What's your earliest memory?

[Ankh]

If the memory were of a traumatic incident and a great source of distress in a person's life it would be another story, too.

What would that another story be?

Recalling memories of childhood trauma could retraumatize a person so it's sensitive. Regardless of the accuracy of the memory, what they may recall could exacerbate their current mental health.

If someone has an early memory of a traumatic event that is recalled through regression or whatnot, then this person tries to go to court with alleged abuser from the memory (i.e., involves legal system) then it's a very shaky road bc of the whole 'false memory' phenomenon... there is a lot of research done that points to the faultiness of memory.

If the memory of being abused is false and one goes to court and pushing charges towards an innocent person, then yes, I agree with you, that it's a different story.

But if the experiences/memories of traumatic events are there, and one does not work with them, it will make the mental health condition worse, in my experience and understanding. I went about 13 years ignoring past traumatic events, which resulted in the condition called PTSD. One day I decided to treat it.

Enlarging past traumatic events/memories in the mind is not a bad thing. Ra actually advices it:

Then whatever is lacking in the balanced sensation is, as in all balancing, allowed to come into the being after the sensation is remembered and recalled in such detail as to overwhelm the senses.

This is done in traditional psychology too, when I was treated. We went through traumatic memories, enlarging them in the mind, and making them to overwhelm me, step by step. And then applying the current mental state to that which has been in the past. Or as I see it, applying love/light to the past experiences/memories of negative nature.

As long as no other self is being harmed, it shouldn't matter whether these memories are correct or not. They should be brought up into the light of conscious mind and worked with, so that they don't haunt one. I think that this is lacking a little bit in our current, modern society, because people are always seeking for an objective, absolute proof. Did it happen? Did it not? Is this memory correct? Is it not? What does it matter, if this memory, correct or incorrect, is there, haunting you down? It should be worked with regardsless of its "correctness", imho.