ABOUT CLASSICAL HOMEOPATHY
Homeopathy is based upon a particular set of principals’. Outlined below are some of the most important.
1. Treating like with like, treating illness through the application of “similars”:
People have a range of symptoms that are unique and individual to them. They are experienced in our emotions, our thoughts and our bodies. The range of presenting symptoms is the “image” of the person’s sickness.
Homeopaths treat using changes to lifestyle and diet and prescriptions of potentised medicines that best matches the totality or image of the persons sickness. To discover the image or range of symptoms that a medicine can treat homeopaths use a process called “proving”. A group of healthy people are systematically administered a medicine, this medicine will affect the emotional, mental and physical aspects of these people and produce symptoms. This then is the image of that medicine. When the image of this medicine is matched to the image of the sick person and administered it is then called a “homeopathic remedy”. A medicine is any substance that can change or alter the way a person feels, thinks, or experiences physical sensations. The application of similars is giving a medicine to a sick person that when given to a group of healthy people produced those same or similar symptoms.
Homeo – Similar. Pathy – Suffering.
2. The single remedy:
In the proving process only one medicine is given never a mixture. It is therefore not possible to know what symptom image a mixture of medicines will produce. A homeopath should only use one medicine at a time to match the unique image of the person at the time it is prescribed.
3. The potentised dose.
In the beginning the founder of homeopathy started the process of “proving” using large material doses. He saw that most of what people experienced were the toxic effects of these doses, so he started to experiment using a process whereby he reduced the amount of the original substance, he called this process potentisation. At each stage of reducing the amount of material he vigorously shook the substance. He observed that this process released an inner essence of the original material. The process of potentisation makes the medicines absolutely safe whilst still retaining their inner medicinal effects.
4. The Vital Force:
The process of potentisation, enables the medicine to act upon the level of the vital force. This force exists in each of us and ensures that every aspect of us, emotions, thoughts and physical processes, operate in a state of harmony. When we are in a state of dis-ease the symptoms that we experience are a sign the vital force is endeavouring to restore harmony and keep us in health. Homeopathic treatment through guidance and advice around lifestyle and diet and the prescription of specific medicines, act to improve the level of the vitality, which in turn enables the vital force to overcome dis-ease and restore harmony.
At all times our organism is in a process of self-regulation. The symptoms we experience, although unpleasant, uncomfortable, and sometime painful are in fact our best response to our dis-eased state, they are the outward signs of an internal imbalance. Paradoxically it is our symptoms and suffering that is helping to keep us in life.
5. Avoidance of suppression:
Our symptoms are an external sign of an internal imbalance and are our best response to the situation we are in and expressed in the least harmful way possible. This concept is well explained in Trevor Gunn’s book “The Science of Health”. The human organism is highly intelligent and is continually working to maintain optimum health.
Homeopaths have observed there is a hierarchy within each of us that runs from our emotional/ mental selves, through to our internal organs and finally to the external or skin. If a symptom is suppressed, for example putting cream on a skin rash, this then is fighting against the organisms efforts of trying to express a symptom on the most external part of us. When suppression takes place the organism takes this dis-ease expression to a more internal level. It is well known in both homeopathic and orthodox medicine that treating eczema on the skin with creams and steroids is associated with people developing asthma.