Comments on: Thoughts On Over-Focusing

By: Nancy

Nancy — Sun, 27 May 2018 20:15:40 +0000

In reply to Daniela. Daniela, you're welcome. Thanks for the thanks! :) Sometimes I think I provide my clients an equal measure of helpful information, and of emotional support and encouragement. We need both to move forward.

By: Daniela

Daniela — Sun, 27 May 2018 06:20:00 +0000

Thanks Nancy, for all your encouraging words. 🙂

By: Nancy

Nancy — Mon, 21 May 2018 14:47:23 +0000

Daniela, just keep noticing yourself. (It really is all about vision! 🙂 ) When you handle a stressful situation with grace and aplomb, praise yourself! Don’t try so hard — aim for progress, one baby step at a time, not for perfection.

By: Daniela

Daniela — Mon, 21 May 2018 06:28:42 +0000

Thank you ever so much for your reply Nancy. I surely need to learn to manage my emotions. That’s the most important one. I know I am missing a lot here. It all sounds soooo simple yet not easy for me to put into practice. “Allow yourself to see, easily letting in the clear images, rather than trying hard and struggling to see.” I don’t think I am trying but I obviously am otherwise I wouldn’t be straining…. One day it will all click into place 🙂

By: Nancy

Nancy — Tue, 15 May 2018 15:52:32 +0000

In reply to Daniela. Daniela, first, do what you can to manage your emotions and be cheerful and optimistic. Like Dr. Bates said, forget about your eyes! You can strain to see without glasses, and you can strain to see with glasses of any strength -- the problem is the straining, not the glasses. Allow yourself to see, easily letting in the clear images, rather than trying hard and struggling to see. There's no shame in stronger glasses, and if you wear those for a little while, and they let you relax, maybe you can go back to weaker glasses afterwards and see well enough.

By: Daniela

Daniela — Tue, 15 May 2018 06:52:36 +0000

I have been wearing weaker glasses for quite a few years now and I must say I am straining my eyes but after 40 years of wearing glasses and stronger prescriptions I REFUSE to have stronger lenses which is probably the wrong way to go, maybe?? I don’t want my eyes to get used to the stronger lenses because it’s a vicious circle and I am desperate to get out of it!
I have changed my job so that I don’t have to strain my eyes any longer in front of a computer for 8-10 hours a day yet I have now started giving English tuition. When I started last Saturday and I couldn’t read the print on the girl’s book my heart sunk…. I immediately told myself that I had two options: buy stronger lenses (huge expense above all which I can’t afford at present) or give up tuition!
I was so down on myself and my eyes that I started doubting everything.
I feel better now and back on wanting to regain my eyesight but at times I can’t help but feel helpless and hopeless.
What do I do then? How can I teach children if I can’t read??? ;-(

By: Nancy

Nancy — Fri, 04 May 2018 01:27:58 +0000

In reply to Dean Smith. Dean, I'm not sure. The phrase "looking at nothing" bothers me, unless you interpret it as the opposite of staring, i.e. being too focused on a single area. As I progress with my own vision, I find it difficult to express what it feels like to welcome in the clarity which is there all the time, rather than chasing after it. Though I'm certainly flattered to be compared to Jacob Liberman! :)

By: Dean Smith

Dean Smith — Thu, 03 May 2018 21:19:32 +0000

Your “Thoughts on Over-Focusing” reminds me of what Jacob Lieberman refers to in his book regarding “Open Focus….the way to look at nothing and see everything.” Would this be an accurate comparison? Thank you, Nancy, for another helpful article.

By: Nancy

Nancy — Tue, 01 May 2018 19:21:05 +0000

Sue, hi. It is recommended to use weaker glasses WITHOUT STRAINING. Yes, if there is strain, you’re not helping yourself. It’s possible the glasses are too weak for you right now. It’s also possible you’re straining through your normal glasses and don’t realize it yet. The idea is to learn to look without strain, then eventually do that with weaker and weaker and then no glasses. Notice when you look with strain and when you don’t, and the conditions (including your emotional state) surrounding each. This will teach you more about your vision than any book. Thanks for your thoughtful question!

By: Sue Carmel

Sue Carmel — Tue, 01 May 2018 18:25:25 +0000

In many books related to visual improvement, it is encouraged that you to wear glasses that are less strong than your usual prescription, so I’ve been doing this for two years as best I can. However, I don’t understand this recommendation because if the prescription is weaker, one tends to strain to see the print, or get really close to the print. Why is this recommended when it could lead to more strain?