Thanks to television, radio, and especially the Internet, everybody I know is suffering from an overload of information. And on account of the anxiety caused by the chaotic lives we lead, our facility to center our mind, soak up information, and recall it later when needed has been smashed.

I would like you to reflect on this for a moment. As you sit there right now reading this expose, a stream of information is coming in through your sense of sight. But you are also hearing different sounds, experiencing bodily feelings like the pressure of your seat against your buttocks and back, the feeling of the clothing on your body, and the air temperature and movement on your skin. You are also in receipt of sensations via your nose in the form of aromas. And of course, you're receiving information in the form of the various tastes on your lips and in your mouth.

And what about the emotional sensations that you are at the moment feeling? That's also information that you're processing at the moment. We reside in an information intensive world. Thanks to the Internet, almost everything and anything that a person may ever want to know is only a few mouse clicks away.

I recently read an article that said that even in a calm and peaceful atmosphere, we are bombarded by sixty thousand stimuli per second. And that is occurring sixty seconds out of each minute, and sixty minutes out of each hour. And it goes on twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, week in and week out for the length of our entire life.

And that's a big part of the crisis. We are all suffering from "information overload." And that makes it very difficult to memorize all of the information that we want to remember or need to be able to recall.

All too often, when we are reading, we find that our eyes have been traversing the words on the page, while our conscious mind has been off somewhere else on a tangent. When we get to the bottom of the page, we realize that our eyes have seen the words, but we have no conscious memory of what we've just read. That's because our mind has been somewhere else thinking about a problem, or working out a scheme.

Today it's widespread to hear even young people state things like, "I'm having a senior moment." Regardless of your age, and whether you are a student, part of the labor, or a retired senior, you know what I'm talking about. In our hectic world it is often extremely difficult to focus your attention.

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING IS YOUR PROBLEM?

A. Your mind begins to meander as you study or read, and then all of a sudden you appreciate that you have no idea what you've been reading.

B. When you are in a social situation and you are introduced to new contacts, you forget their names as quickly as you hear them.

C. You recall that you have a job to do in another room; however, as soon as you start towards the other room you totally forget what that task is.

D. You can stay alert and understand new information. But when you take a test, "Test Anxiety" overcomes you and triggers a mental block, and you are unable to remember the answers to the questions on the exam that you in actual fact know.

The largest cause of a person's lack of ability to focus their attention is that people are suffering from too much stress. And the largest cause of a mental block to recall is also stress. So it stands to reason that the more relaxed a person is, the better they will be able to focus their concentration, absorb information, and then be able to recall it at a later date.

Today, hypnosis and memory enhancement has become a popular topic. That's partially because hypnosis is a brilliant instrument for creating a relaxed state of being. In fact, the very fundamental nature of hypnosis is relaxation. And as the mind calms down, the facility to stay focused increases. Similarly, a serene mind increases the ability to retain information, and remember it when it is needed.

Hypnotic memory enhancement is a fantastic modality for getting rid of test anxiety and mental blocks. There are several hypnotic techniques that can be used to program a student with a positive expectation of relaxation, confidence, and accomplishment while taking examinations.

Anyone can take a course on how to apply self-hypnosis simply and inexpensively in the privacy of their own home by ordering hypnotherapy CD's. You can locate more information on hypnosis to enhance memory and recall in the Hypnosis Article Index located on my website.