Ординатура / Офтальмология / Английские материалы / Relearning To See_Quackenbush_2000

image for longer than two to three seconds without the image fading. The image must move on the retina or it will disappear. The human eye jumps every three-tenths to five-tenths of a second in an involuntary tremor that nature seems to have designed to keep our eyes in motion. Although birds cannot move their eyes, they are constantly moving their heads.. .Moreover, if an object moves, the insect is able to see it even more clearly.8

R. L. Gregory writes:

A simple way of optically stabilizing the retinal image. [Referring to an illustration of device not shown here.] The object (a small photographic transparency) is carried on the eye on a contact lens, and moved exactly with it. After a few seconds the eye becomes blind to the stabilised image, some parts fading before others.9

Mike Samuels, M.D., and Nancy Samuels write:

Psychologists have found that if a person's gaze becomes absolutely fixed while looking at an object, the image of the object will extinguish within seconds. Most people are unfamiliar with this phenomenon because in the course of normal seeing they unconsciously move their eyes continuously. Studies have shown that people move their eyes in small, jerky scanning movements even when they are looking at an object that is not moving. If a person fixes his gaze on a mental image, it likewise tends to disappear. Whereas if a person scans a mental image as if it were a perception, he will find the image tends to be clearer and more stable....10

Researchers have independently confirmed Bates' discoveries about vision.

The light receptors in our eyes function

Chapter Nine: The First Principle—Movement

best by variation in light rays, e.g. different intensities: bright, medium, and dark; and different frequencies (colors). If the image we are viewing is not changing, e.g., a stationary chair, the only way the rods and cones can have the variations they need to Junction normally is if the person (or eye) moves.

The visual system cannot tolerate the experience of stationary objects appearing to be stationary for more than a second or two. Continual movement is necessary for normal, clear vision.

T. Ribot, considered the "Father" of the new psychological era of experimental research, wrote in The Psychology of Attention:

If we keep one of our eyes fixed upon any single point, after a while our vision becomes confused; a cloud is formed between the object and ourselves, and finally we see nothing at all. If we lay our hand flat upon a table, motionless, and without pressure (for pressure itself is a movement), by slow degrees the sensation wears off and finally disappears. The reason is, that there is no perception without movement, be it ever so weak. Every sensorial organ is at the same time both sensitive and motor. As soon as absolute immobility eliminates one of the two elements (motility), the functions of the other after a while is rendered null. In a word, movement is the condition of the change which is one of the conditions of consciousness. These well-known facts, of common experience, make us understand the necessity of these intermissions in attention, often imperceptible to consciousness, because they are very brief, and of a very delicate order... .u

As regards perceptions, there are no difficulties. All our organs of perception are at the same time sensorial and motor. To per-

ceive with our eyes, ears, hands, feet, tongue, nostrils, movements are needed. The more mobile the parts of our body, the more exquisite is their sensibiUty; the less perfect their motile power, the more obtuse their sensibility. Nor is this all; without motor movements, perception is impossible. We will call to mind a previous statement that if the eye be kept fixed upon a given object without moving, perception after a while grows dim, and then disappears. Rest the tips of the fingers upon a table without pressing, and the contact at the end of a few minutes will no longer be felt. But a motion of the eye, or of the finger, be it ever so light, will re-arouse perception. Consciousness is only possible through change: change is not possible save through movement. It would be easy to expatiate at great length upon this subject; for although the facts are very manifest and of common experience, psychology has nevertheless so neglected the role sustained by movements that it actually forgot at least that they are the fundamental condition of cognition in that they are the instrument of the fundamental law of consciousness, which is, relatively, change. Enough has now been said to warrant the unconditional statement that where there is no movement, there is no perception.12

The irony of trying to lock-on and freeze objects is that you lose them. The fact is: only when we are moving do we see best.

An interesting consequence of normal sight being dependent on constant movement is the validity of conventional approaches to studying and measuring eyesight. Many conclusions drawn by researchers on, and measurements of, eyesight are based on the subject's head being held still—sometimes for long periods of time. When eyesight is checked or measured, the subject's head is often locked rigidly in a machine.

M A N Y T Y P E S OF NATURAL EYE M O V E M E N T S

The six external muscles keep

in constant movement. Various types of eye movements include high-frequency tremors, optical drift, microscopic twitches, saccadic vibrations, and, of course, larger eye move- ments for seeing different objects. Even dur- ing sleep the eyes have REMs, or "Rapid Eye Movements"

The Human Body states:

.. .These involuntary movements...make sure that the image constantly moves over fresh parts of the retina. As a result, the receptors at any spot do not get overloaded with input and effective vision is main- tained.13

Eye movements also aid in circulation of fluids in and around the eyes

P O S T U R E : T H E EYESIGHT CON-NECK-

TION

The neck is a key part of the body for vision. The neck is the pathway of nerve message between the head and the rest of the bod). The second cervical vertebra (2C) is espe- cially related to the visual system.

Cerebral spinal fluid travels from the head, through the neck, and up and down the spinal column. A tight neck interferes with this important flow.

The same incorrect vision habits that tense the eye muscles tense the neck muscles Many students tell me they see better after chiro- practic or osteopathic adjustments, massage therapy, or various forms of bodywork that release the neck muscles.

The neck cannot completely release its tension until the staring habit is eliminated

Recently, after only one lesson, a studen

told me her neck had released so much, she could turn it fully to the right and left. She was told by one authority that she would never have a full range of movement in her neck.

Tip: Use a shower head which "pulses" and gives your neck and shoulders a mini-mas- sage.

The middle of the back of the neck is tight for many nearsights. The two back sides of the neck are tight for many farsights. A bifocal wearer has an especially tense "bifocal neck" and shoulders.

Do not tilt your head as a habit. This imbalance creates strain on the neck and whole

Chapter Nine: The First Principle—Movement

Figure 9-9: Head Tilt.

body. It also makes the practice of normal head movements difficult.

CORRECT

Figure д-ю: Use a Headset.

P A R T T H R E E : T H E T H R E E PRINCIPLES

CHAIRS

Many Americans have desk jobs. Most chairs are not designed to support correct posture. | Use a chair that is comfortable but also sup-

POSTURE DURIN G SLEEP

Better Eyesight magazine, February 1923:

Posture during sleep has been studied.

Lying on the face has generally been accompanied by an increase of eye strain. Sleeping on the back with the arms and limbs extended with slight flexion is undoubtedly better than sleeping on the right or left side. A cramped [fetal] posture is always wrong. The person is not always conscious of his posture when asleep. In a number of cases observed by friends...one or both arms were held behind the head while asleep and strenuously denied by the person when awake.

The correction of this and other strained positions of the arms and limbs has been followed by decided benefit to vision.

Biermann and Toohey write further:

Do you always sleep on your stomach? If so, your head is turned to one side and one [neck] muscle is shortened. This stiff­ ens the muscle to an extreme, especially if you sleep a regular eight hours nightly.

The solution is to train yourself to sleep on your side or on your back.15

Don't lock your neck hard as stone! Mow your head all day long—even while thinking

Aldous Huxley writes:

In myopes especially, posture tends to be extremely bad. This may be directh due in some cases to short sight, which encour­ ages stooping and a hanging of the bead

Figure 9-11: Don't Lock Your Neck...

Conversely, the myopia may be due in part at least to the bad posture. F. M. Alexander records cases in which myopic children regained normal vision after being taught the proper way of carrying the head and neck in relation to the trunk.

In adults, the correction of improper posture does not seem to be sufficient of itself to restore normal vision. Improvement in vision will be accelerated by those who learn to correct faulty habits.. ..16

Note again that vision improvement is not about "eye exercises." Natural vision improvement involves the relearning of correct vision habits all day long.

TOM'S PERSONAL LOG : When I began riding a motorcycle, I found the engine noise very annoying. I discovered I could lower this noise by swallowing hard and frequently. This tightened my neck and eardrums, and lowered the engine noise. I lost much of my high-frequency hearing ability by learning to do this.

It was also difficult to hold my head against the wind. So, I learned that by bending my body forward and angling my head upward I could take a lot of the pressure of the wind off of my head.

When I began improving my vision I became aware that while walking, I was see-

Chapter Nine: The First Principle—Movement

ing straight ahead, but my head was pulled upward and my eyes were looking downward relative to my head.

During my second visit to my chiropractor, I was shown an x-ray of how my neck and spinal column were severely out of ahgnment. The upper part of my body was curved, falling forward. My head was pulled upward and backward, creating a very large, unnatural angle in the vertebrae of my neck. I had severe, chronic headaches and neck tension for many years.

I asked her how long it would take to bring these distortions back to their normal positions. She said it would take about ten years. I think she was trying to be nice by not telling me it might take twenty or thirty years.

My high-frequency hearing is gradually returning to normal.

The tremendous strain in my neck is one of the factors in my vision improvement process taking much longer than for most students.

MOVEMENT—THE MENTAL/

EMOTIONAL CONNECTIONS

St. Jerome wrote, "Eyes without speaking confess the secrets of the heart."

While physical movement is important for normal vision, "mental movement" is even more important. The natural interest and curiosity of children teaches us about seeing naturally.

A child first trunks about, or imagines, what he wants to do—in his mind—and then his body follows through with physical action. A girl who wants to play on the swings at the playground first desires to swing, and then she moves physically to the swing. A boy first wants to ride the bicycle, and then proceeds to ride down the street.

On one of the local cable TV channels,

K- there is a station called The Discovery Channel, Interest, curiosity, discovery, and exploration are key concepts for clear vision. They are natural and normal. These attitudes of natural seeing occur mostly subconsciously.

Ellen Raskin wrote a charming little booklet entitled Nothing Ever Happens On My Block11; it is all about interest and discovery. (This book is listed in the Bibliography.)

The average person who has lost a great deal of sight no longer looks around. He has a fixed stare.

So, instead of "checking out," "check it out!" Look around, with a head motion, in order to see. Point your nose at what you want to see. Relearn interest and curiosity!

Paul E. Dennison states, "The eyes must move in order to really see. Whole body movement aids the ability to internalize awareness and memory of objects in space."18 The issues involved in oppositional movement occur mainly in the mind. Some students find it difficult in the beginning stages of their vision improvement to allow stationary objects to move. The habit of rigid

staring has become ingrained.

Oftentimes students remember a particularly stressful period of their life when they decided to "try" to stop objects from moving. This can occur for a child during a period of emotional stress (e.g. divorce, moving to another city, childhood abuse). The person who learned to stare often has issues of "trying to hold on tight." "If I try hard enough to keep everything from moving, then maybe the situation will not get worse." Fear is often a factor, especially for nearsights.

One of my students told me she could see clearly at all distances—except at 100 feet. Closer than 100 feet her sight was clear, and beyond 100 feet her sight was clear.

Initially, this was puzzling to me. For one who has blur in the distance, usually everything from twenty feet out toirmnityis not clear. This must have meant she was

straining her sight with poor vision habits only at 100 feet. She told me that long ago, she had a very stressful experience with the events occurring at 100 feet.

TOM'S PERSONAL LOG: In the first grade I had excellent eyesight while attending playful Walt Disney Elementary School in Anaheim, California.

In the third grade, I switched to a very strict parochial school, where I was informed that if I moved in the classroom when I was not supposed to, I could die and go to hell and burn forever. Not preferring that outcome, I quickly mastered staring.

One of the few entertainments my fellow classmates and I had found involving no movement in the classroom was to choke our- selves and see how close we could come to passing out, without passing out.

In the third grade, I got my first pair of glasses. Comparing pictures of me from Walt Disney Elementary School and the new ("Martyr") school showed a dramatic change in expression from one of happiness and play- fulness to one of seriousness and fear.

A holistic practitioner told me that,inChi- nese health philosophy, the emotion most associated with kidney stones is fear. In 1982. I was hospitalized with an excruciatingly painful attack of kidney stones.

(I would like to add at this point that I have the most loving and caring parents anyone could hope for.)

TOM'S PERSONAL LOG: For a long time I felt my nearsightedness was related, in some

respects, to fear of other people. (I was voted "the most shy" in grade school.) I did not want other people to come too close to me.

One of my farsighted students shared with me that she felt her (close) blur was related to not wanting other people to come too close to her.

This is very interesting. Both of us had come to the same conclusion, even though the vision problems were opposite of each other!

T H E P R O B L E M I S S T A R I N G

Out of sight, out of mind.

—Proverb

Seldom seen, soon forgotten.

—Proverb

A fixed position implies we are standing still, that even the eye is still Yet we all know that our eyes move constantly and the only time they stop moving is when we're dead—or when we are staring. And if we are staring, we're not really looking.

—David Hockney

From Better Eyesight magazine, June 1923;

When a person has normal sight the eye is at rest, and when the eye is at rest, strange to say, it is always moving to avoid the stare.

Better Eyesight magazine, September 1927:

Staring is a strain and always lowers the vision.

Better Eyesight magazine, May 1928:

THE STARE

...When a person stares, an effort is always made to hold the eyes still without moving them. It is impossible to hold the

Chapter Nine: The First Principle—Movement

eyes perfectly still. Trying to do the impossible always requires a strain. This strain can be demonstrated to be a mental strain which affects all the nerves of the body as well as the eye. With a mental strain, the memory and imagination become imperfect and imperfect sight results. Pain, fatigue or dizziness are acquired or made worse. With relaxation of all the nerves, the sense of touch is improved, but with the stare or other efforts to see the sense of touch is lost while the sense of pain is increased. . .There are some people who have been using the stare to improve their vision for a sufficient length of time to acquire the habit without being conscious that an effort is being made.

Staring is defined as not moving the eyes, head, and interest (with centralizing) for more than a second or two. A person must also be blinking and breathing normally.

W H Y Do PEOPLE STARE?

Since staring is one of the main causes of poor eyesight, it is valuable to explore some of the causes of staring. Staring can easily occur during periods of fatigue, boredom, worry, fear, injury, and pain.

Our society has become so fast-paced and complex that many people have forgotten about relaxation, and how to relax. "Time is money."

Mark Clements writes in his article "Sex in America Today" in Parade Magazine:

"The population has gotten older, and people have gotten busier," notes Shirley Zussman. "Men and women today work harder than any other generation I've known.They're tired all the time...."19

The point is—many people, especially in industrialized countries, burn themselves out, and then due to fatigue, they stare.

Worrying is another common cause of staring. The person is not interested in the surrounding environment. He locks the neck and diffuses. I have mentioned issues of fear above.

Accidents and illnesses can cause a person to stare. As long as the person stops the staring after the excess stress, the vision can return to normal. But, if the staring becomes a habit, vision will lower. Also, if glasses are put on a person during the stress period and staring, the glasses will likely lower the vision and reinforce the strained vision habits.

How much of "Attention Deficit Disorder" (ADD) is caused by staring?

How many children are forced to do activities that bore them, especially in school? How many become "bored stiff?"

T H E STARING TRA P

One of the problems with staring is that most individuals do not know they are staring while staring. They are "gone" or "spaced out." The mind is usually out of present time.

While staring, a person will not usually be aware that the vision is lowering during that time because he is "spaced out." He is not usually aware of the state of his vision, and therefore does not realize that staring is harmful to sight. Students become well aware of this relationship very early in vision classes.

One of the most important objectives in vision re-education is to bring the issue of correct and incorrect vision habits to the conscious level. In this way, the student is given the opportunity to relearn the correct way of using the mind and body, and to escape the

harm of staring and straining to see. With practice, the correct vision habits become subconscious and continuous once again.

You G E T WHA T YOU THINK

On a deeper level, visually, a person is getting what they are thinking of, or should we say, not thinking of. A person is not interested in the visual world, so it becomes bluned. It doesn't really matter what the vision is during staring, does it?!—because the person is not really seeing during staring. There is no reason for the vision to be clear during staring, because the person is not interested in seeing. Since the person is not visually interested in the environment, the person is not really "seeing" in a normal, visually connected way. The fact that the vision is bluned, or even clear, becomes irrelevant during staring. As stated before, people with blurry vision often look "unseeingly."

Staring "sneaks in" when a person is least looking. It is not usually the case that some consciously decide to stare, except for the infamous children's "staring contest," where the goal is to not blink! Those with the strongest glasses usually win!

If you want to see, see! In other words. never stare. See actively all day long, but never with an effort. This is normal and natural.

STARING WHILE MOVING

Better Eyesight magazine, January 1924:

".. .one can stare by trying to see with the sides of the retina, [calledj eccentric fixation."

It is possible to be moving yet still staring. This is the case if a person is diffusing while moving. This is still a form of staring, because the student is not centralizing. Centralization

is discussed in Chapter 10; centralization is attention to detail.

A person can move the head but still be "spaced out." In order for someone to not be staring, both movement and centralization are needed.

N O N - M O V E M E NT

One of my students said that her friends did not like her to move when they were talking with her. She decided that she was not going to relearn the vision principle of movement— and her vision stopped improving. Her sister decided to relearn natural movement and had excellent improvement of her sight.

One of my students told me that her husband's movement used to bother her when she was speaking with him. She thought he was rude because he was not giving her as much attention as he could if he would remain still. She stood as still as possible when talking with him. She wore strong prescription glasses. He has normal sight.

Another of my students, who had very strong prescription glasses, told me that some clients would tell him at work that when he talked with them, he never moved anything except his mouth. His rigidity was so pronounced, complete strangers would mention it to him.

Better Eyesight magazine, September 1922:

Many persons, when they are talking to you, feel it the proper thing to keep their eyes fixed continuously on your face, that is to say, to stare at you. Instead of moving their eyes from one eye to the other or from one side of the nose to the other, they stare at one eye continuously, which lowers the vision and may cause headaches or some other discomfort. It is well to get into

Chapter Nine: The First Principle—Movement

the habit of imagining the faces of the peo- } pie are moving from side to side. |

Movement does not need to be large when conversing with another person. One of the best ways to practice small movements is to nose-feather your face in a mirror. Practice shifting your nose-feather with small, slow movements.

P E R I P H E R A L R O D S F O R M O V E M E N T

Sandra Sinclair writes, "We aren't really aware of what happens on the periphery of our vision until a movement there causes us to focus on that spot."20

As will be discussed in subsequent chapters, the rod light receptors in the peripheral part of our retina are designed to pick up movement—and they do so much better than the cones. The physical, and even more so the mental, attempt to make objects still—called staring—interferes with the ability of the rods to perceive movement in the peripheral vision.

O T H E R N O T E S O N M O V E M E N T A N D S T A R I N G

STARING — AN D B L U R R E D V I S I O N - IS EPIDEMIC

In 1976,51% of the US population (111 million people) needed corrective lenses. By 1986, the percentage had risen to 56%.These numbers will be more and more underestimated as more people say they do not need corrective lenses after doing corneal surgeries or other corneal procedures.

This is a 0.5% increase per year over a tenyear period. These numbers do not include people who have blurred vision but refuse to, or cannot, wear corrective lenses. There are many such people.

If this rate of 1% increase every two years continues, theoretically nearly every US citizen will need corrective lenses by the year

2100!

Blur is epidemic in this society. Anyone who has blurred vision stares. Staring is based on strain. Blurred vision is a reflection of the high strain most people experience in this society.

So, relax and dance!

AN 84-YEAR-OLD CHILD

more accustomed to movement than they now are with staring and rigidity. They also want to become more accustomed to the illusion of oppositional movement than the experience of objects being fixed.

We had movement when we used to see clearly. Movement is not an exercise; it is the correct way of living naturally with the visual system, until 84 years old—at least!

If you relearn natural movements, you will never want to go back to staring. Staring is a manifestation of lowered health. No one is completely healthy—physically, emotionally, or mentally—who has blurred vision. If the reader is not interested relearning natural movements to improve her sight, I recommend relearning movement to improve her overall health.

At my booth in a health fair in 1983, an elderly woman with a lot of spirit, interest, and positive energy came up to me and said, "What do you do here, sonny?" I said, "I teach students how to improve their vision by relearning relaxed vision habits." She said, "Very interesting. Do you know I have had perfect vision all of my life?" I answered, "No, but it would not surprise me." Then she said, "But you don't understand, sonny. I am 84 years old."

I think I do understand.

Then she left happily and energetically, moving her head and body with lots of curiosity down the aisle, exploring the other exhibits—like a six-year-old child.

This woman made a big impression on me. Bates taught all his students to see like children see, for their entire lifetime. "Unless ye become like children...."

Natural vision students want to become

T H E S O L U T I O N I S MOVEMENT

See Plate 7; "Dancer."

The three key habits, discussed more in Part Four, "The Three Habits of Natural Vision," are all based on movements:

1.Sketching (shifting) includes both a physical movement of the head and eyes, but more importantly, a movement of the mind;

2.Breathing abdominally is a form of natural movement; and

3.Blinking is a natural movement of the eyelids.

In the next chapter we explore the one of the more subtle, mental principles of natural vision—-centralization.