Roger,

Jesus implicitly acknowledges the power of visualization. "I  tell you, whatever you ask for, beieve that you have already received it and it will be yours (Mark 11:24)."  How can you believe something has materialzed already when you see not evidence of it?  By visualizing it as if it were already achieved. 

Jesus also implcitly views the chief problem for healing as the futility of trying to believe.  The very concept of "trying" implies probable failure.  One futile aspect of trying to believe is to ask yourself, "Do I have enough faith?"  Or "How much faith do I really have?"  When we look within to see how much faith we have, the very act of introspection punctures a hole in the soul, and all the faith drains out!  As Jesus puts it, the  tiniest amount of faith can do the job.  In other words, boldly act on the assumption that you have all the faith you need and avoid introspection to assess your faith situation.  For this reason, Jesus uses faith props.  For example, He anoints with oil, applies saliva, or clay, or a mixture of both, lays on hands, etc. to stop people from "trying" and to create a flashpoint for faith to be released through a focus on this loving touch. 

Another of his healing principles is confession and release of grudges.  Once one has told the painful truth about oneself and released grudges (making wrongs right), faith is purged of negative energy that blocks healing.  These are only a few of his healing principles.

Don

Don-

It occurred to me late last night as I was trying to get back to sleep that maybe all this time I had the wrong assumptions about the dynamics of healing.

I just assumed that it was a two way street.  There was the person needing healing, and there was some kind of external force (Jesus, God, other entities from other belief systems, etc) that would provide the healing. If we believed enough in that entity, we would be healed.

But maybe it's really a one-way street.  Maybe we already have what it takes to heal ourselves.  So when we are focusing on some external entity and putting our faith/belief in that direction, we are by definition correspondingly weakening the ability we already possess within our self by implicitly assuming we lack what it takes to accomplish our own healing.

I don't know.  But it was a thought that seemed to resonate within me during the wee hours of the morning.

R