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much better - Ram - 07-31-2008
When I started three months ago, I could not read a single sign board, street signs, names on shops, hotels, office buildings, schools etc however big the letters were. Anything beyond ten feet I could never read whatever the size. Nowadays when I have a stroll on the roads I can really read a number of letters and signs. It is not 'better blur interpretation' at all and I feel like laughing at those eye doctors who offer that explanation for explaining the success stories of Bates practitioners. It is because I never even saw the letters before as nothing was visible so there is no question of interpreting the nothingness to make out letters. Blur interpretation is possible only when blurred letter is visible and no 'blur interpretation' is possible when you see nothing.
Sometimes the letters appear clear too. I am pleasantly surprised at the turn of events. I have become much more committed now and will work towards restoring full 20/20 vision or close to it. I have seen my vision go from an average 6/200 to abt 20/200 now and in good sunlight i can see better and occasionally have glimpses of 20/100. The best I had was better than 10/40 for a few seconds. I think I owe my success to my taking off glasses completely when I was near blind and yet had to function normally as a software professional. My performance at work has been affected( and I got a few warnings too and felt very embarassed) because of the lack of even substandard vision but I will make up for it after an year or so when I expect both my vision and memory to improve much better.
The improvement is permanent and not just clear flashes because I retain the improvement over 80% of the day. I have become better at producing temporary clear flashes almost whenever i desire now - I just need to start looking at a blank wall for a few minutes and I can recover very fast from any blackouts due to excessive work.
Re: much better - Mihai_alexandru - 08-01-2008
That's amazing, Ram! Coping with "near blindness" must be a nightmare for you. I must be a fool for complaining that I don't see the text on the cars' license plates.
Now you know for yourself that the Bates Method truly works, and that boosts up your motivation. I hope I can get some results too in the future, but getting rid of mild myopia I think is like applying the decisive blow. Many changes must be made to my whole being so it might take some time. I'm reading now about meditation and awareness, I think it might help me get rid of the chronic sensation of stress and insomnia.
I wish you 20/20 vision. Good luck, Ram!
Re: much better - Ram - 08-02-2008
I think it is more difficult to improve from 20/40 to 20/20 than from higher degrees of visual loss because the room for error is so small. At my level I have wide variations in vision throughout the day and on different days which is a favourable condition for improvement. But your vision maybe fluctuating only mildly that much more practice would be needed to improve through the same ratio. By much more practice
I did not mean the number of hours but rather the quality of practice. While I can afford to practice incorrectly and yet improve at this stage, it is not possible when your defect is small. You need to do the routines without flaw.
Yes. we need to go through a possible change in personality to accomplish the final goal. I have always been a reserved person who does not have too many friends and probably this contributes to my poor sight. I may have to change myself as I improve further though at the moment I have fewer friends since I have no spare time and I also cannot commute without glasses and so confined to home most of the free time. I used to go to the beach and park on weekends previously but now I cant drive. I used to play tennis but now cannot - tennis is good for the eye because it promotes quick eye movement. But you need a fair amount of vision to play. People who spend more time outdoors and have a merry time with friends are probably less prone to myopia. I am also having a congenitally abnormal neck vertebra which surely has its share due to chronic tension in the neck- I am not sure if I can really overcome this one. Perhaps it does not matter , only time will tell.
Re: much better - harold08 - 08-02-2008
Well done for ur effort and progress you've made to come this far 8) . Good luck in the future for even further improvment.
Would you mind telling us what is your most important things dat u do to improve u vision? Ty.
Re: much better - clarknight - 08-02-2008
The right kind of friends can improve your personality and state of mind.
My friend was always a hard worker; 10 - 14+ hours day, 7 day week.
Never got out and had fun.
Not much of a sense of humor.
A handsome young man developed a crush on her and kept bugging her all the time for a date or at least just a quick conversation.
She finally gave in and spent time with him..
Turns out that he was homeless and has many friends that live/work on fishing boats, railroad tracks, city, country in California, San Francisco.
She met many different personalities through him and learned alot from his personality/heart/mind that was completely different and in many ways superior to hers.
Her ability to relax, sense of humor, creativity, compassion for others and eyesight improved as result of becoming friends with this man and his aquaintances.
Re: much better - Ram - 08-02-2008
I dont follow a rigid routine and do different things each day. The list of things I usually do include
1. Several palming sessions lasting between 2-3 min apiece during work hours. Two longer palming sessions 15 min eaxh.
2. Reading very small print at the near point ( approx 3 inches) and then at the distance it is blurred but can be made out without squinting.( aprox 7 inches)
3. Reading the chart and shifting at one feet, then at two, three, four and five feet. ( twice a day at 15 min each session)
4. Gazing on the wall twice a day from about eight feet and then at twenty feet, 15 min each time.
5. About 10 min of sunning ( closed eye) but have not been able to do this regularly for over two months due to rainy weather.
6. 15-30 min of viewing very distant objects ( > 100 feet) from the terrace of my house and grazing over the heavy blur without trying to stare. I do this to get used to the blur and to treat blur without panic and discomfort.
7. A long walk on busy streets at night to improve night vision. When I took off my glasses at -8.5D initially this exercise was nightmarish because I could see so little due to glare and the poor lighting at night. Now I feel as comfortable at night as in the day and can stroll quite easily without hitting anybody.
Re: much better - Mihai_alexandru - 08-02-2008
Ram Wrote:Yes. we need to go through a possible change in personality to accomplish the final goal. I have always been a reserved person who does not have too many friends and probably this contributes to my poor sight. I may have to change myself as I improve further though at the moment I have fewer friends since I have no spare time and I also cannot commute without glasses and so confined to home most of the free time. I used to go to the beach and park on weekends previously but now I cant drive. I used to play tennis but now cannot - tennis is good for the eye because it promotes quick eye movement. But you need a fair amount of vision to play. People who spend more time outdoors and have a merry time with friends are probably less prone to myopia. I am also having a congenitally abnormal neck vertebra which surely has its share due to chronic tension in the neck- I am not sure if I can really overcome this one. Perhaps it does not matter , only time will tell.
All persons with glasses seem to be people who keep emotions locked up in themselves and live life with stress. I've never ever seen the type of energetic, outgoing, eager, preocupied with his health person that wears glasses. Glasses are actually a synonim to geeks. :
Why do sports people seldom have glasses (amateurs and professionals)?I've always lived my life with stress. It became habitual and I didn't even know what stress really means until some months ago. My insomnia was the critical blow that activated myopia. Take for instance the day before. I was announced that I passed the FCE exam from Cambridge. I was happy, but not really happy. It was like the relief from avoiding to fail. If I failed, I had probably been disappointed the whole day, wheareas the "happiness" only lasted a few seconds. That's not happiness. You cannot achieve happiness by some diplomas, objects, status or the whole money in the world or world domination. You cannot find inner peace that way. Now I've learned that inner peace is the most important... desperate pursuit of objectives is stupid. I've sacrificed a part of my health for that diploma... because I had to get up at 8 in the morning every weekend to go to a stupid course... and since I'm the kind of person that sleeps 'till afternoon... that ruined my sleep. I was tired every weekend but I thought... "I will push myself for this. I will try hard and give 101%, you have to make sacrifices.". That was not giving 101%... that was just pure immature stupidity. Pure stupidity. Now I know that you don't need money or anything to be happy... inner peace is for free. The social "ladder" is actually just a circle, that's why most rich people are unhappy...
I'm currently reading a book about meditation. I've read the first four chapters and it seems interesting. I recommend it and you can find it here: http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe1-4.html. It helps us because the "palming" technique is actually an exercise of meditation.
Re: much better - Ram - 08-02-2008
I would not say that I experience any stress - I lead a very contended peaceful religeous life free from big ambitions.
The kind of stress that causes myopia is not necessarily linked to the stress in day to day life. I had a brief episode of myopia when I was only eight years old - which is typically an age where you do not know enough to experience stress. I do not remember any stressful episodes at that time. However I think real sorrow in life does affect the eye. One of my sisters died of a prolonged undiagnosed illness in 1991 at the age of 17. ( I was eighteen then). It was at that time my vision really nosedived due to the severe shock and for many months I could not overcome that.
Practices like meditation need not serve to fully relax the visual organs though they might cause a general well being - there are many monks who need glasses. So these people have not truly been able to relax their eyes through they have relaxed their mind in certain ways. This is why Dr.Bates did not say that palming by itself can cure all defects of vision. Shifting is very important - unless meditation/palming is also supplemented by dynamic exercises such as shifting and swingimg, the chances of curing myopia is slim. Meditation is not sufficient to train the eyes to relax when the eyes are open and seeing - meditation + shifting is needed.
Re: much better - harold08 - 08-02-2008
Before i found out about the Bates Method and practising them, i was myopic. However, i am now 14 years old and i had myopia since around 3-4, maybe 5 years ago. When i had noticed that i was short sighted, I didnt buy any glasses, OR even worse, i havent even told anyone including my parents( And they still Do Not Know!!!).
So i lived for these years without glasses and i hated the fact that i was myopic. One day, i've decided that i should just ignore it and get on with my life without telling my parents.
These past few years i couldnt read sign posts, tv, etc fom far distances andr i took this for granted. I've always ignored my eyes and got on. But since then, around january this year, i've noticed that my vision was gettin worse and worse. I thought i had to do something to prevent it, or even better, to regain my vision. Thats how i surfed the net for 3 months and found iblindness.org, and others.
In the end, i had realised that i had stressed myself by causing pain and strain in my eye since i became myopic. I regret now that i hadn't done anything to prevent this. How foolish i was. That is why i am really motivated and eager to do this. To achieve.
Re: much better - Ram - 08-03-2008
You are 14?? Looks like I am the 'grand old dad' here.
I wish I knew more about the eyes when I was 14. I would'nt need to reverse 20+ years of wrong use of the eyes now.
Re: much better - sorrisiblue - 08-04-2008
That sounds like great progress, and I am very happy for you! I started with similar diopter (-8) and remember being so ecstatic the first time I could see anything on the chart from 20 feet. I'm so impressed that you've been able to give up glasses completely. Perhaps now you could play tennis against a complete beginner? Or perhaps at work there are others who might be motivated by your success to learn the method from you (and become sports partners that you don't have to be self conscious around).
Just some ideas to kick around. Congrats!
S
Re: much better - harold08 - 08-04-2008
Yh same good luck in the future for further improvement.
if u mind asking, are you changing ur daily routines due to this?
Re: much better - Ram - 08-04-2008
Actually I heard the name Bates in 2001. I browsed through a few pages of his book but did not really believe it had any truth in it and forgot all about it. I worked in the mainstream medicine with a lots of preconcieved notions and reservations which prevented me from seeing the truth just like the conventional doctors. But my vision got poorer and by 2004 I could not see anything at all I found even a casual walk without glasses difficult. I got very tense and was fearing I might become blind soon or get cataracts, glaucoma, retinal detachment etc as all these are associated with very high myopia. But I knew I could do nothing about nor could the doctors. In addition to myopia I had too much discomfort and coupled with the heavy workload reduced my quality of life very much. In april 2008 I was desperately looking for a way out of this and was hoping for a miraculous find and I came across Bates again. Because I was caught in a corner I decided to investigate if there was any truth in it. But I was still quite skeptical and also wondered if it was effective enough for a high myope like me.
I came across the blogs of sorrissi and sassy who kept meticulous progress charts and felt motivated enough. At first I did not know whether to believe or not, but later reasoned that there was no gain for anybody by creating fictitious charts esp when they dont sell anything there. Anyway even if it were a joke I wont loose anything by trying out for a few weeks. I wondered for the first two weeks if i should keep my glasses or not. Going completely without glasses was unthinkable but I took the courage to do it. The first two weeks were horribly painful as my eyes reacted heavily because i threw away the glasses 24 X7, probably a very drastic step. I took pain killers and muscle relaxations and made it to a stage where discomfort began to decrease and from that point slowly made progress. There is very little discomfort for me now without glasses( otoh glasses gave me a lot of discomfort in the past) and I no longer need them and I wont wear them ever in life again. I want to see naturally and never ever want crutches again.
Re: much better - Ram - 08-05-2008
harold08 Wrote:Yh same good luck in the future for further improvement.
if u mind asking, are you changing ur daily routines due to this?
Due to what?
I change my routines so that it remains interesting. If you get bored you wont gain anything. Mind should cooperate with the body to achieve any improvement in vision. Whatever you so should be pleasing to you and if it involves any compulsion, boredom etc there wont be any gain. If everything is boring to you then you have to retrain the mind to accept a little bit of boredom and build on that.
Re: much better - harold08 - 08-05-2008
Ram Wrote:7. A long walk on busy streets at night to improve night vision. When I took off my glasses at -8.5D initially this exercise was nightmarish because I could see so little due to glare and the poor lighting at night. Now I feel as comfortable at night as in the day and can stroll quite easily without hitting anybody.
does this improve night vision but not effect ur eyesight?