Lesson 11 The Infallible Records

One of the results of the recent investigation of the subconscious planes of mind, is the verification of the theory of some of the older schools of psychology which held that the memory really retains everything that has been impressed upon it during the entire life of the individual. The opposing school held that it was possible for the memory to "forget" absolutely a portion of what it had at one time stored away—that in some mysterious way the memory lost a part of its possessions. The fact that the individual found it practically impossible to recall, remember, or recollect certain impressions, was accepted as proof positive that the memory had actually lost them.

The other school held to the idea that the failure to recall, remember, or recollect certain impressions is due to some failure to set into operation the mechanism of memory, and that, theoretically, everything is possible of being recalled by memory, providing the proper method is found and applied. This view is sustained by the best modern authorities, in the light of the recent investigations of the psychology of the subconscious. Personally, I have always held and taught this idea, and, naturally am very much gratified to find myself sustained and verified by the new testimony which is being offered, year after year, by the best psychologists of the world.

Not only is the theory more logical, when one considers the nature of the subconscious faculties, but it is borne out by countless facts, recorded not only in the most recent treatises on psychology, but also in the best of the works of the old authorities. These old psychologists had the facts well established and recorded, but they lacked the modern knowledge of the subconscious necessary to clinch their theories. I predict that within a generation, the fact of the infallibility of the subconscious memory will be accepted without question by every teacher and student of psychology, and that in the psychological laboratories of the world every effort will be made to perfect the methods of bringing the previously so-called "lost" impressions back into consciousness.

I fully expect that many of my favorite, and best established, methods, taught by me for the past twenty years, will be "discovered" (!) over and over again by the younger generation of teachers, and announced as something new and original, to a waiting world. Such is the fate of pioneer work along all lines. The new idea is at first laughed at, then sneered at, then disputed, then tacitly accepted, then announced as a new discovery under a new name by some younger teacher occupying a post of authority in some orthodox school. The new name is accepted as indicating a fresh discovery, and the original work of the pioneer is overlooked and forgotten. But this must be accepted philosophically, for it is but human nature in action.

Some of the best modern psychologists have conducted interesting experiments in the direction of bringing to light in different individuals many apparently forgotten incidents of early childhood. It has been found that if a "loose end" of association be given the person—something connected with the period of his early childhood—he will be able to recall some little incident of that period, and then others, and so on until he is able to reconstruct a great part of the picture of his childhood days. I have conducted some very interesting experiments along this line, on my own account, in connection with my work of teaching. I have found that by taking a pupil to the scene of his early childhood life, he will recognize some building, street, river, etc., which will serve as the loose end of the ball of memory. From this point he will begin to recall little incidents associated with the scene. Names of long forgotten playmates will spring to his lips; personal appearances of these early companions will arise as pictures in the mind; names and characteristics of teachers will rise like ghosts from the past—even portions of lessons will flow into conscious recollection, without an effort.

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of conducting an experiment of this kind in the case of an American who came to me as a student. This, man was over fifty years of age—fifty-three years, in fact. He had been born of American parents while they were sojourning in France, where the father attended a medical school. The child was taken to America when about four years of age, and had retained absolutely no recollection of the French city in which the school was located, and in a suburb of which the family had resided. He could not speak the French language, and his pronunciation of the few French words he had since acquired was atrocious. I saw at once his great possibilities as a subject for experiment along the lines I have mentioned. I explained my wishes to him, and he expressed a willingness to be so used in the interest of science.

I began by taking him to the suburb in which he had lived as a child. He did not seem to recognize any of the scenes, which was no wonder for there had been many changes in the fifty years since he had witnessed them. Finally, however, he said that he found a dawning sense of recollection of an old chapel, and an old fountain near by. I asked him to restrain all conscious effort to remember anything connected with these objects, and to let his subconscious memory have full play. He did as I suggested, and before long he said that he remembered the name of his old French nurse, and had a clear mental picture of her appearance. When he went into details regarding these things, I was amused to discover that he pronounced the name of the old French nurse with a baby lisp, and with a quite pronounced provincial inflection, which, owing to his ignorance of the French tongue, was not apparent to him. Moreover, his description of the dress of the nurse convinced me that she was a provincial of that particular period.

He then began to recall details of the play around the old fountain; the names of some of his playmates, and of an old black poodle who had accompanied one of his little companions. He also recalled visits with his nurse to the chapel, and some Latin words of the religious service therein. He even described the interior of the old chapel, which we found to be precisely correct. I kept him on the scene for nearly one week, and by that time he could repeat childish prayers, verses from songs, etc., all in provincial French, and with a baby lisp of which he was not conscious.

As we progressed, I found that his subconscious memory was reproducing details with an almost photographic degree of correctness, which was wonderful when the age at which the impressions were acquired was taken into consideration. His baby mind had evidently acted as a camera, taking unconscious pictures of scenes, persons, etc., without any conscious effort on his part. I regret that I was compelled to return to Paris sooner than I had expected, for I believe that had the experiment been continued we could have reproduced a very faithful picture of the neighborhood, as it existed in his childhood days. As it was, he remembered several buildings which had been torn down for many years—inquiry from old inhabitants verified his statements of location and appearance. I have had many similar experiences in my work, and the instance given is merely typical.

Professor Kay says:

"In somnambulism, dreams, hysteria, the delirium of fever, or on the approach of death, persons have been known to recall events of their past life, long since forgotten, and unable to be recalled under ordinary circumstances. Persons in a delirium of fever have been known to speak in a language which they had known from their childhood, but which for many years had passed from their memory; or to repeat with apparent accuracy discourses to which they had listened many years previously, but of which before the fever they had no recollection. They have been known even to repeat accurately long passages from books in foreign tongues, of which they never had any understanding, and had no recollection of in health, but which they had casually heard recited many years before. The most remarkable cases, however, are those of persons who have been resuscitated from drowning or hanging, and who have reported that they had a sudden revelation of all the events of their past life, presented to them with the utmost minuteness and distinctness just before consciousness left them."

Beaufort, [1] describing his sensations when drowning, said after his rescue: "Every incident of my former life seemed to glance across my recollection in a retrograde succession, not in mere outline, but the picture being filled with every minute and collateral picture, forming a kind of panoramic view of my entire existence ...

[1. Captain Francis Beaufort, in his youth a midshipman aboard the HMS Aquilon, 1791-1794. The rest of the quote can be seen here: The Wesleyan Methodist Association Magazine, Volume 12, at Google Books ]

 

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... ignorant, and a knowledge of these ancient tongues was far beyond her experience. The natives thought that she was possessed of the devil. Her case attracted the attention of several celebrated medical men, and they began to investigate it. They took down the words she uttered, and reduced them to regulation writing. [?] The sentences were found to be intelligible, and coherent, but having little or no connection with each other. Only a small portion of the Hebrew could be traced to the Bible—the balance seemed to be in the Rabbinical dialect.

After much trouble, her birthplace was located, and investigations made regarding her early life. It was discovered that her parents had died when she was but a small child, and that she had been taken in by a charitable clergyman, when she was about nine years of age. She remained with the old clergyman for several years. Inquiry among the surviving relatives of the old gentleman brought to light interesting facts which served as a key to unlock the mystery.

It was discovered that the old clergyman had a custom of walking up and down a passage in the house, into which the kitchen door opened, reading in a loud voice from his favorite books. He was a learned Hebraist, and a student of the Rabbinical writings, besides having an excellent library of the works of early Greek and Latin writers, in the original. A number of his books were in the possession of the relatives, and examination brought to light the identical passages which the ignorant serving-maid had recited in ...

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[Lesson 11 ends.]

 

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