Ординатура / Офтальмология / Английские материалы / Relearning To See_Quackenbush_2000

Once explained and demonstrated thoroughly, the principles and habits of natural vision are easy to understand. This does not mean, however, that it is always easy to reestablish them quickly.

The visual system evolved over millions of years, and clarity is not lost for trivial reasons Bates stated that it took time and hard work to establish blurred vision. Fortunately, the body and mind know how to heal and are generous in accelerating healing when given the opportunity. It takes time, patience, commitment, and dedication to relearn any correct habit. Happily, the rewards of improving vision naturally are incalculable.

POSITIVITY" ESSENTIAL

FOR SUCCESS

One way to deal with frustration is to keep your attention on the progress and benefits you have received by practicing the correct vision habits thus far. There are many forms of progress, including:

1.Endurance, which is the ability to practice the correct vision habits for a longer period each day;

2.Faster speed of sight; blurred vision is relatively slow;

3.Brighter colors and contrast;

4.A looser neck;

5.Better centralization skill;

6.Improved movement awareness in the peripheral vision;

7.Greater depth perception, which indicates the right hemisphere is reactivating for normal vision;

8.Better clarity; even brief moments of improved vision are a very positive sign. How many years ago did you have

the sight you experienced in that flash?!

uter fifteen: Sketch, Breathe, and Blink Summary

Students must keep at least a 51% positive attitude to succeed!

Pilot Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the famous WWi "Red Baron" flying ace, stated, "Success flourishes only in perseverance."

FAILURES

Better Eyesight magazine, December 1922, in a article entitled "Failures":

People who found no help were always people who fought me for all they were worth. I remember a physician who came to me for nine months, every day, and devoted from one to two hours trying to prove that I was wrong.... I advised him to try and prove that I was right. In a very short time he was reversed [of his vision problem].

The people who find no help are the people who do the wrong thing against my advice.

Blurred vision is due to excessive strain learned by an individual. Failures are due to individuals not releasing this excessive strain from their eyes and lives There are many reasons why this occurs. We live in a society that carries much tension. It may require a significant amount of time and energy to re-estab- lish a healthy balance in our visual system.

The more tension there is in a society, the more important the relaxed vision habits become. Perhaps the many forms of natural healing are no longer optional, but mandatory if we are to remain healthy under society's present conditions.

One of my students arrived at the third class of the course and shared with us her realization that this process required commitment. She said she was not committed to her work, relationship, or anything else for

Three blind mice, three blind mice,

S e e how they stare;

s e e how they strain.

that matter, and she certainly was not going to be committed to improving her vision. I never saw her again.

M O T I V A T I O N

At a health convention, I once remarked to a woman, "If I can improve my sight, so can you." She thought about my statement for a few moments and replied, "Even if you couldn't do it, I can!"

Motivation to change incorrect vision habits is essential for success. Students of natural vision improvement are motivated for many different reasons.

Some find glasses and contact lenses inconvenient. Some like the idea of improving their

overall health by improving their sight. Some are motivated to improve their vision to avoid more serious vision problems later on. (See Chapter 27, "Serious Vision Problems.") Some want to avoid risky surgeries, which still may not remove the true, underlying cause of their blurred vision. Others want to avoid moving into glasses in the first place.

Closely connected to motivation is ingenuity. One of my students placed a small, plastic flower on her fingernail to remind her of the three vision habits to practice throughout the day. She had one of the fastest improvements of all my students Another student, in realizing relaxation is the key and that self-healing requires extra energy,

decided to go to sleep one-half hour earlier

at night.

One Bates teacher talked about two boys who had read a book on eyesight improve- ment and knew that the less they wore their glasses, the faster would be their improve- ment. So, on the way to their first lesson, they walked along the streets of New York to the teacher's classroom without their glasses on. Since both boys were very nearsighted, one would need to lift the other up onto his shoul- ders to read the street signs!

Some students have even chosen to stop driving a car until they improved their vision sufficiently to pass their driver's exam with- out glasses.

BATES SUMMARIZES T H E K E Y H A B I T S AND PRINCIPLES OF N O R M A L S I G H T

Only a few years before his death, Bates sum- marized the keys habits of normal sight in his Better Eyesight magazines It seems as if, even for Bates himself, the habits and principles of natural vision had finally become perfectly clear and concise. Perhaps these two summaries are Bates' greatest, final gift to humanity.

Regardless of the facts and theories of the eyes discussed in the early chapters of this book, it is possible to see clearly and naturally only by utilizing the correct vision habits andprintiples created by nature.

From Better Eyesight magazine, Septem-

ber 1927:

PERFECT SIGHT

... All defective vision is due to strain in some form.

You can demonstrate to your own satisfaction that strain lowers vision. When you stare you strain. Look fixedly at one object for five seconds or longer. What happens? The object blurs and finally disappears. Also, your eyes are made uncomfortable by this experiment. When you rest your eyes for a few moments the vision is improved and the discomfort relieved.

... Strain is relieved by relaxation.

To use your eyes correctly all day long, it is necessary that you:

1.Blink frequently. Staring is a strain and always lowers the vision.

2.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 part best and other parts worse. Remember to blink as you quickly shift your glance from the back to the seat and legs, seeing each part best, in turn. This is centralization.

3.Your head and eyes are moving all day long. Imagine that stationary objects are moving in the direction opposite to the movement of your head and eyes. When you walk about the room or on the street, notice that the floor or pavement seems to come toward you, while objects on either side appear to move in the direction opposite to the movement of your body.

If you learn the fundamental principles of perfect sight and will consciously keep them in mind your defective vision will disappear....

...Allenors of refraction are functional, therefore are reversible.

Better Eyesight magazine, December 1927:

The importance of practicing certain parts of the routine habits and principles at all times, such as blinking, centralizing, and imagining stationary objects to be moving

opposite to the movement of one's head and eyes, is stressed. The normal eye does these things unconsciously and the imperfect eye must at first practice them consciously until it becomes an unconscious habit.

These are quite possibly the two most important sentences ever written about natural, clear vision.

In the first sentence Bates identifies the key vision habits and principles to practice. In the second, he tells students they must practice them consciously until they are unconscious habits—exactly like they used to be when they used to have normal eyesight.

In essence, vision students are simply relearning to see—naturally.

See Plate 60: The Land of Sketch, Breathe,

and Blink.

And God said, "Let there be light," and there m light. And God saw the light, that it was pod...

—Scriptures

This chapter covers many aspects of light, including sunlight, closed-eyelids sunning, artificial light and lighting hardware, ultravi­ olet light, and sunglasses.

THE EYES A R E O R G A N S OF L I G H T

The eyes are organs of light. Our eyes have evolved over milhons of years under the influ­ ence of sunlight. To remain healthy, the visual system needs to receive the full spectrum of sunlight The sun's light impacts the retina, where it is converted to electro-chemical energy and transmitted to the brain and body.

SUNLIGHT

SUNLIGHT, A PRIMARY SOURCE OF ENERGY

See Plate 22: The Electromagnetic and Visi­ ble Spectrums.

The sun radiates energy toward the Earth ш the form of electromagnetic waves. The higher-energy electromagnetic waves consist

of cosmic, gamma, x-ray, and far-ultraviolet (UV) waves. Medium-energy waves consist of the midand near-UV, "visible," and short infrared waves. The lower-energy waves con­ sist of long infrared, micro, TV, radio, and elec­ tric waves.

All electromagnetic waves travel at 186,000 miles per second. Since light travels at one billion feet per second, I remind students there is no need to strain to see!

Each type of electromagnetic wave has a frequency associated with it.

Thanks to Einstein, we know that higherenergy waves, like x-rays, have higher fre­ quencies or oscillations, i.e., they vibrate up and down more times per second than mediumor lower-energy waves. Frequency is measured in cycles per second, or Hertz (Hz).

For example, high-energy x-rays have a fre­ quency of approximately one quintillion (1018) cycles per second; visible light has a medium frequency of approximately one quadrillion (1015) cycles per second; low-energy radio waves have a frequency of only 1000 (103) cycles per second.

Each type of wave also has a wavelength

associated with it. Wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation are commonly measured in nanometers (nm)—billionths (io~9) of a meter—from crest to crest.

X-rays have a wavelength of approximately one nanometer. Visible lightwaves have wavelengths in the range of 400 to 700 nm. Long radio waves have a wavelength of approximately one billion nanometers, or one meter.

As you can see, the higher the frequency or energy, the shorter the wavelength of a particular wave; the lower the frequency, the longer the wavelength.

SUNLIGHT, THE ATMOSPHERE, AND THE EARTH

See Plate 23: Sunlight, the Atmosphere, and the Earth.

The Earth's surface does not receive all of the rays from the sun.

Higher-energy cosmic, gamma, x-ray, most of the far-UV waves, and the lower-energy mediumand far-infrared, micro, radio and electric waves are absorbed or reflected by the atmosphere.

The medium-energy midand near-UV, the "visible" spectrum, and the near-infrared (heat) waves are the main rays that penetrate the Earth's atmosphere and reach the planet's surface. These light rays are essential to the health of all living creatures.

T H E VISIBL E SPECTRUM = COLORS !

Everything in life strives for color.

—Goethe

Light is the first of painters.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature

The cones and rods "see" less than 1% of the sun's electromagnetic spectrum, the "visible"

spectrum. Visible light comprises four-fifths of the sun's energy penetrating the atmosphere.

Invisible ultraviolet light has higher energy than violet light.

The colors of the visible spectrum with their associated range of wavelengths are:

*Violet 400-450 nm

*Blue 450-500 nm

*Green 500-550 nm

*Yellow 550-600 nm

*Orange 600-650 nm

Invisible infrared light has lower energy than red light. Infrared light is heat, like the warmth we feel from a room heater. The warmth we feel on our skin from the sun is also infrared light.

In bright light, the human retina is most sensitive to yellow-green light, at -555 nm, and least sensitive to violet and red light. In darkness, humans are most sensitive to "green" light at -496 nm. ("Green" light is actually seen as "white" or "gray" in "true" nighttime vision. This is explained further in the next chapter.)

SUNLIGHT, AN ESSENTIA L NUTRIENT

It has recently been determined that sunlight has many surprising health benefits to humans.

—Research scientist

Go outside and play in the sun, it's good for you.

—Mom

See Plate 24: Go Outside and Play in the Sun.

Douglas Kiang, reviewer for Inside Mac Games, writes:

As a reviewer for Inside Mac Games, I am lucky enough to see many, many games come across my desktop on a regular basis. Every so often, perhaps once a year, a new title comes along that impels me to throw of my staid reviewer's necktie and dance a little dance around my office, at which point my wife usually comes along, unplugs

my Macintosh, and shoves me outside, [say­ ing], "See that? That's called the sun."1

living beings have evolved over many tens of thousands, if not millions, of years under the influence of light from the sun. Life on Earth depends on sunlight. Sunlight warms the oceans. By the process of evaporation, clouds are created, which then move over the land and bring rain. Photosynthesis is respon­ sible for creating the food we eat.

The discoverer of Vitarnin C, Nobel Prize inner Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, states that the energy which we take into our bodies ulti­ mately comes from the sun.2

Research by John Ott, author of Health

юё Light and Light, Radiation of You, and other scientists have shown that for plants, animals, and humans to be healthy, they must have not only the proper quantity of light, but the proper quality. The best quality of light comes from the sun, which provides a natural "full spectrum" of both visible and invisible light.

Richard J. Wurtman, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has shown a connection between light and the rhythmical secretion of hormones in the body.3

Inadequate quantity and quality of light can lead to hypertension, headaches, insom- 4 arthritis, and other physical, emotional, Omental interferences to our health.

L I G HT FOR SIGHT AND HEALTH

See Plate 25: Light for Sight and Health.

Light entering the eyes is utilized by the body in two ways:

1.Light energy travels to the visual cor­ tex, where a picture of the world is cre­ ated; and

2.Light energy travels to the hypothala­ mus, which sends messages to the pineal and pituitary glands. Together, these organs and glands regulate many functions of our mind and body.

The hypothalamus appears to be the mas­ ter organ of the body, and its functions are highly dependent upon quantity and qual­ ity of light received from the eyes.

The hypothalamus regulates the pineal gland, which secretes melatonin—a sedative­ like hormone—at night to prepare our body for sleep. Bright light inhibits the pineal gland's secretion of melatonin. Some reports indicate that standard indoor lighting is not sufficient to suppress the secretion of mela­ tonin during the daytime.

The diurnal (day/night) and seasonal changes we experience bodily are largely due to the changes in light via the pineal gland. The pineal gland regulates our internal "body clock" and sends messages back to the hypo­ thalamus to regulate body functions.

The hypothalamus also sends messages to the pituitary gland. The hypothalamus, in con­ junction with the pituitary and pineal glands, influences our sleeping and eating patterns, activity levels, the thyroid gland, the adrenal glands, reproductive organs, growth, body temperature, and blood pressure. Metabolic processes are also synchronized by the pineal gland.

The "spark" that initiates these internal processes is light.

The sea lamprey, a species dating back 300 million years, has a "third eye" on top of its head. Not used for seeing, this eye sends light directly to the brain to regulate the fish's metabolism. The skull of some animals is so thin that light from the sun directly influences their pineal gland.

In her book How Animals See, Sandra Sinclair describes the tuatara lizard and other animals which have a third eye:

Presumably the third eye has no great importance in image formation but rather functions more as light-gatherer that activates the body's hormonal clock ... Most of [a tuatara lizard's] lifetime is spent hibernating, but the third eye never shuts, perhaps monitoring changes in light that tell this lizard when it's time to wake up.4

Edith Raskin writes in her book Watchers,

Pursuers and Masqueraders—Animals and Their Vision:

How does that seasonal masquerader, the snowshoe hare, know when to change its coat from brown to white and back again? In an attempt to solve this mystery, scientists placed masks over the eyes of snowshoe hares A curious thing happened—the blindfolded hares did not change. Those blindfolded in the winter remained white in summertime, while those blindfolded in the summer stayed brown in winter.

Evidently if the hares' eyes were covered they did not respond to the seasons. Although they were able to feel daily temperature changes, the summer warmth and the winter cold were no guide for them.

... How. precisely, do scientists explain seasonal changes in animals such as the

deer and the snowshoe hare? As the sea-

sons change, the hours of daylight change. The eyes of these animals receive the daylight and this light stimulates the optic nerve to transmit nerve impulses to the brain. At the base of the brain is a gland called the pituitary, which is no bigger than a peanut. The brain sends on the nerve impulses to this gland. Receiving these signals, the gland releases its own messengers into the blood. These messengers are chemical substances called hormones.

The pituitary hormones are carried by the blood to different parts of the animal's body. The length of time the eyes receive light determines the extent of hormone messengers sent into the blood. The hormones, in turn, regulate seasonal changes in the deer or snowshoe hare. For instance, in the snowshoe hare, the more light the more hormone, and so its coat is brown; the less light there is, the less hormone, and so its coat is white.5

Many relationships have been established between the light that enters our eyes and the brain stem, the cerebral cortex, and the limbic system.

Disturbances in the quality (full spectrum), quantity (photocurrent), intensity (brightness), and timing of light (diurnal cycles from bright daylight to dark night) can lead to health problems. Research has shown that many people who suffer from "Seasonally Affected Disorders" (SAD) have remarkable improvements in the areas of depression, moodiness, and fatigue by simply rebalancing and resynchronizing their body and mind with full-spectrum light.

T H E M E L A T O N I N CONTROVERSY

Melatonin is now being produced synthetically and sold as a drug to regulate the body's

SYNTONICS—HEALING WITH LIGHT

Syntonics (from Greek syn-, meaning 'together," and tonos, meaning "tone"—thus "harmony") is a field of natural health that uses color lights to open up constricted path- ways of light energy traveling from the eyes to the brain. Even when two individuals have the same amount of light entering their eyes, the amount of light energy reaching their brainscan be vastly different. Many people in this society have restricted energy flow (photocurrent) from the eyes to the brain.

Many individuals have reactions or aver- sions to specific colors, especially when view- ing them in a dark room. It appears that certain life stresses can shut down the flow of specific colors from the eyes to the brain. When individuals view certain colors, espe- cially colors associated with their sub-domi- nant hemisphere, many types of healing can occur. Reversal processes, discussed later in Chapter 20, "The Two Sides of Health and Healing," are typically experienced during syntonic light sessions.

Syntonic sessions tend to improve metab- olism, increase life force energy, and put a person back into "sync" with nature. Jacob Uberman's book Light: Medicine of the future contains a list of syntonic practitioners.

Figure 16-1: Sunning is Natural.

Closed-eyelids sunning is one of the best ways to regain light tolerance. The eyes are organs of light; they are designed for, and need, natural light. People who are over-sensitive to light need light, not sunglasses and darkness.

Bates researched various forms of selfhealing, including sunning. After Bates wrote

Perfect Sight Without Glasses, he concluded closed-eyelids sunning was the only form of sunning a student should practice.

From Better Eyesight magazine, December

1927:

An important part of the routine activities is the use of the direct sunlight. The student is told to sit in the sun with his eyes closed, moving his head a short distance from side to side, and allowing the sun to shine directly on his closed eyelids. He is instructed to forget about his eyes, to think of something pleasant and let his mind drift from one pleasant thought to another. Before opening his eyes, he palms for a few minutes. When the sun is not shining, a