Eyes and Seeing
You have visual habits as much as any other habits
The eye is attached to the brain, the optic nerve is brain tissue
When we look into someone’s eyes we are looking into their brain
The visual pathway travels through every part of the brain
The way you use your visual mechanism has a profound effect on the way you communicate
Work on the eyes is an indirect procedure that influences your whole life
Eyes work is a beautiful way to organize the primary control
The retina has several layers of light sensitive tissue - Enjoy the deeper layers of the retina
The retina is curved and extends towards the front of the eye
Panoramic vision, like all seeing, happens in the brain
The Brain has three basic levels –
1) The reptilian brain – coordination, bodily functions, keeping alive
2) The limbic system – emotional brain, presence
3) The cortex – thinking, logic, perception, awareness, and presence - The visual cortex is at the back of the top of the head
The upper visual cortex gives you perspective and organizes seeing overall – This is ideally 95% of the visual processing, it is for perspective
The lower visual cortex sees crystal clear images - 5 % of the visual brain is for clear images
The fovea centralise is the small area of the retina that specializes in clear images
The rest of the retina is for depth, shading and perspective
The vitreous humour expresses our emotions – it becomes solid when you’re stressed
Allow your vitreous humour to be soft and moveable, supporting the lens and the retina
Allow the aqueous humour to refresh the lens from the front
If you try to focus and see 100 % clear images you are very much out of balance
It is important not to grab images with your eyes
It is good to use your night vision when you get the chance
The cones in the retina sense the colour
The rods are for night vision, they don’t see colour
Stimulate the rods for a healthy retina
Cup your hands over your eyes and try to let go enough to see black - Cup your hands and see a beautiful moving memory
Blinking is very healthy - Try blinking consciously more often - Blink delicately
Don’t rub or press you eyes
Optic nerves circumnavigate the coordinating brain – don’t strangle it
Be aware of your environment, especially when ‘concentrating’
Allow your eyes to see panoramically and in depth
Bring your thoughts to your upper visual cortex and look out through the visual pathway from there
Direct your upper visual cortex away from the image you are seeing
Enjoy allowing light into your eyes
Visual paintbrush exercise
Look at an image / close your eyes and imagine it / open your eyes and look again / see more, then close your eyes and imagine more / then open them again. How is your vision now?
The visual imagination uses the seeing part of the brain
The eyes move all the time
Try becoming aware of your eye movement and if you restrict this healthy movement
Without movement, perception fades
Staring and focusing hard fixes the primary control
Vision Activities
Visual meditation
Palming & Sunning
Sub-occipital connection with eye movement
Diagonal eye movements
Look in the mirror / see the surface / continue to see the surface and the deeper reflections
Find the dominant eye
Focus very close / then reasonable distance on a large object – feel the accommodation
Books:
Aldous Huxley: The Art of Seeing ISBN 0 7011 0788 X
Peter Grunwald: Eye Body <http://www.eyebody.com>