Ординатура / Офтальмология / Английские материалы / Relearning To See_Quackenbush_2000

NOTES

1 T. Ribot, The Psychology of Attention (Chicago: The Open Court Publishing Company, 1890), p. 11.

2Aldous Huxley, The Art of Seeing (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1942), p. 37.

3Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are

(New York: Harper & Row, 1963).

4Alexander Jones, The Jerusalem Bible (New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1966), 1 Kings, Chapter 14, Verse 5, p. 439.

5The front sight is the one at the end of the barrel.

6John P. Frisby, Seeing: Illusion, Brain and Mind

(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979)> P- 4^-

7John О. E. Clark, consultant editor, The Human Body (New York: Arch Cape Press, 1989), p. 258.

8Sandra Sinclair, How Animals See (New York: Facts on File Publications, 1985), p. xv.

9R. L. Gregory, Eye and Brain: The Psychology of Seeing (New York: McGraw-Hill Co., 1966), p. 46.

Chapter Nine: The First Principle—Movement

10Mike and Nancy Samuels, Seeing with the Mind's Eye (New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1978), p. 59-

11Ribot, The Psychology of Attention, p. 11.

12Ibid., p. 46.

13Clark, The Human Body, p. 258.

14June Biermann and Barbara Toohey, The Woman's Holistic Headache Relief Book (Los Angeles: J. P. Tarcher, Inc., 1979), p. 47.

15Ibid.

16Huxley, The Art of Seeing, p. 273.

17Ellen Raskin, Nothing Ever Happens On My Block (New York: Macmillan Publishing Com­ pany, 1966).

18Paul E. Dennison, "Reading and Vision," Brain Gym Magazine, Vol. II, No. 3 (Fall, 1988), p. 1.

19Mark Clements, "Sex in America Today," Parade Magazine (August 7,1994), pp. 5-6.

20 Sinclair, How Animals See, p. 81.

Shift your glance constantly from one point to another, seeing the part regarded best and other parts not so clearly. That is, when you look at a chair, do not try to see the whole object at once; look first at the back of it, seeing that pan best and other parts worse....

shift your glance from the back to the seat and legs, seeing each part best, in turn. This is central[ization].r

—William H. Bates, M.D., Better Eyesight,

September 1927

C E N T R A L I Z A T I O N

From Perfect Sight Without Glasses:

It is impossible to see, remember, or imagine anything [clearly], even for as much as a second, without shifting from one part to another, or to some other object and back again; and the attempt to do so always produces strain.

Centralization is the second key principle of natural vision. The human eye can see only one point clearly at any moment. This is an anatomical fact. Since the point of clarity is only available in the center of the visual picture, it is impossible to see clearly without centralizing. The peripheral vision is never seen clearly. Several demonstrations of this fact are given below.

Centralization is the normal, natural, subconscious mental habit, or skill, of having one's primary visual attention, or interest, at one small, central point at any particular moment, and this central point of interest is the only place within the visual field that is clear and most colorful.

Better Eyesight magazine, December 1925

(Repeated from the previous chapter on Movement):

SHIFTING

... When the vision is good, all objects not regarded are seen less distinctly than those seen with centralization. When the vision is imperfect, objects not observed may be seen better, or an effort is made to see them better than those directly observed. In fact, it is always true, that in all cases of imperfect sight, the eyes do not see best where they are looking and centralization is lost.

When a person has normal centralization and normal sight, only the central object is seen clearly, and all peripheral objects are much less clear and less colorful. When a person has diffusion and imperfect sight, neither the central object nor the peripheral objects are seen clearly.

CENTRALIZATION—THE SEARCHLIGHT

Have you ever seen a searchlight sweeping along clouds in the sky at night? Or have you ever shined a flashUght along objects in a dark room? If you have, you have an idea of centralization. Although there are lots of clouds in the sky, you can only see one small area of a cloud best with the searchlight; all the other clouds are seen less clearly. Similarly, one object is seen best at any moment when shining the flashlight along objects in the dark room. Adding the movement principle from the last chapter, the searchlight and flashlight are continually scanning or shifting to see different objects best—one at a time.

The human eye is capable of seeing only one point clearly at a time. The peripheral

vision is never clear. It is impossible for humans to see clearly unless they are centralizing.

Peripheral vision is not ignored while centralizing; it is simply less clear and less colorful than the central vision. Since the peripheral vision is less clear and less colorful, it makes sense to have our visual attention where perception is best—and that place is only in the center. Peripheral vision is very important vision, but it is secondary to the central vision.

Generally, people who have blurred vision do not centralize—they diffuse. In fact, the instant a person diffuses away from the central point of the visual field, clarity lowers immediately—by definition. This is equally true for a person who has normal sight. The person with blur takes his attention away from the only place in the picture that is clear—the center. The peripheral vision is 20/400 unclear—at best! It will become apparent very soon that in order for a person to relearn to see, naturally and clearly, the individual must return the visual attention back to the center. There is no other possibility.

T H E P E R I P H E R A L IS "NO T CLEAR"

Often, people who have perfect eyesight will not say that their peripheral vision is "blurry." Rather, some like to say it is "not clear.'Tn normal vision, the light rays focus conectly on the retina. The rods, which pick up our peripheral vision, are incapable of picking up peripheral objects clearly. Only the cones in the fovea centralis pick up clarity.

Mary Dudderidge writes in Scientific

American:

The fundamental principle of this new system of eye training is what Dr. Bates calls centralization.] The trouble with the

civili/ed eye, he says, is that we use it as though it were a photographic camera. The camera can see everything which falls upon its sensitive plate equally well, but the human eye is not built that way. The retina has more nerve cells in the center than anywhere else, and therefore is designed to see one point better than others in its field of vision. In other words, we see best in the direction in which we are looking. When we submit to this, the eye is at rest Centralization] is attained by two methods, practice and rest, the latter coming first.2

See Plate 44: How We See.

CENTRALIZATION—THE PHYSICAL CONNECTION

of light receptors in the retina—cones and rods.

The cones are designed for clarity and color perception in medium or bright light. The great majority of the cones are located in the center of the macula lutea at the fovea centralis. There are only cones exactly in the center of the fovea—no rods. There is a small number of cones extending out from the fovea. Unlike the cones in the fovea, these "peripheral" cones, like the rods, are buried under eight layers of retinal cells and blood vessels. Peripheral cones do not pick up the degree of clarity and colors that the high density of cones in the fovea do.

The rods pick up "unclear" movements, grays, and black/white shapes in our peripheral vision. Unlike the cones, they can function in very low levels of light. The rods are located outside of the center of the fovea centralis.

The cones and rods are discussed at length in Chapter 17, "The Retina."

Object R on the right, Object R is now the central object, and the light rays from Object R now enter the fovea for sharp clarity. Object С is now off to his left—in his periph­ eral vision. Object С is now much less clear.

Peripheral vision is whatever is outside the exact center of the visual field at any partic­ ular instant.

I have wondered for many years why many Bates teachers have not educated their stu­ dents about the distribution of cones and rods in the retina.

I N T E R F E R I N G W I T H N O R M A L C E N T R A L I Z A T I O N

Better Eyesight magazine, October 1923:

When you have imperfect sight and look at the first letter of a line of letters on the Snellen Card which you cannot read, you can always note that you do not see the first letter or any other letter better than the rest. Usually the whole line looks pretty much the same shade of gray. Why is it? Because you are trying to see the whole line at once... If you hold the card up close where you can readily read the same line you will notice, or you can get somebody with good eyesight to show you, that when you distinguish a letter you do not see any of the other letters so well. To see one let­ ter at a time is much easier than to see a whole line of letters, in fact to see a num­ ber of letters all perfectly at the same time is impossible and trying to do it is a strain.... if you try to do the impossible, try to see the whole line of letters at once [clearly] you will always fail, because you will have to make an effort. It is not an easy thing at all to fail, it is difficult, you have to try, or you make an effort to do the impos­ sible in order to fail. To prove that imper­ fect sight is more difficult and requires hard

Centralizing is based on relaxation; diffu­ sion is based on effort and strain.

Bates wrote in the May 8,1915, issue of the

New York Medical Journal:

By eccentric fixation is meant the ability of the eye partially or completely to suppress the vision of the center of the fovea and to see best [but not clearly] with other parts of the retina.3

Mary Dudderidge writes in Scientific

American:

But when the eye attempts to see every point in its field of vision about as well as the central point, not only is its visual power lowered, but it is subjected to a severe strain, as anyone can observe for himself by trying to see every part of any surface of four or five inches in extent, or even much less, equally well at one time. This strain Dr. Bates believes to be at the bot­ tom of most eye troubles.4

One of my students had normal sight in his first year at college. While playing basketball he recognized consciously that he saw only one point clearly at any moment. This, of course, is how a person with normal sight sees. Unfortunately, he began thinking about changing his natural way of seeing.

In discovering consciously that his periph­ eral vision was not clear, he decided to try to learn to see everything clearly simultaneously. He thought the entire picture could become clear if he practiced diffusing his visual attention throughout the picture. If he suc­ ceeded, he thought he would be able to see all of the other basketball players clearly at the same time, and then he would be able to play

better basketball. He practiced diffusion and strained his vision. The result of his experiment was his vision blurred and he got glasses.

Notice this basketball player's motivation for trying to diffuse—to play better basketball. Some students assume that the circumstances present when their vision first blurred must have been unpleasant, maybe even traumatic. The basketball story shows this is not necessarily so. He formed strained vision habits, but his motivation and circumstances were positive.

Another student told me he was driving a big "semi" truck for many years while enjoying normal sight. One day he realized he was always moving his head to see the traffic and the road and scenery, one point at a time. He thought that if he diffused and saw everything at once, he would not need to move his head anymore! Not long after his mastery of diffusion and rigidity, his sight lowered, and he got his first pair of glasses Notice how in this case diffusion was learned simultaneously with non-movement.

Another student said she remembered that, when in grade school, she thought about

how she saw the world while walking home from school one day. She realized the peripheral vision was not clear; only the center was clear. She became very concerned about her lack of peripheral clarity, and concluded there was something wrong with her vision!

The memory of the specific interference to centralization often surfaces during natural vision classes. The interference to centralizing must be removed to improve sight.

One of my best students said, "I Choose to Refuse to Diffuse!"

The Vision Halo, also known as the "antidiffusion halo," is described in Chapter 18, "Stereoscopic Vision."

RESISTANCE TO RELEARNING CENTRALIZATION

One of my students agreed that when her glasses were off, the peripheral vision was less clear than the central vision. However, when her glasses were on, for example, when driving her car, she said the peripheral vision was just as clear as the central vision.

I pointed out to her that, due to the distribution of cones and rods in the eye, it is impossible to see all objects clearly simulta- neously—and there are no exceptions under any circumstances, with or without glasses. The following week she stated that when she drove home, she realized the peripheral vision was not as clear as the central vision.

Many students resist the truth of centralizing in the beginning. The vision could not have become blurred without acquiring diffusion. Diffusion becomes part of the personality.

There are various levels of acceptance students move through as they improve their vision. The process of improving vision takes time and patience.

C E N T R A L I Z A T I O N G O E S WITH MOVEMENT; D I F F U S I O N G O E S WITH R I G I D I T Y

one point to another with a head movement. Head movement releases the neck.

In the last chapter, we discussed the importance of movement in regard to normal, clear vision. Centralization goes with movement. The person with clear vision is constantly moving from one point of interest to another. Both the head and eyes are moving.

Actually, it is the person's interest that shifts from one point to another, and the eyes and head simply follow the "mental movement."

Diffusion often goes with rigidity. Logically, when a person is trying to see everything at once, there is no reason to move. The problem with rigidity is the head, neck, and eye muscles become abnormally and chronically tight. The visual system cannot tolerate this strain—and blur results

Fritz Kahn, in his outstanding two-volume set Man in Structure and Function, states:

During the day one sees chiefly with the central part of the retina. Spatially, the central visual field is restricted, but everything contained in it is seen clearly and in all its colour. The spatial limitation [of central clarity] is compensated for by constant movement of the eyes5

Conversely, locking the eyes and head still often goes with diffusion. A person with blur thinks, "If I lock my head still, I can just see everything at once. In fact, I don't need to move my head or my eyes when I diffuse." This attitude and practice is harmful to sight.

The above assumes the person is interested in seeing at all when the head is locked. A locked head and neck often go with "spaced out" staring.

Ultimately the natural vision student realizes head movement "goes with" centralizing. It is necessary to shift our attention from

TOM'S PERSONAL LOG: When I was in Army basic training, we were taken to the base of a medium-size hill. This hill had many bushes, trees, and large rocks on it. There were about a dozen soldiers hiding on this hill. Some were more hidden than others, and some moving more than others, but all of them were at least partially visible. We were instructed to find as many of the men as we could while standing at the base of this hill.

Immediately, several of my fellow trainees began pointing to one soldier after another. I became frustrated, as I did not see any men at all. I tried as hard as I could to see the entire hill simultaneously in a very diffused, "spread out" manner.

It was only near the end of this training, when one soldier finally jumped up and started waving his hands back and forth high in the air, that I finally saw a soldier. I began to wonder about my fate if I should end up in combat.

CENTRALIZATION WITHOUT

MOVEMENT; MOVEMENT WITHOUT

CENTRALIZATION

C E N T R A L I Z A T I O N WITHOUT MOVEMENT

IS INCORRECT

Better Eyesight magazine, January 1924: "One can stare in looking straight ahead with the center of sight "

It is possible to centralize, i.e., to notice one point, without moving the head or eyes It is not possible to lock onto one point for a long period of time without creating tension and possibly even pain. One problem is that people who have blurred vision often try to lock

on one point for a long period of time. One of my students had great difficulty

with the centralizing principle of vision. In the last class of the eight-week course, he demonstrated how he had finally succeeded— with great effort and rigidity—to lock onto one point. Proud of his accomplishment, he asked, "Now what should I do?" I suggested he now shift to another point of interest, and then another, and another. He did not like my answer, since it had taken him eight weeks to finally lock onto one point.

Notice how this student wanted to continue his rigid way of seeing. This student did well to centralize, but now the movement principle needed to be added to the centralizing.

Natural vision is a process of "dynamic relaxation." Normal vision includes both movement and centralizing. In normal vision, the attention shifts (moves) to a new point (centralization) of interest about every one or two seconds.

One vision program that teaches its students eye exercises says to make a "conscious effort" to look at "the entire screen" of a TV, while holding the head still. Students in this program are also told to not blink. Unfortunately, this type of incorrect teaching is not uncommon; it is completely the opposite of Bates' teaching on natural vision.

MOVEMENT WITHOUT CENTRALIZATION

IS INCORRECT

Better Eyesight magazine, January 1924:"...

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

Eccentric fixation is diffusion.

As mentioned in the previous chapter, it is possible to move without centralizing. Peo-

pie with blur often move without centralizing. For example, a person can be walking along without noticing where they are going.

After seventeen years of teaching natural vision, I am convinced that staring and "spacing out" are the cause of many, if not most, accidents.

C E N T R A L I Z A T I O N V S . DIFFUSION- T H E E M O T I O N A L CONNECTION

Diffusion can be a response to feelings of fear and being overwhelmed.

More than one of my students has toldme they learned to diffuse in the subways and streets of New York City "to protect rnysKT

Some people had significant stress when their blur started. Several of my students have stated their vision blurred when they were children and moved to another city, state, or country.

One student said she began diffusing when, as a child, there was a swarm of bees around her.

The irony of trying to "grab" everything at once—clearly—is that clarity is lost. As stated before, the instant a person takes her attention away from where it is clear in the center, clear perception is lowered. The peripheral vision is far less clear than the central vision.

TOM'S PERSONAL LOG: I found it extremely frustrating to centralize in my beginning vision lessons. It was scary. I thought it was essential to try to see everything at once clearly to be protected.

It seemed as if no one could possibly diffuse more than I did. This realization was the cause of extreme frustration.

Yet, my vision was improving, and I wanted

to continue my improvement, so I continued practicing centralizing better each day.

Centralizing becomes easier and better with practice. Remember, children centralize intuitively and naturally. They point.

Anyone can relearn to do something he used to do automatically and naturally—and this includes centralization.

C E N T R A L I Z A T I O N — T H E M E N T A L

C O N N E C T I O N

Bates concluded that the process of seeing is primarily mental. Whether a person is cen- tralizing or diffusing is a mental choice. Usu- ally centralizing occurs subconsciously, but sometimes it is conscious. The same is true of the harmful practice of diffusion.

To a great extent, the principle of centralization has to do with how we live our lives Do we try to do a dozen projects equally well at one time, or do we put our attention primary on one project at a time?

One of my students, while prograrnrning his computer at work, was being asked a question by a co-worker. Not wanting to be disturbed (diffused), this student stopped for a moment, looked at his co-worker and said, "Not right now. But, when I finish with my work, you will get my complete foveal attention!"

Notice that when children are deeply involved in a game, they do not like to be distracted. They are completely "absorbed" in the game. Children centralize—naturally.

Our society often emphasizes quantity (left brain) over quality (right brain). We produce many material goods, and people are encouraged to accumulate as many of these goods as they can. Our society also provides almost

countless activities to participate in. Are we sacrificing some of the quality of our lives for quantity?

An Eastern yogi was visiting a big supermarket in the US for the first time. A sales clerk asked the yogi if he needed help in finding anything. The yogi answered, "No, I am just thanking God I don't need any of these things."

One man I met kept getting more and more degrees in school just to prove to himself he was smart. Quantity was more important than quality.

A great Eastern mystic once wrote, "Live a simple, happy, and relaxed life." In many years of teaching and healing my health, I have slowly realized these three adjectives are the same.

A person can have a lot of projects and goals in life, but he cannot do them all—with equally high quality—at one time.

The primary issue within the principle of centralization is the attitude in the mind. Trying to do many projects at one time is diffusing and creates tension. Doing one project best at a time is healthier and more relaxing. A person may not accomplish as many tasks, but the quality of each task will be higher. On the other hand, a person might accomplish more tasks, because the relaxation associated with centralizing gives her more energy.

With centralization, there is movement and flexibility. A person's energy is properly channeled and conserved.

Diffusion results in fatigue and a drain of energy. Fatigue is a major cause of staring.

Have you ever watched two people talking to each other simultaneously? Neither person is listening. This is an example of diffusion, and it is very common in this society.