Blinking for Clearer Vision

Studies have shown that between 50 and 90% of people who work in front of a computer screen have some symptoms of eye trouble.

"We definitely see a lot of people who complain of eyestrain," says opthalmologist Dr. Brian Boxer Wachler. "Hours upon hours of close focusing without taking a break is usually the main culprit."

The problem is so common, there's even a name for it: Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS). Common symptoms of eyestrain include: sore eyes, dry eyes, teary eyes, blurry vision, double vision, light sensitivity, difficulty focusing on images, neck pain, headache or a combination of all of the above.

Blinking is something humans (and virtually all other creatures) do involuntarily, just like breathing or swallowing. Obviously excluding animals like fish and snakes, which do not have eyelids, everybody and every animal blinks at varying rates. Eyelids are designed to keep the eyes safe, moist, and free of debris, and blinking is a mechanism intended to make sure that the eyelids are constantly doing their job. Thanks to science, it is now widely known that the average person blinks 15-20 times per minute, and nearly 29,000 times per day.

The rate of blinking often depends on the activity, and is often a way for scientists to study how much brain activity is consumed by a specific action. Blinking is the most effective way for individuals to avoid eyestrain from too much computer work. It refreshes the eyes most naturally

But blink rates are much reduced when staring at a computer screen or other digital device, and this can make your eyes burn, dry out, turn red or feel itchy. Sitting too close to your computer monitor, or holding a digital device closer to your eyes than you would normally hold a book or newspaper, also poses a problem. 

The bottom line: be aware of your need to blink,

Stephen Lau

Copyright ©Stephen Lau

Vision Problems in the Golden Years

As you get into your golden years (that is 65 and beyond)), you will have noticed the deterioration of your vision. As a matter of fact, vision loss begins as early as in the 30s, and its deterioration accelerates in the 40s and 50s. Now, if you are already in your golden years, you might have much impaired vision, especially they could have been aggravated by your decline in health, such as getting diabetes. Getting older will take its toll on your body in many ways and your eyesight is just one thing that will start to deteriorate with age.

Some of the obvious signs and symptoms of vision deterioration are: difficulty in focusing (slower and less accurate)—a condition known as presbyopia, which is caused by the hardening of the eyes’ lenses; difficulty in seeing either long or short distances--conditions known as either nearsightedness or farsightedness.

Presbyopia will result in difficulty to read or doing work that requires accurate focus; nearsightedness or farsightedness may require you to wear bifocals or different eyeglasses.

Other problematic issues with vision loss include an increased risk of age-related eye diseases, such as glaucoma, macular degeneration and cataracts. These problems can lead to severe eyesight issues if they are not taken care of immediately.

In your golden years, take extra care of your vision health and eyesight issues to reduce the risk of blindness further down the road. Check your health, especially your eye health, on a regular basis. This may play a pivotal role in preventing further deterioration or even blindness. Prevention is always better than a cure.

Make sure that you have eye tests done at least twice a year and if you start to notice a decline in your ability to focus or see clearly.

To correct your vision problem, many eye doctors and opticians are quick to prescribe corrective lenses or even talk about the possibility of having surgery to fix any vision problem.  The advice here is think carefully before you make a decision.

Consider the use of eye exercises to help correct nearsightedness, farsightedness or presbyopia. Eye exercises are easy and simple to do and you can even do them in your own home. A few exercises each day can really help to improve your vision significantly. However, it is important to be consistent and persevering in your eye exercise regimen (this applies to any physical exercise as well). Curing your vision loss is not an overnight endeavor.

Most vision problems, whether nearsightedness, farsightedness, or presbyopia, have to do with eye stress and strain affecting the shape of the eyes, and hence their capability to focus correctly. Of course, the eyes cannot be relaxed if the body and mind are not.

If you are in your golden years, it is important to have a holistic approach to your health and wellness, which is the wisdom in happy and successful aging.

Your Golden Years and Santa Claus shows you the wisdom in happy and successful aging in the golden years. It is a holistic and comprehensive approach to dealing with vision loss and other health issues, as well as changes and challenges, encountered late in life.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Healthy Vision and Diet

Vision problems occur as you continue to age. If you already have them, they may deteriorate further as you advance in years. Many seniors have vision problems that may compromise their quality of life. Your Golden Yearsand Santa Claus shows you how to cope with vision problems and other health-related problems in your golden years.

You can significantly enhance vision health through diet.

Green Tea contains polyphenols that protects the blood vessels that supplies nutrients to your eyes, as well as their surrounding tissues.

Fennel alleviates eye problems, such as cataracts. You have to consume this raw or make it into a tea to bathe your eyes in it.

Passion Flower relaxes the small blood vessels in your eyes thereby instrumental in reducing the stress in the eye muscles.

Ginkgo Biloba increase the flow of nutrients and blood to your retina. Beta Carotene is an antioxidant found in dark green and orange-yellow fruits and vegetables; your body can convert it to Vitamin A, which is essential for the proper functioning of your eyes.

Endive is a green vegetable with a bitter flavor and curly leaves that are eaten raw. Drink endive juice to help your nearsightedness.

Garlic protects the capability and clarity of the crystalline lens. Always eat raw garlic to reap its benefits.

Beets help with cleansing the blood that supplies oxygen and nutrients to your eyes. In addition, beets prevent eye fatigue. You can either juice beets and eat them raw in a salad.

Spinach is loaded with antioxidants that prevent dystrophy of your retinas.

Of course, the eyes, like the rest of your body, require regular exercise to improve its eye muscle functioning. Use it or lose; that also is applicable to your eyes.

Read my book Your Golden Years and Santa Claus to find out how to take care of your vision in your golden years so that your vision is as sharp as those of Santa Claus.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Improve Posture to Improve Vision

Improve Posture to Improve Vision

Vision is inter-connected with body posture. Therefore, to improve eyesight, you must also improve posture.

The explanation is that vision health is holistic health, which means it includes the health of the body, the mind, and the spirit. Eyesight is an integral part of vision. Your eyesight determines how you see the world at large; your perception is your reality. Therefore, your perception becomes the raw materials of your life experiences, which will directly or indirectly affect your physical, mental, and emotional wellness. By the same token, your physical, mental, and emotional health will have a bearing on your vision health, and hence your eyesight.

According to Dr. William Bates (1860 - 1931), the founder of natural vision improvement, poor vision is the result of eyestrain, due to mental and physical stress on the eye, and hence the distortion of the eye shape, causing nearsightedness and farsightedness. Dr. William Bates strongly believed that eye relaxation holds the key to improving vision.

But eye relaxation begins with the mind first, not the eye. The mind must be completely relaxed before it can relax the body—and then the eye, which is only one of the organs of the body.

Improve posture to relax the body and the mind, and hence the eye. After all, posture health is overall health: it affects your whole being in many different ways.

Improve posture to improve your breathing. Incorrect breathing results in compromised lung functioning, leading to inadequate oxygen intake by all body organs and tissues, and hence a host of health issues, including vision health. Improve posture to optimize breathing for vision health.

Improve posture to avoid debilitating body pain, such as neck pain, leg pain, and even headaches. In addition, an arched back exerts undue pressure on the joints and nerves, causing joint pain and rheumatism. Due to poor body posture, all the muscle groups supporting the crooked spine may become stretched and strained, causing wear and tear, resulting in lower back pain. Chronic body pain often interferes with natural sleep, which is a major factor in relaxation of the body and the mind, in particular, the eye. Therefore, it is important to improve posture for eye relaxation to improve eyesight.

To successfully improve posture, you must develop an acute awareness for good posture at all times.

Good posture does not mean "jamming your shoulders back, tucking in your tummy, and standing stiff"; this posture does not align your body, nor is it practicable in that you can maintain that position over an extended period. Good posture means that in any standing position, you body posture should be as follows:

Your head is directly above your shoulders.
Your chin is tucked in.
Your ear, shoulder, and hip are in a straight line from a side view.

Your upper back is straight, not slouched.

Your shoulders, relaxed and straight, are flat against your back.

Your pelvis is in a neutral position.

Your knees are unlocked.

Be mindful not just of your standing posture, but also your sitting and sleeping posture—they all play a pivotal part in eye relaxation, which holds the key to improving eyesight.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

 

Good Habits for Better Vision

Good Habits for Better Vision

The following are some good habits for better vision:

Mental Habits

Make no comparison between vision without glasses and vision with glasses. Learn to be comfortable with blur. Do not strive to see clearly. Clear vision will automatically come with improved vision.

Clear vision has to do with the strength of the eye muscles, and the shape of the eye. Mind power has this capability.

Harness your mind power for self-affirmations and positive visualization for vision improvement.

Visual Habits

Develop good visual habits to enhance your vision improvement.

Blinking: Blink constantly to relax the eye. Blinking has to be soft and complete, not rapid.

Shifting: Shift your eyes constantly (the healthy eye sends more than 50 images per second to the brain) and rapidly by changing your eye focus frequently. Your eyes move more rapidly when they are relaxed.

Peripheral vision: Be aware of your total field of vision whenever you focus your eyes. Use BOTH central vision and peripheral vision at the same time.

Natural sunlight: Spend more time outdoors instead of indoors to reap the health benefits of sunlight in nourishing your visual system.

Palming: Relaxation of the eye cures all vision problems. The eye rests completely only in total darkness. Practice palming (covering your eyes with your palms but without touching them), and visualize blackness even for as little as 1 to 2 minutes per session. Of course, the longer you palm, the more relaxed your eyes become.

Vision without glasses: See without glasses to bring back your eye’s natural “accommodation” for better vision. However, remember not to strain to see without glasses. Reduce your time of wearing glasses, and delay the time you put on glasses in the morning. Use under-corrected prescription to slowly and gradually wean yourself from wearing corrective lenses.

Vision Awareness

Vision health is all about awareness—awareness of what you should do and what you should not do. Your conscious mind may want to change the bad vision habits that continue to impair your vision, but it is constantly held back by your subconscious mind.

Form the habit of awareness. Always be aware of the following good vision habits:

To heal the eye, change your vision habit!

Your mind determines how your eyes see!

Use your subconscious mind to change your vision with affirmations and visualization!

Breathe right to relax both the mind and the mind!

Consciously train your eyes for distant vision!

Regularly look up from your computer or your book!

The shape of the eyeball determines the power of vision. The relaxation level of the eye predetermines the shape of the eyeball.

See only selectively! Never STRAIN your eyes in order to see better! A blurry image is OK!

Look without blinking (soft vision) for 10 seconds or so!

Do not STARE! Blink to stop frozen gaze!

Do not let a day pass by without palming your eyes!

Always BLINK—soft and complete! Form the habit of constant blinking!

Always train your eyes for peripheral vision to see what is on both sides of your eyes!.

Swing and shift your body with clear and soft vision of your eyes!

Edge and track a distant object with your eyes anytime and anywhere!

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Healthy Vision Essentials

Healthy Vision Essentials

Vision is the most important of the five senses. Without good vision, the quality of life is considerably compromised. The good news is that you can learn to have good vision throughout life if you know how to keep your eyes in good shape and maintain good vision health. More importantly, you can even train yourself to improve eye vision without glasses at any age.

The Essentials of Vision Health

Understand some of the important components of the human eye:

Eye nerves that send images to the brain to create vision

Eye muscles that retain the shape of the eyeball to prevent any distortion leading to farsightedness and nearsightedness

Blood vessels that carry oxygen and nutrients to the eye to maintain vision health

Vision health is contingent on the health of the nerves, the muscles, and the blood vessel of the eye.

Prerequisites to Improve Vision

Good vision is total health -- involving the mind, the body, and the spirit. To improve vision, you need a holistic approach to health.

Mind power plays the most important role in perfect vision. First of all, you must have the intention to see better, that is, a desire for perfect vision. Then, you will empower yourself with knowledge to improve vision. Eyesight correction techniques require regular practice; in other words, you need mind power for self-discipline to achieve your goal for perfect vision.

The eye is connected to other body organs, most importantly the liver and the kidneys. A healthy body makes healthy eyes. In addition, blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the eye. An efficient circulatory system optimizes vision health.

Eyestrain is the No. 1 cause of eye problems and weak vision. Eyestrain constricts eye muscles, and thereby not only distorting the shape of the eyeball but also restricting blood flow to the eye. Stress causes eyestrain. A healthy spirit relaxes the mind and the body, and therefore soothes the eye.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Breathe Right for Better Vision

Vision deteriorates with age, especially if you are wearing eyeglasses or contact lenses.

How well you see is dependent on the amount of light passing through the lens in front of your eyeball that focuses the image on the retina at the back of the eyeball, and thus instrumental in sending the visual information to your brain. The human eyeball is held by ciliary muscles in the eye. When the ciliary muscles are weak, the eyeball becomes slightly distorted or out of shape, and thus affecting the focal image on the retina. This is how vision deteriorates, and this is why wearing eyeglasses or contact lenses does not improve vision because these vision aids precondition the focus of the eye.

To improve vision, strengthen your eye muscles through constant eye relaxation. To remember doing this regularly, you must be mindful of it. Eye relaxation begins with the body, and not just the eyes. If your body does not relax, neither can your eyes relax. So relax your body through mindfulness. Relaxing your eye muscles means you do not “stare” or fixate” at an object, and you must constantly shift your vision focus from close proximity to distance. In addition, you must also constantly blink your eyes in order to relax them. To remember doing all these requires mindfulness.

Mindfulness is conscious awareness, which often begins with mindful breathing. Mindfulness is total awareness of what is going on inside the mind. Mindfulness occurs only when the mind is quiet and relaxed. Mindfulness is moment-to-moment awareness that requires training; it does not happen naturally. Begin with your mindful breath; that is, consciously aware of your breathing in and your breathing out. Breathing has become so natural to us that we are totally unaware of it, and mindful breath is deliberately bringing back awareness to your inhalation and exhalation. 

The human breath is most important because without it we die in minutes. But most of us take it for granted because we are not mindful of it. If we have mindful breathing, we breathe right—that is, breathing with the diaphragm (the muscle between the lungs and the tummy)—and we breathe completely—that is, the air fills up the upper lungs, not just the lower lungs, and the breathing out is slightly longer than the breathing in. Mindful breathing is full awareness of how we breathe in and breathe out. You don’t have to have mindful breathing throughout the day, but you need to cultivate mindfulness of your breath every now and then in order to enhance your mindfulness. Mindful breathing enables correct breathing that opens the many doors to relaxation, clear thinking, and self-healing.

With mindfulness, you will not forget to blink your eyes regularly to relax them; you will remember to shift your focus (that is, blinking before you shift your focus from a near object to a distant object), instead of staring; you will be more aware of your vision health.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Mind Relaxation to Relax the Eyes

MIND RELAXATION

The eye conditions are constantly changing such that they can be adversely affected by any emotional or mental stress, resulting in eyestrain that can cause vision blur. By the same token, you can significantly improve your vision if you relax your eyes completely through relaxation

Using a Relaxed Mind to Relax the Body

It is almost impossible to relax just your eyes, while the rest of your body remains tense and stressed. Total relaxation begins with the mind first, and then the rest of the body, including the eyes. Use your mind to relax your body, and then your eyes. The best way to achieve mental relaxation is by meditation.

Meditation to relax the mind

Meditation is a proven mind-body therapy for body-mind relaxation.

The healing power of meditation lies in its capability to focus the mind solely on the very present moment, thereby removing memories of the past and worries of the future. Meditation helps you focus your mind on the present moment to the exclusion of past and future thoughts. The mind in its natural and perfect stillness relaxes completely.

In contemporary living, your mind is often riddled with thoughts of what you just did, what you will do, or should have done. Nearly all your thoughts, including your desires and fears, are based on either the past or the future. Your desires are no more than recollections of the past pleasures and hopes of repeating them in the future. Fears are also memories of past pain, and your efforts to avoid the pain in the future. All these rambling thoughts in your subconscious mind indirectly affect your conscious mind, and hence your body and your eyes.

In the present, your mind is always preoccupied with the past or the future, leaving little or no room for the present moment, which, ironically enough, is the only reality. The past was gone, and the future is unknown; only the present is “real.” The present is a gift, and that is why it is called “present.” But, unfortunately, most of us do not live in the present, not to mention appreciate it, because the present is interlaced with the past and the future. Meditation is about re-focusing on the present moment.

The mental focus of meditation is not quite the same as the mental concentration, such as solving a difficult math problem or while performing a complex mental task. Meditation is focusing on something seemingly insignificant (such as your breathing) or spontaneous (such as eating and even driving) such that your mind can be conditioned to focusing on only the present moment. In this way, your mind concentration excludes all past and future thoughts, thereby instrumental in giving your mind a meaningful break. It is in this sublime mental state that you are capable of understanding the true nature of things, and their relativity to the meaning of life and existence. Meditation awakens you to what is real or what is quasi real.

Points to remember when you meditate:

·       Focus on an object as your focal point of concentration: your own breathing; looking at a candle flame; listening to a sound (such as the sound of running water from a fountain); watching your footsteps when you are walking, or just about anything that can easily draw you back to your meditation.

·       Palming is an excellent exercise not just for vision improvement, but also for deep meditation.

·       During your meditation, if your mind wanders away (which is quite common), gently direct your mind to re-focus on the same object of your concentration. Learn how to focus through your act of noticing that your mind has wandered off, as well as through your repetitive efforts. Meditation is all about focusing on the present moment. Make focusing a habit of relaxation for your eyes 

·       Keep yourself in full consciousness: you must be fully aware of what is going on around you. That explains why in meditation (except in the walking meditation) you need to sit erect in order to keep your body in full consciousness. Do not lie down (or else you may fall asleep); do not slouch (this may not help you focus).

A full lotus position is not required. However, it is important that you maintain a consistent position or posture with your thumb tip and forefinger tip of each hand touching very lightly, while the other fingers are either curled or extended out. A consistent posture and hand position will promote a meditative mind to practice your meditation techniques.

Breathing right to relax and to meditate

Breathing is important in meditation because it is the focal point of the mind. In addition, breathing out is associated with “letting go” and “body detoxification”—essential components to relax the body and the mind.

In meditation, focus on your natural breath as it flows in and out. Notice how you inhale and exhale. You will begin to feel yourself becoming relaxed and soothed.

Diaphragm breathing

Diaphragm breathing is the complete breath. Consciously change your breathing pattern. Use your diaphragm to breathe (the diaphragm muscle separating your chest from your abdomen). If you place one hand on your breastbone, feeling that it is raised, with the other hand above your waist, feeling the diaphragm muscle moving up and down, then you are practicing diaphragm breathing correctly. Deep breathing with your diaphragm gives you complete breath.

This is how you do diaphragm breathing:

·       Sit comfortably.

·       Begin your slow exhalation through your nose.

·       Contract your abdomen to empty your lungs.

·       Begin your slow inhalation and simultaneously make your belly bulge out.

·       Continuing your slow inhalation, now, slightly contract your abdomen and simultaneously lift your chest and hold.

·       Continue your slow inhalation, and slowly raise your shoulders. This allows the air to enter fully your lungs to attain the complete breath.

·       Retain your breath with your shoulders slightly raised for a count of 5.

·       Very slowly exhale the air.

·       Repeat the process.

Stephen Lau

Copyright©2018 by Stephen Lau

Anything Everything Nothing

ANYTHING IS EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING IS NOTHING, NOTHING IS EVERYTHING by Stephen Lau

This book is about the miracle of living.

“Anything” may be “everything” to you, but not to others, and vice-versa. That may explain the some of the difficulties in human relationships. Life is difficult because it is all about you, and not about others. Let go of “anything is everything” to you if you focus more on others as well.

“Everything is nothing” is a universal truth: nothing lasts, no matter how we wish they were permanent. Many of us are reluctant to accept this universal truth of the impermanence of all things in this world.

“Nothing is everything” is enlightenment of the human mind, which is profound understanding of the ultimate truths of self, of others, and of the world around.

This 100-page book explains with many real-life examples to illustrate the perceptions of “anything is everything”, “everything is nothing”, and “nothing is everything”—based on the ancient Chinese wisdom and the Biblical wisdom.

Get the wisdom to live your life as if everything is a miracle.

Click here to get your paperback copy.

Click here to get your digital copy.

Here is the outline of the book:

INTRODUCTION

ONE: ANYTHING IS EVERYTHING

The Meanings and the Interpretations

A Frog in a Well

Human Wisdom and Spiritual Wisdom

Oneness with All Life

Love and Forgiveness

Gratitude and Generosity

Sympathy and Empathy

Compassion and Loving Kindness

TWO: EVERYTHING IS NOTHING

Understanding Is Everything

The Mind and the Ego

Attachments and Illusions

Control and Power

Detachment and Letting Go

Impermanence and Emptiness

THREE: NOTHING IS EVERYTHING

The Paradox

The Way

The Miracle

The Enlightenment

APPENDIX A: TAO TE CHING

APPENDIX B: MINDFULNESS

APPENDIX C: MEDITATION

APPENDIX D: WORDS OF WISDOM

APPENDIX E: ABOUT THE AUTHOR