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Use Your Own Eyes

by William B. MacCracken, M. D.This book is dedicated to the memory of W. H. Bates, M. D. It was his discovery and his lifework that founded and established the system which can prevent the impending degeneration of the eyesof civilized humans. His genius and his fine courage made it possible for him to bequeath thismagnificent gift to the race.

INTRODUCTION

The mighty silence of the great open spaces, the soft warm calm under the palms out on the sands,the cold stillness of the silent frozen worlds, the majestic grandeur of the sunset in the West, theweird influence of the soft light of the moon, the story of the ages in the cold gleaming of the starworlds in the sky, the lure of the lonely vastness of the sea, the soothing cadence of the melody of music in the cars, the silent touch of tender memories, the thrill of a soul in the presence of love—these and kindred of the great primal forces are the real influences guiding the motives and powersof human life.Our lives are modified, more than we know, by these constant, active influences. Not only are ourminds molded, obeying unconsciously these silent orders; but our bodies and organs. There areserious chronic nervous diseases which have no found cause in any change of tissue structure, andwhich are modified or cured by emotions and impulses. Emotions and impulses are actually onlyautomatic reactions to impressions which are often not even possible to discover. It is establishedthat emotions cause specific changes in many of the body functions: the action of the heart andlungs, the tension of the blood vessels, the conduct of muscles and even tendons. In normal healthybodies muscular tremors have been demonstrated by laboratory instruments, produced by arousingmental conditions such as curiosity, or fear, or anger. And it is common to find tendon reflexesmodified by similar emotions, or even by ordinary excitement. And just such mental conditions arepresent as the cause of many abnormal physical conditions such as constant eyestrain, indigestion,insomnia, and even distinct diseases with muscle spasms and mental disturbances. And above all,the brain itself with all its nerves, is dominated by the same impressions from the world it lives in,and is molded like the softest clay.Suppressions, conscious or unconscious, increase these abnormal conditions of tension, and we areconstantly suppressing. And worst of all, we are thoughtlessly allowing abnormal and harmfulinfluences to suppress the natural normal functions of our subconscious mind, and mislead us intocomplexes that are the causes of many diseased conditions.It is possible to relieve these abnormal conditions by the simple expedient of securing a state of relaxation of the muscles of the body. Without muscular relaxation there never is mental relaxation.And when the muscles are relaxed mental relaxation is always present. There are different methodsand varieties of technique by which this muscular relaxation may be secured. But they all mustdepend upon the same laws of psychology and physiology. It is necessary to enlist the cooperationof the subconscious mind. This can be accomplished by occupying the conscious mind socompletely with some carefully chosen impression that the subconscious mind is also fully occupiedwith the same thought and purpose for a period of time. This method has been proved. It isscientific and successful. It requires, however, that the patient be receptive, earnest, and confident.

The story in this book is founded on these truths. Vision is the most precious of the senses whichfeed the life and the happiness of the human. That vision should be allowed to degenerate into acrippled dependent upon a mechanical device is an ominous threat to the future of the race. If themind can be roused into a consciousness of its loss, the recovery of the natural power of the eye willbe the smallest of the glorious achievements that will come with the new life.It has been interesting to try to imagine the mighty spirits of the past contemplating the modernhosts that are helpless without their pieces of glass. How could those independent souls understandthis new habit? How long will it be before the minds of children, who are beginning their lives, willbe taught to use their own eyes, with the freedom and the power which belongs to them, and whichwill give them a new fullness of life?W. B. M.Berkeley, CaliforniaFebruary 1937

CHAPTER ITHE PROBLEM

When the human eye begins to falter, whether in adults or in the youngest children, the conventionalmethod of treatment is to call in the assistance of compensating lenses. The claim that is made forthese lenses is that they neutralize the effects or symptoms of the conditions which are present asthe cause of the failing function.If it is necessary for men, women, and children who are wearing glasses to continue to wear them,let us hope they will all secure the best possible fit. But if it is possible to correct the fault that isinterfering with normal vision, why do we not relieve the abnormal condition, instead of ignoringthe eye, and using glass lenses instead? During hundreds of thousands of years the human eyedeveloped into the most marvelous and the most necessary of the sense organs. Upon what groundshas it come to be an accepted belief that there is no possible way to cure an abnormal function in themechanism of vision, even though abnormal functions and diseased conditions are being cured inevery other part of the body?There is a prevalent impression in the public mind that when any difficulty in seeing becomesapparent, there is no other help available but wearing of artificial lenses. This vague consciousnessmight be spoken of as a belief. But it is not a belief that is founded on any knowledge of the subject.The public mind knows very little of the factors or the mechanism of vision; it asks no questions,and it does not even consider the plain facts which are generally known. Just a little consideration of the many simple, established, obvious aspects of this most vital question arouses an astonishingreaction to a situation which is of national importance.Whence comes this vast ignorance about the impending calamity to the power of vision? Why is theUnited States fast becoming a nation helpless in its daily life unless it has a pair of artificial lensesattached to its eyes? Why have the people come to believe this anomalous misinformation, as thoughit were the very truth?Where there is a great cloud of smoke one knows there is a fire. This habit of wearing glasses, inthis country of ours, out of all proportion greater and worse than in any other country, is growinglike the size of a large ball of snow rolling down a hill. There are many factors at work in thisstrange development. But the chief factor is the activity of a vast modern sales organization, which

is using all the devices of psychological salesmanship to persuade the population of the country thatthe only relief they can hope for, when their eyes begin to falter, is the life-long dependence uponartificial lenses. This propaganda even goes beyond that and warns now that those whose eyes areshowing no signs of failure, should hurry and put on glasses anyhow—even though it is well knownthat eyes always grow more dependent after glasses are imposed on them, and they rarely everrelinquish them once they are attached.But if it has been decided by the medical profession that this artificial aid is the only known methodof relief, would it not be wise to consider the import of this final answer from the men upon whomwe must rely for whatever help is to come in this most serious extremity?If further search for relief is to cease, the situation is a promise certainly of the progressivedegeneration of the human eye. That is the law. The glass lens will become the master of the lens inthe eye. Just as the wearer is to become the property of the lens maker, so the eye is to become theslave of the glass lens. We are beginning already to see the warrant for such a statement in therapidly increasing use of artificial lenses. In our own country this custom of wearing lenses isbecoming a contagious habit. Furnishing the glasses has become a tremendous enterprise.In the great war it was found necessary to lower by half, the standards for vision required of soldiers. These standards were already well below those required for average normal vision. Havingallowed for the use of lenses, the United States Army found it necessary to accept men with onlyone-fifth normal vision without lenses, if one eye could be brought up to one-half normal visionwith glasses.Some have estimated that of those in civilized life today over twenty-one years of age, only one inten has normal sight. Personally I have met many, mostly children, however, who can read readily atfifteen or twenty feet the line required to be read at ten. At forty years of age there are very fewwithout visual defects.This problem of defective vision has been disturbing the medical profession for a century. InGermany the Imperial Government tried for years to stop the increase of the use of glasses. Theeffort failed completely. But in Germany today many are having success with their eyes, in anorganized system of schools for the improvement of vision. In a translation into English of an articlein a German medical magazine published in Leipzig, the principles upon which their work isfounded are credited specifically to the discoveries of Dr. Bates.As illustrations of their success, it is stated that a class of young men was received in the army whowere nearsighted because their eyes had been habituated to functioning with work which demandednearsighted vision. At first they could not adjust their eyes to distant objects. It very soon developed,however, that the danger involved by that so impressed their minds that their eyes learned to seewhat was necessary. A soldier was such a good marksman that he was detailed as a sharpshooter.This involved an examination of his eyes by a specialist, who fitted him with glasses. Wearing theglasses, his marksmanship became very poor, and he was dropped from the corps. He was takencharge of by a vision school, his glasses were removed, his skill returned, and be was reinstated as asharpshooter.England, also, now has the beginning of a similar movement, and gives notice of a School of Eyesight Training in London. It is taking up the work of Dr. Bates in a practical way, on theprinciples established by him. The children especially are to have the advantage of a training in thescientific and humane use and development of their eyes, instead of being afflicted and obstructed,in their early developing years, with a pair of artificial lenses as an endowment for life.Commenting on the use of artificial lenses, an ophthalmologist recognized as an internationalauthority, Dr. Sidler-Huguenin of Zurich, Switzerland, writing in 1916, expressed the opinion thatlenses and all methods now at our command are of but little avail in preventing either the progress

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CHAPTER XXV for Use Your Own Eyes - William B. McCracken

Use Your Own Eyes was first published in 1937. The book was printed by The Professional Press (Berkeley, California).

The author is a physician with over forty years practice... (More)

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