Pegging

The principle of Pegging is that if you can associate something you do not know with something that you do know, THEN YOU KNOW IT!

This is like having a mental cabinet with multiple pigeon holes in which we can store items.  We can look upon these pigeon holes as our knowledge banks.  This technique is not new.  It was used by Simonides of Ceos (c. 556 - 468 BCE), a famous orator and poet, who was renowned for being able to recite poetry for hours on end without notes and also by Cicero (106 BC–43 BCE), a Roman philosopher, orator and statesman, who was famous for being able to lecture for two or more hours, also without notes. Cicero systematically walked through various Roman buildings, remembering the location of every sculpture, window, alcove etc., and then mentally linking the key points of his talk to each of the items in the building. That is why this technique is known as The Roman Room. It has also been described as the Method of Loci. In a subsequent page you will be shown how to convert anything, even abstract nouns into mental images.

To demonstrate the effectiveness of pegging, you will now be introduced to a tool that you can use every day. It is called the Body List. The terminology was popularized by Kevin Trudeau.

The components of the Body List are:

1 - TOE
2 - KNEE
3 - MUSCLE
4 - REAR
5 - LOVE HANDLES
6 - SHOULDER
7 - COLLAR
8 - FACE
9 - PATE (an archaic, poetic word for the top of the head)
0 - CEILING

These may seem like odd anatomical terms, but bear with us. The words have special meanings. First, commit this list to memory by standing up and saying “ONE – TOES, TWO – KNEES, THREE – MUSCLE, FOUR – REAR… and so on until you know each number and its associated body part. It is important to use the exact terms. Do not, for example, convert “muscle” to “thighs”.

The usefulness of the Body List can be shown by taking a hypothetical trip to the supermarket.

Here is what we need to buy:

1. Butter
2. Carrots
3. Bacon
4. Bottled water
5. Cheese
6. Milk
7. Ice cream
8. Bananas
9. Eggs
10. Oranges

The method is similar to that used in linking (chaining).  We will develop images pegging each item of the grocery list to a component of the body list.

Here are our suggestions:
 
1. Toe to butter: Visualize your toes as long sticks of bright yellow (color) butter and as you walk (action is being added to the image) you are leaving large stains on the carpet.  As you cut off a piece of butter it is painful (using senses) and there is bright red blood (color) squirting out.

2. Knee to carrots: See millions of bright orange, enormous carrots sprouting out from your knees with the roots coming out of the backs of your knees. If you wish to add another ridiculous element to this image, you could see multitudes of rabbits chomping at your knees.  Remember, the more the bizarre the image, the better.

3. Muscle to bacon: Imagine seeing giant skillets on your thighs with rashers of sizzling bacon.  Smell the bacon!  Feel the pain of the skillets burning your “muscles”. 

4. Rear to bottled water: One of the beauties of creating mental images is that they are personal and do not have to be shared with anyone.  You can make them as vulgar or as scatological as you wish without fear of offending other people or being judged by others.  Therefore, you are to develop your own image.  Make sure that the image is bizarre, would not happen normally, is exaggerated and multiple.  It must be in vivid color, your senses must be involved, and THERE MUST BE ACTION.

5. Love handles to cheese: My suggestion is to “see” giant rounds of cheese hanging from your love handles and another one around your waist like a belt.  These cheeses are so heavy that they are weighing you down.  Also each of the cheeses has a bright red waxy cover. 

Do not advance until you have each of these 5 images clearly in your mind’s eye.

6. Shoulder to milk: Now your imagination can run wild. Imagine a set of udders on each shoulder, and as you squeeze them milk shoots out to the other side of the room.  Some of the milk runs down your arms and you can feel the warm stickiness.  This is an example of using creative imagination.

7. Collar to ice cream: Feel the pain of freezing tubs of ice cream around your neck.  What color is it?  Is it bright red from strawberry, or brown from chocolate?  Or both?   Can you extend your tongue to reach into the tubs and taste the flavors?

8. Face to bananas:  Are they sprouting out from your mouth and nostrils?  Are they covering your eyes so you cannot see where you are going?  Can you smell them and/or taste them in your mouth?  Are they green or bright yellow?

9.Pate to eggs: Are hens sitting on your head laying eggs?  Or are eggs balancing on your head and someone comes up behind you and breaks some of them?  Feel the gooey mess running over your face.  Perhaps you have better images.

10. Ceiling to oranges: Perhaps there are upside-down orange trees hanging from the ceiling and millions of oranges are falling and hitting you on the head – can you feel the pain?  Perhaps orange juice is squirting out of them and drenching you.  Is the orange juice sweet and aromatic?

Now that you have made all the connections and have the dynamic images, get a piece of paper and write down this numbered shopping list. 

As an exercise make up another shopping list and add the new 10 items to your body list and see if you can remember everything. 

To help you to become familiar with the Body List click here for additional exercises for you to try.

Isn’t it miraculous that you can completely erase one set of images and create new ones? This is like overwriting information in a computer.

The Body List will also help you remember to perform certain tasks.  Let’s say you promised to e-mail someone a document this evening.  Put that person or the subject of the document on your toes.  If there is something else you have to do you add that to your knees etc.  Then get into the habit of checking your Body List several times a day, especially when you get home in the evening.   When we return home there are certain things that we always do such as check the mail box or feed the dog.  Now add to these tasks the habit of checking your Body List.  You now have an easy way to remember up to 10 items every day!

Another use of the Body List is to convert numbers to images, but that will be covered later.

Other peg lists that you can use

There is no limit to the number of lists that you can use to peg objects to. You can use any location that you are familiar with. 

Examples are:

1. Shops in a mall
   
2. Rooms in any building that you are familiar with such as a school
   
3. Houses on the street where you live
   
4. Streets in your neighborhood
   
5. The "number shape list" which will be on the "Number Images" page

 

One of my favorites is The House List. This is truly a modification of the Roman Room.
We suggest that you walk through your house, starting at the front door and systematically go through 4 or 5 rooms.  In each room look around in a clockwise rotation and find 5 different items and write them down.  For example I use:


Entrance and living room

1. Front door
2. Quilt on the wall
3. Wood carving of St Francis
4. Fireplace
5. Stereo

Dining room

1. Lamp in corner
2. Valance over the window
3. Chairs around the table
4. China cabinet
5. Buffet

Kitchen

1. Breakfast table
2. Sink
3. Refrigerator
4. Stove
5. Pantry

Office

1. Painting on wall
2. Book case
3. Printer
4. Computer screen
5. Filing cabinet

Bedroom

1. Telephone
2. Bed
3. Cedar chest
4. Television
5. Chest of drawers

You are now ready to move on to the next level - Numbers