The Hippocampus, the small area in the brain shaped like a seahorse, houses a complex filing system where we store and retrieve memories.
The subject of memory is a mystery. Why do some people remember things before the age of two? Some of us only remember things after the age of five, and others only after the age of seven.
Childhood memories are not necessarily recalled because they are traumatic. They could be trivial recollections like bouncing along in a metal stroller, perching on a grandfather’s generous lap, or crawling through the long, whispering grass.
When we try to recall our childhood, tapping into our memory can often be a challenge. Here is a suggestion:
Don’t wage war against your memory. Welcome it!
One way to evoke a specific childhood memory is to ‘show up at a scene.’ This visual exercise helps us to visit a scene as a child, with a child’s reality and naivety, which we can then describe from a child’s point of view. Please note that this exercise should only be used to evoke pleasant memories.
Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths to center yourself.
Think of a place, a setting, a scene, from your childhood.
Observe from a short distance the young child (YOU) there at the place, in the scene.
Now slowly start moving towards the child.
Stop. Breathe. Look at the child.
Step forward into the child’s space . . . become the child.
Now look down at your body (eyes still closed). Look at your arms, are there scrapes?
Bruises? Gentle rounded joints? Can u see fine delicate finger bones? Dirty or chewed
fingernails?
Look at your legs and feet. Are you wearing shoes? Is there sand between your toes?
Now listen (eyes still closed) to the sounds. Can you hear children? Water? Insects? Wind
rustling through the leaves? Listen to your heart beat.
Now smell. Is there a scent of flowers? Grass? Dog’s fur? Cooking?
Now taste. Lick your lips. Are they salty? Sweet?
How do you feel? Content? Joyful?
Take a deep breath. You are the child.
Now let the child express itself.
Explore your memory with openness and wonder, not by trying to force memory, but by releasing and allowing . . . allowing yourself to be lost and found, to be led and to follow, to float in a timeless sea of awareness and vision. Let’s visit the child within, as we flip through our past recollections, forever mesmerized by the mystery of memory.
When children draw pictures of their homes, they generally frame the structure with trees and flowers, and a bright yellow sun. Children’s lenses may be small, but their peripheral awareness is widespread, as they wallow in the comfort and beauty of all their surroundings.
We all feel ‘at home’ on our comfy, cushy planet, where we rest, and play, and grow day by day, and where we are filled with eternal gratitude for our time here, our unity here, and all the senses we possess to enjoy the here, and now— under a bright yellow sun, as the child in us lives on.
