“Oculiria” is a word I was asked to make up (create) during one of my sessions with Cheryl Rodrigues. The definition is something to block the eyes so you can see with the eyes of the heart. Oculi- Latin for eye and Ria- river, like the river that flows from our hearts when we love ourselves. This is how I feel the classes with Cheryl went. She stopped me from seeing with the eyes that I thought the world sees through, and she had me open the eyes of my heart to see with the eyes of who I could be. I was all tied up inside by thinking I need to do everything like other people, and this only made things worse for me when I would try and read aloud and in front of people.

Cheryl has shown me I was all out of balance, I could barely balance on one foot before we did the hearing adjustment test and once we did that and the finding of my center, I was able to balance on one foot and bounce two balls against the wall. Once we moved on to isolating certain trigger words and using the Davis method to overcome the disorientation, I found that these words had an emotional attachment to them. When we came to the word “does” and I spelled it out in clay I found that every time I tried to stare at it, my eyes would move away from it. There was a fear attached to it and I did not want to look at it. So, we went over it three or four times, and finally, I was able to accept the word and relief and calmness came over me. If you know anything about the deliverance ministry, it was just like that. You work through the fear, confront it, then accept it, and then there is no problem after that.

She also helped me to find my center before reading aloud so that I could be prepared when a disorienting word would come upon me and seize me. After one of these words, I would continue to mess up like a chain reaction and get flustered. But with the practice of my center and being more relaxed, I have been reading aloud and in front of people with a lot more confidence and less mistakes. My singing has gotten better and even my handwriting has improved because of less fear of the words and getting to know them better. The Davis method has really put together a well-formed program that cuts right through the barriers of dyslexia and slays the dyslexia dragon, so I do not need to read in fear. I can be myself and read from the heart like a river.