b) Special Applications
(i) Turning now to LONG TEXTS to be studied, a forty page chapter out of
a History manual, for instance, or any other subject that requires a
lengthy and elaborate thought process, it is obvious that these texts
can neither be memorized nor translated into an endless series of
images.
In this case, first attentively read the text to be studied, summarize
it if necessary, and then choose the idea that seems the most difficult
to remember - a date or a proper noun -, picturing it as if it were
written black on white in the book one is studying or on a special sheet
of paper, or in big white letters on a blackboard.
If this process seems too tedious, one could take the most pleasant
image that the text conjures up in one's mind, or the one that would
best represent the whole chapter, or the most beautiful picture inserted
within the context of that chapter, or the passage or description that
has moved one the most, and put one of these into the phosphene.
The energy liberated by mixing these two elements will spread to the
other ideas contained in the chapter (and related to the chosen
picture). This energy will then contribute to the imprinting in one's
mind of the whole chapter to be studied.
(ii) Solving MATH PROBLEMS. First carefully read (several times, if
necessary) the terms of the problem. Repeat them while looking at the
lamp and go on repeating them in the presence of the phosphene. It is
not necessary, however, in this case, to extend the operation until the
phosphene has completely disappeared (three minutes): the mental repeti-
tion can be interrupted here before the phosphene has fully turned red
(about one minute).
This rule doesn't need to be strictly interpreted: if one feels the
problem is difficult and one feels inclined to keep on repeating the
terms mentally for longer parts of the phosphene, one can of course do
so.
If one does stop, however, before the end of the phosphene, the next
thing to do is to watch the rest of the phosphene in a completely
PASSIVE way, while blanking one's mind. If need be, repeat the operation
as many times as one feels comfortable or inclined to do so.
During this 'empty-mindedness', the phosphene stimulates the brain and
the solution will appear much more easily, although not necessarily
immediately (sometimes only hours later). But one will feel more 'in
control' of the problem, getting a better grasp of it, which will in
turn help to bring about the solution.
Some people will even prefer, after reading the terms of the problem
several times, to build a phosphene and then JUST WATCH IT IN A
COMPLETELY PASSIVE FASHION for its full duration - without repeating the
terms of the problem. Watching the phosphene helps to eliminate all
conscious thoughts - and allows the brain to function on the last
subject one has concentrated on: the terms of the problem.
(iii) To improve one's SPELLING. We will examine here the two most
frequent types of spelling mistakes made by pupils and students. The
method used in this case calls upon the so-called 'motor memory', i.e.
the memory conveyed by the muscular feelings drawn from the movements of
the fingers engaged in the act of writing.
1) Mistakes in usage spelling, i.e. the spelling of words
independently from agreement or other grammatical rules: To start with,
one will write several times the word(s) one usually misspells. Next,
build a phosphene while spelling out aloud these word(s) - seeing the
word(s) and letters in one's mind. Then, with a headband or a blindfold
over one's eyes, write the words without seeing them. This will heighten
the feeling of movement transforming into brain memory and originating
from the fingers and the hand while they write the word(s).
2) Grammatical mistakes: The individual will have to do dictations in
the presence of phosphenes while somebody (a teacher, friend or member
of the family) watches what he/she writes, and as soon as a mistake
appears, have the individual rewrite the sentence correctly - always
with the eyes blindfolded and in the presence of a phosphene. This
process will help in the progressive building of muscular reflexes,
while the role of the 'intellectual memory' will also progressively
diminish. (The individual might want, here, to reread the grammatical
rule before starting the exercise, and the helper remind him/her of the
rule whenever he/she makes a mistake. This whole modality can be adapted
to personal preferences.)
(iv) Learning a FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Here, we'll call, once more, upon
'auditive thought'. It has been repeatedly noticed that individuals who
listen to the foreign language they want to learn in the presence of a
phosphene will acquire a much better accent in that language.
Here is how to proceed. Have the individual listen to a sentence on a
tape in the foreign language. (The tape can be professionally made,
copied from a record or be dictated by a native from a country where the
language is spoken.) The sentence to be learned should be well
understood and, if necessary, logically analyzed and explained.
Build a phosphene. Listen to the sentence in the presence of the
phosphene. Stop the tape and repeat the sentence, once or twice, aloud,
and once or twice mentally. Keep on repeating this double process until
the phosphene fully disappears.
Check by listening to the sentence again, and only proceed to the next
sentence if the one you are working on is spoken out loud without
mistakes. The mental repetition will enhance the 'visual memory' of the
language-learning process. The verbal repetition will pull into play the
motor memory of the whole vocal system.
(v) WRITING AN ESSAY. First carefully read the theme of the essay to be
developed. This is a typical instance where an abstract thought has to
be 'condensed' into visual or auditive symbols - or both. The individual
should be given absolute freedom of choice as to the symbols that are
going to represent the theme of the essay.
- First phosphene:
Once a symbol is decided upon, place it inside a phosphene and
simultaneously repeat in one's mind the theme of the essay to be
written. When the phosphene has subsided, at least one idea, however
small, will appear, associated with the chosen symbol.
If one has the impression that no idea whatsoever has manifested, start
the process over again, until the first idea comes up in one's mind. It
is most likely, however, that not sufficient attention has been paid to
the appearance of the first idea. Or, the latter might have been
unconsciously rejected because it seemed absurd, or was too loosely
related with the theme. So, once an idea does come up, write it down,
and use it for the next stage of the process.
- Second phosphene:
Place the first idea in the second phosphene; this idea can be a logical
sequence, such as a sentence, or, again, an image, or both. Repeat
it/them mentally during the presence of the phosphene. One will notice
an increase in the number of ideas that comes up in one's mind - and
they will appear with greater clarity. Once the phosphene has
disappeared, write the ideas down.
- Third phosphene:
Proceed in the same way with the second idea or, if more than one have
come to the mind, with the clearest or most striking one. One will
notice a widening of the flow of ideas.
- Subsequent phosphenes:
Keep on proceeding as above. And don't worry if the quality of the
upcoming ideas doesn't appear very satisfactory. With this method, ideas
will come about in more 'elementary' and (at least apparently) less
logical associations. But...
- Last phosphene:
If one perseveres, quite unexpectedly a much more profound, more
'philosophical' idea will manifest, one that will link all the previous
ideas into a logical construct. According to those who have used this
method, results are achieved in a remarkably shorter period of time.
If one feels so inclined, one can also, at any of the above stages,
resort to the "math" modality described above and just observe the
phosphene passively, in the hope some ideas will appear spontaneously.
The above process can also be applied in other fields, such as work
environments, or any other circumstance where ideas need to be generated
'ex nihilo'.
-----------------------------------------
D) A Few Observations
Results are rarely immediate. Like with any other endeavour,
'perseverance' is also the keyword here. It will, therefore, be
necessary to support children's efforts in the use of these techniques.
The need for unfaltering support seems to last, typically, for about one
month. After that, the results achieved become so obvious that
enthusiasm generally replaces the need for prodding.
A few technical observations:
During the initial stages of mixing phosphenes and thoughts, it does
happen that the phosphene 'disappears' when one concentrates on the
thought and comes back when the thought is pushed aside. This is due to
the fact, as we have explained in the beginning of this paper, that
phosphenes are only perceived as 'light' because our brains and nervous
systems have been conditioned to respond in this way.
This 'mutually exclusive pattern' of phosphenes and thoughts does
disappear after a few days (at the most) of practice. Individuals might
also experience difficulty with the mixing of phosphenes and thoughts,
and will strain in trying to achieve the proper results. They should be
told to do neither, because the combination of these two elements will
come naturally with practice: as with learning anything new, proficiency
is never achieved from the start.
Another complaint that is often heard is that thought are unstable and
fleeting. Thought almost always exhibits these characteristics, and it
is because the phosphene is often so bright and clear that one expects
the thought to have the same qualities. For identical reasons, the
individual might even complain that he/she didn't 'see' anything (i.e.
that nothing came to the mind in the way of thoughts, images or
solutions). In both cases, the subject should be reminded that a little
patience would be in order and that, to recreate a vanished mental
image, a slight concentration effort might be necessary... Everything
WILL fall into place with regular and sustained practice.
On the positive side, beginners will sometimes observe that they feel
pleasantly relaxed when using this technique. Phosphene mixing often
does produce that effect on individuals, something, presumably, no one
will complain about.
---------------------------
E) Effects of Learning with Light
After one month of use, surveyed individuals will almost always claim to
have achieved the following results:
1) Increased Level of Attention: The increase of attention, or
concentration, capacity doesn't only apply to thoughts mixed with
phosphenes but equally to everything else in life, between the sessions.
This effect on attention (the ability to concentrate for three minutes
on the same subject, for instance) is often evident after only a few
sessions.
2) Enhanced Memory: This is a very important aspect of phosphene mixing
and the one that will singly attract the vast majority of people wanting
to experiment with this method. This memory enhancing effect is often
evident after only a few sessions - and primarily, as can be expected,
in relation to the subject to which the phosphene mixing has been
applied. But it also spreads to other fields of learning and manifests
as a GENERAL IMPROVEMENT OF MEMORY.
We would like, here, to remind the reader that, as a rule, results do
not appear during the exercise but after a more or less lengthy period
of time.
A number of children who do a fifteen to twenty minute exercise each day
have achieved a raise in their school marks after only a month of
sustained practice. The results are even more striking when the exercise
is done twice a day (morning and evening, for instance).
3) General Effect on Intelligence: People who have used this method
report a general improvement of their intellectual faculties and their
creativity, which seem to have been stimulated by the interaction of the
phosphenes and thoughts. There is also a marked increase in intellectual
curiosity which sometimes translates into a very strong desire to learn
and a very real passion for certain subjects.
4) Thoughts become more vivid, ideas more abundant and the desire to
take initiative is stimulated.
These claims might appear 'strange' or 'unbelievable'. I would like,
here, to quote an expert in the field of alternative learning methods:
"Each time you note, or remark, or in some way respond to one of your
own perceptions or ideas... You reinforce that particular perception;
you reinforce the behavior of being perceptive; you reinforce, on-
line with consciousness, those parts of your brain and mind which,
from off-line, had given rise to that initially subtler perception."
(Win Wenger, author of "Beyond Teaching & Learning" and "The Einstein
Factor")
When such perceptions or ideas are reinforced with an image, their
mental effects are tremendously enhanced. This is the basic tenet of
"Suggestopedy", the teaching technique based on Suggestology and
according to which the process of education starts, not when the child
hears what is taught, but when the words he or she hears trigger in
his/her mind a 'mental coding'. A child can hear the same thing ten
times, but if this 'perceived' message doesn't trigger in the child's
mind an AUDITIVE OR VISUAL IMAGE, he/she won't retain anything. But when
the child creates such an image - and mixes this image with a phosphene
- the mental effects become tremendously powerful. Moreover, learning
becomes play.
Learning while playing - mastering the world as if it were a game -
isn't that every child's dream?
(A number of theories do exist concerning the mechanisms and effects
of the phosphene/brain/mind interaction, but they cannot be fitted
into this short paper, which strictly aims at helping the reader
achieve both rapid and lasting results, mainly in the academic field,
by applying the techniques of phosphene mixing.)
----------------------------
F) A Few Afterthoughts. The techniques given above can be adapted to
individual needs, restrictions and tastes. When working with a child,
one does well to pay attention to the child's natural inclinations.
Children have generally retained a much greater intuition than adults
and often feel instinctively what should or should not be done.
As an example of this, children often like to do whirling movements.
These are natural, instinctive, movements aiming at developing the brain
and its mental faculties. Whirling dervishes have adopted them as their
principal technique on the road to mysticism and enlightenment.
From a scientific point of view, this spinning of the body around its
central axis puts into motion the cephalo-rachidian fluid that nourishes
the brain, which then starts to act as a dynamo of sorts. It is
therefore very beneficial, contrary to what certain adults might
'logically' think.
The effects of this movement on children are tremendously enhanced when
done in the presence of a phosphene. So, if a child wants to do this
exercise with a phosphene, just to 'play' or to 'have fun', this natural
tendency should be encouraged and certainly never repressed. And
speaking about 'movement', I would like to finish this short paper with
the following quote:
"It has been observed by numerous researchers that if you have a
person with learning difficulties walk in a figure eight pattern
while looking at a point on the wall and crossing mid line by
touching the rising right knee with the left hand and then the rising
left knee with the right hand, you will see a measurable improvement
in the ability to learn. This crossing over the midline of the body
presumably stimulates the corpus callosum, a thick band of neural
fibers in the middle of the brain and implicated in many learning
problems. This technique has become a cornerstone of many movement
oriented methods to improve learning capacity such as Educational
Kinesiology. I have seen remarkable improvements in learning ability
through such methods."
More on this subject in (3) of the Bibliography below.
----------------------------
A VERY SHORT COMMENTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
1) Lefebure, Dr. Francis: Le Mixage Phosphenique en Pedagogie.
(Self-published). Distributed by Editions Phosphenisme, 3, rue de la
Chapelle, 75018 Paris, France.
The text of this paper is completely summarized and translated from
this book, complemented by personal documents drawn from instructions
Dr. Lefebure bestowed upon the author.
2) OSTRANDER, Sheila & SCHROEDER, Lynn: Super-Learning. A Laurel Book.
Dell Publishing.
The famous Lozanov method of "tapping the reserves of the mind".
A special learning method in its own right, some of its fundamental
techniques could be combined with phosphene mixing.
3) HANNAFORD, Carla, Ph.D.: Smart Moves - Why Learning Is Not All In
Your Head. Great Ocean Publishers.
Recently published (1995), with an extensive bibliography, this book
is a real treasure and a MUST for anybody involved in education or,
generally, child rearing. Its chapter on "Brain Gym" is a compendium
of easily performed exercises ALL children should practice regularly.
(It contains, inter alia, a description of the "Cross Crawl", which
ties in with the quotation above.) Because, as Ms. Hannaford writes,
"... we have missed a most fundamental and mysterious aspect of the
mind: learning, thought, creativity and intelligence are not
processes of the brain alone, but of the whole body." And: "My
fascination with the role of movement in the learning process came
out of the miracles I witnessed with children labelled 'learning
disabled'."
DO read this book, about which Dr. Willis Harman, president of the
Institute of Noetic Sciences, writes: "It is seldom that we find
something so really original and groundbreaking written about
education." Ms. Hannaford also has a number of important things to
say in her book about food, health - and the consumption of water,
some aspects much too often neglected in the field of education.
The author of this paper is convinced that, when combined with
phosphene mixing, these simple exercises will really "produce
miracles".
--------------------------------------
If you have questions or comments about this method of "learning with
light", please DO address them to the author, at the following e-mail
address:
Your comments about this method will contribute to its enhancement and
improvement in practical ways - for the benefit of all.
In the name of the children of the world: THANK YOU!
Donald Guenen,
Ottawa, Canada, Easter Sunday, 1996