Seeing with the Eyes of the Heart

review by Irene Alleger

, by Leslie Davenport

Celestial Arts, PO Box 7123, Berkeley, CA 94707; www.tenspeed.com

Softcover; ©2009; $15.95; 209 pp.

At a time when health care is at the top of everyone’s agenda, nothing could be more provocative than the idea that we might be able, through some exercise of the mind, to heal ourselves. The first response is that if it were true, we would be doing it. But our medical research rarely looks at how the mind works, and so we really know very little about the possibilities. There are few researchers in the field of guided imagery in psychotherapy and integrative medicine, and Leslie Davenport has been a pioneer in the field. She has masters’ degrees in the arts and psychology and is a marriage and family therapist.

Creative visualization techniques have been around for some time, but Davenport’s book gives specific instructions in tandem with dramatic case histories, to easily access the heart’s wisdom. At the end of each chapter there is an exercise called “Eyes Open Imagery,” which cultivates the awareness necessary for self-guided imagery. There is also, at the end of each case history, a self-facilitation work sheet that is at the heart of the practice. It starts with “What do you need guidance about?” Using just one word or phrase, you write it down on a piece of paper. You are then instructed on how to travel inward by closing your eyes and paying attention to your breathing (each of these steps only takes a few minutes). Next, you imagine a place of sanctuary, a place where you feel safe and peaceful – it can be a seashore, a flower garden, or your grandmother’s kitchen.

In this safe and peaceful place, you are invited to again view the paper with your written concern. You ask your heart for a wise and loving response, and let your heart’s reply appear as an image a few feet in front of you … “Whether it is a color, a figure, a phrase, or an impression, notice its texture, shape, sound, and so on. Feel the qualities that this image embodies. What does it want you to know about your concern? How do you feel in the presence of your heart’s wise advice?”

These exercises are simple, yet very effective. We use our imagination every day in various ways; self-guided imagery simply offers a proven format to work with. Guided imagery and visualization are not exactly synonymous; in imagery, having ways to access the information you are after through your internal senses is what is important – it may or may not come through as a visual form.

The case histories are not just illustrative – they are compelling stories of how people benefit from self-guided imagery, from specific solutions to a greater sense of well-being. Some of the themes: End-of-Life Issues; Cancer; Immobility – Fear of Change; Diabetes; Financial Problems; Marital Issues; and Heart attack. Intermittent chapters on the steps and techniques involved in guided imagery break up the case histories. This format makes it easy to understand and use the exercises which the case histories exemplify.

The end-of-life issue was particularly moving. An elderly woman is concerned about her grandson, for whom she has been a source of strength and understanding that helped him stay out of trouble. She is ready to leave, but worries about the impact that it will have on her grandson. Moving step by step through the exercise, her answer comes in the form of a large redwood and a young seedling. The redwood tells her that nature is the gardener. The support for life and growth is abundant – there’s no lack of what’s needed. She understands the message: her grandson is taken care of. Looking around, she sees leaves turning brown and dry, and new buds forming … “It is all so beautiful – the bud, the flower, the bare branch.”

The elderly woman comes out of the session with a feeling of completion; her concern about her grandson has been resolved. She is no longer worried about leaving. As if on cue, a petal falls off a peony in a vase by the door. She turns and whispers, “That’s how I want to go.”

Self-guided imagery is a tool that is easily acquired and can be used as an adjunct to medical treatment, as well as during times of emotional turmoil and conflicts that we all experience.

Pearl

“In the Chinese language, the logogram for ‘crisis’ is comprised of two characters signifying ‘danger’ and ‘opportunity.’ This Eastern symbol points to the invitation for transformation embedded within every crisis. This invitation can go unheard, unfelt, unrealized, and unnoticed in the noise of daily life, but guided imagery gives us reliable access to the potential opportunity of such moments.”