How to develop a photographic memory in 4 easy steps

photo source

Is there a way to develop a photographic memory with exercises, can our minds be taught a photographic memory and how far has science come in the area of memory?

I haven’t thought of this subject for years, however, now I want to start remembering large quantities of information.

In the past, I was able to bypass 6 months of school at the university so I know memory techniques work, and test out to get what I needed, by studying ways to learn rapidly. There were courses on speed-reading, which I tried a bit of because I need to cover so much material. This is good only for things you want to recall not enjoyment of literature.

In speed-reading, you increase your reading skills by covering large chunks of material at once. With practice the brain learns to do this. I also attended a “Super Learning Class”, as the instructor referred to it, with other techniques. I never checked for Photographic Memory techniques since I thought you had to be born with this ability. Like savant, Stephen Wiltshire, known as the Human Camera. Wiltshire can look at a subject once and then draw an accurate and detailed picture of it.
Stephen Wiltshire painted this from memory after a few minute ride in a helicopter over Monte Carlo.

Source

He frequently draws entire cities from memory, based on a single, brief helicopter ride. Wikipedia

For the photographic memory post, I began perusing websites. Only to find many websites debate over any such thing as photographic memory. But I came upon “Eidetic Memory”. You may have heard of it. Surprising to myself I had never heard of Eidetic Memory so I read about it. To me, it turns out to me it is the same thing as photographic memory only with a different name. Throughout this post, we will use the term Eidetic Memory, as taught to operatives in the military for over 70 years.

Eidetic memory gives you the ability to recall from memory after only a few seconds of exposure images and text. This can help with remembering events, pictures, and exams.

4 EASY STEPS for developing a Photographic/ Eidetic memory if you chose to try it.

It takes one-month training 15 minutes per day. You have to stick with it.

1. The room needs to be dark with a bright lamp or ceiling light. Be next to the light switch to turn it off and on, with your book. The paper covering the page in the book has to have a rectangular cut out in it to expose only a paragraph. Close your eyes and open, focus on the paragraph of writing.

2. Turn off the light and you will see an afterglow as your eyes adjust to the dark.
   Turn the light on for a split second and then off again.

3. You will have a visual imprint in your eyes of the material that was in front of you. Once it fades flip the light on again for a split second, again staring at the material in front of you.

4. Repeat this process until you can recall every word in the paragraph. You will actually see the paragraph and read it from the imprint in your mind.

If you do it be sure and share your results with me.

Selecting a text to use for this technique I chose “The Dhammapada”, interpreted by Ananda Maitreya and forward by Thich Nhat Hanh for my exercise. There are short paragraphs in it. I have to admit I did not do it 15 minutes and I found myself more interested in the text than expected. I did do it a few times and it has an effect to be sure.

Here is the 1st paragraph in the stanza’s title Twins.

“Mind is the forerunner of all actions.
All deeds are lead by mind, created by mind.
If one speaks or acts with a corrupt mind suffering follows,
As the wheel follows the hoof of an ox pulling a cart.”

A teaching from my past with meditation to increase inner seeing where you look at something, say in the room and then close your eyes and a type of screen appears and you can see things. That works for me by the way.

If you are interested in my results with Eidetic memory exercises or have done them or plan to do them yourself let me know. Maybe you think this is all a bunch of baloney and that is okay with me too.

There is always the argument, which one of us needs a photographic memory as we already photograph everything, including our food. (A little humor.)

Here are a few source links

Steps for a photographic method: tells military method (one of many sites with the steps)
https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/memory/difference-between-eidetic-memory-and-photographic-memory/

Take test for photo memory (I took it and did pretty well.)
https://psychologenie.com/do-you-have-photographic-memory-take-test

The human camera (more info on the savant)
http://wondergressive.com/experiment-in-photographic-memory/

Thank you for reading
Live strong, Steem on!
@rebeccabe