The Eyes are the Windows to the Soul

Two friends posted on Facebook about using a retinoscope to determine more than refraction.

Sumit Kumar posted: “That’s when I realised—retinoscopy is not just about numbers. It is a window into the visual system and the brain. The reflex we observe is not just light from the retina— it reflects how the visual system is processing, responding, and organizing. You can pick up: • Visual stress • Processing inefficiencies • Neurological influences • Even how the child is interacting with their environment

Jesus Espinosa posted: “Retinoscopy is a real-time measure of visual cognition.”

These are powerful comments from my colleagues. Following their posts about a week apart, I began to go down that rabbit hole and search Google AI for information about “The Eyes are the Window to the Soul.

Google AI says: “The phrase ‘eyes are the window to the soul’ suggests that a person's deepest emotions, intentions, and inner character are reflected in their gaze. While often linked to Shakespeare and Biblical themes (Matthew 6:22), the sentiment holds true because eyes provide reliable, nonverbal information about emotions like joy, sadness, fear, and anger.”

Why the Eyes Reveal True Feelings:

• Physiological Responses: When excited or interested, pupils dilate to take in more information, a physical reaction that cannot be consciously controlled.

• Expression of Emotions: While people can easily fake a smile with their mouth, they rarely control the muscles around their eyes, meaning "crow's feet" often signal genuine happiness.

• Connection to Thought: The gaze reveals if a person is in a state of high arousal (spotting threats/opportunities) or relaxed observation, revealing their current mental state.

• Nonverbal Communication: The intensity, movement, and direction of a person's gaze communicate their desires and emotions to others, often revealing what words try to conceal.

Origins and Interpretations: • Biblical Context: The concept relates to "The eye is the lamp of the body," implying that if your eyes are focused on truth and love, your inner being is filled with light. • Literary/Proverbial: While frequently attributed to Shakespeare, the phrase has become a common idiom for understanding someone’s inner character.

"Ultimately, while humans can control their body language, the eyes are considered one of the few places that directly reflect a person's internal state.”

While this idea that “the eyes are the window to the soul” has been understood and postulated for centuries, it has somehow lost the meaning in eye care that the eyes really are a window to the soul. Consider the reactions to happiness and joy compared to fear and apprehension. Then consider the reach – where the eyes are looking – not just pointing but really looking.

Now consider using and understanding Just Look Retinoscopy as a determinant of where and how the eyes are really looking. As one pulls inward, the eyes also become limited and attention moves inward. When happy and joyful, consider that they are looking outward toward exploration. One cannot be happy and joyful - toward the exploration end of the continuum – and at the same time bring focused attention to challenging work or becoming apprehensive and anxious.

Our moods such as anxiety and fear compared to joy and happiness are perceived to be brain functions – BUT – brain function does not take place in isolation – AND – if the eyes are a part of the brain, we expect “brain function” to be reflected through the eyes. This is where using Just Look Retinoscopy comes into play. An individual may learn to control facial features and body language, but they do not control the patterns of looking which have become chronic and default patterns of action toward engagement.

I encourage you to look more carefully with your retinoscope beyond refraction. Particularly observe WHETHER one looks, WHEN they look, WHERE they look, HOW they look, and their pattern of WITHDRAWAL from the task. Such observations can provide their default patterns of engagement and allow you to predict how these patterns a patient might present as a representation of default patterns toward engagement in their daily life.