Homeopathy is a term used for a complete system of medicine. Homeopathy was developed by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843), and is now used globally by approximately 500 million people. The word homeopathy is derived from ‘homeo’, meaning similar or same, and ‘pathos’, meaning suffering. What this term indicates is that, according to homeopathic principles, a substance that will cause a specific set of symptoms can also cure those same symptoms when the substance is given in a homeopathic preparation. Hahnemann came to this conclusion after coming across a teaching by Hippocrates (460-377 BC),’ By similar things a disease is produced and through the application of the like is cured.’. Through experimentation and unbiased observation, he found this principle to hold true. The principles that govern homeopathy are in fact universal laws, like the laws that govern physics and chemistry. Hahnemann just elucidated these innate, incorruptible, foundational laws and recorded them in great detail in his book, The Organon of Medicine. Since Hahnemann’s time there have been many physicians who mastered homeopathy and used it to relieve untold suffering over the last 2 centuries.
The vital force is a term that indicates an essential life energy. It in essence, is the breath of life. It is responsible for the activity of the physical body, the emotional body, and the mind. When it is not present, what we considered alive, becomes a corpse.
In Chinese medicine the vital force is called Qi. In Indian and Yogic philosophy, the term that is used is prana. Both Chinese and Yogic philosophy acknowledge that the vital force/Qi/Prana flow through channels, or nadis.
Hahnemann, the founder of Homeopathy, described the vital force as an energy given off by the soul of the individual. He stated that, the vital force is the cause of well-being when it is harmonious, while it becomes the cause of disease when it is deranged, blocked, or disharmonious. In the Organon, Hahnemann describes how preparing substances homeopathically, amplifies the aspect of the substance that affects the vital force, in order to provoke a therapeutic response, which is then felt by the patient.
The notion that each living being has a Soul that enlivens and animates the flesh, through this vital, animating energy is a ubiquitous one. It has not yet been accepted by allopathic medicine.
If your vital force is in harmony, it is felt as a sense of peace and well-being. The mind is calm and clear. The body feels light and flexible. You have energy to accomplish things through the day. Sleep is sound and you feel refreshed in the morning. There is a sense of adaptability and you are able to tolerate foods, all types of weather, as well as all environments, situations, and people.
Homeopathy has an astounding historical record of success when treating infants to adolescents. Homeopathic remedies are extremely safe, even for newborns, medically fragile children.
The reasons homeopathy works so well for kids are:
- The remedies are effective for common, mild to severe illnesses that most families will have to address. In acute cases, children start showing signs of improvement within minutes to a couple of hours, when given the correctly indicated remedy.
- The remedies don’t taste bitter or unpleasant, and don’t require injections
- The vital force of most children is strong, and reacts to the appropriate remedy in a very short period of time.
The one issue of caution is to NOT GIVE REPEATED DOSES OF LOW POTENCY REMEDIES. The ‘X’ potencies, (1x, 2x, 3x), and low ‘C’ potencies (1c, 2c, 3c) still have some of the starting material in them, and therefore can be toxic. When administering remedies such as Belladonna, Aconite, Arsenicum, Nux vomica, etc. they should be given in 6c and higher, to be safe.
Fevers have been demonized in recent decades. They are seen as harbingers of seizures, hospitalization, and even death. People have been conditioned to suppress the mildest fever, using over the counter antipyretics, by a constant drumbeat of propaganda by pharmaceutically trained medical personnel.
The reality is that fevers are a sign of vitality and should only be addressed or treated when they are accompanied by other, more serious signs and symptoms that indicate involvement of the nervous system (ie unequal pupils, tic, tremors, seizures), are prolonged, or extreme malaise and lethargy.
Mild to moderate fevers that are not accompanied by complicating symptoms should be supported by water fasting or diluted broth, and rest. If anything should be done, hydrotherapy can be implemented. Giving food during a fever, especially when the patient has no appetite, can prolong the fever and illness. It is not advisable to give liquids with high concentrations of sugar during illness. Sugar suppresses the immune system and gives bacteria easy access to energy, that they use to continue proliferating.
Fever in children where the child is active and show no signs of lethargy or neurologic involvement, rarely need any form of intensive treatment.
Fevers help to ramp up the body’s immune system and help macrophages, neutrophils, and lymphocytes do their jobs more efficiently.
Fevers that spike very suddenly, remain elevated over 104 po (40c), or are accompanied by neurological symptoms should be addressed right away.
Other Areas of Interest….
The Organon of Medicine
Since Hahnemann’s time there have been many physicians who mastered homeopathy and used it to relieve untold suffering over the last 2 centuries.
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The simillimum is the homeopathic remedy that is given in the appropriate potency, and is the most similar remedy to the symptoms of the patient. It is the remedy that is considered curative.
Of the thousands of homeopathically prepared substances (remedies), most will cause no reaction of the vital force (no perceived symptomatic response or relief), and a handful will cause a brief amelioration of the patients symptoms. It’s the simillimum that the homeopath strives to find, in order to cure the patient.
An aggravation is a phenomenon that can happen after a correct or incorrect remedy is given. It can happen with all potencies. It is very likely to happen when a remedy is taken too frequently. The aggravation from a remedy can happen within minutes to days of taking a remedy, and its likelihood increases with each successive dose.
If you begin to experience an aggravation, it is always advisable to stop taking the remedy and wait. An aggravation can be an indication that the simillimum has been given. However, the simillimum will not always provoke an aggravation.
An aggravation can be followed by an improvement in symptoms, when the simillimum has been given. It can also be followed by a return to your symptomatic baseline when it is caused by a remedy that is not the simillimum.
There are things that can be done if the aggravation is intolerable or persists for too long.
Vital animism is a way of life where one acknowledges, feels, sees, and knows that all sentient beings are endowed with, and animated by a conscious, divine, benevolent, and wise force. This force is responsible for all activity. It is the doer of all things within sentient beings. We are able to perceive by it. It is the divine animating force of the Universe. Without it there is only Being. It is what manifests the phenomenon Lao Tzu refers to when he says,’ The Tao begot one. One begot two. Two begot three. And three begot the 10,000 things.’
The field and science of Homeopathy honors vital animism because both came about from the creation of all things, and both are governed by universal laws.
When we talk of holistic medicine, or a holistic way of seeing the human being, health, disease, and the process of healing we must strive to understand, honor, and utilize these laws and forces. In doing so, we find purpose. We find wisdom, and we act in a way that contributes to the welfare of all beings. When we allow our minds to fragment the innate unity of a human being and our connection to all things, we get deluded and lost in our own ignorance very easily.
We can deepen our understand of vital animism to the point where it becomes a living part of our inner, outer, and perspective reality. This is done through meditation, prayer, surrender, homeopathy, vision work, satsang (meeting or communing for the highest truth), etc. The path that is right for one, will not necessarily speak to another. Authenticity is an integral part of finding one’s way through life, into spirit, or towards home. It involves surrendering what you are actively holding onto, so your higher self can help you co-create your most authentic experience of existence. It also involves disengaging from and turning your back on what society is doing unconsciously and collectively. If you are going along with society, but it is in an unconscious way, and it isn’t in accordance with your inner song, you will feel powerless and unfulfilled. You can be authentic and be an integral part of society, but only when you are living in accordance with your inner voice and heart song.
From a holistic, vital animistic perspective, each of us have incarnated here to learn to heal as we walk our outer and inner path simultaneously.
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