Years ago in my corporate computer job, I made a sign to hang over my desk saying “Accept it, don’t fight it”. A lot about the corporate culture annoyed or frustrated me, especially the poor or confusing or totally lacking communication. And I quickly realized getting upset about this “wrong-doing” didn’t help to fix it.
Throughout my years of vision improvement, a big area of focus (ha ha!) has been not “trying to see”, but instead allowing myself to receive the images which want to come my way. It occurred to me recently that straining to make my sight better is actually resisting the blur! What if I just left the blur alone and didn’t use my energy to fight it? Would this allow it to clear more easily?
A few days ago I returned from a trip across the country to an energy workshop. This involved 2 planes each way, and shuttles and taxis. If you have a travel plan, be prepared for the Universe to laugh at it! Resisting the changes in schedule, or getting upset about the other travellers crowding me or blocking my way or being very noisy or otherwise rude, won’t usually change the situation, and uses up my energy for no good reason.
Several times on this trip I had to rush, and I have yet to learn how to do this calmly. I could feel myself anxious, not completely present or focused. Because my first plane arrived quite late, I needed to hurry to my gate for the 2nd plane. Slightly off-balance from my heavy backpack and not fully in my body, I fell forward hard on both knees. Bleeding, instant bruising, plus some embarrassment at making a spectacle of myself.
I was fine, and did make the plane, then had the entire 3-day workshop and the long trip home to baby my injured knees, which were a constant reminder not to rush. I’ve written before about vision and rushing, and about being present and in my body and grounded. These have all been challenges for me. Today’s focus is on resistance. How was I resisting the travel experience?
Well, instead of seeing it as an exciting adventure, and a chance to practice staying grounded, or patient and determined, I saw it as something to “get through”. I was definitely fighting what wanted to happen, and I probably made it worse for myself. It’s like when 2 young gals approached my house one morning recently. I immediately concluded they were selling something, and was almost rude when I answered the door. They were cheerful and friendly as they handed over my keys for the newly constructed mailbox! I was wrong, resisting again for no good reason.
One more recent example. A friend invited me to teach a small group of women over Skype at her house. Though I wanted to do it (and had plenty to say!), I was expecting rejection, judgement, or boredom. I’m passionate about the subject I was discussing and demoing, EFT, and really wanted to convey its power, yet I had no faith my talk would be well-received. The attendees did like it after all, stayed engaged, and several who volunteered saw a decrease in their symptoms from the EFT work we did together on their problem. Once again, unnecessary resistance on my part.
Back to my vision — lately I’ve been tuning into my eyes and visual brain just to see if I’m in Allow Mode at the moment, or am pushing against the obstacle of fatigue or dim light or a distraction I’m not able to ignore. If the guy outside my window weed-whacking his lawn, because it got too long to mow while he was out of town, is too loud for me to think, would earplugs help? Or should I just go do something else and come back later to my task which needs quiet concentration?
My first vision teacher, a holistic optometrist, said “Myopes can tolerate a high degree of discomfort”. At first I was flattered — since I was very myopic back then, I must be really tough! This makes me groan now. Maybe I just got very good at resisting what wanted to come into my visual field. I put up a big barrier, then expected to see through it anyway.
If “Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom” (a quote sometimes attributed to Thomas Jefferson), I intend to be vigilant about noticing when I’m in resistance about seeing. If I’m not aware I’m doing it, I won’t change it! When my vision is clear and open and relaxed and welcoming, there’s no resistance. I want even more of that in my life.
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I wore strong glasses, then contact lenses, from age 5 into my 40s. While making many mistakes, eventually l learned how to improve the way I use my eyes and to see in a more relaxed, healthy manner. It is my pleasure to coach others to do the same. Visit me at https://NancyLNeff.com.
…very thought provoking article. I have found that any type of behavior in my life that is not calm and accepting results in chaotic energy. This chaotic energy sometimes results in stubbing a toe against a coffee table or biting my tongue while eating. And yes, struggling for clear vision creates visual stress, even in someone with perfect vision…great thoughts; thank you for sharing!
Hi Ron, and yes, I’m often pulled to find the middle ground between struggle and inaction. I just had to shovel snow and mostly ice slabs out of the driveway for the 2nd time this week. Slow and steady is the way to go! Do nothing and wait for the Spring melt will leave me with a mess for a long time. Hack at the ice with all my might and I’ll get exhausted. Easy does it, as with most things, including vision. 🙂
Aureus, you can always write a blog post yourself. 🙂 I was dragged to Facebook to communicate with my world-wide energy healing group, and am selective how I use it. It can really suck up the time.
Yes, I prefer a bit of blur interpretation myself over glasses, which have so many drawbacks. I just want to keep reminding my brain that I want to see clarity, and imagining that.
After the closure of the forum, it looks like this is going to be the only place to comment and exchange some experiences for people who don’t have or don’t like Facebook. 🙂
For most people with a spoiled vision blur shouldn’t be any problem as we can function just fine even without 20/20 vision. The problem is discomfort. Looks like our brain simply asks for sharp images and you need to deliver.
Thank you Nancy for this article. I always enjoy reading your posts.
Thanks for reading, Daniela. Spread the word — vision improvement is possible, and fun!
Cyber, I’ve thought quite a bit about this comment, that myopes can tolerate a lot of discomfort, looking for clues to my own patterns. Was I too obedient as a child in accepting the new stronger glasses, and putting up with the resulting eyestrain? I’m not back there any longer. All I can do now is make sure my visual situation is pleasant, noticing discomfort when it arises and changing it. Posture, lighting, fatigue, hydration, attitude — all these play a part.
Another very helpful post, Nancy. Sorry to hear about your poor knees. I too am trying to be mindful of Resistance and other unhelpful frames of mind – and their potential impact on my vision. ‘Not sure if I’m continuing to make progress lately. Some days it feels like I’m slipping backward.
I’ve been reading Dr. Bates book before sleep each night while wearing my +2.75 reading glasses (down from +3.0). Frequently my vision becomes quite blurry while reading, BUT…when I stop and review what I’m learning about relaxing my eyes and mind, the type on the page clarifies. Pretty cool(!) even if the effect is only possible *while wearing reading glasses* at this point.
It’s encouraging because it demonstrates very clearly that RELAXATION is a real factor as Dr. Bates (and you) state.
Keep up the good work (and good works), Nancy!
Just because myopes have to tolerate a higher degree of discomfort does not mean that they are better at tolerating discomfort. Unless one afflicts nonmyopes with the same degree of discomfort that myopes have in order to get a control group, and then performs a test to see who tolerates it best, we do not know who could tolerate discomfort the best.
But I do not know how your vision teacher got to the conclusion that myopes can tolerate more discomfort, so maybe I am just addressing a strawman.
Tom, good for you, both about dropping a 1/4 diopter, and about seeing blurry text clear up. There’s nothing like personal experience with our own vision to make us believers. And my knees are fine again now — thanks. After all those decades of running while not being grounded, and falling more often than I like to admit, I’ve gotten pretty good at recovering from leg injuries. 🙂