Secret of Study Habits
Now let us get deeply relaxed. Place yourself in a comfortable position in your chair, at your desk or table, with a book in front of you. Put your left hand on your left leg and your right hand in a position of shielding your eyes from the sun (or light) or in some other comfortable position. Now that you are comfortable in your chair and have put aside all distractions and all possible interruption, let your eyes close and while closed, let them see your favorite things or your favorite TV show, a star twinkling in the sky, or color changes in your closed eyes or any subject matter that will hold your entire attention pleasantly. This is most important. Be sure that you choose something which holds your entire attention. Now, while you are pleasantly occupied with your subject of complete concentration, I'm going to continue to talk to you very quietly. Remember, the secret of study is the acquired ability to focus all your mental awareness on one job and hold it there until the job is done, plus the ability to retain, recall and put to use what you have learned whenever you need it. The total process of effective study is the foundation of all progress in education. My secret of study is the focal point of the total process of study. And now to be sure that you do not forget the other elements of good study habits, I will remind you of them now. While you are getting deeply relaxed with each breath you take, youcan remind yourself of the points that are covered on the additional study techniques accompanying this record.
No. 1 You now know what concentration is.
No. 2 You can train yourself in self-concentration.
No. 3 You can learn how to use a distraction eliminator whenever needed.
No. 4 You can prepare for the job of concentration.
No. 5 You can remove all serious and avoidable distractions from the outer environment.
No. 6 You can remove all serious and avoidable distractions from the inner environment.
No. 7 You can command your body and mind to focus on the job at hand.
No. 8 You can make full use of motivation; for instance, you can review every possible motive for doing this work and you can repeat often that motive which has the best effect in keeping you on this job. You can keep your mind on your goal. You can work against deadlines and you can feel good about every improvement in your study habits.
No. 9 You can foster good physical conditions for study.
No. 10 You can tolerate good attitudes and habits that will help you to study better.
No. 11 You can develop effective methods of reading,
No. 12 You can improve your ability to remember.
No. 13 You can develop effective classroom techniques.
No. 14 You can learn to relax during examinations.
No. 15 You can learn to use the additional help to concentrate.
And now for a little change. You will pretend that you feel yourself going down in a soft bed or in a soft chair or going down in an elevator or on an escalator or on a live leaf floating down toward the ground. Now you pause for a moment to get yourself set in the floating-down device. You are getting ready. You can get ready. And now you pretend that you are starting right here at Level A and you can feel much more relaxed as you go down to Level B with twenty and then deeper and deeper with nineteen and deeper still with eighteen and still deeper and deeper until seventeen and deeper and deeper until sixteen and still deeper and deeper until fifteen and now still deeper and deeper down to fourteen and still deeper and deeper until thirteen and still deeper and deeper and deeper till twelve and still deeper and deeper and deeper until eleven and still deeper and deeper and deeper until ten and still deeper and deeper and deeper until nine and still deeper and deeper and deeper until eight and still deeper and deeper and deeper until seven and still deeper and deeper and deeper until six and still deeper and deeper and deeper until five and still deeper and deeper and deeper until four and still deeper and deeper and deeper until three and still deeper and deeper and deeper until two and still deeper and deeper and deeper until one -- and down way down deep and deeper and deeper until zero.
Now you are at Level B and you feel much more relaxed than you did and Level A. And you can begin to feel very much more relaxed as you go down to Level C at twenty and deeper and deeper until nineteen and deeper and deeper and deeper until eighteen and still deeper and deeper and deeper until seventeen and deeper and deeper and deeper until sixteen at Level D and you are ready for the Secret of Study. With your eyes closed and slowly inhaling and exhaling, mentally you quietly say to yourself: I am getting deeper relaxed so that I can concentrate on the job at hand and become more and more informed and deeply engrossed in it. I can reject and shut the door on all distractions. I will have complete understanding of the test questions I am reading, and of the study material I am reciting because I am concentrating. The material I am working on will, without effort, make a deep and lasting impression on my subconscious. I can easily retain everything that I have read or studied. As soon as I feel the condition of good concentration, I will slowly open my eyes. And -- This is most important -- I will open my eyes very slowly. I, very slowly, open my eyes right now to the book in front of me and I will start reading and holding my book the normal way. My point of concentration has now shifted to my book or to the test questions, and while I am concentrating on the job at hand, I can continue to be influenced by the quiet words in the background. I am deeply relaxed and concentrated on my work and I can become more and more absorbed and deeply engrossed in it. I can reject and shut the door on all distractions. I will have complete understanding of the test questions I am reading and the study material I am studying. And because I am concentrated, the material I am working on will, without effort, make deep and lasting impressions -- deep and lasting impressions -- and I am certain that I can easily retain everything that I have read or studied privately and everything I have read or heard in class. And all this knowledge will flow freely into my consciousness whenever I need it. Now I can give a good account of myself in all my tests, examinations and interviews. And finally, I know this method will help me just as it has helped thousands of others. I know that I can continue in the concentrated condition as long as I wish and then whenever I wish to come back to the unconcentrated condition of daily living, I can just take a deep breath, tell myself mentally that I can be wide awake and be fully aware of everything around me. Now I can become wide awake and be fully aware of everything around me.
