Learning from stones: an Amethyst case

"You can learn more in forests than in books; trees and stones teach you something that you will never learn from masters.”[1]
 
The patient is an eight year old boy with curly blond hair, who is blinking his eyes a lot.

Physical: he was a “cry baby”, even ten minutes of sleep was a lot for him. He suffered from cow milk allergy and eczema in his face from five weeks of age, later on his arms, legs, and belly. He has had two acute bouts of hives as a baby. Ever since birth, he has been over-sensitive to stimuli. He has severe, frequent physical reactions; he is either constipated or has diarrhea. Eczema is either quiet or is infected, with much pus. He has bronchitis, wheezing and crackling, and long bouts of cough. His ears are frequently infected; the infections start suddenly and are severe, with high fevers.

Pregnancy: he was originally one of identical twins but at nine weeks of pregnancy, the other twin died. His mother was afraid of a premature birth. She knew that it would be a difficult time but that it would finally come right. She has a good bond with her son.

Psychological: he attends a special school because of behaviour problems (pdd-nos with AHDH.) He feels insecure with other children and crawls under his mother’s sweater. He cannot answer when asked questions. As a toddler, he could only look at his mother; looking at others is still difficult for him. He has difficulties with change, for instance new clothes. He feels his clothes every day to see if he can put them on; they have to be soft enough for him to wear. Before going on vacation, he lies on the ground, asking “what if we run out of petrol? Is there enough oil in the car?” He needs to be reassured.

Dreams: he tells of one dream after another: he is chased by something with enormous teeth; he is chased by a black car, and then he hides under a table or in an alley, but is afraid that the car will come into the alley. He tells of round music speakers, just like angry faces; of car lights that also look like angry faces. He dreams about a stone cave and a stone monster who eats stones and tries to catch him – he shuts himself in the toilet or hides behind rocks: “I need to have a lot of places to hide!” Everything he speaks of comes from a very deep place. “I don’t dare to sleep, ‘cause then I’m nobody anymore. I imagine that I’m not really here and that I’m not really alive. I just hate it.”

At that moment I think of “stone” and of the themes I have learned from Alize Timmerman about stones. I ask about hobbies and he tells me that he collects everything; he is especially crazy about stones, really special ones. He loves the music of Enya (Irish); it sends him into a trance. He loves flowers; poppies are his favourites.

Character: He is over- sensitive and very expressive, making good use of language and of facial expressions. He is a quick thinker; at home he is something of a show-off,  he loves to be the one talking and he hates to lose. He gives a tremendous amount of love and he talks a lot about death. He is a perfectionist; it can never be good enough for him. He can be ferocious, saying hard, aggressive things to people, yet fearful at the same time: “I’m afraid of water, afraid that I will sink and keep sinking. I’m afraid of lightning, of crowds, of losing control, and of noises.”

Family background: for his father and his paternal grandfather, control is very important. They do not like to be among people, they have an aversion to noises but talk very loudly themselves. His grandfather was six years old when his father died and he was the only one who was sent away by his mother to an orphanage: “unwanted”. 

Generals: difficulty falling asleep (uses melatonine medication), awake after a few hours and gets into bed with his mother. Chilly. Sweats easily. Aversion to beans++, tomatoes, beets, salt. Desires cauliflower, cheese (sauce), bread, sweets.

Locals: cold sores. Nosebleeds with colds. Painful sinuses. Hay fever. Recurrent otitis+++, pneumonia, bronchitis, asthma. Frequent urination.

Stone themes: “Into the depths”. Closed in, imprisoned, stuck. Unfeeling, can’t feel their own needs and desires. Under pressure. Heaviness.

Exterior expressions: spaced out, radiant. No boundaries; going over the boundaries of others and allowing others to go over theirs+++. Clarity, intellectually strong, rational. Perfectionism, desiring quality.

Polarities: heaviness – spaced out. Not feeling own needs and desires but helping and supporting others. Hiding – being clear.  Going over boundaries of self and of others – allowing others to go over their boundaries.

Stone themes in this case: dreams of rocks. Collecting stones. Fear of sinking. Perfectionist+++. Clear, verbally strong, quick thinker. Expressive. Need for control+++

Amethyst themes:
Fear of falling asleep. Insecure, unsafe feeling, worse when away from home. Panic. Feeling of overstimulation (no boundaries). Fear of leaving the body (Papaveracea). No boundaries in helping others, very willing to help. Pithy; they don’t avoid confrontation. They keep ploughing on (no boundaries).

Amethyst themes in this case: Fear falling asleep. Leaving the body: in trance, papavers. Fear of disappearing when going to sleep. Safe at home, unsafe away from home. No boundaries, everything comes in.

Amethyst, traditional view: nervous disorders; headaches/migraines; diabetes; lung problems; eye problems; asthma; allergies; sleeping problems.

Proving of Amethyst by Barbara Seideneck
A-methystos means “not drunk”.
Feeling drunk; spaced out feeling; overly sensitive to noise and odours; dreams of caves; dreams of crowded rooms; headaches; female symptoms; tingling and swelling in the extremities; eyes, nose (sinusitis,) throat and stomach; sleep problems. Prover: “I don’t want to look anyone in the eye.”

Prescription: Amethyst 30K

Follow-up:
Soon after the first dose, he changes: “Now, I actually like it in my own bed. I don’t have any horrible dreams anymore.” He is more relaxed and less panicky. If at first, there is more nasal mucous and heavy breathing, the eczema improves dramatically.

After one year, he is improving in leaps and bounds; he is clearer in his thinking and his concentration, and is more able to say what he wants. He is much less compulsive, more assertive, and less panicky. Changes are no longer such a big issue. Eye contact is good. Swimming lessons are going very well and he is no longer afraid in the sea. Particularly remarkable is the fact that he has hardly been sick at all this past year; if he gets a snuffle, he bounces back quickly. His skin is soft.

References
Peter Tumminello seminars in Holland April  2007, April 2009
Alize Timmerman seminar Holland March 2008
Twelve Jewels, Gems in Homeopathy, Peter Tumminello
Colours in Homeopathy, Ulrich Welte, Narayana Verlag
Proving of Amethyst by Barbara Seideneck, Homeopathic Links, Winter 2005
Stones as remedies, Masi group (Holland) SSC 2, 2008

[1] Bernard of Clairvaux (1090 – 1153), abbot and founder of the Cistercian Monastic order.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Amethyst3: Norsk (bokmål): Ametyst Geode; Juppi66
Black Forest, Kandern; Patricia Maché