From owner-i_see@indiana.edu Tue Aug 29 12:21:38 EST 1995 Date: Tue, 29 Aug 95 09:48 PDT From: Beyond_20/20@Sunshine.net (Beyond 20/20 Vision) Subject: Cool! Status: RO X-Status: Marco Terry sent this message on August 16th, 1995: >Hey! >I saw somebody reccomending Robert Michael's book (seeing beyond 20/20) >on a newsgroup!!!! Cool! >(R-M: thought i'd let you know- people are getting the word out :-) Thanks for the feedback Marco. Actually, Seeing Beyond 20/20 is no longer in print. The new edition is called Seeing Without Glasses and is available from Beyond Words Publishing in Oregon. Phone 1-800-284-9673 to order. Here is a recent article I wrote for parents: Enjoy, Robert-MIchael Kaplan. Helping your Child's Vision...naturally! By Robert-Michael Kaplan O.D., M.Ed., FCOVD "Mommy I can't see the television clearly." "My eyes hurt when I read." Many parents hear these complaints from their children or observe their child's squinting and straining when playing computer games or reading. As a conscientious parent you take your child to the optometrist or ophthalmologist and you hear the dreaded news from the eye doctor "Your child needs glasses or a surgery." You then do what your parents probably did and believe the doctor's opinion as being the only choice you have, and you get glasses for your child or surrender to a medication or surgical procedure. If you are prompted to seek out second opinion you might even be interested in hearing about a complementary approach you can use to help your child's vision. As a parent myself, I have been concerned about my 4 1/2 year old's son eyesight, especially because his mother has a history of nearsightedness and astigmatism. Many years ago while researching vision as a Clinical Professor of Optometry, I uncovered some amazing facts about the possibilities of recovery for eyes and vision. I want to share these with you so you and your family might benefit as my wife and son have. My wife has reduced her dependency upon glasses by 90% and when she does wear eyeglasses, they are 90% weaker in strength. My son is maintaining his sharp eyesight and is developing good visual habits. Like your body's muscles which can increase function, so your child's eye muscles can be trained to work efficiently and effortlessly as well as increase their fitness. The increased vision function and fitness results in sharper eyesight without the dependency upon addictive and strong eyeglasses. Just as you would introduce physical therapy to restore function to an ankle injury, so the eye muscles respond to vision retraining. Even for those children who are already wearing glasses, vision fitness can be enhanced. Imagine the excitement of going back to your eye doctor and getting weaker lenses. This is happening for many people. Here is what a family have seen: "I was very disappointed when my doctor told me that David would need glasses and surgery in order to correct his wandering and lazy left eye. I just couldn't imagine this young boy's eye being cut into. I decided to find another approach to dealing with his problem. A friend told me about this doctor who had cured his own vision problem without surgery, drugs or glasses. It took a while to find him, but our first visit convinced me that I was going to use Dr. Robert-Michael Kaplan's complementary approach. He explained everything in great detail and began teaching David and I how to improve vision using very simple exercises. He sent us to a colleague who weakened David's prescription lenses according to specific directions he gave me. I was told that these glasses were a special vision fitness type and David would only be wearing them for a short period. The weaker prescription allowed my son to focus, but at the same time, he had to retrain his brain to teach his eye to see more clearly with the weaker lens before left eye. I was amazed how quickly the results happened. After just four weeks of combining patching of his better eye and wearing the vision fitness lenses, George could see five lines better on the special eye chart we were trained to use. Nine months later, he was out of glasses 90% of the time and this past spring he had no trouble seeing the blackboard. Now our training program is oriented towards getting his two eyes to work better together. It is very obvious that no surgery is going to be necessary to alleviate David's eye problems. I have also noticed an improvement in David's ability to learn at school. It seems that the way he uses his eyes has brought about better school performance. What a wonderful side benefit I didn't even expect." (c) 1995 Beyond 20/20 - All rights reserved. -------------------------------------------------------------- Beyond_20/20@sunshine.net ========================================================================= From owner-i_see@indiana.edu Fri Jun 30 23:09:45 EST 1995 Date: Fri, 30 Jun 95 20:54 PDT From: Robert_Michael_Kaplan@Sunshine.net (Robert-Michael Kaplan) Status: RO X-Status: HEALING EYES AND VISION by Robert-Michael Kaplan, O.D., M.Ed. FCOVD. Healing is an ongoing process. It is taking place inside of us, and around us, every moment of the day. The regeneration of the vital essence of who we are occurs when our inner being is aligned and connected to the greater universe. Very little is needed for this healing process to maintain its vibrancy. As long as we stay conscious and present to this natural process, our bodies stay well. When busy-ness of our modern day living disconnects us from our essence healing is compromised. The original role of doctors was to co-facilitate the re-arrangement of the conditions in such a way that the balanced relationship of mind, body and spirit encouraged healing to occur on its own. Somewhere along the way, communication between doctor and patient became confused and doctors began taking the credit for the healing process rather than acknowledging the patients' full responsibility in this process. The marketers of drugs, medicines, vitamins, minerals, and herbs told us that substances outside ourselves were the true healing agents. Doctors provide the external stimulation to revitalize the natural healing phenomena within each of us. Usually, healing occurs free of symptomology. The presence of symptoms like body aches, pain in the eyes, and malfunction of organs, is an indication that an upset exists between our inner consciousness and our resonance with life. The presence of symptoms is a reminder for us to either initiate or reconnect with our essence, our light, our spirit, or to use some external aids to facilitate or aid the healing process. Allopathic Way of Looking at the Eyes Like the body, the healing path of the eyes and vision has been viewed in the same way. Most modern-day consumers of vision care have been led to believe that an optometrist or ophthalmologist can improve their eyes. The western form of vision care has evolved primarily into three methods: (1) wearing glasses or contact lenses, (2) using eye medications, and, (3) having surgeries performed on the disfunctional structure of the eye. The belief in these three options is so ingrained that well-known research and clinical documentation about other healing modalities for the eyes and vision have been buried in dark libraries and filing cabinets around the world. Just as other parts of our body respond various forms of self-healing, the eyes and the process of vision have a built-in healing mechanism that responds to an appropriate balance of outer stimulation such as nutrients, light, lenses, colour and self-governed inner participation. The appropriate combination lock or recipe provides the homeopathic impetus for self-healing. Some of the input for this holistic approach comes from practitioners, books, and self- experimentation from as far back as three thousand years. The Eye Sees What the Mind Projects If we believe that the tools and methods utilized by various practitioners actually cause the healing, we become entrapped in the allopathic model. We must move beyond - and see beyond the old way that states that any condition in the eye is a problem. Rather, the eye condition, whether it be nearsightedness, astigmatism, old-age sight, glaucoma, cataracts, or macular degeneration, is the computer printout or facsimile of what is needed (a combination of the outside and the inside) to begin the homeopathic self-healing process. For some, this thinking might seem quite radical, given the embedded status quo position of eyeglasses, contact lenses, eye medications and surgery. Complementary methods facilitate the healing of eyes and vision by first encouraging a shift in the patient's attitude or belief system. Once self-limiting beliefs have been released, and the necessary outside aid for the eye prescribed, the process of natural healing of the eyes and vision may begin. =46rom a healing perspective, your eyes are designed primarily for two reasons, the most obvious being their capacity to receive light. Like a satellite dish, the retina of your eye is curved to permit light from the sun to be captured and focused through the cornea, pupil, lens, and vitreous humor onto a single point on the eye's structure and the surrounding retina. The fovea (a pin point depression in the retina) can be considered the point of intellectual rationality, while the retina stimulates feelings and emotions. Seventy-five percent of this light is transmitted through electrical neurological transmissions to the part of the brain associated with eyesight, logic, and clear vision. The remaining twenty-five percent is converted into energy that travels to the hypothalamus, the master conductor of the body, which takes the colourful ingredients of white light and directs it down through the autonomic nervous system to all the sub-systems such as the endocrine, pituitary, adrenals, and other glands which regulate the body's hormonal and emotional functions. The second aspect of the eye is its natural capacity to project light. The unconscious mind, through the brain, has the ability to project a thought, an attitude, a feeling, or an experience and permit it to block the eye's capacity to receive light. Coupled with the influence of the mind, our eye's perceptions can be affected by the state of our emotions, . It is as if our thinking, our state of consciousness, can impact the eye in such a way that an allergic reaction is set up to influence the retina's natural way of dealing with incoming light. Therefore, the area of the brain that regulates eyesight, the visual cortex, as well as the hypothalamus, can be missing some of the vital nutrients provided by the incoming light through the eyes. When this situation persists, the autonomic nervous system has to draw from its own reserves to restore homeostatic balance initiating what Hans Selye called "distress." Permitted to continue over time, dis-ease, and later, disease set in. The eye records the brain's response to distress in the form of symptoms such as blurry vision, headaches, double vision, and pain. As these symptoms continue, the structure of the eye begins to permanently imprint the altered behaviour. Optometrists and ophthalmologists will measure this distress in the myriad of diagnostic terms that have been coined to classify abnormal eye conditions. What The Eye Conditions Mean During the past twenty years, I have been documenting patients' symptomology, their measured eye prescriptions, their case histories, and the parts or structures of the eyes correlated to their individual life experiences. Each structure of the eye has its own part to play in maintaining healing and well-being. Healing the eye and vision is a matter of identifying the primary symptom of the distressed part (section) within the eye and stimulating the person's own capacity for self-healing. Once the emotional metaphoric equivalent of the eye condition (See Eye Condition Table) has been described in relationship to the person, the doctor can provide the outside support for the patient to initiate his/her own healing. The eye condition, either described by the patient, or diagnosed by the doctor, is an subconscious message calling out for a specific assistance. The S.O.S. call reveals a visual metabolic and emotional system out of balance. The outside homeopathic approach includes sound nutritional principles, specified amounts of light and colour, and programmed self-healing visualization and imagery. The patient now possesses the tools to help himself. There is a relationship between the eye structure, the patients' behaviour, and food and nutritional herbal supplementation available to assist them in the process of healing of their own eyes and vision. The western allopathic model of dividing the eye into components and treating individual parts separately from the whole does not support the holistic model of healing. Rather, consider an analysis of the eye parts and a subsequent reintegration into a whole-person healing focus that takes all aspects of human behaviour and consciousness into consideration. Beyond 20/20 Vision=81 In the early seventies, as I began to heal my own eyes and vision, I integrated the methods I was using into the dynamic, holistic vision approach of "Seeing Without Glasses", incorporating many healing modalities including modified lens prescriptions. The new lens prescriptions are usually weaker in power and act as a biofeedback device. The clarity achieved through these lenses, coupled with lesser percentage of blurry vision, provides the ideal recipe for modifying visual awareness. When you are eating foods that do not agree with their system or is experiencing emotional challenges, the eye blurriness can increase. On the other hand, when you are clear at all levels of your being and can receive light and project back accordingly, blurred vision is minimized. With appropriate vision training techniques, that small degree of blurriness can be permanently reduced. Eye patching is also utilized and the patient is asked to look through one eye from which a homeopathic effect is generated within the eye structure and passed through the visual pathway. Thereafter, your lens prescription can be further modified, usually lessening the layers of artificial lenses. Over time, a lower dependency and need for glasses and an accompanying improvement in eyesight in your naked vision state can be observed. This holistic approach also includes the use of wholesome foods, nutritional and herbal supplementation, which both build and therapeutically heal the eye structures and vision function . Processes are designed to open the patient's blind spots and deal with visual and other denials. The influence of the family tree and the transgenerational implications can be further understood by a process known as Rayid Iris Interpretation. The way a person sees and deals with life can be controlled by these hereditary influences. Specific therapeutic applications from this interpretation process help breakdown the subtle controls from the genetic makeup. Last, the use of varying kinds of eye patching serves as a way to retrain processing through the left and right eyes. The evidence to date strongly suggests that the right eye perception as well as the patterns on the iris correspond to the fathers' side of the family tree. Likewise, the left eye relates to the mothers' side of the family. Therefore, any training necessitates equal viewing through each channel prior to initiating an integrated binocular two-eyed state. The following case studies illustrate the healing possibilities that can occur in the eyes and in the process of vision. Case Study One - Sue Patient Sue, a vibrant 37-year old professional woman, came to my office with symptoms of blurry vision and occasional periods of blindness in the right eye. She had been previously diagnosed as having multiple sclerosis and had spent short periods in hospital for immobility. Sue's very stressful job sometimes required sixteen hours a day. After hours, she did not have much time for herself or the pursuit of her interests, recreationally or personally. When I checked on Sue's ability to use both eyes together, I noted that she saw primarily through the left eye. Her field of vision and ability to perceive through the right eye at the time of her first visit would have classified her as legally blind. Studying the iris pattern and comparing the right eye and left eye, it became apparent that some controlling influences were present from the paternal side of the family i.e., the "jewel" (mental controlling rational markings) was present predominantly on the right eye. Sue revealed her deeply imbedded fears about relationships with men, particularly her father. Sue, who had already begun modifying her eating patterns and practising de-stressing techniques, communicated her misgivings about her previous multiple sclerosis diagnosis. She had never felt comfortable with this doomsday assessment and began to take self-responsibility for her well-being. During our two-hour session, I initiated an eye mobility and body movement program performed to music. I patched her left eye, which proved very effective as a healing stimulation.and coached her on specific releasing statements around her relationship with her father. I also suggested specific vitamins and minerals such as high potency B-complex, vitamin A, zinc, selenium, vitamin E and C, in order to provide the nutrients needed for rejuvenation of particular eye structures associated with central and peripheral vision. After four months, on her second visit, Sue showed remarkable improvement. Not only was she able to use her eyes together for short periods of time, she had also begun a movement exercise program as well as modifying her fast-paced professional life by taking on less responsibilities and participating in more self-growth experiences. Remarkable behavioural changes included self-confidence and capacity to listen and be still versus her earlier need to talk constantly. Sue seemed like a new person. I could see light coming from both her eyes, rather than from just the left, she no longer overcompensated by being overanalytical or justifying every action or statement she made. Those visits were recorded on video tape, improvements in her eyes and vision were quite obvious. While her healing continues, Sue has entered into a primary relationship with a man and is reevaluating her career path.. Case Study Two - John John, a 65 -year old former banker, suddenly developed blindness in a specific quadrant of his left eye. The structure on the iris relating to the position of loss of visual field corresponded in his iris to the heart area and was associated with commitment and ability to express love. His case history revealed a man now free from the daily pressures of work and who, in retirement, was now facing years and years of past denials in his home life and particularly his relationship with his wife. The loss of visual field in his left eye corresponded to his female perceptions. The female person closest to him was his wife, and metaphorically, he was blocking her out of his sight. His distressed vision, like a computer printout or fax from within, revealed a new opportunity to deal with these formerly shut-off feelings. As facilitator, I provided John with the tools and aids for his own self-healing, suggesting he begin a program of patching his right eye and using a specially designed lens in front of his left. The intense focus of light through the left eye over and above the right and the focus through the therapeutic lens, set in place a form of visual homeopathy that forced John to pay attention to his feelings, his actions, and his behaviour. He continued the program on his own using only his left eye for a maximum of four hours per day. John embarked upon a healthy eating program, practised relaxing techniques, and dealt with the denials in the primary relationship in his life. John was also able to set up a change in visual field through a monitoring of the lowered pressure in the eye. On his return visits, John brought me many drawings of his perceptions of the blind spots through his left eye, which were now smaller. Each day, John listened to a self-healing audio tape that I made for him where he imagined himself being very small, travelling inside his eye with a little black doctor's bag, full of the ingredients and natural resources to feed particular parts of his eye and injecting it with healing nutrients and spraying it with different coloured lights. Case Study Three - Joan At her first visit, 31- year old Joan, a health care provider, was wearing contact lenses for nearsightedness and astigmatism, for most of her waking hours. Her goal was to find ways to free herself from the dependency of contact lenses and glasses. A highly intelligent woman, Joan seemed very committed to begin an eye training program that was to span nine months, also participating in my group glasses. Using the techniques of patching, coloured light, vitamin and mineral supplementation and healthy eating practices, imagery, and self-healing, I was able to provide guidance for her to initiate her own commitment to her healing. A therapeutic eyeglass prescription freed her from her contact lenses so that at the completion of her program, Joan was using very weak glasses for less than 10% of her waking hours and, the rest of the time, used her naked eyes. During this process, Joan has had to face many denials from her past, including her relationship with her father, her interaction with men, a tendency to acquiesce and surrender her power, withdrawing inward or giving away her own power to her husband. Joan's old denials have been exposed, and she has been able to maintain an eighty percent clear naked eyesight. =A9 1995 Robert-Michael Kaplan. All Rights Reserved. Parts of this article were excerpted from the books Seeing Without Glasses, 1994 (Beyond Words Publishing, Hillsboro, Oregon.) and The Power Behind Your Eyes, 1995. (Inner Traditions, Rochester, Vermont.) The therapeutic processes described in this article are educational in nature, and not diagnosis or treatment. Should you be concerned about your eyes, please consult an Optometrist or medical doctor. "Products and programs for helping your eyes....naturally!" Beyond_20/20@sunshine.net [Robert-Michael Kaplan, O.D., M.Ed., FCOVD] Snail Mail RR#5 S26 C39 Gibsons, British Columbia. VON 1VO Canada Voice (604) 885-7118 =46ax (604) 885-0608 =20 From owner-aeulenbe_i_see_digest@indiana.edu Mon Oct 30 11:01:05 EST 1995 Date: Mon, 30 Oct 1995 10:43:20 -0500 (EST) From: Alex Eulenberg Subject: A word from Dr. Kaplan Status: RO X-Status: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 27 Oct 95 16:19 PDT From: Robert-Michael_Kaplan@Sunshine.net To: i_see@indiana.edu Subject: Re: Optometrist Hello everybody: I am back from my trip to England. Met a lot of people interested in improving their vision. There is an active Bates Group all over England, and there are courses and practitioners to consult. I found using aspects of nature combined with palming, eye crossing techniques, patching and breathing in and out with a pause, very helpful for my clients and myself. My near vision was quite blurry on arrival, probably due to the jet lag. After eating very lightly for a few days, and sunning my eyes, my near vision focused perfectly, although I used my pinholes some of the time for my detailed work, I exercise my near and far focusing and cross my eyes onto the little holes. When I do this, my near vision is much sharper after I take the pinholes off. Do any of you have similar experiences? I haven't posted anything for a while since my lap top is out of commision, but hope to have it back by next week. Sid, contact my friend and colleague Dr. Sam Berne in Sante Fe. He is a great behavioural optometrist. Tell him I referred you, and he will take good care of you. My new book is now out. Hooray! 3 solid years in writing. For those of you interested, here is some more information: New Release The Power Behind Your Eyes Improving Your Eyesight with Integrated Vision Therapy By Robert-Michael Kaplan Price $16.95 U.S. Paperback: 180 pages 26 Black and white illustrations: 8" X 10" ISBN 0 89281 536 1. Available from Inner Traditions, 1 (800) 488-2665 - and most book stores. Vision occurs behind the eyes. That is where the real power comes from. The Power Behind Your Eyes takes the stand that 90% of vision emanates from the mind, and that by implication each individual is ultimately responsible for the way they see. The Power Behind Your Eyes looks at the causes of eye problems from a metaphoric point of view. The reader is guided through very practical activities that invites them to examine their life as part of the way they are seeing. This book is an example of the new paradigm of vision care. "The Power Behind Your Eyes, starts where my first book Seeing Without Glasses ends, that is vision fitness. I decided to write this book because my patients kept telling me these incredible stories about how their lives were changing as their vision improved." -Robert-Michael Kaplan. Oct., 1995 "The Power Behind Your Eyes is an important book that can help you create a new vision for your life". -Deepak Chopra, M.D. author of Seven Spiritual Laws of Success; Ageless Body, Timeless Mind; and Quantum Healing. Good vision is more than the ability to see 20/20 on an eye chart. It is product of a healthy way of "seeing" one's self and the world. Any vision problem is a message alerting us to an imbalanced inner state. Eyeglasses, medications, and surgery may treat the symptoms of poor vision but they cannot correct this inner imbalance. The Power Behind Your Eyes presents a new system of eye care - a comprehensive daily program that can actually improve poor vision. Drawing on over two decades of clinical research, the author combines powerful new treatments-light and colour therapy, creative visualisation, palming, acupressure, nutrition, and the prescription of weaker lenses - with standard methods of diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Kaplan trained in optometry, education, psychology and the Tibetan healing tradition, unites Eastern and Western medical philosophies in his practise of Integrated Vision Therapy. More comprehensive than other vision care techniques, this therapy takes a true holistic approach to identifying the causes of vision problems and developing noninvasive, natural strategies for treatment. With The Power Behind Your Eyes, you can claim responsibility for improving your vision through a series of clear, easy-to- follow exercises, diets, and changes in daily habits. Included in the book are most of the charts and visual aids needed to reclaim your eyes' natural power. >Hi All, > >I'm looking for a behavioral optometrist in the Santa Fe or Taos areas >(Albuquerque would be OK but not best). Anyone have someone they'd recommend? > >TIA, >Sid Gudes >Santa Fe & Vallecitos, New Mexico "Products and programs for helping your eyes....naturally!" -A portion of our profits are used to purchse full-spectrum lighting for children's classrooms.- Beyond_20/20@sunshine.net [Robert-Michael Kaplan, O.D., M.Ed., FCOVD] Snail Mail RR#5 S26 C39 Gibsons, British Columbia. VON 1VO Canada Voice (604) 885-7118 Fax (604) 885-0608 ========================================================================= From owner-i_see@indiana.edu Wed Dec 20 19:22:29 EST 1995 Date: Wed, 20 Dec 95 16:03 PST From: Beyond_20/20@Sunshine.net (Beyond 20/20 Vision) Subject: Success Status: RO X-Status: Hello and festive greetings: A patient of mine recently wrote the following after visiting my retreat center and completing a vision therapy session. I trust it will inspire you as it did me. I wish you all happy new year and clear vision. "My directive is to see clearly. I drive down a quiet road in the country. Looking through a lens prescription twice reduced, I negotiate toward the parking lot near the ocean. It is a windy and rainy winter day. No one is in sight. Closing my car door, I remove my weaker glasses placing them in my pocket. I reach for my strongest glasses. They represent years of suppressed perceptions. I have witnessed much through these lenses that no longer satisfy my improved vision through my eyes. I know it is time to let them go. I negotiate my way down the walkway to the rocky outcrop near the water. I walk carefully looking for flat rocks to climb on. Once at the edge, the wind is much stronger and gusts send sprays of water flying over my face like a cold shower. I know why I am doing this. The ocean gods are to help me release the addictive hold of my past vision. The strong glasses in my hand represent these limiting perceptions. I glance at the changing patterns of the waves. As I think about the ocean goddess, my right hand goes up in the air and I toss my glasses for her safe-keeping. As they leave my hand, I lose sight of them in the blur. My past vision is now buried in the ocean, and I can see free of my illusionary past. I walk back to my car feeling liberated." ========================================================================= From owner-i_see@indiana.edu Mon Jul 10 14:45:32 EST 1995 Date: Mon, 10 Jul 95 12:41 PDT From: Robert_Michael_Kaplan@Sunshine.net (Robert-Michael Kaplan) Subject: Re: Decreasing prescription strength in Myopia Status: RO X-Status: Alex at I_SEE wrote: >Here's my dilemma. Traditional eyecare theory limits its "treatments" to >the relief of bad vision at 20 feet in each eye separately, while ignoring >the rest of the visual system. But at least their theory makes sense as >far as it goes. It is, shall we say, accessible. But I don't believe in >its principles. >I do believe in the principles of OEP "Up with vision! Look at the eye >holistically! Eyesight Enhancement all the way! Improve performance any >way you can! Results first, theory later!" except to be honest, I just go >crazy trying to make sense of the "findings". For example... >In sci.med.vision you write: > >>It is not that the weaker lenses >>affect vision from the acuity paradigm that we normally explore. The >>weaker prescription, in a very subtle way, affected the binocular system >>by alleviating visual distress *the fixation disparity*. I and other >>behavioral optometrists have since repeated these findings on tens of >>thousands of patients. > >May I be so bold as to request a jargon-free paraphrase (hopefully >cross-posted to I_SEE)? Please note: This is not OEP (which means Optometric Extension Program) A jargon free explanation. Wow, another challenge! Strong glasses cause a stress breakdown of the two eyes working together. I believe that this causes the addictive relationship with minus lenses. > >And what about that 25% of myopes without that fixation disparity >problem? What happens to them when you give them a 20/40 prescription? This is a good question. First, I make sure that the reduced lenses doesn't now cause a fixation disparity, and if not, I suggest the lens for 20/40, and if it does induce a breakdown of two-eyed vision, then I give the lens which causes the least binocular disturbance, and include integrated vision therapy. > >And what do you do when you get a 1.00D myope who's never worn glasses? >Do they have the same kinds of fixation disparity rates? Yes, a little minus can go a long way in inducing a two-eyed disturbance > >And, while I'm here, I've got another question: can you explain your >theory behind overcorrecting astigmatism? This strikes me as very weird, >since all my favorite authors (Kennebeck, Raphaelson, Prentice, Simpkins) >are adamantly opposed to cylinders. This is a very difficult question to answer in a short form. I'll give a try, otherwise when we work together, I 'll teach you the mechanics. By definition, astigmatism means one area of space is more blurry than another. The seperation is usually by 90 degrees. In the simplest example, the vertical meridian of the cornea would show more myopia than its horizontal counterpoint. Here is the essence. The person's learning is to begin to see through the vertical meridian. This is the area of space that is the most blurry, and represents the most blurriness in their life. In later discussions, I 'll demonstrate that the vertical meridian has particular psycho-emotional correlates. If my hypothesis is correct, then the lens the person looks through, should accentuate light focusing more on the vertical meridian than the horizontal. The only way this can be accomplished is to increase the astigmatism for myopia, although we can reduce the astigmatism in farsightedness. If you just leave out the cylinder, then the person learns to see more clearly through the horizontal in this example. Granted their eyesight may improve, howeer, their discovery of the learning they need to get to the cause of the problem is never addressed. This is the distinction between integrated vision therapy and say regular vision therapy or even vision improvement. Phew, that does it for now. All the best, Robert-Michael.