Saturday, February 7, 2009

What is Homeopathy?

Through the years I have concentrated on many techniques of healing with herbs and natural energy and Homeopathy is one such technique that is very effective. It does not contradict the rules of natural medicine, yet it seems closer to the western medical techniques known as allopathy. Allopathic medicine is that medical art which is practiced by medical doctors in the United States and governed by the American Medical Association. I am neither skilled nor certified in this form of medicine and only mention it to acquaint the reader with the term "allopathic" or "allopathy" for reference throughout this text. Your normal doctor in the United States practices allopathy or allopathic medicine.

As I said, Homeopathy seems to be close in some respects to allopathic medicine practiced by every doctor in the United States. It only seems that there is a similarity between homeopathy and allopathy; actually Homeopathy is not only a complete art of medicine but is different in that it truly uses the energy and spirit of mankind (and animal) to heal and cure. Furthermore, it is vastly different to allopathic medicine in that it allows the body to heal itself with laws of illness and healing that reach back to the beginning of recorded history.

The first recorded use of homeopathic principles was from Hippocrates (the father of medicine and the Hippocratic Oath followed by allopathic doctors). Its basic tenants were even discovered and written about in ancient India. Most of its foundation though was not discovered until a German chemist and medical doctor tirelessly reconstructed the primary rules of its use and built an entire homeopathic medical system within his lifetime. This man was Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843).

Homeopathy is often confused with holistic medicine. Holistic medicine is treating the total body of an individual. Homeopathy treats the body holistically, but it is applied in a specific manner. So Homeopathy is holistic, but holistic medicine is not homeopathic. This is because holistic medicine does not necessarily follow the strict rules of homeopathy.

Homeopathy began in about 1795 through the sheer genius of Samuel Hahnemann. His genius is not really recognized today, but if you bother to study his writings it will become immediately obvious. There are several reasons that homeopathic medicine is neither well known nor practiced as widely as it once was in the United States. And one reason is NOT that it is inferior to any known medical art such as allopathy. In many ways I believe that homeopathy is far superior to allopathic medicine. I will only dwell on two points as to why homeopathy is not among your choices of medicine today.

1. Homeopathy was once the smart choice of medicine for most of Europe and the United States. It flourished in the 1800's with over 20,000 doctors in the U.S.A, but ran into some major stumbling blocks. The first stumbling block was more from bad luck and timing. Hahnemann created levels of this medical system as his understanding of its nature grew through tireless experimentation and amazing intelligence. His final revision of this medical science came in the last ten years of his life. He had perfected this medical art to a fine degree and wrote down his most brilliant findings, only to die before they were published. These writings were basically lost until the 1920's and by then the medical science of Homeopathy was based upon his earlier and less refined research. Homeopathic doctors of the time were driven out by the American Medical Association (AMA) due to a lack of its understanding by the allopathic community. It wasn't that homeopathy even in its early revisions didn't work or didn't work amazingly well… it was just that there was a considerable divide in patient treatment between homeopathy and allopathy. Also, there seemed to have been some ego involved in the decision by the AMA to discredit Homeopathy. It was not until the 1950's/1960's that doctors looked back at Hahnemann's last works and realized its new potential (rediscovering it a full 100 years after his death). In the last thirty years, homeopathy has been gaining some resurgence, but there is still a lack of drive to read and learn the last works of Hahnemann (possibly from sheer laziness!)

2. The second reason that Homeopathy does not have a significant place at the medical "table" is that it requires no special chemical medications that pharmaceutical companies can develop, patent, and profit from. Adopting Homeopathy would surely change western economies as it is based upon remedies found in nature. It is also based on curing the patient rather than easing symptoms of illness and it takes more time in dealing with patients. Allopathic medicine seems to be based almost entirely on easing symptoms (palliation) rather than curing illness (much to the dismay of medical doctors) and most doctors are not willing to spend more than ten minutes to diagnose an illness. It is just my opinion, but when was the last time you, a family member, a friend or acquaintance was "cured" by allopathic medicine? And I don't mean that they were cured as long as they took their medicine or removed another organ! When was the last time the allopathic doctor spent more than ten minutes with you and took some interest in how you really feel? That will change when you discover homeopathy.

Please take some time and read through this weblog. If you are so inclined to fully research this medical art, you will never regret it. That is a promise.

3 comments:

  1. I look forwards to reading your blog and other web pages.
    I have used homeopathy from the age of about ten and it will always remain my choice of medical recourse.
    But I most admire the way it is in India for one of the greatest things in this school is it's "stingy" use of resources and thus most of the homeopaths in India used to be those who offered their services for free. Any good thing in life should be available to all, even the poorest.
    In such clinics a box is kept on the table and those who want can put in some money-never was there any compulsion but I doubt any of the homeopaths died of starvation.
    The pay as you please policy is a really good method.
    Also most of the doctors in India have to go through a very rigorous five year course and many of their teachers come form the mainstream medical college so their knowledge is thorough.

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  2. Without the Indian revival of homeopathy, I think that a lot (most) of the information on homeopathy would surely have been lost. Due to Jain Publishing (India), most anyone can find a whole host of old homeopathic texts.

    I am aware of the requirements for Doctors of Homeopathy in India. It is as thorough as it gets anywhere. I think you will find that my posts will diverge a bit from the way you have seen homeopathy practiced though. Many of the schools around the world still teach from older texts that were later revised by Hahnemann before his death. There are some significant differences in his last writings that are not well understood or used today. I welcome your views on how you have learned homeopathy and those differences you encounter in this blog (if any). Thank you for the comments.

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  3. I am looking forward to following your blog. I am treating my dog with the assistance/guidance of a CVH (certified veterinary homeopath) and have been amazed by the progress we've made. As a result I have an appointment for myself with a homeopathic doctor and plan on continuing my health care in this manner.

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