May the Force Be with You
Homoeopathy and acupuncture are ‘holistic’ and ‘vitalistic’ therapies, aimed to correct a disturbed ‘chi’ ‘vital force’ ‘subtle energy’. Really it is a way of thinking and being, not the pill or the needle placement but how it is used, the intention.
Acupuncture can be traditional Chinese where the meridian energy flows are seriously considered and end-result symptoms are attributed to deviations, weaknesses and blockages in flow with treatment aimed at normalising the flow. Acupuncture can also be found using symptomatic points for pain relief and a variety of symptoms without consideration of the deeper picture.
Homoeopathy has filtered down to us through the last century in two streams, the esoteric school of Dr Kent, of Dr Dorothy Shepherd, Dr Marjorie Blackie, Martin Miles and others and the conventional low potency usage of Dr Hughes which uses particular remedies for particular symptoms .
The Speights, Leslie and Phyllis, were of this persuasion. They worked tirelessly in homoeopathy all their long lives doing lots of good and we were lucky enough to exchange correspondence with them and receive instructive guidance on our own books and courses.
Differences apart, the truth is that homoeopathy is at its heart a vitalist therapy. Remedies are messages. And the intended recipient is the simple substance, that which can only be known by its effects on the material world.
The guiding principles acknowledge that their is a driver at the wheel of the car who needs the treatment. If we just press off the red light when it comes on or remove it then the problem will still be there just not irritating us and will probably makes itself shown in another way. If we treat the driver then he will do everything for us. As Dr Blackie wrote, Treat the Patient, Not the Disease’.
The human body is a masterpiece of feedback loops and messages. One could almost imagine the hypothalamus as a busy telephone exchange sending and receiving messages and adjusting constantly, allowing for intelligent response to incoming impressions. Remembering that incoming impressions are ‘added to’ by the memory systems that tend to see things as they have been mapped by previous experiences and information. The opening questioning mind can be so helpful here. Meditation and remedies are excellent means of writing a new message and a new healing chapter.
Herbert Benson’s book on The Relaxation Response is a guide to the workings of the autonomic system showing that stress response affects every cell of the body through a series of interactive processes and it is easy to see how diverse symptoms can arise from these processes. Consider the direct symptoms of stress – increased heart rate, decreased digestion, increased perspiration, blood sugar moved to muscles, pale skin, rapid breathing, sense of panic, avalanches of cortisone and adrenaline. How many messages are being sent thorugh the blood stream and nerves to every cell in the body with SOS signals. How many symptoms may result from this directly or indirectly? Surely then we can see a way to intervene in the invisible force behind the form of the symptom; a healing intention.
Now consider the Relaxation Response — calming all the bodily systems, lowering the heart rate, increasing coherence, better digestion, muscles ready for action but relaxed, perspiration normal and breathing slowed and steady and thinking clear. Relaxation seems a small thing and we tend to look for heroic methods to blast the symptoms but this small insignificant thing is capable of great stuff.
Try it.
Nigel