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What
is Homeopathy 
Homeopathy
is a system of medicine that works by stimulating the body’s
natural tendency to heal itself. Homeopathy is based on the
principal of similars, or like cures like, meaning if a substance
is capable of promoting symptoms or disease, it is also capable
of curing them, when administered in infinitesimal or homeopathic
doses. Modern medicine, on the other hand, (for the most part)
believes in curing by opposites, or by counteracting or suppressing
the symptoms that the body produces. For example, antihistamine
for allergies, antacids for digestive problems, antibiotics
for infection, antidepressants for depression, and so on. In
homeopathy the patient is given a substance that can produce
the same symptoms in a healthy person.
Here
are some examples of what treating by “similars” means:
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Drinking
coffee stimulates our nervous system and can cause insomnia.
Coffee, in a homeopathic form, is capable of calming the
nervous system and enhancing natural sleep.
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Crude sulphur, if touched, can irritate the skin causing
burns, itching and blemishes. Sulphur, in a homeopathic
form, is a powerful skin remedy. It can cure many
skin disorders.
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Magnesium
Sulphate (Epsom Salts) is used to relieve constipation.
Magnesium Sulphate, in a homeopathic form, relieves diarrhea.
Homeopathy
is based on the model of the human body that includes an energy
field or "vital force".
As
we know from modern physics, our seemingly solid bodies are dense
fields of energy. A disturbance in this field can give rise to
disease, and a potent form of energy can help the body restore
its health.
What
are the Remedies Made of
Homeopathic
remedies are made of natural sources such as:
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Botanical
sources (flowers, trees, roots, nuts, seeds, etc.)
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Mineral
sources (phosphorus, arsenic, mercury, marble, silver, gold,
etc.)
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Animal
sources (insect poisons, snake venoms, spider poisons, ink
sprayed by squid, etc.)
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Microorganisms
that cause diseases (viruses, etc.)
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Some
remedies and the
symptoms they cure
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Click
on
any
picture to
see the
cure
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Aconite
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Apis
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Arnica
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Belladonna
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Chamomila |
Hypericum |
Phosphorus
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Pulsatilla
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Sulphur |
Remedy
Preparation
In
preparing the remedies these substances are diluted many times
(from 3 to 100,000 and more) to create different potencies
or dosages. Between each dilution, the remedies are
vigorously shaken in order to bring out the “energy” of the
substance. This process of diluting and shaking is called
“potentization”. After multiple dilutions, no trace
of the original substance is left, while the vigorous shakings
bring out the essence or “energy” of the substance.
The remedies, therefore are in “energy” form. Surprisingly,
the more times the remedy is diluted the stronger it becomes!
It
is difficult to believe, but true, that a substance diluted
and shaken to a dilution of 1 in 100,000 parts still acts
to cure disease quickly, permanently, and without side effects!!!
In
homeopathy less is more, meaning the smaller the dose the
bigger the effect. This concept has been very difficult
for non-homeopathic scientists to accept, and is new in traditional
pharmacology, where the accepted doctrine is the more of the
drug, the bigger the effect.
How Does Homeopathy Work
In
order to understand how homeopathy works on a scientific level,
one must undertake studies of Quantum Physics. However,
here is a simple explanation.
Modern
research has proved that there is an active electromagnetic
field permeating every living organism, and everything exists
in a state of vibration. This field changes intensity
when we experience emotional changes, ingest food, alcohol
or drugs, as well as when we become ill. When disease producing
stimulus (virus, bacteria, stress, trauma) affects this field,
the electromagnetic field undergoes a great change in vibration
rate. The defense mechanism is called into action, producing
physical, mental or emotional changes, better known as symptoms.
Symptoms are your defense mechanism’s best effort to heal
and restore the integrity of the electromagnetic field.
Depending
on what condition or disease one has, the energy vibration
rate will be different. The task of the homeopath is
to find the one substance (homeopathic remedy) whose “vibration
rate” most closely matches that of the patient during illness.
In
his book “Homeopathy: Medicine of the New Man” world renowned
Homeopath, George Vithoulkas explains the results of matching
the remedy with the patient:
“When
this happens, a phenomenon occurs which is well known to physicists
and engineers as “resonance”. Just as one tuning fork
can stimulate vibration of another of identical frequency,
so the remedy enhances the vibration rate of the patient’s
electromagnetic field. This increases the patient’s
electromagnetic field at precisely the frequency needed to
bring about a cure”.
The
homeopathic remedy which matches the patient’s energy vibration
is referred to as the Constitutional Remedy. Giving
a patient their constitutional remedy is called Constitutional
Treatment.
Constitutional
Treatment
Many
times I have heard people complain about their health and
it sounds like this:
“He
smoked like a chimney, drank like a fish, was never sick a
day in his life, and lived to be 95. I exercise every
day, eat right, never smoke and I still get 3 colds every
year. It’s not fair!”
The
reason for this lies in the “constitution”. The person
who can abuse their body and still live a long and healthy
life has a strong constitution. The constitution is
a person’s genetic blueprint; their inherited state of physical,
mental and emotional health. Thus constitutional treatment
in homeopathy means administering the one remedy that can
address all of the person’s ailments and improve their general
health – strengthen their constitution.
Constitutional treatment is best suited for treating chronic
illnesses/ conditions.
Homeopathy
Treats the Person-Not the Disease
Disease labels (e.g. Endometriosis, Crohn’s disease, etc.)
are not important to a homeopath, except that they tell us
which organ is affected or malfunctioning. Diseases
and symptoms don’t exist in isolation. They are a reflection
of how a person as a whole is coping with their reality (stresses
in life). Homeopaths look beyond the label of the disease,
to the totality of the symptoms experienced by the patient.
It is the patient that needs the treatment, not the disease.
The same disease is expressed differently in each person.
Let’s take depression as an example. One person may
overeat when depressed, while another loses their appetite.
Similarly, one person may oversleep when depressed, while
another can’t sleep at all. In homeopathy even the smallest
detail about the person is significant in finding the correct
remedy; your favourite position to sleep in, what side of
your head your headache started on, in what direction did
the pain travel, the quality of the pain you are experiencing
(shooting, stabbing, throbbing, dull, aching, etc.)
History
of Homeopathy 
The
principles of homeopathy have been part of medical practice
for centuries. The origins of homeopathic thought date
back to Hypocrites (470-400 B.C.) also known as the “Father
of Medicine”. Hippocrates believed that there are two
ways of treating disease; the way of “opposites” and the way
of “similars”. His observations on the cure by “similars”
were not followed by the mainstream medical community and
lay dormant for centuries.
Paracelsus
(1493-1541) a Swiss physician, also believed in treating by
“similars”. In the 16th century Paracelsus
wrote “sames must be cured by sames”. He believed that
the poison that caused disease can also cure it. He
was regarded as a radical by his colleagues for administering
“poisons” to his patients. Again, his observations on
the cure by “similars” lay dormant for another 200 years.
In
the late 18th century, German physician Samuel
Hahnemann (1755-1843) rediscovered the principle of homeopathy
and developed it into a medical science. Hahnemann experimented
on himself by taking different natural substances while he
was healthy. He discovered that when he took small doses
of the chinchona bark (from a tree that grows in South America
and contains the drug quinine) he developed the symptoms of
malaria. At the time, this drug was successfully used
to treat malaria. Hahnemann noted that since the chinchona
bark produced malaria symptoms in him (a healthy person) it
must be healing malaria patients by stimulating their natural
healing tendencies.
Hahnemann
continued to experiment with different substances, discovering
that every substance he took, whether it was a herb, animal
product, or mineral, produced unique set of symptoms affecting
the body, mind and emotions. These experiments were
called “provings”, and it was through carefully administered
provings that Hahnemann identified the character of each homeopathic
medicine. Hahnemann went on to treat patients with “similars”
with excellent results.
Today,
homeopathy is the second most common form of medical science
practiced in the world. It is very popular in Europe,
Asia (especially India) and South America. In fact, the physician
to the British Royal Family is a homeopathic doctor.
Homeopathy is becoming increasingly more popular in North
America due to growing awareness of drug side-effects and
risks of surgery.
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