Martin SussmanFor the healing of vision to occur, it’s necessary to release the habitual, inner barriers to seeing that first developed during the Vision Transition Period. Notes one woman, Ruth G., after using The Program for Better Vision, “I found that I was intentionally blurring people once they came into seeing range…This observation has carried the process to new areas and probed the deeper question of why I have hidden behind blurred vision.”
One middle-aged stockbroker, Ralph P., who had been unable to see anything without his reading glasses, looked back at his Vision Transition Period — a time when he was losing money in the stock market. He recalled that he had finally reached the point where he was afraid to look at the stock tables for “fear of seeing” how much he had lost that day. The tables had become the “proof” that he was a failure and he didn’t want to see this image of himself as “being a failure.”
As he let go of that false image, he saw himself as much more than his temporary successes or failures. Very soon, his vision returned to normal and, for the first time in five years, he began to read and work without glasses.
Not seeing clearly is, at least to some degree, an expression of one or more of the following inner decisions:
- An emotional decision that we do not want to see some aspect of our self, our life, or our relationship with others.
- A desire to pull away or hide from the parts of the world that we find either threatening, confusing or overwhelming.
- Negative messages and beliefs that we may have absorbed about seeing. For example, the young child who sees her mother upset and is told, “Nothing’s the matter” might learn the subconscious message “I can’t trust what I see” or “It’s not okay to see the truth of what’s going on.”
- A shutting down of one’s intuition or perceptiveness, which also limits our ability to sense what lays ahead in our lives.
The Total Picture
Glasses and contacts only deal with the symptoms of not seeing clearly. Using them does not address any of the underlying factors that may have led to their need in the first place. They do not change the underlying patterns that caused the problem in the first place.
I have witnessed many powerful healings as people explore and release their inner barriers to seeing and being seen. As people move beyond their habitual way of seeing, something extraordinary emerges – an expanded view of who they are and of the deeper potential that lies within.
Along with this inner clarity comes the outer clarity: people improve their eyesight, reduce the strength of their prescriptions or discard their glasses and lenses altogether.
This inner healing is a crucial element. That’s why I’ve found that people who only do eye exercises can be frustrated by their lack of improvement.
Along with releasing the inner barriers to seeing, the other elements of a comprehensive approach to better vision are re-training the brain and eyes to work together properly, reducing stress in the visual system and supplying the visual system with the proper nutrients and supplements.
Better vision means seeing the world in the clearest, most relaxed, easiest and most efficient way possible. Better vision also means having a positive image of yourself, a clear sense of purpose and emotional clarity.
The first step to better vision begins with the inner desire that says, “I want to see!”
Four Ways to Release Inner Barriers to Seeing
1. RELAX INTO YOUR VISION. Take off your glasses/contacts and look around at your world. Notice what you can see. Release the limiting thoughts that say, “I can’t see” or “Everything is blurry.” Don’t just glance from one thing to another, slow your vision down and take the time to look at what you are seeing. Relax your body, breathe deeply and fully and don’t strain to make things clearer. Just let the images of the world enter your eyes and mind and accept it all. Look carefully for differences in what you see: differences in color, form, texture and clarity.
The more time you can spend relaxing into your vision, the better. It’s common for people to see their vision change – for the images to fluctuate, often becoming clearer, even if only for brief moments.
Be aware of how you feel. Your feelings are the doorway to release because how you feel not seeing now (threatened, anxious, safe in the blur) is how you were feeling during your Vision Transition Period. These feelings reflect back to you the choices that you made about not seeing at that time.
As you become more aware of these feelings, practice how to “looking openly” (below).
2. LOOK OPENLY. Remember, nothing goes away, even if we try to pretend not to see it or avoid it.
Look directly at whatever you may be avoiding – not only the superficial things like getting the car checked or your teeth cleaned – but, more importantly, the deeper issues: relationships that need healing, people who need forgiving, difficult choices that need making, self judgments that need releasing.
3. OPEN YOUR PERIPHERY. Most nearsighted people have tunnel vision – they are over-aware of what they are directly looking at, and not very aware of their periphery – and are not opening to their total field of vision.
Take a walk without your glasses/contacts and practice being aware of your total field of vision. Feel what it’s like to take in everything in all at once – everything around you and everything directly in front of you.
Many spiritual thinkers believe that we receive our intuition and inner wisdom through our peripheral awareness. Over time, the more conscious you are of your periphery, and the fuller your focus becomes, the more you’ll start to open up to these inner pathways. You’ll also gain a greater sense of space and of depth perception in your visual field.
4. USE THE RIGHT PRESCRIPTION. Most eye doctors prescribe glasses or contacts that are too strong, which often leads to stronger and stronger prescriptions.
I, along with many forward thinking eye doctors, recommend a slightly weaker, under-corrected prescription, which serves two purposes: it helps stop the decline of vision and it allows your eyesight to improve as you take steps to better your vision.
(Visit www.bettervision.com to locate an eye doctor in your area who practices this approach.)
Once you have the awareness of the relationship between inner vision and outer sight, you can begin to open your eyes to more of what’s around you. Not only will your world get sharper and you will see more comfortably, but you will also perceive your world with more clarity, openness and honesty.
