What
is Homeopathy?
The Eclectic
Naturopath uses every gift of Nature possible to relieve suffering. We
use Hygiene. We use Fresh Air. We use Fresh Water. We
use Exercise and systems of Therapeutic Movement. We use
Therapeutic Dietetics. We use Gaia’s Plants.
We use the power of Information and Education. We use Counseling
and Emotional balancing. We use Physical Manipulation and
Therapeutic Touch. We use Dietary Supplements. We use
methods of Cleansing and Detoxification. We use Fasting. We
use Hydrotherapy.
We use Homeopathy. We use Compassion, Caring, and the power
of the Spoken Word and Encouragement. Those of us who are
so inclined use Prayer (Most of the Founders of Naturopathic Medicine
were inspired men of God). We don’t use Surgery. We
don’t use Chemical Drugs.
Samuel Hahnemann
1755-1843
Founder of Homeopathy
Homeopathy has been verified by 200 years
and millions of practitioners. When you employ homeopathy you are
igniting the biological intelligence and delivering bio-information
to the organism, which is necessary for healing.
Homeopathic medicines are made by homeopathic pharmacies in accordance
with the processes described in the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia
of the
United States
the official manufacturing manual recognized
by the FDA. The substances may be made from plants such as aconite,
dandelion, plantain; from minerals such
as iron phosphate, arsenic oxide, sodium chloride; from animals
such as the venom of a number of poisonous snakes, or the ink of
the cuttlefish; or even from chemical drugs such as penicillin or
streptomycin. These substances are diluted carefully until little
or none of the original substance remains.
There are various levels of homeopathy such
as the traditional constitutional level and the therapeutic level.
I.C.N. incorporates homeopathic training into the Naturopathic Practitioner,
Homeopathic Endocrinology and Holistic Health Practitioner Training.
Samuel Hahnemann was a man of compassionate
character and ethics. He was motivated to find a method
of clinical practice that was safe enough to use on his own children.
Said another way, the methods employed by his fellow physicians
were so arbitrary (Leeches), toxic (Mercury and Bromides), or depleting
to one’s vitality (venesection or bleeding,
to relieve the “plethora” or the patient’s ‘excess energy’) that
he removed himself from clinical practice to a life of scholasticism.
It was there that he was inspired to discover the method of ‘Proving’
that forms the scientific basis of our Homeopathic Materia Medica. ‘Proving’
became an objective, scientifically verifiable, repeatable method
that allowed anyone willing to perform the self-experiment to determine
that taking different substances produced extremely different symptoms. This
led to the conversion of one of Hahnemann’s greatest
students: Constantine Hering. By
perceiving the similarity between the symptoms produced by the substance
and the symptoms expressed (or suppressed) in the patient the Homeopath
seeks to bring deep and lasting healing into this world.
Until the 1930’s or so, Homeopathy was one of the several branches
of Medicine prominently available for use in this country. There
were a number of hospitals across our Country that one could attend
and receive purely Homeopathic care
or a combination of Eclectic Medical / Naturopathic / Homeopathic
Care. Originally, Homeopathy was primarily practiced by
Medical Doctors. By Federal edict Homeopathy was one of
the four branches of Medicine allowed the
US
people: Allopathic Medical, Osteopathic,
Homeopathic, and “Other Methods.” In 1929 and 1931, the Naturopathic
Arts were added to this list and defined in the Naturopathy Practice
Act of 1931. I quote an excerpt from this Act: “It is further
enacted that ‘NATUROPATHY,’ as used in the aforesaid Act of Congress,
approved February 27, 1929, hereafter shall comprehend, embrace,
and be composed of the following acts, practices, and usages--Diagnosis
and Practice of physiological and material sciences of healing as
follows--The physiological and mechanical sciences such as mechanotherapy, articular manipulation,
corrective orthopedic gymnastics, neurotherapy,
psychotherapy, hydrotherapy, and mineral baths, electrotherapy, thermotherapy, phototherapy, chromotherapy, vibrotherapy, thalmotherapy, and dietetics which shall include the use
of foods of such biochemical tissue-building products and cell salts
as are found in the normal body; and the use of vegetal oils and
dehydrated and pulverized fruits, flowers, seeds, barks, herbs,
roots, and vegetables uncompounded and in their natural state.”
Classical homeopathy rests on three principles: the "law of similars", the single medicine, and the minimum dose.
The law of similars states that a
disease is cured by a medicine, which creates symptoms similar
to those the patient is experiencing. Hence, an important part
of the prescription of a homeopathic medicine is a lengthy interview
to determine all the symptoms the patient is experiencing. The
homeopathic physician then determines which medicine best matches
the symptoms the patient is experiencing and prescribes it. The
principle of the single remedy states that a single medicine should
cover all the symptoms the patient is experiencing: mental, emotional,
and physical. A classical homeopath would not prescribe one medicine
for a headache and another for an upset stomach; he or she would
find a single medicine that covered both symptoms. The principle
of the minimum dose has two parts. First, the homeopathic physician
only prescribes a small number of doses of the homeopathic medicine
and waits to see what effect the medicine has. Second, the medicine
is given in an infinitesimal dose.
Let's look at an example of the Law of Similars:
- If your child accidentally
ingests certain poisons, you may be advised to administer Syrup
of Ipecac to induce vomiting. Ipecac is derived from the root
of a South American plant called Ipecacuanha.
The name, in the native language, means "the plant by the
road, which makes you throw up." Eating the plant causes
vomiting.
- When a group of healthy
volunteers took this substance to determine the effects of this
drug, they found that the drug induced other symptoms as well.
The mouth retained much saliva. The tongue was very clean. There
was a cough so severe that it led to gagging and vomiting. There
was incessant nausea. While it is expected that vomiting would
usually relieve the nausea, this was not the case. Such an
experiment, using healthy volunteers, is called a proving, and
it is the homeopath's source of information about the action
of a drug. Of what use could this plant be? If a person were
suffering from a gagging cough after a cold, or
a woman were experiencing morning sickness with incessant nausea
that is not relieved by vomiting, then Ipecacuanha,
administered in a minute dose can allay the "similar" suffering.
Samuel Hahnemann described
this principle by using a Latin phrase: Similia Similibus Curentur, which translates:
"Let likes cure likes." It is a principle that has been
known for centuries. Hahnemann developed
the principle into a system of medicine called homeopathy, and has
been used successfully for the last 200 years. |
