Does learning by “osmosis” really work?
What do I mean by learning by “osmosis”? Osmosis is actually a scientific term related to the flow of fluids across a semi-permeable membrane. With respect to learning, it means a process of gradual assimilation, often unconscious. The term has been applied to “dream learning”, but here I am using it in a broader sense to refer to “unconscious learning”.
When we first learn to speak, we learn by being around other people and simply learning by repetition, by osmosis, from people who already know how to speak. Most of us don’t have to go to school to learn our native language. We just pick it up because it is all around us. It doesn’t matter what the language is: English, French, Chinese… if it’s what everyone else speaks, we automatically learn the basics as children.
The same is true about other things in our environment. It is often how effective marketing campaigns are created. Companies will find famous opinion leaders and pay them to use their products. A classic example: Tiger Woods. You hardly ever see a picture of him without his Nike cap or t-shirt. His logo is all over his gear. Nike has paid Tiger millions of dollars for his “endorsement” of his products.
Companies will also pay a hefty fee for characters in a movie to use their products. Why? Because that will plant a subconscious suggestion in the minds of a certain percentage of people to want your product. A flagrant example? When James Bond traded in his Astin Martin for the BMW convertible.
Have you ever been walking down the street only to find a song playing in your head? In this case, a song you didn’t buy, but was playing at a store you were in recently. Or that by chance you heard on the radio or in a television program or in a scene. That “glow” is an example of the kind of “osmosis” I’m referring to.
How does this apply to the use of Power Affirmation recordings? The application here is to find various ways to add positive thoughts to your everyday environment. For example, you can do this by listening to various self-help audio books, putting up affirmation posters, or listening to Power Affirmation recordings. I like to let the recordings play in the background while I do other things. Often I’m not even paying my full attention, it’s just background “white noise”. This is different from “subliminal learning” because the words can be clearly heard. I find that by doing this consistently, Power Statements positively influence my thoughts so ideas are automatically there when I need them.
This is just one example of how I use my Power Affirmation recordings. There are also times when I actively participate in the affirmation. The point is that there are multiple ways to use them. The more you listen (even when you’re not really paying much attention), the more they’ll help you. The more good “stuff” you put in, the more good “stuff” will come out.