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Great questions!

The process I outlined is based on an NLP technique called "future pacing." The quick explanation is that you are creating a new pattern of behavior by seeing yourself acting and reacting to a future situation in a new way. You are literally "programming" new responses.

The method we use remember something in any given situation is called a strategy. Future pacing is the "finishing piece" to most NLP techniques and is used to lock in the new behavior in future situations.

Now, to explain the specific pieces of my future pace above:

- I ask you to see the room in which you will take the test - the is the cue to your inner mind that you want this behavior to happen in the future, in this situation. I ask you to see as much detail as possible because this helps make it more real and more powerful for your unconscious mind.

- I ask you to see yourself reading the question and then looking in a specific place to find the answer. Up and left are where most peoples' eyes go when they are accessing visual memory of something they've already seen. Here I'm making the assumption that your test will be based on a lot of visual information - anatomy charts, things you've read, and I'm also making the assumption that recalling the info visually will give you what you need to answer the question. For more on "eye accessing cues", see the entry on Eye movements on this page: http://www.nlpuniversitypress.com/html/E42.html

- Since you have photoread this material, it is already stored in your inner mind, you just need a way to access it. I offer the metaphor of seeing information "bubbling up" from your inner mind to you conscious mind when you need it to help bridge this gap.

- Finally, I ask you to start the visualization from a disassociated point of view and at the end, when you have it perfect, to associate into it and run it. This is typical of many NLP technique. The disassociated POV allows you to edit the strategy to make sure it works and you are happy with it. When you associate into the movie and play it, you are installing the new strategy so that it is automatically available when you need it.

As for how this technique has helped me, I've posted several notes. I've used this technique by itself and in conjunction with the Personal Genius paraliminal to great effect. Here are some references:
http://www.learningstrategies.com/forum/ubb/Forum4/HTML/000251.html
http://www.learningstrategies.com/forum/ubb/Forum4/HTML/000251.html

I hope this answer your questions, if not let me know how else I can help.

Have fun!
Mike