessly memorize vocabulary and terminology. * Why there is no such thing as
"memory tricks." * Why one author claims that memorization techniques simply do not
work and an assessm ent of his alternative Volume 2 of the Magnetic Memory
Newsletter teaches you: approach. * How to incorporate physical movement into your
memorization procedures. * Why the most effective memorizers always teach what they
know about Memory Palaces and other mnemonic techniques. * How to avoid Memory
Palace Agoraphobia. * How Queen Elizabeth memorized the vocabulary of 5 languages
with step-by-step instructions on how you can do it too. * How to crack the grammar
code of any language using memorization techniques. * And much, much more ... If
that ain�t enough for you, check out Volume 3: http: / / www.amazon.com/Magnetic-
Memorv-MondaysNewsletter-ebook/dp/B00D5DYGAE/ It will show you: * A FREE resource
for finding over 15,000 phrases you can stuff into your Magnetic Memory Palaces *
How Zeno's Paradox Relates to Memorization techniques * How to Use Super Heroes as
Memory Palaces * Why Rote Learning May in Fact Be Easier than Mnemonics * How to
Keep Dr. Forget At Bay * How to Build Confidence W hen Speaking a the Vocabulary of
a Second Language You've Memorized * How to Easily Memorize Spellings * The Right
Way to Memorize By Rote (If You're Going to Insist On Using Rote Learning) * Why
Memorization Is An Act of "Unhiding" * How to Use the Ultimate Memorization
Equation * How to Move Buildings Around in Your Memory Palace Array * Why Spaced
Repetition Software May Do You More Harm Than Good * How to Memorize More Than One
Language At One * How to Memorize Like Sherlock Holmes *... and much, much more.
And then there�s always Volume 4 if you want to find out: http: / /
www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Memorv-MondaysNewsletter-ebook/dp/BOODOR2S36/ * How to
build Memory Palaces that work like rollercoasters (i.e. automatic, thrilling and
fun!) * Why speed reading may be the ultim ate enemy of memorization * How to use
the secrets of "Bibliomancy" to learn and memorize * The power of vocalization for
memorization * How to shoot for the moon with your memorization efforts * The key
steps to memorizing systematically * How to focus on improving your memory the
right way * Compounding your associative imagery * Why meditation will solve just
about any memorization problem - fast! * The most im portant words memorizers
around the world w ant to store in their Memory Palaces forever * Why having a bad
memory and practicing memorization badly are not the same thing* How memorizing a
deck of cards can be used to heal patients* The real secrets behind memorization
wizardry * The "permission-based" memorization technique that will send your memory
soaring * How to overcome learning disabilities and other imaginary barriers * How
to memorize sheet music and/or tablature * The power of memorizing foreign language
palindromes *... and much, much more. And I would be remiss if I didn�t introduce
you to Volumes 5 & 6 : http://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Memory-MondaysNewsletter-
ebook/dp/BOOEAB3U2A You�ll learn: * The truth and lies about how to memorize
concepts (with practical examples). * Why rehearsing memorized material backwards
is one of the most powerful memorization techniques in the world. * How to use TV
and Movies to create effective Memory Palaces. * The secret relationship between
Batman and memory techniques. * How to overcome the "Seven Deadly Sins" of memory.
* Why "3D" Memory Palaces betray the power of your mind. * How to tell the future
with memorization techniques. * How to avoid the dangers of memory "charlatans". *
How to deal with personal memories that get in the way of your Memory Palace
journeys. The best ways to read your book from the Magnetic Memory series.
* Precisely how memory techniques help fight depression. * How to memorize foreign
language cognates and conjunctions. * How memorization multiplies your
intelligence. * How to use a GPS navigator to help improve your memory. * 7 ways to
be the MacGuyver of memorization. * How to defeat the "willy-nilly" approach to
memorization once and for all. And much, much m ore... Magnetic Memory Newsletter
Volume 6 http: / / www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Memorv-MondaysNewsletter-
ebook/dp/BOOEZAMCLO In this volume you�ll learn: * The right attitude to have when
it comes to magnetically memorizing tonnes of vocabulary and other information *
How to "localize" material that you've memorized. * Why the Magnetic Memory Method
is not a game of "follow the guru" (and how to take my knowledge and make it your
own). * How to easily memorize grammar rules. * How to build Memory Palaces
effectively, even if you live in the countryside. * How to overcome the resistance
and negativity we hold about our memory abilities. * How and why memory skills
improve different parts of the brain. * How to memorize page numbers (so you don't
have to dogear your books when you haven't got a bookmark). * 4 reasons why
"memorization" is the dirtiest word in the world. * More on the faults of rote
learning and the benefits of mnemonics. * A list of amazing dictionaries you can
use to find and memorize dozens of amazing words in any foreign language. * How to
avoid getting caught up in perfectionism. * How and why working with Memory Palaces
helps defeat depression. * How to avoid having your friends think you're insane for
using Memory Palaces (and make the world a better place). * How to overcome
exhaustion and still recall memorized information in the thick of battle. * A
special game to help you memorize names and faces. * The perfect age to start using
memorization techniques. * The truth about "stepping outside of your comfort zone."
* Why using Memory Palaces is not a "sometimes-affair." * How to easily use
emotion, gusto, verve and innuendo in your memorization efforts. * And much, much
more ... Magnetic Memory Newsletter Volume 7 http: / / www.amazon.com/Magnetic-
Memorv-MondaysNewsletter-ebook/dp/BOOFOR5XOA If you've ever wanted to double,
triple or even quadruple the effectiveness of your Memory Palaces using the
Magnetic Memory Method for vocabulary memorization, then this seventh compilation
of the Magnetic Memory Mondays newsletter will show you: * How to deal with - and
possibly - overcome ADHD using Memory Palaces. * Why Magneto is a better
memorization role model than either the Joker or Batman. * The "feel-good" keys to
the kingdom of advanced memory skills. * Secret (and easy) techniques for
memorizing names and faces. * How to eliminate the inevitable confusion that comes
from poorly constructed Memory Palaces. * The incredible link between meditation
and memory skills. * How to boost your concentration when reading so you can
memorize the stuff once and for all. * Why running your hands along the walls may
improve your foreign language vocabulary memorization efforts. * How to build up to
20,000 words and more in your quest for fluency. * The hidden m astery skills
you'll need to keep your Memory Palace journeys linear. * The real reasons why
advanced memory skills for everyone would have prevented 9/11 (and all other wars).
* Why memorizing Chinese is easier than dealing with a hangover. * Precisely why
the need for motivation is a m yth and how to exploit it. * How to avoid going
outside in your Memory Palaces (if for some reason you've got a cold and might die
from even just a tiny draft of fresh Memory Palace air). * Why you should never
play "follow the memorizer" and how to do your own thing for m axim um success. *
How to "like" the words you are trying to memorize so that they stick in your m ind
better. * How to "shoo" procrastination out of your life so that you can make real
advances in your language memorization efforts. * Why you should never fail to
dare. * The absolutely best (and most Magnetic) way to use to-do lists. * How to
put your "abs" into the memorization process. * The most effective way to use
elevators in your Memory Palaces so that you can build nearly infinitive networks
of them and memorize massive am ounts of vocabulary starting right now. * And much,
m uch m ore... Volume 8 is ready and waiting: * How to memorize abstract concepts
using famous formulas like E=mc2 and famous paintings like Mona Lisa. (The great
Memory Champions do this ALL the time). * The secret relationship between drawing
and mnemonics (someone asked exactly how I do this and here's my answer). * My
personal system for using virtual elements inside of Memory Palaces (spelled out
for you WORD FOR WORD). * The power of Kaizen when using "memory tricks." (It's
kind of "unorthodox," but it works and you can use it in all areas of your life). *
Exactly how to use deadlines in a way that is easy, effective and won't annoy you
everytime you look at the calendar (And why the calendar is the worst way to chart
out your goals in the first place!) * How to see the relationships between words
when you are using Memory Palaces (specifically the Magnetic Memory Method) for
memorizing foreign language vocabulary. (No guarantees that this technique will
help you, so don't read this edition of the Magnetic Memory Mondays Newsletter just
for this tip alone). * How to use movies to create Memory Palaces. (Don't worry.
People who prefer television can use this technique too). * Exactly how to use a
university campus to build multiple Memory Palaces based around a specific subject
you want to memorize. (Obviously, you'll w ant to be a university student,
professional or professor, so don't peek at this idea unless ...) * Why the
Magnetic Memory Method is anything BUT a "rehash of the Aristotle Method of
Memorization.� (And how to make sure you're not one of the people who thinks this
way). * How to use Nike to memorize. (No, you don't have to wear their shoes or
their logo in order for this to work gangbusters!) * Why and how to leverage the
"law of dim inishing returns" in your memorization efforts. (Just for kicks, I
actually looked up this obscure term from economics and "rewired" it for the
exciting world of Memory Palace-based memory techniques). * Hemingway's advice to
people memorizing foreign language vocabulary. (And which parts you should
completely disregard - he wasn't always a happy camper, after all!) * Why the so-
called "dumbing down of America" can and will be defeated by people who use memory
skills. (And why people who don't will surely become their slaves). * Where to find
a list of the 800 words that you'll need first to achieve foreign language fluency
when using Memory Palaces to memorize foreign language vocabulary. (That's why
you're here, right? Or did you w ant to be monolingual forever?) * The absolute
best method for learning foreign language vocabulary. (I gave this talk in response
to a question I received when participating in a roundup of language learning
experts). * Advanced techniques for memorizing Kanji. (Brilliant stuff here). * The
piercing power of cognates and how to effectively use them. (It's astonishing how
few of these people are aware of this angle and how cognates are essentially a free
ticket to boosts in fluency in dozens of languages). * And much, much more ... The
Magnetic Memory system has been used by real language learners and people
interested in improving their memory abilities, most of whom previously considered
themselves owners of a "bad memory" to make real strides in memorizing new
languages, knowledge and terminology. Don't worry! None of the techniques and ideas
revealed in this newsletter are rocket science. Frankly, if you can memorize a
short email address or the name of a movie, then you can use the Magnetic Memory
system to memorize all the information you could ever want or need. But there's
really no time to lose. The Magnetic Memory system has been used by real language
learners and people interested in improving their memory abilities, most of whom
previously considered themselves owners of a "bad memory" to make real strides in
memorizing new languages, knowledge and terminology. About the Author Anthony
Metivier completed his BA and MA in English Literature at York University in
Toronto, Canada. He earned a second MA in Media and Communications from The
European Graduate School in Switzerland while completing a PhD in Humanities, also
from York. As the author of scholarly articles, fiction and poetry, he has taught
Film Studies in Canada, the United States and Germany. He plays the electric bass
and is the author of the novel Lucas Parks and the Download o f Doom and The
Ultimate Language Learning Secret. One Last In vitation ... If you aren�t already
subscribed to the Magnetic Memory Mondays newsletter, you can sign up at: h
ttp ://www.magneticmemorymethod.com/sign-up/. As a subscriber to the prestigious
Magnetic Memory newsletter, you�ll receive a free set of Magnetic Memory worksheets
that will help you achieve your memorization goals. W hilst subscriptions are
currently free for readers of my books, I�m not sure how much longer I�ll be making
this offer. Subscribe now and get the only information that will keep your memory
magnetic for years to come. And for a limited time only, subscribers will receive a
45- m inute interview I conducted with legendary world memory expert Harry Lorayne.
Sign up now. � 2014 Metivier Magnetic Memory Series. All Rights Reserved. No part
of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including
scanning, photocopying, or otherwise without prior written permission of the
copyright holder. Disclaimer and Terms of Use: The Author and Publisher have
strived to be as accurate and complete as possible in the creation of this book,
notw ithstanding
the fact that he does not w arrant or represent at any time that the contents
within are accurate due to the rapidly changing nature of the Internet. While all
attempts have been made to verify information provided in this publication, the
Author and Publisher assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions, or contrary
interpretation of the subject m atter herein. Any perceived slights of specific
persons, peoples, or organizations are unintentional. This Edition, Copyright 2014