Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ PhotoReading, Memory Optimizer A little contribution: Purpose, MM, Studying

Purpose


I have found an exercise to strengthen purpose for reading thorugh a book that I find quite neat. When my purpose and questions are not clear to me after the first round of photoreading. After incubating I will do a next round where I will go back to doing an old school preview (modern postview), where I would continue looking for Q`s and purpose (which are very tied together). I might nibble on some section of the book thats juicy, but essentially I would just create new questions about the book and about my purpose and incubate them (Think Tank).

Activation takes time and energy in comparison with the effortless photoreading. In order for the material stored in your mind to process into manual activation the bridge between non-conscious and conscious has to be layed down through purpose.

Studying and MindMapping with Photoreading

Im reading techincal manual therapy books that require a lot of time to really visualize and master. In these books, rather than trying to eat up the book all at once. I find it very interesting to go in the first round and maybe disect the book into different subjects. I might create a first mind map where i would have a overview map about what the book is about and what it has to offer me. It would be like an index mind map so to speak which I can go back to and reminise on what the book is about, like a little art piece full of souvenirs about what the book is about. The rest of the parts of the book would do thorugh independant mind maps trying to create units of structure. Rather having one big mind map sheet (I dont normally have the space for it) I have one MM for each of the topics that serves my purpose.

Since the book is brokend down into sections, during an activation session I could activate a topic and mind map it, and briefly preview/photoread/postview the next part of the book which I would like to activate, giving my inner mind a clear purpose for activating it and preparing good questions. Well basically treaging a books as several books with your purpose connecting them.

With important books I might stick the MM to the wall in certain pattern to spread it out. Or even placing a few mind maps of other topics near by. With this I can do short reviews once I have dismissed the book and whant to have a general view reminder the subject. Dont have to much wall, but its a nice exercise to do with books that are particularly of more interest to you.

Studying with MM on your computer


MM'ing on computers is very nice. Freemind is a freeware program that has already been discussed on this board and that has all that you will ever need for this purpose. With computer mind mapping the rules of the game have changed in regards to mind mapping. Simple structures can go a long way.

You can simply open a mind map, say for example with all of the Photoreading steps of the book. Since I want mastery of the system. I would create a growing mind map on the different areas with ideas and reviewing key concepts and expanding on them. When the mind map starts needing space you can break your old mind map into separate MM's through copying and pasting, and in your old MM you can delete items and reduce the mind map into a minimalist expression of the book up till now to have a reference overview of structure. What I find cool about this is that. Whenever I use the system I can always go to the mind maps on the different steps to leave some questions open, reflections etc... Activating the book after having it sit on the shelf for a month has made all the mind maps change a bit in structure. The act of "cleaning up the house" trough editing and thinking of a better structure is nice exercise, and fast once you get the hang of it.

Rearaning content on mind maps thorugh the mouse botton is a fun activity that resembles cleaning up your desktop . Its natural, engaging, organizing information on a computer mind map is like organizing scattered information into useful files on the "My Folder". On computer mind maps you can scatter information there at random without caring too much. And you can later take a few minutes after the session to reorganize and review your session, structure your thoughts, categorize information internally and externally.