Memory Stories

I hear Tirzah Mae screaming and take a trust fall out of bed. I go to her crib, pick her up, and cuddle her close. We walk into the living room where I put the CD player on pause and drop to my knees to pray. A golden father dripping with glittering olive oil hands me a ghost carrying the book of Proverbs and wearing a gigantic pair of glasses. The ghost gives me the glasses, which I put on my chest. I can now see a basketball hoop hanging over the windows, with gold coins raining down through the hoop onto the couch. A man grabs hold of the hoop and begins doing pull-ups…

A really trippy dream, huh?

Well, not quite.

Instead, it’s my attempt to use memory tricks to assist me in memorizing Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1:15-23.

Lisa discussed memory palaces in Day 7 of her 31 Days to Memorizing a Bible Chapter – and referenced Moonwalking with Einstein, which I’m reading through on her recommendation.

The idea behind a memory palace is that you attach things you’re trying to memorize (in a memorable and visual way) to location cues that are familiar (and also memorable). Mine is a little different because I haven’t attached everything to locations, per se – but I’ve created an outlandish but memorable story (outlandish is good when it comes to memories) to help me remember key details from the passage I’m memorizing.

Let’s see if I can share how that works.

I HEAR Tirzah Mae screaming…

“For this reason, because I have HEARD…”

…and take a TRUST FALL out of bed.

“…of your FAITH in the Lord Jesus…”

I go to her crib, pick her up, and CUDDLE her close.

“…and your LOVE toward all the saints…”

We walk into the living room where I put the CD player on PAUSE…

“…I do not CEASE to give thanks for you…”

…and drop to my knees to PRAY.

“…remembering you in my PRAYERS…”

A golden FATHER dripping with GLITTERING olive oil…

“…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the FATHER OF GLORY…”

…hands me a ghost…

“…may give you the SPIRIT…”

…carrying the book of PROVERBS…

“…of wisdom…”

….and wearing a gigantic pair of GLASSES.

“…and REVELATION in the knowledge of Him.”

The ghost gives me the GLASSES, which I put on my CHEST.

“…having the EYES of you HEARTS ENLIGHTENED…”

I can now see a basketball HOOP hanging over the windows…

“…that you might know the HOPE to which he has called you…”

…with GOLD COINS raining down through the hoop onto the couch.

“…what are the RICHES of his GLORIOUS inheritance in the saints…”

A man grabs hold of the hoop and begins doing PULL-UPS…

“…and what is the immeasurable greatness of his POWER toward us who believe, according to the working of his great MIGHT…

I don’t consider myself a particularly creative person, so coming up with a story to help me remember the key points in this passage was difficult – but while I don’t have the whole passage down word-for-word yet (I started last Monday), just the practice of coming up with this story made me able to paraphrase these five verses with a reasonable degree of accuracy the day after I came up with the story.

Have you ever tried using a memory palace or other mnemonic devices to memorize a passage of Scripture?