What are the ‘Mnemonics’?

D.

When reading my notes one commonly finds I mention mnemonics as I narrate my transitions to various focus-levels, ie as I switch levels. My mnemonics are similar to TMI’s pick-codes conceptually but differ in purpose, practice, and application.

TMI’s pick-code is an imaginary tag used to identify all manner of objects and focus-level locations so to speak. It’s first introduced in the Lifelines course if I recall correctly. It is briefly instructed in principle but not strongly emphasized as a practice.

My use of mnemonics serve as focus-level entrance identifiers. The mnemonics are imaginary images one associates with a respective focus-levels and/or key locale through extensive practice in hemi-sync.

Here’s the difference: TMI pick-codes may be used similar to putting 3M sticky notes on any object of interest. My mnemonics pertain specifically to encoding/facilitating focus-level shifts.

The effectiveness of these so-called shift abilities results from extensive practice. The goal of this practice is to achieve focus-level access while not in hemi-sync; to memorize the states and bookmark them, so to speak, for later access; then invoke the desired access to the respective level later in meditation without hemisync via mnemonic.

I’ll say that again, mnemonics are specifically developed thru extensive practice in hemi-sync to later key entry to the desired focus-level frame of mind while one is not in hemi-sync, whereas TMI’s pick-codes are used to tag whatever the user wishes to recall later.

The mnemonic images themselves may be anything one wants. Its does not have to follow some paradigm as TMI suggests. To this day I am strictly consistent with my mnemonics. I may make changes over years.

For example, my mnemonic for Alpha Squared in focus-level 42 is an imaginary image of my name written cursive on the door to my suite there with the numeral 42 displayed below my name.

My mnemonics for focus 12 to 21 are a set of elevator-floor indicator lights. For focus 10 I use a series of images to invoke that state. This series of mnemonics allows a step-wise approach to achieving focus 10’s Body-Asleep/Mind-Awake state. This mnemonic is a process. How yours works is up to you.

My step-wise mnemonics for F10 connection go like this: I envision a post on my left with the number 10 on it; like a campsite marker-post one encounters in old forest service campgrounds. Then I tell the various parts of my body to go to sleep as I am staging in hemi-sync. Next I push this mind’s eye post down into the ground as I mentally recall the stored image of writing my initials in the sand at my feet on my right. After that I look at another mental image of the number 10 also on my right, but more in front of me. I commonly focus on touching this mnemonic as well.

I likely repeat this process, looking at and mentally touching the recalled imaginary mnemonics. If I’m not relaxing enough into the body-asleep state I iterate this routine til I get there. As an aside I commonly put myself back to sleep whenever I wake up in the night via the focus 10 mnemonic.

One creates one’s mnemonics however one likes. What’s important is the consistent reinforcement training. There are additional things I do to maintain and reinforce that mnemonic series for accessing body-asleep.

I also suggest one find some method of relaxation training that works overall for the practitioner. I work on that while working on my F10 mnemonic training process. In my case I focus on deep relaxation by envisioning a short staircase, say three to five steps. In psychology this is called guided image therapy. In practice as I achieve better relaxation, I envision myself moving down one step. I continue working on relaxation further and when I improve a bit more I go down to the next step. Repeating this exercise eventually I get to a deeply relaxed state and I’m at the bottom of the stairs. Then I execute the mnemonic series again to learn/memorize that mnemonic image. Basically one practices achieving deep relaxation, memorizing that state, and then associating it with your mnemonic. To relax your body further it helps to relax one’s face and hands.

Continuing with the original discussion, I found I was able to access the focus-levels without hemi-sync by invoking these mnemonic images after about 100 hrs of hemi-sync training but it took about 400 hours of hemi-sync training for me to do that well and alas, one may get rusty if one skips meditations for a length of time. The reason it took me that long is it never dawned on me to try meditations without hemi-sync.

In application, once I visually produce one of my mnemonics I start connecting to the respective level. It generally takes some effort for me to produce a mnemonic image in my mind’s eye because I don’t have a vivid imagination so there is some work and one will likely repeat attempts in initializing the “shift”. Ultimately, a successful shift is what I call consolidating, ie arriving there. I can’t explain how I do that.

Often the purpose of my meditation sessions is solely the practice of reinforcing these mnemonics. That is I will load up some hemi-sync take-home CD¹ and practice the mnemonic associations, shifting thru many focus-levels. I’ll use a track like a F12-F21-F27-F42 collection of short tracks. To anyone starting out with hemi-sync I strongly recommend practicing with mnemonics.

Meditating without hemi-sync is what I call a manual mediation in my notes. It is not uncommon for my manual meditations to be more powerful than with hemi-sync. One benefit of manual meditations is one is not constrained by the time of a hemi-sync track. On occasion I have been gone for hours.

Another one of my meditation practices is what I call working on the blank-slate. I practice this in all levels. In this exercise I work to achieve a calm settled mind in whatever focus-level I’m using and then I observe and critique all thoughts and images; whatever is arriving at my mind’s eye in that level. I do this while maintaining calm, trying to sustain a pure undisturbed center of attention.

In this way I practice policing all front-loads, memory-loads, and other spurious thoughts. In this exercise I’m not seeking anything other than to practice connecting, discerning, and weeding out my own thoughts. I‘m not concentrating on my navel! My attention is purely outward. The goal is to achieve and control a pure objective single-minded observational stance of one’s mind’s eye. This becomes a basic skill and is my default poise of mind in all focus-levels.

Memory-loads and front-loads are images one may encounter that originate from some previous authentic experience. But they also come from stuff one learned from the Internet, read in some book, seen on a YouTube, or… heard from someone such as a TMI instructor telling students what they should expect to find in some lesson, rather than allow the student to explore/examine their unique experience without any preconceived expectations.

Often a clue to recognizing a front-load is the image may appear static. However, one’s imagination can be more prolific than one expects. Be careful not to go down the garden path of wandering around in your imagination. One has to learn to discern the content.

Some people, including TMI instructors, push the idea of using your imagination to kickstart some experience. I don’t do that and certainly don’t recommend it.

The above false images may be motivated by a strong desire to have some experience, any experience. If one isn’t familiar with the verbose junk in one’s mind and hasn’t learned to discern the difference between imagination and authentic psychic vision one may not recognize the falsehood of one’s own experiences and slip into delusion.

The Dark is present…. as well as the Light.

Another meditation exercise: Feel the Stones