THE PROCESS

Memories aren’t facts. They are stories or narratives created at the end of every experience based on our level of comprehension at the time of the experience. Those narratives are then categorized and stored in our memory bank—what I call the Filing Cabinets of our minds.

At the onset of a new experience, the mind’s process, using input from your five senses, begins searching in the filing cabinets of your mind for a narrative that appears to be similar to what is currently happening. It places that Mind File in your conscious awareness, providing you with a comparison. Almost always, your mind’s process will agree with the referenced story because it feels familiar. That is why we often say:

“In my experience ________________________.”

During that second familiar experience, we consciously and intentionally add emotion to the original story describing the event, and sometimes, we will expand on the narrative within that original Mind File.

​

Initially, the emotional filters we add are simple statements of I like this, or I don’t like this, but as we mature and accumulate a more extensive vocabulary, our stories and accompanying emotions become more descriptive and dramatic.