Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ PhotoReading, Memory Optimizer The principles of Photofocus

I've noticed alot of discussion on the subject of Photofocus of late. Here are some guidelines to remember pertaining to Photofocus.

1. Remain relaxed at all times. Get into the accelerated state and ideal mind. Take some time to entered a relaxed state. Although some claim it can take merely 15 seconds of so ... Paul takes between 3 and 5 minutes on the tape. For beginners ... this is a great rule to adhere too. Until you can master entering state ... take the time at the beginning to ensure you are indeed in state.

2. Keep a soft gaze. Keep eyes, face and shoulders relaxed ... this is not hard to do if you follow guildline one.

3. See beyond the book you are Photofocusing. Very, Very important. As you're staring through the book imagine a tree or any object off at some distantance. Keep your focus on the object beyond your book.

4. Notice the white space on the book ... the print should go out of focus and whitespace should come into focus. Remember to keep to guideline 3.

5. For those having difficulty 'seeing' the four corners of the book ... while maintaining a soft gaze ... widen your eyes a bit (just a bit), you'll notice all four corners come in clearly while maintaining Photofocus.

6. It will take 'time' to have the Photofocus state become second nature ...

However, the most important guideline if all else fails ... practice, practice and more practice.

Michael Saikali

My experience has been that when I am deep into PhotoFocus and relaxed, the text is very clear and the lines defining the blip page are sharp. This is due, I believe, to each eye's focal plane adjusting seperately. I agree with most everything that you state above, however, and I believe that it is excellent advice for anyone learning PhotoReading. There is also, in the manual available in the home study course, as well as given out in the live seminar, a stereogram that helps you practice PhotoFocus.

Craig M. Parsons-Kerins
-The East Coast Omni-Heurist!

Interesting that you mention the stereogram!! Must be in part that I'm color blind or something ... I have a heck of a time getting the stereogram to come into 'clear' view.

Mind you evertime I attempt it ... it's late at nite and I have a choice between discovering what's behind the sterogram or hitting the bed after a hard days work ... the bed always wins!!

Michael Saikali

I normally photoread with one leg crossed and with the book resting on the thigh of my crossed leg. Eventho I had a soft focus prior to learning photoreading, it is second nature to me. It's even more defined when I photoread with my reading glasses on. But anyway, with my leg cross, instead of looking at the book, I look at my knee of the crossed leg directly above the book and you can obtain the now "infamous blip page" and maintain it throughout the reading session. Try it!!!!

Just an addition to my last post. After you've become comfortable with obtaining the blip page by looking at your knee, move your attention down to the center of the book. You will find that it is a lot easier then.

How far from your face do you hold the book? I think it's easier to find photofocus when the book is closer to me than what's recommended by Paul and Pete. I think they say 18 inches, but I find it easier when it's less than a foot away. Should I just keep at it and let it develop, or should I hold the book closer to me?

Jeff

I guess my take on it would be that Paul has setup guidelines and then suggested we play with them. If a shorter distance works for you, why mess with it? My ideal distance probably works out to be somewhere between 18-24 inches. If you're getting the results you want, roll it into your version of Paul's procedure and run with it. That's part of the value of this forum, finding and sharing ways of getting results that may or may not track exactly with Paul's plan. This gives us an opportunity to build on the foundation that the Whole Mind System provides. As we see variations, we may find techniques that work better for our own situations/dispositions.

I had probems with Photofocus before regarding strain on my eyes. I think the problem was caused because of how I held the book. I used to hold the page corners pointed toward my eyes, now I hold the book's pages directly aimed towards my face so my eyes and the page are parallel. My eyes are fine, with the exception of when I finish, my eyes are fairly dry.

[This message has been edited by jonemi (edited January 31, 2001).]

Try blinking. Don't worry, you won't miss anything important. In the book, Paul talks about keeping the pace even if you miss a few pages, so as long as you stay focused, breathing and blinking are just fine.