How to Find Lost Objects

Do you feel as though you’re losing it: car keys, wallet and all the other mundane things that are forgotten until they’re lost? All of a sudden these items can get really important. If we added up the time we’ve spent searching for lost stuff we’d probably gain an extra week a year. And somehow, it seems the more we search, the further we get from finding. What we find instead is incredible frustration and powerlessness. Advice like “take a breather and retrace your steps” are well-intentioned and sometimes work, but the whole time we’re trying to calm down enough to remember, our brains are tied in knots.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Take a deep breath and try to lessen your sense of urgency.
2. Unfocus your eyes slightly and rather than looking intently from spot to spot, sweep the suspected area with your vision like a floodlight, not focusing on any single area.
3. Within a minute or so (when you master the art of seeing without looking), the object will appear unless it’s hidden beneath or behind something else.
4. Ask Saint Anthony, the patron saint of lost objects in Catholic folklore, to locate the lost object for you. You needn’t be Catholic or even believe in the saint at all. What makes this one work is the act of asking for help, no matter how ridiculous it might seem.
5. After you ask the saint, forget about the lost object and your request. This method allows the mind to unconsciously remind itself of the location of the object. Just like a computer, all data is present in the mind, just misfiled or scrambled.
6. When you find the lost treasure, be sure to thank the saint out loud. I always look up and say, “Thanks, St. Anthony.” Superstitious? Maybe. But it pays to be polite. Sort of like paying a bill to the celestial lost and found agency. Warning: St. Anthony isn’t so good at located modern electronics or objects that are illegal or immoral (in his eyes). Aren’t you glad you found this eHow article? No need for thanks however.