(Documentary) A Zen Disorder: The Man With The 7 Second Memory

[ardacigin]

I've recently found one of the most 'zen' disorders on youtube. The man who experiences amnesia so quickly that every moment is new and fresh. He seems unable to think, memorize and remember anything short term. It seems like he is experiencing a deep state of mindfulness but since he doesn't have the skills to deal with it, he seems to be stuck on a severe 'dark night' so to speak.

At least that is what the vibe I got from the documentary. I thought I wanted to get some of your opinions on it. It is a very rare condition.

In the documentary, you see the guy at a young age getting aggressive when his wife shows him how the diary is written by him. He has no memory of it. He claims that he sees it for the first time. And when his wife starts pressing him further, he throws away the diary and lashes out at her.

I think this is the famous ego reaction because, after this scene, the doctors have observed that all these aggressive tendencies had stopped altogether as he aged and got older. These doctors didn't understand why these reactions had stopped but I think I have a hypothesis.

As time passes, he'd acquired a lot more equanimity with the momentary awareness of emptiness. He was literally FORCED to develop this skill because the amnesiac momentary awareness melted his sense of being a self. The mindfulness automatically purified the egoic reactions as he aged. 

Also, as I was watching this guy, I've started practicing a brand new spiritual technique that affected my subjective experience dramatically. I've made this up.

The technique is acting amnesia mindfulness.

You imagine yourself as having the same amnesia condition that the guy in the documentary has. Every moment is fresh and you are unable to construct thoughts, ideas, stories and self-related opinions.

Imagine that you look at your mother's face and for a moment, you don't have the memory that she is your mother and you are simply looking. Similar to what this guy is experiencing.

I've tried this after watching the documentary and it affected me quite deeply. This make-believe act of 'not being able to form memories' got me really deep into mindfulness. Especially, this got me a deep sense of not being a 'looker' or a 'thinker'.

I highly suggest trying it out

 

Edited April 21, 2019 by ardacigin

[tecladocasio]

Every moment is new and fresh for everyone , that's the actuality . I think you are just romantizing some severe mental condition . As you can see , if nobody takes cares of him , I highly doubt he can survive for a week . He lives in the same reality as you , the difference is that you have so much more tools to manipulate it than he do .Also , I don't think mindfulness has anything to do with amnesia or some similar condition .

Edited April 21, 2019 by tecladocasio

[LastThursday]

@ardacigin I find this fascinating.

What is memory? Most folks would say it is just thoughts. But I disagree, I think it's more like a sensation. When the guy doesn't remember writing his diary, I think he's just lacking that sensation of familiarity - not that he's devoid of thought.

I think duality is instrinsically linked with memory. Without memory there would be no duality.  The world of the present moment is completely discontinuous and made new every second - memory glues it all together.

Edited April 21, 2019 by LastThursday
typo

[ardacigin]

2 minutes ago, LastThursday said:

@ardacigin I find this fascinating.

What is memory? Most folks would say it is just thoughts. But I disagree, I think it's more like a sensation. When the guy doesn't remember writing his diary, I think he's just lacking that sensation of familiarity - not that he's devoid of thought.

I think duality is instrinsically linked with memory. Without memory there would be no duality.  The world of the present moment is completely discontinuous and made new every second - memory glues it all together.

Yes. Also in the documentary, he keeps talking about the same thing. Dying. Feeling like not existing. No thoughts. Not upset. Not bored. No memories. He is DEFINITELY tapping into some aspect of nothingness/no-self. And you can see that from his equanimity, joy and happiness at his old age (making jokes and cracking up huge smiles all the time) compared to his young melancholic and driven self. 

[Forestluv]

@ardacigin Fascinating mental condition that brings into focus the “storyline” most human minds create and have little awareness how deep it goes. . . 

Thanks for linking us ? 

 

 

[LastThursday]

IMHO the trick to spirituality is to reach that state of nothingness/no-self, but ALSO lead a full and rich life. It's a bit of a merry dance. Deny yourself to be a more fulfilled self. It's something to do with tenth Ox Herding picture and going full circle, but I'm more vague about that.

[Forestluv]

@LastThursday Yea, it’s a fascinating interplay between “Now” and a construct of the past based on memories - yet is occurring “Now”

[LastThursday]

@Serotoninluv exactly it. If you write a diary and put it in a drawer, does it disappear from reality? For the guy in the story it does. For the rest of us, persistence is so natural, but it's clearly an illusion.