To researchers in the areas of cognitive psychology, therapy, body dysmorphic disorder, animal research, autism, early childhood development and even those who study research methodologies: Please consider researching non-reversing, true-image mirrors, aka true mirrors.  There’s an amazing phenomenon that I discovered that has wide-ranging implications in your fields, but so far, there has been no peer-reviewed research conducted.

In 1992, I first found myself looking back from a non-reversed reflection, created when two mirrors met at right angles in a bathroom. For sure, there was a big line down the center that most find too distracting, but for me, I literally did a double take… I recognized myself more in this version. Specifically, my smile, which was big and bright, suddenly appeared happy and full of life, versus a very static, somewhat manically fake smiling version that had just knocked me down in the backwards mirror.  For the umpteenth time.

I discovered that not just my smile, but my eyes and full face, for the first time, worked properly to communicate who I was and how I was.  In real time, and it didn’t go away.  Fast forward to today, this has been confirmed many thousands of times with first-time viewers who immediately saw the difference:  In astonishment, they continued to marvel at the way their faces stayed dynamic and their expressions felt accurate.  This could be contrasted directly with the person looking back from a traditional mirror, generally flat and lacking those same expressions.  I found that it usually takes no more than 5 seconds for most people’s faces settle into their more static mirror face.

To me, the reason is simple – our eyes contain information that is different left to right, and that we need them to be positioned correctly for that information to mean what it means. In a backwards mirror, that information gets altered, and in real time, the person’s response gets altered. An incredibly dynamic feedback loop with major information distortion. Since childhood, an odd experience that is ubiquitous, unchallenged and solitary. No one sees us this way except for us.
On the other hand, in the true, non-reversed version of themselves, that information appears correct, and so the response can be correct. A person stays present with themselves, ultimately leading to a sense that the person’s true nature is visible, available for real communication. 
So where is the research on this phenomenon? What is really going on?  How is it explained using our current understanding of right brain/left brain, feedback loops, information processing, personality, consciousness, quantum dynamics, and a host of other aspects of human nature? What are the values and benefits? What are the implications of the backwards mirror being such a ubiquitous source of faulty information – for all of us – in terms of both individuals and culture at large?

Where is the research?

The short answer is that there isn’t any. Only my findings from showing this to tens of thousands of people over the last 25 years, with a solid 20% of people actively seeing and agreeing that there is an amazing and beneficial effect. My attempts to explain this and surmise the benefits are only from my personal experience plus my best guesses as a person trained in physics and math, not psychology. My data consists of pages and pages of over-the-top comments and testimonials towards this effect. But so far, no peer-reviewed research has been conducted.

I’m trying to make this happen, and am looking for suggestions on how to do it, and most importantly referrals: This should be perfect for the right kind of researcher. There’s a lot going on here, new territory to explore, plus its something quite wonderful at its core. My mission has been to help people by enabling them to see their own truth, your research will help justify and validate these efforts!

Please see the attached document with a listing of what areas of research could be taken up (there’s over 10 that I can figure). True Mirror and Psychological Research Topics

Thank you so much, and thank you for allowing me to bring this to your attention.

John Walter

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