So I've been doing the bates method for more than three months with zero results. Now I am starting to wonder about the following, since I am not intending to give up just yet.
Since my two eyes are very different ; left is -4.25 and the right is -2.25, I was thinking that this might have to do with my progress (which is not happening).
I've always felt as if my left eye was 'static' and and made of 'stone'. As if it just doesn't work. And the other hand, maybe my right eye is becoming tired. But I thought of the following just a few days ago :
I believe that the optic nerves cross each other in the middle of the head and go to the brains. If so, does the left connect to the right brain ? While the right eye connects to the left brain ? If so, then it might explain why my left eye is so much weaker than the right (since we use the left brain much more in modern society). If this is the case, then I was wondering of patching my right eye for a specific period of time each day and using the left for reading and some other things might help activate that part of the brain and thus the left eye ?
I really feel as if it's very 'static' in comparison to the right eye and that this might be the reason why central fixation with both eyes is working only for the right and not the left.
Lex, yes, the right eye is connected to the left logical analytical brain, and the left eye is connected to the right intuitive big-picture brain. In Chinese medicine the right eye is the Father Eye and the left eye the Mother Eye. (Problems with one could have something to do with your feelings about that gender parent, or your feelings about owning that gender in you, but this is a separate topic.) I worked with a woman 2 weeks ago who has always considered her left eye blind, and it turned out she could see some light and color around the edges, but the eye looked scared and confused to me (she agreed). Palming was very helpful to her, as was visualizing the eye opening up and letting in the light and images. In her case it had to do with too much being expected of her when she was a small child, so the eye gave up and stopped participating in Life. Your case is not this extreme, but you can learn from it -- change your language so this is not the "problem eye", encouraging it to see and rewarding it with praise when it does. (My friend is not calling her left eye blind any longer, as we know it's not.) Sure, you can try patching, and you can also try noticing what that eye sees when both eyes are open -- does it hang back and let the other one do the seeing for you? Do you have other body imbalances that reflect this, like maybe a head tilt? Observe yourself, like Dr. Bates did, and you'll figure out what works and what you need to do. Good luck.
All of this makes sense and I am going to delve into all of this of course. But that leaves me still with another question :
My eye is working along with the right. I can tell because of the blurry halo's that I see around the sharper image coming from the right eye. Would it be a good idea to patch the right eye for a few hours a day in order to make the left do it's thing more ? Also, I've read in Relearning to see (page 290) that using corrective lenses for the eye that sees less good can actually active it. Do I understand this right ? : I could just pop in a contact lens in the lens and bring it up to balance with the right and that might be a good thing ??!
Lex, hi. Others may differ with me so know this is just my opinion. Yes, I'd try patching the stronger right eye, and notice how the left eye behaves, and feels -- is it glad to be independent, or overwhelmed? Etc. I'm not a fan of lenses so I wouldn't use a contact to "bring the left eye up to the level of the right", as it's just adding more strain. I'd pay a lot of attention to how the left eye sees and feels, every time I think of it, seeing if I can lead with this eye for a change, look through a hole with it or thread a needle, for example, instead of defaulting to always using the stronger right eye for single-eyed tasks. Play with it, seeing it as a game.
I've always been afraid to patch my right eye (before I started bates) because I thought my eye would become worse. Well, right no it's -4.25 so worse is already here.
I have decided to patch the right (stronger) eye for around an hour a day to start with and while having it patched, read a book with only the left eye. As you can imagine I have to keep the book pretty close to my face in order to even be able to read it. During reading I am trying to ready with central fixation and keep good vision habits going. All this in the hope that the left eye will start 'waking up' or making progress. I really have a feeling that when I use both eyes, the right is making life 'easy' for the left. As if it doesn't feel the 'need to see better' ... it's just sitting there, taking a back seat or something like that.
So after patching the right and reading for an hour while imagining CF and blinking / breathing, I feel as if my left eye has had a little more 'action' ... I will try this experiment out for around a week or two and post my findings on the forum ...
Does this sound like a good thing, which I am about to do ? Or will I harm my left eye even further ?
Lex, pay attention to how the left eye feels when it's reading on its own. If it feels strained, you're doing too much and need a palming break before continuing. The eye is the best indicator of whether you're doing too much or not enough -- no prescribed program can tell you how you feel and what your visual system needs in any given moment. Also remember to keep it fun (look what we're learning to do!) as much as possible, not work.
