March 2024 Newsletter

Hello, and a magical March to you!
Welcome, or welcome back, to my newsletter. Today's issue is about trying, and not trying. Enjoy!

As soon as I started exploring vision improvement and reading about it, I encountered the idea that strain was the enemy. I should be allowing myself to see, gratefully receiving the images (blurry or not), instead of trying as hard as I could to see clearly. This made sense in theory, sort of, but I had no idea how to actually do it. It seemed that everything else I wanted to accomplish, whether academically or athletically or financially, I needed to try, to put forth effort. If I didn't try, how would I get anything done?

One of my early vision teachers, Peter Grunwald who developed the Eyebody Method, talked a lot about intention, the intention to be present, the intention to experience depth or 3D vision which glasses can flatten. What if instead of trying so hard to force my visual system to perceive clarity, I merely held that intention? Peter said our intention leads, then the eyes and body follow, to carry out some action which supports the intention. Holding an intention to look easily and curiously felt more relaxing than trying so hard to see clearly, but could it make my actual vision sharper?

In his classic vision improvement book "The Art of Seeing", Aldous Huxley wrote about the "greedy end-gainer" who wants clear sight so desperately, he or she pushes themselves too forcefully to achieve it. This was me, wondering if palming would be the magic answer to improving my vision, or some other rigorous secret practice. I felt handicapped, with the worst eyesight of anyone I knew. It didn't matter that I was good at other things. Just tell me what kind of eye workout to do and I'll do it, no matter how strenuous.

When I found out that I couldn't do eye pushups or eye barbell curls to improve my vision, as if I was trying to strengthen my muscles in the gym, I was kind of at a loss. I was supposed to be doing less, to relax? How could I improve if I didn't do anything? There's a subtle but crucial difference between trying to see, and intending to see. Trying involves effort and strain, while intending does not. It merely requires mental focus, then regular practice, with that focus in mind.

Eventually I learned to relax my body and breath and visual system, then to direct my mental energies on seeing what details I could. Intending to see is like intending to get up from the chair, or to walk across the room. The intention leads the action, as Peter Grunwald said, then the body follows and the desired result happens. Maybe it's sloppy or unskilled at first, like tripping if you're trying to walk, or blur when you're hoping for crisp vivid visual detail. In that case you keep at it, gradually refining your skill.

Meir Schneider, the famous vision teacher in San Francisco, was considered blind as a child and grew up reading only Braille. When he began studying with a vision educator in his late teens, he could only distinguish light from shadow. He started with interpreting large shapes, like windows vs. air conditioners on a building, then moved on to smaller and smaller details. Meir's intention to see pulled him forward, as he welcomed and received the images in front of him. A client recently called this sweet spot between trying too hard, and not putting forth any energy at all, the "razor's edge". I think of it as being "in the zone", or "going with the flow". Could you struggle a little less with your seeing, and have the intention for clarity lead you?

To read about trying not to see, click here.

Upcoming EFT series with a master teacher!
My skilled insightful EFT teacher Dr. Carol Look will be offering a new 3-week 6-session series starting in May, Unlock Your Abundance. I can't recommend Carol's work highly enough. Note that your own abundance challenge may be financial, or with health, relationships, or in some other area. We'll have 3 activation sessions to get ready, in February, March, and April, all of which will be available afterward when you register. You can check out the details here.

Have you wondered if my work could help you?
I'm now offering complimentary Discovery Session consultations of 20 minutes or so, for us to discuss what you're looking for in a coach, and to see whether you and I feel like a fit to work together formally. To schedule your Discovery Session, click here.

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Please send me your questions and comments
Let me know what you've wondered about concerning energy medicine or vision or dreams. I'll be glad to write a short article addressing that topic. Thank you to those who have sent me questions, or see a question you asked me in a private session written about here. You're helping many other people! Enjoy the start of this marvelous month of March. I'll write again in a few weeks. Take care!