Editorial: Homeopathy as the art of applied consciousness

It’s well-known that Samuel Hahnemann repudiated the Doctrine of Signatures, the idea that the shape or appearance of the plant or other medicinal source gave clues as to the target of action of the remedy. Yet contemporary homeopathic cases often reveal striking correspondences between the patient’s nature and history with  aspects of the deep ecology of the source of the remedy. This is no simplistic analogy between the shape and color of a plant and a supposed resemblance to a target organ, but rather a more nuanced and intuitive perspective of the forces, stresses, and adaptive responses that shape the nature of any particular mode of being.

The perception of the consciousness of the source of the remedy in the state of the patient can provide the homeopath with a powerful sense of wonder. Long after the astonishment of seeing cures from dispensing granules containing no-thing has worn off, a deeper appreciation of this phenomenon we call homeopathic healing may take hold from this window into the interconnectedness of form with substance, mind with matter, human with earth, and consciousness with health.

For what is a remedy, if not a gateway into a coherent and distinctive mode of being and becoming? Remedies do not heal; it is the patient’s vital force which accomplishes that. But by providing a roadmap to a current of life becoming itself , the correct remedy can prove an indispensable guide and help-mate to the wesen of the patient.

In this issue of Interhomeopathy I have asked esteemed colleagues to provide articles and cases which reveal deep correspondences between remedy and source. Michael Leger takes us on a journey into an alternate way of creating remedies, based on an appreciation of the essentially informational and symbolic nature of the morphic field of the source. JudyAnn McNamara, by way of two short cases of Sabadilla and Sanguinaria, respectively, explores the way in which “noumedynamic prescriptions”, remedies which touch upon the soul-organizing principle of the patient, can radically transform the patient’s sense of self.

A beautiful case of Apple by Karim Adal will not fail to touch your heart, while the clarity of the appearance of the source in the patient’s dream life cannot fail to elicit wonder at the forces that shape us. The remainder of this issue explores animal remedies. The first of two wonderful cases from Jason-Aeric Huenecke depicts the confluence of an apparently external life event with an inner state; the second takes us on a journey through the tunnels and mazes of the consciousness of Rattus.

Two final articles explore the bullfrog. Roland Guenther, a master explorer of other realms, describes the journey into consciousness provided by a C-4 trituration. In the last piece, I describe a successful case in which I treated a boy with the bullfrog remedy, created simply by placing a glass of water over the words Rana catesbeiana 1M.

I call these remedies Noetic, as they point to a sphere of consciousness. It is within consciousness, whether embodied or not, that problems arise. And as Roland wisely points out, it is in consciousness that answers can be found.

I wish to thank Deborah Collins and Patricia Maché for asking me to guest edit this issue, and for all the work they do to keep Interhomeopathy shining its bright light for those of us who are enriched by a diversity of approaches within our profession. I hope that you find this issue as enjoyable to read as I did to put it together.

Photo: Shutterstock
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