On avoiding eye contact

One of the things that I've always been aware of in myself is that I do not have an ability to look people in the eye(s) when talking to them. I know this is considered shifty, an indicator of lying or dubious behaviour. Personally, I knew it wasn't. I just don't like looking at other people's eyes. It seems somehow intrusive, rude even. Looking straight into someone's eyes is like taking a peak into their thoughts, and I just don't feel comfortable with it. I can still powerfully recall the deputy-headmaster at my school trying to force me to look into his eyes as he berated me for some minor or not so minor infringement of the rules. I did look into his eyes, but looking into the weak watery windows of someone for which you have an unexpressible sympathy is not a pleasant experience. I decided to live with not looking.
Dr Weyneth Doherty-Sneddon, a psychologist at the University of Stirling, has carried out studies into 'gaze aversion', as I now have learned to call it. He says it seems to help the mind absorb difficult detail in ways that are not yet fully understood. Several studies have now shown that gaze aversion is a highly unreliable indicator of deception. 'Adults often interpret looking away as a sign of disengagement or lack of interest, but our research points to the idea that it is a technique for helping them to concentrate'.
There. Now I can ignore this trait in me, and focus on my attempt to turn myself into the perfect art generating machine.