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So in preparation for my mentalism I discovered that memory systems were required.

So off I went to do research and came across the path of the loci. Which I started to put to good use and was instantly rewarded with recall that had been prior to this difficult.

Then ... suddenly it all stopped. All the places are still there and vivid however the information associated to various rooms and items has started to vanish.

I used to visit each item and each room daily but the volume of such has made that prohibited. Is this common? am I simply in a reorganization phase of my memory (I.E. converting from abstract association to literal association?)

Is there some other process I need to do in which I can maintain the links between the stored objects and the references they contain?

The research I have done simply states, "Practice practice practice." well I can keep practicing but that doesn't appear to be alleviating the degrading of the earlier reference points.

Anyone with masterful memory skills that has insights are appreciated.

Feel free to pm me when my questions get annoying
--Infy

I've never gotten on with that kind of memory system, although some people swear by it.

I find that by far the easiest and best system for me to use is the first one that's explained in Corinda. All memory systems take some work, you need to build it up slowly but Corinda's is by far the easiest to work with. But do you really NEED a memory system? I only perform one effect that requires it's use, there're plenty of mental effects out there that don't need mnemonics and if you're just starting out there are probabaly other skills that you're better off spending you time on if I'm to be honest.

The secret to the method of loci, it seems to me, is to keep the number of locations small and add detail gradually - don't overface yourself. I first learned it from an episode of Connections in the 1980s, and I can still remember James Burke walking around a house and setting just seven locations, including a tuba stuffed with flowers sat in a toilet to represent music.

I've recently taken up the loci system to aid in the rapid memorisation of red-black sequences in a genuinely shuffled deck of cards. I've never previously been able to get a handle on it, but am now finding it much easier. With not a huge amount of practice, I can memorise the sequence in under two minutes, with about 0-4 errors. Hoping to improve on both! This is what I think has helped me.

1. I'm not crowding the route. Previously I'd always tried to squeeze too much into the spaces (bed, middle of floor, bedroom door...) when actually if they are spread out further apart (bedroom, hallway, kitchen...) they're much easier to keep separate and distinct.

2. Do it in HD. This is similar to Tomo's point about adding details. It's not enough to just have the location, you need to conjure up a bit of action, sound, smell, texture, whatever it takes for the place to live a little stronger. This makes it much easier to put my next point into practice...

3. Don't just stick the thing you want to remember in the location. Through action and interaction you want to tie it to the station. If you need to tie in, I don't know, a giant rubber ear on legs and the front door, then have him opening and closing the front door, making the letterbox rattle, or repeatedly peering out through the letter box but letting it rattle closed.

4. Really work on the first station. I'm not sure if this is particular to me, or the route I've chosen, but I find that the first image is the one I forget. The only ways I've found to counter this is to really go to town on the starting image, and make sure I can recall it before I've completed the memorisation process.

in preparation for my mentalism I discovered that memory systems were required.

I'm not sure I know what you mean by 'in preparation for your mentalism? Do you have a deadline to 'learn' mentalism? Becuase learning magic or mentalism is not something which ever stops- I have played guitar for around 7 years and there was never a point at which I had 'learned' to play it- I just played it.
Anyway, on the subject of mneumonics, I have been using them for several years and they've been great for exams. I often find the people who think 'that stuff doesn't work on me' are only limited by their belief that it won't- it becomes a seld fullfilling prohpecy. Once you eliminate limiting belief systems there hasn't been anyone who I haven't been able to teach mneumonics to without remarkable results.

Mneumonics are something I'm not afraid to dicuss openly because It is so 'real' and because I know it only comes after hard work- all the information is out there, it onl comes from applying it.

I don't think mneumonics are essential, but they are one of the most real techniques in mentalism like cold reading, hellstromism e.t.c. You can perform mentalism without those skills, but I think any mentalist who isn't proficient in any of those skills is missing out A lot!

On memorising the deck into red and black, my record is 5 seconds. I don't perform it that much because I'm not sure if it is that entertaining as an effect. If I could memorise the deck in 5 seconds then that would be impressive! I remember it like binary numbers, every good book on mneumonics has a section on binary numbers- I think the only truly recomendable memory books are from Dominic O'brien.

I don't know how I could help out on the fading journey system unless I was there with you to find out the problem. All I can say is to make sure your images are memorable and amusing- I soon found that with the journey system it's not just good enough to place a picture of a foot next to my oven- but I need to roast the foot until it is a nice golden brown oozing a charming aroma, with crusty, gunky toes ruining the otherwise appetising foot. So as long as you make the system interactive and.. well, quite obviously memorable, they won't fade, but if you just think placing them there will do- it can work fine, but I have never found that much help.