Learning “The Secret”: Osmosis?

I remember being a 10th grader and suffering through Honors Biology. Me and one other girl, Sarah McCurry, were completely out of place- we were uninclined to crack a book, but delusional enough to think we would somehow pass (and get the extra point towards our respective GPAs because it was an honors class). The night before the midterm, I asked Sarah how she was going to learn 6 chapters of material in one night, and she joked that she was going to sleep with the book under her head, utilizing the biological concept of osmosis. Ahh, I thought: If only…

Flash forward to 2008: I would undergo hypnosis for smoking cessation. Successfully, I might add. Although my success may have had less to do with the hypnosis than, say, Chantix, Zyban, or a 22-hour initial period of forced abstinence (I took a flight to Australia. Where I spent the next 12 days with my smoking nazi boyfriend.) Yes, I abide by a strict philosophy that everything worth doing is worth overdoing. But that’s another story.

Before undergoing hypnosis, my hypnotist went into a bit of theory as to how and why hypnosis is effective. During normal consciousness, she said, the brain has a sort of barrier that acts as a wall between outside influences and the all-powerful subconscious. This barrier is removed when we are hypnotized. Oh, and we naturally undergo periods of pseudo-hypnosis, like right before we go to sleep. Ergo, the best way to influence the subconscious is to feed it information at these times.

I don’t know how scientifically-solid it is, but this principle appealed to me. Because I love nothing more than an effective shortcut… especially when it involves nasty tasks, like undoing a bad habit. Or learning 8 chapters of biology.

Who knew poolside in Cabo makes such a great library?

Or digesting the latest Oprah-endorsed self-help craze. See, this past week, I got a chance to utilize this principle, when I found myself pool-side at a resort in Cabo San Lucas. Because I no longer “work on my tan”/subject my swedish-french skin to the sun, I was eager figure out a new way to make use of this time. So I grabbed my iphone and downloaded every podcast known to man. Like “The Secret Success Tips”. Which I proceeded to listen to as I fell asleep (under a shady cabana– which does not provide the sun protection you would think, BTW.) I discovered the 21st century-version of Osmosis! Sarah would be proud!

I don’t know if it worked, but I did find myself having random thoughts that could only have originated from said podcast. In particular, I recalled the woman speaking of her “parking mojo”, which involved imagining and believing she would find a parking spot beforehand whenever necessary. Because Mexican government officials have better things to do with tax money than, say, ensuring that it’s cities have adequate parking, (like pocketing it), I found myself putting this technique to the test. On no fewer than three occasions… successfully, I might add.

And so I would like to offer a companion secret to the secret: Listen to learning materials as you fall asleep. Like the rest of the book, it’s scientific truth is questionable, but it doesn’t hurt to try. And I can promise you one thing: it’s more effective than sleeping with a book under your head.