Vanessa’s Blog
It’s time…
This blog as been the hole-in-the-wall that allowed you to peak through into what was my human story. I have unlocked my secret garden of memories and experiences for you to wander through at your leisure.My writing, I hope, is experiential and visual; it is my way of showing you what I saw on this incredible journey of sight rebirth, and how that affected me.It still affects me.Now it’s time to get into the science of the matter. In fact, we’re really talking neuroscience here, and as for the...
A sidelong glance
I'm not sure if I had any idea of the world around me, not really; and I am talking literally here. I have been missing out on a secret garden, a whole series of scenes and stories. Amazingly this fringe world has been playing out in my peripheral vision without me ever knowing it. I only know this because today I was introduced to my peripheral vision; the side-view that sits just beyond what is comfortable. It has opened up a Pandora’s box for me, this new slice of life has tickled my brain,...
Wallace and Grommets
My new lower prescription specs arrived in the post and got their first outing at Croydon University hospital. The intention is for my eyes to level out a little and to reduce the dominance of my right eye. It is also to restrict my constant habit of trying to focus all the time.My specs firmly planted on my nose we set off; and for once a hospital visit was not all about me.Our daughter has suffered from a loss of hearing over the last year or so and after months of suppressed comedy moments...
15 minutes of gain…
I have been given 15 minutes in which to do my thinking.I now have to condense and abridge my musings into this restricted time slot. My eye health is part of my vision therapy programme, and like the smoker trying to quit, I too have to curtail my habit.I also have to spend time without my glasses on. This is something I had already been doing; but in the recent past it had been in order to give myself a break from my sight. This now seems an anomaly, and indeed I find myself questioning my...
Luck
What is luck? No, really – what is luck? I can’t help but feel it is two sides of a rusty old coin, but it’s more that that of course; it’s a force. It’s something that takes you over and has power over you. It’s uncontrollable. It’s a bad thing for us control freaks; it might even be our Archenemy. It depends on your spiritual angle of course, your opinion of the world. It’s an interpretation of how you see your life fitting in with others, how central you are. It illustrates where your...
A road map to meditation
Meditation is not one-size-fits-all and styles can vary enormously. From mindfulness to hypnosis to psychedelics, my consciousness road trip, covering 12 different mind-training techniques, provides a tried-and-tested roadmap of which practice might be right for you.
Second Sight
Imagine waking up one morning to find yourself blind and paralysed. In 2012 a catastrophic illness wiped out two of my senses. As I recovered I set out on a voyage of discovery to uncover the extraordinary science behind my visual rebirth.
ParkBathe Project
A citizen science green health podcast project with Dr Kirsten McEwan providing FREE 1hr mindful walks for ‘nature sceptics’ to experience the benefits of urban forest bathing in Crystal Palace Park, London. To book a free walk and find out more click below.
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