Illusions of Normal Sight

Here is the excerpt from Yoga of Perfect Sight by Dr. R. S. Agarwal:

1. When the sight shifts from side to side of a letter, the letter appears to move in the opposite direction. This is Swinging.

2. The letter regarded appears clearest. This is central Fixation.

3. The white center of a letter appears whiter. This is Imagination.

These three characteristics are called normal illusions of the normal eye which are reduced or absent in the defective eye. So to improve the vision it is necessary to develop the normal illusions.

Shifting and swinging are one of the basic principles of treatment. You can perform long swing with your whole body or short swing: the shorter the swing, the better the vision. Remember, the normal eye shifts unconsciously so people with defective vision have to consciously develop this habit.

Central fixation is also something that normal eye does unconsciously. I also noticed that you can’t really practice central fixation, it is a symptom rather than a cause of good vision. But what one can practice is looking at the objects and regard part looking directly at best. For example when looking at a portrait, look at one eye first, then shift to the other eye, than nose and mouth. Than sweep your eye over hair. Do not try to see the whole picture at once. Central fixation always goes hand in hand with shifting.

Imagination is the ability to see a part of the letter regarded directly at the blackest. It is very useful for developing good vision. In fact, one of the most remarkable, one can say miraculous cures in Dr. Bates’ practice is about a doctor who became cured in a very short time just by imagining that the letters on a chart were as black as ink. He was able to do it and his vision became perfect. It remained so years later.