“[…] the real self is not something one finds as much as it is something one makes […]”
Sydney J. Harris¹
The HeilÜben exercises are a form of mental training, encompassing, among other aspects, the methodical and deliberate use of mental images.
While developing my HeilÜben exercises for my rheumatoid arthritis, I often had to remember what already worked and what I needed to improve. At the same time, I rarely had the opportunity to write anything down in peace. It’s an incredible hindrance when trying to make progress to forget good ideas in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, and it takes time and opportunities to observe connections. Therefore, I mostly relied on being able to quickly and accurately recall my discoveries from memory during the HeilÜben exercises without taking many notes.
Using mnemonics, remembering a sequence of HeilÜben exercises became that much more doable, and I could recall them from memory at any time without having to consult my notes. Having them all memorised allowed me to practice my exercises in my daily life while I went to work and took care of my family and household chores. This saved me a lot of time and helped me become better at retaining new ideas, regardless of distractions.
So I could focus on practising to recognise damaging tension in everyday situations and reducing it right that moment, without forgetting the exercises halfway through. If I had a new idea or could improve an already existing exercise, for example, while I was outside, I would reliably memorise my thoughts. I needed little or no additional notes for this. Today, through the HeilÜben exercises, I also share my experiences with consciously and intentionally creating mental images and with committing them to long-term memory.
Exploring how our mental images form can be a deeply personal and enriching, ongoing experience, providing insight into the impact we have on ourselves. Depending on our active interest, we can become more aware of our ideas about them and how they influence us. The visual image of something that arises before our inner eye can help us access our memories and decision-making regarding that something. Mental images allow us to improve our ability to learn and remember.
No one can invent everything they might need in life; it’s just too short. But it is more than long enough to make good use of what’s already there.
Mnemonics enable us to quickly and methodically connect mental images, reliably memorise them in a specific order, even in large numbers.
During the development of the HeilÜben exercises, I initially relied on the Loci Method and relevant literature* before further developing the connection and memorisation of mental images specifically for my HeilÜben exercises. In doing so, I also boosted my creativity, learning capacity, and memory. Additional advantages included learning to improve focus, plan more efficiently, and enhance overall knowledge management.
HÜ! Level 1 Part 1 focuses on dealing with visual thinking consciously and deliberately, to evolve based on one’s own abilities. This process involves enhancing awareness and retention, as well as strengthening self-confidence.
Information and training significantly reduce the risk of getting stuck in our development.
For as long as we live.
With and about mnemonics, much more can be learned and memorised than the comparatively small part that I have woven into HeilÜben exercises.
It‘s like the moment we step out of the dunes or behind rocks, see the sea for the first time, and then we understand that its dimensions are quite different from what we thought.
Our breath flows more easily; we feel small according to the size and power of the sea, and get an idea that there are more possibilities than expected.
So it is with our learning.
Our learning experiences lead to assumptions about learning. And because the idea of our possibilities, to which learning belongs, is influenced to a considerable extent by our past experiences. If we have made too many unquestioned negative experiences, they will limit us. In this case, the unpleasant feelings we’ve made remain connected to learning. The narrow limits that one puts on oneself out of habit and negative experience limit the whole personality. Remember what it was like the first time you ever saw the sea. The schools we visited and what many of us learned there didn’t reveal nearly the full extent of what we all possess. The possibilities of our brain have many fewer boundaries than most of us have assumed so far. Skill comes with practice, and only when we train and practice as long as we live, we don’t stop – or fall back.
Think again about the sea, about a safe beach on a pleasant, sunny day. Feel the vastness of the sea, its immense size, and feel yourself, feel the space, and experience happiness. It was precisely this feeling that I discovered while studying mnemonics, a way of learning that is suitable for every brain.