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PENTAMENT- Stories from the human world with BELLA VOLENAuthor: Bella Volen Language: en Genres: Arts, Personal Journals, Society & Culture, Visual Arts Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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7: The Power of Memory
Monday, 6 October, 2025
The Power of MEMORY shows why remembering is the core of identity, learning, and survival. Memory is not a snapshot or a record of reality. From ancient myths, cultural traditions from around the world, body art, Tibetan mandala, to modern neuroscience, it explores how cultures preserve memory and how the brain encodes, reshapes, and sometimes loses it. Drawing on anthropology, evolution, and science, the episode highlights the fragility and power of memory.The Power of Memory – Main Themes and TopicsIntroduction & Personal MotivationChildhood trauma as the origin of curiosity about memoryMemory as identity and survivalLeonardo da Vinci and Early Memory ResearchHis anatomical studies of the brain’s ventriclesExperiments with ox brains and molten waxMemory as perception and creative processThe Nature of MemoryMemory as selective reconstruction, not recordingFalse memories and eyewitness reliabilityEmotion and its effect on recall (Paul Ekman, flashbulb memories, mood-congruent recall)Cultural and Religious Memory SystemsMystery cults and early Christianity as custodians of sacred memoryComparative memory traditions in Judaism, Christianity, and IslamOral Memory TraditionsGreek Mnemosyne and the Bards (Aoidoi)Irish and Welsh bardic schools, poetic memory techniques (alliteration, rhythm)Aboriginal Songlines as oral mapsNative American Winter CountsPolynesian navigation and stick chartsWest African griots as living librariesBody, Art, and Ritual as Memory ArchivesDogon Sigui festival and masked dancesBody art as memory (Māori tā moko, Samoan tatau, Yoruba scars, Amazigh tattoos, henna rituals, etc.)Theyyam in Kerala as living visual memoryTattoos as autobiographical archives and witnesses to traumaWritten and Symbolic Memory SystemsOracle bones, runes, and Inca quipusChinese proverb: “The palest ink is better than the best memory.”Tuareg and Amazigh symbolism as cultural archivesNeuroscience & Buddhist TraditionsTibetan monks’ memorization practicesGamma/theta waves, neuroplasticity, tukdam phenomenonSand mandalas and impermanenceTulku reincarnation systemRupert Sheldrake’s Morphogenetic Field TheoryMorphic resonance and collective memoryCriticism and artistic perspectiveScientific Memory ResearchBrain structures: hippocampus, amygdala, prefrontal cortexRole of sleep, neuroplasticity, and astrocytesForgetting as essential functionFergus Craik’s cognitive model of encoding–storage–retrievalEpigenetic & Transgenerational MemoryRachel Yehuda’s studies on inherited traumaMark Wolynn’s “It Didn’t Start with You”Cultural and Historical Dimensions of MemoryEgyptian “Book of the Dead” and immortality through remembranceArt, Flow, and Personal CreationArt as memory for the futureFlow state and creative possessionFuture of Memory: AI & NeurotechnologyBrain–computer interfaces, memory editing, nootropicsEthical questions of erasing trauma and eternal memoryPersonal Healing & AI as a ToolBreathwork and AI image generation to reframe traumaConclusion: The Paradox of MemoryFragility vs. powerBiological and cultural layersMemory as foundation of humanity
