Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ PhotoReading, Memory Optimizer Request for Elmo9, or similarly capible PRers

Elmo9 I notice a post by you claiming your skill level with PR. It was in reference to the Genus World Book of Records. I then took the liberty of going back over your post in other threads. Not that I've read them all.

I was wondering if you would be so good as to provide a short chronicle of your experience with PR. Starting where you want, hopefully at least as far back to starting the program. Then describing what you've done. You defind your own developmental steps. Your personal hurdles and break throughts. Working your way to where you are now, and how you feel about your skills. And finishing with where you think you skills will get.

I know this is a lot to ask. It's could easily be an article in and of itself. It similar are summary of a joggers diary. I know I would appreciate it and I certain many others that post here would be too.

If anyone that feels they've had significant success with PR is willing to share the story of there journey, I (we) would appreciate it. I would think that LSC would/should create a webpage to hold these stories for others starting this journey. A FAQ page at least.

I'm not trying to single Elmo9 out, but I've not seen anyone else make as strong a statement of their skills. Not counting LSC's people.

Again I know it's a big request, but know the value it would be for others. So I'm appealing to your charitable side.

Thanks for all your posts and for whatever you contribute in the future.

Nice going newbie, you can't even spell capable. :P

I believe Ckerins should consider themselves in this category.

If no one shares, I'll just keep using this thread to add people I think are good candidates for this type of story sharing.

Another find, "How to get the best out of Photoreading" http://www.learningstrategies.com/forum/ubb/Forum8/HTML/000513.html

Let's see if I can recall my experiences with PhotoReading and present them in a format that is reasonably useful....

I first discovered PhotoReading through Win Wenger's book _The Einstein Factor_. About the same time that I discovered Dr. Wenger's book I had also seen the movie "Phenomenon" starring John Travolta. One of the experiences of the main character in the movie is a phenomenal increase in reading speed and retention, as well as access to previously subconscious material. This all seemed to dovetail nicely with my desire to accelerate learning and increase my overall intelligence. At the same time as all this I was also pursuing graduate studies in physics, working full time as a software engineer, and studying the martial arts - so there was a pressing need to be able to absorb more material in less time with greater comprehension and retention.

I called Learning Strategies and ordered a copy of the PhotoReading book. After reading through the book and playing with the system a little bit, I started using it to help in my studies at school. I found that I was getting my studying done in less time - no more nights until 1:00 AM trying to solve problems. The first powerful experience I had with PhotoReading was a case of spontaneous activation, where during an exam (I can no longer recall whether it was the final or the midterm) I looked at the problems in the exam booklet and was struck by the fact that this was material not covered in class or the assigned reading material - it was an extension of stuff we were doing, but only tangentially. I remembered what was written about taking tests with the whole mind in Mr. Scheele's book, closed my eyes, relaxed and then BOOM! a flood of information coursed through my mind and I could barely keep up as I furiously wrote everything that was coming to me into my exam booklet. I finished the test in 30-45 minutes and left - the next person to leave didn't finish until 2 1/2 hours into the exam. I got a 95% on the exam. I think this was a fortuitous series of events that culminated in a case of spontaneous activation for me - PhotoReading all of the books in math and physics, the need triggered by the exam, foundational knowledge of math and physics, the ability to relax and the ability to let go briefly to access the information.

After that I was hot to master the system in a more reliable manner. I ordered the home study course and diligently worked through the materials provided and practiced regularly. I found that I started putting too much pressure on myself to function and starting getting "PhotoReading performance anxiety" - I couldn't activate things effectively, I wanted instantaneous knowledge of all of the material that I PhotoRead, rather than letting comprehension build in layers, etc. I started to notice, however, that materials that I PhotoRead that I had a strong purpose in learning from, but not an urgent need to know immediately, became easier and easier to activate. I also discovered that if I moved away from primarily verbal techniques of activation and played with mind mapping, doodling, talking it out, etc. I got better results.

About this time I figured that I was getting results from the system, but that I was missing some core chunk of information that would allow me to really unlock it and shoot forward, so I signed up for the live seminar. The seminar helped to solidify what I learned from the book and home study course, as well as offered insights that I really hadn't thought of (such as - just what are you looking to get out of what you're reading? Perfect knowledge of the text? Global understanding of the concepts? Specific information? etc.) So, armed with new enthusiasm and courage I went forth and PhotoRead everything I could get my hands on, activating most of the books when I had time. Soon, certain patterns began to emerge for me - the more that I trusted myself and my intuition, the faster I went through the material and the more that I retained. When I really slowed down and would take an hour or two to activate a relatively short book (250 pgs), I found that I really wasn't getting anything out of the book that I wouldn't have gotten had I spent only 20-30 minutes activating. The better defined my goals were and the more specific the purpose in reading, the more I actually got out of the book. The more I was willing to make multiple passes and delay instant "understanding" of the text, the quicker I actually came to understand what it was I was activating - even though the initial passes left me frustrated because I wanted to know immediately what I was activating. Finally, the more I tried to talk to somebody else about what I PhotoRead, the more powerfully the information became locked into my mind.

I am at the point now where I can apply the system to a book automatically, and the activation time for a book, depending on my previous familiarity with the subject matter, complexity of the text, target audience of the text, etc. is pretty short - usually around 15 minutes for a 250 page book. This time includes mind probing, super reading and dipping, and mind mapping.

I haven't touched on things like the dictionary game, direct learning, or other things tangential to the main PhotoReading procedure here. If anybody's interested, I can. The best advice that I can give to beginning PhotoReaders is to simply play with the system and notice what works for you. What it's really all about is learning how your own mind works and how to tap into the abilities that you might not have been aware that you have - peripheral awareness, preconscious processing, natural techniques of learning (from whole to parts, in layers, etc.), different modes of internal (and external) representation of information that you are learning, etc. It doesn't hurt to push the envelop a little when you're playing with the system, and I think it's vitally important to acknowledge when you do enjoy success with the techniques presented - the more successes you allow yourself to be aware of and enjoy, the more you will have I think. I hope that this is useful. Feel free to email me if you want at any time - I do respond to emails.

Great post Ckerins! Thank you so much!

That was great and thank you very much Ckerins. I'm long winded in the posting department, but that is large and well laid out. It's also exactly the kind to thing I was hoping people would share.

You could have gone on in the I did technique A for 2 weeks, got frustrated and tried B. That would have been equally interesting.

The type of information you've chosen to share is enlightening, encouraging and inspirational to a soon to be newbie in PR.

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Not important, but I undergrad in Physics. MSc in a multi-disciplinary program which is more technically based. I know there is a part of me that regrets not having gotten a PhD in Physics. Not that I want to work in it, but it's kind of the a mountain thing. Can say you can do it unless you take the test.

One of the things, I intend to do relatively early in the PR exercising phase is go through the 50 text books, in math physics and computers, that represent the majority of the studies.

Sharing more of myself, I have a few experiences and belief that make me sure that PR is possible and I will open the that door for myself. One of the strongest, was during first year preparing for Christmas exams. Several of us were going through old calculus exams (all A students) and there was one proof we were all stumped on for hours. We gave-up and moved onto other stuff. The next morning as I woke up, I had the proof in my head. I scrambled over my desk, which was at the head of my bed and wrote it down. I don't remember dreaming about it. The solution was just there. I shared the proof and story with all the guys I was studying with. The key to the proof was some little theorem (kinda my name-sake {no guessing}) which was in the text but not really part of the course. The cream to the story was that proof was on the exam. Nice to know you got a free 15% on an exam, in two minutes, that almost no-one else will get.

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Thanks again for this post. I also read that argument, I won't call it a proof, regarding unconscous intelligence for which you left a link in another thread. Thank you for that and other treasures I'm sure to find.

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I really wanted to keep this thread clean, but I can always do some collection work later if needed. So the way I read now, I'm always questioning the material and ideas I'm reading, as I'm reading them. This is good, in that I ideas are well cemented when I finished. This is bad, in that if I find too much to disagree with I tend to stray and stop paying attention to what I'm reading.

Any comments?

Must end with a Thank you.

I'm also familiar with those blockages, where trying less hard gets better results. Being goal oriented can stifle your abilities.

Ckerins, thanks for sharing your story with us. I'd like to ask you few more questions.

1. How long ago did you start with PRing?
2. Now that you've passed all there is to pass (seminar, course and a book) how do you compare them?
3. Did you use any of techniques from Wenger's "The Einstein Factor" while learning the system?

Thanks in advance for your answer.

I started PhotoReading about 4 years ago now. I haven't always been disciplined in using it (I fell into old reading habits on a number of occasions, didn't always follow the advice of the PhotoReading coaches,etc.). I now use the system pretty consistently.

I think the live seminar is by far the best way to learn PhotoReading - you get to see the instructor doing it, you have the support of other classmates, you can interact and ask questions, etc. That being said, all of the information needed to learn PhotoReading is contained in both the book and the home study course, and I believe that you can learn to PhotoRead effectively by either one.

The techniques that I most often employ from Dr. Wenger's books are Image Streaming and Borrowed Genius. Image Streaming as part of activation is useful, but I find for Direct Learning and consolidation of knowledge from what I've PhotoRead the Borrowed Genius procedure works wonders. You might also want to catch "The Pretender" on TNT and watch some of the early episodes to see how the character Jarod immerses himself in whatever he's trying to learn for his next pretend.

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Originally posted by Jovo:
Ckerins, thanks for sharing your story with us. I'd like to ask you few more questions.

1. How long ago did you start with PRing?
2. Now that you've passed all there is to pass (seminar, course and a book) how do you compare them?
3. Did you use any of techniques from Wenger's "The Einstein Factor" while learning the system?

Thanks in advance for your answer.

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