Improve Your Eyesight Naturally

by Leo Anghart

  Mapping across your senses

  Your kinesthetic sense is highly developed and is used to discern where you are in space. Your hands, and especially your fingertips, are very sensitive to energy. With your hands you can learn to detect the energy emanating from people and objects. For example, most people can detect the energy radiated by different colors. Make index card size samples of bright primary colors (red, blue and yellow) and secondary colors (orange, green and violet) as well as black and white.

  First test how black feels by letting your hand, either left or right, float over the paper. Sense what black feels like. Now sense the white and notice the difference. Go through the colors and get a sense of each one. To test your ability to sense the colors, mix up the cards and reverse them so the white side is up. Now try to find each color by feeling. If you have recollections of what those colors look like, then add the color to the impression.

  Gaining object recognition

  Start with something very simple, such as trying to distinguish two fingers against the light. Go on from there and explore the extent of your vision. How far to the right can you see? How far down can you see your fingers? This may take a long time so make it a game you can play every day. Eventually you may be able to see the five fingers of your hand at arm’s length against the light.

  The energy exercise on page 121, as well as sunning your eyes, helps create plenty of energy. Keep up the good work and you will develop object recognition to the fullest extent that is possible for you. This may be the ability to see large objects such as cars and houses, or it may be the ability to move around freely and be able to function as someone who is merely near-sighted.

  24. Beyond 20/20 Vision

  During archery practice, officers found that the eyesight of their commandos appeared to improve when following the path of the arrow with their eyes in a state of relaxation. This technique not only improves focus, but stretches sharp vision to normal and beyond.

  You can make improvements to your eyesight even if you already have excellent vision. I remember a workshop in Istanbul where there were a number of people who had naturally good eyesight. They attended my workshop because they wanted to keep it that way. We had a splendid view over the Bosphorus, so I suggested we play around with our visual abilities. There is a technique you can use to push vision beyond 20/20. First look at something further away than you actually need to see. In this case we used the buildings on the Asian side of the Bosphorus. Next look at something closer up. You will find that your eyes will then find it easier to focus on the nearer object.

  This effect is enhanced if you do some swinging along the features of the distant object. Your eyes will follow your intention. If you send your attention out beyond what you can normally see, you are exercising and extending your visual capability.

  Rescue teams flying over wilderness areas attempting to spot people lost or in distress use an imaginary grid as they focus on progressively smaller and smaller objects. The spotters with the best track record all have similar strategies.

  During the First World War, the men who flew fighter planes did not have instruments to guide them so had to rely on good eyesight. The most successful pilots deliberately sent their eyes 10 kilometers out into the sky. The eyes will naturally settle a few hundred meters into space if you do not send your attention further out. The same goes for driving a car. Send your eyes out to the horizon, to the road far ahead, to the car in front of you and so on. Let your eyes roam the landscape. You will discover that your vision is improving.

  Hunters are another group of people who naturally have great vision strategies. A hunter will scan the land ahead and notice things that are a little bit different, such as a few leaves on a tree that do not move in the right way because a deer is hiding there. Many hunters say they are looking for things that aren’t there. Their minds are automatically attracted to things that are different, and their eyes will go to that point and instantly focus on a minute detail. It is a chunking down process where you notice a tree, then a particular branch, then a cluster of leaves and finally just one leaf or even the tip of a leaf. During this chunking down process your eyes will automatically follow your attention. In other words, your mind controls where your eyes will travel.

  Another way of practicing your distance vision is to use the technique of looking at something that is further away than what you actually wish to see. Your eyes will attempt to focus on that distant object. When you look back at the object you wanted to see, you will notice that your eyes find it much easier to make it out. Experiment with this as you are driving. Look at road signs that are far away in the distance and then at ones that are closer and you will probably find that your vision begins to travel out much further than before. Like the First World War fighter pilots who deliberately sent their eyes 10 kilometers out into the sky, your eyes will also respond to the same strategy and begin to see things in the far distance.

  If you would like to develop eagle eyes, play around with some of the ideas I have touched upon here. Make it a game which you can play all the time, whether you are walking, driving or simply relaxing.

  Exercise to improve distance vision

  Prepare for this exercise by palming for a few minutes.

  1. Take an eye-chart or a magazine with different sizes of text and place it in good daylight at eye level. Take a standing position far enough away from the chart so the letters are separate but not clear.

  2. Start a long swing past the chart, moving the head and body far to one side, then far to the other side, whilst not looking at anything in particular. The chart or magazine will seem to move by as you pass first one way and then the other.

  3. Keep swinging and shorten your swing from 50 cm on one side of the chart to 50 cm on the other side. Let the top of the chart pass just below your line of vision so that you are not actually looking at it. If you have difficulty imagining this motion, close your eyes for a moment as you swing and the motion will come more easily.

  4. Shorten the swing to 25 cm on each side of the chart, then to 15 cm, then to 5 cm, always keeping the top edge in rhythmic motion from side to side. Remember to breathe throughout this exercise and do a few rest swings with closed eyes now and then, imagining the motion as you swing.

  5. When the chart has minimum motion from side to side, take a deep breath and flash all the way down the letters. They will be clear.

  Practice this exercise for 5 minutes a few times every day as you move further and further away from the chart on your way to perfect vision.

  25. Mono-Vision

  Having mono-vision means that you are using one eye for near tasks like reading and the other eye for tasks that involve seeing at a distance. With this arrangement, it would appear that your vision is entirely normal. However, it is at the expense of three-dimensional perception. Mono-vision is not advantageous, for instance, in the field of sport, where you may need to catch a ball or judge distance. In some cases people get fitted with two different lenses or have laser treatment that results in mono-vision.

  Using one eye for reading and the other for driving is not a natural or desirable state of affairs. In Vision Training we always recommend that people work towards equalizing their eyes to give them more similar visual acuity. In the case of people with asymmetric visual perception, they have a condition known as anisometropia.

  To equalize visual perception, first start by working to bring in the near point, so that both eyes can read small print from a distance of 15 cm. This is normal near-point acuity. When this is accomplished, both of your eyes will be involved in the reading process. Be sure to also check eye co-ordination (i.e., the cross on the string). This will take a bit of effort, as initially your brain may be so accustomed to switching eyes that it will continue in its habit of using the eyes one at a time. The second objective is to increase the distance vision of the weaker eye. The procedure will be the same as for a highly myopic eye. Keep working with each eye until their visual acui
ty is the same and then work with both eyes until you have perfect vision. The challenge here is to keep motivating yourself to do the exercises, as most of the time your eyes seem to operate normally just as they are. However, the fact remains that something in this visual system could go out of balance, in which case it is likely that you will experience problems. So it is best to start these exercises while they are relatively easy to do.

  26. Sunglasses

  How did the phenomenon of sunglasses originate? Was it born out of advances in technology and the invention of versatile plastic? Or was it a mere fashion trend? Supposedly the reason we wear sunglasses is to protect ourselves from exposure to ultraviolet rays. In recent years ultraviolet light has come to be seen as something wrought with danger. However, the fact is that mankind has evolved over hundreds of thousands of years without the benefit of sunglasses. Research shows that the simple act of wearing a hat can cut UV exposure by 34 percent.

  During the 1920s and 1930s sunlight, including the ultraviolet spectrum, was successfully used to treat such conditions as tuberculosis, rheumatoid arthritis, eczema, herpes, asthma and other health problems.

  The 1903 Nobel Prize in medicine went to Niels Finsen of Denmark for developing the successful treatment of skin tuberculosis using ultraviolet light. Finsen also used light for other skin problems, for example, red light to prevent scar formation from smallpox.

  Ultraviolet rays are the spectrum just below visible light and are divided into three bands.

  High energy ultraviolet is called UV-C and is in the range of 100–290 ηm. This is generally only encountered in special situations such as arc welding or germicidal sterilization lamps. Since the cornea absorbs nearly all radiation below 290 ηm, protective gear such as welding masks or enclosed sterilization units are essential. Avoid looking into this light – it is dangerous.

  Medium energy ultraviolet is called UV-B and is in the range of 290–320 ηm. The cornea absorbs most of this range and the lens take up the rest – only 1 percent reaches the retina. UV-B causes sunburn. However, it also activates the vital synthesis of vitamin D and the absorption of calcium and other minerals. Research shows that UV-B may also be a factor in the formation of cortical cataracts.

  Low energy ultraviolet is called UV-A and is in the range of 320–380 ηm. This band is responsible for your suntan and photosensitive reactions which initiate the oxidative process associated with free radicals and the formation of cataracts. The lens absorbs more than half the UV-A rays that enter the eye.

  It is important to be aware that any kind of light, not just UV light, will initiate a photosensitive reaction in the eye. To prevent this from occurring you would have to live in total darkness. It makes a lot more sense to combat this damage by taking vitamin C supplements. Exposure to ultraviolet light is essential for the body to be able to function.

  Wearing sunglasses can be appropriate if you are in an environment where there is very strong sunlight. For example, fresh snow reflects about 80 percent of UV light; consequently sunglasses are apposite accessories for winter sports.

  The amount of UV light that reaches the eye depends on the season and the environment. For example, over 90 percent of incident UV light penetrates cloud cover and 95 percent of incident UV penetrates water – 50 percent down to a depth of 2 meters – so snorkeling on a cloudy day will still give you a suntan.

  Sunglasses could also be appropriate if you go on vacation to a different part of the world. For example, if you travel from London to Jamaica, you should take your shades with you, as your eyes are not used to either the intensity of light or the ultraviolet rays on a typical sunny day in the Caribbean. If you are traveling in the other direction, however, don’t bother with sunglasses, as the northern sun is not strong enough to be an issue.

  If you wear sunglasses all the time then you are inadvertently training your eyes to be over-sensitive to the light. You may have experienced this if you have worn lenses that automatically change according to the intensity of the light. Many people find that when they remove these lenses, the light makes their eyes hurt. Getting progressively stronger and stronger prescription sunglasses is working at cross purposes.

  Remember that your eyes are designed for light, so artificially filtering it out interferes with nature’s design. People wearing dark sunglasses for prolonged periods of time tend to develop a sensitivity to light, similar to that experienced after working indoors all day and then suddenly walking out into bright sunlight. The light will hurt your eyes until they adjust. This is a natural adjustment process.

  I remember a woman in one of my workshops in Vancouver who told me that she wore her sunglasses in the swimming pool to protect her eyes against the UV rays. She wanted to know what she could do about light sensitivity. The scientific name for this is photopia.

  There is a very simple way to train your eyes to be comfortable in bright light. Simply let the sun shine on your closed eyelids for a few seconds. This will gradually train your eyes to adjust to brighter light. It’s that simple – and it’s effective. After all, the sun is the source of life.

  27. Surgical Eyes

  In recent years there has been much publicity and enticing advertising extolling an amazingly simple surgical procedure that can restore your vision to perfect. This is a prime example of an easy fix. The invitation is to have your eyes corrected for good in a procedure that takes just a few minutes. I have even seen laser clinics provide a free video recording of your operation and in some cases the surgery is even performed in your local shopping mall!

  Structure of the cornea

  Any incision in corneal tissues that damages the Bowman’s layer will induce permanent change in corneal curvature. The thickness of the cornea is about 0.5 mm.

  Usually this procedure is presented as simple, safe and painless. While there are many who have benefited from this operation, there are also plenty of people who have had their vision ruined for life. There can be quite a lot of pain in the days following the surgery. More than half of the superficial nerve fibers in the cornea are severed with the popular LASIK procedure. This impacts on the natural blink rate, which slows down causing the eyes to become dry. Patients often have to use eye drops for months before their eyes go back to normal.

  Remember that the cornea is only about half a millimeter thick so any surgery performed has to be highly precise. Also, since there are no blood vessels in the cornea, healing takes many months. Some researchers say that the flap which is cut during the LASIK procedure never fully heals. In addition, corneal tissue is removed by the laser and as a consequence between 30 and 40 percent of corneal strength is lost, never to be regained. Cases are now emerging where the cornea bulges out, leading to a condition called keratoconus, which causes the eye to become pointed in shape. In some cases a corneal transplant may need to be performed in order to save the vision in the affected eye.

  The law in the U.S. specifies that an M.D. must perform laser surgery but there is no specific training requirement. Any M.D., even a gynecologist or a pediatrician, can attend a weekend seminar put on by the laser manufacturer and legally start performing refractive surgery the following Monday. The drawbacks associated with this bonanza range from hard sell methods to an assortment of books about laser surgery that the doctor who performs your operation can distribute with his name inserted on the flyleaf as the author. You can even win free laser surgery as a prize in competitions. In the rush to make money, doctors and clinics sometimes conveniently forget to mention potential problems or to screen patients carefully before the procedure. The doctors consider the operation to have been a success if the patient can subsequently clearly see the 20/20 line on the eye-chart. However, it is possible to be able to have 20/20 vision but acquire other problems such as loss of low light vision, which can spoil the experience of enjoying a movie or having dinner in a cozy restaurant. You may find you have to ride a bicycle because you can no longer drive at night. Another common so-called minor side-effect is d
ouble or even triple vision and seeing starbursts around bright objects.

  The American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expects 10 percent of people who have undergone refractive surgery to be dissatisfied with the result. The FDA also expects 20 percent of them to lose low contrast acuity. Up to 15 percent of laser patients are expected to require enhancements or corrective surgery, frequently leading to additional costs.

  The older and now less popular radial keratotomy (or microsurgery) consists of making a series of small incisions around the center part of the eye. The closer the incisions to the central optical zone, the greater the effect. This procedure actually inflicts open wounds on the cornea. The natural stress patterns of the cornea cause the wounds to open up in order to equalize the surface stress. Since healing takes many months the risk of infection is quite high. Also, the results are less predictable than with more modern laser treatment.

  Even more serious, there is legislation under way in the United States and Canada which will prohibit people who have had laser surgery from driving at night. There is mounting evidence that the treatment causes a loss of the ability to distinguish details in low light and under backlit conditions. For example, it is easy to see the features of someone’s face when they stand against a sunlit window. After laser surgery some individuals will only be able to see the outline, no longer being able to make out the details. In some cases people may also see halos around bright objects, making driving at night very dangerous. Refractive surgery has been added to the list of risk factors after the U.K. Transportation Research Laboratory tested myopics who had laser surgery and discovered that 80 percent of them could not see a traffic sign at 55 meters. Even worse, 40 percent could not see the sign at 15 meters (i.e., the length of four cars). In August 2000 the Canadian Medical Association added refractive surgery to the list of risk factors in unsafe driving.