Healing Your Vision Naturally: A True Story

The Optometrist was clear. “There’s no way to improve your vision without surgery,” he explained, going through a whole medical explanation of why this was so. And as he diagrammed and didacted his voice sounded more and more like Charlie Brown’s school teacher: “Wah wah, wah wah, wah wah.” My mind, on the other hand, was taking a ride into the past and present. To acupressure school when several teachers shared their personal experiences with clients whose eyesight was restored to 20-20. To Christian Science theology that sees all illness as spiritual malaise. To my own epiphany years earlier that there was nothing wrong with my eyes. To my well-tested belief in the power of the mind and Spirit to heal. And, furthermore, he was concluding, I must have been over-prescribed by my last optometrist because it was impossible that my eyesight had improved.

Flash forward now to a several weeks ago, about a year and a half after that particular eye exam. Maybe because that doctor had been so emphatic, my mind had not returned to the subject since. But here I was, in a new Optometrist’s office facing another Medicine Man. He checked my eyes and was now checking my 3 year old glasses and most recent contact lense prescription. “Hmmm… I must have checked that wrong. Let me redo this.” My mind jolted out of its doctor’s office haze to electric clarity. My vision had improved again! This time, the older, more open Optometrist explained after double-checking his work, “By about 30% total.”
I wanted to jump up and down but the venue didn’t seem to welcome such a display. Anyhow, another emotion had come over me… knowingness. And, wow. Gratitude.  Yes, the world has order and reason. Feeling grounded and strengthened in my beliefs I thought, “Of course.”

And now, after hearing similar stories from friends and family members I’d like to share with you what is possible for all of us, through the power of belief, awareness and action.

How My Vision Improved By  30%

BELIEF–  In 2002 I took an acupressure certification course where I was introduced to the idea that it was possible to improve your eyesight. Then, in 2006, during a time of great Spiritual awakening for me, I had a sudden epiphany that there was nothing wrong with my eyes. I was born with perfect eyes, I reasoned. I was prescribed contact lenses when I was 14 but if my eyesight could go “bad” why couldn’t it go “good”? Now I believed.

INTENTION–  So, this may be far-out for some people. But I believe one of the reasons my vision has improved is that I decided I wanted to see.  The way Chinese Medicine views sickness is from a symbolic,  whole-body approach. So, in this way of viewing near-sightedness there are psychological and spiritual questions to be asked, like “What do you not want to see?” After learning this approach and believing my vision could improve, I began to look into the things I hadn’t wanted to see before. Almost like an
affirmation I would repeat in my meditation and yoga and daily life that I wanted to see and feel everything this life had to offer me… without judging it bad or good. I wanted to see and experience all of it.

AWARENESS & INTERNALLY-GUIDED ACTION–  I’m one of those girls the make-up ladies at the mall can’t stand.  My eyes flutter. I mean, they really move. And, since I began meditating regularly in 2001 I’ve been training my mind to be aware, at all moments, of the myriad of sensations present on my body. So, at some point, I became aware that not only is there continual tension and activity behind my eyes but that I respond to these sensations by squeezing my eyes, particularly when I drink caffeinated beverages, when I’m tired or in the sun. So, for years now when I become aware of this I send a deep exhale down through my neck and shoulders and into my stomach and legs, removing the strain from my eyes. I learned this corrective action by paying attention to my body on a minute level and by experimenting with what worked to relax my eyes.  I  apply it consistently throughout the day as well as working on my posture and tension-taming more generally.

The Big Questions

So, yes, I will tell you my plan for curing my vision completely. But, frankly, I think the more interesting question is what all this means. What if our body-minds really are meant to be perfectly healthy? What if our maladies are messages (some downright loud ones!) pointing us in a healthier direction? If healing is less of a
“miracle” and more an aligning with a Divine Order and our part in it? What if you could heal yourself partially or even completely by learning to listen really well for what is needed and be aware enough to continually apply the corrective behavior? Do you really want to heal? How does your current illness actually work for you… keeping you in a comfortable status quo? What are the negative thoughts or emotions that correspond to your malady? What affirmation would snap you into a more empowered place? What exercises, if any, do you need to do to strengthen your awareness (ie. your capacity to continually return to your corrective action and thoughts)? What would your life be like, your faith, your sense of empowerment if you were able to heal yourself? And if you really want to go there… what does all of this say about God, or the Universe if you will?

My New Plan for 20-10 Vision

Anyone want to join me on this journey? In my excitement I bought an e-book on healing your eyesight naturally and anyone is welcome to borrow it. But, again, I will only do what seems intuitively right for me.

Here’s what’s on my daily list:
• Herbal eye-wash
• “Cup” my eyes and/or massage my face when it feels right
• Wear my glasses or contacts as little as possible
• Walk barefoot and open my eyes to the sun as much as possible (I’ve already been doing this, intuitively, for the past 2 years)
• As opposed to doing eye-exercises, stretching my eyes in all directions in a way that feels cathartic
• Greens and regular acupuncture
• An affirmation on my closet door to keep me motivated and a continued “Yes!” attitude toward everything life brings me.

I’ll keep you posted on this journey.  What’s your plan for healing?