Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ PhotoReading, Memory Optimizer Question/Comments about Photoreading

I just started photoreading about 2 to 3 weeks ago mainly because of the amount of reading that I have to do each week. I checked out the book and read it end to end.
I think photoreading should greatly benefit me in everyway, however, I still have a few concerns about it. I have stated my purpose, done trigger words, and know how to do photofocus(I think). It seems to me that the activation stage has to be the toughest thing to get right. Am I wrong about this?

1.I have tried all the activation techniques, but to no avail.

2.When I am in photofocus, I see the blip page, but should I try to use my peripheral vision at the same time? One more thing, I find that when I do photofocus, sometimes my eyes concentrate on one word. Is this normal for a beginning photoreader?

3. For very wide books, how do I go about photoreading these books. College textbooks are typically very wide so I know I will encounter these for a while. What strategy would one suggest to tackle these wide books. Would I photoread each page or take in both pages at once? I remember seeing on the infomercial that it looked like Pete was photoreading both pages because it was also a very wide book. Is that correct?

4.I deal with a lot of books that involve formulas and such. Does this type of information get absorbed easier or would I have to memorize this type of information?

I am really looking forward to photoreading my first book and if anyone can help me I would really appreciate it. Everyone feel free to leave any thoughts about what I can do to improve my soon to be great photoreading skill.

Eternally yours,

Shaan

[This message has been edited by shaan (edited August 11, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by shaan (edited August 11, 2001).]

Anyone have any ideas?

1. First you want to just practice super reading and dipping even if you don't think you have any comprehension, you might also need to slow down in this part a bit. Don't flip the page every second when activating, you need to try to consciously absorb as much as possible. If you are reading a very important book, you might want to go straight to Rapid Reading and MM, or combine all the methods of activation.

2. You want to try to see the entire 2 pages, I do it in a soft gaze, I personally don't like the blip yet, although my tastes will probably change. I use a soft gaze looking at the four corners. This is hard, and requires practice to keep you attention on the corners, as I still find myself wanting to refocus, or center my attention somewhere else, just takes practice.

3. I would imagine the way the course is taught that you will mentally photograph the whole text book, no matter how big it is. Look ahead where you are sitting now, subconsciously you are aware of your peripheral vision, and you have a 180 degree view, shouldn't therefore a Textbook, although larger than other books, still be very small in the area that we can actually see? I am about to go to college myself, leaving in a week, so I can relate. Personally I'll tell you what I'm going to do. First thing when I get my books I'm going to Preview and PhotoRead. Then when I am in class I will use that for some activation, and after a couple days, when I see what sections of the book are going to be taught, then I will manually activate those for further retention, and MM then. There again, my skills and methods will advance throughout the year so that might change.

4. I am not sure about the formulas, I can tell you for sure though, that if you PhotoRead formulas and like technical information, then it would be impossible for you to be worse off if you didn't. Do it for the heck of it, you never know how it may pay off, and if there aren't any immediate results, don't worry, when I started playing basketball, I couldn't even make it to the rim I was so young, but as I developed my skills, I can shoot confidently and effectively.

Thanks for the reply. What you said makes sense and I will try to apply it. If there are any other ideas please feel free to reply.

1. Be patient. Just do the steps through. The major difficulty is that there is no way, I've learned, to test what you've absorbed by yourself. You just have to trust yourself. The info in your subconscious will come by itself.

2. I personally like the blip in the page. It gives me something to look at. As long as while you're looking at the blip, and you can still see the 4 corners of the book, then it should be fine. If you have the tendency to focus on a word, then you are not keeping your conscious mind busy enough. Concentrate a little harder on your mantra. I personally don't use 'Relax', but a self-improving phrase that I currently need work on in my personal life.

3. I'm in college too. I photoread the entire both pages. Just try to position yourself that you're facing the book directly, not at an angle.

Thanks a lot for your help.

Perform a search on this DF for "text book" or "textbook" some in depth tips on how to PR and/or activate this type of reading material.

On the infomercial, Pete Photoreads the first fifteen pages, then he goes back to super read the same fifteen pages, and that's where he looks at each page individually.

For wide texts, just make sure you can see the four corners of the book. As long as they're in your periphery, you're good to go.

[This message has been edited by NiJuIchi (edited August 16, 2001).]

PhotoDaVinci, I think you may have made one mistake in saying that the photofocus state was hard, if you say that it is, you're setting up a barrier for your self.

Just like with the tangerine technique, you don't have to think about the four corners the entire time you're photoreading. You can just pause for a brief moment on the page you're starting, NOTICE the four corners and begin. If you only take a moment to notice the corners are there, you know they're in your periphery, so you don't have to worry about them, just stay relaxed.

I never said the photofocus state was hard, what I said was, "I use a soft gaze looking at the four corners. This is hard, and requires practice to keep you attention on the corners..." I am saying that it can be difficult to keep attention on the four courners, consciously, because if I dont' occupy my mind with the chanting, or somethign else, then I find that I begin to consciously realize the words on the page, even though they are still out of focus and I am still in photofocus. Maybe I need to relax more, which I have hit periods while PRing that I do hit the zone and just flow with it, that does require me to let go of all distractions in my mind. When I do that however, I do nothing but intenstly concentrate on the action I am doing with no chanting, just pure concentration. I feel like the info is getting absorbed much better when in this flow state. I can already see someone saying that I don't need to concentrate hard, I need to relax, I am relaxed and in Photofocus, but I have a deep feeling of concentration on the material I am PRing.