These are some thoughts I wrote about my own experience with the Bates Method.  I named it the following:

Practicing The Integrative Integrity of Eyesight from Nearsightedness

Font is intended to be small because more relaxation is required to read it

During my practice of self-taught and self-performed vision therapy, I often thought of ways I could passively utilize the methods of good eyesight by integrating them into my everyday thought patterns. I realized that many of the identified methods of eyesight improvement are simply the habits of people with good eyesight. “The eye must travel to see” is a reference to bit of graffiti I saw on the side of a clothes store in Seattle as I walked past. Nothing spoke more truth to me in that moment. Another realization had hit me; learning to move efficiently and easily is of the utmost importance when improving one's eyesight without corrective lenses. This is a personal exploration and documentation of the Bates Method eyesight improvement learning process.

Eyesight is a learned skill. Babies do not come into this world with perfect vision, they develop it. When reading “Evolve Your Brain: The Science of Changing Your Mind”, I realized the importance of being unconsciously skilled when practicing the Bates Method, which is the fourth level of the learning process. One is at first unconsciously unskilled, discovers the possibility of learning a new skill becoming consciously unskilled, practices the methods of the skill becoming consciously skilled and finally refines them resulting in unconscious skill. This applies more to natural vision improvement from an older age. The four core principles of vision improvement are Relaxation, Centralization, Blinking and Movement. This procedure is the crux of the unconscious skill of clear, lifelong eyesight.

Swinging is one of the most efficient methods to integrate into everyday movement. Swinging can be performed in many mundane settings and situations on many different levels. For example, a simple and subtle moving of the head is actually a very vivid experience of movement for the eye and mind with good sight. In order to practice this method efficiently, the conscious, decision making mind must be disciplined. A high quality of attention is of the utmost importance. The object should be thought of as a thing to explore regardless of the clarity. This mindset is essential to humbling the conscious mind to the translation of the fundamental and most subtle vibrations of reality. I am referring to our perception of what we call atoms.

When performing a swing for the nearsighted, pick the smallest point close up that your attention can handle without strain. Once focused upon enough to see (absolute clarity and definite centralization comes with time if it is not currently present), gently move the body while applying the core principles. The movement of the attention should be limited to a very specific area and not just one point to stare at. Tiny shifts in small areas are crucial for centralization. Once swinging and focused, notice the peripherals moving against the focused object. This alone should be a relaxing experience, eventually becoming habitual and personally very enjoyable.

Walking, running, dancing, and even just a shift of the eye will create a visual effect of movement. There are few movements the body makes that will not create this effect. One may ask, well if it's so simple like that then why don't some people who walk down the street or move at all have good vision? My answer to that question would be in the form of another question. What are they thinking about when walking down the street and are they being mindful of what they're seeing or not seeing? From childhood, we are inundated with all kinds of mental banter that frankly is useless a lot of the time. Insecurities, sick fantasies, dark ruminations, and plain old negative thought are all a strain of the mind. These thought processes can be destructive and since the mind and brain are designed to process our attention, the results can vary from face muscle strain, hunching, hunkering, squinting and much more. Try to let your entire body melt onto an invisible axis.

Shifting is crucial when centralizing. When a small point is regarded, the eye is never fixed completely and stagnantly on that point. It is performing many tiny shifts in quarters of seconds. The practice of shifting is related to the practice of swinging because the fine movements of centralization work in tandem with the gross movements of swinging. Shifting can be practiced in stillness of the body and with movements of the eyes. If one sees a fly in the room, they may be inclined to observe the flight patterns or movements. It is encouraged that they do with a sense of ease and discovery. The more smoothly and clearly the movements can be seen, the more acute the vision will become. Not only is the constant movement necessary to see anything at all, the imagination plays a crucial role in perceiving color. Bates often wrote about perfect imagination being related to what people call perfect vision. He used a black period as an example of something to remember when improving upon tiny shifts. This helps quiet the mind and get the eyes fixed on what they see within the mind, which is where most of the visual integrity comes from. To practice remembering a black period, simply look at one in a book, article or anywhere there is one and see it perfectly round (or square in some cases) and black. The nearness should be at a comfortable place and the memory should be focused on each visual change. The most important but difficult to understand principle that I had to familiarize myself with was not trying to see. Weakness has nothing to do with poor vision in terms of muscular activity. Quite the opposite actually. The only thing that should be strengthened is our quality of attention. The stronger this becomes the less distracted the mind will be from seeing things for what they are in the collective consciousness.

Reading and working at the near point can be a strain for anybody, even for those with good eyesight. In order to relieve this strain, central fixation must be utilized to its fullest potential. Ask yourself when beginning a sentence, do you see the first letter or word perfectly clear and better than all of the others? If not, look steadily at the word or letter and allow your attention to be immersed in it. You may notice changes in how you see it but remain focused and calm. Once seen clearly, read the sentence and interpret it. The perception of this process after much practice will practically disappear and reading will actually be more relaxing, as it was meant to be.

Walking has proven to be the most relaxing activity for my vision. I would often go on walks specifically to watch the world pass by. When walking by a tree, building, sign or anything else that catches the attention, I keep my attention with interest, shift, blink, and let go of the inevitable movement of that object. The 3D experience of movement is one of the most relaxing occurrences in my mind. Often, I would look as straight forward and far as possible with good posture and experience the “zooming in” of objects as well. Not only did this direct my attention towards the subtle processes of the mind, it quieted any internal monologue or dialogue that was occurring – useful or not. Anxiety, depression, anger, frustration, impatience and many more distracting emotions can be quieted with focus of attention and centralization. Think of how much moving is done throughout the day and apply good eyesight habits to that.

Practicing music was one of my deeply seeded habits of bodily, and mental strain. I recall a moment after practicing guitar. After playing whatever I was playing – most likely a rambling of notes and rhythms that had nothing to do with my inner ear – I looked through my glasses and realized my blurred vision. Of all experiences that frightened me most, this was the most substantial. To think that the way I practiced my life's ambition was detrimental to my health was the determining factor in my decision to break my relationship with my glasses completely. In order to make practice more relaxing and less stressful, I constantly posed myself properly - not leaning into the guitar, not staring at the fretboard until my eyes glazed over, and breathing regularly. These are just a few examples of behavior that needed attention that apparently affected my vision negatively. If I felt I had to look at the fretboard, I would follow the smooth movement of my fingers along whatever musical idea I wanted to practice. Now I keep my eyes away in the distance as I play musical ideas as this is more practical in performing situations anyway.