Memory

They say memory is blessed. It doesn't remain the same.It's old order changeth yielding place to new. What all it contains. It contains good bad & everything. It can't be partial. It is a fountain of all kind of feelings too.It is a mixture of bitter & sweet . Life too is good, bad & everything

Memory is an important and essential part of our brain without which it is hard to survive. Our organs hands, eyes, nose, ears, etc are visible to everybody whereas brain, heart, kidney etc which are inside our body are not visible though they too are parts of our body. Similarly,memory is also not visible to naked eye. However, it can be made out whether one has a good memory or not.Everyone would not have the same quantum of memory Memory varies from person to person. Some have astounding memory and some have poor memory. One who has a good memory is often appreciated. A good memory is always a gift. It's a treasure.It's quite essential to have memory to be a human being .Without memory a human being is no better than an animal. Further, it's not enough if one has remarkable memory, they must also have an appetite to know and remember more too. Otherwise, the remarkable memory is a mere waste. One could remember only what it permits. It's not unlimited. Why do we feel difficult to remember many important things of life or why are we ignorant of many important things of life. It's because we waste precious time remembering unimportant things.Why people hold onto memories is because memories are the only things that don't change when everyone else do.

What is memory? It is the mental faculty of retaining and recalling past experience. Memory is the mental storing of information and the ability to recall that information at a later time. Human memory consists of three processes: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. Sensory memory is the temporary state where information, stimuli, or experiences stay until they are processed into either short-term memory or long-term memory. Short-term memory is the brief storage of information. Long-term memory is the continued storage of information.

One would not be fully aware what is there in their memory leave alone others. Memory is mysterious.What is there in one’s memory and what is not there in one’s memory others cannot make out at all.They can make out what is there only if it is shared with them. Memory is great. Of course, one can’t remember something that they never learned. Memory depends upon one's interest. It haunts everybody. Of course, memory does not haunt everybody equally. Memory haunts some people more and some people less depending upon their memory power. Memory always relates to past. How far one travels into past it depends on their memory. Sweet memory brings in happiness and positive thoughts. Bitter memory brings in depression and negative thoughts. It is memory that reminds one of their successes and failures. It is that enables one to recall or recollect unforgettable incidents that they come across also. If memory does not work, one would not be certainly able to recapitulate anything and nothing worthwhile could be achieved at all. One must have a good memory to be able to keep up the promises one makes. Similarly,one must have a good memory to take upon trade of lying. Usefulness of memory has no bounds at all. How and when memory would be helpful one cannot guess even.

Whether having a good memory is a blessing or a curse? This is a question which haunts many people. We come across different answers to this vexed question. Some say “ One of the keys to happiness is a bad memory" Some say one who has a good memory is really fortunate. They draw our attention to plight of those who suffer from Alzheimer disease. They contend that it is really advantageous if one has a good memory. They consider memory as a boon. They feel that it is easy for a person with good memory to remember everything. According to them, those who have memory need not read again and again or by heart and a lot of time and energy would be saved by them. Everything settles quickly in their mind. They need not put in more efforts. As such some people are jealous of people who have a good memory. Good memory is always considered as an asset. As such, majority love to have good memory. Memory is one’s companion, personal assistant, alarm, reminder and what not. Memory enhances one's capabilities. More a memory one has more one can remember. It is memory that enables one to retain knowledge. Memory is essential for everything. It is indispensable. It is our guide or reference also.

Those who have less memory are generally dull herds. They cannot remember many things. Having a poor memory is certainly an handicap to a person. Some is of the opinion that having mere memory is not enough but one should have bright eyes, sensitive ears and sharp intelligence along with it and mere memory is of no avail. In fact having good memory and not having good memory both have advantages and disadvantages. Regarding memory it is said that memory can be a paradise from which one cannot be driven out, it can also be a hell from which one cannot escape too. It is memory in fact that sometimes comes in our way when we want to forget and forgive somebody. Some say that those who can forget especially that which is bitter are really blessed. Depending upon what type of thoughts one receives we can say whether memory is good or bad. If we receive negative thoughts and when times are bad memory turns out to be a curse. One feels that it is better to have less memory at that time. This is the view of some people only whereas some feel if we have good memory we can think of our happy moments at that time and that would give us strength to bear the difficulties and would enable us to convert negative thoughts into positive thoughts.

Memory is always not dependable. Sometimes it comes to our rescue at nick of moment. Sometimes it gives slip at nick of moment. Memory is good or bad that is decided by our state of mind. A disturbed mind cannot decide anything. Memory does not work well in a disturbed mind. It is always better to remain calm then. We can store in memory whatever we want. Some remain green in our memory. Some remain vague in our memory. Memory helps us to deal with any situation. Memory is the store house of our experiences. Down the memory lane we find both happy and miserable days of our life. Memory is the guide to our future. Memory could be developed. Some remain in our memory without our knowledge. All do not have uniform memory. Some have more long term memory but have less short term memory. Some have less long term memory but more of short term memory. Some have equally both short term and long term memories. As we grow older and older generally our memory declines. Similarly any damage to brain cells due to accident, sickness etc affect one’s memory. Too much worrying also affects memory. Stress impairs our memory. Loss of memory effects our movements, activities etc. Some remain in our memory for a long time and some remain in our memory for a short term. Further those which are in long term memory of some are in short term memory of others and vice versa. Memory is a storehouse where both wanted and unwanted thoughts get stored. If we think positively always, definitely more positive thoughts get stored. It is always possible to replace negative thoughts by positive thoughts. We must make an attempt. It is an exercise. There are techniques to improve one’s memory in right direction. Development of memory is an art. We can improve upon our memory by various ways and means. Our efforts in this direction are always important .We should make use of memory judiciously either for storing or for using. We should ensure that memory works systematically and adequately. Time to time overhaul of memory is quite essential. We should drive from our memory unwanted thoughts periodically and making room for new ones. Thus we can rejuvenate our memory. Those moments which we enjoyed more, those moments when we suffered more and influenced us remain for a longer period in our memory depending upon the impact or imprint that they make on us. More the impact on us longer they remain in our memory.

We lend our ears only to that which we are interested and rest we do not pay attention at all. We can be deaf to that which we are not interested. This is “Intelligent Deafness” only. As far as memory is concerned we cannot have such a preference. We cannot dictate it. We may want to forget an incident but it is not at all easy to erase it from our memory. The incident may remain in our memory and surface at any time. In fact, that which one wants to forget remains more in memory. It is not easy to forget anything that is deep rooted. Expelling it from memory needs practice and patience. It is always better if one does not allow bitterness to remain in their memory. Bitterness grows by leap and bounds if allowed to remain in memory

Our nature and memory go hand in glove. We can know what type of a person one is by testing his or her memory. If somebody does a small help some remember the same for a long time whereas some do not remember even if they are helped a lot. That is their nature. One is grateful whereas another is ungrateful. That is why we find some who do not remember many good that we do to them whereas they remember only the moments when they are adversely affected on account of us. That also proves the fact that memory depends on how we develop and maintain it. Life comprises of sweet and bitter memories. Human nature is such that they want to remember always only sweet memories but what to do they have no choice of their own. Bitter memories never leave them, they follow them in their own way. Regarding memory it is also said that one may forget what the other said, but one will never forget how the other made them feel. Memory feeds imagination. Creditors have better memories than debtors. One must have a good memory to be able to keep the promises one makes.

All we cannot store in our memory. We must prioritize. Whichever, we want to remember for ever, there is always a way. Organization is a great memory aid. Writing things in an appointment book means you don't have to actively remember when you've scheduled meetings or activities. Similarly, having a dedicated place in your home for car keys or always parking in a consistent spot at work helps free your mind to focus on other things. Daily if we see something, do something, for years that was our routine we do not put in any efforts it automatically gets permanently stored in our memory and cannot be erased easily from our memory at all. More importance, one gives to anything and thinks more and more of it, generally that too remains long in one's memory.

Memories formed early in life can be among the most enduring. As we age, the part of the brain responsible for helping record new memories becomes less efficient. New information has more difficulty getting in, but memories that were stored in the past can remain intact. It's one of the reasons elderly people often remember startling details about their youth but sometimes forget what they had for dinner the night before. On the whole, mental capacity is fairly stable during the adult years, though a slow drop in reaction time does occur. The first noticeable decline happens when people reach their sixties. Still, there are things we can do to keep our minds agile and our memories alive.

Memories need not retire when we retire. The memory skills we have when we’re older depend, in large part, on how much we used them during our working life and how much we continue using them. Studies suggest that some of the memory lapses older people complain about are not inevitable. By exercising our brain—through continuing education or even by doing crossword puzzles—there's evidence that older people can keep mentally fit. Regular exercise can improve some mental abilities by an average of 20–30 percent. It also keeps us healthy and may help prevent strokes and other circulation disorders that can cause brain damage. "When we exercise, we're pumping more blood everywhere and keeping the plumbing from getting clogged up," Memory and Sharing:-

Isolation is about the worst thing you can do to your brain, says Art Shimamura, yet many people isolate themselves when they retire. Memory never really takes hold unless we discuss experiences with others. Talking with friends about the plot of a book or sharing our feelings about a good movie requires that we organize information and relate the parts we think were most important. That creates new connections in the brain and strengthens our memory. Thus we also keep in touch with our own life stories by sharing them with others.

Why do we lose memories? It can be a problem with encoding, storage, retrieval, or some combination of these .Forgetting occurs because of competition from other information. Forgetting occurs because memory fades with time .We may tend to forget things that we do not wish to remember.

If a product promises significant memory improvements without much mental effort on our part, it is impossible. That's like saying we can improve our physical fitness without lifting a finger. Like improving our athletic fitness, improving our memory fitness has benefits in many areas of our life namely employment, relationships, confidence and leisure are a few .We cannot run a marathon the day after going for a jog for the first time in five years. Similarly, we can't learn one memory technique and suddenly our memory drastically improves. Our natural muscle performance doesn't differ that much from the rest of the population. It's how we train and exercise them that make them either strong or weak. Similarly, our natural brain performance does not differ that much from other people as well. It's how we train and use our "brain muscle" that makes a real difference .If we don't take care of physical fitness, it's more likely we'll develop physical illnesses and diseases such as heart disease. Similarly, if we don't take care of our mental fitness it's more likely we'll develop brain illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease, or that we’ll experience age-related mental decline earlier in life. Both physical and mental fitness can help our body and brain work effectively for longer.

While it's not entirely clear what causes Alzheimer's disease, amyloid plaque — a goopy, fibrous substance akin to fur balls in the brain — plays a key role. As the plaque builds up, it causes more oxidation and inflammation, and begins to kill off brain cells.

Brain cells often stop communicating with each other as people age, making it harder for the brain to process thoughts, retain short-term memory and create new cells.

Dr. James Joseph says, “Old neurons are like old married couples — they don’t talk to each other very much anymore. They just sit in the room with the remote and stare at the TV,”

Many fruits and vegetables primarily valued for their powerful antioxidants may in fact provide multiple benefits for the aging brain. They may not only slow oxidation, but may also act as anti-inflammatory agents, make the brain less vulnerable to amyloid plaque, improve communication between neurons and allow the brain to regenerate — all of which contribute to better memory in old age.

Today it is commonplace to compare the human brain to a computer, and the human mind to a program running on that computer. Once seen as just a poetic metaphor, this viewpoint is now supported by most philosophers of human consciousness and most researchers in artificial intelligence. If we take this view literally, then just as we can ask how many megabytes of RAM a PC has we should be able to ask how many megabytes (or gigabytes, or terabytes, or whatever) of memory the human brain has.Now-a –days, calculators and computers etc have reduced the work of memory a great deal. We are taxing our memory less. We should keep our memory engaged with adequate work. Otherwise it is likely to lose its sharpness. Old age problems may occur to us at an early age. We should make use of memory for some other good purpose so that it works well. The good news is that research of memory enhancing drugs is taking place at a rapid pace. The molecules of memory in sea slugs, it turns out, aren’t that different from some of those in humans. They are now one of the many inspirations for drugs that may someday ward off the forgetfulness that plagues so many people as they grow older. Aplysia is a memory enhancing medicine. Aplysia may uncover the secrets to learning and forgetting. A protein called CREB that can turn genes on or off. CREB is the brain’s sculptor: it forms memories by reshaping the synapses, or spaces between neurons. Less CREB equals less memory –making ability.