Otto, congratulations -- this is great! When I saw your thoughtful helpful reply to that stark newbie yesterday I thought "He'd make a good vision teacher -- he's already doing it!". Yes, more of us could be following your example to spread the knowledge we have gained from our own searching and experimentation. You are a wonderful role model.

_________________
Nancy
2012: 20/45 on average, no glasses except for night driving
2001: 2/200, -10 hard contacts with -1.75 cylinder
Vision & dreams blog: http://dreamersight.wordpress.com/
Vision & dreams website: http://dreamersight.com/

Thanks, Nancy!
That's really kind of you. Helping people with Bates is something I'd like to explore more, maybe have one on one sessions someday. The first thing to this end is curing myself. In the meantime, I'll keep doing these presentations. They help me learn to convey the information, learn about people with myopia and are a great motivator to keep treating myself.
Cheers!
Otto

Hi Otto, this is really inspiring! Thanks for keeping this thread updated.

I'm so impressed that you overcame your introverted tendencies and got this going. Not once, but twice! Keep it up! I'll have some questions for you. Once I finish my thesis I want to do something similar. Will you stay in touch with these four people that you met?

best wishes, sorrisi

_________________
see my vision diary blog: http://sorrisi.wordpress.com

Start: 5/200
After 8 months: 20/50
now, 5/10, 10/20, still improving and loving it

Yes, feel free to contact me anytime. I will stay in contact with these people. Were you thinking about follow up? It would be interesting to hear if any of them have done anything with the information and have sought out more information, begun practicing Bates, etc. Next month when I hold the class again I'll get in contact with them and ask for a short report.
Thanks for the encouragement! Take care!
-Otto

Hi Otto, yeah, I was thinking of a follow up. It would be interesting to know if they don't continue practicing, why not (so we can learn from that). It would also be interesting to know if they practice, how much success they have (since not very many people keep track of progress in an organized way).

I've decided to do something every day to get myself prepared to start giving these lectures as well. Today I looked around for free/low cost meeting rooms. While I'm a member of the university I will have access to some. Then, there are rooms that have a very low fee at the neighborhood community centers. I think I will start with these options. Other options include: churches, schools, gyms, charity buildings and libraries - but they are more expensive.

I was also thinking about what to cover in an introductory session. I don't want to overwhelm people. I was thinking of organizing the session like this:

background, my story
talk about the principle of rest
take a break to practice deeper breathing while palming, also demonstrate staring
talk some more and give an overview of the other methods
take a break to practice blinking and swinging
answer questions and talk about incorporating these principles into daily life

I'm not sure how much to talk about glasses and if/when to talk about the Snellen chart. What was your experience with this?


Take care!
Sorrisi

_________________
see my vision diary blog: http://sorrisi.wordpress.com

Start: 5/200
After 8 months: 20/50
now, 5/10, 10/20, still improving and loving it

Sorissi,
That's great that you are planning to have a lecture. I like your outline. There's a lot of possibility with the interspersed practice breaks. My lecture ended up being mostly informational.
IMHO it's not necessary to talk about glasses other than to briefly explain the problem with them. The chart is kind of self explanatory, no need to go into the line numbering system and such. I did mention the benefits of using a chart and, had a handout that included the website to find charts on, and that familiarity with a chart helps your memory and is not cheating.
I found that once I started talking to people about Bates that just explaining the philosophy and a handful of techniques was plenty of information and going into detail on anything had the potential of just muddying the message.

Yes, I've found that I can easily overwhelm people with details of the Bates Method, and so basically teach them nothing, nor change their habits. What seems to work better is a few key points or examples, which come across well because so much of the Bates Method is common sense. "You know how you can see most clearly in the morning when you wake up and are rested?" I'll say. Or "When you squint and strain to see, did you ever notice that you can see more clearly for a little while, then your eyes get really tired and you can't see well at all?". My goal has changed from "converting" people to the Bates Method to getting them to start thinking about it, then they'll pursue more information on their own if they want. One of my favorite stories along this line is a friend who came back from a vacation, and told me with great excitement that in the shower she could read the print on the shampoo and conditioner bottles, which she had not been able to do at home for years! A true Teaching Moment had been handed to me, and I leaped at it, to hammer home the concept that she had been more relaxed, so of course she could see better.

_________________
Nancy
2012: 20/45 on average, no glasses except for night driving
2001: 2/200, -10 hard contacts with -1.75 cylinder
Vision & dreams blog: http://dreamersight.wordpress.com/
Vision & dreams website: http://dreamersight.com/

Nancy, good points... I should put basic stuff like that into a new Introduction article on the site.

_________________
Webmaster of http://www.iblindness.org

"I conceive that the great part of the miseries of mankind are brought upon them by false estimates they have made of the value of things." - Benjamin Franklin

Hi Nancy and Otto, that helps a lot, I agree. Like Otto said, too much info muddies the message. I like the examples you gave Nancy! Those are great for involving them in the information based on their own experience.

I will remember that - just cover a few points well, and let curiosity run its course. thanks for the input.

After I'd been doing the method for about a year, I told a friend about it and at first he was interested and started doing it with some positive results. But then with that enthusiasm I gave him an overload of info and he figured he didn't have time for it. Big lesson learned, and I'm hoping I don't repeat that mistake! I think even if people came away with just palming, it would be a success.

_________________
see my vision diary blog: http://sorrisi.wordpress.com

Start: 5/200
After 8 months: 20/50
now, 5/10, 10/20, still improving and loving it

Thinking back on that experience with my friend, now I'm wondering, should I rather wait to do this until I have some formal Bates teacher training?

At the moment, I help people who come to my blog, but that is different than me going out there! I don't want to turn people off; first impressions are lasting...

_________________
see my vision diary blog: http://sorrisi.wordpress.com

Start: 5/200
After 8 months: 20/50
now, 5/10, 10/20, still improving and loving it

Sorrisi, I've taught junior high math, run meetings of upper managers in a big tech company, trained new-hires about computer programming, and run groups of divorced and widowed people to help them move past the loss of a spouse. The only real way to turn people off is to not pay attention to how they're responding to you, basically giving a speech -- do they look alert, or bored? When in doubt, do less, and let the audience guide you -- do they need a joke because you are starting to become pedantic? Do they need an exercise, or just a stretch break, because they've been sitting while you had the chance to walk around and talk? Do they need an example because you're starting to lose them with all this theory? You know a lot, from your own experience, which is more valuable than just from reading about someone else's experience. You can practice on a few supportive friends to get your feet wet to ease your way into "going public" if you want. It's your show -- claim it!

_________________
Nancy
2012: 20/45 on average, no glasses except for night driving
2001: 2/200, -10 hard contacts with -1.75 cylinder
Vision & dreams blog: http://dreamersight.wordpress.com/
Vision & dreams website: http://dreamersight.com/

I think a good help to understand the 'correct' way of seeing is to compare it with the sense of 'touch', which is very similar.
You can demonstrate it with a toy for babies, which is composed of different materials, so that the babies learn that each surface feels differently. When you try to feel as many different surfaces at the same time as possible and grab the whole thing, you won't feel any detail at all.
It can even help the eyes when you try to feel the details of a structured surface and then try to be as receptive when your eyes pass slowly over the details in you surroundings.