Long open focus session

Last night, I practiced seeing the flash/open focus for an hour.  I also did a few seconds of palming every once in a while, and I did some swaying at the end.  Here’s what I gained:

• At first I could only read 10/200 on the chart.  By the end I could read 10/50.
• While the 50 line was the lowest I could read, it was not the lowest line I was able to see.  For most of the time (when my focus was on the chart), I could see the shapes of the individual letters on the 40, 30, and 25 lines.  I even counted the letters on the 30 line (seven letters); at the end I checked the chart up close, and this number was correct! 😀
• I felt frustrated because I could see the individual letters (their locations) on as low as the 25 line, but I could not clear them enough to be able to recognize them.  As I tried to clear the letters, I could feel my eyes struggling to relax and let go of their tension.  However, I guess my mistake was trying to clear the letters.  I’m sure that with practice I’ll be able to let go of the tension in my eyes and see lower than the 50 line. 8)

Practicing open focus

Last night I practiced seeing the flash/open focus for about 20 minutes.  When I started I could only read 10/200 on the chart, and the letter (E) seemed a darker black than normal.  After a while, I was able to read 10/60.  However, I fell asleep near the end, so I did not get to practice as long as I had wanted.

“How the eye works”

Today in my physics class, we learned, among other topics, how the eye works.  Before I share what I was taught, I want to show a quote from Liberman’s book (pg. 18) that I was reminded of:

I was taught that vision is a mechanical function that works just like an optical lens — a “camera” in the eye.  In my textbook, the chapter on the optics of the eye was preceded by a chapter on general optics.  First we learned how light moved through lenses and prisms, and then we applied this to the vision process.  In fact, we studied the eye as if it were a camera that just happened to be located in the head.

The book’s copyright is in 1995, so Liberman must have learned that information over 13 years ago.  Now, over a decade later in 2008, I learned the following:

• The current chapter (Chapter 24)  we are learning from is on the combination of lenses and how light rays move through them.  Section 24.2 was on the camera.  Section 24.3 was on the eye.
• We learned that the lens is at a fixed distance from the retina.  This is the major difference between a camera and an eye; while a camera’s focus is changed by moving the lens, an eye’s focus is changed by changing the shape of the lens.  Cameras and eyes are similar because they both have a converging (plus) lens and a film/retina that the light rays are captured on.
• Then we learned the terms near point, far point, and the equation for the refractive power of a lens (measured in diopters).  Additionally, we learned about how light rays hit the retina in a normal eye, a myopic eye, and a hyperopic eye.

Wow, science has advanced so far in the mechanics of the eye in the past decade! 🙄 Anyway, I just thought I would share this information in case anyone wanted to know what is currently being taught on how the eyes (do not) work.

Seeing the Flash/Open Focus

Sunday night I decided to practice open focus and the “vision meditation” of seeing the flash from page 92 of Liberman’s book, Take Off Your Glasses and See. I practiced them at the same time because I think open focus is meant to be a constant action even while doing other vision meditations.  I practiced these techniques for about 30 minutes while reclined on my bed (with a back-rest cushion thing).  Here are my results/notes:

• I was able to see 10/50 on the Snellen chart quite clearly, and I even could see the form of the letters on the 40 line (these letters came in such brief flashes that I could not recognize the letters, but I could recognize their shapes).
• I generally allowed my eyes to move wherever they felt drawn.  This is from the open focus technique; you are supposed to let your eyes move unconsciously and in a relaxed manner.  You let them move to see whatever object in your peripheral vision is catching your attention.
• I was able to see oppositional movement well while sketching the frame of my closet and other lines.
• The top letter (200 line) was very black.  Usually it is seen as a dark gray color.
• I was not able to see too well the “wobble” in the vision that Liberman describes.  This is supposed to happen when one first opens his eyes because he has not had enough time to strain yet.  The wobble is the change from perfectly clear vision to one’s normal vision (which is blurry if one has myopia, astigmatism, etc.).  While I could tell that there was some change in my vision immediately after I opened my eyes, it happened in an instant.  Therefore, I could not distinguish the differences.
• Every once in a while I would palm for about 10 seconds just to give some variety to my eyes.

Based on my results, I believe that for me palming and open focus provide different and complementary results.  Palming is useful when my eyes are closed, and it allows me to relax the muscles of my body (especially my upper back, neck and face) and my mind to a great extent.  Open focus is useful when my eyes are open, and it allows me to keep my eye muscles and mind relaxed so that I am able to let my eyes move to wherever they are drawn.  I think that open focus is more beneficial once I open my eyes because there is a smaller change than with palming.  palming = darkness -> full light, open focus = less light through the eyelids -> full light

Slight Improvements

Last Thursday:  I decided to palm for 30 minutes indoors.  Before= 10/200, After= 10/60. 😐 I expected better results since I palmed for so long, but I think I know why I did not go further than 10/60.  When I first started palming I felt relaxed and my mind was calm.  Then for the last part (the last ~10 minutes), my arms started to fall asleep and my back started to become a little sore.  I believe the physical strain from these things, plus the the fact that my mind was focusing on those two problems, prevented my mind/eyes from relaxing more.

Last Friday:  While I was at work I was sketching the lines on the wall (there are a bunch of vertical and horizontal blue lines (~5 mm wide) on a white background), and I was able to see oppositional movement (or the universal swing) very well. 🙂 While my eyes were moving along the lines it seemed as if they were following a small clear area without any conscious effort.  A way to imagine it would be if you turned off the lights in the room and then looked at things on a wall with the small light circle from a flashlight (the lights were on, so it wasn’t this dramatic).  Anyway, my eyes felt very relaxed as I sketched the lines and saw oppositional movement.

Today:  I sunned and palmed for a few minutes outside and was able to see 20/50 on the Snellen chart.  However, the letters on this line were just barely readable.  I saw them in such brief clear flashes that I almost didn’t have enough time to recognize them.

One final thing I want to discuss is the difference in relaxation I feel during palming as compared to after palming.  While I palm, I can consciously relax all my upper back, neck, and face muscles, and I am able to keep my mind on one thought (usually my breathing or remembering a letter).  However, once I remove my hands and open my eyes, I can immediately feel my face and eyes tense up.  I know that if my mind and body remained as relaxed as they are during palming, I would be able to see lower lines on the chart.  Therefore, I plan on rereading, in LIberman’s book, the technique of open focus.

When I have practiced open focus in the past, I was able to remain relaxed even when my eyes were open.  The relaxed feeling I acquire during this technique is very similar to how I felt as I sketched the lines at work (on Friday).  I think it will be befeficial for me to practice open focus until it becomes an unconscious habit for me.  I will start working with this technique this week.

Clearing Progress

These notes are from last week, and I haven’t posted them until now because I have been busy lately.

Thursday:  After palming for about 5 minutes while swinging an imaginary black period, I was able to see 10/50 on my chart indoors in very brief flashes!  This is the best I have seen on the chart so far 😀 .  Also, I finished rereading Bates’ book, The Cure of Imperfect Sight by Treatment Without Glasses (the pdf version).  One thing that stood out to me in this reading of the book was his emphasis on the mental aspects/causes/cures of imperfect vision.  Also, I started using a couple new techniques while palming- swinging an imaginary black period and remembering the letters from the chart as perfectly black as possible.  I mostly focused on his tips for palming because he says in one part that if a technique does not work in the first few tries, to stop using it.  (This mainly applies to swinging or swaying for me.  While I do find these two activities relaxing, I haven’t noticed any significant changes in my visual acuity after using them.  However, palming is very helpful for me, so I mostly use that technique.)  A final thing I found amusing is the humor he uses in his writing.  I laughed at his sarcastic use of Salvino degli Armati’s (the inventor of glasses) epitaph in the begining of the book, and the last few paragraphs in his book about man’s common failure to be reasonable were hilarious (and true) 😆 .

Friday: I palmed, imagined swinging a black period, and practiced remembering letters from my chart for about 10 minutes outside.  I was able to see 20/60 on the chart.  This supports my previous observation that I see about twice as good in sunlight as I do in indoor lighting.

As to the title of my post, I have noticed lately that my eyesight is clearing for details on distant objects better now.  These clearings happen more frequently and last longer.  Furthermore, when I blink, the clear flash does not always go away.  Before, blinking made the clearness dissappear about 90% of the time.  Now, the clearness lasts through a few blinks about 50% of the time.  I see this as progress that my eyes are starting to improve their “default” visual acuity.

Personalities

Monday night:  After palming for about 5 minutes while shifting a black period in my mind, I was able to read 10/60 on the chart indoors.

Wednesday night:  I palmed for about 1 minute, then I practiced the method of flashing (palming for a few seconds, opening my eyes for an instant, palming again and remembering the letter).  After about 10 minutes of flashing, I read 10/70 on the chart.  I then palmed for about 5 minutes and read 10/60 on the chart.

Now I want to write about the slow change in my personality that I’ve observed since starting to improve my vision.  This change is not to a new or different personality, but it is a change in awareness of what my real personality is/was.  The current myopic personality/self that I have had for a while requires an effort to maintain.  Mainly, I keep my thoughts and feelings to myself.  Furthermore, when I do express myself, my heart beats very fast and strongly.  At the same time my head is filled with the thoughts that what I am saying is “bad” or unkind or wrong.  These reactions happen not only in person, but also when I just write an email or message to a friend that disagrees with something they said/did.  Pretty much, I’m just afraid to offend anyone. 😦 The personality that I am becoming aware of is my old personality, from when I was younger and less/not myopic (in regard to my vision).  This personality is who I really am and who expresses me best.  Back then, I spoke my mind and was respectful of others at the same time.  I want to have this personality again because I know it will help me in all areas of my life.

As a further note, I had realized this change in personality before (even before I began improving my vision).  However, I decided that the change was just because I was becoming more mature.  I now realize that maturity has nothing to do with one’s personality; it only has to do with the wisdom in the choices one makes.  By the time I have regained my real personality, I will be not only be more confident but more mature and wiser in addition.

I’m not sure if this post will benefit anyone improving their vision, but I just wanted to tell others about this major change in my thinking.  Since Bates found mental strain to be the cause of all vision deficiencies, I am sure that a change to my natural, more relaxed personality will allow further improvements in my vision.

Clearing my vision

First, as a note, I measured my visual acuity indoors on Tuesday night.  It was 10/70 after a little swinging and some palming.

Now on to my main topic.  I have noticed today that I am able to clear my vision on demand much better than before.  This clearing is not dramatic, but it allows me to see details on things.  For example, I would clear my vision while looking around sitting in a bus.   I was able to see the lines on the covers of the fluorescent lights and the ridges on the floor.  While working on a computer, and wearing glasses that let me see about 20/80, I was able to see the grates on the door of a study area that was about 30 ft. away; the lines on the grate would usually be invisible to me.  For the grates especially, and for the other things, I noticed the best clearing if I sketched a long straight line leading up to those objects.  The line might be the edge of sunlight coming through the window or the edge of a building.  This sketching of lines seems to demonstrate the importance of centralization to clear vision.  Also, the way I used the lines reminds me of the Near-to-Far Swing from page 129 of Relearning to See.  For some reason, this method allows me to focus further away than just looking off directly to a distant object.  Maybe my eyes need to adjust more slowly than I want to be able to focus distant objects clearly.  Furthermore, I was only able to clear my vision if I was relaxed and not trying to see the details.

One more observation I have noticed, because of a post on Seeing Beauty’s blog, is that I read incorrectly and too fast.  Like Sorrisi, I also tend to read ahead of the word/letter that should be in the center of my visual field.  Even as I write this post, I had forgotten and was not aware of it until I remembered this idea just now.  I believe that if I work on improving this poor habit, I will be able to read without glasses at a further distance.  I’m sure I will continue to learn new helpful things from the other vision bloggers on WordPress.  🙂