Phenomenon of Memory in the Cooperation of Soul and Body
The faculty of memory has a very important role in our life. It enables
us to perform our everyday duties and it is an indispensable part of the
process of learning and developing new skills. However, "as earthly men we
live always in the present moment. When we see, hear, or otherwise perceive
through our senses, it is the actual moment that is all-important for us.
Whatever has to do with the past or the future can make no impression on our
ears, our eyes, or on any other sense. We are given up to the moment, and
thereby to space. But what would a man become were he entirely given up to
the present moment and to space? By observing ordinary life around us we
have ample proof that, if a man is thus completely engrossed, he is no
longer man in the full sense. Records of illness give evidence of this.
Well-authenticated cases can be quoted of persons who, at a certain time in
their lives, become unable to remember any of their former experiences, and
are conscious only of the immediate present. Their life of soul, the whole
of their life as human beings on Earth, becomes chaotic. They no longer feel
themselves to be a unified person. They have lost their memory.
When a man loses his inner feeling for time – his really intimate
connection with the past – then his life becomes a chaos. Experience of
space alone can do nothing to help towards the health of his whole being. To
put this in other words: A man in his sense-life is always given up to the
moment, and in some cases of illness it is possible for him to detach his
immediate existence in space from his existence as a whole – but he is then
no longer man in the full sense. For him to remain man in the full sense,
memory must make the past present in him. Being present in time is something
indispensable for a man. Past time, however, is never there in the present
moment; to experience it we must always carry it over into the present.
Therefore in a human being there must be forces for conserving the past."
[1]
In the processes of the preservation of memory, which is so essential for our individual existence, our
whole human organization is involved with all four bodies: the physical
body, etheric body,
astral body and
ego (organization). The key
question for proper understanding of memory is: In which of these bodies are
our memories stored? "When we are at work in our soul what at first
happens is that we receive external impressions. The outside world acts upon
our senses, and we then work over the external impressions in our soul. But
we do more than that, we store up, so to speak, these impressions which we
have received. Just think for a moment about the simple phenomenon of
memory, when you recall something that you experienced, perhaps years ago.
At that time, on the basis of external perceptions, certain impressions took
form, which you then worked over, and which you draw up today out of the
depths of your soul, and today there comes to you the memory, it may be
something quite simple: the memory of a tree, let us say, or an odour. Here
you have stored up something in your soul which could remain yours from the
external impression and the elaboration of it in your soul, something that
can form in you the recollection.
We first confront the outside world with our ego, take impressions from
it into our ego, and work these over in our astral body. But, were we to
work them over only in the astral body, we should straight away forget them.
When we draw conclusions we are at work in our astral bodies; but when we
fix impressions within us so firmly that, after some time has passed, or
indeed after only a few minutes, we can again recall them, we have stamped
upon our ether-body these impressions received through our ego and worked
over in our astral body. In these memory-pictures, accordingly, we have
drawn out of our ego down into our ether-body that which we have lived over
inwardly as activity of soul in our contact with the outer world."
[2] In all this the physical body
is also involved as it provides our personal 'house' with various 'windows'
and 'doors' – that is, the sense organs – through which the outer world
enters into us. However, the memories are not stored in some sort of
'drawers' or 'hard drives', but in the supersensible body nearest to the
physical body – that is, in the etheric body.
What is the process of remembering in such a case? In its essence is an
unconscious process of inner perception. "The mental
pictures come and go; they are quite evanescent. As to what really remains,
we do not conceive it at all in this moment, but it goes down into our
organisation, and when we remember, we look within; down there the
impression remains permanent. The first time, when you saw something from
without, you were stimulated from outside by this. The second time – namely
now, when you remember it – you are stimulated from within, because in
effect the impression has reproduced itself within you. In both cases it is
the same process, namely a process of perception. Memory too is perception.
In effect, our day-waking consciousness consists in ideation, in the forming
of ideas; but there – beneath the ideation – certain processes are going on.
They too, rise into our consciousness by an act of ideation, namely by our
forming of ideas in the act of memory. Underneath this activity of ideation
is the perceiving, the pure process of perception." [3]
Now when we know the answer of the question which still puzzles the
scientists [4], we can follow up with the question:
"How does the 'inscription' of memories in the ether body come about? This transfer takes place in a very
remarkable way. If we observe the blood – let us now imagine ourselves
within the human ether-body – quite schematically as it courses through the
heart, and think of it as the external physical expression of the human ego,
we thereby see how this ego works, how it receives impressions corresponding
with the outer world and condenses these to memory-pictures. We see,
furthermore, not only that our blood is active in this process, but also
that, throughout its course, especially in the upward direction, somewhat
less in the downward, it stirs up the ether-body, so that we see currents
developing everywhere in the ether-body, taking a very definite course, as
if they would join the blood flowing upward from the heart and go up to the
head. And in the head these currents come together, in about the same way –
to use a comparison belonging to the external world – as do currents of
electricity when they rush toward a point which is opposed by another point,
so as to neutralise the positive and the negative. When we observe with a
soul trained in occult methods, we see at this point ether-forces compressed
as if under a very powerful tension, those ether-forces which are called
forth through the impressions that now desire to become definite
concepts,
memory-pictures, and to stamp themselves upon the ether-body.
We then see how, in opposition to these, other currents flow from that
portion of the ether-body which belongs to the rest of the bodily
organisation. These currents go out for the most part from the lower part of
the breast, but also from the lymph vessels and other organs, and come
together in such a way that they oppose currents described above. Thus we have
in the brain, whenever a memory-picture wishes to form itself,
two
ether-currents, one coming from below and one from above, which oppose each
other under the greatest possible tension, just as two electric currents
oppose each other. If a balance is brought about between these two currents,
then a concept has become a memory-picture and has incorporated itself in
the ether-body.
Such supersensible currents in the human organism always express
themselves by creating for themselves also a physical sense-organ. Thus we
have within us an organ, situated in the centre of the brain, which is the
physical sense-expression for that which wishes to take the form of a
memory-picture; and opposite to this is situated still another organ in the
brain. These two organs in the human brain are the physical-sensible
expression of the two currents in the human ether-body. These currents
condense themselves with such force that they seize the human bodily
substance and consolidate it into these organs. We thus actually get an
impression of bright etheric light-currents streaming across from the one to
the other of these organs, and pouring themselves out over the human
ether-body. These organs are actually present in the human organism. One of
them is the pineal body; the other the
pituitary gland: the epiphysis and
the hypophysis respectively. We have here, at a definite point in the
human physical organism, the external physical expression of the cooperation
of soul and body." [5]
From this description we see how complicated are the underlying processes
which enable our function of memory. For the sake of this nutritional principle we do
not need to understand all ramifications and details of this remarkable
process; what is important, is that we comprehend that the faculty of memory
depends on the balance of two etheric currents originating in our own
organism, one culminating in the
pineal body and another in the
pituitary
gland. [6]
How Dietary Minerals Affect the Faculty of Memory
When we realize that the seat of memory is in the etheric body, we can
rightly assume that there must be a link between memory and nutrition,
because of the fact that "all
the organs connected with growth, propagation, digestion and so on, are not
built simply in accordance with the physical principle, but with that of the
etheric or life body, which permeates physical organs as well. Only the
structure built-up in accordance with the physical law is in the care of the
physical principle; the processes of digestion, propagation and growth,
however, being an affair of the etheric principle." [7]
With the aim to better understand the nature of the link between nutrition
and memory we need to include in our considerations two basic laws of
nutrition – EARTHLY NUTRITIONAL STREAM and
COSMIC NUTRITIONAL STREAM.
In the cosmic nutritional stream we have
dealings with etheric currents entering through our sense organs, gathering
at the pituitary gland, and afterwards
transferring into the physical organism via the remaining glands of the
endocrine system. This
means "that whenever we perceive in ordinary consciousness, another process
(cosmic etheric current) takes place beyond waking consciousness. This means
that when we have a physical perception and form a mental picture then
another process (which runs parallel to that of perception) takes place
through which something real comes about – that is, a reality, not just a
picture. If today you have physically before you a human being and you see
him again after eight or ten years then nothing of what you see today will
be present. You cut your nails, your skin flakes off, externally the
physical body continually falls away; it becomes dust. After seven to ten
years that which today is the physical substance most deeply embedded in you
will have come so far to the surface that it flakes off, or is cut off as
long nails. You can be certain that what is today at the centre of your
physical body gradually comes to the surface and falls away. But then what
remains? What remains of man's whole being is solely the reality developed
inwardly through the process taking place parallel to that of forming
mental pictures. In ten years' time nothing of what you are today will
exist except the memories of your experiences. Today nothing exists of what
you were ten years ago except what your memories have made of you. You are
woven out of your memories; all that is physical flakes off and disappears."
[8]
If we now look at the earthly nutritional stream we can see that its main
role is to provide minerals for our nerve-sense system. But – as is
described in TRANSUBSTANTIATION OF MINERALS –
the movement of minerals towards the brain is accompanied by their gradual
rarefaction until they are in the state of warmth ether when they reach the
brain. Although minerals
play a crucial role in the functions of all
neurons, they have a special
relationship to the pineal body, because "all the substances that the human
being absorbs as food press upward toward the brain. The brain also has less
noble parts that are nourished by everything that is carried up to the brain
and that also provides sustenance for the whole organism. It is only the
noblest part of the brain that must be nourished by the most perfect union
of sensory perceptions and the finest mineral extract. In this vital part of
the brain, this mineral extract is united with the purest and noblest
radiance entering through the sense organs. Here, the purest, noblest
element in light, sound, and warmth encounters the most refined products of
the mineral kingdom. The noblest part of the brain (the
pineal body)
is
nourished by this union between the most delicate sense impressions and the
most refined mineral products." [9]
We can therefore distinguish four etheric streams which
enable the 'inscription' of impressions that are received and worked upon by
our soul – such as sense perceptions, feelings, ideas, etc. – into our
etheric body in the form of memories:
[10]
- Two etheric streams originating in our
organism and culminating in the pineal body and the
pituitary gland
respectively.
- Etheric currents from separate sense organs combining at the pituitary
gland and entering via the endocrine system into the human organism – that
is, the cosmic nutritional stream.
- Etheric current which is the consequence of gradual rarefying of
minerals that are taken from the outside world in the form of food until
they are in the state of the warmth ether when they reach the pineal body.
Thus we can see that all these etheric streams affect the state of
balance between pineal and pituitary glands. In other words, all described
etheric streams have special relationships to both glands which play
indispensable roles in the process of imprinting our short-term and
long-term memories into the etheric body. For that reason we can conclude:
"One of the tasks of earthly life is to unfold the faculty of memory. During
our long evolution in the previous stage of the Earth, we did not possess
memory in the form in which we know it today. Memory has only been able to
develop since the earth organism with its mineral forces has been
incorporated in our being. Memory is essentially an outcome of the
interaction between the human soul and the physical body." [11]
From the content of
EARTHLY NUTRITIONAL STREAM
and NUTRITION AND CAPACITY OF THINKING it is evident that
minerals have also an impact on our thinking and process of
cognition,
and consequently on our levels of intelligence. The faculty of memory is an
integral part of any learning and thus necessary for the well-being of our
whole soul life. And as is evident from the content of this nutritional
principle, one of the key factors which influence our capacity of memory is
the quantity and quality of the mineral substances in our food.
For a complementary perspective see:
♦ NUTRITION & SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS
DIETARY CONCLUSIONS & PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS
When we gain an insight about the way our impressions are stored into
the etheric body in the form of memory pictures, then it becomes clear to
us that the problems with everyday forgetting and other more serious forms
of loss of memory
[12] cannot be addressed only with medicines, or only with a diet, or
only with psychological therapies alone; what we need is to restore the
balance between body and soul and this can be done only when we address all
factors which influence the etheric balancing between the pituitary and
pineal gland. This is feasible only with the help of a holistic approach
to healing which takes into account all aspects of the quality of life of
the person in question. For the sake of this nutritional principle it is
enough if we remember that nutrition belongs to those factors which
influence our capacity for remembering to a high degree. Of course, we need
to be aware that these influences work in the long term, and sometimes the
consequences of nutrition are recognisable only after few decades.
From the dietary perspective alone we can say that the best source of
dietary minerals which will nourish our pineal gland in the proper manner is
organic wholefood. The reason is not just because it contains more minerals
in their natural forms, but also because these minerals are accompanied by
stronger etheric forces because organically grown food contains more power
of life. This combination is what will have a real positive effect – under
the condition that we are not 'asleep' but active also on the soul-spiritual
level. The worst food in this regard is conventional refined food, because
it is the opposite in both aspects, in respect to the content of natural
minerals and in respect to the degree of vitality.
[13] Maybe it is not just coincidence that the problems with the big
increase of dementia
in affluent societies has been occurring in the present times – that is,
after several decades of widespread consumption of fast food.
[14]
In between these two extremes are various types of food with various
grades of mineral content and vital forces. Let's
look at the case of
organic refined food. In the last decade or so we can witness the silent
spread of an increasing number of organic food products which contains white
flour and/or refined (or even white) sugar, in spite of the mounting evidence
about a multitude of detrimental effects of refined foods (especially sugar)
upon human health. It is logical that in the case of highly refined sugars
it doesn't make a big difference if sugar cane or sugar beet is grown
organically or not, for in the refining process the great majority of
so-called 'impurities' are removed. In the case of white sugar all trace
minerals and vitamins are removed; what is left are pure crystals. Such food
cannot support our faculty of memory in the same beneficial way as the
organic wholefood. [15]
♣ See the report Is
Refined Food Really Organic? for in-depth discussion of the issue of
organic refined foods.
Furthermore we need to know that stimulants, including refined sugar – in
spite of the fact that they are minerals – don't work in such a balanced
manner as is necessary for the good faculty of memory, because their very
nature is a very focused, one-sided effect on a specific function of the
human organism. Besides we need to take into account that all kind of
minerals in crystallised form, including medical drugs, have an effect on
human consciousness.
Therefore the safest way is to consume wholefood and thus provide
our body with a good source of natural minerals – that is, the best quality
minerals – in such balanced quantities and ratios as created by wisdom of
nature itself.
♣ See HOLISTIC FOOD 'PYRAMID'
for the list of foods which works preventively against gradual weakening of forces of memory.
WARNING: You always have to put the above
practical dietary instructions inside the framework of
GENERAL NUTRITIONAL
GUIDELINES with the aim to know their limits when looking for a solution
of a specific nutritional problem. You also need to be familiar with
THE ROLE OF NUTRITIONAL GUIDELINES
with the aim to avoid any one-sided conclusions.
