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My Personal Conflict With Homeopathy

 

Last week I blogged about my newfound interest in homeopathy and the class I am taking on the subject. It has been a fascinating journey so far and I really am enjoying all the new information. (I should probably mention that I’m about 2 weeks behind on my lectures and assignments but I don’t think you’ll tell on me, right?)

My main reason for studying homeopathy in the first place is twofold:

a) It’s a large division of Natural Healing that I knew absolutely nothing about.

Many people sort of lump it together as the same as the rest of natural, holistic methods – and this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Homeopathy and its methods are its own entities, with their own procedures and set of rules. If you ‘break’ them – it’s no longer considered homeopathy.

b) What can it do for me and my family?

I suppose anytime we learn about something that interests us, we ask ourselves this question. Is homeopathy something that I would consider using in the future (or present) when health issues arise? Can it help us in ways that other natural healing modalities can’t?

Those have been my two motives.

So far, I have come across one very large conflict.

Duby’s Bowl For Healing

I have always been a huge believer and proponent in creating a “bowl for healing.” What this means is, just like my blog – the 5 Pillars – it’s important to create not ONE but several avenues of healing.

- A physical healing. Nutrition is KEY … exercise, sleep, fresh air, clean water. Etc. We can do yoga and meditate all day, but if we’re eating Snickers for lunch and Jelly Bellies for supper – well, it aint gonna cut it.

- An emotional healing – my Doc tells me that EVERY illness has a mental component. (I suppose that’s hard to understand when it’s something simple such as an ear infection or strep throat…) but the fact remains, there can always be an emotional healing that accompanies a physical one.

- An Energetic Healing. I know I haven’t blogged about this topic at length but more and more we (as in alternative health minded people) are learning about Energy Medicine and how it plays a huge role in not only healing from illness but increasing in energy, vitality, moods, stamina etc. (who wouldn’t want that?) Energy healing can take many forms – such as Meridian tracing, Chakra clearing … things like Acupuncture, EFT, EMDR, Polarity… there are so many kinds, its difficult to list all!

The point in creating a ‘bowl’ for healing is so we as – one WHOLE body – which includes body AND mind AND spirit – can have a complete and entire healing.

The beauty of Homeopathy is that it prides itself on being THE ultimate healing modality that does this complete healing the best. Why?

Because Homeopathy teaches that with ONE single remedy – it has a combination and is a ‘recipe’ of your complete condition INCLUDING the mental, emotional and physical issues.

Why? Because Homeopathy – while a physical remedy, is considered an “energy medicine” that helps realign a person’s “Vital Force.” In doing so, this sets off a chain reaction – healing all the parts that are imbalanced – whether it’s a physical or mental imbalance.

Now, I MUST mention that MOST holistic therapies do this as well. My Doc would probably never speak to me again if I said his teachings on Naturopathy don’t include mental and emotional aspects of an illness – it CERTAINLY does!! In my first appointment with him, he drilled me (in that loving way of his) about my personal lifestyle and environment – and took that into great consideration when working with me.

However, as much as it’s strange to write this, based on my class and what I’ve learned, Homeopathy believes that they do this healing different – and BETTER than everybody else, ALMOST sounding like no other therapy is needed. (I’m not educated enough to argue this point, I’m merely relaying over the concepts I’ve been learning)

Who would have thought a school of healing could be so elitist? Smile

Getting back to My Personal Conflict:

It’s quite simple.

When taking a Homeopathic Remedy, they teach you that there are things you should stay away from, or try not to do – because it can interfere with the Remedies at work. Since it’s considered an ENERGY Medicine – they tell you to stay away from ENERGY medicines.

So, if you get acupuncture, or do something like EFT, Chakra therapy – then it might cause the remedy not to work.

Also, taking any kind of vitamins or herbal tincture can get in the way of a remedy working.

(have you figured out my conflict yet?)

I know that while on Allopathic medications –one needs to stay away from certain substances. (although quite frankly since I’ve never taken antibiotics, I can’t tell you what. But obviously there are substances that don’t mix with prescription drugs!)

Nevertheless, when it comes to holistic healing, I have a hard time with the concept of taking an “end all be all” one remedy – and having to stop all other things. Something about that doesn’t sit right with me. I understand why those rules are in place – I understand that it can interfere – but does that mean I have to get rid of my “bowl of healing?” Do I need to discard it and put all my eggs into one… plate?

The truth is I am a new student to Homeopathy and still in the beginning of the journey. And who knows, maybe it’s one of those things where I shouldn’t “knock it till I try it.”

 
7 Comments

Posted by on February 17, 2012 in Emotional Health, Mental Health, Physical Health

 

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Getting Back To Basics: Welcome to the World of Natural Medicine

docotr 2

I was doing some thinking (I tend to do that) – and while I was always raised with an inclination towards natural and holistic medicine, I never realized there were oceans of knowledge and different fields within the world of natural medicine. As a kid I got to know the basics of acute homeopathy – using Echinacea and belladonna for fevers and colds but other than that – I really didn’t know much. In recent years my experience has expanded and I was wonderfully overwhelmed (and quite excited) that there is literally a whole WORLD of natural medicine out there!

The cool thing was that everything I knew and was learning – I got to share with my hubby. The first time I took my hubby (then boyfriend) to my kensiologist – you should have seen his face and jaw DROP when he saw what simple muscle testing could do. Mostly, it was exhilarating to see his eyes open up to a world he never experienced before. So, the other day I was doing some thinking and I decided it was time I write a small introduction for my awesome readers to help understand natural medicine a bit more. There’s a lot out there and it can get confusing. So here goes!

What is this Term “Holistic” ?
Anytime a doctor of a medical system is called “holistic” it refers to the care of the WHOLE person instead of just treating the specific symptoms or organs. Holistic medicine treats the mind as well as the body. This style of treatment looks at an individual’s overall physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional wellbeing before recommending treatment. Most importantly, the practitioner will look for the CAUSE of the illness. A Holistic doctor or healer will also attempt to PREVENT illness by placing a greater emphasis on optimizing health. The techniques they use are non-invasive.

The Band-Aid Method:

On one of my health forums, a woman asked if anyone could suggest any herbs or supplements that could help cure her ailment (I don’t remember what the ailment was). There were many herbs that could help her specific issue, but one person responded – saying the following.

“Herbs don’t cure anything. It is the BODY that heals itself. If the body is balanced, and functioning at its optimum – then with the help of herbs, the ailment will be healed.”

Believe it or not, there is LITTLE difference between healing an ailment, and suppressing the symptoms. Why? JUST because the symptoms seem to have disappeared does NOT mean the underlying issue has been truly healed.

Case in point:

~ How many children get strep throat – take antibiotics, but get strep throat AGAIN and AGAIN?

~ How many children get ear infections time and time again?

~ How many women get UTI’s time and time again?

~ How many people have digestion issues that never seem go away no matter what they take?

~ How often do we take one round of Antibiotics – but then the next time around, we need a stronger dose?

Allopathic treatments (pharmaceutical drugs) do NOT heal the underlying cause of whatever it is. Sure, you may no longer have the fever, the illness, the coughing, sneezing – or whatever – but the “cause” was not addressed, and the issue may come back.

This is where I see the greatest difference between using conventional medicines and holistic treatments. When we treat the body as a whole, we are able to find where the cause is coming from, and where the deficiency lies.

Here’s a fun example:

I recently learned that many skin conditions, while treated topically with creams (or even internally) – are really a systemic issue originating from weak Kidneys. If our kidneys aren’t working at peak performance, then our skin takes over as an “elimination organ” – and then comes skin problems such as eczema, acne, fungus… and all kinds of fun stuff.

So sure, the creams and ointments might help for a little while – but are we fixing the underlying cause and rectify it, or are we merely putting a band-aid on it?

The Connection between Mental and Physical Health:

Along the same lines, holistic doctors will take into account a person’s mental and emotional well being. A stomach ache can be just a stomach ache – but it can also be an emotional stomach ache. My job might not be going well… I might be having difficulties with my husband… my kid might be having issues at school. Suddenly, that stomach ache – is not JUST a stomach ache. Whenever I visited my doctor, she always paid attention not just to how my body was doing, but what was going in my life. Were the holidays coming up? (always a HUGE stress for me)… were there any big family / social obligations that were taking its toll? These are important factors in considering why an illness will “suddenly” creep up.

Where Do I Go From Here?

Now that we understand a little more about the attitude of natural healing, we can now discuss the different kinds of methods! Google “alternative medicine” and you will get so many different kinds of treatments and therapies! It can be very overwhelming! Where to start? There are many many different kinds of practitioners and holistic treatments, and as time goes on, there are off-shoots. What’s the difference between them all? And how do I find a good practitioner? Is one better than the other? In the coming weeks (during the BORING winter months Smile) we will be discussing some of the different treatments that I am familiar with as well as how to find a Natural Doctor

Stay tuned! doctor 1

PS – if there are any alternative treatments that you would like me to highlight and discuss, please feel free to give me a holler!

 
2 Comments

Posted by on November 8, 2011 in Physical Health

 

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