Observations placeholder
Shereshevsky, Soloman - Learning how to control the recall
Identifier
000944
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
A R Luria’s book is about a man who was blessed [or cursed] with perfect recall. This is how he managed to control it
A description of the experience
A R Luria – The Mind of a Mnemonist
One evening – it was the 23rd of April – I was quite exhausted from having given three performances and was wondering how I'd ever get through the fourth. There before me I could see the charts of numbers appearing from the first three performances. It was a terrible problem. I thought; I'll just take a quick look and see if the first chart of numbers is still there. I was afraid somehow that it wouldn't be. I both did and didn't want it to appear.... And then I thought; the chart of numbers isn't turning up now and it's clear why – it's because I don't want it to! Aha! That means that if I don't want the chart to show up it won't. And all it took was for me to realise this!
Remove the index and you lose the perception. It is not deleted, but it becomes inaccessible
A R Luria – The Mind of a Mnemonist
At that moment I felt I was free. The realisation that I had some guarantee against making mistakes gave me more confidence. I began to speak more freely, could even permit myself the luxury of pausing when I felt like it, for I knew that if I didn't want an image to appear, it wouldn't. I felt simply wonderful