AlexK’s Blog
Oct 22
Just as we can understand that it’s possible to identify Family history through DNA It’s not something that you can actually do for you until you actually learned to do it. So on one hand we have knowledge and on the other, we have knowledge with the ability to apply that knowledge.
To learn a new [...] [...more]
Posted: under Ideal State, Photoreading, learning curve.
Just as we can understand that it’s possible to identify Family history through DNA It’s not something that you can actually do for you until you actually learned to do it. So on one hand we have knowledge and on the other, we have knowledge with the ability to apply that knowledge.
To learn a new skill someone first had to figure out what they did and how they did it and then develop a way of instruction to show others how they can do it too. This is only part of the learning equation. There is still the part that relies on the learners ability to apply to the training.
The courses often have specific material used to demonstrate the method that ultimately, one must apply the method to learn through practice how it is done. The material selected is usually what has proven to be the most useful for the majority of learners. Some will require more and
others less.
There is one part of learning that is still being researched because all learning has a subjective element that cannot be explained or shown. No one can explain the shifts and levers that must be pulled in our brain before we “get it”. Those moments where we say ‘oh, now I get it’, are purely subjective. It’s an essence that no one else can touch or see.
Think about it. When you learned how to tie your shoelaces. You weren’t taught what to think, you are shown a sequence of tying shoelaces there are many parts that no one could explain, like how tight to tie them or how hard to pull. You only learned this through doing, and it’s still subjective because you too can only teach the sequence not the part that comes with experience. No one could tell you when you got it and at some point you did get it. Your shoelaces stayed tied. If you learned to ride a bike you might want to ponder, how do you keep your balance, how can you explain it? You just do it, don’t you? That’s because part of the knowledge is only learned through experience, and it is subjective.
One challenge to face is findings the subjective point where you can say, ‘I have learned this. I have accomplished my goal’. We never really do, we just know that we know.
Learning is not just memorising information. When you learn something, rather than just memorising it you develop a new skill. Riding a bike, learning to walk, trying laces, buttering bread, building computers and fixing cars. Training can be given, grades and tests set to measure your memory of these steps. However, only the learner knows when they have learned something so that it is a skill, something they can do, rather than a memory back and talk about. It’s something the own.
Ultimately, the subjective experience can only be achieved through doing. The theory of riding a bike can be explained. And skill can only be acquired through doing, so that the individual gains that subjective experience.
That is why if someone asked me to prove that PhotoReading works, I have to say, “Try it and see”. No-one can give you that subjective experience. It is earned through doing. Just like you learned to read and write in the first place. When you learned to read you repeated the action until you understood what you were reading. It was through your subjective training that reading became possible. Now, if you choose to learn PhotoReading you need to allow yourself to have that experience again. Learning by doing. Analysing the system can only take you so far.
The PhotoReading Course is designed to take you through the course in a step-by-step way. Ultimately, it will become a natural ability like tying shoe laces. It becomes something you know how to do, because you acquire the subjective knowledge through doing and gained a unexplainable understanding of what it is to be PhotoReader. You know it works because, implicitly, subjectively, you know how to what to do. This is true for anything that you have ever learned.
© A Alex Viefhaus 2007
Oct 14
One of the interesting things I learned from the PhotoReading 2007 Retreat and during one of the meetings with Paul Scheele, is the true value of confusion and the need to go with the flow.
It’s easy to become frustrated and angry when you think you don’t know what is going on. Yet I was fascinated [...] [...more]
Posted: under Change, Photoreading, Purpose, confusion, learning, learning curve, reading.
One of the interesting things I learned from the PhotoReading 2007 Retreat and during one of the meetings with Paul Scheele, is the true value of confusion and the need to go with the flow.
It’s easy to become frustrated and angry when you think you don’t know what is going on. Yet I was fascinated by it during the retreat. Since I have no doubt that PhotoReading works it became a fascinating exploration to see how others cope with the confusion.
One of the greatest problems we face when we are learning something new is our apprehension about doing it right. We can get so stuck on wanting to be sure we understood the instructions and what we are supposed to be doing that we stop ourselves from doing anything. And even when we are in a situation were we have no choice and must do our best we hold ourselves back and avoid giving too much. We hold on when we must let go.
Through some of the exercises we learned through play and yet even then it was difficult to let go and play for fear of doing it wrong. The purpose of the games were simply to help us change our state, release and laugh and challenge our brain and body to do something new or differently. Again holding onto our fear of not performing up to an unknown goal or outcome.
We didn’t know what the outcome of many of the exercises would be there was a lot of apprehension. Would we look the fool, would we get it wrong? It was a matter of just playing and seeing what happens when we just do it. There is never a wrong experience at the Learning Strategies Retreat. It’s all just a learning experience.
We think if we know what the outcome is going to be we can control the actions to do it right. Yet you cannot control your actions if you have never done it before and the fun is if you follow the directions as best you can, you will get some sort of results. You’ve got no experience to work with until you just do it. And it’s much easier to do if you let go and just be playful in your approach. With experience you can experiment and play at it again. And you will always get results. Results are neither good or bad. They are a foundation experience that you can work with. With results you start adjusting as you play and notice a shift in the outcome.
Play is how we learned as a child to do many things. It was the excitement of not knowing what the outcome would be that we just went ahead and did it.
The PhotoReading Retreat was an opportunity to enhance PhotoReading skill and it was also a great opportunity to learn about learning. Waking up your mind to shift your thinking.
Paul Scheele and other authors have taught me that when you’re feeling confused you need to let go, be in the experience and to wait and see what unfolds. It’s a bit like opening Christmas presents when you don’t know what’s inside. Paul deliberately didn’t tell his team leaders too much of what he was planning to do. So we too, had the opportunity to experience confusion.
It was amazing to become aware of how often people wanted to jump ahead and get out of the uncomfortable present moment were new learning experiences are taking place and new neural pathways are being formed. This anxiety to move on blocks our ability to recognise what we learned from the experience.
We think if we can understand the outcome of what the experience means we can understand the current challenge better. Yet the purpose of the current challenge is to build a bridge to the goal. The mind can understand logical explanations however experience is something deeper and more personal. That’s why just sitting in an audience listening to a speaker does little to change you.
Another thing I noticed at the Retreat was the learner thought it would help them understand had no relationship to the current problem. That is they were off in the wrong direction and didn’t know it. And for all the talking we couldn’t convince them to let go of that idea and just play. They were so focused on understanding something irrelevant and thought if they didn’t understand this they would not get it. Of course they wouldn’t get it. It’s like trying to put a square peg in a round hole.
What we think we know interferes with learning to do so something different. If you want to check out this theory for yourself try this challenge
The solution is simple and one we used a lot at the Retreat. Let Go.
True success is not achieved through analysis. It is achieved by learning through experience. Being in the moment and to let go and be in that experience. Then after fully participating in that experience can you notice what happened, what you got, what you learned.
© AlexK Viefhaus
Jan 17
When we learn something new. We start out not knowing something and not having any ability in that skill. Then we set about learning it. Our experience as we learn it is still slightly short of our expectation. Then we take away that skill at the end of the course and we have expectation that [...] [...more]
Posted: under Activation, Blip page, PhotoRead, Photoreading, comprehension, learning, learning curve.
When we learn something new. We start out not knowing something and not having any ability in that skill. Then we set about learning it. Our experience as we learn it is still slightly short of our expectation. Then we take away that skill at the end of the course and we have expectation that is higher still than out current skills. At the same time, while we know what to do, it is not what we know we are capable of. It’s not what we did in the during learning or we felt we did far worse than we give ourselves credit for. We expected that our skill would be even higher than it is at that point in time. The distance between our ability and our expectations is at it’s greatest.
This can create confusion or frustration. Frustration asks, ‘What am I doing wrong? Why isn’t it working? I can’t do it there is no point. I am hopeless. I give up.’ It’s like facing a wall not realising you can change direction only if you change your thinking.
Confusion looks at, ‘What can I do? What is working? What if I keep trying? There is a way because this is the natural learning curve and I did it at least partly and it can get better than this. What can I do to stay motivated?’
Look for ways to stay motivated. Simplify the actions and give yourself more time. One of the things that will happen when you are out on your own is the first couple of 20 minute activations are more confusing and seem unsuccessful compared to a live seminar activation. Look at it logically. There you spent 2 days honing your skill learning it testing it step by step and had someone to bounce your purpose off. The successes you had were because of the work you did before. When you get home you don’t have that, you don’t have someone to press you to check your purpose works. You don’t have the time keeper, you’re riding on your own. And if you did it with just the self-study course you also need to be the timekeeper right from the start.
So, understand the first two or three activations can seem sluggish and slow for a beginner and yet that’s only 40 minutes if you used a timer set for 20-minutes each. Remembering that your old reading style takes can take up to 10 hours for a book and most readers would be happy just to double their reading speed and get their reading done in 5 hours you haven’t even spent that much time with the book. Give it an extra activation or four. Even with six 20 minute activations you will have only spent 2 hours with the book. You haven’t finished activating until you’ve finished and get that sense of being finished. Knowing what you need and want to know. So in the beginning a book can take 2 to 3 hours where it used to take 10. That’s 1/3rd or 1/5th the time it used to take. Just don’t short change yourself on the activation steps because nothing seems to be happening at first. Drop the little bits you find onto a mind map and continue to build it and in less time than traditional reading you’re done.
One other thing that often holds people back is the lack of a purpose. Discover your purpose you discover your motivation. That’s a topic for another time.
If you’ve put PhotoReading aside for a while and want to get back into it. Just PhotoRead 2 to 3 books a day for a couple of weeks. One or two of those books will probably get you curious to know more. Activate those books playfully. Using the 5 day test. Yes give yourself the space to fail the first few times.
© Alex Viefhaus January 2007
Oct 21
1. Read the book as suggested on the first page.
It doesn’t look important but it is. When you follow the instructions you have the opportunity to discover the time saved by layering and not reading every single word an author has written. You don’t need to read every single word to understand the message in [...] [...more]
Posted: under Photoreading, learning, learning curve.
1. Read the book as suggested on the first page.
It doesn’t look important but it is. When you follow the instructions you have the opportunity to discover the time saved by layering and not reading every single word an author has written. You don’t need to read every single word to understand the message in the information if you know what you are looking for. This little exercise with the PhotoReading book gives you an opportunity to see just that.
2. When learning with the Self-Study course, use the manual and work as you go with the course the first time you listen.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make with the home study course is to listen to it while driving or involved with other tasks. The course is designed for self-teaching. The experience and the surprise at what you got when you did the exercise is important. You must remember if Paul covered every single possible experience you might have the recording would be 5 times longer. Whatever you get is fine however listening to the recording first creates limits. Instead of noticing what you got you’re busy looking for the “right” results. The right result is what you noticed you got and you don’t get it “right” the first time.
3. After learning or reading the book (if that’s how you’re learning) do the 5-day test/experiment from page 76 of the PhotoReading book.
This is one of the easiest ways to integrate and own the system yourself. Repeat it on 3 to 5 books and you find the layering and multiple passes become less with experience. As a beginner you can get through a book in 1/3rd the time. So when you pick up a book for the 5-day test consider how long it would take for you to read it in the traditional way. In a survey I conducted the PhotoReading book ranged between 6 and 12 hours. No-one from the University of Western Sydney Blacktown Campus estimated a time less than 6 hours. So estimate how long it would take you to read traditionally before you start. Then at the end of 5-days you might decide you need more time at it however compare how much time you’ve spent with the book at that point and how much you would normally need.
4. As a beginner apply all the steps (check the mind map on page 68, and summary page 146 - 148)
It doesn’t take long to do them. It’s like learning to drive. When you first learn you have to think your way through the steps. Seat, seatbelt, mirrors, ignition, clutch, break, gear… After a few times some of the steps become habit and easy to do. Others like “indicator” take a few more reminders. By following a check list through all the steps it becomes a habit that will get you the best results. If it’s not working check if you are missing any of the steps. Consciously include it to see what difference it makes.
5. Spend no more than 3 minutes entering the Accelerated Learning State.
Too often beginners spend too much time entering the Accelerated Learning State. The basic is 3, physical relaxation, 2 Mental relaxation 1, Accelerated Learning State. Enjoy it for a moment then state your purpose and affirm your intent and start flipping those pages. The state will change. The Accelerated Learning State is to prepare you for the activation step. The PhotoReading step comes naturally by soft focus and / or seeing the blip page.
6. Learn the system well before you need to apply it on material for exams or test.
Your need to do well on a test or exam is going to interfere with your ability to learn PhotoReading. If you have a test coming up now is not the time to learn PhotoReading. Do adopt some of the PhotoReading systems steps like, incubate, take regular breaks (not studying in long continuous hours) and mind mapping. Mind maps are great for quick reviews much faster than reviewing linear notes.
7. Use a timer
This one is handy for anyone wanting to get better at PhotoReading. It’s all too easy to fall in to the habit of passive reading. Like we have all the time in the world. We learned to read that way yet we don’t have all the time in the world. Exams have a set length of time, you don’t have all the time in the world to read the questions, meetings and reports have deadlines. How can we let reading take as long as it takes when we have these deadlines? You need to get your reading done in the time you have available. The best way to make sure you know how much time you have available is set a timer.
A bonus Tip
Know your purpose.
© Alex K. Viefhaus 2005
The courses often have specific material used to demonstrate the method that ultimately, one must apply the method to learn through practice how it is done. The material selected is usually what has proven to be the most useful for the majority of learners. Some will require more and 