Tools of the New Laws of Healing: Homeopathy
Homeopathy appears at first sight to be totally illogical, yet empirical research and a huge body of observations indicates that it does indeed work. It is a system of medicine whose fundamental principle is the Law of Similars, that like is cured by like. It was originated by a German physician named Samuel Hahnemann in the early 19th century, although some of its ideas can be traced back to Ancient Greece and also to the writings of Paracelsus. According to folklore, it had been observed that quinine given to a healthy person caused the same symptoms as malaria. Therefore quinine became the preferred treatment in malaria. Let me give another example. If you are peeling onions, you may develop tearing and a runny nose. Therefore one of the remedies for hay fever is onion prepared in a very special way.
Homeopathic medicine is not very well known in the United States although it has become popular among some physicians in European and Asian nations and is widely used by the public in over-the-counter medications. In France and Germany around 40% of physicians use homeopathic remedies as well as conventional medicines, and in Great Britain it is available on the National Health Service.
Homeopathic medicine is one of the tools of the new, emerging, laws of healing because in common with the other treatment modalities that we use, the homeopathic practitioner considers the totality of symptoms of an individual. A remedy is then chosen, based upon experimental work known as a homeopathic proving. Provings, in which healthy people are given small amounts of a substance and then report their symptoms, have been going on for two centuries. SO if someone became irritable when taking sulfur, one of the sulfur is a potential treatment for an irritable person. But to decide on a particular remedy, the homeopath goes through every single symptom. We nowadays often use computers to accelerate the process.
This remedy is usually given in extremely low concentrations prepared according to a procedure known as potentization, in which the original compound is taken and diluted again and again, often hundreds of times, because it is held that this process gives higher dilutions more therapeutic power. Not surprisingly these ideas have attracted enormous opposition, since the remedies no longer contain any molecules.
Approximately 3000 remedies are used in homeopathy, of which approximately 300 are based on comprehensive information from provings.
The theory of homeopathy consists not only of the Law of Similars and the use of super-dilute remedies, but also a series of other ideas. The first is the notion of suppression. Homeopaths invoke this notion when they say that symptoms represent an underlying disturbance of the organism’s vitality. Many also say that conventional medicine can suppress illnesses, driving them deeper into a person.
Our radical new approach uses conventional and homeopathic remedies at the same time as addressing psychological, social and spiritual issues.
Another homeopathic principle is of Direction of cure, a concept that was developed by Hahnemann’s protégé Constantine Hering. The basic idea, which is frequently seen in practice, is that homeopathic treatment my bring back old, previously suppressed symptoms. Cures tend to proceed from more vital to less vital organs; from the interior to the surface; and from the head and torso to the extremities.
There are a number of other principles:
Homeopathic aggravation: A phenomenon of existing symptoms worsening in response to homeopathic treatment; Constitutional treatment, which focuses on a person’s overall emotional states and traits, and his or her personality and physical structure to decide on a remedy, and finally miasms, the concept that in addition to physical genetic factors in illness, there are also predispositions to certain illness that are a result of a person’s family and personal history. So a father who has had tuberculosis might pass on a tuberculous temperament to his children.
Much of this may sound illogical, but there is increasing scientific support from homeopathy and some brilliant cutting edge scientific research which gives it an empirical basis. I regularly review development in homeopathy on my weblog: http://www.richardgpettymd.com/blog/.
As part of a comprehensive approach to maintaining health and wellness and improving personal performance, whether in your own life, your business, family or golf game, homeopathy can be a powerful tool.
