Memory Palaces and Great Journeys

Top memory experts can easily have 40 separate memory palaces or journeys and some individual journeys can be very extensive indeed, such as 1000 positions. One memory expert, for example, memorises new journeys every time she goes on holiday around her hotel.

In a House

One very basic memory journey can be created in your house but you have to be careful and ensure you pick out the same route every time you recall it. Here is an example of one of our Mammoth Memory team's house journey.

This journey seems quite mundane so to make these positions more memorable you need to stretch the reality of the items and make them more bizarre and crazy.

More BIZARRE and CRAZY AS POSSIBLE

Let's enhance the first five positions of our journey to make them more memorable:

1. The picture hanging up as you enter the house on your left could be just a simple picture of a man and woman dancing on the seashore.

But to jazz it up a little, imaging that they are dancing while there is a wild storm going on in the sea behind them.

2. Position two is the TV, which could be pretty plain in reality. Instead, imagine it opening up into a giant screen in a cinema where you are the only one watching the movie.

3. The next in line is a radiator, but imagine it is being heated by a dragon.

4. Alongside the radiator is the sofa. Rather than a regular sofa, imagine this one can eat anything – even humans!

5. The next stop is the cupboard with ornaments on. Choose one of the ornaments to represent the position of the journey. The glass pyramid ornament is ideal to create a memory link with.

Continue with all of the stages of the journey, making them more exciting and memorable, for example:

6. Bookcase:

Choose one book to be the key to your memory journey such as Moby Dick. Imagine forming a bond with a giant whale.

7. Desk:

Imagine the pen pot jumping around on the desk as if it has a life of it's own.

8. Laptop:

Imagine putting headphones on and connecting to the world wide web. You can then link any item to something off the internet.

9. Family Portrait:

Change the family to the Addams Family and this will make it easier to link any item to it.

10. Microwave:

What fun you could have if you microwaved everything you were trying to remember. Would it explode?

11. Kitchen Sink:

Imagine a kitchen sink full of unwashed items and you have to add another item to be cleaned.

12. Washing Machine:

Imagine washing any object in there but whatever comes out always turns red.

13. Ironing Board:

Imagine trying to iron the object you need to remember:

14. Teddy Bear:

Imagine interacting with the rudest, farty, smelliest teddy bear you have ever met!

15. Kid's Toys:

Best to choose one of the toys from the kids toy chest, such as a baby Yoda. You could have a lot of fun with a baby Yoda – could it levitate the object you need to remember?

16. Superwoman Bed:

Although the bed is the position on the journey, it would be easier to associate your object with superwoman, the design on the bed sheet.

17. Child's Wardrobe:

Again, choose one object from the wardrobe, maybe some sparkly red shoes. Can you put them on the object you need to remember?

18. Man's Wardrobe:

In the wardrobe is a tuxedo. Imagine helping James Bond fight off villains who are after your object. Alternatively just imagine shooting your object whilst wearing a tuxedo, as if you were Bond himself.

19. Woman's Wardrobe:

Choose a ball gown to help remember your object, but imagine it as a huge princess-style ball gown.

20. Forest Scene Bed:

Imagine jumping into the forest scene and building a wood-fire to keep warm.

21. Dressing Table and Brush:

Imagine the hair brush is magical and whatever you comb with it sparkles, twinkles and glows.

22. Bathroom Sink:

Imagine trying to wash anything, or maybe yourself, in this tiny sink.

23. Toilet:

Like in Harry Potter, imagine the toilet as a portal to another place in the world.

24. Bath:

Imagine rowing across the Atlantic Ocean in a bathtub with paddles and a sail.

Summary

Now, if you ever have a list of 24 items to remember, for exams or just for fun, you can place each of the items in each of the stages of your "mind palace journey". Relating each of the items you need to remember to the mnemonic pictures you have imagined will make it so much easier to recall them!