I just saw the advertisement for the new movie The Time Traveler’s Wife and it made me think. Would I really want to see the future and would I want to go back into the past? These same questions are things that you too may have an opinion about. HG Wells had his time machine that did all those things, but then it hit me. As a personal historian I know people travel backwards to the past to visit with their memories to write about them. So you can really time travel.

It is amazing that when you are remembering events from your youth, for just a moment you feel exactly the way you did back then. When you remember, the same fears and cheers are with you. Some people tend to live in the past, in fear of creating new memories. I do not recommend the latter but some visits to earlier times might help you to write.

Here is what you need to do some Time Traveling yourself:

Find a quite space where you can think Have a way to document your trip Do not let any one interrupt you Read a list of triggers to start Start to think about each trigger independently Close your eyes and think about the scene Look around, see who is there and listen to what they say Document your adventure Plan to revisit the scene a few weeks later See that there is more detail from your first visit Write about it and go to the next trigger Not all triggers are created to be equal. You may read through a dozen triggers and none create a reaction but then the thirteenth one gets you to write about those memories. You may look at the time and several hours have past and you still are writing. It is the trigger that puts you into the right frame of mind for any time travel and any life story writing.

Triggers:

Do you remember any activities you did with your parents? How did your parents demonstrate their love for while you were growing up? Did your family easily talk about feelings? When were those times you discussed those feelings? When thinking about growing up what brings a smile to your face? When did you start thinking your parents were not as smart as you thought as when you were a child? When did you start to think that your parents were smarter then you when were a kid? How would you say your relationship was with each of your parents? What situations that you remember demonstrate that? How do you relate emotionally to your own children? What are the things that you have done to show your feelings with your own kids? If your relationships with either your parents or children are not where you feel they should be, what stories can you remember that may heal that relationship?

As you can see these triggers have different ways of talking about emotions. The way of dealing with emotions is usually passed down from generation to generation. Therefore they make a good area to start you writing your life story and a great place to start your time travel. Sit in your favorite chair in a quiet place; no need for a seat belt unless you expect a bumpy ride. Relax and start your journey!