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Archive-name: self-impr-faq/part2 See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge ------------------------------------------- alt.self-improve FAQ revision 1.9 (PART 2) July 17, 1995 ------------------------------------------- 15. Memory Systems Q. What's the deal with all these memory systems? A. Quite often the question comes up regarding memory systems. One has either read a book, or has seen an infomercial concerning it. Do they work and are they worth the money? A quick bit of history. Recorded history concerning memory systems is documented to about 500B.C.. There are indications that these were in existence as early as 1500B.C., but only fragments exist supporting this claim. The ancient orators used these systems to help deliver their famous speeches. In modern times we have books, audio cassettes, and video recordings all teaching memory systems. One cannot really compare one system to another. All have some good features to them. All are taught by people who have been in the business or have studied it. Most of the systems utilize a principle called mnemonics. Simply stated, this means assisting the human memory by artificially adding mental pictures or images attached to the item to be retained in our mind. These systems DO work, but you have to put in some time and effort to learn the basics. Once you do this, you will find the systems learned will be invaluable to you for the rest of your life. Virtually anything you wish to remember can be memorized by utilizing these systems. They are not a waste of your time. Often the question of cost is raised. The books cost a few dollars while the book + audio/video combinations are much more expensive. Usually this is in the area today of $200 - $300 or more. Obviously the utilization of the audio/video is more effective due to the learning principles involved. Our retention is greater and our learning time is shortened. Books, on the other hand, are less expensive, but take a bit longer to learn from. An on-site seminar is the best possible way to learn these systems. Books on the retail market by Harry Lorayne and Tony Buzan are among the best available, although others are published that are equally effective. One of the best background texts I have ever run across is by Kenneth L Higbee of Brigham Young Univ. He is the only one that has done the homework in this business although others are now coming on line with more current study findings. His book is titled "Your Memory - How it Works and How to Improve it". (Contributed by: r.follmer@genie.geis.com) 16. Mindmapping Q. What is mindmapping? A. Mindmapping is a technique developed by Tony Buzan for "associatively" recording ideas on paper. Most notetaking methods on paper are linear; that is you start at the top of the page and record information in the order presented from top to bottom. Buzan recognized that this isn't consistent with the way the human mind works, which is "associately" by creating associations between items that are not necessarily related to some predefined order. A mindmap works by beginning at the center of the page with a main idea and work outward producing a growing and organized structure composed of keywords and images. Complete sentences or even phrases are not allowed because they're redundant and inefficient. Mindmaps are useful in organizing information, taking notes, outlining talks or written material, brainstorming for creating new ideas and seeing new connections between things. Mindmaps take advantage of color, symbols. They can cluster related ideas. They require a more active involvement in taking notes because the location of the next item must be decided upon based on what is already there. Traditional "verbatim" approaches simply state that "what will come will follow what has come." Mind maps are easier to remember and easier to review because each one is visually different and because no two will have the exact same structures, colors, clusters, symbols, etc. Mindmapping is described by Tony Buzan in "The Mind Map Book" as well as several of his other books. Another good book is called "Mindmapping" by Joyce Wycoff. Q. What mindmapping software is available? A. One software program is available from the Buzan Centre (see Appendix A) called "Mind Maps Plus". There is a shareware program called "Info Map Lite"" available from CoCo Systems Ltd. (see Appendix A). In general these software programs allow the user to draw and manage mindmaps on computer using a graphical user interface. Some tools allow sophisticated re-arranging of the topology, annotating maps entries with notes, etc. Visio 3.0 (can accept full sentences). 17. Mind Machines Q. What is a mind machine? A. Mind machines are devices used for relaxation or to attempt to alter brain states. These devices are usually worn on the head and use light or sound effects. The scientific validity of their effectiveness has been debated in the group with no conclusive answers. ---- One positive comment is from lydiapolk@aol.com (Lydia Polk): I bought a Theta Technologies Voyager XL since they dropped the price from $350 to $200. It works as claimed. It comes with 50 built-in sessions and an additional 25. We use it primarily to get into delta sleep. But you can buy audio tapes that are designed to work with it and download session paramaters into the machine. You can get tapes for all kinds of self improvement. Highly recommended. ----- The two main manufacturers of mind machines in the United States seem to by Zygon and Theta Technologies. Phone numbers can be found in Appendix A. 18. Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) Q. What is NLP? A. The following answer was contributed by (stever@mit.edu): This is a merging of several sci.psychology messages defining NLP. Please feel free to ask questions, etc. If you would like a list of NLP resources (books, training centers), I have one of those, too... Enjoy, - Stever -------------------- NLP was developed in the mid-70s by John Grinder, a Professor at UC Santa Cruz and Richard Bandler, a graduate student. Neuro-Linguistic Programming, as most people use the term, is a set of models of how communication impacts and is impacted by subjective experience. It's more a collection of tools than any overarching theory. NLP is heavily pragmatic: if a tool works, it's included in the model, even if there's no theory to back it up. None of the current NLP developers have done research to "prove" their models correct. The party line is "pretend it works, try it, and notice the results you get. If you don't get the result you want, try something else." Much of early NLP was based on the work of Virginia Satir, a family therapist; Fritz Perls, founder of Gestalt therapy; Gregory Bateson, anthropologist; and Milton Erickson, hypnotist. It was Erickson's work that formed the foundation for a lot of NLP, thus the tight connection with hypnosis. Bandler and Grinder's book "Patterns of the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton H. Erickson, Volume I" is one of the best books I've ever read on how language influences mental states. NLP consists of a number of models, and then techniques based on those models. The major models usually associated with NLP are: (a) Sensory acuity and physiology: thinking is tied closely to physiology. People's thought processes change their physiological state. Sufficiently sensitive sensory acuity will help communicators fine-tune their communication to a person in ways over and above mere linguistics. (b) The "meta-model." A set of linguistic challenges for uncovering the "deep structure" underneath someone's "surface structure" sentences. [Sorry for the transformational grammar lingo.] (c) Representational systems. These actually appeared in Erickson's work and the work of others, though Bandler and Grinder took them much further. Different people seem to represent knowledge in different sensory modalities. Their language reveals their representation. Often, communication difficulties are little more than two people speaking in incompatible representation systems. For example, the "same" sentence might be expressed differently by different people: Auditory: "I really hear what you're saying." Visual: "I see what you mean." Kinesthetic: "I've got a handle on that." (d) The "Milton-model." This is a set of linguistic patterns Milton Erickson used to induce trance and other states in people. It is the inverse of the meta-model; it teaches you how to be artfully vague, which is what you use to do therapeutic hypnosis with someone. (e) Eye accessing cues. When people access different representational systems, their eyes move in certain ways. Lots of research has been done on accessing cues. Most of it has "proven" they don't exist. My thesis was on accessing cues and concluded the same thing. My real conclusion was that a person is too complex a black box to test this effectively. Also, eyes move in ways that are NOT related to information accessing. While I can visually tell the difference between an "accessing cue" and a non-accessing movement, I can't quantify the difference enough to base research on it. (f) Submodalities. The STRUCTURE of internal representations determines your response to the content. For example, picture someone you really like. Make the colors more intense, as if you were turning up the color knob on a TV. Now turn the color down, until it's black and white. For most people, high color intensifies the feeling, and B&W neutralizes it. The degree of color, part of the STRUCTURE of the representation, affects the intensity of your feelings about the content. (g) Metaprograms. These are aspects about how people process information and make decisions. For example, some people are motivated TOWARDS GOALS, while others are motivated AWAY FROM non-goals. TOWARDS or AWAY-FROM tells how they respond to their world; which one a person prefers in a given context will dramatically change how the person behaves. -------------------------------- NLP has several techniques for diagnosing and intervening in certain situations. They have a phobia cure, a way to de-traumatize past traumas, ways to identify and integrate conflicting belief systems that keep you from doing the things you want, etc. I first read about NLP in 1978, and thought it sounded great, but couldn't possibly work. The founders made lots of claims about one-session cures, which seemed implausible. [Fourteen years later, I still think they overexaggerate at times, but I *have* seen two or three session results that rival traditional therapists' results over months.] In 1984 I took an introductory workshop and discovered, much to my surprise, that it worked well. After messing someone up to the point where he almost needed hospitalization, I decided to be trained in it fully, so as not to repeat the mistake. I find it works scarily well. So well that even someone with poor training in it can do a lot of damage. There was no quality control in the field, and a lot of people go around teaching NLP who know very little about it. Performing NLP techniques is a skill. Probably only one in ten NLP Practitioners are in the top 10% of NLP skill level, and maybe even fewer than that(*). ONE WAY an NLP therapist might approach a client session is by understanding the cognitive structure of how a client creates a problem. They then help figure out the cognitive structure of an area of life where the client deals satisfactorily. Then they would teach the client to use the good strategy in the problem situation. For example: a friend of mine was obsessed with her ex-boyfriend. She was in such fear of him that she would fly into hysterics at the thought of him. Cognitively, she made a big, bright movie of him physically harassing her, with a soundtrack of him whining and lecturing her. The soundtrack seemed to come from around her left ear, and was in the boyfriend's voice. She had another ex-boyfriend who she was fine about. Cognitively, his picture was small, framed, and in the distance. The soundtrack was her voice talking about how nice he had been, and how the relationship was firmly in the past. The work I did with her involved representing the problem boyfriend with a small, framed picture. We removed the soundtrack of his voice, and added her narration, instead. The result: she stopped obsessing about her ex, and went on with her life, able to deal with him. Some people have run into NLP-trained people who annoyingly mimic body posture to distraction, in an attempt to gain "rapport." They were poorly trained. Go out in public; watch couples; watch good friends. They walk in synchronization. They move in synchronization. They NATURALLY mirror each other's movements. NLP just noticed this, and says "if you don't have rapport, here's one thing to pay attention to." A common question is "Does knowing what's being done make it less effective?" I've found that knowing what someone is doing lets me barricade against certain things, but there are definite cases where knowledge is not sufficient to keep it from working. I was once in a group dynamics experiment where an outsider watched our group and pointed out to us how we kept getting stuck, because of certain behavioral loops we were in. EVEN WITH THIS KNOWLEDGE, we were unable to break the loops without incredible effort. And then our efforts to break the loops fell into the same loops. Certain aspects of NLP are like this: if someone is matching your representational systems and doing it well, even if you are aware of it, they'll still communicate better to you, as long as they're not incongruent about it. Alas, there are few good NLP books out there. In part, that's because NLP is about communication on all levels, and is much easier to demonstrate than to write about. In part, that's because the people who have done the most creation of the models are out there creating new models and pushing the technology further. Writing books isn't high on their list of priorities. If you'd like to read about NLP, I recommend: Using Your Brain--for a CHANGE, by Richard Bandler Frogs into Princes, by Richard Bandler and John Grinder Patterns of the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton H. Erickson, Vol I, by Bandler and Grinder TRANCE-formations, by Grinder and Bandler An Introduction to Neuro-Linguistic Programming, by Joseph O'Connor I hope this was useful. It was written off-the-cuff after a day in the sun :-) Please feel free to send followup questions. - Stever Footnote: (*) This is humor. \By definition/, only 1 in 10 are in the top 10%. Q. Where can I get more information on NLP? A. There are a number of ways to learn about NLP. There are many books written about NLP. Here is a short list of some of the best known books: Heart of the Mind - Connirae and Steve Andreas Frogs into Princes - Richard Bandler Trance-formations - John Grinder Use Your Brain for a Change - Richard Bandler Neurolinguistic Programming vol. 1 - Dilts Hypnotic Techniques of Milton H. Erickson - Grinder and Bandler Structure of Magic vol.1 - Grinder and Bandler Structure of Magic vol.2 - Grinder, Bandler, DeLozier Turtles All the Way Down - John Grinder Time Line Therapy and the Basis of Personality - Tad James Read the alt.psychology.nlp newsgroup. Appendix A has a number of phone numbers you can call for more information. The major provider of NLP seminars and books in the U.S. seems to be NLP Comprehensive run by Steve and Connirae Andreas. Another excellent source is Advanced Neuro Dynamics (AND) run by Tad James. They offer trainings in NLP, Hypnosis, Time Line Therapy, and Huna; their World Wide Web site has some very good introductory material on NLP. IDHEA Seminars is run by Rex and Carolyn Sikes. They perform NLP trainings. Rex is also one of the first people certified as a DHE trainer and Rex and Carolyn are the creators of the "Attitude Activator" tape. The NLP and DHE page run by Stever Robbins also has some excellent information. 19. The People's Network (TPN) The following is an advertisment posted by a TPN distributor that describes the purpose and vision of TPN. The vision of The People's Network is to form a global partnership, creating an information passageway that offers knowledge from the greatest minds in the world, in an ongoing supportive environment, bringing awareness, purpose, principals and value to all, while stimulating one's imagination and recognizing one's achievements. TPN is more than just a conduit; it is also a movement that gets people involved in the process of personal development. It is this unique and empowering element that has enlisted the enthusiastic support of the top motivators, educators, and personal development specialists in the world. TPN gives to these great minds in a participatory environment that enriches your life beyond your dreams! This venture is heavily financed, supported, and endorsed by these top individuals, corporations, and others. Back in 1967 in his book "Grow Rich With Peace of Mind", Napoleon Hill wrote, "Someday America will have its very own TV and radio station devoted to just one thing: to teach people in their home, all the essentials of personal achievement." TPN is committed to the never-ending search for the best within you by providing the greatest minds in the world such as Jim Rohn, Brian Tracy, Les Brown, Susan Powter, and Dr. Denise Waitley just to name a few, to fulfill Napolean Hill's prophecy. There are many more with this type of credibility and recognizable achievements. (See currently faculty list below) In the best selling book "Unlimited Wealth", Paul Z. Pilzer, a faculty member of TPN states that the power in America is being redefined by those involved in new technology, communication and distribution. The Peoples Network is at the cutting edge of all three! The program is professional, packed with credibility, well financed, and is based on a totally unique and consumable concept. Tod Barnhart, a renown financial expert, shows his suppport for TPN on the inside back cover of his new book "The Five Rituals of Wealth". TPN and our partners' vision is to build a broadcast network of affiliates (individuals and businesses) who can use TPN's products and services to enrich their minds, save money, and/or create wealth for families. TPN has an experienced and successful management team and a dedicated support team (including the partners) that is integrative and prepared to fulfill TPN's vision. TPN is also one of the most significant new opportunities to come along in quite some time. By leveraging our collective resources and influence, you can organize and position yourself to take full advantage of the potential profit and influence TPN will generate in the marketplace. If you don't believe it now, you will soon! ================================================= TPN's Current Faculty/Partners (As of April 1995) ================================================= Jeff Olson, Co-Founder, President and CEO Eric Worre, Co-Founder and Executive Vice-President Dr. Tony Alessander Richard & Linda Eyre Keith Klein Jim Amos Major Garretta Lois Lafond Denise Austin Michael Gerber Pino Luongo Tod Barnhart Jeffrey Gitomer Francis X. Maguire Les Brown Dr. Lillian Glass Larry North Mark Bunting Dr. Lloyd Glauberman Tim Penny Gary Cogill Ken Hamblin Paul Zane Pilzer Cathy Lee Crosby Mark Victor Hanson Susan Powter David D'Arcangelo Cathy Harris Jim Rohn Roger Dawson Bruce & Kris Jenner Brian Tracy Bonnie St. John Deane Eric Jensen Jerry Vass Dr. Denis Waitley Appendix A has information for contacting TPN. 20. Physical Health Q. What are some ways to increase my physical health and energy? A. Many approaches to increasing physical health are available. One perspective on this subject that is popular in alt.self-improve is a philosophy called Natural Hygiene. The most well-known book on this topic is by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond called "Fit For Life". This approach to health advocates a vegetarian diet, very few dairy products, an emphasis on natural, unrefined, uncooked foods. Another source of information on this approach is through Tony Robbins' Living Health seminar. This is available on cassette and is usually presented live as part of his Unlimited Power Weekend seminar. A number of newsgroups have discussions on this topic, such as: sci.med, sci.med.nutrition, misc.fitness, rec.fitness, alt.health.ayurveda, misc.health.alternative, misc.health.diabetes, rec.food.veg, rec.food.veg.cooking. Q. What are some methods for naturally improving eyesight? A. There is a book written by Aldous Huxley called "The Art of Seeing". This book describes the Bates Method for improving your eyesight. Huxley wrote the book because it helped him to dramatically increase his eyesight naturally. It is based around specific exercises that can be performed to return the eye to what is called "state of dynamic relaxation". The the eye returns to this state it returns it's natural and perfect shape allowing perfect vision to return. 21. Anthony Robbins (Editor's Note: The following comments on Tony Robbins are based on personal recollections of past discussion in the group and personal experiences, additional contributions are as always more than welcome). Q. Who is Anthony Robbins? A. Anthony Robbins is one of the most prolific self-improvement personalities currently around. He is probably best known for his infomercials pitching his 24 cassette self improvement program called "Personal Power" (see the next question). He is the author of two bestselling books, "Unlimited Power" and "Awaken the Giant Within". He started his public speaking career giving seminars with Harvey and Marilyn Diamond (see the section on Physical Health). Soon they parted company and Tony began offering seminars on a fairly new subject called Neuro-linguistic Programming. After a very short training, he began to aggressively promote himself at the "foremost NLP practitioner in the world". For a short time he was a business partner with John Grinder who helped invent NLP. He began going on television shows like Sally Jesse Raphael and cure people of serious phobias right there on the spot. Soon he was asked to write a book and put together a series of tapes based on the live seminars he was giving all around the United States. His infomercial soon followed, which made him very famous. Tony is now involved in running at least 8 companies from financial planning to a Fijiian resort to his self-improvement seminar company. In recent years his schedule has reduced the number of live seminars he does around the country, but he still does an average of 5-6 seminars a month (see later question). Q. What exactly does one learn from a Tony Robbins program? A. Tony's programs vary tremendously and have a large scope. Tony's material varies from changing your values and beliefs to managing your emotional states. One simple technique he teaches is called "Morning/Eveing Questions". The idea is that when you wake up in the morning, you ask yourself questions that will put you into a peak state and focus you on the positive, exciting, truly motivating aspects of your life. For example you might ask, "What am I really excited about in my life?" or "What am I really grateful for in my life?" or "What could I accomplish today that would really make life better for myself and those around me?" Tony's philosophies focus on contribution and creating value for others as an integral part of creating success for yourself. If you create more value for those around you than anyone else and do it with a sense of fun and enjoyment, how can you fail to be happy and successful? Q. Does the Personal Power tape program (as seen on TV) really work? A. As anyone who reads alt.self-improve for very long, you will find that there are many many Tony Robbins enthusiasts in the group. This question is one of the most frequently asked. In general when this question is raised, a wide variety of answers are naturally given ranging from "Personal Power totally turned my life around" to "It's a good program and I got a lot out of it." to "it didn't help me very much." I've heard very few really negative responses. In future versions of this FAQ, we will be include specific comments from people. The program is fairly costly ~$179. Success in this like anything depends very much on one's commitment to follow through and apply what you learn. Q. Is attending a live seminar worth the money? A. Attending one of Tony Robbins live seminars, as almost any who has been will tell you, is a fairly amazing experience. Tony is a vibrant, energetic, and very entertaining speaker. His shortest seminar lasts on the order of 10-12 hours (Strategic Influence, cost ~$179) to the 9-Day Mastery Program (cost, ~$5000). His seminars are very high energy and there can be anywhere from 250 - 3000 people attending a single seminar. In spite of the large attendance Tony seems to make the seminars very personal and interactive. Not everyone who goes feel that it changed their life or that it was an amazing experience (especially those who shell out $5000). General comments are usually very very positive and I seriously doubt that Tony has lectured to any non-capacity crowds in the past few years. I have heard several people say that the Mastery program was not worth $5000. Most people seem to feel that seminars such as "Unlimited Power Weekend" and "Strategic Influence" are fun experiences if not wonderful investments. For information on how to contact Tony Robbins' company see Appendix A. 22. Sales and Negotiation Q. I wonder if any of you know anything about using NLP and learning negotiation skills, or just plain negotiation? A. You have touched on a subject that is very important to me. Negotiation and NLP are, IMHO, so closely linked that they almost become one subject. The "ethical outcomes" and "win-win" approaches that both require naturally complement each other. I have done much training in negotiation, but am self trained in NLP techniques, concentrating more on the results I can achieve, than the technical reasons as to how it works. The best, most effective negotiation techniques are those explained in _Getting to Yes_ by Fry and Ury, and the follow-up books by the same authors, who work with the Harvard Negotiation Project. Simple guidelines, no "aren't I smart" techniques, and an easy set of principles to remember. Because they are based on relationships and long term outcomes, using NLP to build rapport can only aid the process. (From: imarks@cix.compulink.co.uk ("Ivor Marks")) 23. Scientology/Dianetics Q. What is the Church of Scientology (Dianetics)? A. The Church of Scientology (originally called Dianetics) was founded by L. Ron Hubbard. The probable goal of someone in CoS is to become a "clear". A "clear" is someone who is free of all "engrams". An engram is a trace left by a traumatic experience that limits your happiness. The major book on CoS is called "Dianetics" by L. Ron Hubbard. For more information about Dianetics and CoS, check out a separate newsgroup called, alt.religion.scientology. It should also be mentioned as a word of caution that many consider Scientology to be a cult and that a number of ex-members report the Church using intimidation and control tactics while they were members and after they left the Church. There is a Scientology Orientation Seminar which you can sign up for at your local Church of Scientology (cost $15.00). You can also call 1-800-334-LIFE for more information. For information on the darker side of Scientology see the following Web page. http://www.mit.edu:8001/people/rnewman/scientology/home.html 24. Software Packages Q. What are some software programs that aid in self-improvement? A. One of the best selling software packages of all time was Mind Prober, by Human Edge Software. I was quite surprised not to see it mentioned in your list of self-improvement aids. Human Edge is now out of business, but there are a few amazing software packages currently out there that cover each of the areas you have mentioned: learning and intelligence, motivation, and sales and negotiation. The best of these are grounded heavily in strongly validated research in social and behavioral science. I know that Neuralytic Systems of Redwood City has put out a brain-builder called IQ smarts that assesses one's strengths in areas of Analytical (Abstract/Symbolic), Creative (Lateral/Associative), and Practical (Problem Solving/Memory) Intelligence. It then selects a series of exercises that bring stronger areas to bear on weaker ones. I believe that Human Edge had also put out products called Negotiation Advisor, Sales Advisor, and Motivation Advisor. Whoever bought them out may still own the rights to these packages. Those products generate a frightfully accurate assessment of the personalities of both indivduals involved in a negotiation and generate a report with incredibly specific strategies for dealing with the other person. I have all of these on my shelves. Being interactive and adaptive, I have found software to be much more effective than broad global strategies. Software can provide very individualized solutions that a book or a set of tapes can not. (From: roberts108@aol.com (RobertS108)) Dr. Delgado has released a 3 hour audio CD covering many of his health strategies (Tony Robbins quotes from Delgado extensively in his Living Health audio program). The CD covers: exercise, nutrition, life extension, and disease elimination. This is available from Seminar Software (See Appendix for more info) 25. Speed Reading Q. How does speed reading work? A. Most speed reading courses focus on a number of similar principles. One major impediment to speed reading is subvocalizing (saying words to yourself while reading). The motion of the eye is another key factor. Instead of reading just one word at a time, you are taught to pick up phrases, sentences, lines, or groups of lines in a single glance (depending on the method being taught). In order to increase comprehension, some methods try to make the user more active in the reading process by having the user take notes in a specific way, ask questions before and after reading, etc. jimw@netcom.com (Jim Whitaker) writes: Speed Reading Made EZ: 1) Sit down at a well lit table and sit up straight. 2) Take a hardcover book with big easy to read print. preferably not a novel -- some kind of no-brainer non fiction works best 3) Take your finger or a pen and underline the words as you read them. Get used to pacing with your finger for a few minutes. 4) Now speed up. Simply move your finger FASTER THAN YOU CAN SOUND OUT THE WORDS. You probably will not be able to understand what you read. In fact, if you think you can comprehend what you are reading, speed up till you simply see a blur of words that you recognize. If you are having problems and keeps sounding out the words compulsively -- humm a tune. This disables your brain's capacity for verbalizing words. 5) Aim your eyes above the line of text you are reading, as if you were trying to read "between the lines". This makes it easy to focus your attention on GROUPS of words rather than your eye stopping on individual words, which slows you down. At first you are not aiming to understand; you are trying to train your brain to accept that it can see and know what phrases of words mean simply by looking at them. 6) Practice this exercise for no more than 15 minutes at a sittting, no more than one sitting per day, usually after your morning wake-up ritual when you are at your prime. If you practice for more than 15 minutes, you will exhaust the overworked neurons that are trying to adapt to a new skill, and will have to wait for 2 to 3 days and restart. If you try to push too hard or too fast, your brain hardware will resist you. 7) After 8 or so sessions, your brain will start to abandon trying to comprehend what you read as "sounds" and instead will visually grab words and process them in parallel, instead of one at a time. Typical reading speeds at this point in time are around 800 to 1500 words per minute. 8) The ultimate key to speed reading is realizing that your brain is learning to process words with the process of seeing them in groups, then processing their meaning. We are taught to read by seeing words, sounding them out, and then using our spoken speech hardware to comprehend what we read. The brain doesn't need this slow speech step. 9) After a number of sessions in which you are comfortable with this technique, get rid of the finger and use a small brown index card with three black semicircular dots along one edge on it. The black dots tell you where to position your eyes as you read across the page. Take this card, and drag it down the page, scaning each line 123 123 123 123 with your eyes fixating either on the dots or above the text lines. With your finger out of the way, you can pick up some serious speed. As with before, don't expect perfect comprehension right away. 10) Lose the card. Get in the habit of just scanning with your eyes. (If I'm tired, sometimes I still pull out the card. It's a great crutch.) There are more techniques for speed than just these. I used to crank along at 30K WPM. This 10 step plan is good for about 3K WPM or sometimes a little more. The fantastic rates come from learning to scan in text essentially out of order, grabbing entire paragraphs as your eyes pop around them almost at random. Practice Practice Practice. As you read, try to ask questions to yourself about what is going on, or who the material is suitable for, or something to allow you to "correlate" it. If you are not reading with need or potential purpose in mind, your brain won't remember it. In fact, your brain will not even process it. It will just see words flying by. The purpose of studying for an exam just doesn't cut it. You have to try to imagine using the material in the real world, or sifting it for "junk" or planning something to do with it, and considering what effect what you are reading will have on your plan or your needs. In short, your brain will slowly get in the habit of "asking questions" at lightning speeds. It won't even bother to sound these questions out or formulate them -- just instantly come up with them and compare them relative to the material being read. You will remember what you read relative to the questions you thought up as you read the material. Some people try to speed read novels. Forget it. It really doesn't work so well. They become lifeless, because you have to read for "this did happen and this did etc" Speed-read novels often lose that sense of life. If you have an exam in a Lit class, then speed reading is for you. Just expect the novel to be a little less "alive" than it might otherwise be when you otherwise read slowly and can feel the emotions that were conveyed in the words. Q. Is speed reading really effective? A. The success of speed reading varies from individual to individual and is likely dependent on commitment and practice. The average reader reads about 350 words/minute. After speed reading training, speeds of 500-2000 words/minute are not unlikely. It is difficult to measure exactly how this effects comprehension. I am not currently aware of scientific studies that show the effectiveness of speed reading programs. Q. What is Photo-Reading? A. I took it here in California. I was very disappointed and got a refund on the class fee. Most of the class time was spent on standard speed reading techniques, such as preview, skimming, review (they use other terms to describe it). The 'Photo' part is, as best I could tell, more a gimmick than a real technique. After doing the 'Photo' process you still have to go back and apply standard reading and/or speed reading techniques to 'activate' the information. Without the 'activation' step they assert that your 'subconscious' knows the information but you don't have conscious access to it. The brochure I have from them says "...mentally photograph the printed page at rates exceeding a page per minute..." but the class teaches, in effect, that's an undeveloped photograph and if you want to know what was in the picture you have to go back and use other techniques -- skimming if you want a general idea of the material, and maybe old-fashioned reading and study if you want detailed understanding. Our instructor wasn't able to demonstrate anything better than this. In discussing my refund with Peter Bissonette, president of Learning Strategies Inc. which developed Photo Reading, he admitted to me that's about how it is -- but he still asserted that on the whole it's a more effective reading method than anything else out there. Maybe so, but the spread between promise versus delivery was too great for me. It DOES teach some useful (standard) speed reading/learning techniques. But if you really want to read 12,000 WPM, then question them very carefully on just what they mean by that claim versus what you're expecting. (From: fluke@netcom.com (Fred Fluke)) Q. Where can I learn more about speed reading? A. The most famous speed reading method is called 'Evelyn Wood's Reading Dynamics'. You can learn this method through a number mediums including seminars, books, cassette tapes, or computer software. The number to call for more information is 1-800-447-READ. A book is also available called "The Evelyn Wood 7 Day Reading & Learning Program" , ISBN 0380 715775, $4.99. A computer software program is also available called "The Evelyn Wood Dynamic Reader" from Timeworks. See Appendix A for details. Another program is called 'Speed Learning' from Learn Inc. They claim their program goes beyond ordinary speed reading. 26. Marshall Sylver Q. What is the general opinion of Marshall Sylver's Program "Power, Passion, Profit"? A. Nearly all the comments recently have been quite negative about this program, but the number of people who have actually listened and those that have only seen the infomercial is hard to determine. Here are some assorted comments from people who HAVE listened to the tapes: Joe Slattery <pp000586@interramp.com> writes: ... His tapes sound like you're listening to "Eight hours of cliches on how to get off your butt." His examples reduce his discussion to incorporate the rare ten year old who wants Passion, Profit and Power. His section on "Passion", although he says his comments apply to all relationships, really apply 75-80% to troubled love lives. If you've listened to Tony Robbins as much as I have, you can't help but notice the virtual quotes. (Like "the quality of your life is the quality of your communication", even though that isn't TR's quote either.) What I did like - he dares to discuss the possibility that being a nice guy is part of life long success in all areas of life. ... ajop@aol.com (Ajop) writes: ... Yes there are some universal truths that Mr. Sylver covers that others do. Why? because they are true and need to be said. Heck, a lot of Tony's book is based on Bandler and Grinder, which is based on Erickson. Take all the good things of the world and time transform them into an understandable straight to the point program that gets to the subconscious of people's minds and creates the change people want , and you have Passion, Profit & Power. ... 27. Time Management Q. What are some good books on time management? A. One book that has been highly recommended by a number of readers is "Time Power" by Charles Hobbs. The books helps you explore your belief systems and work towards achieving "congruence" so that your fundamental beliefs, goals, and actions are as free from conflict or contradiction as possible. ------------------------------------------------------------ Some other suggestions are: "How to Get Control of your Time and Your Life" by Alan Lakein "Getting Organized" by Stephanie Winston "Overcoming Procrastination" by Albert Ellis "Executive Time Management" by H. Reynolds and Mary Trammel "The Organized Executive" by Stephanie Winston Although some of these cater to business folks, if you grasp the principle ideas, then you should be able to apply them to any situation. Alan Lakein's six simple but powerful ideas are helpful: 1. List goals 2. Make a Daily To-Do list 3. Start with the A priorities, not the C's 4. Ask yourself "What is the Best use of my time right now?" 5. Handle each piece of paper only once. 6. Do it now!!!!!!!!!!! You really don't need anything else except your own motivation. Happy Reading! (From: hughes@atlanta.emna.slb.com (Jeff Hughes)) Q. Is there time management software available? A. One program for time management is ASCEND 4.0 for Windows. This product is from Franklin Quest. A 60-day evaluation copy is available on CompuServe. Enter "GO FRANKLIN". The filename is ASCNEV.EXE Q. What time management systems are good? A. Here are some comments about various systems: jbuchhei@spd.dsccc.com (Jerry Buchheit) writes: I would like to recommend the Day-Planner by Franklin Quest. The organization of it allows me to maintain a wealth of information in ONE place. I used to be 'organized' with several methods - computer based one at work, a small notebook pocket one for portability, a larger notebook one for space, and a calendar type for appointments. I found I was 'thrashing' - organizing without really being organized for productivity. Now that I have placed all of my information in ONE location, I have facts and data at my fingertips. I am much more organized and, I hope, productive. Appendix A. Resource List (The following are phone number posted in request to various questions. The accuracy of this information has not been verified. If you have corrections or updates please advise one of the editors.) Accelerated Learning Assoc. 50 Aylesbury Road Aston Clinton, Aylesbury Bucks, England Director: Colin Rose Advanced Neurodynamics (Tad James) 1-800-800-MIND (6463) [Orders] 1-808-941-2021 [Information] email: mind@aloha.com Australian Institute of NLP P.O. Box 1 University of Queensland St. Lucia, QLD 4067 07 369 2821 Buzan Centre (USA) (407) 881-0188 Buzan Centre (UK) (0202) 534572 Church of Scientology 1-800-334-LIFE CoCo Systems Ltd. (UK) 0494 434464 (from the UK) +44 494 434464 (from elsewhere) 0494 431427 (FAX from the UK) +44 494 431427 (FAQ elsewhere) shammoss@cix.compulink.co.uk Est (new organization) 415-882-6300 (San Francisco) 408-522-9600 (Sacramento) Franklin Quest 1-800-654-1776 1-800-977-1776 Guthy-Renker 1-800-274-4910 IDHEA Seminars (Rex Sikes) (414) 335-9700 1-800-739-7453 (414) 355-4777 (FAX) Landmark Education (415) 882-6300 (916) 648-1060 (408) 522-9600 Life Long Learning Association 519-725-2152 NLP Books Etc. 1-800-783-1184 (Colorado) NLP Comprehensive: 1-800-233-1657 NLP Meta Publications (415) 464-0254 (Voice) (415) 664-8044 (FAX) New Jersey NLP Inst. 1-800-35-NLPNJ (201) 770-1084 New York Training Inst. for NLP: (212) 473-2852 New York Milton H. Erickson Soc. (212) 628-0287 (Info) (212) 505-6141 (Mailing list) Nightingale-Conant 1-800-323-5552 People's Network, The 1-800-799-2713 904-422-2122 x590 (FAX) Robbins Research International (US): 1-800-445-8183 Robbins Research International (UK): 0044 71 376 0808 Jim Rohn International 1-800-929-0434 Seminar Software (214) 361-4227 Marshall Sylver 1-800-92-POWER Theta Technologies 1-800-395-9148 (order) (206) 222-6962 (cust. serv.) Timeworks 708-558-1300 1-800-323-7744 (order) Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics: 1-800-447-READ (Voice) (312) 939-1680 (FAX) Zygon Inc (206) 885-9200 Internet resources ------------------ Advanced Neurodynamics Web Page (Tad James) http://www.aloha.com/~mind/ or http://www.ilhawaii.net/~tadj/ Altered States of Consciousness (Hypnosis FAQ) http://www.utu.fi/~jounsmed/asc/asc.html Big Dreams (hypertext personal/business success newsletter): http://www.wimsey.com/~duncans/ Covey Leadership Center http://www2.pcy.mci.net/marketplace/covey/ http://www.ozemail.com.au/~covey/ Creativity Web Page http://www.unidata.com/~ucc01/creative.htm Forum Graduate Assoc. http://http://lute.qnet.com/~fgainc Institute of HeartMath http://www.webcom.com/~hrtmath Hypnosis Info http://www.hypnosis.com/ Mind Gear http://www.netcreations.com/mindgear/ Mind Media http://www.mindmedia.com/ NLP and DHE http://www.nlp.com/nlp// Option Institue: http://www.human.com/mkt/option/index.html gopher://gopher.human.com/11/option ftp://ftp.human.com/pub/option email at: option@human.com Stellar Business (World Wide Edition): http://corp.tig.com/stellar/global/index.html SuccessQuest (Magazine for Entrepreneurs): Free copies of this on-line magazine may be requested by sending email to MAALLEN@DELPHI.COM Self Esteem Mailing list: self-esteem-self-help@netcom.com. Thought of the Day Mailing List: galvin@tam2000.tamu.edu Bill Reilly (war@world.std.com) publishes the works of Diane S. Harper on _The Awareness Technique_ (TAT) that is an approach to finding one's "inner consciousness". There are three books, the first chapters of which are not copyright and may be freely retrieved via ftp from ftp.std.com in directroy /books/Awareness: Book 1, Chapter 1 (Multi-Level Awareness) is file b1-1.txt Book 2, Chapter 1 (Multi-Plane Awareness) is file b2-1.txt Book 3, Chapter 1 (Perfecting the Spirit) is file b3-1.txt From gopher go to gopher.std.com and select Booksellers, then The Awareness Technique. Appendix B. Brief Biographies (If anyone would like to submit biographical information about personalities in the self improvement community please do and help us expand this section, please limit submissions to 400-500 words if possible). Richard Bandler - Richard, along with John Grinder, is one of the co-founders of Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP). Richard is the creative driving force behind the development of NLP and the new field called Design Human Engineering (DHE) which has evolved from NLP. In 1988 Richard was arrested for murdering a dominatrix and was later acquitted. He is currently teaching advanced NLP and hypnosis trainings. Dr. Stephen Covey - See separate section on Stephen Covey John Grinder - John, along with Richard Bandler is one of the co-founders of Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP). John brought the expertise in linguistics to the partnership. John was an expert in Transformational Grammar, which was a basis for their first book (Structure of Magic vol. 1). Tad James - Tad James is a leading trainer of NLP and Hypnosis around the world. He heads one of the largest NLP training institutes in the world. Tad received a Bachelor's degree in speech and a Master's degree in Communications from Syracuse University. He began his business career managing a radio station in Wisconsin. In order to become successful as a broadcaster, Tad devoted himself to learning sales, business, and management. He married and gradually developed a successful business career, first in broadcasting and later as a business consultant. As problems developed in his marriage, he began to seek answers. He looked to Transcendental Meditation and for a while, it seemed to solve some of the problems he was dealing with. His work required a move to Hawaii to manage another radio station, and eventually, with investors, bought a radio a radio station and made more money. After his first marriage failed, Tad married again and continued his quest for further answers. He became involved with NLP and Hypnosis and, today, is a Master Trainer of NLP and holds a Ph.D. in Ericksonian Hypnosis from the American Institute of Hypnotherapy. He is a member of the faculty of the Ericksonian Congress which is held bi-annually. Tad is also the developer of Time Line Therapy and is the author of several books, including, "Time Line Therapy and the Basis of Personality", "The Secret of Creating Your Future" and "The Lost Secrets of Ancient Hawaiian Huna". Tad currently spends his time teaching seminars all over the world and in addition, recently became President of the American Institute of Hypnotherapy. Anthony Robbins - See separate section on Anthony Robbins. Appendix C. Reader Votes (Books, Audiotapes, and Seminars) The question frequently comes up about "What do people think of product X?" This appendix will try to create a fast way of viewing the general opinion. Obviously no product can be summarized with a single number and hopefully this won't discourage questions and discussion, just provide a more concise way of capturing the general view. You can vote for a book, audiotape, seminar that you have experience with by sending me a list with your vote. The easiest way is to just cut out the list below and put your vote out to the side. If you are posting a book review, including a rating on a scale of 1-10 and I'll add it to this list automatically. So far, this list just includes things I have read or that I could think of right off the top of my head. I'll keep adding to the list based on your feedback (all votes so far are mine - so much for anonymity). Books Avg./Voters ----- ----------- As a Man Thinketh (Allen) 9.25/2 Three Magic Words (Anderson) 4.0/1 Frogs into Princes (Bandler, Grinder) 9.5/1 Structure of Magic (vol. 1) (Bandler, Grinder) 8.75/2 Structure of Magic (vol. 2) (Bandler, Grinder) 4.0/1 Use Your Brain For a Change (Bandler, Grinder) 9.0/1 The Magic of Rapport (Michael Brooks) 8.5/1 Procrastination (Burka, Yuen) 5.0/1 Genius (Buzan) 5.5/1 Make The Most of Your Mind (Buzan) 7.25/2 Speed Reading (Buzan) 6.25/2 Use Both Sides of Your Brain (Buzan) 6.5/1 Use Your Perfect Memory (Buzan) 7.0/1 The Artist's Way (Cameron and Bryan) 10.0/1 How to Win Friends and Influence People (Carnegie) 6.8/7 Wealthy Barber, The (Chilton) Creating Affluence (Chopra) 9.5/1 Perfect Health (Chopra) 6.0/2 Quantum Healing (Chopra) 7.5/2 Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Cialdini) 10.0/1 Richest Man in Babylon (Clason) 9.0/1 You Can Negotiate Anything (Cohen) First Things First (Covey,Merill, Merill) 9.47/3 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Covey) 8.57/7 Principle Centered Leadership (Covey) 7.5/1 DeBono's Thinking Course (de Bono) 9.5/1 I Am Right You are Wrong (de Bono) 7.5/1 Lateral Thinking (deBono) 7.83/3 Use of Lateral Thinking (deBono) 7.0/1 Fit for Life (Diamond, Diamond) 6.75/2 Fit for Life II: Living Health (Diamond, Diamond) 6.75/2 Your Money or Your Life (Dominguez and Robin) 8.0/2 Gifts From Eykis (Dyer) No More Holiday Blues (Dyer) Pulling Your Own Strings (Dyer) 6.0/1 Real Magic (Dyer) Sky's The Limit (Dyer) Your Erroneous Zones (Dyer) 6.0/2 You'll See It When You Believe It (Dyer) 6.0/1 Overcoming Procrastination (Ellis) The Evelyn Wood 7 Day Speed Reading and Learning Program (Frank) Man's Search For Meaning (Frankl) 8.33/4 Creative Visualization (Gawain) 6.5/2 Financial Self Defense (Givens) Super Self: Doubling Your Personal Effectivenss (Givens) Wealth Without Risk (Givens) 7.0/1 How to Audition for Film and TV (Renee Harmon) 8.0/1 You Can Heal Your Life (Hay) 5.0/1 Choices (Helmstetter) 8.5/1 Master Keys to Riches (N. Hill) 9.5/1 Think and Grow Rich (N. Hill) 8.0/5 Time Power (Hobbs) Dianetics (Hubbard) 4.0/3 Mega Brain (Michael Hutchinson) 6.0/1 Mega Brain Power (Michael Hutchinson) 8.0/1 The Lost Secrets of Ancient Hawaiian Huna (Tad James) Secret of Creating Your Future (Tad James) 4.0/1 Time Line Therapy and the Basis of Personality (Tad James) Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway (Jeffers) 8.5/1 Survival: A Manual on Manipulating (William Jones) 8.0/1 Happiness is a Choice (Barry Neil Kaufman) 10.0/2 To Love is to Be Happy With (Barry Neil Kaufman) 10.0/2 Breakthrough Rapid Reading (Kump) How to Take Control of Your Time and Your Life (Lakein) 8.75/2 Profiles of Genuis (Jean Landrum) Mastery (Leonard) 8.0/1 Thinking Better (Lewis, Greene) Psycho-Cybernetics (Maltz) 7.88/4 Greatest Salesman in the World (Mandino) 6.33/4 Greatest Reaches of Human Nature (Maslow) 9.0/1 Mastering the Information Age (McCarthy) 9.0/1 Always at Ease (McCullough) 2.0/1 Time Management for Unmanageable People (McGee-Cooper,Trammel) Life 101 (Peter McWilliams) 9.0/1 The Way of the Peaceful Warrior (Dan Millman) 8.5/1 Unlimited Selling Power (Donald Moine and Kenneth Lloyd) 9.0/1 The Power of Positive Thinking (Peale) 8.0/1 The Road Less Traveled (Peck) 8.75/2 Age of Propaganda (Pratkanis and Aronson) 7.0/1 Outrageous Betrayal: Werner Erhand's Dark Journey from est to Exile (Stephen Pressman) Don't Shoot the Dog (Pryor) 7.0/1 Executive Time Management (Reynolds, Trammel) Magic of Rapport (Jerry Richardson) 9.0/1 Awaken the Giant Within (A. Robbins) 8.13/4 Giant Steps (A. Robbins) 7.5/1 Unlimited Power (A. Robbins) 9.25/4 Do You Really Need Eyeglasses (Rosanes-Berrett) Overcoming Indecisiveness (Rubin) 8.5/1 Wishcraft (Sher) I Could Do Anything if I Only Knew What It Was (Sher) 5.0/1 10 Natural Laws of Time and Life Management (Hyrum Smith) Accelerating (R. Sterling) Maximum Achievement (Brian Tracy) Hope and Help for Your Nerves (Claire Weeks) Getting Organized (Winston) Secrets of Closing the Sale (Ziglar) See You At the Top (Ziglar) 8.0/1 Don't Just Do Something, Sit There! 8.0/1 Audio Tape Programs Avg./Voters ------------------ Succeeding Through Inner Strength (Nathaniel Branden) Power of Persuasion (Roger Dawson) Basic NLP Practioner Training (Tad James) 9.5/1 Personal Power (Anthony Robbins) 9.0/2 PowerTalk (Anthony Robbins) 10.0/1 Unlimited Power (Anthony Robbins) 9.0/1 Power, Passion, Profit (Marshall Sylver) Action Strategies for Personal Achievement (Brian Tracy) Psychology of Achievement (Brian Tracy) 6.0/1 Mega-memory (Kevin Trudeau) 5.0/1 Psychology of Winning (Dennis Waitley) 6.5/2 Seminars -------- The Forum Lifespring Basic 9.0/1 Lifespring Advanced 8.0/1 Photoreading Breakthrough to Inner and Outer Influence (Tad James) Huna Introduction - The Lost Secrets of the Ancient Hawaii (Tad James) Secret of Creating Your Future (Tad James) Time Line Therapy Training (Tad James) Mastery (A. Robbins) Date With Destiny (A. Robbins) Strategic Influence (A. Robbins) 9.5/1 Unlimited Power Weekend (A. Robbins) 10.0/1 User Contributions:Part1 - Part2 [ Usenet FAQs | Web FAQs | Documents | RFC Index ] Send corrections/additions to the FAQ Maintainer: llarsen@cs.clemson.edu (alt.self-improve FAQ Coordinators)
Last Update March 27 2014 @ 02:12 PM
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