How to Triple Your Reading Speed – Permanently

Our Eyes Automatically (instinctively), Follow a Moving Object

1. Baby Step:

a) To triple your reading speed, and double your memory (and comprehension), permanently – the first step is to create a habit of using a Pacer while reading.

b) A Pacer is one of three types: a handheld Laser Beam (RasterMaster),

a Pen – and a using a Computer Cursor – produced with your Mouse.

c) The objective when using any of the three Pacers is to underline the words of the
sentences as you read. When you use your pen as a Pacer – retract the point or underline with the Pen one-half inch above the paper itself.

d) You will notice that the Pacer (RasterMaster, Pen or Cursor), always moves
f-a-s-t-e-r than your visual reading speed. It sets the pace for you to speed up your reading.

e) You have been reading one-word at a time since 3rd grade, reinforced daily
for many years. The Pacer drives you to read two-to-three words at a time instead of
your usual one-word-at-a-time. Notice how your eyes automatically try to catch-up with the Pacer (the moving object). It is a instinct of your eyes and brain.

f) You are creating a new-habit of moving your eyes in a Soft-Focus instead of a narrow Hard-Focus. You are learning to read using your wide-focused Peripheral Vision – instead the narrow Foveal-Vision you learned in 3rd grade.

g) Your eyes are focusing on the Top-Halves of the words – not the movement
of the Pacer you are using. Your eyes take in the underlining of the Pacer’s movement using your natural Peripheral Vision.

h) You own two-basic reading systems – one is Foveal-Vision: reading one-word
at a time (6 letters wide). You have been reading foveally since 3rd grade and
it is s-l-o-w – about 200 words per minute.

The second is Peripheral-Vision: it is 36 letters wide, and it permits you to read up to six-words at-a-time. The word – peripheral – means outside of the center – seeing the left and right sides in addition to the center, and what appears above and below
the center.

i.) Soft-focus is relaxing your eyes and widen your field-of-vision to see two or
more words simultaneously. The opposite of soft-focus is a narrowing of your
field-of-vision, and called hard-focus of Tunnel-Vision. A horse wearing blinders
sees with Foveal-Vision and a Hard-Focus.

Hard-Focus is how you see when using your computer, typing on the word-processor, viewing a movie, playing a video game, or holding a conversation while looking at the other person’s eyes.

We concentrate on the page, screen or person by narrowing our eye-focus to give the behavior (reading, surfing the Net, and watching TV), our full attention.

Using a hard-focus while reading causes us to snail because we can see only a single multi-syllable word at a time. It limits us to up to 200 words per minute.

Profound Fact: we spend up to 80% of our waking-hours using hard-focus, squinting and narrowing our field-of-vision. It is the basic cause of chronic-stress and dry-eye.

The solution is not to stop using the computer or TV, but to exercise your peripheral-vision for sixty-seconds every thirty-minutes. Look away from the screen, page or person towards the horizon, and widen your field-of-vision.

In reading it means to soft-focus – and read two-to-three words at-a-time.

2. a) Pick a page with text and circle each single multi-syllable word in a sentence. Notice how slow and boring it is to read that way. In the average sentence there are ten-words, and you read and mentally hear all ten-multi-syllable words.

You eyes stop at each word, you hear it, and then move to the next one.
Each stop is called an Eye-Fixation-Pause.

b) Take another page of text and circle each group of two-words in the sentence.
If there are ten-words you will have five-circles of two-words each.

Notice that you can easily look at the circle containing two-words, and see
both words simultaneously. If you can see them – you are using Soft-focus and widen your field of vision.

Your eyes can see up to six-words at a time, and transfer them to your brain for comprehension.

If you read two-words simultaneously – you double your reading speed
and can cut your reading time by 50% or read-and comprehend two books,
articles, and reports – instead of one. Guess what occurs when you read three-
words-at-a-time?

3. Draw a line down the left-hand side of a new page of text and indent about two-words in width; do the same – indent by drawing a line down the page on the
right-side of the page of text – about two-words wide.

Now use your Pacer to underline the Middle-Section of the text using a soft-focus. Your Peripheral-Vision will pick up and comprehend the words within the two indented areas – (lateral-left and lateral-right), and even above and below the center of your reading focus.

Practice reading a page of text you have indented to improve your soft-focus (widening your field-of-vision), and to widen your Peripheral-Vision span.

Endwords

Practice improving your soft-focus and peripheral-vision until they becomes
habits. Use your Pacer to move your eyes faster, and in 21 days of practicing just 15 minutes daily – you will double or triple your present starting reading speed with equal or better comprehension.

Yes, it will be frustrating in the beginning because you have been programmed
since 3rd grade to read one-word-at-a-time, and to stop to hear it in your mind.

You are creating a new habit of widening your focus and reading two-or
more words at-a-time. It requires daily practice for three-weeks, and then will
register on auto-pilot. Once they are habits you stop thinking about them, and add them to your mental programming.

Once you turn soft-focus and peripheral-vision into a habit, you will be able to easily
triple your reading speed and improve your comprehension and long-term
memory.

The secret tool is always using a Pacer to trigger the instinct of your eyes and brain
to follow a moving object. Your hand holding the Pacer – the RasterMaster, Pen,
or Cursor – always moves faster than your snailing reading speed. Your brain
begins to play – Catch-Up – and your reading speed and comprehension double
and triple compared to snailing at only one word at-a-time.

copyright © 2006

By: H. Bernard Wechsler