|
|
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 17
Member
|
|
Member
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 17 |
After having just finished the Personal Learning Course, I have been wanting to work on my ability to Photoread before I leave to study abroad. I've tried a practice regimen of sitting myself down and Photoreading several books. But I can't fool my own existing study habits. It feels awkward to practice the Photoreading system, because it feels like I'm not getting anything done. I have a stack of books that I put myself into state over, flip through, close, and then leave. I've done this for a few days, but I'm getting meager results at best. Many of the books that I'm doing this with are pleasure reading books such as In A Sunburned Country and The Einstein Factor (of which I'm also having similar problems attempting to Image Stream). What worked for others to get themselves to the position that they are today in their abilities to Photoread? How did you go about integrating your skills until you suddenly got it? How long did it take? I don't feel I have a problem with the mechanics of activation; I'm just distraught that it feels like I'm chasing my own tail over this. -Eric D.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 55
Member
|
|
Member
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 55 |
Hi Eric, It seems to me that you may need to work on stating your purpose. It's with purpose that we get excited about doing things, reading books, and acquiring new skills. What are you looking to get out of all your reading material that you are having a hard time with?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 17
Member
|
|
Member
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 17 |
Much of the motivation that I have to learn the system is broad and sweeping. Ultimately, I would like to get through my schoolwork faster and more efficiently, and learn more from my textbooks and lectures. Alas, because I'm not in school right now, I can't practice the steps using this particular medium. Getting through more books and doing some more pleasure reading is also nice, but I'm having dismal results with the Rapid Reading step because I find it difficult to gauge when to slow down and speed up because it's difficult to tell what's important and what's not. Though purpose is good, and that's a good suggestion that I'll try using more, it would also be good to get feedback from other people on this board to see how they went about learning the steps and applying them, so I can get a good feeling of what works and what doesn't. Did you have to practice it every day? How many books? Something like that. -Eric D.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 7,089 Likes: 1
Learning Strategies Admin Member
|
|
Learning Strategies Admin Member
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 7,089 Likes: 1 |
quote:
Originally posted by ProduceDpt:
Much of the motivation that I have to learn the system is broad and sweeping. Ultimately, I would like to get through my schoolwork faster and more efficiently, and learn more from my textbooks and lectures.
But why would one want to get through their schoolwork faster? Isn't it just easier *not* to do it in the first place and then you can put PhotoReading off too? [this is a paradoxical question for you to consider. explaination is at the end of this post*] quote:
Alas, because I'm not in school right now, I can't practice the steps using this particular medium. Getting through more books and doing some more pleasure reading is also nice, but I'm having dismal results with the Rapid Reading step because I find it difficult to gauge when to slow down and speed up because it's difficult to tell what's important and what's not.
Just do it, learn to trust the inner mind not your conscious mind gauge. The rest is just an excuse because you really don't have a purpose. quote:
Though purpose is good, and that's a good suggestion that I'll try using more, it would also be good to get feedback from other people on this board to see how they went about learning the steps and applying them, so I can get a good feeling of what works and what doesn't. Did you have to practice it every day? How many books? Something like that.-Eric D.
Purpose is not just good it's important. Its the reason we get out of bed in the morning even if our purpose is merely to chill out and do some surfing with the mates etc. It is never the less the purpose. If you're only going to analyse what others are doing for what works and what doesn't you have an interesting past-time but no purpose. If you've already looked at the forum posts you will note what winds up working is Just doing it like the course says in a playful manner.
Getting down and establishing the real purpose
NOPS What doesn't work;
Sitting on the sideline being a spectator,
Wanting others to do it for you
Not having a purpose
Refusing to give up the things listed on page 17 of the book. *Now my explaination for my paradoxical question.
Wanting to get through your school work faster is an interesting goal but doesn't really identify your reason for wanting to get it done. When you think about it... not doing it is better in some sense than actually doing it faster. If you haven't given yourself an incentive for doing it in the first place the deadend purpose of 'Getting my school work done faster' is being met a whole lot better by your mind encouraging you to procastinate. it leaves you the freedom to do what you want to do when you're done, doesn it not? Your purpose needs to be a reason for doing homework, same as your purpose for getting the hang of PhotoReading needs to have a valid reason why you want to PhotoRead "this book". PhotoReading is just a way of getting the information out of "this book" it's not a skill you have to practice. If you're going to apply it to a book have a reason for applying it to that book. Just like you don't practice walking to the fridge and back. When you get up and walk to the fridge you have a purpose... whether that be to get food, get some milk for the cat or to grab a drink for yourself. In other words... get real with your purpose. Alex
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 21
Member
|
|
Member
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 21 |
My advice to you is: Relax. I see lots of posts on the board and like Alex says, people need to reread page 17 of the book and do two important things (among others): relax and give up your sense of urgency. PR promises to cut reading time by a 1/3 and so everyone picks up their advanced math book and expects to have 100% conprehension immediately. "Have I used up my 1/3 of the time yet???!!!!
Oh no its not working!!!" When they don't get it, they produce an even greater sense of urgency going faster and harder with more stress. I'm using PR to learn probablilty theory right now. I've stopped caring about how quickly I learn it, only that i do learn it. I've stop trying to understand things the first time or even the third. I just accept that learning happens in layers and I will do as many layers as needed. This relaxed attitude does several things: allows you to learn faster because you are not overloading the concious mind and allows you to work longer since learning is more pleasurable instead of a stress test. I think of learning as chopping down a tree, each layer a swing of the axe. If I didn't understand it the first time, I just swing the axe again. If I swing enough, the tree falls. It's inevitable. I still fight the urge to go "too deep" into the material too early, but you know you are going to go back and look at it again.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 17
Member
|
|
Member
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 17 |
Alex, I don't see how my goal is an ill-formed one. Why not get through my schoolwork faster? Are you suggesting that if my goal is to get through my work faster, then I must be in the wrong field of study? I enjoy what I do, but it takes several hours to do it in, and I consistently find myself backed into corners and deadlines. My grades are showing a marked decline, though I've worked harder this last semester (I'd like to believe so, anyway) than ever before. I don't see how this purpose is worse than "doing more pleasure reading". Pleasure reading is expendable. Should I change it to "I want to sleep at night"? I'm sorry if my post souds irritated, but I'm just frustrated. I have free time to kill before summer ends and I'm just looking for different ways to play with the system.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 55
Member
|
|
Member
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 55 |
I think the question is not, "Why not get through my schoolwork faster?", but "Why?" I think what Alex is getting at is to be able to step back a little bit and see more of the big picture. Do you have a major purpose that all of the little things you do each day siphon into? It's like going to the University. Most people would not just go because they don't have anything else to do (although I think many people go because they think they *should* go.) With something like that, there's usally a purpose; be it become a doctor, engineer, writer, artist, etc. What they eventually want to do becomes their purpose, and the University is the way to get there. If you could have all the information you'd ever need instantly transferred into your conscious mind, would you? Why? What would that help you accomplish? You're talking about getting through things faster, but ultimately what for? So you can......(what do you need the free time for?) Asking yourself these questions not only helps you with Photoreading, but with your life in general as well. Cheers [This message has been edited by Prosperity (edited June 03, 2004).] [This message has been edited by Prosperity (edited June 03, 2004).]
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 7,089 Likes: 1
Learning Strategies Admin Member
|
|
Learning Strategies Admin Member
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 7,089 Likes: 1 |
ProduceDpt There is nothing wrong with a goal of getting your schoolwork done faster, but it's not a purpose. Like I said you can achieve that goal by not doing your schoolwork. Why? what does your goal give you? more free time... so don't do schoolwork and you have more free time, you goal has been met in a much more simplified way. Your propose is why do you want to do the schoolwork? What are you going to do with it? What do you expect it will help you to achieve otherwise and elsewhere in your life> How are you going to apply it? Lets say that you wanted to hand over your schoolwork to me and I was supposed to do it? My purpose won't be to get it finished faster... it's to know why the heck I should even bother starting it. Once my purpose has been establish then my goal will be to get it done faster. A purpose is a reason for doing something (your motivatior for doing it). A goal is the expected end result that you want to achive., full stop. If you don't have a purpose for doing something then you're going to take the shortest route to get to your goal instinctively. So if your goal is to get your schoolwork done faster so that you have more free time and you don't have a purpose for doing schoolwork, the mind knows the fastest way to reach your goal is don't start it in the first place. If you want to kill free time, do nothing. That's a great way to murder time. If you want to achieve something useful with the time. What would you consider useful, how do you expect it to benefit you in the future, what are the rewards? BTW leisure reading is a purpose because it is a reward within itself, enjoyment of the moment. Alex
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 17
Member
|
|
Member
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 17 |
Someone tell me if this is an effective purpose for photoreading and wanting to get through my schoolwork faster. To get a doctorate degree and be a pioneer in mechanical engineering, robotics and artificial intelligence research, work for NASA and be an astronaut. I'm not lying about any of these. Is that a goal or is that a purpose? Because if I want to go back further, I can press the human nature button and say "to get girls and make money". That's an effective purpose as well, though something that's probably not conducive to learning the system, I think.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 55
Member
|
|
Member
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 55 |
Girls (plural)? How many do you need?  [This message has been edited by Prosperity (edited June 04, 2004).]
|
|
|
|
|
