Treat #96
: Singular Focus - Changing Views
It is time for an update on my personal project of learning to see clearly without glasses.
It’s been a year since I started this process, and lately I have been noticing my eyes are smarting and feeling like they are trying hard to see.
So after checking in with my seeing coach, I discovered I needed some course-correction on how I was using my eyes. I had to remind myself that the learning process is just that…a learning process…and it does not all fall into place instantly.
What’s fun is how seeing without glasses is directly related to focusing and completing.
One of the essential pieces of the Bates method of seeing without glasses is called central fixation or central clarity which is about focus as well as movement. You need your eyes to see ‘points of attention” vs. trying to take in the whole all at once. And your eyes need to be in constant motion rather than staring at any one word or thing. If the eyes look at small pieces and move and shift, they will stay relaxed and see clearly. Look at this sample:
(this is not as dramatic in this text - paste to a word document if you want to see more clearly)
N E X T A C T I O N
is doable in one step
Notice that if you look at the large print and focus on the N in the word “next,” you can also see the letter N at the end of the word “action”. That’s because your peripheral vision will see it. Now look at the much smaller print and focus on the letter I in “is” and notice you cannot see the P in the word “step” which is the same distance as the N in Action right above it.
We think being able to see the whole is efficient and a good thing but in fact we are distracted from the point of action and we are not able to focus with relaxation.
The eyes need small points of attention and need to move across the page with gentle motion. The smaller print that you read the more clarity and focus you will have and your eyes can relax.
I am noticing as I am writing this treat that as I type one letter at a time and stay with that one letter, I glide across the screen and my head naturally moves as well. And it’s more relaxing for sure than trying to get all my ideas down in a rush and flurry and focusing really hard.
I recently coached a client who is multi-talented and has an idea a minute. Her creativity is what keeps her engaged and motivated. Yet she was feeling overwhelmed by it all. What I noticed as we worked is that a singular focus is required when you have that creativity and that many projects in the works. The eye and mind at any given time needs permission to focus on just one point, just one next action and just one step at a time. Otherwise there is a tendency for the mind to spin with everything mushing together as one big thing to complete. The result is that the anxiety of so much to do can actually stop movement.
Interestingly enough, the creative ideas that flow out do not all come at once, but one at a time. The key is to focus on that one idea when it arrives and identify what (if anything) you want to do with it and integrate it into your system so it can be acted on in its own time line. If it is to be a current project, it needs a next action (point of attention) to move it forward to completion.
When choosing a next action from your list, take your time. Put your attention on each item on the list one at a time vs. scanning. Any overwhelm will calm down and you will see what needs your attention vs. skipping over it.
Let your eyes rest on one point at a time slowly with your singular focus.
Martha Invitations
1. Watch if you are in singular focus or trying to handle a bunch of things all at once.
2. Relax your gaze and look only at what is before you to handle.
3. Watch the next time you are searching your email for something, and notice if you are looking one at a time or all at once.
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