In Honor of Homeopathy’s Founder by Debby Bruck

We owe a debt of gratitude to Samuel Hahnemann (April 10, 1755 – July 2, 1889) the founder of homeopathy for bringing this subtle energetic form of medicine into practice. People around the world are taking preventative measures for their health by boosting their immune system with constitutional homeopathic remedies prescribed by certified practitioners; and taking self-care steps when simple emergencies and illnesses arise. Study groups, national magazines, books and internet resources provide guidance to help use this time tested energy therapy.

Homeopathy has become more popular in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Columbia, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Portugal, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and the US in recent years and its use is growing. As more people gain knowledge about homeopathy’s benefits, we will find emergency kits in many homes as people stock up on some common remedies, and help friends and neighbors with the typical colds, bumps and bruises that everyone gets from time to time. Reasons for its growing popularity are many.

Homeopathic remedies — potentized energy medicines — work without causing side-effects and may be used for acute and chronic illnesses. Young and old don’t even need a spoonful of sugar to make these medicines go down, because remedies are usually given in the form of small sugar pellets or soft tablets.

Not only is homeopathy safe and effective, but these remedies, used by millions of people around the world, are prepared from natural sources and taken in extremely small amounts. They are recognized as drugs by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and based on the principle that “likes cures like.”

Because the remedies are composed of such minute quantities and potentized (succussed or shaken) to energize the diluted substance, the resulting remedy has powerful effects on the mind and body when chosen with precision. Hundreds of years of observation show that potentized remedies appear to stimulate the body to heal symptoms that the substance, when taken in large quantity, would ordinarily produce.

Thus, if you were to feel agitated, sleepless, and wound up, the feeling you might get from drinking too much coffee all day; then the homeopathic practitioner might recommend a homeopathic dose of ‘coffea’ based on this concept of “likes cures likes.” This is all theoretical and we don’t know exactly how the mind and body activate the healing processes; however, through observation and documentation an entire field of medicine has developed with more and more remedies added to the “materia medica” – collection of remedies — each year.

Various branches and approaches to the principle of “likes cures likes” have evolved over the past 200 years. Some practitioners combine or mix remedies, those using the ‘classical’ approach give just one remedy at a time, and naturopaths, chiropractors, and other healthcare professionals may give additional herbs and supplements to support the body’s healing. Today, physicians who have learned about homeopathy’s healing properties and benefits without side-effects are using these remedies in their practices and hospitals. Even veterinarians use homepathics to treat animals for chronic disease and acute injuries. I often tell people to give their thirsty plants the left over water remedies.

The most widely used remedy called Arnica montana, can be found in ointment, spray, liquid or pill form to be taken internally or applied externally. I personally carry this one with me at all times in case of emergency. It came in handy this week when I visited a horse farm. The owner said she was thrown as her unruly horse began galloping at full speed when she rode off the local trail into a nearby field. In the excitement of feeling free, she couldn’t hold the happy, but uncooperative horse back from racing. He wouldn’t turn on command, but instead turned suddenly and threw her off before heading into the woods. Although he finally slowed down, in the process the rider experienced a hard landing. I knew she’d be receiving chiropractic treatment for a bad back all month and the fall would cause more back trouble, besides the rope burn on her hands from pulling hard on the reins. The next day after just one dose of Arnica 200C, the blister went down considerably, she had brushed all her horses and did her usual stable chores — mucking the stalls, cleaning and feeding the horses, and turning them out. She’s sore, but I can’t imagine how she’d feel if she didn’t get that dose of Arnica.

So the next time you get a bump or bruise that’s sure to turn black & blue, causes soreness and aches, and you say, “don’t come near” for fear of hurting the injured area; or have an accident when you go into slight shock and say, “I’m fine” when you’re really not – think of Arnica to assist getting back to normal again.

Copyright 2007 Debby Bruck, CHOM, practices the “Sensation Method” of case-taking and teaches qigong and guided imagery in Cary, NC. Send inquiries to: debweb0@hotmail.com be sure to put HealthandGoodness in the Subject line of your email