What’s your earliest memory? Probably it will be of an event that happened when you around the age of three, and then it will be more of a sensation – such as warmth or sunlight – than a detailed recollection.
Even after that time, memories will be of specific occasions, possibly separated by long periods, often weeks and, sometimes, even months. Again, most of our memories are sensory – the distilled sensation from an event.
Yes, some of us do have very early memories – but most of us don’t. And there’s a good reason for it: when we’re babies, there’s nobody there to remember!
Neuroscientists argue that our sense of a continuous self is the result of an agglomeration of memories – but, according to the Time-Light model, they are the self.
Indeed, this sense of self is layered memory, mainly sitting in the Past self.
Now, this may all seem like so much metaphysical twittering – but it’s central and essential to your life. It determines everything about you, about your happiness and joy, your ups and downs, your ambitions, desires, fears, hopes and dreams.
Ultimately, it comes down to one question: are you going to live your life as a conscious and free individual, or are you going to allow your past to live your life for you?