Collating Internal Resources: Using Memory, #1

By Sujendra Prakash

•    A student writing an examination

•    A graduate attending an interview

•    An executive making a presentation

•    A homemaker purchasing groceries

•    A senior citizen meeting old friends

All these people have something in common: the use of memory. Those who use their memory effectively will be able to do better than others. Not that they lose their memory but they are not able to remember specific things at the most important moment when it is needed.
This book provides a complete overview of several Life Skills necessary to deal with daily challenges.
I have been successfully working for the last three decades to understand the mechanisms of memory, concentration, and studying. With my knowledge and skill accumulated over the years, I could help thousands of people, especially students, to overcome their problems.
I thought it is now time to share my knowledge so that others take benefit. As there are innumerable aspects we are dealing with, it is better that I present them in a series of eBooks. This will make it easier for people to focus on one major aspect at a time and make amends in their daily routine.
I hope this series will benefit you and pave way for effective and efficient memory and concentration.
The first series here contains the following nine chapters:
How do we remember?
How to concentrate?
How to be involved in studies?
How to program our subconscious?
How to be emotionally free?
How to overcome exam anxiety?
How to study a textbook?
How to become efficient in writing?
How to plan your career?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sujendra Prakash
• Release date: Mar 11, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201151423

Sujendra Prakash

Professor Sujendra Prakash holds a Ph.D. degree in Psychology from Bangalore University. During his extensive professional career, he has held senior academic positions in several colleges. He has taught graduate and post-graduate students in various subjects of psychology. Dr. Prakash is a professional member of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology, Chennai; Indian Society for Training and Development, New Delhi; Associate life member of Karnataka Association of Clinical Psychologists; and was an affiliate of Consulting Psychology Division of the American Psychological Association during 1999-2001. He has published and presented several papers and he has been interviewed on burning issues in Times of India, Bangalore, and other newspapers. He has also been interviewed on several TV and radio channels. He was invited to be a celebrity on Indiatimes.com in 2002. He has counseled and helped thousands of people in developing memory, concentration, study skills, personality development, etc. He has several corporate and institutional clients.

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

Congratulations on the decision you have taken to own this book.

This book provides a novel approach to understanding the mental processes that lead to memory, concentration, thinking. reasoning, goal formulation, and career-building.

Initially, it tries to provide a clear picture of the processes involved in memory and concentration. Clarifying certain myths associated with it is essential for improving it. This forms the basis for the complete series on Using Memory.

The book offers a study technique that can be used to master the most difficult subject and outlines step-by-step methods that can be easily followed.

It also provides resources to remove emotional blocks in both personal and professional life. If you can regulate negative emotions and learn to have more positive emotions, then it becomes easier and more comfortable to deal with the situation at hand. Instead of borrowing our worries and fears, it is better to deal with them first so that we can start afresh.

Several important tips have been provided to the parents, teachers, and students to overcome the exam anxiety.

One major task that an examination requires is writing. If the student can nurture this skill, then very little hindrance comes during the exams. Students, parents, and teachers are provided with guidance to develop and practice writing ability.

This book also provides a practical guide to deal with the removal of emotional blocks and pave way for healthy emotional intelligence.

New concepts like TV viewer's Syndrome, Conscious Capture, Subconscious Tuning, and Subliminal Programming have been introduced here. These are based on my research in these areas.

It is not always enough to be good at what we do. We must be able to carve out a career that can bring out the best in us and enable us to do what we love to do daily. Steps to achieve this are enlisted here.

To achieve all these, we must summon both inherent and acquired resources, to benefit us as well as others.

I hope this book provides a practical guide to improve our skills and at the same time eke out a fruitful career in our life.

Chapter 1: How do we remember?

Similar to many psychological concepts, memory and concentration are misunderstood and misrepresented by the majority of the population. An attempt is made here to enlist the myths as well as provide the actual explanations.

Pointers to regulate the memory process have been divided into three levels for an easy reckoning: primary, secondary, and tertiary.

Like Marcel Proust, we look for something around us to provide easy solutions to our memory problems. What we need to understand is that nature has no shortcuts. Depending upon the external objects (like Proust's cup of tea) to understand an internal mechanism like memory is not only misleading but also a waste of time. Time and again many non-professionals have used this failing to their advantage by writing books, conducting workshops, and offering mnemonic techniques. They have indeed impressed the novice but that is all there is to it. They fill their coffers and go smiling to their banks leaving the uninitiated and uninformed with useless keys to unfound success!

When you are trying to solve a maze, it looks as if you have conquered all the paths leading to the goal.

Suddenly, you find a dead-end. You have to start all over again. It looks simple and yet it eludes you. It is for this reason that so many myths surround memory. Though memory looks very simple, it has an ocean of several mental processes.

Let us first enlist a few myths about memory and simultaneously understand a few basic facts about memory.

Myth 1: Memory is a simple function.

Fact1: Memory is a process and not a function.

Such a process is very intricate involving several areas of the brain like the medulla, cerebellum, limbic system, and the association areas of the cerebral cortex. There is a neural transmission from one region of the brain to another during information processing. At the same time, both chemical and physical changes