I need help from you guys, my learned Bulletin Board pals....I'm going to be visiting my medically conservative relatives this weekend--weather permitting--and every year they ask me, What are you doing with yourself nowadays? And I always say, "Oh, nothing...." And quite frankly, I'm tired of sounding like a complete idiot! So, I've tried imagining explaining homeopathy to these people, some of whom are doctors; so, I was going over in my mind exactly what it was that Hahnemann contributed to medical knowledge; and it really isn't just another form of therapy, is it? As in, "You can use herbs, or you can use vitamins, or you can use homeopathy...." It's not so much that he discovered homeopathy, it's that he discovered the principles of healing and disease that apply regardless of what medical practice you use.

For example, so-called real doctors actually believe that a local disease is a local disease; but, somehow Hahnemann figured out that the body consigns an internal malady to an external part to protect the vital organs and serve as a "substitute" for the internal disease. So, along comes the allopath and removes the local disease, Viola!
Now the internal disease is awakened! A strong vital force will try to throw it back out to the periphery, where it will undoubtedly again be removed! At some point the medical profession will win and the patient will die.

Hering's Law, that healing takes place from the inside out, is probably an experience the allopath has never known!

Hahnemann's discoveries are so many, I sometimes think I haven't gotten them in order in my mind.

I just need some help here. How would you explain Hahnemann's importance to medically conservative relatives?

Snoopy

[ 14 August 2001: Message edited by: Snoopy ]

Snoopy, you might site that Hahnemann's importance in medicine is that his method hasn't had to go on to second, third and forth generation preparations because the last, newest and greatest antibiotic (or surgery or whatever) has lost it's effectiveness. Or that his medicine, unlike allopthy, isn't outdated within five years of being touted as the newest and the best. How great a contribution is that! Enduring.

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Sometimes on Earth, you can find something that resembles a little piece of Heaven. And sometimes on Earth, a little piece of Heaven can find you.

I love gpm's point, and your description, Snoopy, is clear and even the MC should be able to get it, but, they don't want to.

A therapist once told me that, more than being loved, people want to be understood. It's natural for you to want to feel "known" by your relatives, but, given that they are part of the establishment you are automatically in a defensive position. I guess I'm saying that, how and what you say probably doesn't matter. You can't win, they have too much to lose. If, however, you want to have a good rip-roaring fight with them, go for it!

Of course, I'm looking forward to some insightful, educational responses to your query.

Contenta

This is a good topic. First I think you must seperate the arguments for or against homeopathy from whatever family issues you may have with your relatives. They may have you frozen in a role and their perception of you is fixed. That may be the crux of the issue not the validity of homeopathy in light of modern biomedicine or whatever you may be persuing in your life. No matter what the topic is there any winning? You may be sucseptible to an old family "dance." If you are "stuck" on these issues then it is part of your homeopathic picture. If this is not the case your actions of the past are the mark of a wise person, go have a slice of watermelon with a niece of nephew. (a child's love can be so unconditional)

If on the other hand your relatives are nonjudgemental, open, loving, respectful and intertested in you, you will have a great discussion. And from the sound of your post you are already off to a good start.

It is important to note where Hahnemann falls into scientific history. During his time there were loads of theory based on nothing more then armchair speculation. (paragraph 1) Hahnemann like Jenner (of Cowpox fame) were able to advance science by basing everything on empiricism, that is to say you have to shutup and observe and then formulate an opinion based on the observed facts. Later in the 1820's the statistical method of the Paris School became in vogue and did much to dispel the use of veinisection, leetching etc. simply because they SAW it did nothing except kill the patient. Yet many allopaths continued in these ways. (science does not equal medicine)However, now science is based on contoling and manipulating variables on a molecular level in great satistical populations. We have lost the bigger picture, the human body, spirit and mind. Is Hahnemann's empiricism invalid? I don't think so.

I had a professor in college tell me that science is the way to organize and ask questions about life so that we can get answers. Our questions should come from our awe and amazement of life. He tought biochemistry. so with that in mind your relatives can not lord over you and crush your beliefs simply because they are members of the accepted paridigm (or should I say hegemony) and call themselves scientific. Everything is open to discussion and not everything is known, that is why we have science.

[ 14 August 2001: Message edited by: Craig Repasz ]

<<<In my experience, arguing the merits of homeopathy with closed minded MDs is as fruitless as arguing about politics or religion - much effort is expended and no minds are changed.>>>

Totally agreed!! The best one is a famous paediatric doctor friend of my sister's who had a motor accident near her home and came back to her house where he had left from. I offered him an Arnica for his bruised head etc. which his nirse wife urged him to accept. He said that there was nothing wrong with him and he didn't need anything. He also refused an aspirin or to go for an X ray!! Now there is a good case for Arnica!!! He has even spoken against homeopathy on the radio in his country. I love giving him the Society of Homeaopath's Journal to read!!!!!

[ 15 August 2001: Message edited by: Ricky ]

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RSHom - Registered Homeopath

Oh my God, Ricky, that really was a perfect Arnica case! It would have been really funny if you had made a water potency and offered a sip of "water"; and after he recovered saying, "I feel great!" you could say, "I know; you took Arnica!"

Snoopy

Most of the doctors I work with just shrug Homeopathy off as the 'placebo' effect- you know that thing that happens when the body heals itself (ha ha)
Thought you might like this joke-

St Peter was approached by an anxious looking man at the gates of heaven-' You must let me in I'm DR JONES!'
'Go to the back of the queue like everyone else'
'But I'm a DOCTOR- let me in !'
'I told you go to the back of the queue like everyone else'
Dr Jones goes to the back of the queue and eventually is admitted to the kingdom of Heaven.
Just then he hears a commotion at the gate-
'But you must let me in I'M DR. SMITH!' he hears.
Any way he watches as Dr Smith eventually goes to the end of the queue and is allowed in in his turn.
As the 2 doctors chat inside the gate - they notice a guy with a white coat on talking to St Peter and he lets him straight in - no waiting!

They approach St Peter and ask ' who was that man you just let straight in ?'

'Oh him' says St Peter- 'That's God - he sometimes thinks he's a Doctor !!'

Well, I do declare that my favourite misconception is that "Arnica is just collagen" one. You'd have to be creatively endowed to come up with that one, so I'm planning to celebrate that person's efforts at open mindedness by telling all skeptics I meet the same thing.

Snoop, this situation is just like going to Thanksgiving dinner with the family when you're the only vegetarian. Every one asks you "about" vegetarianism, but it becomes pretty clear no one wants to know anything about it--they all just want to challenge you on it because they think you're flaky and have jumped on some bandwagon. Finally, someone pours gravy all over the potatoes and corn on your plate, and aims for the cranberries when you try to content yourself with eating that, too...and you realize they're all just a little threatened by what they perceive to be "a stance" on your part.

Save your breaths....you are only allotted so many in this life!! Tell people you are enjoying your leisure creatively with studies of ancient texts and botany. They'll be green with envy.

Divina

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...and deliverance has many faces<br />but grace<br />is an aquaintance of mine

Thanks Divina and all,

But here's a specific question and maybe you can answer it for me.

We all know how important our theory of gonorrhea is to homeopathy. The MD's think it's a local disease that goes away with antibiotics.

Our theory is that gonorrhea is a systemic disease that the vital force consigns to the periphery as a discharge. When the antibiotics stop the discharge, the internal disease awakens and we all know the life-long results.

My question is, why are the antibiotics able to stop the discharge--presumably they've killed the organisms--but not able to cure the systemic disease? And how do we prove that this sinusitis or that asthma, etc., is really systemic gonorrhea that exists only courtesy of the antibiotics?

Good luck in answering this one,

Snoopy

1. The antibiotics are just supressing the gonorrhoea

2. To prove it give Medorrhinum in potency and it should get rid of the sinusitis etc!!

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RSHom - Registered Homeopath