PhotoReading

I attended the four-day PhotoReading workshop in early 1992 under the instruction of the co-developer of the technology, Patricia Danielson. In fact, I was the organiser of that first PhotoReading workshop in Singapore & simultaneously, I was also one of the thirty like-minded participants. [It is pertinent to mention that I also started a small bookstore at about the same time. I love to read & so I thought a book store would certainly help to fuel & bankroll my reading hobbies.] Frankly speaking, I had very ambivalent feelings after the workshop. This was partly due to my training as an engineer, since my logical mind kept censoring my thoughts & actions. I even had problems viewing the random dot stereograms as part of the training in developing 'soft focus'. It was only about one year later that I started to embrace the PhotoReading techniques. What I had done was just learning to let go...to get on with the PhotoReading tasks as instructed in the program...to go with flow, so to say... & stop myself from 'intellectualising' every move I made along the way. I managed to see the random dot stereograms without even 'trying'. I finally succeeded in PhotoReading. Since then, my reading pursuits went into warp speeds. Therefore, I can relate quickly to many reviewers who threw pot shots at the PhotoReading book. Here, I want to share with readers how to go about it, based on my personal experience. Actually, Donald Mitchell, founder of The Billionaire Entrepreneurs Master Mind, had already outlined how he had done it in his very positive review of PhotoReading. Please read his review first. There are seven important process stages or steps in achieving PhotoReading: 1. Enter a resourceful state of mind, by practising a simple relaxation sequence & then using the Tangerine technique; [It is important to note than a relaxed mind is an alert mind.] 2. Define your purpose for reading, by asking a) what is the significance of this reading material, b) how much time am I prepared to invest in reading it? c) do I need a global overview or detailed information? d)what do I already know about this reading material?; [It is important to note that your purpose actually activates the reticular activating system in your brain, which therefore acts like a servo-mechanism, exactly like the one in a Tomahawk missile!] 3. Design a road map by doing a quick preview/inview/overview of the book: - look at the table of contents, if any; - preface, introduction, chapter outlines, paragraph headings/sub-headings; - graphical illustrations or pictures; - key words in caps or italics, bulleted points; - book or chapter summaries & /or review/discussion questions, if any; - marginal notations, boxed selections; - even the index; - also the first & last sentences of key passages; All these little 'signposts' will trigger & /or create some sort of prior knowledge, allowing you to know what you don't know, what you need to kn

I've been a fast reader since my high school installed a reading lab to teach us how to reader rapidly with good comprehension. For most material, I can breeze along at 2,000 to 3,000 words a minute without skipping anything. The key thing to remember is to just "see" the words and not "sound out" the words in my head. But when I was in college, I often went to the library and just glanced at the pages of reading that I didn't consider very important. I could review those pages in less than an hour before an exam, and the key points and perspectives would somehow stick with me. But I never mentioned that I did that. I assumed that I was doing something wrong. But having looked at PhotoReading, I now realize that I was doing one of the processes described in this book. After law school, I found my reading speed had slowed to a snail's pace. It was hard to speed up again. But I found that if I just let my eyes go back and forth across the page looking at several lines at once I could grasp 4-8 lines at a time. It was much easier than drilling along one word at a time . . . and I enjoyed the reading more. But I was reluctant to tell anything about this either. Again, I found this technique described positively in PhotoReading as "skittering". As you can imagine, I found a lot validation in this book. But I also had some nice surprises. I was stuck at the car dealer's today while my car was being repaired. This was the only book with me, so I gave it a whirl. In the PhotoRead segment, was I was astonished to see that it was easiest for me to do this when the pages were upside down and I was reviewing the text backward (one of the recommended methods to try). Each page was much clearer that way. I suddenly remembered that for years, I had previewed books that way. So here was another unconscious act validated! I don't know how well you can learn this method on your own if you are a slow reader, but if you are an advanced reader I suspect it will make a lot of sense. Here are the steps: 1. Decide on your purpose for reading this particular item and prepare your mind to be receptive to the process. 2. Preview the book over 8-15 minutes by looking at the table of contents, index and general layout of the book and whatever is highlighted. 3. PhotoRead by scanning pages at about one page per second using a technique that gives you a soft focus to your eyes as you proceed. 4. Wait awhile (ideally overnight) and activate what you've learned by focusing on the parts that interest you with fast reading skills (called super reading) or skittering and that help you answer questions you have to answer in order to achieve your purpose in reading the book. Create a mind map that outlines the key ideas in the book into a connected visual display. 5. Rapidly read the text again . . . but going fast except where the material is very relevant. 6. Develop perspective on what you've read using the Syntopic reading methods outlined by A

Like most of the other reviewers, I had heard the radio advertisements, and bought the book based on the promised results. Having read the book, and used it's techniques, I would recommend it to everyone.While I noticed some remarkable results immediately, the true rewards came as I became more familiar with the system. I am now reading all types of books, magazines and web-pages in about 1/3 the time as I had been reading before reading the book. However, I've also noticed better memory over-all. I can recall events, conversations and facts much better than previously.More imporantly, though, the techniques this book teaches go beyond reading, and have helped me in other areas of my life. It has changed my outlook on how I learn, and what I think I can accomplish in life. This book has shown me what I'm truly capable of. I have purchased this book for several of my friends and family, and would recommend it to anyone reading this review.Fair warning, though, this book is just a high-level overview. The author also offers a tape series and in-person seminars with more detailed info on the techniques. While the book does give you enough to get started, I assume that it's just to whet your appetite, and to get you to purchase the (much more) expensive tapes and seminars. However, I haven't purchased either, and have had great success with the book alone.

The 'Whole Mind System' described in this short, easy book is very effective. It is not a list of obvious improvements to the mechanical aspects of reading, but rather a how-to guide on visualization and related methods of honing concentration and utilizing more of your brain in the task of reading. Photoreading reams of blueprints, reports, computer manuals, professional exam study materials, etc. saved me from literally months of frustration. This knowledge was much easier to assimilate and retain than before I used the techniques described in this book.However, the only thing about Scheele and company I like is his photoreading book - not even the 'Natural Brilliance' book. Stay off their mailing list, or they will relentlessly hawk various paraliminal products and seminars that, in my opinion, border on the occult.

I heard a radio program about PhotoReading. They promised being able to get through information three times faster--and that got my attention. After reading the PhotoReading website, I got the book.The book exceeded my expectations. While it teaches the basic reading improvement techniques, all of which I had been following, I saw a huge leap in my reading speed when I tried something called the tangerine technique--very cool. It involves putting an imaginary tangerine on the back of the head which has some effect on how the brain reads. My speed increased immediately. (I got to say that it was a little weird doing it, but it worked.)The book also has an unusual technique called PhotoReading, which, they say, is mentally photographing the printed page. It is a way for your brain to absorb large quantities of information. You can PhotoRead a book in 2-5 minutes. If you want to fully understand the information, you have to "activate" the information. While this takes time, I found I can activate an entire book in about 1/4 the time it would have taken to read it. That's better than the promise of three times faster.I'd get the book if for no other reason than to try the tangerine technique. If you are so moved, learn the full PhotoReading system. It's nothing like speed reading. I took a speed reading course twenty years ago--I even repeated the course--and it doesn't compare to PhotoReading.I read some of the other reviews here, and I wonder whether we read the same book. It's been well over a year since I read the book, and I still unconditionally recommend PhotoReading.