Roger, I read another book "Double your brain power" that had techniques that helped me get into the relaxed state of mind. They called it the Optimum Learning State, but essentially it was 5-7 deep breaths (4 seconds each on the inhale, hold, and exhale) then affirmations like "I'm a terrific learner."
This is going to sound goofy, but when I'm preparing to PR I close my eyes and imagine the tangerine rolling up the back of my head then I take three or four deep breaths as described above counting off the 4 seconds in for each phase of breath in my head. When I feel the shift to relaxation I say an affirmation and grab my book.
Sometimes while PR'ing I'll lose the state while turning pages. When that happens I keep the book open to the page I lost it and get back into state per the above.
My technique isn't that much different than what is described in the Photoreading chapter of the book, it's just what seems to work for me.
