Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ PhotoReading, Memory Optimizer Formatting the inner-mind?

I agree with recent posts that one of the things making activation problematic is locating the photoread information when we activate.

I've been photoreading many books but I think the way I've organised the information in my inner mind has caused me to have problems with activation. It's like I get the info into my inner mind OK but my filing system sucks, so when I activate I struggle to find the info.

Imagine the inner mind rather like the hard drive of a computer. To locate any files on the drive you must first format the drive to create a filing system.

Based on the above analogy, I'm conducting an experiment on myself...

I've used a blank textbook and listed the subject headings of the books I'm photoreading. I've set it out as the same structure as Windows Explorer e.g.:

Science - Physics - (list books...)
Computer - Java - (list books...)
etc...

For each book I've designed a small form that contains the headings:

Subject, Title, Purpose, Key Words, Questions & a space for Mind Map if possible.

I add subject headings and titles as I go along. For each book I photoread I fill out the form.

Before I photoread a book or series of books on a particular subject, I quickly photoread the filing system first.

After the photoread step I add 1 more closing affirmation along the lines of:

'I file the information in this book (title) under the subject heading(s) (subject)'

I've only started the experiment today so I have no feedback as yet. I'll post if I notice anything.

The technique seems to fit in with photoreading. Again if you think about how we use a computer, we open a file or application into RAM from the hard drive, or in photoread speak, we activate information into consciousness from the inner mind.

That's neat. Have you tried Pre-Mind Mapping? You could have one branch marked science and physics and before you PR, visualize the branch and say to yourself "I'm storing this info HERE."

What about drawing an office with tons of filing cabinets and visualizing the info being filed in a certain marked cabinet?

Andy,

I've now moved the filing system and forms on to my PC and photoread Windows Explorer before I start a session, hence why I've been using a computer filing system as a visual model. However, I'll try using filing cabinets as well.

What's pre-mind mapping?

I have noticed 1 improvement already but not in the activation step.

I've found that when I prepare, the tangerine technique works much better that before. I'm not too sure why yet, although I suspect that as I've photoread the filing system, that has acted as a kind of 'session preparation' so when I prepare to photoread a particular book, I'm already in the zone

I'm conducting my first activation session using the above tweaks today, so I'll post on this thread if I notice anything...

Pre-Mind Mapping is just something I accidentally made up. It's where you use the table of contents to make a mind map before you activate so when you come across something you want to remember you already have a visual map of where you can place it. Like if you didn't know where Philadelphia is and I told you it was in the SouthEast corner of Pa - you would mentally see a map of Pa and "put" Philly where it belongs in your mind. If you don't have a mental map of PA in the first place you can't do that. When I make them I leave branches and blank spaces so I can mentally "fill them."

Very interesting. Let us know how the process goes. Do you only use a form, or do you do any visualisation process, to structure your inner mind's attention?

I've been using the French Easylearn Tapes, and I find myself wanting to reinforce it further. The reinforcement process of whole brain learning seems to involve imagination, but not depend on it. Instead, it involves forms or structures outside it, usually on paper, and my reinforcing actions.

Win Wenger suggests explaining (I write on paper) a concept to a child, to a close friend, and to a tree or animal; the effort to reformulate the idea really puts it in a different light.

pveitch

[Do you only use a form, or do you do any visualisation process, to structure your inner mind's attention?]

Just a peice of paper and you don't have to visualize. The MM just has the main points on it and then branches with blank spaces or "bubbles" and all you do is, when you come to something and you don't know where to mentally "put" it, you just put it on the map where it would most likely go and that's it. It's more for memorization than anything else. You just look at the map and mentally put the idea on it. Later if you decide to do a "real" mind map it will be alot "cleaner/neater" and you'll be able to do it faster it's already been built mentally.

[This message has been edited by Andy030 (edited December 23, 2001).]

I use forms to record the file structure and forms for key words, questions etc. for each book.

I could well be experiencing the placebo effect with regard to using a file system, but I've started to make the paradigm jump.

While I was activating, I started to 'see' the text as code rather than words per se.

It's difficult to explain but there was a much greater clarity to the text especially as I skittered through the books.

For the first time in years the fear of not understanding dissipated and I moved back and forward through the pages as though I was putting a jigsaw together.

Digital reading - got ya!