Preparations
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Schemes of the Homeopathic Lore
Dr. Boericke grades his symptoms. They are either strongly indicated - and then they are put in italics - or just "indicated" (see his Myrica entry above). Clarke dropped symptom gradings and listed too much, some may think.What did I do to come up with the Essence Materia Medica,as we may call it?
- We selected the strongly indicated symptoms (according to me) and in a separate survey they are even graded in four groups. And it is possible to try out everything.
- This also says that I did not take the trouble to include mild guiding symptoms of preparations, and there are some very good reasons for not doing it.
- We found it fit to stick to the general layout of Dr. Boericke; it is convenient. Also, like him I dispensed with numbering the entries.
- Neither Dr. Boericke nor I inform much about provings of preparations. You may consult Dr. Clarke for that.
- It seemed fit to be somewhat inclusive: In the overall design I chose, ordinary homeopathic preparations stand side by side with other, similar or identical preparations: all may be called essence preparations.
The Essence Preparation Description is thus:
- General application is found after the Aimed at;
- What the preparation could work for, or promote is found under Evincing;
- What ailments it may be tried against is specified under the heading Adieu to. The general Hahnemann scheme of arranging items is made use of at this level; it is there between the lines.
- Peculiarites about what conditions (climate, etc.) can help or worsen a person's state, are called "modalities" in common homeopathy, and are used for choosing fit preparations far and wide. For some preparations such peculiarites are given, for some none are given.
A new MAE WEST REMEDY GUIDE (it can also be called the Essence Repertory) is being prepared alongside with this. There you look up symptoms. And if you find strong symptoms in it, - at least two or three of them - look at the preparations for these guiding symptoms. It may happen that two or three preparations are found for each trouble (symptom). If so, it is perfectly legal to try all three at a time. Others hold stricter views, even notorious views in such matters: They try to find just one preparation for each person, and very often it cannot be done. One or two preparations at a time tend to be common.
In choosing the preparations, go for the strongest, most severe symptoms that you are aware of, as they surface. Study the preparation or preparations that contain these guiding symptoms. That is what the Materia Medica (List of Preparations with their guiding symptoms) is for, basically. Have this tiny ranking list uppermost in mind when you survey the preparation you hope could yield help:
- Mind symptoms weigh the most. Feelings are included among them.
- Peculiarities: Oddities or particular guiding symptoms come second on the ranking list when you are to choose preparations.
- Physical troubles: Severe or marked body symptoms are further down on the ranking list. And you may drop them for flower essences, as you like. I for my part would like to peek into that too, but do as you please.
- Give clear mind symptoms 4 points each
- Give "low-mind" emotions 4
- Give oddities (peculiar symptoms or special features) 3 - 5 points each.
- Give the other strong symptoms 2 points each.
Choosing the Preparations
"Aversion to medical diagnosis" is quite a guiding symptom to old
homeopathy
YOU ASSESS the guiding symptoms and rank them as shown earlier. Here is more
information to that end, and it draws on guidelines from Dr. Samuel Hahnemann. In his
Organon § 104 and 152 there are many explicit directions.- In finding the suitable preparation or preparations, learn to consider the whole set of symptoms first, and pay particular attention certain concomitants - the particular troubles - in any case.
- The term modalities comes next. In preparation descriptions they refer to explicit changes occurring both in a disease picture and the guiding symptoms of preparations. Cravings and aversions to such as various foods help in deciding assist in selecting a preparation. Cravings and aversions are modalities, or modifiers; Modalities inform about such as periodical returns of certain ailmens, at what time or hour of the day symptoms or persons are better or worse, and much else.
As for medical diagnosis, it may come in handy, but according to homeopathic theory, preparations are selected differently: by assessing "thoroughly mapped" ailments and being very specific about details in any concrete case. The two ways may complement each other, however. For example, in any concrete case the medical diagnosis should serve to leave out of consideration the homeopathic preparations that hardly match the symptoms of the disease.
For sure, medical diagnosis may assist.
It is further thought that some diseases can be nipped in the bud by well selected preparations. Once we know the complete disease picture, we may select homeopathic preparations that conform to the whole set of disease symptoms and the budding forms and facets of that disease.
By some, pathological observations and explanations may not be thought to be of much value in this sort of existential therapy, but, as hinted at above, they deserve to be reckoned with in the selection of preparation.
A wealth of examples of poisoning oneself and others by steps and
taking notes of that!
WE ARE to observe the peculiarities of the disease as we can. Changes of
personality and temperament are thought to be of special value, and need to be well
marked, especially when striking. Also, intellectual and moral proclivities serve as
indications for mental affections.It is quite to select the right preparation if there exists a well-drawn "picture" or "map" of it. By matching such a map with the person's various symptoms, a helpful preparation can be found, or a good choice may be made between different preparations.
One should ascertain the seat of the local disease quite accurately, and stick to finding preparations for striking or singular symptoms, as mentioned earlier.
Then there is the topic of poisonings. In its earlier phases, homeopathy was based on self-poisoning and poisoning of others by certain rigid provings. The accumulated symptoms were written down in schemes. John Henry Clarke's Dictionary furnishes a wealth of examples of it. One of the old homeopathic theories is that "like cures like". Some like it in Latin, similia similibus curentur: "similars cure similiars". If I am not mistaken, it can be quite a freak teaching. Two examples may do so far:
- Lead is a heavy metal. It accumulates in the organism and brings on paralysis and death when enough toxic effects have been reached. If homeopathic lead helps, does it help the organism to get rid of its accumulated lead? How can these things be explained?
- Many homeopathic preparations have not been selected on the basis of the "like cure like" program at all. And that program looks shaky to me.
Can homeopathic Technesium 99 keep us healthy with Technesium 99 in our bodies, or does it help the organism in getting rid of it? The same goes for lead and a long row of other metals that the body ordinarly does not (easily) get rid of unaided. I think we could need some research along these lines, for I do not like to believe without evidence, do not like just being told instead of finding out of things.
So far it has been established that "choice should be made from among preparations with the closest guiding symptoms all over". ¤
It helps to be quickly able to choose among preparations. Many things help. To know about diseases helps to, since they are quite dynamic, and may come in more than just one single "shape". Hence it is said in homeopathy that "Much depends upon a knowledge of the cause (Anamnesis) of disease."
Much also depends on perceiving and understanding the implications of symptoms. Many different diseases have some symptoms in common, others not. Diagnosis work helps in assessing what could be what, and diagnosis work is far from easy.
Something very, very different can be fit for prevention far and wide
too
IN FORMER and classic homeopathy one learns to examine and judge symptoms at
surface levels, forming a picture on top of that, and comparing it to preparation descriptions,
aiming for a closely matching preparation - or two or three. Assessing particular diseases as
diagnosed and described by the medical profession at large, is said to be much unrelated.
This means that strict, classic homeopathy is very different from ordinary medicine in
some basic ways. Still, the two ways may be used hand in hand, in complementary manner.
Let us do that.Ordinary homeopathy further deals with recognizing types (personalities) and corresponding preparations. Such "types" are in fact the guiding symptoms of a score or so of much used preparations. Some, like me, drop those "preparation personality types" altogether. Instead the focus is on guiding symptoms that are striking, extraordinary, and peculiar (characteristic) inside the whole set of guiding symptoms, as said above.
Homeopathic preparations can also be used for prevention of diseases. This old use is
called homeopathic prophylaxis. It is said that preparations that cure the fully developed
diseases will protect exposed persons. ¤If a classic homeopath finds no peculiar symptoms, he may refuse to try to select homeopathic preparations. But general knowledge of diseases and troubles help in such work. I think the homeopath should try that part of the whole gamut too, for in my experience such work offers considerable help. (7)
How do essence preparations work, if they do?
If and how well they work, depend on several factors. One is the nature of the disease, and the other is the degree of matching between it and various aspects of the preparations you take.It seems reasonable to expect that homeopathic preparations and essence preparations can help you only where psychosomatics is involved. Psychosomatic "mechanisms" are involved in more than half of all common medical problems, according to estimates from the medical profession. Hence, half of the physical problems may be helped - more or less so. This stands to reason because:
- Physical ailments may be wholly or partly caused (co-caused) by psychosomatics, which includes stress.
- Mind preparations do not deal with physical symptoms directly, as they contain no physiologically active ingredients except sugar, alcohol and/or water, generally.
- By good optimism (curative faith). Faith is active in placebo cures. In fact, up to 70 percent or so of a cure could be due to the placebo effect. It often shows up when medicines are tested according to good testing standards.
- To the degree that mind preparations have effects of their own, independently of any placebo effect, they can assist the mind by placing "structured data" deep inside in somewhat mysterious ways. Such information is proposedly taken in by imbibing the preparation, or putting it on the skin in certain places, and so on.
In not a few cases a typical cure round consists in looking up fit preparations, decide potencies and dosage according to fixed schemes, and hope that it works. If the helpful effects of the preparations (or the faith) seems to wear off, it could be time for a new cure round. And if there is more to go for, another round could be well too. In some such cases the potency is to be increased first, before another preparation (name) is tried out. One may strive one's way up to the CM (100.000c) potency, and then decide anew.
B. The Preparation Lore
- Good matching: There is to be a good match between the illnesses or disturbed patterns inside on the one hand, and the chosen preparations on the other.
- Potency: There is the question of homeopathic potency. Some say you may "shoot too high" if youy use strong potencies (over 1000c) for minor, acute ailments, for example. Study the sourcebooks of homeopathy, and you may come up no wiser, as the leading homeopaths do not always agree, after all. Use this as the guiding rule, then: For minor and acute ailments, use low potencies (c6 and upwards to c100, for example). For quite long-lasting and severe difficulties, medium or high potencies (D100 or 100x upward to about 50.000c) could fit. For still worse conditions one may try the highest potencies.
- Dosage: The dosage is to be linked to the potency, in that high potencies normally are taken more seldom than low potencies.
- Repetitions and follow-ups: These matters depend on many factors. If you are well after an "essence cure attempt", there may or may not be a real need for repetitons and follow-ups. However: (a) If the aim is to get harmonized, and there is much stress, some more preparations could prevent further mischief. (b) An other aim could be to evolve certain positive qualities further, if possible. Some use homeopathic and flower essences for that too.
On the coming pages I am quite pleased to present a bundle of ESSENTIAL PREPARATIONS. They include, hopefully, only very helpful guiding symptoms. The somewhat weaker indicators of many preparation works are not included, because in actual practice (a) they are hardly used, and (b) perhaps do not show of much value. There are very good reasons for thinking so. One of them is that if all the physical troubles associated with all the current preparations are considered, finding a preparation could take days and more. And even if computers were to deal with it, they might not be able to select a few preparations well without ranking or weighing of the preparations. The homeopathic tradition has found it fit to rank the guiding symptoms much in tune with the little scheme I have supplied above.
In using such principles - there are others to consider too - you are free to try and see whether the listed essences and preparations help.
Do not ignore that they and yourself should have proper conditions, in case.
I'll try anything once, twice if I like it, three times to make sure. [Mae West]You may want to try out Essence Preparations more than that - it is up to you.
Final Mentions So Far
THERE ARE inner and outer troubles, including failing to be genuinely oneself in
lots of ways. Unfit, unsavoury conformity takes care of the rest.
Why knowledge of all-round, jovial self-expression could help
Living is not easy. Soundness and development into soundness can be counteracted by what may be called bad conformism, hard-hearted schemes, measures and strides not fully worthy of humans. To live well it is also necessary to have the "fuel" needed for overcoming rigid barriers and defences of others.What potentised preparations may do
In recent decades the preparations have been linked to findings of information theory, and are accordingly considered as information carriers that could influence mind and body (a unit) for short-term good (or longer) through what may be called "psychosomatic" influence; for example, more than 50% of all common physical ailments are now considered to be psychosomatic, according to conservative estimates in the medical field.Thus, I won't say there isn't hope.
Put to use
POTENTISED preparations may be put to use for such as:- Developmental attempts.
- Assisting self-cure attempts.
- Presumably assisting to combat stress and uncongenial influence that overwhelms, perhaps by taking the "top" of it during too harsh periods.
- Stimulating the organism to cure itself from inside somehow. There is more than one way.
- Feigning.
- Etc.
Most of these listings of preparations and what they could do for you, are gleaned from Dr. William Boericke's Materia Medica [Mab]. The information from the Boerickes is usually not marked out. Information from Dr. Clarke's Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica is also included, and quite often marked by a capital C, for example like this: (C).
Besides I have drawn on many other main works of homeopathy, and myown findings of three decades. A slash [/] is used to mark such material.
The foremost aim has been to render significant guiding symptoms that go
with each preparation.
In principle, that should work very well if the gradings are true and the findings are significant and
confirmable . . . Be that as it may, our gradings refer to how well preparations seem to match symptoms, and there is room (scope) for some variation. However,
Preparation Designs
Typical Design of a Preparation Description
On other pages you may find graphic descriptions of many homeopathic preparations and some other selected preparations. The descriptions take off from standard descriptions, and focus on the most salient points according to our findings. A few additions have been made too, in order to make the descriptions "sit".The following survey scheme is used by the famous Dr. Clarke in his three-volumed set, and the order of items goes all the way back to Dr. Samuel Hahnemann:
Dr. Clarke
"If some are inclined to object that I have included too many," Dr. Clarke says in his preface to the three-volumed work, "I reply that my work is a dictionary, and I have never yet found a dictionary that explained too many words."About a thousand preparations are shown in Dr. Clarke's work, which is still sold throughout the world. Clarke was an editor and consulting physician to the London Homeopathic Hospital, was one of the most active homeopaths in England. He pulled together Allen's Encyclopedia, Hering's Guiding Symptoms, and Hale's New Preparations, and the result is said to be the most detailed homeopathic reference. Hallmarks include:
- Its preparation symptoms are listed according to the Hahnemann schema, as mentioned above.
- Unlike Boericke, Clarke chose not to grade the symptoms, since he had so often found his symptom indications were not according to it.
- Clarke also informs whether the homeopathic drugs hae been subjected to so-called provings or not.
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Literature
Ad: Clarke, John Henry: A Dictionary of Practical Materia Medica. 3 vols. London: The Homeopathic Publishing Company, 1900 (vol 1) and 1902 (vols 2 and 3).
Ams: Atkinson, Richard et al: Introduction to Psychology. 9th ed. San Diego: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1987.
Hi: Smith, Carolyn D. (ed) et al.: Hilgard's Introduction to Psychology. 14th ed. Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth, 2003.
Arom: Holland, Earle. Aromatherapy may make you feel good, but it won't make you well. 2008. Research Communications. 3 March 2008. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University. http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/aromathe.htm
Lnp: Lindahl, Olof and Lindwall, Lars: Lægevidenskaben i nyt perspektiv. Reitzel. Copenhagen, 1979.
Lpv: Schelderup, Vilhelm. Legekunsten på nye veier: akupunktur - biofysikk - helhetsmedisin. Oslo: Cappelen, 1980.
Mab: Boericke, William and Oscar: Homeopathic Materia Medica. 9th ed. Philadelphia: Boericke and Runyon, 1927.
Nlm: Schelderup, Vilhelm. Nytt lys på medisinen. Oslo: Cappelen, 1989.
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