enVision!
Natural Vision Improvement
Newsletter
Issue# 1                                                                                           September 2000

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This first issue of enVision is dedicated to the memory Janet Goodrich.  We will always be grateful for all the hard work and determination that she put into bringing the knowledge of Vision Improvement to the world.
 
In this issue...
  • NV What? by Alan Winn
  • Featured Website  
  • A Look at Neuro Linguistic Programming…  by Kim Beckett
  • Cataracts: by Gary Null
  • This Month's Recommended Book "Eat Right For Your Type" by Dr.Peter Adamo
  • The Computer Health Nut's Guide to Vision Improvement  by Lois June Wickstrom
  • Featured Exercise or Technique
  • Q & A
  • Natural Vision Quiz #1
"Heads you win, tails you can't lose"
 

 
NV What?
by Alan Winn
 
I know something about you.  Though we're separated by space and time, my
guess is that you're interested in your vision.  Perhaps you wear glasses or
contact lenses, and chances are that you've grown tired of using them as
crutches to see clearly.  Maybe you've heard from others or have even felt
deep down inside that vision can be improved, naturally, without expensive
(and sometimes detrimental) surgical procedures.  If these guesses are
correct, then welcome to the wonderful world of NVI.

NVI stands for natural vision improvement.  So what does this mean?  The
word "natural" comes from the Latin word natura, whose root word means to be
born.  Things that are natural are not man-made.  Glasses and contacts are
both man-made, and their extended use takes us away from our natural state
of vision.  The word "vision" comes from the Latin word visio, whose root
word means to see.  And "improvement" comes from the ancient Anglo-Norman
word emprouwer, which means to turn to profit or to advance to a more
desirable state.  Hence, NVI means to advance our vision to a more desirable
state, a state where glasses or contacts are not needed in order to see
clearly, and to do this naturally.  NVI means to use our eyes as nature
intended us to use them, naturally, just as when we were born, and without
the aid of unnatural, man-made devices.  All of this may seem quite obvious,
but there is more to NVI than first meets the eye.

NVI is about making changes in your life.  These changes might be big or
small, but improvement can only come through change.  We can't keep doing
"the same old thing" and expect a new result.  A new result can only come by
a new approach, so improved vision comes only after we begin to use our eyes
and mind differently.  Alien beings from outer space do not fear change. 
For human beings like ourselves, however, change normally means fear -- fear
of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of success, fear of slipping backward,
fear of new territory, and fear of leaving the old and familiar behind.  NVI
is about feeling and recognizing the fear and doing it anyway.  It's about
not being afraid of failure anymore because you never actually fail -- you
only learn what doesn't work.

NVI is about taking responsibility for our vision and not turning this duty
over to our glasses or contacts anymore.  It's about taking our eyeballs out
of the welfare line and putting them back into the employment line.  It's
about transforming our eyes from couch potatoes into fitness buffs.  And
it's about working the remote slowly out of their hands and getting them
back on the treadmill of life.

NVI is about gaining greater awareness in our lives because our outer vision
is closely connected to our inner vision.  It's about living this moment to
the fullest -- not looking too far into the future and not getting stuck in
the past.  It's about looking to this day and wringing every ounce of life
out of it that we can.  Yesterday is but a dream and tomorrow is but a
vision, but today, well lived, will make every yesterday a dream of
happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope -- look well, therefore, to
this day.

NVI is about unclogging the emotional drain within, and letting go of the
things that have creating blockage in our lives.  It's about gaining more by
letting go.  It's about cleaning out the clutter in our minds, forgiving
others, and forgiving ourselves.  It's about lightening our load by finally
cutting the anchor.

NVI is about patience and persistence.  It's about setting goals and working
toward their achievement.  And if you don't have patience now, then you will
certainly learn it along the way.

A marvelous thing happened to me the other day as I was mowing my lawn.  As
I was making my way toward the front of the house, a pebble jumped into in
my shoe for a ride.  Yes, that's the marvelous thing -- a pebble in my shoe!
  Naturally, my first thought was to stop the mower and put an end to the
discomfort by shaking it out of my shoe.  As I thought about this, however,
a different voice from deep within suggested that I keep mowing.  "Practice
discomfort" was the counsel.  Knowing full well that the slight pain and
discomfort would eventually soon end, I took the suggestion and kept mowing.
  Every time I stepped on that pebble, I was reminded about patience and
persistence.  Put up with the pain now for a better feeling later on.  It's
like Muhammad Ali once said, "I hated every minute of training, but I said,
"Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.""  NVI
is about working through this pain for something better later on.

NVI is NOT about getting rich quick.  It is not about winning the lottery,
and it's not about the alchemist's dream of turning lead into gold.  It's
about uncovering and then polishing the hidden gold that's already there. 
Remember, you're eyes are not "bad" and they aren't "broken".  They've just
become used to seeing with the aid of glasses and contacts, but this can
change.

So, welcome to the wonderful journey called natural vision improvement. 
Though the path is marked, it hasn't been paved yet.  You'll be in the
minority here because you'll be doing things "a natural."  And though the
road may be bumpy and bouncy along the way, you will likely not take a more
exhilarating or inspiring trek in all your life.  So, please buckle up.  And
don't forget to bring lots of film.

Happy journey,
Alan Winn


Featured Website  
 
The Bates Association for Vision Improvement  
webmaster Kevin Wooding has done an excellent job at putting together this wonderful resource.  You will find a directory of Bates teachers, history of the Bates method, a comprehensive list of links, and more.


 
The mind is a filter that allows passage of only those
 messages for which it is prepared, unless reality is so
 pressing as to overwhelm it completely.
                                                              - J.A.C. Brown
 
A Look at Neuro Linguistic Programming…
by Kim Beckett

 In their book Introducing Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Joseph O’Conner and John Seymour sum up NLP this way.

 If NLP were ever to be presented in a three minute seminar, it would go something like this.  The presenter would walk on and say, “Ladies and gentlemen, to be successful in life you need only remember three things.

  “Firstly, know what you want; have a clear idea of your outcome in any situation.

  “Secondly, be alert and keep your senses open so that you notice what you are getting.

  “Thirdly, have the flexibility to keep changing what you do until you get what you want.”

  He would then write on the board:

Outcome

Acuity

Flexibility

 and leave.

  End of seminar.

 To apply NLP to our vision improvement goals we would start with these basic steps, but I would recommend reading a book on NLP to take advantage of all the information that has been learned through NLP about the way we operate.

 Outcome, the first of the three steps, is of course your goal.  The most popular books on goal setting all state that to achieve a goal you first need to be very specific. Stating your goal very clearly and in the positive will help you when you are ready for the next step of checking to see what you are getting.

   That is all Acuity means, just checking to see what you are getting.  In NLP you are given many useful tools in which to do this.   Learning about sensory awareness and filters is a good example. Filters govern the way we see the world around us.  Our beliefs, and perceptions color our filters.  With NLP you can fine-tune your filters to pick up the information you want.  NLP will help you to understand how your senses and feelings work, allowing you a heightened awareness.

 And finally Flexibility which, is, I think the most important step.  You need to have the flexibility to keep changing what you are doing until you are getting what you want.  If you get to this step and don't adjust your controls you may end up frustrated and give up because what you are doing is not working.  Sometimes all that is needed is to do the same thing in a relaxed manner.

 There is huge storehouse of information in the system we call NLP. I have only touched on it briefly in the hopes of perking your interest.  Below you will find a link to Amazon’s list of NLP books.  Take a look in your local library first you may find one there.

 Click here to see Amazon's NLP Books


Feature Article

Gary Null is a Pacifica Network talk show host, consumer advocate, investigative reporter, environmentalist and nutrition educator who has written more than 60 books on health topics.   He lives the active, healthful life that he advocates. He regularly competes in races and marathons and has trained thousands of people in his "Natural Living Walking and Running Club" to do the same.

Cataracts

by Gary Null

A Model of the Aging Process
There's no denying that aging is a major issue in our society. Who wouldn't want to declare war on the aging process and prevent it from affecting their lives in destructive ways? For that reason, theories about how aging takes place always prove interesting. But much of this scientific work - including the theories on aging discussed here is as yet unproven. In the coming years, further research may bolster the underlying premises of these and similar theories.

In the meantime, the practical aspects of aging continue to plague us, lowering the quality of life for many people in their later years. Rather than leave this discussion at a general and philosophical level, we want to look at how certain nutrients relate to one specific aspect of aging-the formation of cataracts. This type of vision impairment is an excellent model of the aging process; not only is it an extremely important issue among the aged population, but cataracts are a measurable and well-studied problem.

Here, we summarize the work of Paul F. Jacques and Allen Taylor in "Micronutrients and Age-Related Cataracts," which explores the role various nutrients play in reducing the risk of cataracts and protecting against the oxidative processes that contribute to many aspects of the aging process. As Jacques and Taylor point out, senile cataracts are "the leading cause of preventable blindness in the world." Each year, some 400,000 people develop cataracts; in the United States alone, 20% of people between ages 65 and 75 and 45% of those over 75 suffer from cataracts and vision impairment.

As we age, both structural and biochemical events contribute to the formation of cataracts. The epithelial cells of the lens (which transmits and focuses light rays on the retina of the eye) form fiber cells throughout life. These cells start at the lens equator and travel inward. Eventually, say the authors, the old fibers become more dehydrated and compressed in the center of the lens. The gelatin-like substance of the lens has a refraction index that prevents light from scattering. This substance consists of 65% water and 35% protein. According to Jacques and Taylor, changes in the lens will alter the refraction index, allowing more light to scatter and the lens to become clouded. This opacity is called a cataract.

In studying cataracts, then, one must consider the elements that affect the protein in the lens, such as exposure to light, oxygen, the products of normal aging and environmental factors. These factors can cause protein aggregation and precipitation, both of which are linked to a greater level of water insoluble protein in old lenses or those with cataracts. When cataracts form, the process by which protein becomes insoluble seems to be accelerated, say the authors.

A number of risk factors have been associated with senile cataracts, which make up the majority of lens opacities. Among those factors are ultraviolet, infrared, ionizing and microwave radiation. The risk of senile cataracts also has been correlated with demographic factors such as gender, blood pressure, blood sugar, education, occupation and vital capacity.

Beyond those basic risk factors, there is much research data relating the development of cataracts to reduced levels of certain micronutrients, according to Jacques and Taylor. The lens, for example, needs certain enzymes to help protect it against the effects of oxidation, which has been strongly correlated with cataract formation. In the young lens, the antioxidant defense mechanisms will keep free radicals and photooxidation in check. As we age, however, this activity may fall off and lead to the oxidation of lens proteins.

The lens depends on three enzymes for its protection against oxidation: the glutathione redox cycle (which includes tripeptide glutathione, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase), SOD and catalase. SOD, for example, protects the lens against the highly reactive superoxide radical, while catalase may protect the lens from the less reactive hydrogen peroxide.

Glutathione peroxidase, for its part, eliminates hydroperoxide radicals. While glutathione is oxidized in the process, say the authors, it is restored with the help of glutathione reductase. Glutathione also can perform direct free radical-scavenging work and help to prevent the oxidation of proteins and the formation of disulfide bonds, which also contribute to cataracts.

A number of familiar nutrients help to fuel the glutathione enzyme system. These include vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin B2 and selenium. Due to the link between cataracts and the process of oxidation, much of the research in this area has centered on these nutrients because they have antioxidant properties. What follows is a brief summary of experimental and epidemiological evidence that correlates the level of these nutrients with the risk of cataracts:

Vitamin C (ascorbate). This nutrient generates attention, say the authors, because the ascorbate concentration in the lens can be 30 times higher than that of plasma. Compared to normal lens, older lens and lens with cataracts have low ascorbate levels. In six animal studies conducted between 1978 and 1986, ascorbate was found to delay the formation of cataracts or protect the lens against various types of damage, including galactose-induced cataracts, glucocorticoid (which reduces glutathione levels), ultraviolet induced protein damage, photooxidative changes to the lens, and light-induced damage to the lens from photochemically produced superoxide.

Beyond that, two epidemiological studies have found an increased risk of cataracts in people with low ascorbate levels. In one of these studies, for example, researcher J. Robertson compared the risk of senile cataracts among people who took regular ascorbate acid supplements (300 - 600 mg. per day) and those who did not. The cataract risk for supplement users was only 30% of that for non-supplement users.

The authors note, however, that a large study in India reported mixed results on the ascorbate/cataract connection. With a given increase in the plasma ascorbate level, there was a 90% jump in the risk of posterior subcapsular and nuclear cataracts. But at the same time, lower levels of an antioxidant index that factored in plasma ascorbate increased the risk of these same cataracts.

Vitamin E (tocopherol). This nutrient, which is the primary fat-soluble antioxidant, prevents photoperoxidation of the lens lipids. As with other parts of the body, the integrity of the cell membranes in the lens must be preserved. Tocopherol seems to stabilize and protect cell membranes. A number of studies also show that this nutrient will retard cataract-like changes to the lens by various cataractogenic agents, including glucose, galactose, sorbitol, ionizing radiation and steroids and other cataractogenic drugs.

In Robertson's study on the relationship between vitamin C status and cataracts, it was also found that people who took an average of 400 IU of vitamin E each day had 40% of the risk of senile cataracts as those who did not take supplements. A study by Jacques, however, did not find any difference in the cataract risk for people with low, moderate or high levels of tocopherol in the plasma.

Vitamin B2 (riboflavin). As a cofactor for glutathione reductase, riboflavin may indirectly affect the antioxidant mechanisms in the lens. According to Jacques and Taylor, research indicates that people who took riboflavin supplements or thyroxine, had higher glutathione reductase activity in the lens epithelia than did people who did not take such supplements. While the clarity of the lens depends on riboflavin, however there is no firm link between this nutrient and senile cataracts.

In a 1981 study of people with cataracts, researchers found that 34% of those over the age of 50 had a riboflavin deficiency, compared to none of the study's control subjects. In a later study of malnourished subjects, 81% of those with cataracts (and 12% of controls) were riboflavin deficient.  According to the authors, these studies and others suggest a link between riboflavin deficiency and senile cataracts. "However, in populations where riboflavin status is adequate, there is no evidence to suggest that riboflavin supplementation can provide any additional protection against cataracts," they state.

Selenium. As a cofactor in the glutathione redox cycle selenium may help to protect against injury from the oxidation process. The authors note, however, that an increased risk of experimental cataract has been linked to both a deficiency and an excess of selenium. Meanwhile, the only epidemiological data that links a low selenium level to cataract formation found that the correlation was only marginally significant.

Based on their research, Jacques and Taylor conclude that senile cataracts are a common problem among the aged population, but not an inevitable one. The formation of cataracts appears to stem, in part, from damage to the lens proteins by the process of oxidation. And research shows that antioxidant nutrients can slow down various types of cataract-like injuries. As a result, they say, the existing data establishing a connection between the risk of senile cataract and micronutrient intake provides a foundation for future work in this area.

For more about this subject and more of Gary Null's informative articles go to his website

 Gary Null's Natural Living  


This Month's Recommended Book
 
  
Eat Right for Your Type : The Individualized Diet Solution to Staying Healthy, Living Longer & Achieving Your Ideal Weight
by Peter J., Dr. D'Adamo, Catherine Whitney (Contributor), Dr. Peter J D'Adamo

Eat RIght For Your Type       This was one book I was not going to read.  I have been a vegetarian for the last 10 years.  When I first heard about this book I went into the book store and flip to the part that told me what an O type should be eating.  Lots of animal protein, well OK, I put the book down and didn't think about it again until it was recommended to me again, and again, and again.  What finally convinced me though was a post by Elena about a month ago.  I decided to give it a chance and actually read it.  I am glad I did.  It is well written and D'Alamo really explains what he is talking about.  It didn't hurt that he is a second generation naturopathic doctor either.  Here is Elena post,
 
Hi guys and gals,

vision does improve on the right diet, but I haven't seen one person on this list who's doing the right diet!  though I've seen many who are doing what I used to do myself! -- Jeez, let's see...  raw foodist, yes, vegetarian, yes, macrobiotic, juicing, fasting, cleansing, been there done that.  I've read all there is on nutrition -- frutarians to paleo diet, Jensen to Ornish, Sears to Atkins, Gerson, Michio Kushi, TCM, Ayurvedic, you name it...  Also a lot of biochemical research into the matter, also evolutionary biology, also evolutionary microbiology...  and stuff about glycemic indices and enzymes and putrefaction and insulin resistance and on and on...  to figure out what it is we are and what it is we're really supposed to eat.  Have seen discussion boards where blatantly carnivorous paleo dieters, some of them ex-vegetarians, swear that meat saved their lives, with medical records to back up the claims; and I've also seen vegetarian discussion groups where vegetarians
condemn the "dead-animal-eating" barbarians and worship the Mighty Carrot, also with many success stories...  Have attended gatherings and seminars on nutrition, listened to the macrobiotic pitches forswearing raw food (cook everything or you won't assimilate it) and to raw foodists' counterpitches (cook nothing, cooked food is poison!), was told bad things about milk and good things about aglae, then listened to people who got herpes from aglae and cured it with milk...  Have looked at people everywhere, people in grocery stores buying the SAD fare, and people in HFSs, and was thinking to myself...  god, what a freak show, why is 95% of the population so, um, ugly, so unwell, so sick-looking, sick-acting, overweight or emaciated, somnolent or hyper...  where is normality, for chrissake?  So, the long and winding road ISO what humans should eat finally led me to the book that has the answers.  The book is called Eat Right For Your Type, by Peter D'Adamo, N.D., and it finally
explains why the same diet can do wonders for some folks while destroying the health of others!  Hey -- don't eat _anything_ until you've read it, seriously!

The thing is, the population of the world breaks down into four very different metabolic groups, which are discernible from the four different blood types we are, due to the peculiarities of our evolution, which has created, for all practical purposes, four biochemically different subspecies of homo sapiens.  (This has nothing to do with race or nationality -- the process that set apart our four different metabolic profiles took place earlier than the development of races or state borders).  There's a whole lot of metabolic peculiarities associated with each type, because we inherit a specific set of genes for other linked traits together with our blood type -- traits like over- or underproduction of stomach acid, a tendency toward ketosis of the tissues, a set of distinct immune responses to substances in foods called lectins which react with our blood-type-specific antigens, and most importantly, explicit tendencies toward certain disorders that inappropriate foods will cause
our specific type to develop -- while the same foods may be medicinal for another type!  Things were finally making sense to me after I got the book and then followed D'Adamo's ongoing research for the next 1 1/2 years.  All this time I've been strictly adhering to the eating plan that 's right for MY type, type B, which is only 9% of the world population and has different requirements from either the ones for Os (47% of the population, who do very well on meat but are destroyed by most grains and eventually get very sick on vegetarian diets) or for As (43% who do very well on vegetarian fare and indeed can't digest meat) -- e.g., I'm the only type that thrives on dairy!  I am, furthermore, revived and reborn on lamb but can't have chicken...  won't be harmed by any nightshades except for tomatoes...  can't have whole wheat but can have white flour if I like (though it's not my best food choice)...  must keep in mind that soy, which is cancer-preventing for As, is carcinogenic
for Bs...  that coffee that gives Os ulcers and thyroid problems but greatly improves As sluggish digestion will neither heal nor hurt me, being on my "neutral" list...  and cabbage that As will pay dearly for eating is my birthright, but tomatoes the rare and precious ABs can have won't do me any good ...  and so on.  In every case, the eating plan is highly specific -- it's not groups of food we're talking about, it's food items, one by one, with in vitro scientific research and in vivo empirical observations combined to back up the status of each food item for each type in particular.  Well...  I think I've arrived.  There's no other way of eating that makes more sense to my body and my mind alike.  Do check it out, there's a good chance you will be glad you did for the rest of your life!

Elena, who eats right for her type for all the right reasons


Featured Exercise or Technique
 
If you don't already have the Tibetan Eye Chart follow this link a
 

 
The Computer Health Nut's
 Guide to Vision Improvement
by Lois June Wickstrom

Shortly after I got my first computer 15 years ago, I got my first pair of glasses. Computers are hard work for the eyes. A few years ago, I was holding menus and business cards at arm's length and considering getting either longer arms or bifocals.

Today, however, I wear no glasses.

 
So, what's this all about? It all started with William Bates, ophthalmologist, who first published his ideas in Better Eyesight magazine, in the 1920's. As he treated his patients, Bates noticed that contrary to what he was taught in optometry school, people's vision did vary from day to day; astigmatisms did change or disappear.

Bates had been taught that vision problems stem from malformed eyeballs, or lenses, or even from the muscles of the eyes themselves being too long or too short. But since no problems of the eye remained static, Bates developed exercises that can help people change their eyes for the better.

The basic exercises are palming, sunning, swinging, and vision shifting.

Palming

Rub your hands together to make them warm. (You can shake them or hold them in front of a heat vent if you prefer.) Then close your eyes. Cover your eyes with your warm hands. Make sure your hands do not touch your eyelids and that you do not rest your cheekbones on your hands.

If you want to place the weight of your head on your hands, put the weight on the forehead. I like to lie on my back with a couple of tennis balls under the achy part of my upper back, and cover my eyes with my hands in that position.

Then -- this is the exercise -- LOOK at the dark. My mom likes to pretend she's looking at black velvet. If you see spots or zaps of light, so be it. Wait. You will see the dark. Don't hurry. Do this at least twice a day for 5 to 15 minutes (Hey, that's what 15-minute breaks are for!).

Also, be sure to drink lots of water. This isn't in the Bates method -- it's part of what works for me.

Sunning
Try to do this once a day. It requires a sunny day, or a good desk lamp with an incandescent bulb. The exercise is simple. Close your eyes. Look directly at the sun through your closed eyes. While facing the sun, slowly rotate your head from side to side as far as you can.

This gets the sunlight on the peripheral vision, and it helps bring more blood circulation to your neck. Do this for 3 to 5 minutes. It's amazing, even on a cold day, how warm the sun feels on your eyes.

Swinging

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, arms hanging loosely at your sides. Look out a window, or do this outside if possible. Shift your weight to your right foot, and swing your upper body to the right, letting the heel of your left foot come up off the floor.

Watch your surroundings as you swing. If you can see a tree out the window or in the distance, notice how it seems to move opposite to the direction you are swinging. This exercise is good for your eyes and your back.

Vision shifting
It's as simple as it sounds. Whenever it occurs to you that you've been spending too much time staring at that monitor right in front of your face, purposely shift your vision to look at the weave of the fabric on your sleeve, or the poster on the wall, or the tree across the street.

(taken from the website Folks Online)
 Lois June Wickstrom is a Children's and Science Fiction story writer, this is her website http://www.oocities.org/Broadway/1928/index.html
 

 
Q & A
 
(Coming Soon)
 

Natural Vision Quiz #1
 
When Janet Goodrich explained her sketching exercise what type
 of tools did she ask you to use on the end of your nose?  Send your answers to the 2see list
 
The first person to answer with the correct answer gets a handy,dandy, decoder ring.
 
 

This Newsletter was created by Kim Beckett and Alan Winn.  For more
information on Vision Improvement see the Dolphin Hill website
 
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