format_quote Originally Posted by
halalmeat4free
:sl:Question says it all; anything goes. Any brain exercises or maybe something i could eat to make it easier for me to memorize things, whether it be a grocery list or a surah from the quran? :) Jazakallah Khair in advance.
Let me tell a story.
When I was 17 I was accepted to attend the Naval Academy -- a school for training officers in the US Navy. The first thing they asked us to do was to memorize. We memorized all sorts of things. At any time of the day we had to be able to answer to anyone who asked us the names of every movie showing at all the theaters in town. The menu for the day's meals. The duty officers serving that day. And the length of time to a number of important days on the calendar. Then they also required that we learn from memory all sorts of nonsenical things that were part of a book called "Reef Points". It was about 200 pages of silly sayings, lymerics, proverbs, facts and figures relevant to both the school and to the Navy. Plus we also had to be prepared to be tested over anything that was on the front page of the paper or the front page of the sports section. And we quickly learned that this meant even before we went to breakfast. All of this on top of our military training and rather advanced school work.
At first this seemed impossible. We all failed. But it wasn't long before it became second nature. For instance, by the time a couple of months had gone by I found that I could learn all the movies in town and the days menu in one reading. I had gotten so accustomed to the process that my brain seemed to form little slots where that sort of information just naturally went.
In time we also figured out why they made such a big deal about this. It is because every order given needs to be repeated verbatim down the line -- not like a game of telephone where the ending message often doesn't even resemble the original. And so we learned to do it quickly and exactly on the first take.
Not everything is like that. When I was involved in theater, I found that it took more than one reading to get my lines down. But again, the more I practiced, the quicker I was at learning new scripts. Soon, instead of learning "lines" one at a time, I found that I was memorizing entire scenes.
The point here is to recognize that it is possible. At first it may be hard, but in terms of developing the skills necessary for memorization, practice really does make perfect. And it can work on everything from your grocery list to a surah. Another key -- beyond practice -- that I found helpful was working with someone. Don't just repeat to yourself. But for a team with someone who can actually periodically quiz you. If you have a desire to memorize a surah, share that with someone who might likewise be doing the same. And then when you see each other, test each other as well.
And have perseverance. Just because it doesn't go well at first, don't give up. Eventually, what was hard will become easier and the whole process will become second nature to you -- though I confess I still have trouble remembering names and associating them with faces.