The Power of Memories

1482 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Mind and body connection

Why do we keep repeating menial activities in our everyday lives, i.e. Playing cards, bowling? Is it because we enjoy being in the moment so much, or is the elation that we feel, the satisfaction that comes from these activities, just our minds looking forward to the memories of these times? If it is truly the moment we enjoy, then why do we feel satisfied for extended periods of time after the activity is gone? It is the memory of that feeling that we hold in highest regard. This is why we can get bored of doing the same activities, over and over again, even if we enjoy it so much for the earlier times. Does the activity change? No. The memories of that activity change. We already have so much space in our mind, dominated by that one activity, that we feel satisfied. After an extended absence from that activity we can enjoy it as much as we did the first time. That is because the memories are slipping away from us, and we feel like we...have room...for more memories of said activity. But why do we enjoy the memories of some activities more than others?

Perhaps all of our pleasure, comes from the anticipation of memories that will be developed while taking part in said activities. Our bodies give us memory aids, i.e. Epinephrine (adrenaline), endorphins. Our bodies come to recognize these chemicals as a point in time which we will later look back on. Different peoples bodies release these memory aids in different quantities, in very different activities. Some people's bodies release epinephrine when they partake in a physical activity such as bungee jumping, yet others release it when they take the life of another. Our bodies releasing these memory aids, is the reason that we enjoy different activities, to different...

... middle of paper ...

... We are for a short while in the eternal moment, subconsciously storing our memories, to become one with the physical moment, only when we are finished placing the memory in our minds. The eternal moment is why we can be asleep for 15 minutes, and have a dream which would take us 15 hours to actually live out. We are escaping from the physical moment in our subconscious, and are opening ourselves up to the eternal moment, but we will be there for no time at all. And I mean no time. Not one second. We will be there for 15 hours in the course of a non existent moment. Memories have no concept of time. And what can a dream be if it is not a memory. It has to come from somewhere. Thoughts perhaps, more than memories, but experiences nonetheless, whether we are aware of them or not. Once we learn to embrace the eternal moment we can truly live forever in our minds.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Descartes Dream Argument

    1001 Words  | 3 Pages

    Any truth that can exist in one can exist in the other. Because of this, there is no definite way to tell if an experience is dreamt or not. The arguments against this are purely speculative, based on personal experiences, and perhaps experiences of others, but that is not enough. Just because one person may not feel pain during a dream, signifying some sort of differentiation between the two states, does not mean another person doesn’t. Because all the evidence against this argument are purely speculative and circumstantial, it proves that we cannot prove consciousness at any given moment with Cartesian certainty. A waking state does exist, however, our ability to differentiate it from a sleeping state is impossible, leading to confusion about experiences. Having Cartesian certainty about whether or not we are dreaming at any given moment allows us to evaluate all the other aspects that might be skewed our findings. Because we may be asleep at any moment, who is to say our knowledge and experiences aren’t all dreamed? The brain, although a complex mechanism, is not complex to come up with the ideas that we have experienced within them. We may form new ideas based on our experiences, but the basis of it must have been experienced at one point or another. Our brain’s need reference for knowledge, and for us to know absolute truths, we need to understand that some truths may not be as

    Read More

  • Monster Culture In Jeffrey Jerome Cohen's 'Monster Culture'

    1983 Words  | 4 Pages

    Frederick, Shane. “Hedonic Treadmill.” Encyclopedia of Social Psychology. Ed. Roy F. Baumeister, and Kathleen D. Vohs. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2007. SAGE knowledge. Web. 8 July 2014.

    Read More

  • Recovered Memory Theory

    877 Words  | 2 Pages

    Amici curiae is a social psychologist and legal scholar who studies the effects of the Recovered Memory Syndrome on individuals’ behaviors and judicial practices. Amici has conducted research and published several peer-reviewed articles explaining the role of hypnosis in uncovering repressed memories and related traumas that come along with it. This brief intends to provide the Court with relevant and current literature explaining the recovered memory phenomenon and its relationship with psychotherapeutic techniques where recovery of memories often occurs. Research presented by amici demonstrates that cases of sexual abuse, real or imagined, must be given careful consideration as victims undergo significant emotional

    Read More

  • Intrinsic Vs Extrinsic Motivation Essay

    487 Words  | 1 Pages

    Based on the different reasons or goals that give rise to an action, motivation can be classified into intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation (Ryan and Deci, 2000). The first type, intrinsic motivation, refers to doing something because “it is inherently interesting or enjoyable” (Ryan and Deci, 2000, p. 55). This type of motivation refers to the reasons for L2 learning that are derived from one’s inherent pleasure and interest in the activity and the activity is performed because of the spontaneous satisfaction associated with it (Noels, 2001). Researchers (e.g. (Vallerand, 1997; Vallerand et al., 1992; Noels et al., 2000) have categorized intrinsic motivation into three subtypes: (1) intrinsic motivation-Knowledge, which is the motivation

    Read More

  • The Need for an Explanation of Human Memory

    1439 Words  | 3 Pages

    Discuss the need for an explanation of human memory, which proposes that memory is a set of stages, rather than a single process.

    Read More

  • Memory

    976 Words  | 2 Pages

    I. Introduction II. Dementia Senility is a misused term for the loss of ability to think, reason, and remember in older persons. Senility is not a medical condition; it is not normal, natural, or inevitable with aging; it is not limited to older people either. The term senility is replaced in most of my pertinent research by the medical term dementia, which seems to describe a group of symptoms that represent a change or deterioration from an individual's previous level of functioning (Tueth, 1995). Dementia has specific causes, which impair long-term memory and quite relevantly;: language, judgment, spatial perception, behavior, and often personality, interfering with normal social and occupational functioning.

    Read More

  • Memory Is Memory Essay

    2156 Words  | 5 Pages

    What is memory and how its work. It is usually link with the ‘thinking of again’ or ‘recalling to the mind’ of a thing learned or memorized before. Definitions of this sort imply conscious awareness in the remembered that they are recollecting something of the past. For instance, we may remember our first day of school or some information like who is the president of the country. Basically, this is just tiny part of our capacity when we check out the full human memory capabilities.

    Read More

  • Unlocking Memories

    800 Words  | 2 Pages

    One may not recall everything that has happen to him or her throughout their entire lives, but there is a good chance that an unconscious part of their mind does. One may not remember the minute details of a day at the beach, but returning to that same beach a decade later and finding a vaguely familiar seashell may bring back memories of that faithful day. In Swann’s Way, Marcel Proust likened this feature of memory to a “Celtic belief that the souls of those whom we have lost are held captive in some inferior being” (Proust, 1801). Here, souls are memories. They are unbeknownst to us, chained to something other than our conscious mind (intellect); yet, freeing those memories is as simple as finding their prison or re-experiencing the sensations that made them remarkable in the first place.

    Read More

  • John Stuart Mill and Utilitarianism

    1321 Words  | 3 Pages

    Another problem is that some pleasures are more alluring than others. Pleasure does not deal with just quantity, quality is also important. The old saying, “You ...

    Read More

  • The Doctrine of Recollection

    1000 Words  | 2 Pages

    Socrates’ Doctrine of Recollection is invalid because of the flawed procedure that was employed to prove it, its inability to apply to all types of knowledge, and the weakness of the premises that it is based on.

    Read More

  • Concept of Anxiety by Soren Kierkegaard

    1753 Words  | 4 Pages

    Time and eternity are important concepts that correspond to the finite and infinite aspects of human life. Time is the realm occupied by the human body, the human psyche, and all worldly affairs. In everyday thought people spatialize the events in this finite realm in terms of the past, present, and future. Eternity is the realm of the spirit that synthesizes the body and psyche, and spirit is the aspect of human life that belongs to the infinite. Kierkegaard thinks of eternity strictly in an infinite sense and wants to avoid regarding as eternity the indefinite passing of time.

    Read More

  • Memory

    546 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Can our memories be described as accurate? Why or why not? What important implications might this have for our lives?”

    Read More

  • Sleeping and Dreaming

    4847 Words  | 10 Pages

    Sleeping and Dreaming Despite the large amount of time we spend asleep, surprisingly little is actually known about sleeping and dreaming. Much has been imagined, however. Over history, sleep has been conceived as the space of the soul, as a state of absence akin to death, as a virtual or alternate reality, and more recently, as a form of (sub)consciousness in which memories are built and erased. The significance attributed to dreams has varied widely as well.

    Read More

  • The Relationship between Learning and Memory

    1663 Words  | 4 Pages

    Learning to tie shoes and ride a bike requires the encoding, storing, and retrieving of past observations of the procedure. With a lot of practice, children master these skills so well that they are able to remember them the rest of their lives. Memory is the storing of information over time. It is one of the most important concepts in learning; if things are not remembered, no learning can take place. As a process, memory refers to the "dynamic mechanism associated with the retention and retrieval of information about past experiences" (Sternberg 260). We use our memory about the past to help us understand the present. The study or memory in psychology is used in different ways, as well as there are many different ways to study how memory works in humans. In psychology there are many tasks used to measure memory, and different types of memory storages that human's use, such as sensory storing, or short term storing. There are also a lot of techniques that humans use to improve their memory, which they can use to learn, such as mnemonic devices. All these things can be classified as important issues in the study of human memory and ways of learning.

    Read More

  • Reflections on Hedonism

    616 Words  | 2 Pages

    Suppose one was to record their pleasures down on paper using a graph. At first, one might be confused as to how to go about quantifying their happiness. After consideration of the quality of ones varying pleasures though, one is more able to deduce whether it is a higher or a lower pleasure and graph them. This enables one to distinguish which things promote the greatest pleasure, which translates itself to strive for happiness. For example, consider the attainment of food or sex in contrast to mental and spiritual growth. When one is only interested in satiating their appetite for food or sex, the pleasure acquired is minuscule when compared to the acquisition of mental and spiritual growth. Thus, attaining mental and spiritual growth will bring o...

    Read More

More about The Power of Memories

Open Document