2023 was a year of a lot of study and discovery for me. In addition to endeavouring to deepen my knowledge of homeopathic Materia Medica, I sought to expand my perception, so that I could look outside the box of my conventional training to see what is really true and where my thinking has been limited.
Due to the fact that I live by myself and have more time than I ever had in my life to explore and study, I took it upon myself to learn different systems of healing that were complementary to homeopathy and offshoots of it, such as the Bach Flower Remedies and the Bowel Nosodes, and experiment with them, so that I could understand how to integrate them with traditional homeopathic remedies.
I have also been learning about the Schussler Tissue Salts, in a deeper way, and trying to figure out how to integrate them with traditional homeopathic remedies. I discovered that they are a magnificent diagnostic tool. They have helped me hone in on excellent remedies for some people that I had been trying to help for a long time with only partial success.
Another field of interest that captivated my imagination is Al Ferasah, which is the Bedouin art of face reading. This is also proving to be a good diagnostic tool to help me understand my patients/clients better and it has taught me a lot about observing people, and not just the face, but the whole body.
Outside The Box
I am a classical homeopath by training and have been a devoted follower of Dr Samuel Hahnemann’s teachings on how to practice homeopathy for many years. Now, in the fourth decade of my study of homeopathy, I am looking outside of the box of my training, and seeing that there are other ways of working that are needed where there is serious pathology, where there are structural changes, where symptoms have proven to be intractable with the classical approach, and situations that are highly urgent, where time is of the essence and waiting for results is not an option.
In such cases, I have been using more than one remedy at a time, sometimes changing remedies daily in response to rapid changes in the patient. I am using less and less water dosing and more and more pocket doses, pillow doses and room doses, and find this method to be highly effective, much less invasive and intrusive than the oral dose, and it makes it easier to be fluid and follow the changes in the patient’s state.
I am aware that due to the complexity of modern life, the massive stresses people are under, that most people suffer from co-morbidities. This is why the one remedy at a time approach, where you try to find a single remedy to cover the totality of the person’s symptoms is unrealistic in many cases. When the number of co-morbidities, rises to a crescendo, you are at risk of getting cancer, or some other auto-immune disease, because the system is just overwhelmed by too many diseases existing at the same time in the body.
I have been working with a woman who had breast cancer, who fit the above scenario very well. She had many co-morbidities and developed breast cancer. This situation was further complicated by the fact that she allowed herself to be talked into doing one round of chemotherapy against her better judgement. This added a slew of other illnesses on top of the illnesses she already had. The problem of detoxing her from the chemotherapy now became the primary issue.
Working with her on a daily basis for several months, we were able to dissolve the breast tumour in the left breast, so that it was no longer detected on a sonogram, and saved her from the necessity of a mastectomy, which she was desperate to avoid. Yes, there are viable alternatives to the Western medicine approach to treating cancer. It is definitely not easy to reverse cancer with homeopathy, but with a lot of hard work, perseverance and dedication it can be done, and in a much gentler and more humane way than what Western medicine has to offer.
My goal for 2024 is to expand my knowledge of all of these areas of exploration and to improve my ability to be of service to people.
Bach Flower Remedies
Bach Flower Remedies was one of the great contributions to mankind by Dr Edward Bach [1886-1936]. The other great contribution is the bowel nosodes. The Bach Flower Remedies treat emotional states. Dr Bach identified 38 flower essences in his lifetime. The 12 healers, which are the personality, or type remedies. The second 19 are for everyday emotional states.
Dr Bach’s own story is that he was diagnosed with cancer of the spleen, while working in the Accident and Emergency Department of University College Hospital in London, and was given three months to live. This launched his personal healing journey, in the course of which he became interested in the bacteria of the gut. To pursue this interest further he took a job in the London Homoeopathic Hospital, where he identified seven different bacteria that make us ill [Here is a link to an article I wrote about the bowel nosodes]. At this point, Bach became interested in the teachings of Dr Samuel Hahnemann, and loved the fact that homeopathy honoured the connection between mind, body, emotion and spirit, and did not view the Individual in a materialistic, compartmentalised way.
Dr Bach developed a high level of sensitivity and intuition both to people and to plants. He was particularly drawn to flowers and discovered a sensitivity to the energy of flowers. “Dr Bach then used his ability to tune into the resonance of flowers to match a flower remedy to a state of mind. It’s said that he would hold his hand over a flower, or simply put a petal on his palm, or sometimes on his tongue, and he would enter the state that the flower’s energy would heal. He called this sympathetic resonance” [Excerpt from Rose Todd’s book, Simply Bach Flowers].
I recently purchased a magnificent set of the 38 Bach Flower Remedies from Ainsworth’s Pharmacy. I am in love with this set. The way I work with it is that I tune into my own emotional state at any given time, and I try to identify it. Am I feeling worn out and exhausted, over-extended, lack of self-confidence, or am I ruminating over something that happened? I look over the ‘Quick Guide’ that comes with the Ainsworth Kit, and identify, which of the flower essences is closest to how I am feeling. I read about the flower remedy in https://www.bachflowers.com and see if it sounds like a good fit for me. This helps me gain greater familiarity with the individual flower essences. I test the remedy, meaning I ask my indwelling god, atman, if this resonates with me. If I get a yes, I just put it in my pocket. I don’t take it orally, or dissolve it in water. After a short time, I find that that emotional state has passed, and I put the vial back in the kit. I have not found that this interferes with the homeopathic remedies I am taking, which I also usually take by the pocket, pillow, or room dose method.
Schussler Cell Salts
Schussler tissue salts were discovered by a German physician, Dr Wilhelm H Schussler in the nineteenth century. He analysed the ash content of human remains and discovered that there were twelve inorganic tissue salts in the ash that were essential to life. If any of these were deficient certain signs and symptoms would develop.
These tissue salts are numbered one through twelve for easy identification. They are all also traditional homeopathic remedies. The indications for prescribing them are similar in both, and in some symptoms they are not the same. The idea behind the tissue salts is that they are feeding, or compensating, for a deficiency in the cells of certain minerals. The principal that governs homeopathic treatment is ‘let like cures like,’ so we are matching the symptoms of the patient to a remedy that has produced similar symptoms in ‘provings’ on healthy people.
I witnessed a miracle, a few months ago, with my 91-year-old father when I tested him on all twelve tissue salts. He resonated very well to Ferrum phoshoricum 6X tissue salt. This is a remedy I would not have come to for him through repertorisation, but I saw an immediate miracle. We put the box by his bed, and within hours his stiff and weak body displayed strength and flexibility that it had not shown in a long time. We were amazed. I then ordered Ferrum phosphoricum 30C and Ferrum metallicum 30C to see if we can augment the gains.
Another miracle story is with regard to my younger son, who has always had trouble with his energy and concentration. He tested well to Kali phoshoricum 6X. Using that as a diagnostic sign, I then gave him Kali phosphoricum 200C. This remedy is making a huge difference for him in his energy and focus.
Ferrum phosphoricum 6X is a cell salt that it is recommended to give at the first sign of a cold. I have prescribed this to some of my clients for the first sign of a cold with positive results.
There is a lot to learn about the cell salts, and many good books and Youtube videos available on this subject. These are all also interesting areas to explore for people interested in improving their health and exploring the offshoots of homeopathy.
