Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ PhotoReading, Memory Optimizer Dana, Alex, Razor, Yprer, Margaret, can you help me out?

I'm running into a speed barrier in my PRing. When I try to relax into my photofocus, I have trouble keeping my concentration, I keep getting the feeling my comprehension will be low so I automatically slow down. Not only is my Rapidread speed dropping, but my normal reading speed is slower than ever. For some reason, I have been having this feeling very very strongly for the last 3 months and it's getting very distracting. Please help me out...

Those kind of feelings are like tentacles. You've got an octopus in your brain and it's sqeezing the opportunity for success and fun out of you.

Get a grip on it and put it back into the ocean where it belongs.

Then pick up a book, put a smile on your face and turn the book upside down and turn the pages at a rate of 1 per second till you finish. Which should be about 5 minutes or so Choose a short 200 page book that you may have read before or one that was challenging but somewhat familiar.

Next, say the affirmations that go w/ closing from your quiet scene.

Incubate. Memory Sup... tape b/f sleep.

Next day: Activate by asking very specific questions. Just let your hands open the book for you & read at that spot.

good luck w/ your octopus

Or, you could use the NLP technique of interrupting that thought by jumping up and pointing at your chair & yelling: What's an octopus doing sitting in my chair??!!! Do it in the public library a couple times & you'll probably not want to think that thought b/c it's too embarassing.

I'm still laughing at all the crazy stuff Robbins had in his book. It is 500 pgs long and it took me only a couple hrs of layering to activate the whole book. No notes, just my dry highlighter & it's in my intelligence. Now if it was in my head, it'd feel like i had a bag of rocks in my head. BUT, it's in my intelligence & it's very light & easy to access.

I am positive it was because i PhR it a couple times & incubated it before activating it. Had i read it my old way, i'd still be reading it. It's really amazing. If you put PhRing and half.com together, you get the unbelievable

Do you really need ALL of us to answer?

Hey, it's my turn!

Your concentration-keeper is the "4-3-2-1" chant. It does superbly well at keeping the conscious mind engaged while flipping through during "turbo-absorption" of all the printed text with the other-than-conscious processor.

If your awareness drifts during activation, stop where you're at, take a deep breath, spend a few moments becoming aware of your tangerine, and continue forward.

So, take a minute to thank your mind for those feelings, since they are simply your natural defense mechanisms and perceptual filters looking out for you.

Post back with your next "AH-HA" experience!

When rapid reading... keep going even if you are uncertain if you understood it, no backtracking. If you notice yourself slowing down push up the speed again. Going slow is costing comprehension. You'll improve your comprehension again by going faster. Set time limits. If you say to yourself your are going to read for 30 minutes only read for 30 minutes as soon as the time is up stop whether you're finished or not. Get back on track.

As an idea during the 30 minutes if you only rapid read 30 pages then the next 30 minutes see if you can increase it to 40 pages... build up slowly at first. Just remember if you say to yourself you are going to read 30 minutes stick to it, changing your mind while you are reading is not allowed . You made an agreement with yourself and if you habitually break that agreement... well the mind decides it doesn't have to keep any promises either. Yes, we do sabotage ourselves that way.

If at all possible concentrate on activation using superreading and dipping and avoid rapid reading altogether. Remember rapid reading should only be used as a last resort. You'll notice you get better comprehension out of 4 x 30 minute activation session than the slowed down rapid read. (4 x 30 = 2 hours) I know that is not the preferred technique for a novel however by doing this with a couple of novels it will help bring back the confidence about the comprehension. If you feel yourself wanting to go straight to a rapid read. Resist and instead search what you can get out of the book in a 30 minute activation session. Regularly using the activation techniques will bring your rapid reading and general reading speed back up.

Alex

Between all the responses, I think you've solved my dilemmas...

Margaret: pick up a book, put a smile on your face and turn the book upside down and turn the pages at a rate of 1 per second till you finish. Which should be about 5 minutes or so Choose a short 200 page book that you may have read before or one that was challenging but somewhat familiar.
I tried this yesterday in a synoptic read with 2 books, one an introduction to ethics and the other an introductory logic course. I read the logic course and the ethics course through normally, then turned them upside down and did the ethics course from back to front and the logic one from front to back. It works! For whatever reason, instead of saying 'Re-lax' when I turn the page, I kept saying 'bork, bork' (upside down English looks like Swedish to me) and my PR was fun for the first time in months. Thanx Margaret!

you could use the NLP technique of interrupting that thought by jumping up and pointing at your chair & yelling: Do it in the public library a couple times & you'll probably not want to think that thought b/c it's too embarassing.
You should see the looks I got when I tried that... I think I'll start reading standing up from now on
I've only recently looked into swish techniques and I'd like to find out more about NLP behaviour mods. And the Tony Robbins book you refer to, is that Unlimited Power? That book has been calling to me for months...

Dana: Your concentration-keeper is the "4-3-2-1" chant. It does superbly well at keeping the conscious mind engaged while flipping through during "turbo-absorption" of all the printed text with the other-than-conscious processor.

If your awareness drifts during activation, stop where you're at, take a deep breath, spend a few moments becoming aware of your tangerine, and continue forward.
I tried this while reading the books I had, and it worked as well. My concentration was being very stubborn so I would count halfway out of my ALS and then back into it 1-2-3-2-3-2-1 and continue. It helped me keep my concentration, and though my mind still wants to wander, it's nice to have a leash to keep it from straying too far

So, take a minute to thank your mind for those feelings, since they are simply your natural defense mechanisms and perceptual filters looking out for you.
Old habits sure do die hard..and they're cranky on their deathbed! I won't be attending the funeral...I'm not that grateful!

Youngprer: Do you really need ALL of us to answer?
The more the merrier ! Someone else might come along with a similar problem and need answers from a different viewpoint than I do.

AlexK: If you notice yourself slowing down push up the speed again. You'll improve your comprehension again by going faster. Set time limits. If you say to yourself your are going to read for 30 minutes only read for 30 minutes as soon as the time is up stop whether you're finished or not.
As an idea during the 30 minutes if you only rapid read 30 pages then the next 30 minutes see if you can increase it to 40 pages... build up slowly at first.
You're right! I forgot to do timed readings since my metronome's battery died. Thanks for reminding me. Such a small thing makes a big difference.

If at all possible concentrate on activation using superreading and dipping and avoid rapid reading altogether. Remember rapid reading should only be used as a last resort.
BINGO! You hit the nail right on the head. I've switched over to rapidreading instead of skimming/dipping and skittering because I felt self-conscious about never doing an RR before May (previously I did only preview, PR, postview, and skim/dips) and wasn't sure if I had the whole PR system down pat or if I was fully able to recall all relevant information without doing a rapidread session. I think I'll save RR for when I read fiction to avoid overdipping (dipping is my weakness).

Thanx again everyone! I'll post back after I do my Activations this weekend.

Unlimited Power was his first book. I haven't read it, but it's supposed to be filled w/ the interrupt stuff of NLP.

I was referring to Awaken the Giant Within. I thought about reading Unlimited Power after such a delightful and helpful experience from the other, but i'll do it later. Check the pricing on half.com.

Good luck

I don't know if this applies to you, but awhile back I had a significant decrease in my activation time.

I realized it was because I was concentrating too much on my technique, rather than on the content I was activating.

Too slow: "What am I doing wrong? Did I PR it right? Maybe I should go back to incubating it...why am I screwing this up?"
Too fast: "I'm going too fast...I'm going to have to do another pass after this one.."(which is okay in itself, but to think about it didn't work well for me.
Right on track: "Hey, I'm doing alright!" (After which, my speed or comprehension would suffer).

In each case, I stopped focusing on what I was reading and concentrated on what I was doing. I did what Margaret just mentioned, which was to activate a book I had already read. Because the content was familiar, I would kind of spend more of my attention recognizing it instead of worrying about activating it.

In other words, rapid read the book, but don't think about rapid reading the book, if that makes any sense =).

-Ramon http://razor.ramon.com