I'm finding recently that I've used to over-complicate my understanding of central fixation, and it should be taken more literally. At the beginning of Chapter XI of his book, Dr. Bates gives quite a mundane explanation, namely, there are more cells and they are tighter packed closer to the central pit of the retina. It means simply less resolution and less brightness on the periphery. That's how to "notice the objects not directly regarded as seen worse". No need to introduce the ambiguous "less attention" thing.
The mind, of course, compensates for this effect, so that people with normal sight think they see the entire field equally well and bright, but when their attention is called to it, they become aware of their central fixation. My wife has got perfect sight, and when I asked her it she admits that she cannot see the neighbor letters on the Shellen card in equal detail and blackness, she answered: "Actually, I can't see them at all." It left me wondering about how something that a woman with normal sight would call "can't see at all" can be permanently used by me as my only way of seeing...
Another important thing I've been ignoring about central fixation is that it first should be practiced on a distance where I see best. It's a vain idea (though maybe more tempting) to start practicing first on distant objects, that are already seen poorly. I just can't see the difference between the objects directly regarded and not directly regarded, or the distance between them should become ridiculously large.
And central fixation is all about noticing the difference!
Friday, March 7, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
My Indoor Sun
Two weeks ago I bought a brilliant lamp for sun treatment indoors. Luckily, I no longer depend on the weather, which in winter is overcast 90% of time.
As Rishi advised, I chose a metal-halide (Hg-I) high intensity gas discharge bulb, OSRAM PowerBall HCI-T (see the specs), 150W, NDL (neutral day light), with good, even, white spectrum. The luminous intensity of this class of bulbs is about 10 times greater than that of the conventional halogen bulbs, not to mention the old incandescent bulbs. So, my 150W bulb shines like a 1500W halogen and it really makes my room look like a bright sunny day. Also, because this lamp is very energy-efficient and does not heat, I can leave it turned on all day long, so that my eyes are more relaxed at average.
I bought the bulb bundled with the LIVAL Hawk projector (see the specs), wide-flood (44 degrees) beam, and installed in on a ceiling track. I can move the projector and direct it where I like. The control gear is conventional, although it also ships with the full electronic control gear, I didn't want to wait for the next supply.
These are quite expensive toys. The projector is US $240, including the bulb which itself is about $40, and the 2m track and all its parts about another $40.
The following are my general impressions:
1. This projector, and all other projectors for such bulbs, look quite BIG. Mine is over 12 inches long and 11 inches wide. It was certainly not intended for home installation and I had pretty hard time convincing the salespeople that I knew what I was doing :).
2. The salesman also claimed that it's going to be too bright for a home room, but it appears to be absolutely OK for my purpose. The brilliant light casts contrasting shadows and the Snellen card looks like perfect black letters on a perfect white background.
Moreover, the light beam (44 degrees) is somewhat too narrow. If you want to flood the entire room with bright light, you may need two or three projectors. There have been also double-ended rectangular projectors with "very wide flood" beam, which I could consider as more appropriate, but I decided for the narrower spot light, because it fits better for sun treatment.
Compare with other home lights
3. The color of the light is pure white, meaning that the rest of home lights look like dingy yellowish candles. I wouldn't like to use other lights in the room while the projector is on.
4. The lamp does NOT utter any humming noise, as older gas discharge lamps I heard did, even though the control gear isn't electronic. What I do notice sometimes is that the light is slightly flickering. Not like fluorescent lamps with their nauseating 50 Hz vibration, you know, but there is a hardly noticeable shivering. I wonder if this is because the control gear is not electronic, or if it's a nature of the gas discharge .
5. The lamp does not ignite instantly and it takes about 2-3 min for the lamp to reach its working level of brightness and color. Also after turning off, it cannot be immediately turned back on. This inertia is due to the process of metal evaporation inside the inner capsule of the bulb. The lamp also lives longer if it's not turned on and off too frequently. By the way, the lifespan of this lamp is about 6 times longer that halogens.
Compare with a 500Wt halogen (on the left)
6. I've made a simple calculation and it shows that on a small distance from the lamp (about 5 inches), its luminous intensity is equal to the sun. I don't I do stand that close to the lamp, but my feelings indicate that my calculation should be correct. It's really a very good substitute, whereas the 500W halogen project I used previously does not compare at all. The light spectrum resembles the sun also much closer. I even use the burning glass with the lamp, and it does not burn my skin :)
As Rishi advised, I chose a metal-halide (Hg-I) high intensity gas discharge bulb, OSRAM PowerBall HCI-T (see the specs), 150W, NDL (neutral day light), with good, even, white spectrum. The luminous intensity of this class of bulbs is about 10 times greater than that of the conventional halogen bulbs, not to mention the old incandescent bulbs. So, my 150W bulb shines like a 1500W halogen and it really makes my room look like a bright sunny day. Also, because this lamp is very energy-efficient and does not heat, I can leave it turned on all day long, so that my eyes are more relaxed at average.
I bought the bulb bundled with the LIVAL Hawk projector (see the specs), wide-flood (44 degrees) beam, and installed in on a ceiling track. I can move the projector and direct it where I like. The control gear is conventional, although it also ships with the full electronic control gear, I didn't want to wait for the next supply.
These are quite expensive toys. The projector is US $240, including the bulb which itself is about $40, and the 2m track and all its parts about another $40.
The following are my general impressions:
1. This projector, and all other projectors for such bulbs, look quite BIG. Mine is over 12 inches long and 11 inches wide. It was certainly not intended for home installation and I had pretty hard time convincing the salespeople that I knew what I was doing :).
2. The salesman also claimed that it's going to be too bright for a home room, but it appears to be absolutely OK for my purpose. The brilliant light casts contrasting shadows and the Snellen card looks like perfect black letters on a perfect white background.
Moreover, the light beam (44 degrees) is somewhat too narrow. If you want to flood the entire room with bright light, you may need two or three projectors. There have been also double-ended rectangular projectors with "very wide flood" beam, which I could consider as more appropriate, but I decided for the narrower spot light, because it fits better for sun treatment.
Compare with other home lights3. The color of the light is pure white, meaning that the rest of home lights look like dingy yellowish candles. I wouldn't like to use other lights in the room while the projector is on.
4. The lamp does NOT utter any humming noise, as older gas discharge lamps I heard did, even though the control gear isn't electronic. What I do notice sometimes is that the light is slightly flickering. Not like fluorescent lamps with their nauseating 50 Hz vibration, you know, but there is a hardly noticeable shivering. I wonder if this is because the control gear is not electronic, or if it's a nature of the gas discharge .
5. The lamp does not ignite instantly and it takes about 2-3 min for the lamp to reach its working level of brightness and color. Also after turning off, it cannot be immediately turned back on. This inertia is due to the process of metal evaporation inside the inner capsule of the bulb. The lamp also lives longer if it's not turned on and off too frequently. By the way, the lifespan of this lamp is about 6 times longer that halogens.
Compare with a 500Wt halogen (on the left)Monday, February 11, 2008
The Biggest Dilemma of the Bates Method
The biggest dilemma of the Bates method is that you want to change the way you use your eyes, yet you need to completely divert your attention away from your eyes. This may seem contradictory at first glance, but it means simply that you're still sticking to the wrong idea that the problem is in your eyes, while it is truly in your mind. The desire to influence your eyes is simply a wrong goal. Replace the wrong idea of doing something to your eyes with the right idea of leaving them alone and instead playing with your memory and imagination, and the situation will change dramatically. This replacement must happen not only in your rational belief, but also in the emotional attitude, and it always takes time. You should become sincerely MORE interested in imagination and memory than the eyes and current acuity of vision.
While I keep caring about my eyes, every Bates technique I do gets perverted and becomes its opposite. Let's take shifting for example. To move my eyes all the time is the WRONG way. The right way is to DO NOTHING with my eyes, step aside and wait. What's going to happen is that I will become bored in a second and my interest will go to another point, and my eyes will want to shift as well. Bingo! What I should do is just to not interfere with this natural desire. Feel the difference: the INTEREST comes first and the motor impulse comes last. Such shift always produces swing as well. This is very unlike the anxiety to keep moving the eyes all the time at all costs, which is even more strain.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Imagine Things Seen Clearly
Imagination was not my forte before, but recently I’ve made some progress with it, and it revealed the tight yet subtle connection between imagination and eyesight that I wasn’t aware of before. I’ve found that it’s only the first moment after each eye movement when the eye sees, and the rest of time the brain constructs the image using memory and imagination. There isn’t, in fact, much difference between what we call "to see" and "to imagine". I knew it from the Bates book, but now I also FEEL it.
Strain decouples shifting and imagination, and both decay. You are no longer able to move the eyes, and neither you are able to imagine. By practicing imagination consciously, the mind gets engaged and eventually restores the normal order of things, at least temporarily.
I find very helpful to look at things with ease while imagining I see them clearly. Namely, I can imagine texture on objects, edges seen sharp, glare on glass, black dots as parts at dark objects and other fun stuff. It is amazing how well my eyesight clears when I’m successful in doing so.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Got the Original Bates Book
Couldn't find time to boast that I have ordered and received recently the original Bates book "Perfect Sight Without Glasses", the Edition of 1920. I bought it in an online second-hand book store, quite expensive, but it's worth every penny.
Needless to say that I'm totally enchanted by the book. It is in a very good condition and but the yellowish side face of pages, one wouldn't tell the book is 90 years old! The paper is pretty dense and glows with milky white. The font is also something special - I have never seen that kind of big black periods above i. The illustrations look much more vivid than in the scanned copies, and the photographically reduced micro print is amazing. I even think I should print more pages in micro type on a high-resolution laser printer, because I find reading the fine print very beneficial, when done properly.
The letters seem very black and distinct and seem to swing all by themselves. I believe Dr. Bates intended this curative effect by carefully choosing the font, page size, paper etc. That's what I've bought the book for - I've already read it many times, so I don't need to chase for new information and can read meditatively, swinging the letters, realizing with awe that it's the book printed by the great Dr. Bates himself!
Needless to say that I'm totally enchanted by the book. It is in a very good condition and but the yellowish side face of pages, one wouldn't tell the book is 90 years old! The paper is pretty dense and glows with milky white. The font is also something special - I have never seen that kind of big black periods above i. The illustrations look much more vivid than in the scanned copies, and the photographically reduced micro print is amazing. I even think I should print more pages in micro type on a high-resolution laser printer, because I find reading the fine print very beneficial, when done properly.
The letters seem very black and distinct and seem to swing all by themselves. I believe Dr. Bates intended this curative effect by carefully choosing the font, page size, paper etc. That's what I've bought the book for - I've already read it many times, so I don't need to chase for new information and can read meditatively, swinging the letters, realizing with awe that it's the book printed by the great Dr. Bates himself!
Improvements
I'm happy to find recently that all my Bates skills have improved.
Palming. I seem to find the way to break out of the chamber behind my closed eyelids and let my imagination take control. I have become able to remember black objects, such as black velvet. Especially vivid are the memories of childhood. I get more relaxation and satisfaction from palming now.
Sun Gazing. I no longer get scotomata and no longer fear the sun. The time to get prepared for looking directly at the sun is now shorter and I don't feel any limitation on the duration of sun gazing. It's a shame that in winter there's almost no sun. I use a 500W halogen lamp, but I come to think I should get a 1000W one. I also light my working place permanently with two 500W lamps. Looking at the bright light is the first aid when the strain returns. It's ridiculous how superstitious people are towards bright light.
Shifting & Swinging. I've found the way to shift without effort, unlike I did it before. Letting my eye drift freely and not trying to see all at once feels like a great relief immediately, and when I occasionally get back to my wrong habit, it feels like tension and pain. When I succeed to stay like this for a long time, my vision improves and I get a lot of clear flashes very easily. What is tough though is not to forget to keep permanently doing so.
By the way, Rishi recently wrote what I find a great recipe of Bates routine:
"The treatment is VERY SIMPLE. Just remove glasses, suffer the inconvenience at first, then strive to remember things moving, again and again when you forget, you just remember, everything moves, if something appears as stationary, then it is because we are staring, fixating it for more than an instant, and then, just move away the gaze, WITHOUT BEING CONCERNED ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE VISION, and that's all, just a question of time, but if you are able to PRACTICE these things consciously and intentionally in some particular period of the day, or more periods, then the better, avoid at first difficult situations where you are not able to remember to move your gaze, that's all."
The amazing thing is that it's really THAT SIMPLE. The more I advance, the simpler Bates method appears to me. But at first, everything seemed to be tough, because the eyes were clenched with strain and were not so responsive to my practice, even if and when I succeeded to do something right. Gradually, things loosen up and I gain more control.
Also, I have found it beneficial to watch the way how normal eyes act. When I watched my wife's beautiful healthy eyes, I couldn't stand exclaiming with rapture - the movements were so short and spontaneous, and the stops were so clear-cut like if it were a stepper motor. Remembering this impression makes my eyes act in a similar manner. It works like subconscious imitation of people you like. Myopia is contagious, and so is perfect sight, so the result depends on who is more immune to influences :).
Memory. As an indicator of my current relaxation, I often try to remember black dot and I find that lately I can do it more often and hold it for longer time. I also find that I can more vividly remember black letters after reading fine print at a comfortable distance.
Night Vision. I no longer feel like blind and my head doesn't get squeezed when I walk out in the night. Although I still see imperfectly, it is not worse than in daylight. I asked my wife whether she sees each light perfectly as a pin point. She said: "Yes, but I don't actually look at them". Then I realized that looking at those blurry halos was actually a big strain and I stopped doing so, and began looking at other objects lit by reflected light, then my vision improved.
Flashing. This technique previously didn't work for me, but lately I find it can bring me relaxation and clear flashes in few minutes. I practice it before I go to sleep, as an alternative to palming.
P.S. When I told my wife about my improvements she asked me whether my vision has also improved, and guess what - I realized that I didn't even know! Unlike before, I just no longer have any interest and care to check my vision all the time. Then I became interested and checked several times throughout a single day and found that my average vision has also improved slightly (not counting the clear flashes), just to tick off in my blog :)
Palming. I seem to find the way to break out of the chamber behind my closed eyelids and let my imagination take control. I have become able to remember black objects, such as black velvet. Especially vivid are the memories of childhood. I get more relaxation and satisfaction from palming now.
Sun Gazing. I no longer get scotomata and no longer fear the sun. The time to get prepared for looking directly at the sun is now shorter and I don't feel any limitation on the duration of sun gazing. It's a shame that in winter there's almost no sun. I use a 500W halogen lamp, but I come to think I should get a 1000W one. I also light my working place permanently with two 500W lamps. Looking at the bright light is the first aid when the strain returns. It's ridiculous how superstitious people are towards bright light.
Shifting & Swinging. I've found the way to shift without effort, unlike I did it before. Letting my eye drift freely and not trying to see all at once feels like a great relief immediately, and when I occasionally get back to my wrong habit, it feels like tension and pain. When I succeed to stay like this for a long time, my vision improves and I get a lot of clear flashes very easily. What is tough though is not to forget to keep permanently doing so.
By the way, Rishi recently wrote what I find a great recipe of Bates routine:
"The treatment is VERY SIMPLE. Just remove glasses, suffer the inconvenience at first, then strive to remember things moving, again and again when you forget, you just remember, everything moves, if something appears as stationary, then it is because we are staring, fixating it for more than an instant, and then, just move away the gaze, WITHOUT BEING CONCERNED ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE VISION, and that's all, just a question of time, but if you are able to PRACTICE these things consciously and intentionally in some particular period of the day, or more periods, then the better, avoid at first difficult situations where you are not able to remember to move your gaze, that's all."
The amazing thing is that it's really THAT SIMPLE. The more I advance, the simpler Bates method appears to me. But at first, everything seemed to be tough, because the eyes were clenched with strain and were not so responsive to my practice, even if and when I succeeded to do something right. Gradually, things loosen up and I gain more control.
Also, I have found it beneficial to watch the way how normal eyes act. When I watched my wife's beautiful healthy eyes, I couldn't stand exclaiming with rapture - the movements were so short and spontaneous, and the stops were so clear-cut like if it were a stepper motor. Remembering this impression makes my eyes act in a similar manner. It works like subconscious imitation of people you like. Myopia is contagious, and so is perfect sight, so the result depends on who is more immune to influences :).
Memory. As an indicator of my current relaxation, I often try to remember black dot and I find that lately I can do it more often and hold it for longer time. I also find that I can more vividly remember black letters after reading fine print at a comfortable distance.
Night Vision. I no longer feel like blind and my head doesn't get squeezed when I walk out in the night. Although I still see imperfectly, it is not worse than in daylight. I asked my wife whether she sees each light perfectly as a pin point. She said: "Yes, but I don't actually look at them". Then I realized that looking at those blurry halos was actually a big strain and I stopped doing so, and began looking at other objects lit by reflected light, then my vision improved.
Flashing. This technique previously didn't work for me, but lately I find it can bring me relaxation and clear flashes in few minutes. I practice it before I go to sleep, as an alternative to palming.
P.S. When I told my wife about my improvements she asked me whether my vision has also improved, and guess what - I realized that I didn't even know! Unlike before, I just no longer have any interest and care to check my vision all the time. Then I became interested and checked several times throughout a single day and found that my average vision has also improved slightly (not counting the clear flashes), just to tick off in my blog :)
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Bates Method Ain't Mechanical
Every my appreciable advance in Bates practice I did in a special state of the mind that I would call conscious and responsive reflection. It is usually when I am not in haste, not obliged to do and think anything and have my time to be with myself and meditate. I look inside my mind and sometimes cope to recognize clearly the wrong thoughts that cause me strain, and eliminate them. These thoughts are not like words but rather volitions (like a mental command to clench fists) that have become habitual and subconscious. Having realized and canceled these, I enter the condition when I no longer support strain, but am not yet fully relaxed. It is quite volatile, I need to continuously balance and dodge my mind to keep the wrong thoughts off. This condition of "no longer supporting strain" is the best starting point for practicing other Bates techniques, such as central fixation, swing, shifting, flashing etc., which are in this case very efficient.
I think my findings accord with what Bates wrote about mental strain:
"TEMPORARY conditions may contribute to the strain to see which results in the production of errors of refraction; but its foundation lies in wrong habits of thought. In attempting to relieve it the physician has continually to struggle against the idea that to do anything well requires effort. This idea is drilled into us from our cradles. [...] The mind is the source of all such efforts from outside sources brought to bear upon the eye. Every thought of effort in the mind, of whatever sort, transmits a motor impulse to the eye; and every such impulse causes a deviation from the normal in the shape of the eyeball and lessens the sensitiveness of the center of sight. If one wants to have perfect sight, therefore, one must have no thought of effort in the mind. Mental strain of any kind always produces a conscious or unconscious eyestrain and if the strain takes the form of an effort to see, an error of refraction is always produced."
Unfortunately, the next time I try to reproduce my previous success, it often happens that I fail to remember the mental state I was in, and only try to repeat things mechanically, which has little or no efficiency. I think many practitioners are familiar with this effect.
The resolution I'm finding is that one has to let more peace into the mind for more quality reflection. Perhaps one needs to devote more time to practice and during that time learn to fully retire from any business one may be doing during the day. Nothing is going to work if one keeps thinking about other things, while straining volitions remain in the background. Also, it is easier and more efficient to support the relaxed state of the mind afterwards, than to reacquire it again, but one needs yet to learn to do it, because it easy to return to the habitual strain when one gets back to work.
Another thing to mention is creative thinking. Our mind likes to have fun and play games, and is relaxed by doing so, but dislikes boredom and is strained by the latter. For this reason, even if some particular thought or image used to do a great job of relaxing my mind, after having been repeated many times it ceases to work, because it becomes boring and my mind rejects to think it any more. So I need go ahead and invent another one. These little and temporary personal customizations of Bates techniques make them work for me, provided that I thoroughly understand the underlying fundamental principles.
I've seen some people claiming that Bates method isn't perfect and needs to be enhanced because many people fail with it. I believe though that it's not the problem of Bates method but the problem of practitioners. Bates method is not mechanical but creative, and people are sometimes just not willing to be like that.
I think my findings accord with what Bates wrote about mental strain:
"TEMPORARY conditions may contribute to the strain to see which results in the production of errors of refraction; but its foundation lies in wrong habits of thought. In attempting to relieve it the physician has continually to struggle against the idea that to do anything well requires effort. This idea is drilled into us from our cradles. [...] The mind is the source of all such efforts from outside sources brought to bear upon the eye. Every thought of effort in the mind, of whatever sort, transmits a motor impulse to the eye; and every such impulse causes a deviation from the normal in the shape of the eyeball and lessens the sensitiveness of the center of sight. If one wants to have perfect sight, therefore, one must have no thought of effort in the mind. Mental strain of any kind always produces a conscious or unconscious eyestrain and if the strain takes the form of an effort to see, an error of refraction is always produced."
Unfortunately, the next time I try to reproduce my previous success, it often happens that I fail to remember the mental state I was in, and only try to repeat things mechanically, which has little or no efficiency. I think many practitioners are familiar with this effect.
The resolution I'm finding is that one has to let more peace into the mind for more quality reflection. Perhaps one needs to devote more time to practice and during that time learn to fully retire from any business one may be doing during the day. Nothing is going to work if one keeps thinking about other things, while straining volitions remain in the background. Also, it is easier and more efficient to support the relaxed state of the mind afterwards, than to reacquire it again, but one needs yet to learn to do it, because it easy to return to the habitual strain when one gets back to work.
Another thing to mention is creative thinking. Our mind likes to have fun and play games, and is relaxed by doing so, but dislikes boredom and is strained by the latter. For this reason, even if some particular thought or image used to do a great job of relaxing my mind, after having been repeated many times it ceases to work, because it becomes boring and my mind rejects to think it any more. So I need go ahead and invent another one. These little and temporary personal customizations of Bates techniques make them work for me, provided that I thoroughly understand the underlying fundamental principles.
I've seen some people claiming that Bates method isn't perfect and needs to be enhanced because many people fail with it. I believe though that it's not the problem of Bates method but the problem of practitioners. Bates method is not mechanical but creative, and people are sometimes just not willing to be like that.
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