In trying to understand human limits, hypnosis and the mind I have from time to time devised some experiments. One of the most unusual results I achieved was when I tried to see if I could use hypnosis to permanently improve eyesight.
I had done some research into this previously by other means as it was a field that interested me before I even knew of hypnosis and one thing that had become clear to me was that eyesight and indeed the eyes is something that not only changes with time, but that we can train to heal as any other part of the body.
Some work in this field was most notably done by a guy called Paul Cook (an infuriatingly common name) who was also involved in something to do with fighter planes, anyway, this Mr. Cook had developed a system of projecting laser dots on a screen in the dark so that observers of the screen would see the dots “slide” down or up or left or right depending on if they were short or long sighted or astigmatic. The patients would then have to try to “keep” the dots in the centre of the screen by concentrating. In a fashion not too dissimilar perhaps to how you can keep an afterimage of a bright light in the “centre” of your field of vision instead of having it “slide” off to one side when you close your eyes.
Anyway, this set-up was so successful that people who had worn glasses for 40 years threw them away after a couple of months of doing these 45 minute sessions a couple of times a week in the dark room with the lasers. The system was also great in that you could treat more than one person at a time, essentially having them sit in a kind of cinema-like dark room while the dots projected on the screen. This process was so successful of course that Mr. Cook was either banned or instantly paid a lot of money not to divulge this system any further. We must protect optician’s outdated jobs you see. Or so the article implied. It was not clear how, but it was clear that Mr. Cook was prevented from developing the technology further for the mass market. Despite of course the fact that it worked very well and was infinitely cheaper and safer than all the experimental and outdated stuff opticians do to people’s eyes.
This later prompted me to wonder if one could use hypnosis to improve eyesight and I decided to try an experiment using a good hypnotic subject and a controlled environment which would have been a proper eye-test determined in some impartial way, which in this case was by an instrument kindly provided by 2020 in Tottenham Court Road London with the able assistance of one of the managers there whom to his credit was absolutely sceptical of hypnosis ever having any impact on eyesight. I say to his credit because despite his being proven utterly wrong and the measurements being done by machines so not really susceptible to user tampering, his frame of mind was such that there is no question in my mind that he would help the results be in any way skewed in my favour.
As it happens setting this up without having to pay for the use of the equipment and the gentleman’s time too was quite complex and at the last minute the ideal candidate I had asked to help with this experiment flaked. Disturbing as this was and given I had a terribly busy schedule back then and that it would be unlikely I would get another chance to set all of this up I improvised by asking a friend who had studied hypnosis with me if she would be willing to be the subject.
She promptly volunteered despite her eyesight including some astigmatism, which was not in my opinion ideal for a first experiment, but be that as it may, she is a good hypnotic subject and we had done some work together previously which made both of us able to comfortably go into relatively deep trances effectively and promptly.
We took her eyesight measurements before the session and they were recorded and then we did a 45 minute session and after tested the eyesight again.
| Before the session | After the session |
|---|---|
| Right Eye: -2.25 Left Eye: -1.00 | Right Eye: -2.00 Left Eye: -0.75 |
| S | C | A | S | C | A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +1.75 | -1.50 | 168 | +1.75 | -1.50 | 171 | |
| +1.75 | -1.50 | 169 | +1.75 | -1.50 | 171 | |
| +1.75 | -1.50 | 165 | +1.75 | -1.50 | 172 | |
| +1.75 | -1.50 | 168 | +1.75 | -1.50 | 171 | |
| mm | D | deg | mm | D | deg | |
| R1 7.94 | 42.50 | 117 | R1 7.95 | 42.50 | 179 | |
| R2 7.56 | 44.75 | 87 | R2 7.59 | 44.50 | 89 | |
| Ave 7.75 | 43.50 | Ave 7.77 | 43.50 | |||
| Cyl | -2.25 | 117 | Cyl | -2.00 | 179 | |
| S | C | A | S | C | A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +1.50 | -0.50 | 19 | +1.00 | -0.25 | 25 | |
| +1.50 | -0.50 | 20 | +1.25 | -0.25 | 25 | |
| +1.50 | -0.50 | 19 | +1.00 | -0.25 | 27 | |
| +1.50 | -0.50 | 19 | +1.00 | -0.25 | 25 | |
| mm | D | deg | mm | D | deg | |
| R1 7.87 | 43.00 | 12 | R1 7.87 | 43.00 | 12 | |
| R2 7.66 | 44.00 | 102 | R2 7.73 | 43.75 | 102 | |
| Ave 7.77 | 43.50 | Ave 7.80 | 43.25 | |||
| Cyl | -1.00 | 12 | Cyl | -0.75 | 12 | |
The overall increase then seemed to be about a quarter of a dioptre for each eye, but if you look at the detailed picture the correction for the left eye seems to be more than this, approaching even half a dioptre. It is also unlikely that the improvement was due to relaxation and change of pressure in the eye as this article on intraocular pressure changes explains.
At the time (October 2006) it was very difficult due to our various work commitments for either myself or Ewa to follow up on this experiment in a proper fashion. In fact I got so busy at the time and I suspect her too that we lost touch for some time. About a year later we met at some event related to hypnosis and we spoke and she told me that she felt the change was permanent as eyesight she felt had improved and her normal eyeglasses were no longer comfortable after the experiment although she had had no time to go and verify this medically. Life does get in the way of these independently discovered scientific advances unfortunately.
Keeping in mind that she was not theoretically the ideal subject (due to the astigmatism, which I felt would be more difficult to cure quickly) I think the results were good. Especially since they flabbergasted the optometrist who so kindly helped us make the experiment possible.
Ideally of course the way to do this would be to take a series of sessions to ensure one is a good hypnotic subject with me, then do the standard optometry test before a session, do a session, re-do the test and if some change has been measured prescribe new lenses with the new reading. And try these for several weeks, possibly with other top-up sessions if required (but in which case a measurement needs to be re-taken both before and after).
Every few weeks the procedure would be repeated until either no corrective lenses are required at all or the prescription seems to remain stable.
It is my considered opinion that properly carried out, this could actually cure eyesight permanently without any need for surgery. Of course it would depend on a good relationship between the hypnotist and the patient as well as access to all the various equipment and a competent optician willing to objectively take part. Or at least not against the experiment taking place.
It is quite a fascinating experiment and if it were possible to do in a way that would not cost me anything I would be quite willing to volunteer my time as long as the various costs were covered, which would primarily be for the optometrist’s time and equipment and the required purchase of lenses, which could be contacts or reading glasses, whatever the client is comfortable with. The Ideal subject would be a good hypnotic subject with only short-sightedness (Myopia) of the same strength in both eyes. If you are interested in this experiment and would like to help, provide assistance or sponsorship and\/or take part in it, then please see the Clinical Trials section and then contact me.
