Author: Leslie Davenport
ISBN: 978-158761-324-1
Publisher: Celestial Arts

Click Here To Purchase Healing and Transformation Through Self Guided Imagery

Today, Norm Goldman Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com is pleased to have as our guest Leslie Davenport author of Healing and Transformation Through Self-Guided Imagery.

Norm:

Good day Leslie and thanks for participating in our interview.

Leslie:

Thank you for having me.

Norm:

Please tell our readers a little bit about your personal and professional background.

Leslie:

Before going into the field of health psychology/guided imagery, I was a modern and classical dancer, and have a Master’s degree in dance. Dance was my first professional entry into exploring the relationships between thoughts, emotions, spirit, and our body’s physiology. I used my own experiences and the dancers in my company as a laboratory to study what the body was inclined to do when it was allowed to freely express an emotion or quality. What was I thinking/feeling that caused my body to slump to the floor in an asymmetrical heap, or run in spirals with arms wide open? Or the other way around, if I stood in a particular posture, how did it affect my mood?

While on the outside, going from being a dancer always on the move to being a therapist sitting in a chair most of the day can seem like a radical change, I experience the shift as a seamless continuum in understanding the infrastructure of our human make up.

During this career transition from dance to psychology, I created a psychotherapy internship in a hospital environment, as I wanted to learn more about the health impacts and therapeutic applications of the mind/body connection. That was in 1989, and I’m still working within healthcare, having established many hospital-based guided imagery programs over the years.

One more significant thread in my training and experience is being ordained as an interfaith minister in 1984. I value the diverse lenses through which we can derive meaning and understanding about ourselves and life, and really believe that the learning never ends.

Norm:

When and why have you been attracted to self-guided imagery?

Leslie:

Self-guided imagery is tied to my lifelong curiosity in the big questions of life – why are we here, what is life itself. I found imagery to be a deep source for exploration when I came to learn that images are the natural language through which the mind/body/spirit communicate. For example, if I asked you to recall a recent encounter that left you frustrated and angry, you would likely have a movie start in your mind, seeing images of the place or people involved, recalling fragments of a conversation, feeling similar emotions arise. And if you stayed with it for even a minute or two, there would be a whole series of changes that could be measured in your physiology including muscular tension, respiratory rate, blood pressure, and even shifts in your blood chemistry. The same is true if I ask you to remember some of the favorite times you spent with someone you really care about. These images would produce different physiological responses. And these kinds of images are flowing within us most of the time, even when we are not conscious of them, having a tremendous impact on our physical and emotional health.

What I find so rewarding is that we can become empowered to participate in the flow of images within, shaping our wellbeing and presence in the world. And while it takes a little practice, it is not difficult, and is available to absolutely everyone. So “self-guided imagery” is the phrase that refers to learning the process of working with one’s own images.

Norm:

What would you say is the best reason to recommend someone to read Healing and Transformation Through Self-Guided Imagery?

Leslie:

What’s so wonderful about imagery is that it’s based on awareness that can be directed to any area of our life experience. Whether someone is seeking guidance for a current crisis in their life, reflecting on a significant life transition, or deepening gratitude in simple day-to-day moments, and the book offer the “map” for how to access wisdom and healing within.

Norm

What motivated you to write Healing and Transformation Through Self-Guided Imagery and how did it come about?

Leslie:

It’s a beautiful reminder that we can never know what a day may bring. I was speaking at a conference about my hospital imagery work, and someone in the audience approached me afterwards commenting on how rich and fascinating the subject was. They inquired whether I had written about imagery, and after pointing them to only a couple of articles they announced, “Well, I’m associated with a publishing house. Would you like to write a book?” The following week I was having lunch with the publisher, and it continued from there.

For many years I’ve been highly motivate to help people reach the untapped wealth of wisdom and healing potential residing within them, and the book invitation felt like a natural evolution of these efforts. Healing and Transformation Through Self Guided Imagery is written to be a hands-on, how-to guide for navigating our inner landscapes in order to access the wellspring of wisdom within.

Norm:

Up until recently the advantages of self-guided imagery have not been readily accepted by health care providers and others. What do you attribute the change in attitude?

Leslie:

It is a combination of factors. I implemented my first hospital-based imagery program in 1989, when imagery was considerable less known and accepted than it is now. When Bill Moyers presented his PBS series Healing and the Mind in 1993, the increase in public awareness and support rose significantly. Invitations for educational talks were extended to me from the same institutions that had looked at me askance just a few years earlier.

In addition, there is a growing body of rigorous research backing the efficacy of guided imagery in medicine, sports performance, enhanced creativity, relieving phobias and more. For example, two separates studies on the benefits of guided imagery for extensive surgery reported in a major medical journals showed a 65% decrease in pain and anxiety, 33% fewer side effects, and 75% percent overall patient satisfaction as compared to patients who did not use imagery support. Those are significant findings, far bigger improvement that one would typically find in a new pharmaceutical protocol.

Imagery has also been within medical environments long enough now that patients are educating their physicians and care providers to just how helpful it is to them. When these conversations occur over and over again, some physicians are eager to see their patients less anxious and more active in their own care, and the doctors begin recommending imagery to their patients. Courses in mind-body medicine are even beginning to spring up within medical schools.

Norm:

What challenges or obstacles did you encounter while writing your book? How did you overcome these challenges?

Leslie:

All is all, it was a remarkably smooth path. I was my own biggest obstacle at the beginning, since I did not see myself as a writer. While I was excited at the invitation to touch even more people with the benefits of imagery though a book, it also felt daunting. Gradually I came to trust my voice “on paper,” and sent my inner critic on vacation. I also asked for advice with aspects of the craft of writing. I now often start with a simple meditative ritual, and have really come to enjoy the writing process.

Norm:

Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?

Leslie:

Yes, I’m always heartened when people let me know they are using the imagery tools and hear about the benefits they derive from it. The number of people who come to my website and use the free imagery recordings, or sign up for the newsletter also lets me know of the growing interest. Nothing makes me happier than to see my book with dog-eared pages, underlining and notes scribbled in the margins. It is meant to be used and experienced.

Norm:

Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?

Leslie:

Yes, I feel affirmed in the perspective that we all have gifts to offer the world. It won’t always be in the form of a book, although writing now seems natural for me given the shape of my life’s work. For others it may be a radically different form – some visible, some less so, but all important. For one person, maybe it means breaking a generational cycle of abuse. For another, it could be adding energy to an organization committed to social justice, or simply cultivating a non-reactive presence that emits kindness in day-to-day interactions. I see all contributions part of the same wheel of life, and if we pay attention, it’s easy to find how and where to offer our energy and talents.

Norm:

What do you think of the new Internet market for writers?

Leslie:

Related to my statement of finding a place for all our gifts, the internet has opened up access for many people to create a platform for their contributions. I see it as full of potential.

Norm:

Where can our readers find out more about you and Healing and Transformation Through Self-Guided Imagery?

Leslie:

I keep my website, www.LeslieDavenport.com, very current. There is a calendar page that includes a schedule of current talks and workshops. There are free mp3 imagery sessions, and quite a few articles and a worksheet that can be downloaded. I also send out a free quarterly e-newsletter including tips on practicing imagery, information on other imagery organizations, and a quick link to exciting new research.

Norm:

As this interview draws to a close what one question would you have liked me to ask you? Please share your answer.

Leslie:

I would like to end extending an invitation to experience what guided imagery really is. I can’t emphasize enough how imagery is a natural process. That being said, there are quite a few misconceptions about imagery that can initially get in the way. One example I often hear is, “I’ve tried before to picture a pretty place, but I just can’t.” While about 55% of the population does have a visual orientation when it comes to internal sense perceptions, there are also kinesthetic impressions, auditory responses, olfactory memories, all of which are valid portals for the full expressing on internal guidance. We often just sense something and it is accompanied by a feeling that rings true. All these internal impressions are the language of imagery.

Because images are the natural language of our intuition and the wisdom of the heart, understanding the images that flow constantly through consciousness as well as creating them deliberately can help heal and transform our lives. While imagery is a very natural way of knowing ourselves and life, it has been severely underutilized in our contemporary culture where achievement, analysis and organization are prized. While those skills are valuable, when we fail to draw upon the full range of human perception, it creates imbalance. To a large degree we have collectively lost sight of the mystery, beauty and soulful aspects of life as ways to inform our decisions. Imagery is one of the ways to remain connected with those depth aspects of life.

Norm:

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions. It's been an absolute pleasure to meet with you and read your work. Good luck with Healing and Transformation Through Self-Guided Imagery.

Leslie:

And thank you for the wonderful resources you provide as well. It’s been a pleasure.

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Click Here To Purchase Healing and Transformation Through Self Guided Imagery