A few more questions

[cat]

Hey Chris Hansen! Your story is very inspirational and has inspired me to try to pick up the Bates method (It's pretty hard just to find out how to do the exercises!).

My story:
I have lots of trouble imagining things. I know this sounds weird, and it is! I play tennis a lot, and I have trouble imagining myself hitting a few balls. I know how to hit a few balls, and can practice it, and go through the motions. I can describe intimately what things look like, but I can't imagine them for more than a fraction of a second.

I would give anything to be able to SEE the image on the back of my eyes, and not just KNOW what it looks like, in the back of my mind, for a fraction of a second.

Maybe this is normal, is it? Try closing your eyes and imagining your favorite food. Are you able to do it? In detail. Can you see it, or can you just know what it looks like?

I have a theory that this has put a huge hamper on my visual memory. I USED to (several years ago, up to 5th grade) be able to have a fantastic visual memory. I would look at a worksheet, and know all of the definitions word for word, being able to recall them vividly. I memorized the 50 states in about 5 minutes. I still have a great auditory memory, but I have geography this year, and I cannot for the life of me memorize the maps we're tested on. None of my friends have any problems if they cram for 5 minutes (like I used to) before the test.


I also had a theory that my memory declined because of lack of sleep (I got 10 hours every single night during elementary school), but for the past few weeks I have been making sure to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night, and I have not noticed much of a difference (except a good elevation in energy and mood).

Is this because of visual strain? What can I do to help it? I would think palming, but I have been palming on and off for weeks and I have had no success in being able to see  myself picnicking in a green field on my eyelids. Sometimes if I imagine something, though, it will come to me, and I'll be able to see it. This is rare, though, and it's always something small--like a tennis ball.

Perhaps I am palming wrong. Like I said earlier, it is hard to find out what to do! There's no clearcut definition.

I'm 14 years old, have a -2 contacts prescription (3-4 months ago when I started them, which was the same time I started using Otis Brown's plus lense program). I think I am around -1 now. I read about 20/50 lately, but I scored 20/30 with some small squinting a few weeks ago at my physical.

I read one of Chris Hansen's posts, and decided to do some swinging. I wasn't really sure how to do it. I tried to keep my head and eyes still, while I turned my hips and pivoted my feet. It's hard to describe. At first, I did this at 180 degrees. But I was losing my balance so much, and it was going so slow, that I became impatient. Rotating from side to side as fast as I could, while shaking my head from side to side as fast as I could, I watched my whole bedroom shoot from side to side, making sure not to look at anything in particular, but also not to glaze my vision to the point where I got double-vision. After doing this, I felt sort've dizzy and a little naseous, but I noticed that every time I moved my head from left to right, everything seemed to shift the other wayh. I tried up to down, but the effect wasn't nearly as pronounced.

This obviously excited me. Later I read that swinging should be done for around 15 minutes at a time. I'll try that tonight.

Before I do this, do you guys have any pointers? I'll try to just rotate from side to side, and foot to foot, but I doubt this is the correct way. I've read several descriptions on the internet, but it's still fuzzy. Can one of you describe how you do this?

Do you think palming would be beneficial to me? I think I might be straining when I palm, which is counterproductive.

Also, what are some tips for not straining during sleep?

[bjsilva]

Hi Cat,

It's great that you're so excited about doing this, I'm sure that'll help your progress.

If you're straining more while palming it's probably because you're trying to accomplish something. It's better if you relax and be patient, and imagine casually (without effort) things that are black (some people use other colours). Wait for an increase in the degree of black you see, it's an interesting feeling the first time it happens.

Palming can be great, but if palming doesn't work for you just use something else, it's nothing to worry about. Swinging doesn't work particularly well for me, for instance. We are all different and it may take a different combination of things to get through to your mind. But it's probably beneficial to revisit other methods of relaxation occasionally that may not have worked well before to see if things have changed.

If you want more explanation on the various aspects of Bates' ideas, I have just finished reading through Quackenbush's Relearning to See book ($18 at Amazon) and I think it would really help someone who may not be entirely clear on Bates' ideas. I personally would have preferred he focus more on relaxation techniques, but it is still a very informative book.

Of course, you can always ask questions on the forum

[cat]

I just did what I think is swinging for about five minutes, followed immediatelyby 5 minutes of palming. I can't say anything extraordinary happened. The normal dizzy feeling after swinging. Then during palming, I felt some tingling borderline painful, but not painful at all, sensations in my left eye. When I checked my snellen chart, my vision was marginally better.

None of the vibrating after swinging that one member of these forums described.

[David]

Cat,

I'd say definitely slow down on the long swing if you're making yourself stick by spinning back and forth like that. And do it for more than 5 minutes, maybe for more than 15 minutes. A teacher suggested on another forum doing it for an hour to start off with if you're having such trouble with getting any good effects from it.

As far as your visualization, yes, that's normal for anyone with myopia. I'm not sure what you mean by seeing it on the back of your eyes, but if you mean on the back of your eyelids, nobody can do that. It's in your mind and has nothing to do with your eyes. A blind man wrote (or had transcribed) his story about having his eyes removed from a freak accident and his visualization abilities and memory improving dramatically. Just like when remembering a sound, you don't try to feel it coming in your ears, you just remember the experience of hearing it.

Your memory only lasts a fraction of a second because you internally stare at it. As soon as it flashes into your mind, you lock onto it and stare just as you would with seeing, forcing it to disappear. There are ways to practice improving it, mentally letting your attention flow in motion. But practically speaking if you have too much trouble with this you're better off doing other exercises and letting your memory improve along with your vision.

Dave

[cat]

Cat,

I'd say definitely slow down on the long swing if you're making yourself stick by spinning back and forth like that. And do it for more than 5 minutes, maybe for more than 15 minutes. A teacher suggested on another forum doing it for an hour to start off with if you're having such trouble with getting any good effects from it.

As far as your visualization, yes, that's normal for anyone with myopia. I'm not sure what you mean by seeing it on the back of your eyes, but if you mean on the back of your eyelids, nobody can do that. It's in your mind and has nothing to do with your eyes. A blind man wrote (or had transcribed) his story about having his eyes removed from a freak accident and his visualization abilities and memory improving dramatically. Just like when remembering a sound, you don't try to feel it coming in your ears, you just remember the experience of hearing it.

Your memory only lasts a fraction of a second because you internally stare at it. As soon as it flashes into your mind, you lock onto it and stare just as you would with seeing, forcing it to disappear. There are ways to practice improving it, mentally letting your attention flow in motion. But practically speaking if you have too much trouble with this you're better off doing other exercises and letting your memory improve along with your vision.

Dave

Thanks for that clarification. I guess my visualization was so superior before, that I must have tricked myself into thinking I could actually see it (on the back of my eyelids).