Relearning to See: The Third Principle-Relaxation
This article is a continuation of Relearning to See: The Second Principle-Centralization.
The reflection of the moon in the lake is clear only when the water is calm”
–Chinese proverbE=mc2 (eye sight = movement times centralization to the binocular) and movement = centralization = relaxation = clarity.
Relaxation is the third and most important principle of natural vision. The initial tendency for people with bad eye sight is to strain to see better. Poor vision habits create excessive strain, and lower sight. Thus, the sole cause of bad eye sight is a conscious or unconscious effort or strain to see. The only solution to this strain is relaxation or rest of the eyes accomplished by centralization. Movement, centralization, and relaxation go together.
Stress sometimes causes strained vision habits and once the cause for strain is removed, vision improves. The book mentions that the quieter the mind the better the eye sight is preserved. Anything which relaxes the mind is beneficial to eye sight. For instance, a person reading an interesting novel do not find their eyes becoming tired but when studying for a difficult exam, do find his/her eyes becoming tired. Also the normal eye is only at rest when it is moving.
Sleeping doesn’t help relax one’s eyes, however, as eyes can be strained even in sleep. As a matter of fact, sleepiness is a common symptom of habitual eyestrain, and when the sight improves the need for sleep is often reduced. But this doesn’t mean that every time you’re sleepy it’s because your eyes are under strain. If you don’t get enough sleep you’re also prone to sleepiness.
“It requires an effort to fail to see and requires no effort to have normal sight.”
According to the book, in every case of imperfect sight, it can always be demonstrated that the nerves of the whole body are under strain and in every case of perfect vision it can be demonstrated that no effort is made. “Imperfect sight is the result of hard work; effort produces strain; perfect sight is attained with ease; lack of effort produces relaxation”.
I thought about this and took off my glasses to read the book. At first I couldn’t see the letters clearly at all but I kept thinking about relaxing my eyes, blinking and breathing, seeing one part best, and not making an effort to see. It took a while but my eyes adjusted and I was able to read more clearly up close and slowly also within reading distance. When I put my glasses back on after reading, however, I began to have a headache. I took off my glasses, and again the words were blurry and unreadable.
Reading about relaxation of the eyes reminded me of the eye massages my mother taught me when I was in fourth grade, when I started to have poor eye sight. Massages relax the eyes, thus reducing strain. Doing them consistently may help relax the tension in eyes but consistency is hard to attain.
I think I should spend a few hours each day not wearing my glasses and gradually increase the time not wearing glasses and/or get glasses that are not as strong yet still allow me see well while driving.
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Relearning to See:The Second Principle-Centralization, Relearning to See: The First Principle–Movement,
