From what I've read, the sway is ultimately more powerful than the long swing as the shifting and swinging obtained is more more subtle. And small subconcious shifting and swinging is what the normal eye does.
So should you do the long swing for a few months and then progress onto the sway or should you carry on doing the long swing as well?
Also, the infinity swing has been mentioned on here before but no one's really said if they prefer it to the regular long swing. In the complete magazines of Bates edited by Tom Quackenbush, Tom inserts a comment several times after Bates' articles about the long swing that the infinity swing is better. It's obviously just his opinion but I was wondering what other people think.
Well, considering Bates spent like half of his lifetime devoted to perfecting his method, I think you should just stick with the long swing as Bates said it should be done, and ignore the majority of the other crap methods invented by the later people. I know, they sound cool when you first read them, but in fact a most of the time they aren't the revolution they seem to be. What I am saying is just don't waste too much time trying to invent your own methods, when you can simply follow what Bates has already laid out for us. In the long run you'll realize that his methods were the most efficient and that all the others were just unnecessarily complicated ways of trying to accomplish what can already be accomplished better with the original stuff. It just takes a little intelligence, patience, and willingness to change and reflect on experience.
To put it shortly: Read the texts. Use the techniques. Reflect on your experience. Read the text again. See how your understanding improves the more you demonstrate the principles. Use the techniques again. Reflect on your experience. Welcome the changes you see in your vision. Read the text some more. Repeat.
It's a bit like the apparition practice from Harry Potter books;the same model of mindset is required to succeed:
"Destination, Deliberation, Determination."
Thank for the advice Kazekage
I agree with you about doing Bates own methods. I've always had the mindset that Bates' original techniques would form the foundation of my treatment program. I don't see the harm in doing extra, more modern techniques, as long as it's not at the expense of doing the original stuff and as long as it doesn't conflict with the original stuff. Although Bates techniques are ingenious and perfectly good on their own, it doesn't mean there aren't superior techniques to be discovered. It's important to be open minded. If no one can tell me a reason why the original long swing is as good as or better than the infinity swing, I'll try the infinity swing in case it is superior. Then I'll use my intuition and experience to judge for myself which one works better for me.
I think it is important to be open minded about new techniques. See below for the Zen teaching called "Empty the cup, open the mind."
Beginnerâââ‰â¢s mind is a mind that is open, eager to learn, an empty cup. If your mind is open, empty of preconceptions, it is always inquisitive, receptive to whatever arises, and ready to engage. No matter how good the instruction is, it is only as useful as the studentâââ‰â¢s interest and effort in learning.
Four types of cups symbolise four kinds of students. Instruction is symbolised by water being poured.
The first cup is upside down. This represents a student who is supposedly there to learn, but pays no attention. You may have experienced something similar while reading a book: Your eyes move across the words all the way down the page, but when you get to the bottom, you realise you were daydreaming and have no idea what you read. Thatâââ‰â¢s what happens when a cup is turned upside down. No matter how much is poured, nothing gets in.
The second cup is right side up, but has a hole in the bottom. We hear whatâââ‰â¢s being taught, but we forget it all too soon. We donâââ‰â¢t chew on it and digest it and take it to heartâââ¬Ã¦This is the classic case of ââ∠âin one ear and out the other.âââ¬ï¿½
The third cup is right side up and doesnâââ‰â¢t have a hole in it, but the inside is covered with dirt. When the clear water of instruction is poured in, the dirt makes it cloudy. This symbolises the way we can distort what we hear, interpreting and editing it to fit into our preconceived ideas or opinions. Nothing new is actually learned. When we take a lesson, if the instruction matches how we already see things, it is taken as confirmation. Anything new that doesnâââ‰â¢t match our opinion is resisted, ignored, or disregarded.
The fourth cup represents the ideal way to be a student. It is upright, receiving what is taught. It has no holes, retaining what is taught. It is clean, open to learning something new.
