So I've decided to start doing swing-a-thons of 1,000 at a time. One thing I do right now when swinging (not paying attention to the outside world) is cross my eyes. Or rather they cross themselves when completely relaxed and swinging. This does not bring vision anywhere near clear during the swing. I'm confused, as I've heard that you should not be trying to see anything while swinging, but this results in crossed eyes for me. Is this okay or should my vision be clearing during the long swing?
Hmmm.... Instead of crossing your eyes, try just shifting your mental attention/focus to your worse-vision eye and hold it there while doing the swing.
This was in another past post. I thnk someone said that a crossed or wandering eye condition can sometimes show up more when the long swing is done but only at first and its alright; its only the brain, left and right hemispheres, muscles being relaxed, activated back to normal integration, function and then the eyes will stay straight.
If you dont normally have a crossed eye condition: I dont know the answer to this. Long swing had never caused me side effects.
We are different, every individual human is different from all the other humans.
Each case needs individual treatment. That means that you have to judge what is working for you. Keep what worked, throw away what didn't worked.
Try new different things and techniques, you will found lots of stuff that will work for you.
And do 1000 sit ups every day. Maybe they won't help you rebuilding your eyesight, but at the end, when you will be glasses-free, you will have those hot six-pack abs girls love. (I suppose you are male, if not, replace the abs with a strong and tight body ).
You guessed it. Seeing it as workout doesn't help.
Just do something like running, running is what we are made to do, along with walking, jumping, climbing and that kind of stuff.
Or just do the swing-a-thons and forget about the damn numbers!
thanks guys. Yea I quickly found out that counting swings was not going to happen. I'll be shooting for swinging for a half hour to start. The swing-a-thon I did today was good. I don't have any cross-eyed issues at this point and don't wish to develop any.
What I'm still not clear on is if, during swinging, the point is to:
1. be noticing objects pass by, but in a more relaxed way
or
2. allow vision to become completely oblivious to surrounding objects and practice sensing movement and effortlessness
When I practice number 2 is when my eyes seem to more or less cross, i get blurrier vision, but I feel really relaxed applying no effort. In Huxley's "Art of Seeing" he describes swinging as letting the eyes have a holiday from the conscious "i". The way I'm interpreting this is to allow them to blur/cross because that's what they do when I make no effort to see whatsoever. So what I'm wondering is if this is the wrong direction because this effortless state (though comfortable/good feeling) results in the end in crossed eyes and blurred vision.
First off, congrats on your determination! Doing swing-a-thons shows that you are willing to put in the effort many would not...and this is exactly the type of person who will succeed eventually! Anyhow this is what I am thinking about the cross-eye situation. The eyes are trying to make an effort to not do anything and as a result, some of the muscles tense up. It is important to experiment, do the long swing in the "wrong way" one day. Look at one wall, then the other, or pick one or more points in between on your paths where you will stop your eyes for a bit...
Or cover your eyes as in palming while you swing until your eyes forget that they were supposed to do something right...
Or Stick your arm out and make a V (peace) sign with your fingers. Look between the fingers while you do the swing...
Or Another method, follow a line painted on the walls or keep your head up and follow where the wall meets the ceiling and follow that line during the first x number of swings....
Relax! Nobody does the long swing correctly first, if they did, they would experience 100% clear vision right away. It is more important to think of the Bates exercises as demonstrations for the mind. when you do it a lot, eventually, accidentally and occasionally you will be doing it right and that will give an aha moment to your mind, so that it (you) can realize how our way of looking can make the vision clear up. Eventually the moments should turn into habits and that's when we will have clear vision.
napkinfeet Wrote:I'll be shooting for swinging for a half hour to start. T
What?
Be careful not to shoot anything you don't want to, or it's illegal to shoot. Be responsible about gun ownership, and never shoot without corrected vision except when you are in an enclosed area like a Shooting Range, and your law and Range's regulations allow it.
But honestly, save the ammo and yourself for having an accident, and don't shoot live ammo with firearms. Use blanks or dry shot.
Swinging is about to create a good vision habit. Doesn't matter what to be aware of, just swing and the Mind will understand. Also important is to notice that while you are unable to stare to a point, the eyes relax.
Trying to see "changes" creates strain on most cases. So just swing and your Mind will let you be aware of the good changes.
napkinfeet Wrote:One thing I do right now when swinging (not paying attention to the outside world) is cross my eyes. Or rather they cross themselves when completely relaxed and swinging. This does not bring vision anywhere near clear during the swing. I'm confused, as I've heard that you should not be trying to see anything while swinging, but this results in crossed eyes for me. I
One suggestion I'll make is to make sure you're not confusing "not trying to see anything" with "trying not to see anything". They are 2 very different things. When it happens again, ask yourself the question of which you are doing and give yourself a couple minutes to arrive at an answer. The reason I say this is because its a mistake I made early on in the process. It's so easy to confuse the two.
You're not wanting to make yourself not see the picture clearly when long-swinging. But you're not wanting to make yourself see it clearly either. If I understand correctly, and I believe I do because of the relaxation I now get when long-swinging, the goal is to let the picture "slide" without grabbing onto it with the eyes. You're not trying to make it go away or dodge it. You just want to let it slide as your body/head/eyes move across the picture.
liquidlight Wrote:One suggestion I'll make is to make sure you're not confusing "not trying to see anything" with "trying not to see anything". They are 2 very different things.
Andrea Major Wrote:The eyes are trying to make an effort to not do anything and as a result, some of the muscles tense up.
Ares Wrote:Trying to see "changes" creates strain on most cases.
These are great observations and I think all of these describe what I've been doing. I need to keep remembering to let my visual system do what it needs to do and not force it to relax. I think the cross-eyed swing i've been doing is likely this: tightening muscles that pull my eyes inward while relaxing the other muscles I'm used to straining. This likely feels good because I'm not using the muscles I'm used to straining. However I can see how a new strain could develop.
Either way, I'm going to take your advice and just swing. I find focusing on my breathing takes my attention away from trying to not strain.
This seems to be a good example of the right thought/wrong thought dilemma.
