Hey all!
I've been involved with the Bates method for about 4 years now. I can say it was, and still is, one hell of a journey. I've also been pondering on and off about its status in the world. It got me to thinking: why don't we, who support the method, stand together and take the iniciative for an independent scientific research?
We aren't few in numbers, many have had at least some success and each has their story to tell. Yet our words and experiences don't have the power of proof for the majority so our arguments for the method, most often than not, reach deaf ears. Time and time again I get advised by friends and family, only wishing me best, to 'get glasses', or 'your kidding yourself with this', or 'it can't be real; if it was possible, why are the glasses so common?', or 'scientists tell a different story', or... well ... I'm sure many of you have been there. Frankly, I'm tired of it, but I guess that doesn't change a thing, because in the end:'' After all is said and done, much more is said than done.''
The Bates method deserves to have a status with credibility. Dr. Bates deserves to have his name cleared. This won't be easy in the least, but I believe it could be well worth it, if it's done right. You might ask why do we need another research, Dr. Bates did it all and still no one believes him. You're right.
That's why I would like to take the burden of proof back to our side, to do it again, but with a different approach. I believe we would need a respectable figure or two, three in scientific circles, to support our cause (the truth). Why do we need them? Because we only need to persuade them the method works and they will help us do the rest. Ofcourse, we start by persuading them to at least allow the possibility of 'training your vision'. That will take a lot of persuasion, but it should be doable. After all I am not willing to believe that all scientist are blind to the truth.
I understand that what I'm talking about is a huge project and it's going to be hard to pull off. Alone definately almost impossible, together, it could be done. Organization, time, effort, patience, support â all this will be required on a big scale and even fund raising, I imagine, will have to come into play. We need to start somewhere.
I think if not for anything else, parents of tommorrow owe it to their children, to know that there are two choices when your vision is not as it should be. One is the easy way â put the glasses on the eyes of their children. The second, harder, is that they have to work and learn (for) their vision.
Let's make it happen!
Yes , no, your reasons? Discuss! I want to hear what you think about all of it, share your suggestions, your ideas. I hope we turn this topic into a fruitfull debate and let's contribute! Take care.
The thing I see as a problem, this is the opinion of someone new to Bates Methods, is that, despite the success stories I heard from people prior to starting, there is always the feeling that people are trying to scam you and make money off of you.
Until I found this site and others where I can get most of the information free and details on the methods I should be using, alot of other sites tell of the wonders of Bates yet attach a price tag.
This is a hurdle that needs to be overcome. At all times where possible promote the fact its free information. Steer away from being branded a scam. Then step onto scientific method.
Out of curiosity, how did bates work for you? Are people still saying to you 'you should get glasses'? do you still need glasses?
If you make your living off it without doing anything resembling real work, it's a scam. If you're selling something that can be obtained for free, it's a scam. If you're selling something that doesn't work, it's a scam. On the other hand if you're not pulling a scam, it's still only a cult if you're actually crazy or evil. But it could be a 'gang' I guess. Yeah, that's it - I'm in the 'Bates Imagination Blindness Gang', see? 'Dis here is our turf. You'se better be nice when you'se guys comes around here, see? Jig it's the heat! Scram! - it's Ophthalmalogist Krupke! 8) O0
David Wrote:If you charge for it, it's a scam. If you don't, it's a cult. ;D
T - your idea is great, and your motivation to do this is shared by a lot of people. What it needs is a leader. I've put a lot of thought into this and think that whoever leads this needs to do the following: To get connected and get it organized, I suggest building a team of established Bates people. I've heard tell that website owners of i-see.com and seeing.org are interested in this. Get some OD's on board, especially the ones who already do Bates work (no need to convince anyone). Then get the established ODs together with some established Bates teachers, some passionate leaders (look for the organizers of past vision conferences). If this group is organized with a clear plan of action (and that will be difficult since they don't all necessarily agree on all points), then I think it would be possible to then gather a huge base of normal people to be volunteers and provide/fundraise the essential cash to get the project going. Good research takes time and therefore money. Once you've taken these steps to get the team organized and then a base of support, then the ball will be rolling to get this done. I think it's very possible, just needs the right people.
sindakit and JCMartin - on one point I agree with you - there are a lot of eyesight improvement scams that demand money. On the other hand, that does not mean that everyone who charges money for teaching Bates is a scam. People are happy to pay for Alexander Technique lessons, alternative therapies, massage, etcetera - all health services. Why shouldn't Bates teachers be paid? Meir Schneider charges 3 figures an hour for lessons - and he's not a scam, he's simply one of the best. There are two ways in life to get something: 1. Produce it yourself (near free). it will take a long time because you learn the hard way and make lots of mistakes. 2. Pay someone to do it for you (in this case pay someone to teach you). It's faster and usually better. For people where time is money, and/or they don't have the patience to stick it out themselves, this is the only real option. Sure you can rely on some free websites along the way, but don't for get, nothing is free. It takes money and time to build a good website and website owners are faced with a difficult balance to strike: enough free content to satisfy/interest people and a creative way to get them to pay for your service. Nothing is free, people are just used to getting a lot of free low quality information on the web and digging deep for the high quality info.
People spend hundreds of dollars on optician visits and glasses, yet when it comes to learning a valuable method which improves the eyesight and overall health they cry 'it should be free it should be free'.
ok, I'll get off my soapbox. What I think would bring everything forward is if Bates teachers in general would 1. agree with each other on best practices and 2. spend the time and money on marketing their websites so that they come up at the top of a websearch for 'eyesight improvement'. Until the top 10 is full of genuine websites and not scams you won't see Bates getting any positive recognition.
@sindakit: ''Out of curiosity, how did bates work for you? Are people still saying to you 'you should get glasses'? do you still need glasses?''
Yep, people still say I should get glasses.
As for this 'project', I've sent an e-mail to Alex from I-see.org as you suggested. I've sent a couple more e-mails to people whom I thought could help but haven't heard from them after I mentioned natural vision improvement. This will be hard.
I'm wondering whether this thing needs a webpage of its own or if it's a better idea to start it on a bates site that has been around for a while.
@sorrisiblue - respect for doing an awesome job on vision improvement! ;D
I'll be back. Arrrrrr (we're pirates now, if I'm not mistaken?)
why not contact OD's that already use the Bates method? Gottlieb is one I think. No need to waste your effort convincing people or writing emails no one answers.
Once you get a panel of people and an action plan, I suspect you would decide as a group whether or not you need a website for this (new or existing).
I've sent an emailto gottlieb; waiting for his response. I've skimmed through his dissertation on this site and if I understand correctly, he conducted a research of his own on natural vision improvement and he got positive results. Which year was that?
Thanks a lot for the information that i read.
BTW im a newly one in this site,But i learned lot of ideas about this site.
Thanks a lot for having me here. God Bless.
This will be hard.
