Outrunning the conscious mind
In our conspiracy thriller series THE ORPHAN TRILOGY, in which 23 genetically-enhanced orphans are raised to become elite spies, we make an assumption that advanced learning techniques are not being taught in the mainstream education system. In fact, we go beyond that and question whether superior learning methods are being withheld from today’s students – or, more to the point, being reserved for select individuals.
Fantasy, you say?
Well, let’s examine that…
It has long been speculated that secret societies, mystery schools, intelligence agencies and other clandestine organizations have advanced learning methods superior to anything taught in even the most prestigious universities. Methods which are only ever taught to the chosen few – initiates who have all sworn an oath to keep the group’s syllabus in house and never reveal any of the teachings to outsiders.
In The Ninth Orphan, book one in our thriller series, our protagonist Nine (the ninth-born orphan) is a pure genius who exhibits a level of intelligence rarely if ever seen in any character in literature. He has a photographic memory, can read entire books in five minutes flat and speaks dozens of languages. Plus he learns new skills extremely fast and is highly adaptable – so much so that he’s nicknamed the human chameleon.
How Nine reached that level of intelligence, though, is merely implied or hinted at in this first book in the series.
In its prequel, The Orphan Factory, we had to design an education system that would reveal exactly how Nine grew up to become that smart. He and his fellow orphans are exposed to advanced learning techniques mainstream educators can only dream of.
Outrunning the conscious mind was one such technique. We explain it in our book THE ORPHAN CONSPIRACIES: 29 Conspiracy Theories from The Orphan Trilogy.
Here’s an excerpt from the book:
Developing a genius mindset essentially comes down to two things: operating at speed and using the subconscious mind more than the conscious. This intuitive or relaxed approach to study is the polar opposite of traditional and mainstream forms of education. Apart from some artistic subjects like music or dance, learning institutions generally require pupils to concentrate hard at all times. In other words, students have no choice but to always use their conscious minds, thereby suppressing the great reservoir of the subconscious.
When we are forced to think s-l-o-w-l-y like this our brain functions at well below optimum levels. That’s why school students often feel exhausted as studying in this fashion is incredibly draining. But how can we feel mentally drained when neuroscientists and brain researchers agree we each only use a tiny percentage of our brain?
Those who have read The Orphan Trilogy will recall our orphans often go into a daydream state whenever they need answers to life-and-death situations. This is because when you defocus you allow your intuitive self, or your subconscious mind, to deliver you the answers you need. It just happens, without reaching for it.
We’ve all experienced pondering a problem all day long only to find we receive the solution when forgetting about the problem and thinking of something else. When we stop concentrating so hard, we allow our subconscious to flourish, and those who do this more than others are often called geniuses.
As head of the Pedemont Orphanage, Tommy Kentbridge says to his students in The Orphan Factory, “The subconscious mind is where all higher intelligences exist. Every genius throughout history – Tesla, Einstein, Da Vinci – tapped into the infinite power of their subconscious minds.”
Studies have shown the subconscious mind can process around 11 million bits of information per second. The conscious mind, however, can only process about 15 to 16 bits of information per second. Quite a difference!
One of the best ways to bring the subconscious mind into the equation is to outrun the conscious mind by going so fast it literally can’t keep up. So, at Chicago’s Pedemont Orphanage, our orphans do everything at speed. They’re also taught how to learn things indirectly instead of directly. By skirting around the edges of complex subjects, the children never get information overload or lose their way.
As we wrote in The Ninth Orphan, “In the tradition of Leonardo da Vinci and history’s other great polymaths, the children were taught how to fully understand anything by using an advanced mental technique where they would simply life their minds into comprehension.”
To life your mind into comprehension is once again the polar opposite of modern education systems which imply there’s only one way to learn: consciously and with intense concentration.
While this indirect way of learning may sound flaky, it is actually backed up by hard science and is not remotely mystical. This approach is about brainwaves and understanding, or recognizing, the optimal state for learning. When you hit the right groove, it’s possible to learn quickly and in a satisfying, even enjoyable, fashion.
It is that singularity of mind top sportsmen and martial arts masters achieve. Psychologists sometimes refer to this ultimate mental state as the zone, but it’s really just about having the most effective brainwaves for learning.
Any time study feels laborious the student is most likely in the beta brainwave, which occurs when the conscious mind is governing. A beta-dominant mind is the perfect recipe for mediocrity and boredom.
The subconscious mind comes into play in other less common brainwaves such as alpha, gamma, theta and delta. These brainwaves have also been shown to be activated when test subjects are laughing, daydreaming, meditating, singing, dancing or spontaneously moving about. Now how many math or English teachers would tolerate those activities in their classrooms?
What if there really is a much quicker, less methodical way of learning that allows you to learn without learning?
Sounds paradoxical, doesn’t it?
Read more in The Orphan Conspiracies: 29 Conspiracy Theories from The Orphan Trilogy – available now via Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/The-Orphan-Conspiracies-Conspiracy-Theories-ebook/dp/B00J4MPFT6/
A book that’s for the common people...the 99%
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