 In this chapter I'm going to tell you about some specific methods you can use to increase your learning abilities, or rather, to better use the abilities that you already have, but that you didn't know you had. You will find that all of them are based on the principles that I outlined in the last chapter, and of course, it couldn't be otherwise. Accelerated Learning Accelerated learning was developed by Georgi Lozanov in Bulgaria in the 1970's. It's a very complete method, but here I'm going to explain one technique taken from the larger method. This technique is extremely useful for memorizing - lists, vocabulary words in a foreign language, anatomical terms, historical facts and dates, etc. Here is how it works. First, you organize the material that you want to learn. For example, a list of scientific terms you want to learn with their definitions. Once you have your list, take each term or fact one after the other, and spend four seconds reading the item, aloud or silently, and then take four seconds of silence before going on to the following item. For each item, follow this rhythm of four seconds plus four seconds. This will give it time to penetrate into your mind and memory. During this time, you should keep your attention fixed on the thing you're learning. When you've finished reading your list, then you go back to the beginning of your list and do the same thing over again a second time. This time, though, you will add music to the background. But not just any music. It must be music taken from the baroque period, and it must be a largo movement, that is, around 60 beats per minute. This is a slow calm rhythm that will help you to relax and concentrate, and very possibly put you into an alpha brainwave state. I don't think anyone really knows why it has to be baroque music. Mozart or Beethoven will not have the same beneficial effect. Some composers from that period that you can choose from are Vivaldi, Handel and Bach. Play it at a low but distinct volume, and while this music is playing in the background, go through your list in the same way you did the first time. When you've finished, then test yourself. You will probably be amazed with the results. And even if your first try is not amazing, you'll find that you can improve with practice. If four seconds isn't long enough to repeat your items, you could try six or eight, adding the same amount of silence after it. You can also experiment with the number of items in your list. I would suggest 20 or 25 to start with, and then adjust up or down, depending on whatever works best for you. For example, the list may be too long if you find that you don't learn the items at the end, so then you could try doing fewer items at one time. After some practice, you may find that you can do more at one time. And if there are a few items that you didn't learn the first time, no problem! Just apply the same process again to the remaining items. It's also helpful before you start to do some kind of relaxation exercise, such as deep breathing, and also to remind yourself that you are capable of learning all of these items quickly and easily. If you are too skeptical, then your results may not be as good. You should be aware of the paradigm shift effect here. If you have always had a certain idea of how much time it takes to learn something, for you personally, and even more, for people in general, and then all of a sudden this barrier is smashed to smithereens by a method that helps you to learn so much more quickly, then something in you may resist this because it's so different from what you have experienced in your life up until now. And even though the fact that you are reading this book means that you are probably much better prepared for this than many other people, it may still come as a shock to you. If you wonder why it's such a shock when it's just what you wanted, then remember what we said in the second chapter, about how difficult it is to change the ideas that you have about yourself, even when it's a positive change. You should also be mindful of this if you introduce this technique to others; they may not be as psychologically prepared for it as you are. I can assure you, from using this method myself and on several other people that it really does work. It may take a little tweaking at first, but if you persist with an open mind, you will get results. What is sad is to realize that Accelerated Learning was developed in the 1970's, and it has been used by thousands of people in various contexts and proven to be effective and still today most people do not know about it, and it has not received the attention it deserves from educational systems. Brain Gym Brain Gym is another very interesting and useful method. Brain Gym is a branch of kinesiology, which uses the muscle test to communicate with the subconscious mind. The muscle test is based on the principle that when a person is under stress, their muscles become weaker. This is a subtle reaction, but if you isolate just one muscle and then put light but firm pressure on it, you can detect this reaction and distinguish between a weak response and a strong response. When the person is in a state of stress, the muscle will not hold, but if they are in a positive state, the muscle will remain firm. In this way you can ask a person a question, and get an answer from their subconscious mind, because if there is a problem, the subconscious mind will reveal it even if a person is not consciously aware of a conflict. Using the muscle test, a Brain Gym practitioner will take a snapshot of the brain profile of a person, that is, they will determine which brain hemisphere is dominant in a person, and also which eye, ear, hand and leg is dominant. Then they will work to bring the person into a state of integration where both brain hemispheres and both sides of the body are acting in harmony and in concert. Brain Gym is often used for children who have problems in school. Take for example, a problem with reading. The ideal situation for a person is to have right-eye dominance when they are reading, because they are using their left brain, which contains the language center, and because there is a direct connection between the right eye and the left hemisphere. A reading problem may actually stem from a disturbance in these connections. Brain Gym uses seemingly simple exercises to help the brain to establish a more efficient connection between these various elements. And the child's reading proficiency will be improved. While the full use of the method requires the assistance of a Brain Gym practitioner, I will give you a few exercises that can encourage your brain to be more integrated: The first one is called the cross crawl. While standing, lift up your left leg and touch it with your right hand. Put it back down, and then lift up your right leg and touch it with your left hand, and then start over again. You can do this for several minutes. In this way you are sending messages from your arms and legs to your brain. The constant crossing from one side to the other trains your brain to work harmoniously and use both sides. Another exercise that has the same objective is the infinity sign or an eight sitting on its side. To trace this movement with your eyes, first look straight ahead, and then make a circle by looking upwards towards the left and then around and down back towards the center. Without stopping, make another circle by looking upwards towards the right, and then down and around towards the center again. Once again, this activates both sides of the brain and helps it to work in harmony. You're strengthening the connections between the two sides. You can do the same movement with your hands. Put your hands together in front of you, then move them in the same way, up left and around, and then up right and around. Try to make as large a circle as you can, and work on making your movement fluid, with both sides of equal dimensions. If one side is bigger or more harmonious or easier for you than the other, then this may indicate that you are more comfortable with the brain hemisphere on the other side. This movement can be done with both hands together, and then with each hand individually. You can also do it in writing on a piece of paper or on a blackboard. The infinity sign can even be used for healing. Tracing it over a painful area of your body can help get the energy moving. Here again, you may find yourself faced with another paradigm shift, but why not try it? It doesn't cost anything, it doesn't take long, it's not painful and it doesn't have any noxious side effects. The only thing you have to lose is your old paradigm! Brainwave Entrainment Brainwave entrainment is also a very promising method. In the last chapter I explained how we absorb information more easily when the brain is on an alpha level. So if there is a way of getting yourself into this alpha state, then you can learn better. This is just what brainwave entrainment does. There are different methods of brainwave entrainment. Some use light and some use sound. Whether by light or sound a rhythm is created on the desired frequency, and by looking at or hearing these rhythms, the brain then begins to emit the same frequencies. This does not mean that the brain is only on that particular frequency, but that there is an increase of it. Meditation Scientists have tested people while they were meditating and found that there is an increase in alpha waves in people who meditate, so this can be used also as a means of getting into an alpha state in order to facilitate learning. It takes longer and is more difficult that just listening to a recording, but it has many other advantages and benefits. Relaxation Similarly to meditation, relaxation can help you get into an alpha state, as well as reducing stress. Relaxation is often combined with and facilitated by deep breathing, and an increase of oxygen will also be of great benefit to your brain cells, as well as to the rest of your body. Subliminal Messages These are used extensively to help a person to change their beliefs by repeating positive affirmations. You can use affirmations on a conscious level, by repeating certain phrases to yourself throughout the day, such as, every day, in every way, I am getting better and better. You can use affirmations directly aimed at helping you increase your belief in your own genius, such as, I learn quickly and easily. You can use affirmations in a subliminal form, by recording them with some kind of background music or sound so that you cannot hear them consciously, but you subconscious mind can distinguish them as long as they are sufficiently audible. There are also visual subliminal programs to put on your computer that flash a message on your screen that is picked up by the subconscious. But there are also people who use subliminals directly for learning. They record the learning material and then play it back while they are sleeping. While there is not a great deal of research on this, some have reported favorable results, especially when the material is also studied during the day, in which case it seems to accelerate the learning process. It would certainly be interesting to give it a try. Learning before and after sleeping There is a lot of evidence that the periods before you go to sleep and also just after you wake up are very conducive to learning. This is probably partly due to the fact that we pass through the alpha state as we drift off to sleep and also when we wake up. Also, during sleep the brain processes what we have learned during the day, and what we pay attention to just before we go to sleep seems to have priority in this processing. This is also a good moment to do affirmations, and to ponder a problem that is bothering you, while asking your subconscious to continue to work on it while you sleep. The expression “I'll sleep on it” corresponds to something real. |
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