Hi. Welcome to the forum.

I bought the home study course a couple of months ago. I am impressed with "Previewing", and find this a valuable tool for preparing to read any material.

Indeed, previewing is a useful tool in itself. However, it's usefulness multiplies when used in the context of the system.

As far as I am aware, I am doing all the steps correctly:
I state my purpose -
I enter the relaxed state of mind -
I preview and pull out trigger words -
I try to keep an awareness of the back part of my head -
I state my affirmations prior to PhotoReading -
I can see the blip page as I turn the pages (the words are some times in focus/sometimes blurrey) -
I close with a sense of mastery -
I wait for the incubation period -
I superread and dip -
I draw mind maps -

You seem to have the steps right. How about mind-probing questions? They help trigger the information from the inner mind to conscious understanding. May I ask what your purpose of reading the material usually is? I ask because of your other post. Mentally photographing a page does not necessarily imply a photographic memory. The inner mind is probably capable of it, but I'm not aware of any course that actually teaches it. I also ask because often eidetic (photographic) memory is not always even desirable. A photographic memory does not imply comprehension. In most cases, you want to comprehend a book, not regurgitate it. When you photoread, the inner mind processes the information and then makes it easier for you to understand and absorb it. People like Pete and Paul have developed it to the degree where spontaneous activation is easily possible, but in most cases you need to apply manual activation, as it's more reliable.

SO WHY DOESN'T ANY OF IT WORK??!! I cannot even do the simple dictionary game. I have not yet found a word I was looking in the right place (even inverted).

How would you define work? I do not mean to be cheeky here, but what is your requirement for it to "work"? As long as your speed and/or comprehension improves, it is "working". How has your experience been in this area? Have you been able to improve speed? Comprehension? It is difficult to help until we have an idea of your position.
Furthermore, I note that the dictionary game is not necessarily the best measure of how good a photoreader you are. If it works for you, it demonstrates that spontaneous activation is possible, as well as the power of our minds. If it doesn't, and there are many for whom it doesn't in the beginning, you might be better off leaving it off for awhile and improving manual activation. It is often found that when photoreaders come back to the dictionary game later, their scores improve.

I certainly understand the concepts behind PhotoReading, and I believe they can work. But they are not working for me.

How many books have you PRed? Have you been able to find information more easily? Have you tried all the exercises in the course? Have your dreams become more vivid? Again, I'm asking you to think about exactly what you mean by "not working". When we have that definition, then we would be better able to help you.

My belief in the NOPS approach is wearing thin after 3 reviews of the whole tape course and numerous reads (at normal speed) through the PhotoReading book.

I can understand that your patience is being tried. You've obviously spent quite some time on it. Hopefully, we can work out how to get it on track.

How can I strengthen the neural pathways from the conscious to the unconscious? When superreading, I get no "sense" of where to dip. I get no spontaneous recall of any kind.

You can strengthen them by using the system, not by willing them to manifest. This is done by using the system. As to superreading, what sort of sense are you expecting to show you where to dip? You seem to have a pretty good idea of what to expect. Spontaneous recall comes spontaneously. Especially when you're relaxed. It comes out of the blue, and sometimes you don't necessarily realise what hits you. I suggest that you may want to focus on manual activation first. Trying to force spontaneous recall is likely to block it.

If PhotoReading is "taking a mental photograph of the page", am I supposed to see the page in my mind (i.e the words on a specific page)?

As in, would you have a photographic memory? I won't say no, because sometimes that happens. Most of the time, though, you have an inner knowing of what's going to happen. Activating the book brings it into conscious knowledge.

Or am I just to get a "feeling" of what the answer to a question might be without knowing where the answer came from?

That is most likely to happen when you TRY to get the answer. Spontaneous activation usually happens when you're unaware of it e.g. in a conversation, you surprise yourself.

Can anyone help a struggling PhotoReader?

We'll try, but you need to help yourself.

Good luck.

KWLee

[This message has been edited by KWLee (edited November 15, 2002).]