February 17, 2025

There is a saying that I love: “Let’s make new memories.” These words remind me that every present moment will become a memory, and we can be conscious of making good ones. This is not to say that all memories must be good ones. We still need to remember some of them regardless of their unpleasantness. But making new memories conveys the notion that the memories made will somehow enhance the relationship.

February 16, 2025

It was 1971 and we five young men made a list of things we wanted to experience as we backpacked across Europe. That summer we traveled all the way from northern Norway to Naples in southern Italy. Among the places we visited was Dachau, the Nazi concentration camp in Germany.

February 15, 2025

When I visit my old friend in the memory unit of his retirement facility, he doesn't know who I am. He is around my age, and we have been very good friends for decades. I attended his wedding, and we became fathers around the same time. We shared our faith over the years. He is a wonderful person whose disease slowly took him away from his dear family and from lots of us who cared about him. Ralph, I will call him, is an intelligent man with a varied career and many experiences that make his life interesting and colorful. His most incredible qualities are warmth and knack for seeing the truth. 

February 14, 2025

Fortunately, my treasure chest of beautiful memories is overflowing. In reflection, one such memory lights up the sky of my heart like a shooting star. 

As a child, I always enjoyed my extended family; I loved my grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I even loved my aunts and uncles by marriage.

February 13, 2025

When we re-play the movies of our memories, we re-experience emotions we had when the memory was made. Some of us have terrible memories whose emotions sweep over us, sending us into sadness, guilt, grief, anger, and more. Many come in the form of unwanted flashbacks brought on by specific places, people, sounds, smells, and even odors. Emotions that we can’t work through are not healthy for us. But when we work through why the memory is so destructive, it can become an agent of healing and wholeness.  

February 12, 2025

Memories are stored and accessed on three levels: the subconscious, the pre-conscious, and the conscious. All three levels are important. Memories held in the subconscious are not in our conscious awareness. These are forgotten memories that are deposited or stored in our subconscious. Also in our subconscious are memories that have been suppressed and repressed. These can be recalled through dreams, hypnosis, guided imagery, and other means. Memories can be stored in the pre-conscious, a special territory between the subconscious and the conscious. Because pre-conscious memories are just below the surface of the conscious level, they can be re-membered more readily. Memories in the conscious level of our mind are the most readily accessible to us. 

February 11, 2025

Just think about what life would be like if we did not recognize anyone or know where we live. Without memory, we would have no concept of relationships or understandings of consequences. Essentially, we would have no identity, history, or the ability to reason. The memory is exceedingly powerful because it is a library of all we know and believe. Our ego uses our memory to support its agenda, however, our soul views our memories as opportunities for healing and wholeness.