What's This - And Who Cares?

Mental Declines Can be Reversed

If you went to a library with Julius Caesar around 34 B.C. you would have been shocked.
First, your ear would be ringing because it was the standard reading practice to read OUT-LOUD. Right - picture thrity-citizens reading different scrolls - all in a speaking-voice.

The second unique discovery would have been that there were no SPACES between words.
Blank-spaces between each words did not come into play for a few centuries.

Can you - a 21st century person - read a page that has no 'spaces' between words?
Here's why you should bother with this exercise: after less than ten-minutes your brain
begins to automatically 'chunk' (group) the words as-if there were spaces between them.

The benefits are deeper concentration when you return to spaced-reading, together with
developing a Soft-Focus in your normal reading. Soft-Focus accesses 'peripheral-vision,
and permits you to read up to 38% faster. Try it - and make your own discoveries.

Aswegetbeyondretirementage,mostofuswillnotbeasmetallysharp

asweoncewere. ButaresearcherattheUniversityofAlbertasaysmost

peoplehavetheabilitytoreversethementaldeclinesthatcomealongwith

aging.

Here’s your assignment: sitbackandreadthesesentenceswithoutspaces

byreadingthemas-iftheydohavespacebetweenthewords.

Eachtimeyoupracticecreatingmentalstopsbetweenthewordswithoutthem,

youareexercisingyourabilitytoconcentrate50%better,whileusingaSoftFocus.

AsoftFocusisoneofthemajorsecretsofspeedreadingbecauseitpermitsyou

touseyourPeripheralVision.AnotherkeythingsisthatusingyourPeripheralVsion

permitsyoutotripleyourreadingspeed-readthreebooks,articlesandreportsinthe

timeittakesotherpeopleandsnailerstoreadingasinglebook.

Do you notice that you are reading the sentences faster – even though they

have no spaces between the words? It gets easier as you begin to automatically

soft-focus and use your peripheral-vision.

Alifetimeofgoodmentalhabitspaysoff.Peoplewhoarecuriousatayoungageare

likelytobementallyactiveastheyage.Andwefounditisnevertoolatetostart.With a

littleeffort,evenpeopleintheirlate70sand80scanproducedramaticimprovements

intheircognitiveskills.

Goodexamplesofactiviytiesthatwakeupourbrain,andprovethesaying,useitorloseit,

areplayingcardgamesthatrequiretheuseofmemoryandanalysislikebridge,orplay

chess,teachotherpeople,takecontinuingeducationcourses,watchandplayalongwith

Jeopardy,viewtheDiscoveryChannel,etc.

Notice that you are now a non-space reading genius?

See you later,

copyright (c) 2005
H. Bernard Wechsler
www.speedlearning.org
hbw@speedlearning.org