any suggestions?
Hope this helps.
JD
Where does your mind probing guide you to dip?
Have you tried skittering?
How long are your activation passes?
Have you started mind mapping your activation passes.
Tell us what you have been doing it will be easier to offer suggestion. 
Alex
I was just thinking as I was reading your post ... "I hope Alexk answers this." Sure enough there was the response!
Relaxation is key. I find it easier to PR and Activate after a good workout and drinking of lots of water.
I believe drinking of water should not be a problem, this only takes a few seconds.
As for activity and I'm hoping Alexk will comment on this after taking the PR Instructor course. You could try some Brain Gym movements - PACE. This site has a simplified explanation and picture, goto http://www.mathmatters.net/braingym.htm
Alexk, could you elaborate on what exercises or steps that Paul had you do during the PR Instructor course? Cross Crawl? Drink Water? Thinking of X? etc ...
In brain gym terminology, if you aint getting it, yous turned off!
If you aint getting it, spend a bit more time in the beginning getting into state by drinking water, thinking of X, cross crawl, calf stretchs, neck rolls and possible try the Qigong light bouncing mentioned in the SFQ forum to open the energy channels.
I'd would bet that it is NOT the activation that is the issue, more like your not in state or receptive to the reading information.
Love and Light
Michael Saikali
When I read smartfish post "i went through as many passes as i could" gave me the impression of repeating photoreading... rather than superreading and dipping and most certainly missing is the mind probing questions. What questions were asked...
Seriously the most profound reason activation fails is...
1. lack of purpose - knowing why are you even bothering with the text... what do you want to know from it. How much time you have available. Hone in on the purpose and your questions will be meaningful.
2. Questions the quality of your questions depends upon your curiosity, interest and profoundly... your purpose.
NOthing really beats the tangerine technique. It's discrete, you can quietly flatten the hair on back of your head and it works. Funny if you ever watch someone who reads and comprehends well. They often touch the back part of the head. They may not have learnt the tangerine technique. It was Ron D Davis the author of Gift of Dyslexia who noticed that efficent readers have this point of awareness.
The pace exercises are excellent when you spent some time at any one activity not just reading. Also time at the computer, knitting or when you notice yourself falling out of the flow state. Problem is we forget to do them when we are on our own. One reason I don't go into them on the forum is the fact that people get self conscious enough about the tangerine technique. Imagine doing the PACE exercises in the office that isn't aware of the benefits?
Having taught them in a class it is interesting how people react to these exercises. I'd be surprised if 1 in 100 would actually consider doing them at home. For the seminars they are great. The change of state after leading the exercises is interesting to note as is the general discomfort at having their paradigm shifted out of the passive listening mode to the active participant mode. They suddenly shift out of their own thoughts into being part of a group again. Makes activation easier... yes. As does believing that activation is a cinch.
Alex
-when i mindprobe, i feel like i need to know everything and read everything.
-the passes are very long-like 30-60 mins
- i think i let mindmapping boggle me down becasue i have to write everything down, or worry there wont be room for other stuff to write down after, if needed.
I guess my questions are pretty vague. Usually i will say to myself " i am doing this to get a better grade and better understanding of the subject matter."
Do u think it would be better if i asked questions that were more specific to the chapter itself then subject?
How important is asking questions vital in the activation process.
I might be getting superdipping, rapidreading steps all confused.
I appreciate the help!
I will try the exercises!
After PR'ing I tend to rapid read ...
I'm dabbling in the other activation techniques, primarily superreading and I am finding that when you go down the center of the page of text and apply the 80/20 rule that the majority of the 'meat' can be found in the center, most of the times. Again as AlexK said, keep it to about 8-10 seconds per page.
Anyone else out there experience the same?
Love and Light
Michael Saikali
quote:
Originally posted by smartfish:-the passes are very long-like 30-60 mins
Shorten your passes. I found 20 min activation 10 minute mind mapping works well follow that by a 5 minute break.
Reason. You get bogged down trying to remember everything. If you pull 3 to 5 answers during an activation pass and then record it on a mind map you have a better long term memory of the information. Also as an ironic thing the conscious mind has to forget in order to make room for the next answer so by trying to hold on to information you collected in your conscious mind means after the first 20 you are trying not to forget and not allowing for more information to come in (the 7 plus or minus 2 bits of information rule). By recording it on a mind map after 20 minutes you are actively working with the information sooner. And making it a better long term memory. This allows you to free your conscious mind for the next questions.
quote:
- i think i let mindmapping boggle me down becasue i have to write everything down, or worry there wont be room for other stuff to write down after, if needed.
I suggest Mind Mapping after activation rather than during. This forces you to be more conscise and write your understanding rather than 'copying' from the book.
quote:
I guess my questions are pretty vague. Usually i will say to myself " i am doing this to get a better grade and better understanding of the subject matter."Do u think it would be better if i asked questions that were more specific to the chapter itself then subject?
It's vague because it is a statement of purpose not a question. Keep the purpose... The question becomes... "What do I need to know about... to meet that purpose."
Asking questions specific to the chapter will help you to hone in on the information in the chapter and by default you'll find activation faster.
quote:
How important is asking questions vital in the activation process.
Activate means to get active with... asking questions is the trigger towards getting active. If you don't ask questions you are falling into the passive mode. The one that goes something like... "I know that there is information here that I need to know and I hope I find it and that I understand it and will remember it when I stumble over it."
For studying asking questions is what gets you to answers and knowledge fastest.
quote:
I might be getting superdipping, rapidreading steps all confused.
Superreading & dipping is when you go to the specific parts of a book to get the answers you seek according to your priority. This can be anywhere in the book text or chapter. You superread like scanning down the list of a phone book dipping when you see what might be the information you desire and dip to verify. If it's not you move back to superreading quickly. You can jump back and forth throughout the book
Rapid Reading is the closest thing to regular reading. You start at the front of the book and work your way to the back. Stuff you already know you read very fast (can even be superreading) and stuff you want to know you slow down for and can be as slow as your regular reading. Rapid reading is best reserved for novels and books you know you want to know more from (after one or 2 activation passes you usually know this.)... or you have the vague feeling you want to know more but haven't formed the question you want to answer. (Don't use that vague feeling as an excuse... see if you can from questions first.) Turning the chapter heading or subheadings into a question is a quick way of forming questions and identifying what you already know about a subject and what you want to know but don't yet.
Alex
[This message has been edited by AlexK (edited July 19, 2003).]
View my post "Comments on my method" to see the activation pracess I use..Maybe it will give you some ideas on how to maximize your activation experience. The activation process I have been using has been extremely effective for me...Hope it helps
JD
Also, look up activation in the dictionary.
Chang