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Re: Clear Flashes - Eyechart method - Printable Version +- Eyesight Improvement Forum (https://www.iblindness.org/forum) +-- Forum: General Discussion (https://www.iblindness.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=4) +--- Forum: Bates Method (https://www.iblindness.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=5) +--- Thread: Re: Clear Flashes - Eyechart method (/showthread.php?tid=337) |
Clear Flashes - Eyechart method - apavel - 04-13-2007 Hello, Dr. Bates always talked about sitting his patients in front of an eye chart, and after 15-20 minutes or so, he can make a person with 20/200 eyesight see 20/20. This is temporary of course, and he even mentioned he did this with one physician he knew; this physician came back after a year and had perfect eyesight. When asked what he was doing, he said he used the eyechart method all the time. I always wondered what exactly he did to give people temporary 20/20 eyesight. I tried multiple things with lack of success, until I had a very big surprise, and I tried a slight variation of the technique and some things appeared to be pure magic! I tried one of the methods he presented in his before, but with limited success. Now, I gained a bit of success, which I wanted to share with you. I opened the eyechart on my computer screen: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.i-see.org/eyecharts.html">http://www.i-see.org/eyecharts.html</a><!-- m --> If you have an LCD screen, I would recommend using a computer screen for this because a computer screen is very bright and the black letters appear very black without the influence of room lighting (easy to imagine black). If your screen is CRT, do not do this!! - the refresh rate will kill your eyes. Then, I sat in a comfortable chair and moved back until a 7ft line came out of focus (about 1.5 meters for me with ~20/60 eyesight) I sat there trying various of his methods, and after a while I was able to recognize the letters, even though they were still blurry. Then, I relaxed my eyes, and looked at the left-most letter, and said to myself "the letter is clear and black", then shifted to another letter and repeated the same thing. You really have to believe it, not just say it. After I reached the end of the line, I started again and kept doing the same line over and over. Each letter you shift to, imagine it black and clear, and try to visualize the edges of the letter, clear and black - if you have trouble doing this, lean over and to see the letter, then lean back and continue. Leaning helps you see what the letter is, which in turn, tells you what the edges should be and how black the letter actually is. I noticed the letters got a bit clearer, but still difficult to make out. I went onto the next line (4ft line), which was very blurry, and I could not make out anything. Nonetheless, I repeated the procedure. I leaned over and read the first few letters and remembered how they look (You have to lean over until letters are perfectly clear!!!! do NOT try to remember a blurry letter). Then I leaned back to have the line out of focus, and I noticed the letters appear blurry and gray. I did the same thing: said to myself that it was "clear and black", and affirmed myself that it was so. Then, as I was looking at the letter, something very strange happened. Everything in my peripheral vision dimmed: dark objects became darker and white objects, such as my window, became brighter! (WHILE still looking at the letter and imagining it black, do not shift your focus to the room, you'll lose the moment, yet do not stare, shift to the next letter) Then, all of the sudden that line became clearer, but still slightly blurry. I looked back to the previous 7ft line, and it was crystal clear. Then I shifted back to the 4ft line, and moved on to the next letter, convincing myself that it wasn't blurry and gray, but clear and black (black more importantly than clear). Then everything in my periphery dimmed again, and I gained perfect eyesight - I was able to read the entire line very clearly with no effort and the letters were very black. Once I blinked, the letters get a bit blurrier ???, but not as blurry as they were when I started. Then I should have continued the procedure... Unfortunately I get too excited when it gets clear, inevitably blink, making the letters a bit blurrier, and I never regain mental attention to do it again > ![]() The key to the method is: 1. Imagine the letters are black, and remember to centralize (see method of the week). If you can't remember perfect blackness, think of spilled ink, or lean over and see the letter perfectly black as it should be. Notice that the blurry letter is gray, and believe that it is black. You don't have to try to imagine the letter clear, if you simply imagine it black, clarity inevitably comes. Something can't be perfectly black and blurry...trust me; it's like saying "this car is so shiny and covered in dirt". 2. REMAIN FOCUSED! This is the hard part, you have to pay attention and do not strain! Simply relax your eyes while performing this. Assure yourself that strain will not make the letter clear. These are the reasons why I used a computer and sat close reading smaller lines. 1. The benefit of sitting closer to the screen and reading smaller letters is that you can easily lean over and see the letter perfectly black (for myopics). You can't do this sitting 20ft from the eyechart. Also, make sure you aren't sitting too close - 1.5 meters seems to work well. Sitting too close causes strain, regardless of what letters you look at. 2. The computer screen is very bright and the letters are unaffected by lighting. Make sure the screen is LCD!!! CRTs are bad. If you don't have an LCD screen, you can still use an eye chart, no problem. I've done this before using an eyechart. 3. The letters are very black and clear, while the background is white and clear. This is very helpful when visualizing the color black! 4. You can randomly generate letters without wasting paper. I had to include this point because I'm a cheap poor university student ![]() Finally, the reason why I call it a 'clear flash', though most of you think clear flashes are spontaneous, is because it somewhat fades when I blink. This is a nice techinque that involves shifting, swinging, centralization, memory, and imagination. Have you guys done this before? Any thoughts? suggestions? I'm going to continue doing this to see if there is a large improvement, as some other techniques failed for me. BTW: I found another way to use the eyechart to induce perfect eyesight, but it requires something bad..hence I won't talk about it; unless you guys want me to. It's nothing dirty, but it involves something frowned upon by the Bates method. I did it accidentally once, and trying to stay away from it. Re: Clear Flashes - Eyechart method - Urban - 04-13-2007 This is extremely intriguing, I'll have to try this for myself sometime soon. I also wouldn't mind hearing what your second technique is, its not like we'll get mad if we heard you accidentally blinked too hard or rubbed your eyes. ![]() Re: Clear Flashes - Eyechart method - Sakran - 04-14-2007 Thank you for posting this! I'll be testing this out soon! Quote:Dr. Bates always talked about sitting his patients in front of an eye chart, and after 15-20 minutes or so, he can make a person with 20/200 eyesight see 20/20.I have been wondering about this too, trying to figure out how after 15-20 minutes, he got a person to see 20/20. It really amazed me, hehe. And I would like to know your other method to induce perfect eyesight, don't worry, it's not like we'll be at your throat when we hear it (we're much more mature than that!), at least you know it's bad, right? Re: Clear Flashes - Eyechart method - apavel - 04-14-2007 well, the other method involves focusing on ONE letter and imagining it black. But that's considered staring. As you do this the following things happen in this order: 1. everything becomes foggy and you lose your eyesight for about 10 seconds (bates predicted this correctly when he talked about staring) 2. Fog disappears, and everything has great contrast (if you go to Photoshop and turn up the contrast on the photograph, that's exactly what it looks like) 3. Everything dims and you get the effect. You get the same effect by slowly shifting from one letter to another (don't skip letters, only go to adjacent letters), and you avoid getting foggy eyesight for 10 seconds ![]() The key is, don't give up, keep trying. In the first several minutes it seems like you are wasting your time, but it comes, give it time. Stay focused, and relax your eyes! Once you get the dimming effect, play around with it, see what helps sustain it, what enhances it, and what removes it. If you find a nice way to improve it, please share. This method is still in development. Good luck. I love how Spock (or I think it was Spock) said once that black is simply the absence of light, you don't need effort to not see something there. Re: Clear Flashes - Eyechart method - Otter - 06-04-2007 I'm confused, can you show the procedure that you do step by step? Re: Clear Flashes - Eyechart method - otis - 06-04-2007 Dear Sakran, Subject: 20/200 to normal (pass the DMV) in 24 hours. I have been wondering about this too, trying to figure out how after 15-20 minutes, he got a person to see 20/20. It really amazed me, hehe. And I would like to know your other method to induce perfect eyesight, don't worry, it's not like we'll be at your throat when we hear it (we're much more mature than that!), at least you know it's bad, right? Otis> I was amazed by this statement by Dr. Liberman (Ph.D.) Yet he stated that people who WORKED WITH THEIR SNELLEN, were able to clear their vision to DMV-normal in 24 hours. Otis> Dr. Liberman seems to be a modern-day Dr. Bates. If you SEE this (after palming, etc.) then you will believe it. And that is the ONLY thing that matters. Just one man's opinion. Otis Re: Clear Flashes - Eyechart method - Otter - 06-04-2007 What I want to understand is the method Paul did step by step, but I won't need it for now. Re: Clear Flashes - Eyechart method - apavel - 06-04-2007 Right now I'm actively researching and developing the eye chart techniques. Perhaps in a few weeks I'll post the methods (which aren't far from what Dr. Bates suggested in his patient encounters and books). Each morning I can use the techniques to clear my vision from 20/50 to 20/15 in about 10 minutes, but as Dr. Bates said, the clarity only lasts for a few minutes following the session. The interesting thing is that each day it takes me a shorter amount time to obtain 20/15. I'm still looking into it and perhaps in a few weeks I'll post the techniques from my point of view to help everyone understand them. I don't want to post anything until I have very good understanding of if myself to avoid misleading any of you. I wrote this post a while ago, and it's an interesting visual phenomena that I observed in my early days as a Bates student. I'm not quite sure if it can be used to improve eyesight, yet I don't see why not. Has anyone been able to reproduce this? I also found that this method can achieve me great results during late evenings. Interestingly enough, the eye chart techniques provide me with best results early in the morning. Otter: my step by step instructions are in the first post of this thread. Otis: I posted the second method in this thread. My message started with: Quote:well, the other method involves focusing on ONE letter and imagining it black.It's not horrible but it involves staring, which I thought was a bit counterintuitive. ![]() Paul Re: Clear Flashes - Eyechart method - Oleg K. - 06-05-2007 Paul, Regarding your own techniques, I like to quote one guy who has already completely cured his eyesight: "My recovery has been too long and too slow. I think there are simple reasons for this. First and foremost, I initially had too little faith in the great Dr. Bates. My faith in some of his statements didn't come untill I thoroughly had demonstrated the facts to myself, which in some cases took a very long time. Secondly, my mind was for a long time (and maybe still is) cluttered with ideas from Bates books written by people with defective sight and wrong ideas. One of these ideas, I think, is that the people that have the most success, are the people that go on and invent a lot of their own techniques. This I did for a long time. Actually I think I've made up enough of my own techniques to fill up close to a thousand pages in a book. My biggest dream some time ago, was to write all this down, and get my own book on the Bates method published. The techniques I mostly thought were revolutionary at the time I made them. Unfortunately, in the aftermath I've discovered that they're not. What I've discovered is that all of them were just complicated and unefficient ways of doing what the methods, as Bates explains them, do a lot better. The start of this realization was a couple of months ago. That's why I wrote this in an earlier mail: "If I hadn't taken all these precautions about posting (and if I weren't so lazy), I would have posted a lot more f.ex. on the use of the imagination, which I consider my strongest card. But I see that the way I use my imagination is changing so much, that I am too afraid to give people wrong ideas - which there is really WAY more than enough of on the other vision lists. I consider the only safe route to perfect vision is to follow the advice of those who have actually got there. Of course, I read other opinions too, but then I'm very carefull to have the filters in my brain running." After this time, I've only realized this more and more, and I'm glad that I hesitated in writing up on some of my ideas, because I now know that they were not good ideas. So I doubt that you'll see a book published by me in a long, long time " And also this: "As a matter of facts, once he demonstrated these things, he agreed with me in saying that those same things he had already read on the books by Bates, and if he had to write down his own experiences he would have to use the same words as Dr. Bates did." My own experience proves every single word of this quote. At times, you will find that some kind of modification of Bates method (I call them "mantra's") is very efficient for you, and you will get very excited thinking you've got the magic bullet, but soon you'll find that it was a temporary effect, and then your "technique" will stop working. I think there are several reason for this: 1) When you first discover an efficient mantra, you do it, and then, when you begin analyzing it, you begin saying it, no longer doing it. The mantra becomes just a set of words, not actions. 2) Your mind get bored and no longer wants to follow your mantra. This is how our mind works, unfortunately. 3) You are overdoing your mantra too much, too often etc. ultimately introducing effort and strain which originally was not there. There is a dozen ways of doing any Bates technique wrong, unfortunately. 4) You have already released the layer of strain that was sensible to this mantra and now you have to switch to other techniques to release the next layer. In the situation when a technique stops working, it is important not to get depressed but revisit all other Bates techniques. You will be surprised that some things that didn't work before now do work. And you will understand how wise was Dr. Bates by not promoting any particular technique as the most efficient, but offering to practice all of them in turn. My experience shows that, unlike my own "mantra's", Bates techniques are the distilled essence that always works, and drives all my mantras. After all, Dr. Bates has spent all his life distilling his fundamental techniques. We really can't beat him. Re: Clear Flashes - Eyechart method - apavel - 06-05-2007 Oleg, Thank you for this romantic post. I think your idea is a bit pessimistic and blind. The fact that we shouldn't bother seeking new techniques or attempt to develop improvements because Bates had it all and he was right. A few comments: Quote:I consider the only safe route to perfect vision is to follow the advice of those who have actually got there.ALRIGHT, Lets see a show of hands. Who has improved their vision to perfect on this forum?? Anyone?? (I doubt you'll get many hands. The few who did improve their vision to perfect, Ridley being one of them, no longer come here because they don't need to. Oleg is your vision perfect? If it isn't then according to you, I shouldn't listen to you. Quote:The techniques I mostly thought were revolutionary at the time I made them. Unfortunately, in the aftermath I've discovered that they're not. What I've discovered is that all of them were just complicated and inefficient ways of doing what the methods, as Bates explains them, do a lot better.Then we should shut down this forum and start reading the Bates book again. According to you this forum and website should not be running because it's all hearsay of the Bates book. Bates writes in a very articulate and scientific manner to the point where many do not understand his writing. This is why they must find secondary sources that put his techniques in simpler terms. Quote:At times, you will find that some kind of modification of Bates method (I call them "mantra's") is very efficient for you, and you will get very excited thinking you've got the magic bullet, but soon you'll find that it was a temporary effect Bates encountered some people that were entirely cured in one visit. He was greatly surprised and rather shocked at their rapid improvement each time it occured. I don't know of anyone who got cured in one session, but I know one person out of all the Bates students that cleared himself in one clear flash. None of the Bates techniques were designed to cure anyone in one sitting. It is a gradual change, beginning first with temporary improvement in eyesight, which GRADUALLY becomes more permanent. Any technique that will grant you temporary improvement should be treated as gold. Quote:1) When you first discover an efficient mantra, you do it, and then, when you begin analyzing it, you begin saying it, no longer doing it. The mantra becomes just a set of words, not actions. Perhaps this is how your "mantras" work, but not mine. You cannot assume that everyone has the same personality as you do, and everyone will fall into the same traps. I agree that people should take caution and be reasonable with invented methods. You know, everyone is different. What works for someone does not work for everyone. The least we can do is post our experience and hope that some will benefit from our advice. For instance, I performed palming, sunning and swinging for long hours each day for months with absolutely no improvement. Once I practiced imagination and memory my eyesight has improved. Furthermore, I think that Bates had the concepts, but even he himself said that it's up to the reader to continue his work and develop techniques. I think you know that memory, imagination, central fixation, the swing etc... are all concepts and states. You as a student should develop techniques to assist you in reaching these states...though Bates offered many suggestions. Plus your idea that we should not invent anything but follow the old methods sounds like 15th century science: "We should follow Aristotle, and anyone with new ideas deserves to be ridiculed and shot." I understand your argument that there are many misinterpretations of the Bates method. I have no problem with them because everyone is trying to find better ways to improve eyesight. I agree that they can be misleading, but there is nothing you can do about it. Perhaps the author's techniques helped some people, which inspired them to write their own books. However, it is entirely up to the reader to determine which works for them. There is no universal method to improve your eyesight. Nonetheless, I completely agree with you that new Bates students should begin by reading the Bates book because it contains a solid base from which everything branches from. Then again: "One does not discover new lands without losing sight of the shore" Re: Clear Flashes - Eyechart method - Oleg K. - 06-05-2007 Paul, Actually I wasn't saying that you shouldn't invent your own mantras. Go ahead and use everything that works. As a matter of fact, new mantras appear all the time, because you have to find ways to prevent your mind from getting bored. I only wanted to warn you that 1) you should clearly understand the fundamental Bates principles and rather decorate them, not thinking that you are inventing some new principles and 2) some mantras will stop working too soon but it's ok and you shouldn't get depressed about it. I only wanted to share an advice, not start an argument. Quote:Lets see a show of hands. Who has improved their vision to perfect on this forum?? Anyone?? (I doubt you'll get many hands. The few who did improve their vision to perfect, Ridley being one of them, no longer come here because they don't need to. I personally know 3 guys who cured themselves, including Dave, the owner of this forum. Unfortunately, it is true that the closer one gets to the complete cure, the smaller is his desire to participate in discussions like this forum, unless you decide to become a Bates teacher, like Dave. Quote:Oleg is your vision perfect? If it isn't then according to you, I shouldn't listen to you. Absolutely true. Quote:Then we should start reading the Bates book again. This is always a good idea, because as I said, when you get back to Bates techniques that previously did not work for you, you may be surprised that they begin to work. Each time I re-read the Bates book, I always find something new, because my understanding grows deeper. Quote:According to you this forum and website should not be running because it's all hearsay of the Bates book. This is a lame logic. This forum helps newbies begin practicing and answers some basic questions and gives emotional support, which is very good. Quote:You know, everyone is different. What works for someone does not work for everyone. I never disagreed with this. I guess I wasn't clear enough in my previous post, sorry for making you argue. Re: Clear Flashes - Eyechart method - apavel - 06-05-2007 Quote:Actually I wasn't saying that you shouldn't invent your own mantras. Go ahead and use everything that works. As a matter of fact, new mantras appear all the time, because you have to find ways to prevent your mind from getting bored. I only wanted to warn you that 1) you should clearly understand the fundamental Bates principles and rather decorate them, not thinking that you are inventing some new principles and 2) some mantras will stop working too soon but it's ok and you shouldn't get depressed about it. I only wanted to share an advice, not start an argument.that makes more sense, thanks for clearing that up. Quote:Then why should we listen to you about the fact that we shouldn't listen to you?Quote:Oleg is your vision perfect? If it isn't then according to you, I shouldn't listen to you. ![]() Don't apologize for making me argue. Great ideas are always built on arguments. |