When I make healing appointments with people I like to have a good hour up my sleeve to give us time to engage a number of modalities to bring healthy change and healing. But some healings happen on the spur of the moment in the rush of ordinary life.

On this day I was recording my regular radio show. The producer working with me was clearly in pain and was “enjoying” rather  awkward and limited movement in his back. I happen to know that Mel is a guy with a faith background. So when I finished my session I simply said, “Mel, let me just pray for your back before I go.”

When I say “pray” perhaps the word conjures up an image of kneeling, hands wringing with a “Please, please,” kind of plea to some distant divinity. But what I actually did employed 3 Modalities in quick succession in the space of about 3 Minutes. It had to be in the space of 3 minutes because we were in a public area of the radio station. I didn’t want to leave without having reached out to Mel, but clearly we needed to be discreet and swift!

The 3 modalities were:

• Intention. (See my post Healing by Intention.) When Mel said, “Yes please do!” we were anchoring our intention to take hold of a measure of healing for his back.
• Guiding the Spirit. Using the placement of two hands and the speaking of a simple sentence I directed the Divine Spirit into Mel’s back. (See my post Guiding the Spirit.)
• Visualization. This is an approach I have learned from the ancient Hebrew story of Abraham.

The story goes that the Almighty promises Abraham descendants too numerous to count – and at a point in his life when he and his wife could not naturally conceive. To help Abraham take hold of the promise the Almighty impresses two images on Abraham’s mind – images which remain with him until the promise manifests many years later.

Abraham is shown the stars of the sky and grains of sand on the seashore. And the Almighty speaks the words, “So shall your offspring be.” Abraham’s task is to keep his mind immersed in those images until he witnesses the manifestation of them as children and descendants. Which is exactly what happened. Today’s Jewish and Arabic peoples all look to this man Abraham as their ancestor.

Abraham and his wife Sarah had to wait many years before they saw the manifestation of those images. In the many years that intervened it would have been vital for Abraham to be able to shift his attention away from the mirror, and onto an image or a sight that would re-evoke the excitement and motivation of the divine promise already planted in him.

When we need healing, physical pain and anxiety often draw our attention again and again to the problem. If we are not deliberate about it our consciousness can settle there and pull us into a state of funk and discouragement. The act of visualizing the desired outcome is a way of deliberately shifting our consciousness from the problem to the resolution.

So, back at the radio station, rather than offer up a “Please, please” kind of prayer, I allowed my imaginative eye to see Mel, full of health, and joy and enthusiasm, jumping and turning and twisting and dancing – in short exhibiting all the signs of total health and well-being. I found myself beaming as I created this visualization in my mind’s eye. I did this silently for about a minute and then I spoke very consciously and deliberately the ancient Hebrew word “Amen” which means “Let it be! Make it so!” Mel anchored the intention by repeating the “Amen.”

Mel immediately stood up, swiftly and smoothly, marched on the spot, stretched and twisted around. It was clear straight away that something had changed. “The pain has almost completely gone!” he said. We repeated the exercise and yet more improvement came. Now it was Mel who was beaming! I made a point of following up with him in the week and within two days Mel’s back was the very picture of health and well-being.

Is this modality simply an alternative form of prayer? Is it just another way of guiding the Spirit? Perhaps it is really a way of sending powerful instructions to the body. Having learned it from the Story of Abraham I can see that it might be all three. Speaking personally, it is a modality for which I am grateful to God because, whether employed in a healing appointment or as a personal exercise, I find that my mental, emotional and physical state all lift whenever I put this ancient tool to work. Even when I can give it no more than three minutes in the busy hallway of a radio station!