Depending on what my goals are with the book, and depending on how much conscious understanding of the meterial that I desire, I will rapid read. I have noticed that if I go right to the rapid reading step (and skip the super reading/data dipping and mind mapping steps) I process the book much faster than if I had skipped the PhotoReading step. Translation: the PhotoReading step definitely does something for "priming the mental pump" on the written material.
I have used direct learning - mostly in relation to absorbing interpersonal skills via NLP. One of the tricks with Direct Learning, I think, is that after you've PhotoRead and then "made believe" that you have the desired skill, you let yourself unconsciously act with the skill. What I mean is, after the initial programming that you've given yourself for the ability that you desire, you stop watching yourself (i.e., waiting) for it to manifest and you let it happen. I think that this frees the mind to integrate and use the new skills, and gets you out of the mindset where you don't possess the skills and into the mindset where you do possess the skills. Maybe another way to put this is: I think in order for Direct Learning to be highly effective, you need to allow yourself to mentally "jump tracks" and forget about the fact that you're using Direct Learning to acquire the skills and just go forward and start using them.
It's similar to what I've seen some of my karate students go through when learning a new technique. They become too self conscious of performing the technique properly that they slow down how quickly they learn the skills and actually get in their own way while learning the skills. Maybe the best approach is simply to see the skill that you want (i.e. - the end goal), observe somebody doing it (or the book that illustrates how to do it), and then simply go and do it, without trying to correct yourself at every single step. Your first movements towards your goal might be grossly inaccurate, but eventually the unconscious self correcting mechanism in the mind will start learning and making the adjustments necessary without your conscious intervention. Then again, I could be wrong.
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Originally posted by weight39doug:
ckerins has some great ideas there for manual activations.I am curious do you find rapid reading anymore effective after the photofocus stage? After I have photoread I am able to rapid read/skitter my way through a book quite quickly.
Have you tried direct learning (that is my favorite approach)?
