Brain works backwards to retrieve memories

[Eldorado]

The study, published in Nature Communications, was carried out by researchers in the Centre for Human Brain Health, who reconstructed the memory retrieval process, using brain decoding techniques. These techniques make it possible to track when in time a unique memory is being reactivated in the brain.

They found that, when retrieving information about a visual object, the brain focuses first on the core meaning—recovering the 'gist' - and only afterwards recalls more specific details.

This is in sharp contrast to how the brain processes images when it first encounters them. When we initially see a complex object, it's the visual details—patterns and colours—that we perceive first. Abstract, meaningful information that tells us the nature of the object we're looking at, whether it's a dog, a guitar, or a cup, for example, comes later.

Full report: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-01-human-brain-memories.html

[+OverSword]

One time I decided to try to use a technique which had been attributed to recovering past life memories.  I started by meditating into an very relaxed state and then I thought "what was going on in my life five years ago?"  And I remembered pretty clearly what was going on, what I was going through at the time, so then I went back five more years and remembered clearly and then I moved back five more, and so on all the way back to when I was a small child.  It was incredible how clear and vivid the memories were of so long ago when move back into the by increments.  Much more clear than if I was to try to recall what life was like when I was five years old.  I did not recall anything from a past life of the womb.  Now that I think back on this experiment I'm surprised I haven't tried it again since that time.  I'll have to do it again soon.

Edited January 15, 2019 by OverSword

[+Not A Rockstar]

2 hours ago, Eldorado said:

They found that, when retrieving information about a visual object, the brain focuses first on the core meaning—recovering the 'gist' - and only afterwards recalls more specific details.

This is in sharp contrast to how the brain processes images when it first encounters them. 

At first this struck me as untrue, then I remembered back to a hurricane I had to patrol (this was during my cop years) through back in Florida which was a pretty intense, very long roughly 16 hours (including the run up to it). Most was at night, it was rather horrid, roofs flying by, finding a safe spot to hole up in my patrol car at, hearing the weather reports over the CB and the occasional info from Dispatch. Intense, but, I did not think of it as scary consciously. I was under a lot of stress, though, for a long time.

It was maybe a couple weeks later, near sunset on patrol with a rain shower coming in and I looked up and saw the darkening sky and raindrops on the windshield and was suddenly flooded with dread and stress. It made no sense until I realized it was from that hurricane and my mind was linking the two events. I was surprised the hurricane had done that and later got rid of the anxiety through shadow work. 

But, yeah, it retrieves the gist of things first, I suspect. This was an interesting read. Thanks. Never really thought about it before. Makes sense. 

[zep73]

Thanks! This actually helps me in my research about the nature of reality 

[+Not A Rockstar]

Yes, it is really good stuff and is going to help me with those I counsel, too. I have dealt with this but never sat back and really saw it for what it was.

 

[Guyver]

1 hour ago, Not A Rockstar said:

It was maybe a couple weeks later, near sunset on patrol with a rain shower coming in and I looked up and saw the darkening sky and raindrops on the windshield and was suddenly flooded with dread and stress. It made no sense until I realized it was from that hurricane and my mind was linking the two events. I was surprised the hurricane had done that and later got rid of the anxiety through shadow work. 

But, yeah, it retrieves the gist of things first, I suspect. This was an interesting read. Thanks. Never really thought about it before. Makes sense. 

Will you explain shadow work?

[+Not A Rockstar]

Be glad to, @Guyver as this is almost a religion for me lmao. Long explanation follows:

I never got into Carl Jung at all but later in life (heck, this very year, thanks to a mention by 8bits got me onto it) discovered a less known part of his research into what makes us tick, which is called Shadow work. For most of my life I knew this and worked it through meditation and self analysis, but since finding his work my instinctive efforts have really ramped up and clarified for me. I find it brilliant.

Basically, Jung saw the shadow aspect of us to be a part of the unconscious mind. I see it as sub-conscious. It consists of repressed parts of us we reject, be it a bad trait we dislike about our self, or reactions we have to set aside, like in my story above about the hurricane I worked through. I was not afraid. I WAS aware of being stressed as things flew through the darkness and hit walls. But, the second dark clouds/rainfall triggered the GIST of what I had repressed about my hurricane shift - fear and dread. A cop cannot let emotions run free and I was a good cop, but, to do that I repressed a LOT and worked through that diligently to maintain my sanity. This fear got by me, I was not aware of it actually being deep enough to become a sort of mini-PTSD about storms for me - who is one of those nuts who LOVES storms and I am a card carrying pluviophile. Heck when I could get away from the Sarge (who went home through it) I slid out to the evacuated beach and screamed into the hurricane as it raged in just before sunset and got a cheap thrill from doing so until the storm surge ran me back to get to higher ground. (I play when I can in life, you know? )

Once I was aware of this anxiety under there, I meditated on it, explored the fear candidly and embraced it as a part of myself consciously and alright, normal, ok and then let it go. You have to judge this sort of scared inner child of you like a loving parent would. You have to be your own best friend when facing these unflattering truths inside in order to be free of them. One small thing, one truth I had ignored and buried, once faced and released and accepted as real and true and ok, it lost its power. I never felt that again, not that visceral emotion from nowhere, because it is gone. I have worked this way on myself for years and years to overcome fears, like speaking in public in front of crowds, shooting a gun, letting my head go under water totally, other dumb things like that. I lacked confidence and was dealing in my earlier years with sexual, physical and emotional abuse and some terrific verbal abuse that was persistent. This sort of self analysis and work and effort came to me through spiritual insights to do it and I learned it that way. So, in reading Jung's work now, I am thrilled and encourage anyone at all to read it and see if it helps them, too. I know for certainty it will. Far easier for people to read Jung than deal with NaR selling his snake oil voodoo self analysis stuff  

You can imagine all the thousands of times you swallow anger, annoyances and embarrassments. They go somewhere, though. They become parts of your shadow self and you won't ever see it except in freak reactions emotionally like my fear of rain (wth was that about for me??? I better find out) or sudden explosions of rage for two examples. You can find this and release it and learn about yourself in amazing ways through shadow work and learning how to face this side of you. Most people will, if they just perceive it is there and part of them, no woo about it. This is the house of stress, anxiety, sleepless nights, demons and the majority of hauntings and wierdnesses, and it doesn't have to be any of that.

Here is a link that introduces it, but I recommend heartily googling and reading on psychology sites and arming yourself with knowledge about this part of us all. It can really change your life and how you see yourself and others. It is very empowering stuff.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_(psychology)

 

['Walt' E. Kurtz]

I found it hard to remember things in detail as other people normally do it's mostly in a blur to me. However i do remember some things :-)

[Guyver]

4 hours ago, Not A Rockstar said:

Be glad to, @Guyver as this is almost a religion for me lmao. Long explanation follows:

(I play when I can in life, you know? )

I love you man.  The world is a better place because you are in it.  

[+Not A Rockstar]

21 minutes ago, Guyver said:

I love you man.  The world is a better place because you are in it.  

it is very mutual. Lots of love back to you  

[godnodog]

weird, I notice that my memories arent vivid at all.

[Reignite]

14 hours ago, Not A Rockstar said:

Be glad to, @Guyver as this is almost a religion for me lmao. Long explanation follows:

I never got into Carl Jung at all but later in life (heck, this very year, thanks to a mention by 8bits got me onto it) discovered a less known part of his research into what makes us tick, which is called Shadow work. For most of my life I knew this and worked it through meditation and self analysis, but since finding his work my instinctive efforts have really ramped up and clarified for me. I find it brilliant.

Basically, Jung saw the shadow aspect of us to be a part of the unconscious mind. I see it as sub-conscious. It consists of repressed parts of us we reject, be it a bad trait we dislike about our self, or reactions we have to set aside, like in my story above about the hurricane I worked through. I was not afraid. I WAS aware of being stressed as things flew through the darkness and hit walls. But, the second dark clouds/rainfall triggered the GIST of what I had repressed about my hurricane shift - fear and dread. A cop cannot let emotions run free and I was a good cop, but, to do that I repressed a LOT and worked through that diligently to maintain my sanity. This fear got by me, I was not aware of it actually being deep enough to become a sort of mini-PTSD about storms for me - who is one of those nuts who LOVES storms and I am a card carrying pluviophile. Heck when I could get away from the Sarge (who went home through it) I slid out to the evacuated beach and screamed into the hurricane as it raged in just before sunset and got a cheap thrill from doing so until the storm surge ran me back to get to higher ground. (I play when I can in life, you know? )

Once I was aware of this anxiety under there, I meditated on it, explored the fear candidly and embraced it as a part of myself consciously and alright, normal, ok and then let it go. You have to judge this sort of scared inner child of you like a loving parent would. You have to be your own best friend when facing these unflattering truths inside in order to be free of them. One small thing, one truth I had ignored and buried, once faced and released and accepted as real and true and ok, it lost its power. I never felt that again, not that visceral emotion from nowhere, because it is gone. I have worked this way on myself for years and years to overcome fears, like speaking in public in front of crowds, shooting a gun, letting my head go under water totally, other dumb things like that. I lacked confidence and was dealing in my earlier years with sexual, physical and emotional abuse and some terrific verbal abuse that was persistent. This sort of self analysis and work and effort came to me through spiritual insights to do it and I learned it that way. So, in reading Jung's work now, I am thrilled and encourage anyone at all to read it and see if it helps them, too. I know for certainty it will. Far easier for people to read Jung than deal with NaR selling his snake oil voodoo self analysis stuff  

You can imagine all the thousands of times you swallow anger, annoyances and embarrassments. They go somewhere, though. They become parts of your shadow self and you won't ever see it except in freak reactions emotionally like my fear of rain (wth was that about for me??? I better find out) or sudden explosions of rage for two examples. You can find this and release it and learn about yourself in amazing ways through shadow work and learning how to face this side of you. Most people will, if they just perceive it is there and part of them, no woo about it. This is the house of stress, anxiety, sleepless nights, demons and the majority of hauntings and wierdnesses, and it doesn't have to be any of that.

Here is a link that introduces it, but I recommend heartily googling and reading on psychology sites and arming yourself with knowledge about this part of us all. It can really change your life and how you see yourself and others. It is very empowering stuff.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_(psychology)

 

I have looked into Jung and his shadow theory and then I noticed some aspects being awfully similar to certain Buddhist texts I have studies and practiced over the years (especially Abhidharma). Then I found a website claiming that Jung once studies lots of Buddhist and Yogic texts. What are your thoughts on this? Do you have more sources acknowledging this?

[+Not A Rockstar]

4 hours ago, Reignite said:

I have looked into Jung and his shadow theory and then I noticed some aspects being awfully similar to certain Buddhist texts I have studies and practiced over the years (especially Abhidharma). Then I found a website claiming that Jung once studies lots of Buddhist and Yogic texts. What are your thoughts on this? Do you have more sources acknowledging this?

Nope. But, if I learned it myself before I found out about it from his work, I am sure others also have. Nobody owns it.

[Reignite]

16 minutes ago, Not A Rockstar said:

Nope. But, if I learned it myself before I found out about it from his work, I am sure others also have. Nobody owns it.

The same happened to me, after I learned stuff during meditation I found out it closely resembled ancient practices. I was just wondering because I am sincerely interested in western psychologists and scientist having studied Asian philosophies.

[Earl.Of.Trumps]

Oh. Everyone's brain works backwards    I thought it was just mine

Edited January 17, 2019 by Earl.Of.Trumps