It's never been necessary. The state is triggered by how you focus your eyes. Just going into soft focus and seeing the blip page shows you that the brainwaves have slowed down.
Losing the blip page merely means the brainwaves have elevated and you're moving toward harder focus. This will usually coincide with thoughts like am I doing it right, What if I can't do this, What if I do it wrong then it won't work. Next instant you notice you've lost the blip and go oh no I'm doing it wrong... Well something like that. When you listen to them I'm sure you know what I mean.
The thing is to by pass that chatter and self doubt and just do it. Take a playful attitude like a kid digging a tunnel in a sand pit. It's serious work for them. It gets their full attention but they aren't asking what if I do it wrong they are seeing what would happen if I do this.
So go into photofocus. Turn the page and say the chant to shut down that negative mind chatter. In the beginning you'll lose the blip page. I still do when my dog puts a sock or his toy into the book. Or I notice him bring a bone into the house while I'm PhotoReading. I just stop deal with that and then continue from where I left off.
In Pauls class I've watched him ask the person who is most concerned about getting it right if they are in the state and PhotoReading right to volunteer. He hooks them up to the IVBA and tells them to just relax and go into PhotoReading. At this point in the class the students are still being guided into the relaxed state so they just do the best they can to apply what they learned so far. Get into Photofocus and start turning the pages. And there in the screen for all to see they have gone into the PhotoReading brainwave. They are naturally distracted when Paul starts talking again and asks them to stop PhotoReading and start traditionally reading. There's a different brainwave pattern. Then Paul tells them to start PhotoReading again (no mention of getting relaxed) just go into Photofocus and start PhotoReading. And they are back into the PhotoReading brainwaves. They have now confirmed for the class that PhotoReading is in fact that easy.
The getting relaxed at the beginning. Going into Alpha serves a different purpose than getting you into the PhotoReading brainwaves. Saying the affirmations and intentions are exactly what you went to alpha for. It is part of the prepare for PhotoReading where you give your mind a reason to pay attention to this information because you want something out of it afterwards.
You've been able to PhotoRead all your life, The mind picks up a lot of information in the periperal awareness naturally. You don't notice it because you rarely consciously need it. When you do, when you are driving for example, you're consciously hitting the breaks because you peripheral awareness saw that that car was driving too fast to be stopping at that red light. All that information is available you you consciously in that instant. Now you're applying your peripheral awareness to reading and it too needs training so it can bring the information you want to your conscious awareness at an instant.
Going to Alpha and stating your intention is asking your mind to wake up to the information that you PhotoRead. The problem isn't that you can't PhotoRead and are not doing it right. That's actually the easy part. The hard part is accesing that information, learning to be aware of it and the signals your body creates to speed up activation and experience spontaneous activation. That's why the prepare, relax, affirm, purpose at the beginning and affirm your intention to notice at the end of PhotoReading the book is important. Getting into alpha at the start helps because it allows you to focus more in the direction of where you want to go.
It takes few practice sessions. I don't recommend using other tricks to bypass saying the affirmations and purpose. Just relax and if you want you can use something that relaxes you nature sounds is good, as is classical and instrunental music of a soothing nature. You don't need entrainment.
The point of being in state is to set up the body mind connection with the affirmations and statement of purpose. (your intentions). The best way to do that is to consciously do it till it becomes a habit. Once it's a habit you'll just mentally note your purpose as you take a couple of relaxing breaths. Or just pick up a book from the shelves in the library or book story and wonder if there is anything useful in this book that I want to know and start PhotoReading.
Alex
