Killing Very Powerful Memories – Part 2 of 2

So you’ve read my thoughts on how we form very powerful memories, but my Harry Potter fanboy mind got to thinking… If these “memory” Horcruxes cause pain to us, can we go about “killing” the memory associated with the Horcrux?

In some instances, I could see the real benefit. And I guess the answer lies a little in how we create these very powerful memories, to begin with. It also lies within the object we choose to associate with the memory.

Some objects and memories are easy to kill. Just think about the last time you debated to throw out some ruddy old something that had emotionally associated significance. It’s gone, and until I made you think back to it, you’d probably never have thought of it again. Other objects aren’t that simple to free yourself from.

I mentioned uniqueness in my prior post on this and will refer back to it now. Some of the objects we choose are indeed rare. Like my father’s flag. No other flag reminds me of his funeral that day. But, if the object that I had chosen wasn’t fully unique, and if anything that was similar stirred my memory of that moment, it would be almost necessary to find a way to change the association before I went crazy.

This is especially relevant when our associations are with songs. If there is a timeless classic, likely to be played on the radio, in movies, in stores, on the streets, or at concerts, imagine how that would impact you. The memory associated with that song would torment you.

If you’re serious about changing the association of a memory that already has a defined “horcrux” that you can’t control, you’re best option is to overwrite a new very powerful memory onto the object. Like taping over the wedding with your ex-wife with your favorite sports team’s championship.

Just like in my prior post, all of the elements have to be right to create a very powerful memory. Except for the time, you’d already have the object picked out. There is a major risk in doing this though. If the old memory is too powerful, it can survive through the rewrite and overshadow the new memory you tried to capture.

Imagine trying to disassociate one of your favorite meals from the memory of an old boyfriend breaking up with you. If you try to disassociate that memory during the first dinner with your new spouse and you fail, you’ve then strengthened the bad memories associated with that object, while potentially creating a positive very powerful memory of it in your spouse. Now you’re stuck having that meal at every important dinner for the rest of your life. Insanity.

And it’s not always a bad memory you’d be trying to erase. It could be good memories tied to situations that ended badly, like the song you played after every win in an undefeated regular season that ended in the first round of the playoffs. Torment.

In all of these situations, the goal is the same. Limiting exposure to objects that carry with them associations to some type of anguish. And even with the risk involved, sometimes the anguish is worth giving a rewrite a shot.

What do you want to rewrite?