Eyesight to Insight, Series 2

 “Conscious Seeing”

Aileen Whiteford is continuing her exploration of the subject ‘Eyesight to Insight’ with series 2. This series will cover the subject of

INTEGRATING BODY, MIND and VISION
I am dedicating this series in fond memory of my old friend and mentor, who challenged me to really think about ‘seeing’ as a way of ‘being’, a whole person process, ‘Conscious Seeing’. Pashya Roberto Kaplan, who passed away in December 2019, a sad loss. Over many years I have learned so much from knowing him, I have read his work deeply and thoughtfully and so much of it has influenced and encouraged me in my personal growth and the development and direction of my work. Thank you Roberto.

 The theme throughout the talks will address the idea of Conscious Seeing, the theme title inspired by Dr. Kaplan’s book of the same name.

 When I studied to become a teacher of Dr. Bates’ method for eyesight improvement I brought with me a keen interest in personal psychology and how the body brain and the mind might  impact ‘vision’, which is much more complex than simply ‘eyesight’.

 This interest has steadily grown and developed over the my thirty years  of teaching individuals to improve their vision. This work has steadily influenced my thinking and teaching and ‘my being’.

 Each talk will, in different ways explore seeing as it connects with and is influenced by the interdependent eye, mind/brain, body complex.   Drawing from  the knowledge, writings and experiences of so many significant individuals from different fields of learning who, over many years have taught us so much about ‘the true meaning of vision’.“So now I see the big picture”, I can assemble all the pieces of the puzzle of this entity we generally call eyesight.

 As in series 1 there will be 6 sessions running on Sunday afternoons at 4pm to 5:30pm UK time.The fee for the 6 talks is £95 Sterling. Signing up for individual talks will be £20 per talk.

 The first talk will be on Sunday 13th March 2022 then fortnightly thereafter.

 To register please email to vision.education@btopenworld.com and in the subject box enter “Eyesight Talks”.

Full Session Dates

Session 1 13th March 2022

Session 2 27th March 2022

Session 3 10th April 2022

Session 4 1st May 2022 (Note change here because of Easter Sunday the week previous)

Session 5 15th May 2022

Session 6 29th May 2022

Conscious Seeing

WHAT? You might wonder, ‘is there any other way’?  Apparently so!

In the six sessions we will explore this concept from many different perspectives.

 This beginning session will prepare the ground for thinking about and appreciating eyesight as a ‘whole person process, understanding how come everyone’s eyesight seems to be different from ‘mine’, and ‘come to think about it, others often see life and the world differently from me!‘

 Here it is: Eyesight is a complex body, brain, mind phenomenon, and we call it VISION!

Eyesight is a complex body, brain, mind phenomenon, and we call it VISION!

In the 6 sessions we will examine the complex, holistic  nature of vision, so much more than what is generally thought of as ‘eyesight’. Natural = as nature intended.

Eyesight improvement is actually a self-healing journey, a process whereby the learner ‘re-learns’ to see as nature intended.

I love this quote from Florence Nightingale (1859) ‘Nature alone cures, what nursing has to do is to put the patient in the best conditions for nature to act upon him’  (very similar to the role of the eyesight improvement facilitator). So to what is generally referred to as ‘natural eyesight (vision) improvement very often does not  stress that the process  of re-learning to see is a multi-faceted ‘whole person’, mind/body experience, so much more than seeing without artificial correction.

Over the six online meetings here are some of the related topics that will be discussed: 

o  What do you mean ‘learning to see’? o  How does the new born baby see?

Overview and review what the human eye does, its structure and function and its connection to the brain, and subsequently the role of the mind. The revealing eye – to the viewer what do the eyes say?

Let us consider the concept ‘Eye, brain, body/mind connection.’ Particularly thinking about the role of the  mind, an elusive entity!

Are you really seeing, or just looking? ‘Do you really need  eyeglasses? You can have better sight without miracles’, a quote from Dr Marilyn Rosanes-Berrett (1990).

How have we become so dependent on artificial correction? ‘When biology becomes pathology’ (Roberto Kaplan).

Overview of common and unusual eyesightchallenges including eye disease and issues of binocularity. ·    Eyesight and character style (personality).·    Eye and brain, left vs. right?·    How stress impacts vision.·    Relaxation, the essential key to vision improvement.

So now to Bates Method.

Dr William H. Bates, whose pioneering method gave us a sound foundation on which to build the practice of naturally restoring vision. This inspired significant writers and teachers who over the years have made invaluable contribution to the field of ‘improving eyesight naturally’, some of whom we will talk about over these sessions. 

Please be aware that the above is in no way a comprehensive overview of the content of these meetings.

For me these talks will surely be an organic process in response to you the participants.

I look forward to meeting you all at the first session coming up on Sunday 13th March at 4pm UK time.