Thanks Nancy

Thanks, Miska!

Roman, I appreciate your thoughtful comments, and did not at all feel disregarded. Two points. First of all, I had the same experience, with opposite eyes, since my stronger right eye was trying to do the job of both. I had to cover my right eye to let the left one see on its own, and it was very timid and overwhelmed at first. Second, what I’ve learned about the brain is that the right brain and left eye are intuitive (yes, the eye connects to the opposite side of the brain), and the left brain and right eye are logical. This fit me, since I tried so hard to be logical all the time (because feelings were so painful and confusing), and I pretty much lived from my left brain and right eye. It’s been interesting work to activate my other half. 🙂 My goal now is balance. Thanks for the discussion!

Nancy – after rereading my comment I realized it sounded a bit ‘offhandish’ in places … No disregard intended – I do appreciate this blog and particularly the honest way you talk about your experience and propose various ways of looking at things.
My mirror experience: It took me ages (well, some time) to find out why when looking at my left eye my eyes don’t shift, but when looking at my right eye, they do. … I simply couldn’t see my right eye with my right eye so I was using my left one for that too – hence the shift. I have since ever so gradually been able to peel out my right eye from the ‘right eye’ blur. Ahm … sounds confusing, but there you have it 🙂
Thanks again!
PS: And yes, I agree. There is a part of oneself that knows.

Roman, yes, me too. My practice now is knowing that I don’t have to look if I don’t feel comfortable about it, not forcing my eyes to look and not see, which gives a very confusing message to my visual brain. And also convincing myself on a regular basis that I AM safe, and can’t be invaded by someone just looking at me, like a child can be. Keep up the good work!

Hi Roman, and I love “every little piece is a step on the way”! I certainly don’t have The Answer for you, or even for myself — I’m exploring and researching just like you are. Some part of you (higher self? wiser mind?) already knows what you need. I got a lot out of an exercise from my first vision teacher, looking at one eye, then the other, in a mirror, to see how it seemed to feel and how I felt looking at it. Keep being curious!

Hi Nancy, and thanks for the link. Hadn’t seen that article before. I think I came across that father/mother thing once before (in Berne’s Creating Your Personal Vision, I think). I’d interpret this as (another) internalization of the husband-wife/father-mother conflict, mainly played out on many parents’ favorite playfield – their child/children. I also very very vaguely seem to remember a passage in a book (thought it was Femi’s Open-Focus Brain, but can’t find it in there anymore) where the right eye is linked to basic emotions and initial bonding. Another thing that makes a lot of sense to me, but, as many explanations, takes one only so far. But every little piece is a step on the way …

Roman hi, and thanks for your words. Here’s some food for thought, a less-than-obvious reason why there might be a major difference in the energy of your 2 eyes. https://www.iblindness.org/1539/right-eye-left-eye/

Thanks a lot for sharing this, Els! I also have a significantly ‘weaker’ right eye (5 percent acuity, it that’s the right term), and I have been wondering about this (also in connection with body sides and how they really are quite different, represent different aspects, etc.). And there sadly is precious little in the classic ‘natural vision improvement’ literature about this particular ‘configuration’. Sometimes I do feel my better eye is kind of angry/condescending toward the other one for having to do all the work. This, of course, can be seen as one representation of the various inner dialogs we all have …
Thanks again!
Roman

Darrel, thanks for your comments. Yes, different cultures have different levels of acceptable eye contact, and it’s good to be sensitive to this. And yes, I’ve also noticed that other people’s pupils are very black, and as you point out this is great for shifting practice.

As regards eye contact I have read that it can vary from culture to culture. So Westerners generally make much more eye contact with each other than occurs in East Asia. This can lead to misunderstanding, as people from the West can be perceived by them as over-confident, cocksure etc. I think it was said that if you get the chance, observe two Japanese talking to each other and you will see that much less eye contact is made. Apparently even Japanese who have lived in the US for some decades and then returned home after becoming Westernised may find that their countrymen are now uncomfortable which the level of eye contact being made.

On the other side, Westerns who are unaccustomed to the lower level of eye contact with these cultures might wrongly attribute negative qualities to individuals from the culture (shifty, inscrutable etc). More education is needed.

Incidentally I think Margaret Corbett said in his Bates book words to the effect that when we do make eye contact with people we may notice that their pupils are interesely black and we can practice central fixation principles by shifting and swinging from one pupil to another, or if our sight is good enough from one part of the pupil to another.

Lewis, thanks for reading. You’ll find lots of other useful information here if you just look around. 🙂

Hello Frank! Thanks so much for reading, and for commenting.