Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ PhotoReading, Memory Optimizer Activation

I am a beginner photoreader, and I am not quite sure how to do the activation. I believe that the information has gone into my mind in the photoreading step, but I do not know how to access it.

I have been trying to do it without reading normally to much, but nothing seems to be transferring from my subconscious mind to my conscious mind. All I seem to be doing during activation is finding mind probing questions (which is easy because there are questions at the end of each chapter in most of the books I'm photoreading) and then finding the answer to them using super reading and dipping. I never remember anything from the photoreading step, just things that I read normally during dipping!!

When I make mind maps, I just find myself looking in the book for information, not getting it from my subconscious mind.

I would like to know what else you should do for a successful activation, instead of just thinking of questions and then finding the answers. The photoreading book seems to be a bit vague on this.

[This message has been edited by phoebebuffay (edited November 29, 2002).]

You are on the right track. You bring the information that you photoread to your conscious mind by asking question and superreading and dipping. The material you photoreading is stored in the inner mind. Activation is the process of bringing it to the conscious mind.

You will find that you gain your conscious comprehension in about 1/3 the time (and less) it takes to regular read the text by this way. This is due to the fact that some of the material will feel familiar to you after having photoread it. The process gets better and faster with practice.

Alex

With mindmapping, most of it can be done from the Table of Contents. An alternative method to having a "pretty" mindmap is to just write whatever words and draw whatever pictures come to mind without using the book as reference. Then, draw lines when you're done writing.

Mostly, the mind-map isn't an activation technique so much as a retention technique. By getting other areas of the brain involved, you make the information more available to you after-the-fact.

Hi.

You're doing fine. The photoreading step helps you put the material into your inner mind. When you activate, the mind-probing questions help focus your purpose and direct your superreading sessions. You will not be encumbered with material irrelevant to you, and this will speed up the process, and also because it is a process of accessing information from your inner mind, you will find yourself somehow familiar with the text, especially after you've practised PR for a bit.

Mind-mapping is a great way to collect your thoughts after the activation process. It also helps you to piece together the ideas into a coherent whole, helping you to see the whole picture, as well as being a way of showing you how your comprehension is building up. That last bit is very encouraging and helpful, especially when you're new to the process. Also, mind-mapping acts as a platform for further mind-probing questions and, as Kaiden pointed out, it helps memory too!

You might wish to time your activation sessions for about 30 minutes at a time, with 5-minute breaks in between. This helps you get into the flow of finding the material quickly. Successful activation is when you have what you want from the book. The instinct is that you want "everything", but everything is not always relevant to your purpose. When you are satisfied with what you have, then you have been "successful". A useful post to read for understanding how activation sessions work is Alex's experiment: http://www.learningstrategies.com/forum/ubb/Forum8/HTML/002346.html

As far as I can tell, you are doing fine. As Alex pointed out, the process will become easier and comprehension better as you practise the system. It's not so much of finding new gimmicks, but getting good at what you're doing. Good luck!

KWLee

[This message has been edited by KWLee (edited November 29, 2002).]

Just sitting down and attempting to draw a mind map looking at your trigger words is a great activation technique. It uses your whole mind. The challenge is to put all your thoughts down quickly as possible. Too often we are concerned more about the mind map "looking right". It's for connecting the ideas that some to your head and following the threads. One idea leads to another, if you do it as suggested by Kaiden you have a great activation tool.

Alex

Drink lots of water, too. Not only does water bring oxygen to the brain, it also acts as a biological "timer" reminding you get up, stretch your legs and take a break.

I'm new at this, too. I find myself intimidated by the activation step.

I'm mostly reading books about discpline and boys right now (I have a 2 year old!). I think my purpose is super clear as I start reading, and I'm wondering how much I need to activate. Can I just let the information I need about handling situations come to my concious mind when I need it? Or is this a cop-out?

I guess the 30 minute timer would help me feel less daunted, too. I'll give that a shot.

How do you all track your questions, trigger words and mind maps? I find I'm getting a ton of random pieces of paper floating around.

Hi

Lots of people get intimidated by the activation step, but you need to remember the NOPS formula. Play around with it...you don't have to get it right the first time, you know. The more familiar you get, the better. You'll find that it gets easier.

You finish activating when the information has "gelled". This is when your comprehension has reached a critical point, and can come quite suddenly during the activation process - you suddenly realise you know all that you want to know. Since you say your purpose is clear, you ought to be aware when your comprehension reaches the gel point - everything you need to accomplish your purpose is there! Gelling for you can be different from gelling for someone else because we all have different purposes for reading.

Thirty-minute sessions are extremely helpful not just in making the activation sessions seem less intimidating, but also because your brain tends to slow down after roughly this amount of time. A short break perks it up again. Also, having to cover material in a given amount of time ensures that you are not overdipping and pushing into rapid reading too early.

You can try letting information come, though that is somewhat less reliable than manual activation. You might want to read up on direct learning if you're hoping for spontaneous activation. I suggest you work on manual activation first. After awhile, you'll probably experience a few spontaneous activations anyway.

One way of keeping track of the triggers is to start using them on a mind-map immediately. Thus, your triggers are always on the mind-map. A little filing also helps.

Hope this helps.

KWLee

[This message has been edited by KWLee (edited November 30, 2002).]

One good way to do activation is the Five-Day Plan from the PhotoReading book, page 77.

You don't actually Activate the book until day three, although you do postview on the second day. Trust me, by the time you've PhotoRead a book twice and Postviewed it, you'll want to answer the Mind-Probing questions.

PhotoReading is successful, as a money-making product, because most people see reading as a CHORE. Mind-probing questions are the best tools for activation because they're questions you actually want answered. By the second day of the Five-Day Plan, you'll be eager to activate, because you'll have a list of questions you actually want to know. Also, after having PhotoRead a book twice, it probably won't take between the 15-20 minutes given to do a postview, if you're doing about a 200 page book.

The Five-Day plan is good because it gives you five days to do what you can do in two. You do it in the same amount of time, more or less (about 2 hours for a 200 page book), you're laid down the foundations for future PhotoReading, and you've proven that it's easier to PhotoRead than to plod through.

Success to you!

In reality activation is no more intimidating than regular reading a TV program. You look for the information you want.

I always keep in mind the first 10 minutes may not make much sense and because I have permission to superread and dip the pages again on another pass they don't need to.

Put into context... In regular reading the time you spend reading the first chapter usually means very little... it isn't until you've read a few chapters that things start to become meaningful. And to think it can be 2 hours down the track before anything starts to become meaningful. So the first activation session just giving you an overview of the book is a lot more than what you get from 30 minutes straight reading.

Your option with the books on discipline, use them as reference books, when you get the idea you need some information allow yourself to be drawn to the appropriate book and chapter/pages with the information. Activation in this way is a bit ad hoc yet you might be surprised how quickly you find the relevant information in this way and be inspired to more fully activate the book.

Alex

[This message has been edited by AlexK (edited December 01, 2002).]