Ray Gottlieb

Vision for a Better World

Most of my life I’ve worked my best to do what I can to make the world a better place. I learned early on that the human population was growing at an ever-increasing pace and that some day, possibly within my lifetime, we would reach a time when the limits of the world’s natural resources would collide with the needs of its life forms. I saw that unless we make important shifts in our attitudes, appetites, habits we would suffer the fate of those not on the crew of Noah’s Arc. Unless we learn to see and act in new ways, life will get much harder, more people will suffer, more conflict, more failure, more illness, more death, and no more dreams. People have to become smarter, healthier, more capable, more cooperative, and more committed. We have to learn to see farther and wider and to act more responsibly.

I studied conventional optometry in the early 1960’s. Soon thereafter I was drawn to more unconventional aspects of optometry, natural methods of improving eyesight, eye health and visual function. I read articles and books, attended conventions and workshops and tried everything that appealed or made sense to me on myself and eventually on a wide variety of patients. I worked in optometry schools and hospitals. I joined organizations, taught professionals and the public. I invented new approaches and new exercises. And I learned a lot through 50 years of these experiences. Sharing this is the purpose of my website. 

The Functional Optometry Approach

This approach helps people to reduce their need for corrective lenses, straighten strabismic (“cross” or “wall”) eyes, reduce eye pain and distress, rehabilitate the after-effects of brain and emotional trauma, increase visual attention, movement, cognition and self-confidence to improve academic, social, executive and occupational performance. Functional optometry also aids already high-performing and professional athletes, musicians, dancers, actors and other performers to achieve at even higher levels. Vision therapy optometry applies information from neuroscience, psychology, biology, medicine, education, physical education, physical and occupational therapy, chemistry, physics, mathematics and the spiritual healing arts.

I retired from optometric practice in order to have more time to explore the scientific underpinnings of this work and to teach what I know to my colleagues and the lay public. It’s more than a fulltime job to keep up with the relevant new discoveries, it’s overwhelming but addicting. Over the years, I’ve been especially drawn to these four areas of optometric vision therapy:

Syntonic Optometry

The biological and psychological impact of light and color and how it is used as a therapy to protect, preserve and promote visual and mental capacities.

Natural Vision Improvement

Eyes can get worse but they can also improve through applying the principles and practices including those promoted by Dr. William Bates 100 years ago. Bates was ridiculed during his life and still is 85 years after his death. But his work is more popular than ever. Research findings the behavioral and neurological sciences support much of what he claimed.

Stress-Point Learning

Brains can change at every age when challenged by tasks at an appropriate difficulty/skill balance. That’s what we call the stress-point. Success is possible but only if attention and intention are fully engaged. Body co-ordination, information processing, eye movement and aiming, attention and memory can all increase through this process. Patients improve learning attitudes and skills that bring greater success in everyday life and greater self-confidence and control even under stress.

Presbyopia Reduction

This is an exercise for middle and older age people to reduce their need for reading or bifocal glasses to read of see clear vision at near distances. – I invented this approach in 1976. At age 75+ I still don’t wear reading or distance glasses.

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