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+--- Thread: My Vision Journal (/showthread.php?tid=1596)
Re: My Vision Journal - JWLBOYCE - 06-15-2011
Thank you
When I close my eyes to imagine oppositional movement, I imagine I am looking at something. I might start by doing it with some trees or a fence, and get gradually smaller, until I am reading a book with 1.5 print lettering, or I am looking at the eyes of an eagle on top of a distant hill. I'll open my eyes ocassionally as well, and carry on with it, just to check that I am doing it in real life as well - its just like a bit of a game
I know how you feel, I hadn't done, but it is so much easier to use now that I have re-tried it, when you next decide to try it just imagine you are feeling the texture of the objects, and that whereever you look, the paintbrush is there for you.
Positive affirmations are also helping me loads - for example, I will think/say "I am grateful for my clear vision" and simple thinks like that really seem to be helping me.
Have fun with it,
James
Re: My Vision Journal - Pikachu - 06-15-2011
Ah, I see. Imagination seems to take quite a bit of practice to get good at though.
I am quite familiar with the power of positive affirmations, but I must say that it is difficult when there is not much to be positive about. It's quite easy to say to yourself "I'm grateful for this stint of improved vision" or "I'm grateful for this sense of relaxation" when these statements are true, but when my vision is worse than usual, it is difficult to find anything at all. I am lucky if I have enough motivation to think "This is just a sign of fluctuating vision. It's part of the process." More often, I get caught in the "Why is my vision so bad all of a sudden. What did I do wrong?" trap. Hopefully, I won't fall into the same trap next time.
Re: My Vision Journal - Pikachu - 06-17-2011
1. Did some head-swinging yesterday, without the finger pointer. I just wanted to describe something that I am not very clear about, in the hope that someone out there can clarify it for me. As I was doing this sort of swing, I focused less on the objects moving (I figured that one reason I might not be able to relax is due to my wanting to "push" the objects), and I found that while the objects did not move more than usual, I felt a bit of a twitching in my eyes. I believe that some others have reported this when they tried the long swing. For me, it was sort of like I had an ant crawling on my eyelid or something (minus the tickling sensations). My first thought was that it might be the so-called "saccadic eye movements" that I had heard about before, but I really don't have a clue - it was just a wild guess on my part.
My question: Is this sort of twitching a sign of good vision or not?
2. Just closing the eyes and relaxing really IS quite helpful. I want to thank arocarty for bringing this to my attention. These days, I've relaxed my eyes quite often just by closing them. It's easy, inconspicuous, and flexible too!
Re: My Vision Journal - arocarty - 06-20-2011
That's really great, glad to hear you're finding some relief. Took me about 3 years to come to that realization, and, as I've mentioned in some other posts, that was kind of on a fluke, since I wasn't expecting or even consider it to be something that worthwhile. How wrong I was.
Your guess about the twitching is probably right, it's probably a motor reflex (or more accurately, a vistibulo-ocular type reflex, or nystagmus). I think I've felt that when I started practicing swinging. It only happened when your head was in motion, right? With your finger as a pointer, your smooth pursuit system could be more dominant, but without it, the vestibular, optokinetic, and saccadic systems come more into play, in order to stablize the motion whipping across the retina. Is it a sign of good vision - my guess is that it is more of a good sign that your motor reflexes are alive and well.
I never really got a whole lot from swinging; I can produce 3 fairly distinct sensations - a slow, oppositional, panning-type motion (when swinging at slower speeds), at medium speed I get more saccadic-type action, where the eyes want to jump around more, and a fast whipping-by type, where everything just slips by very quickly, so quickly that any impulse is fixate is obviously cancelled out.
I remember Emily Lierman mentioning the swing, and how things close by should move past with "express train" speed. Unless I invoked the fast, whipping-type swing, I don't experience anything as such. I spent many hours working with all three types that I could produce, but got less out of it than just an easy, short sway. I've found that, in normal vision, all of those types of sensations are at play at one time or another througout the normal course of a day.
Re: My Vision Journal - Pikachu - 06-20-2011
@arocarty: Thanks for the insight. Yes, the twitching only occurs when my head is moving, and even then, only when it is moving at a certain speed (very much in agreement with your three types of swings). I've found the swings to be mildly helpful thusfar, but feel I should stick with it for some reason. I AM experimenting with the sway however. In my opinion, it's much easier to incorporate into every-day sight without getting yourself mistaken for a lunatic, but it is much more difficult for me than any of the swings. I can get it right a few times in a row, but at some point, I find myself either a) trying to see, b) seeing too large an area (the result is no movement), c) forgetting to blink, d) forgetting to breathe. Obviously, I need to start by addressing this problem, so that's my main focus when I do the sway.
Incidentally, the "express-train" swing is the one that has given me the most noticeable improvement, however temporary it may be. This is probably more of a demonstration of my tendency to stare than anything else.
Just can't thank you enough for mentioning the simple task of closing the eyes!
Re: My Vision Journal - Nancy - 06-20-2011
Pikachu, I have another thought about the twitches, which may or may not apply to you. I get them when doing the eye chart sometimes (hardly moving my head at all), and always think this is like the tingles when a foot that's fallen asleep wakes up, or the jerking of a hose straightening out a kink so the water can flow more freely. For me, I think there are a lot of little blockages all around my eyes and head which are gradually releasing with the Bates work, and these twitches are like tiny death rattles as these long-held strains leave my body.
Re: My Vision Journal - Pikachu - 06-21-2011
@Nancy: I was initially going to post in mild disagreement to your post ("I don't think that this is true in my particular situation..."), but I thought better of it and decided to give it a day or two to think it over. After giving it some thought, I feel that while it may or may not be related to the motor reflexes that arocarty talked about (I am leaning toward "yes"), it can also have something to do with the new awareness you were talking about. I mean, I had never noticed my eyes move like that before, and it is related to good vision or not, I am becoming more aware of my own eyes - something that I should be relatively happy about.
1. I think I sort of got the hang of shifting, both mentally and optically (didn't want to use "physically"). I had had problems in the past, but for some reason, it sort of clicked yesterday. I was surfing through some issues of Better Eyesight Magazine on central-fixation.com when I came across one particular article that discussed how to "keep a letter in the mind indefinitely" or something to that nature. Just imagine an "o" and imagine that there is a dot on either side of it. First look at one dot, then the other, and repeat. The o should swing back and forth and the shift has been attained. I tried this out and found that while I was nowhere near perfect at it, I actually achieved enough success to stick with it. After trying it with a visual "o" and "l", I tried with everyday objects and found that it also works with the eyes open. The trick is to do it so that my eyes don't try to "grab on" to the swinging object. I don't know what the Universal Swing looks like, but if I had to imagine it, it would look like what I see when I do this sort of shifting!
2. 7/50 - what I measured today during the day. Pretty average, in my opinion, but I figured that I should post it in case I want to refer to it later.
3. A little under the weather today.
4. The "express-train" swing without a finger pointer seems to be a pretty good way to relax quickly, although that relaxation doesn't last very long.
5. Blinking and breathing is still all right, but I find that the blinking sort of makes me think too much about my eyes and creates more strain. There seems to be a sort of balance though. Cross that line and the eyes start to strain...
Re: My Vision Journal - Pikachu - 06-22-2011
1. Reread David's article on searching for details, and I must admit that after I seem to have gotten the shifting right recently, it makes more sense. On a side note, David mentions that you can keep looking at a point by imagining that there are smaller and smaller points. For me, this makes me more likely to stare. I prefer the solution I discovered in Better Eyesight Magazine - shifting back and forth between two points on opposite sides of what I am looking at.
2. I guess it's a matter of implementation now. I really think that I have all of the tools I need. I still can't palm, but if I need to relax, I can always close my eyes and take a few breaths (taking a breather, I like to call it). I can also swing or sway, but when I can't do that, I can shift and search for details.
Re: My Vision Journal - Pikachu - 06-23-2011
1. I'm fighting it. It's difficult to keep the same high level of motivation. I've never been good with positive affirmations, but I'm trying.
2. Chart: Did it from six feet today. 6/50 with short stints of 6/40 (when I practiced searching for details) and a very quick glimpse of 6/30. Practiced in daylight.
Re: My Vision Journal - Pikachu - 06-29-2011
1. I've sort of gone away from the Bates method lately. Though I know that I shouldn't make excuses, I must say that I really had a hard time remembering to relax over the last few days. It really sucks to be sick. The first couple of days were all right, but it got worse, until all I was thinking about was when it would all be over. Reminding myself that nice, relaxed vision could lead to faster resolution of symptoms only added to the strain. I've still got a moderate bout of a residual cough.
2. Haven't so much as looked at an eyechart in the last five or six days.
3. It's still a relief to close the eyes and relax, but again, the strain has caused me to forget.
4. I have an appointment with the optometrist in a week. It was originally scheduled for today, but I felt that my eyes were far from being in optimal shape.
5. So that's my last week in a nutshell. It's been tough, but it helps to think that things will get better as part of the natural up-and-down process of life.
Re: My Vision Journal - Nini - 06-30-2011
Hi Pikachu
Best wishes for your quick recovery.
When I've been sick a few weeks ago, I was at first very relaxed and thought "2, 3 days off will do me a lot of good, just enjoy having nothing to do". My eysight then became amazingly good.
But after some days it didn't get better (my blood pressure was so low that I sometimes felt dizzy even in a sitting position), I started worrying (that it might be something more serious and that after recovery really a lot of work will be waiting for me) and my eyesight became much worse (which gave me additional worries...).
So the best thing you can do for your health (and eyesight) is to try to avoid stress (especially worries), take your time, relax and try to enjoy the time when the symptoms vanish and you feel better every day.
If the anticipation of the appointment with the optometrist puts you under pressure I would push it off for one or two weeks more; because the perspective of an 'examination' when your eyes are not yet 'in shape' for it can be very counterproductive and prevent the necessary relaxation.
So take your time and give your eyes the time they need and make the best of the situation.
Re: My Vision Journal - Pikachu - 06-30-2011
@Nini: Yeah, I don't think it's the optometrist's appointment that was causing the strain. I was actually sort of looking forward to it, as strange as that may sound.
Thanks for the kind wishes. I'm feeling quite a bit better today. The cough has gotten milder the last few days. A couple of days ago, my back hurt from coughing (every time I coughed, my entire body would shake). Today, at least so far, it feels like a "normal" cough. I can't wait for the rest of the cough to go away, but at the moment, I am feeling pretty good. Now I need to get back on track with vision improvement after losing focus over the past week.
Re: My Vision Journal - kawser555 - 07-15-2011
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Re: My Vision Journal - sean - 07-18-2011
Pikachu
Just a suggestion. When you feel resistance or reluctance to relax and see properly you can try probing the feeling and see what that throws up.
Re: My Vision Journal - Pikachu - 07-18-2011
@sean: What exactly do you mean by "probing" the feeling? Does it mean giving that feeling more attention?