I’m using two partially overlapping methods to generate memories from my <life:

  • letting them come spontaneously (involuntary memories)
  • making efforts to provoke them (voluntary memories)
Literature: David C. Rubin and Dorthe Berntsen, “The Frequency of Voluntary and Involuntary Autobiographical Memories across the Lifespan”, Memory & Cognition, 37 (5), pp. 679–688, 2009.

Involuntary (spontaneous) memories

(laying or sitting down in a tranquil room, trying to foucs on the past, and letting the memories flow in free associations.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Involuntary_memory

Provoked memories

using the archival material (documents and photos) to provoke specific memories.