My eyesight behaves like waves. There are days when I can see pretty much 10/13 and they feel so soft, easy and relaxed. And then, out of nowhere, I wake up with my eyes extremely sore and this feeling accompanies me for a few days. My eyes hurt, tear and I have problems with looking into distance. I don't know why, just when I do for longer than a couple of seconds, they sting more than ever, water and I feel the urge to close them. If I don't, they tear even more so that I don't see anything at all. It is very unpleasant and I have no idea what I am doing wrong. Maybe I stare, but I don't know why on some days I don't have problems with it whatsoever and on other I can't handle it. Or maybe I am just releasing the tension in my eyes.

Two days ago I did this triangle exercise that David had written about. I patched up my better eye and practiced with the worse one. When I look with this eye exclusively, I get the overall of laziness and staring but nothing more, it doesn't hurt. So anyway, I started shifting, and suddenly my vision got extra crisp, I could see the tiny letters on a postcard behind my Snellen chart. However, at the same time, my eye started stinging and I had to close it. You know for sure the feeling of your eyes being extrememly dry when you don't close them at all. At some point, you simply must do it eventually because the pain is veeeery unpleasant and the eye closes itseslf. Well, that's the feeling I got. It worried me because I was blinking very lightly, even as often as once per second and it was still watering. I could hardly open it in fact. But on the other hand, maybe I just felt the tension I put my eye under but hadn't felt it until then.

Yesterday my vision was very well, but today my eyes hurt me a lot, I can't look into the distance without the feeling of discomfort. And when I look at them in the mirror, they are red, slightly closed and look evidently strained. Totally different from the look they have when I see well. These two phases (great eyesight and strained eyesight) follow each other and each lasts about a couple of days before changing into the next one.

I would be grateful for any opinion, as it is bothering me much. I think it might be the obstacle which hinders my progress greatly.

I would try palming for 15 minutes at a time whenever possible, and rinsing your eyes with clean water each morning and evening. If that doesn't do it, you should go and see an eye doctor, because the inflammation could be something serious, and it's always better to be safe than sorry.

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FIAT LUX! Translation = "Let there be light!"

I think this would be a good time to remind new users that we don't dispense medical advice here. Bates is an educational approach, but for problems like red eyes or stinging, it sounds like you should definitely go see a doctor.

Stefanie, if this were me I'd go at it from a couple of different directions. When something like this happens I always believe the body is trying to get us a message in the best way it knows how, with symptoms that will get our attention, and it's up to us to decipher the message. If I'm waking up with dry eyes, I'd wonder if either I'm not drinking enough water, or I should be doing some Long Swings before i go to bed to prevent me staring in my sleep. I'd also get very curious about why this happens some days and not others -- are the days my eyes are straining the ones when I'm anticipating going to that unpleasant job where my mind is straining all day (or I'm not blinking looking at the computer)? Or are these the days I have to see that unpleasant relative who does nothing but complain and strains my patience and good nature? If the eyes are the window to the soul, this is telling me that my soul is straining, and I have to find out what it needs to be peaceful.

I'd also look more closely at the times when my eyes feel good, and when they don't. It's probably not black or white, so I'd examine the gray areas when my eyes feel OK and see if I'm doing something that makes them feel worse, or better, and push them toward the top or bottom of one of those waves. Eye doctors can be a good resource, but no one knows your habits like you do. I'd treat it like a treasure hunt, and start exploring. Let us know when you find the gold!

Disclaimer: I am not an eye doctor and would never suggest you should not go see one. Oh, also consider environmental toxins which may be irritating your eyes, even something as simple as a new soap. Good luck.

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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/

People have for years mentioned the stinging sensation, along with better vision at the same time, but before the eyes tear up. I don't think it's dry eyes. My ignorant guess is it's something to do more directly with the nerves. I used to get the stinging all the time and I think occasionally still get a lighter such feeling. But I think the best thing to do is to logically consider what's actually going on, and why you should react in a certain way. If you're moving your eyes around and blinking every several seconds, why would you need to close them? It doesn't make sense that there's damage occurring from the act of using your eyes correctly. If the eyes are dry, a normal quick blink should solve the issue, but I found that that isn't the case, and it doesn't make sense that the eyes should suddenly become dry out of nowhere in the middle of the day while at the same time your vision just happens to have improved. Certainly there's something going on, but that's about all you know. I think it's more likely that it's nerves waking up, or your brain being receptive to the nerves again due to a better stream of data coming from the retina as a result of using your eyes better, or the mind in its inertia trying to trick you into stopping what you're doing that's causing mayhem with the established patterns of the visual system (and the mayhem is a good thing, because it needs to change). The way we see is deeply rooted in our personality constructs, and it's not something that can smoothly change without some types of strange resistance. But whether the stinging falls into that category is only a guess.

And notice what happens if you continue what you're doing and blinking normally. The stinging increasese, but eventually the stinging goes away, and your eyes are left feeling different. If you have dry eyes in the morning, notice that it isn't the same experience.

It's similar to closing your eyes when your clearer vision becomes blurry again, like a knee-jerk reaction that people learn from Bates to close their eyes and rest them if anything is uncomfortable. It's a way of escaping and suppressing the issue and being subservient to your mind's established patterns.

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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

Oh my Goooood, my post got deleted

Thank you everyone for your lovely responses. I analised them, added something myself and I think I have pinpointed the cause~!

@Sean and Fiat: Due to many reasons I can't currently visit an eye doctor. However, when about two years ago I had a similar problem and went to one, he prescribed me some stupid eyedrops, which only aggravated the problem. So I threw them away and the problem solved itself of its own accord when I managed to relax enough. And I don't think that my eyes are inflammated or anything, if they were, it would be constant, and what I have is certainly not constant at all.

I think one word wonderfully explains the reason of my affliction: expectation. When thanks to exercises (I mean stuff like palming, chart work, etc.) or any other different causes my eyesight gets temporarily better, I expect on the subcoscious level that it will stay that way. So when one day I wake up and it isn't as good as I expect it to be, I get annoyed and subconsciously try to get it back. I think I must tense up or something and voila, my eyes hurt and water. I try too hard to bring back the previous state and we all know happens when one tries too hard. The additional factor, I reckon, is that having treated my eyes wonderfully for a few days, they got used to the feeling of easyness and lightness, so when I put them under strain, they protest as hell because I am clearly abusing them. Also, trying to see (the whole expression suggests something is wrong here), I TRY to see everything at once, which is impossible so in fact I don't really see anything. Instead, I should narrrow my attention to a tiny detail, but I (subconsciously, again) try to prove myself that indeed I can see well. And that proves wrong, of course. Thank you Nancy for that, you gave me an idea Of course, there are only my assumptions, I can't say clearly what happens subconsciously in my head :/

David wrote:

The problem is that I can't do it. I'm so innerly tensed up and focused on seeing well that my habits go bad again. I try to see too big an area at a time and I have just become aware of that fact, but I can't do anything to change it. My eyes just feel so numb and staring and they totally don't do what I tell them to.

But~! I think I have come up with a solution! My mum has had a feet surgery recently and she is relearning to walk. (Just like I am relearning to see). She was told a few days ago that she has been doing something terribly wrong (it's uncoscious), so she keeps practising it a lot right now. Today, when I was watching her do that, suddenly I was struck by a thought. I can apply it to my eyes! Yeah, I know it's nothing revelatory, dr. Bates encouraged it all the time. But having come to such a conclusion myself, I think I have finally understood it. I will practise good habits consciously until they eventually become my second nature and I fully regain my eyesight

So, what do you think of my theory?

PS If you found any (dramatic) language mistake in my post, I would appreciate it if you were kind enough to point it out

@stefanie if you are correct and can fix it, then GREAT!!! Hope it works!

You asked to have any major language mistakes pointed out, you had a few minor ones, but the biggest was when you said that your mum (in American English that would be mom) had, "a feet surgery", it was either, "a foot surgery" (one foot), or, "feet surgery", implying both feet (without "a").

_________________
FIAT LUX! Translation = "Let there be light!"

Haha then surgery must be uncountable, right? My mum had both feet operated on, so in this case it will be 'feet surgery'.Thank you very much, Fiat And yeah, I know that in American English you use 'mom' and 'practice' but I like British English better, actually. Thank you very much, Fiat

Going back to the topic, yes, it is great to know the cause but I don't really know what to do about it yet. I mean, since an hour and a half my eyes have been slightly sore and my eyesight lowered. I can feel the tension in them but nothing works. Maybe because I expect too much haha But honestly, I feel so anxious and frustrated that I'm afraid it makes the whole situation even worse.

Can you palm succesfully and if yes, how do you do it? It seems to me that I don't do it correctly.

Stefanie, you may be right on the brink of breaking through this if you know you're tense (a lot of people are but don't realize it since it's so normal for them). How about forgetting about your eyes momentarily and just relaxing your body? Maybe a warm bath or a walk outside if it's still daylight or listening to calming music, or whatever else relaxes you. Yes, palming might be great if you're not TRYING to relax when you palm or TRYING to see black, just letting the tension flow out and away, feeling calmer and breathing slowly and naturally. And if you know EFT that might help too. (The blog post I just made is on my mind.) Like I said before, get curious. If some wise all-knowing friend observed you, what would she say you're doing to tense up?

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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/

In the book Paul´s pathway to normal vision there´s a statement that when people release long-stored tension in the area around their eyes these symptoms occur.
He also suggests to relax all muscles around the eyes by palming or just by closing your eyes and then open them so softly as you can.
So I tried it and I could experienced that stinging sensation and tearing.
What is your opinion on eye squeezing tightly for a few seconds and immediately opening them to relax. It makes the stinging sensation and tearing even harder. Is it harmful or does it mean that the tension is releasing more?? Thanx

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I don't remember seeing anything about squeezing your eyes in his book (unless I skimmed that portion unintentionally), but personally I think that squeezing the eyes is a type of strain and shouldn't really be done. If you can tell me the page you saw it on I'll look again at what he said.

_________________
FIAT LUX! Translation = "Let there be light!"

You´re right. There is nothing about squeezing the eyes.
I just saw this in a video on youtube like a way of releasing tension and it makes me feel the same sensation described in his book...

Nancy, I know that I should relax but it's not so simple. There is always this anticipation hidden deep inside. However, when I meditate and focus solely on my breath, I am able to let go, even if only a wee bit. This only works however, when my main purpose isn't to improve my eyesight, but to rest after school or something. I actually think this might be the key.
Do your hands also get very warm (mine get even hot) while palming or when you are relaxed? Recently during my chart practise I managed to improve the eyesight in my worse eye a lot and then it occured to me that my jaw felt so numb and heavy and my palms were hot. And I couldn't stop yawnig every once in a while. I think it's a sign of relaxation.

Minjja, I totally don't know about sqeezing your eyes tight from the vision improvement perspective and I don't recall dr Bates writing about it but I think it's generally thought it's unhealthy. I mean, if you do it for the purpose of improving your vision, it may not be a very good idea but I remember that when I was a little child with wonderful eyesight and my eyes hurt me or felt uncomfortable, I used to sqeeze them tight and wait until I see colourful patterns. After opening them, they would back to their own self. I didn't open them immediately though, it was definitely a slow and relaxed movement.
When other of my muscles are sore, I do that too and it really works. I put more tension on them, so that when I release it, it lets go completely.

Stefanie, I invite you to change the idea that "it's not so simple to relax" to something like "My body and eyes love to relax!". A small improvement is better than none. Yes, my palms often get tingly when the energy starts moving in my body, and this has only started happening in the past year. I agree with the goal to improve relaxation over improving eyesight -- that's where my focus is now too. Finally, remember progress doesn't have to be linear and steady to be valid. Keep up the good work!

_________________
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 too have focused more on overall relaxation versus just relaxing the eyes (now), because of how much I've now noticed the 90% mental 10% physical part of vision.

Eyeball squeezing I remember back when I was younger as well (although I already had imperfect sight) I would enjoy squeezing my eyeballs and seeing colorful patterns as if I was going through outer space at the speed of light. That is, until I was told that it was bad for my eyes. I think what he was thinking about was one of the types of strain that causes vision loss as Paul was saying in the book.

_________________
FIAT LUX! Translation = "Let there be light!"