The Journey Memory Method

The Journey memory method is straight-forward. You assign the items you want to remember to locations on a predefined journey. Each item needs to be associated with the location using a strong mental image, and employing all five senses.

The system is also known as the Locus or Loci method since the method has been documented as far back as Ancient Rome. Orators would imagine key images of their speeches at different locations around the room.

The journey should be familiar to you and easy to recall. For example, I have a journey in my house with the following stages:

1. Bedroom
2. En suite bathroom
3. The TV/Hifi entertainment area
4. Bookshelf area
5. Toilet
6. Laundry
7. Kitchen
8. Dining Room
9. Front Lounge Room
10. Entrance Hall

I could continue my journey outside for longer lists:

11. Front Porch
12. Car port
13. On the driveway
14. At the letterbox
15. On the road outside our house
16. At the intersection of our street
17. At the bus stop
18. At the bottom of the hill on Finlay Road
19. At the intersection with the highway
20. At the railway station.

In Dominic O'Brien's Quantum Memory Power CD set, he gave a list of items to remember. I listened to this list once over 8 days ago without revision and I can still remember most of the items.

The first item was "Wallet" so I imagined a very large wallet on my bed,as big as the bedspread. The third item was "snake" and I imagined a very large snake draped over our lounge chair watching television. The fourth item was "screwdriver" which I imagined jammed into the bookcase. The fifth item was "peach" and I imagined a very large juicy peach on top of our toilet.

I wont recount the remaining items I remember but the act of using strong images of the item being remembered with some action at the place on the journey, makes a very powerful recall technique.

O'Brien offers other suggestions for Journeys including a 31 step journey for memorising your calendar, and journey in a holiday destination (or some other pleasurable place) to use as a mental in tray. His suggestion for forgetting one of the associations is to take a mental hand grenade and blow up the item.

In summary, the Journey method is very effective and only requires you devise some mental journeys to place the things you want to remember. You can have a lot of fun exercising your imagination to make make the items you are remembering associate with the stages on your journey. Use all of the senses - sight, sound, taste, touch and smell. Imagine your association using all of the senses and your recall will be so much better.

I already know my house journey, but I need to work on my 31 step journey for a calendar/diary and another journey for memorising speeches!