c
 

 
 


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This second instalment discusses the concept of cure and its relationship to chronic
disease. Early Homœopaths could talk liberally about cure because for the majority of
time they were dealing with acute disease. However with chronic disease the term
"cure" seems less appropriate because as Hahnemann explained, chronic disease is
influenced by the miasm which is an inherited fault or groove that shows itself in times
of stress.

For most people chronic disease begins when energy levels drop below a certain point.
Miasmatic weakness means we are all born with inherited strengths and weaknesses that
require energy for normal functioning. Areas that are weak require more energy from
the body to maintain normal levels of functioning than strong areas. Therefore if your
liver has normal functioning capability but your kidneys are inherently weak, your
kidneys require more vital force to maintain normal levels than your liver. In times of
stress when excessive energy is being used there is less vital force available to supply
the kidneys with the extra energy they need and as a consequence energy dysfunction
through signs and symptoms begins to manifest.

When examining the biography of patients with chronic disease, they often highlight
how signs and symptoms of the present condition exhibited themselves momentarily in
the past. For example a patient with chronic migraines in a highly stressed position or
after the stress of childbirth explains how they were migraine free for years until this
recent period. Many also explain how they had sporadic migraines in their teens or in
their last year of school or in a pressured situation such as exams, a new job, marriage
or the end of a relationship.

The fact that migraines or kidney dysfunction is returning shows the patient is once
again under stress. This is not Hering's Law of cure and is not to be seen as a positive
sign. This return of old symptoms is due entirely to the fact that the patient is using
more vital force or vital energy and diminishing the reserves needed to supply their
weak miasmatic areas.

Understanding chronic disease in this manner brings the whole question of "cure" into
the spotlight and throws the concept open for debate. We know our medicines are
energetic and we know they supply a chronically energetically deficient patient with the
vital force or energy they require. This is why patients who are run down tired and in
pain, begin to feel symptom free energetic and alive after the administration of the
appropriate remedy, but there is a very significant point that needs highlighting. If this
treated patient feeling good and free under the remedy places themselves in a situation
where they are using more energy through work, stress, anxiety or grief than they can
produce, their signs and symptoms without Homœopathic treatment will return. What
this shows is Hahnemann's perception of a miasm as an inherited weakness such as
psora being the "fault" or "groove" is accurate, but whether or not this fault or groove
can be completely removed is a different question altogether. While there are many
cases where under Homœopathic treatment a patient can have a condition removed
never to return, there are many more that have been successfully treated where the
complaint does return if stress or energy output is strong enough. Does this mean that
the person whose complaint did not return has had that layer removed, or have they
readjusted their lifestyle to ensure that energy output does not exceed energy input?

Too many times I have "successfully" treated a chronic condition to see a patient return
sometimes six months, sometimes two years later with the same complaint re-emerging
and upon questioning find they have been through a stressful or extremely busy period.
The administration of the remedy that held the condition at bay is often the same
remedy needed once again and after it has been re-applied the condition once more
subsides. Because events such as these are in the majority, a theory to support this
clinical observation is required.

My personal theory regarding the cure of chronic disease is as follows. Individuals are
born with inherent states of organic strength and weakness and the weak links in the
chain will always be weak links. Weak links cannot be removed they can only be
supplemented. Weak links will always require more energy to maintain normal
functioning than strong ones, and as a consequence they will be the areas that suffer
under stress when energy drops below a sustaining level. Under Homœopathic
treatment reserves of energy are sustained at levels that supply the body's miasmatic
weak areas with enough vital force to prevent signs and symptoms occurring. This is not
the same as eradication of weakness.

This understanding is important in case management because it involves the patient in

their own health. A theory of this nature takes away from the practitioner the full
responsibility of health and illness and places them in a co-operative position with the
patient. The Homœopath's role in chronic disease now becomes a facilitator of
knowledge as well as the provider of a remedy. The remedy will get the patient back on
their feet and symptom free or at the very least symptom diminished, but it is also
important that the Homœopath impart their knowledge regarding energy balance and
signs and symptoms, so the patient can manage or change their lifestyle as well as
recognise the indicators to return to the clinic. If chronic disease is viewed in the same
way as acute disease; that is something that can be overcome and removed completely,
then each return of symptoms will be viewed as a failure and the Homœopath will look
for a "better" remedy than previously given. However if the patient's lifestyle is not
conducive or is in Homœopath terms energy expensive, then any return of chronic
disease symptoms under this paradigm is expected and not treated erroneously as a
"failure".

What about palliation and what about suppression? Palliation is when the symptoms
return to their normal chronic state immediately after the removal of continuous
medicine. If a patient is given Nat Mur 200C single dose for example and they are
symptom free for anywhere between one to three months how can this be called
palliation? If the patient was on Nat Mur 200C daily for their complaint and every day
they forgot to take the medicine their symptoms returned - that is palliation. Palliation is
not the aim of the Homœopath. Balance of vital force is the aim of Homœopathy in
chronic disease. Human beings are interactive, this means we respond and react to the
stresses of life. The concept that patients will go through life surrounded by a force-field
never responding to emotion or events is wrong and yet that is the only way we could
remain uninfluenced by life. Homœopathic remedies supply us with the vital force we
need to maintain normal functioning during times of stress. When stressful periods re-
occur and more energy is required, signs and symptoms will re-emerge because
excessive energy has been expended and from our point of view another remedy is
needed - this is not palliation.

Suppression is when after the administration of a remedy, presenting signs and

symptoms are replaced by stronger more dangerous symptoms than before.

Viewing the treatment of chronic disease as a process of balance has none of the
hallmarks of suppression or palliation. Correct treatment improves health and vitality as
well as diminishes symptoms and often removes them altogether. A return of old
chronic symptoms after the previously successful administration of a remedy should not
be viewed as failure or suppression or removal of a layer. It is simply that the balance of
outward energy to inward energy has been tipped and needs to be replaced by a remedy.


Grant has been working and studying in various fields of natural therapies since 1987.
Grant's qualifications include Homœopathy, Naturopathy, Clinical Hypnosis and a Post
Graduate Diploma in Eriksonian Psychotherapy. Grant is the current Principal and
senior lecturer of the Victorian College of Classical Homœopathy, a position he has
held since 1995.

His first book, @

 

 
details the nature of miasms and how
facial analysis can be used to determine the patient's dominant miasm. His second book
released in 2006,     @  continues this work with detailed
descriptions and examples of facial analysis. Further research on how miasms influence
us in our daily lives and define our individuality will be published in his third work in
2007. Grant continues to teach, give seminars and see patients through both the college
and his private clinic.

Grant has lectured in Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, Europe and the United
States.

^  

  á



 

By Grant Bentley, September 2009

Contemporary clinical thinking is entrenched in the idea that in order to understand the
true nature of another person, we must move beyond the presenting personality to
uncover the inner true character, which is separate from the false external veneer. But it
is limiting to assume that a person's initial presenting personality is somehow not as real
as the personality that unfolds over the course of time. Both aspects are just as real and
as honest as each other. The deeper aspects of character that unfold over time and
develop because of trust are more revered than the more observable exterior
temperament but that does not mean it is more authentic.

The cliché of another person dropping their guard so 'the real you' can come out, is a
misunderstanding of the multi-faceted social nature of human character. How a person
behaves is always genuine and true to their nature. If they are light in demeanour at first
meeting but deep once you get to know them, that totality is their character. If a patient
is easy going most of the time but angry occasionally, both aspects are their true nature.
The deep is not truer than the surface nor is single positive trait more the real person
than other behaviours. If we accept the idea that only the deeper more intimate aspects
of character are the ones that are true and genuine, our picture of a person becomes just
as distorted as only taking the lighter parts of them.

Everyone has the drive to be accepted and to be understood and we all have fears. But
people are more than the sum of their fears. It is true that many people have an
underlying self belief that is negative and often impacting, but to focus on one aspect of
temperament is to misunderstand the holistic character of nature.

Nature uses repeating patterns to create individual structures that in turn create the
whole. If Mother Nature is anything at all, she is productive, thrifty and economical.
She uses the same building blocks in different numbers, patterns and forms to create
living and non-living matter. For example, differentiated cells take on specific functions
yet primarily each cell is the same. Protons, neutrons and electrons make up all matter
regardless of how simple or how complex the end structure. In the human body each
cell is tagged and marked irrespective of function and importance. The cells of our liver,
kidneys or lungs are marked with the same identification tag as our skin hair and teeth.

The idea that the hidden and internal is somehow more important and unique is not in
keeping with observations we make every day. In reality our external is just as unique
and as identifying as our 'deep inner self'. For example finger prints are just as unique as
any aspect of our character and are used in many situations to identify an individual.
Another identifying part of who we are is our face. Our face is external and on the
periphery yet nothing physically expresses or connects us to other people more than our
face. In a crowd we can spot our family and friends from a sea of other people because
of the unique character of the face.

The hermetic tablet states as above so below and the simple foundations of nature
confirm this truth. In reference to nature's workings and rules, what applies to one
applies to all. This means the outer is no less a display of our whole and truthful nature
as the deeper more hidden aspects of self. If this was not the case holism as a concept
would be irrelevant and the law of similars wouldn't work.

The law of similars is the bedrock of homeopathy. For the law of similars to be realized
totality must be the key priority. Only through totality of single elements can the whole
picture be discovered. When we repertorise it is important to remember that each
symptom represents in its own language the whole. Understanding this concept means
acknowledging that no symptom is ever irrelevant.

Sometimes valuable rubrics are ignored in the search for something the practitioner
perceives is deeper and more meaningful. However each rubric is an expression of the
same underlying stress. Symptoms show different body systems expressing the same
pain. This is why totality in remedy selection is so valuable and effective. Remedy
choices made on single symptoms may give the impression of being more 'core' and
accurate, but is this true holism? Single rubric selections can sometimes be as effective
as totality if the core of the case is properly understood - but they are not more effective
than the whole.

This principle also applies to the mentals of the case. The trend of going beyond what is
obvious and presenting can be quite detrimental to the clinical process particularly in
reference to time. Going beyond the obvious, mainly in regards to the search for mental
rubrics, can turn what should be an hour long constitutional consultation, into a case
taking marathon of two or three hours. This does not mean all the effort is in vain but do
these long consultations achieve results any better than taking a case properly in an
hour? If the same result can be achieved through a shorter and more straightforward
process it is in the best interests of both the patient and the practitioner.

So the question now becomes, how can the energetic crux of a case be uncovered in a
shorter space of time? And the answer lies in the patient's biography.

A patient's biography will quickly uncover a pattern of stress. The sum total of events
that have occurred in a patient's life has formed who they are. Stress and its impact is
never subtle. Stress is like a workout at the gym; the less the workout - the less the
result, the harder the work out - the greater the result. A ten minute lazy walk has a
different impact on the body than running for an hour. A daily routine of yoga or
weights influences and shapes the body, each in its own unique way, the occasional
push up does not.

When a patient comes into the clinic afflicted with a chronic disease, it is important to
remember the natural law of cause and effect. This means pathology will be in direct
proportion to the stress that created it. In cases where the pathology is strong and a
dominant feature of the case, there is no need to search for the hidden or subtle. The
laws of nature mean equal and opposite regardless of whether it is in relation to the
physical - like the laws of motion or the metaphysical like karma. In health and illness
the same rules apply. When a patient presents with a pathology - the cause will be in
proportion to the illness; the more obvious the pathology - the more obvious the stress.

Physical form is shaped in accordance to the pressure exerted on to it. Too much food
and we grow fat in proportion to how much we have eaten. If we do weights our
muscles are sculpted, if we stretch we become supple and if we run our aerobic fitness
improves in proportion to effort. When physical form is altered by disease the outcome
will be in proportion to the cause. If the symptoms of a chronic disease are subtle so too
will be its cause but if the chronic disease is destructive and obvious the cause will be
evident.

A simple way to identify the cause of a chronic disease is to get the patient to recount
their biography. Stress in their life will often repeat and the more it is repeated the more
impact it will have had. A patient presenting with a severe chronic disease will
commonly have a history of a repeating stress. The early childhood home may have a
story of violence or addiction, which is then repeated in adult life. If a patient's life
pattern revolves around alcohol then 'alcoholism' is a meaningful mental rubric, if their
life stress is underpinned by violence then the rubric 'violence' is chosen. Whenever a
repeating pattern occurs, that pattern becomes a rubric in the case because that pattern is
the cause of the stress that in turn is the cause of the chronic disease.

If a repeating stress isn't obvious sometimes a single extreme stress will have
commenced the progress of the patient's illness and still be the maintaining cause - a
never been well since situation. But more commonly stress is part of an ongoing pattern.
Stress can come in different forms and may be a mental stress, an emotional stress or a
physical stress.

Rubric selection can be straight forward and obvious - in keeping with nature's laws. If
we move away from these laws or try to outsmart them, the real person can elude us
making the clinical process infinitely more difficult.

!
"
   " #$%

$
By Louise Barton, February 2008

Homœopathy is a unique system of treatment because it both distinguishes and relies on

the totality of symptoms. Hahnemann stressed totality in the Organon, and homœopaths
from that time till now have taken up the challenge of finding totality by using different
ways to determine the entirety of a case. Totality is both the strength and weakness of
our system; understanding totality means the core of the problem is being observed and
then treated, however discovering this central part is so often a difficult task.

There are two challenging areas that the homœopath must conquer. One is how to
determine the totality of a case and the other is how to match that totality to a remedy. It
is easy to go astray in either of these areas, and until the practitioner is practiced it is
common to experience difficulty in not only seeing the lock but also in finding the key.

Totality can be understood by looking at our patient in a number of different ways

u? Physical totality - their pathology and physical reactions to their environment

u? Emotional totality - their feelings, reactions and sensations
u? Mental totality - their delusion or sense of reality about their life
u? Lifestyle - diet, habits and environment

Each of these is a valid way to look at a patient's totality. Conventional medicine

concentrates on the physical manifestation of the patient, naturopaths on lifestyle and
health, counselors on emotional presentation combined with lifestyle, and psychologists
on both the emotional and mental aspects of their patients. Homœopaths, knowing that
totality includes everything, take on the task of analysing as many of these areas as
possible. Some homœopathic practitioners concentrate on one or two of these areas
excluding the others - many combine all four to find the totality. Our task becomes a
challenging one - each of these areas demands a full professional qualification and years
of study - how can we understand all of them and interpret them correctly?

!&'()(%*&'()(
When considering any of these aspects, there are two different ways we can judge the
information. We can use 


 or we can use 


. In essence objectivity is
what we see and know while subjectivity is what our patient feels and how we the
practitioner interprets what they feel - a feeling that is reinterpreted using a practitioners
experience of that feeling!

The strength and consistency of science rests in using objectivity - feelings have no
place in science, only the observable is taken into account. Feelings are open to
interpretation - our patient might be using a book or article written by someone else to
help describe their own feelings or not even have the language skills to describe their
feelings at all - the homœopath is also bound by their own judgment and life
experiences.

Hahnemann warned about suspending judgment and using observation. We have no

way to observe what the potential of a remedy is other than a proving. We have no way
to observe our patient other than to observe them. There is no technology available that
can match the two without the go-between of another persons mind. The challenge for
us is to use our mind in a way that removes subjectivity yet at the same time captures
the drive of the case - can this be done?

(##+#&,)(#

All the of the following meet the criteria of objectivity and allow us to suspend any
subjective thought we may have about the case

u? Facial analysis
u? Circumstance
u? Generals

Facial analysis is the first step to using observable information when determining our
patient's totality. All material beings and substances are formed from the forces or
energy that lies within. This energy is what we call a miasm and the material outcome
of this energy is the shape, structure and physiology of our body. The face is the most
expressive and accessible part of our body and a wonderful way to observe 'what is'.
Every shape and contour defines the forces that lie within us and when we understand
the importance of dominance (the stronger suspends the weaker) we have an observable
way of determining a patient's miasm. Whichever force is dominant within the patient is
seen through their facial features.

How can we know a patients mental or emotional state without discussing their
feelings? The answer is through listening to the circumstances of their life - what has
actually happened rather than how they feel about it. A good example is a patient who
had an alcoholic parent and now an alcoholic partner - both of these situations impact
on their life. How do we assess this impact? By listening to what they tell us. If we ask
them to tell us what has been significant during their lifetime both in the past and now,
they will tell us. Listen to their story and not their feelings. What do we know? What is
the topic that had the greatest impact? It is alcohol. So we use the rubric "mind -
alcoholism".

The HFA method uses the circumstance of a person's life rather than interpretation of
those circumstances. Another example is jealousy. A patient may not be jealous
themselves but tell of two or more episodes where another person was so jealous it
affected them greatly - we use the rubric 'Mind - jealousy'. There are numerous ways we
can use mental rubrics by circumstance rather than by feeling. Using objectivity rather
than subjectivity is both surprisingly easy and yields excellent results.

We have covered physical structure and life circumstance. The other area of importance
is the physiology of the body - how does the person interact with their environment and
how is their body functioning? Their presenting pathology is what brings them to the
homœopath and if this pathology yields any repeating patterns this information is
important - worse at night, better for cold, worse before menses - any of these examples
is a pattern linked to the pathology - known as a general. General symptoms are
objective. If we also add the generals of the patient not related directly to the pathology
- for example craves meat, aversion fruit, worse cold, perspiration on exertion, right
sided - we have a number of objective symptoms to make up the totality of our case.

Once we understand the difference between objectivity and subjectivity we can learn to
find the lock and the key without years of experience based on feelings and
interpretation.

(+,

Lifestyle deserves a special mention. Hahnemann referred to problems in this area as

being 'obstacles to cure' rather than the totality upon which the choice of remedy
depends. Often a patient has attempted to improve their lifestyle especially in regard to
diet or exercise but still finds it isn't enough to change the core of their disturbance.
Often they feel improvement for a short time but symptoms will return or their
willpower isn't sufficient to maintain the lifestyle change.

We frequently see patients take up a new lifestyle after a successful remedy is given.
The remedy allows their willpower to surface and if they feel inclined and know what to
do they will improve the outcome even more by changing their lifestyle. As
practitioners we know the remedy chosen triggered the positive outcome but without the
appropriate matching lifestyle change the full effect of the remedy will not be realised.

-%

The easiest way to successfully find a remedy that matches the totality of our patient's
case is through repertorising. Every profession has its tools and to practice homœopathy
effectively we need certain tools too. The following are vital to successful clinical
practice

u? Computer
u? Repertorisation software
u? Digital camera
u? Materia medica

Once we have the totality of the case we take this totality and choose rubrics that
realistically convey the specific parts of that totality. If we choose the rubrics based on
observation then the remedy will be present in our final repertorisation. Six to eight
rubrics are enough to cover totality - from the final group of remedies only those that
miasmatically match the facial analysis are considered. Within this group is the key to
open the lock.

`
 !


 ^&*

My name is Grant Bentley and I am a homoeopath practicing in Australia. I am also a

lecturer and Principal of the Victorian College of Classical Homoeopathy, a training
institution for undergraduate as well as postgraduate training.

Because I divide my time between teaching and patients, the nature of my clinic is
different from many homoeopathic practices, because I rarely see acutes. In Australia,
people expect treatment for acute disease immediately. If this is not available, they will
see another homoeopath or an orthodox doctor. When I lecture, I do so in three and a
half to four hour blocks. Therefore, if a patient needs help immediately for an acute
condition, they generally have to go elsewhere. Consequently, over the last thirteen
years of teaching, my acute patients have dramatically decreased while my chronic
patients have dramatically increased. My practice now is based almost entirely on the
treatment of chronic disease.

The question asked in the title of this paper may sound simple, but it is not. Chronic
disease - as generally defined - is a disease, which continues to increase in severity year
by year. It has no defined time-period like acute disease, and follows no set pattern. It
has no defined origin and has no set treatment plan. With acute disease, either the
patient survives or they do not. Chronic disease by contrast continues to plague and
torment the patient until their dying day.

Acute disease often has a detectable origin, the most common source being viral or
bacterial infection. Chronic disease rarely has such exogenous beginnings. Infectious
agents rarely cause chronic disease even though infection can be a result.

Chronic disease has internal beginnings not external, and is best understood as a
consequence rather than an infection. Dr Kent was very strong in his emphasis on this.
Pneumonia may be the acute outcome, but a weakness of the lungs is the real chronic
disease. Weaknesses, idiosyncrasies, stress responses and inheritance are all part of the
framework Kent defined as chronic disease.

Chronic disease is about the patient. It is the understanding that the person precedes the
illness, therefore it is the person we are treating not the disease. Get the person back to
health and the chronic disease will dissipate. Therefore, chronic disease is always in
proportion to a patients overall health. Improve health and we reduce illness.

The most common reply any patient can give to the question, 'what makes your signs
and symptoms worse?' is, 'my symptoms are worse when I am stressed or tired'.
Therefore, energy and wellbeing are the two most crucial factors in the treatment of
chronic disease.

Regardless of the nature of the complaint, chronic disease symptoms are always in
direct proportion to the energy of the patient. The less energy the patient has, the worse
their symptoms will be. Rarely does a chronic disease develop without some sort of
stress or tension before hand. This is Newton's third law of motion - to every action
there is a reaction.

In his chapter titled 'Why is cancer incurable', Kent concludes that because we focus on
the disease, rather than on the person, cancer as well as other chronic diseases continue
to remain difficult or impossible to cure. To know the patient from childhood to
adulthood is the only way we can treat chronic disease, because it is a balancing act. By
getting to know the patient and all their stresses, we are finding out what has drained
their energy, so we can replace it with the appropriate remedy.

Chronic disease is chronic exhaustion. We are all born with strengths and weaknesses
defined by the dominant miasm we inherit. These areas of weakness show themselves
during times of stress because they require more energy to maintain normal functioning.
Organic functioning must remain within certain parameters and when the energy of an
organ is substandard, the vital force will supplement that organ or area with the
additional energy it needs. During times of stress however, the additional energy it
normally supplies is no longer available.

If this interruption of vital energy is transient, there is no long-term damage, but if the
disruption of vital force continues, these areas of miasmatic weakness become
observable pathology. This is why chronic complaints are always worse when tired or
stressed. The longer the tension or exhaustion continues the more entrenched and deep
the pathology becomes. Therefore, our repertorisation must include the circumstances
surrounding the patient, that is, what is draining their energy, as well as the generals of
the case.

Kent was a master of constitutional prescribing and stressed the importance of the
patient's life story. I have found this information invaluable in my own clinic and
employ this technique in every case of chronic disease. Each case is a two-fold process,
first is the physical complaint, complete with modalities and sensations. A head to toe
check up is then conducted in the form of extensive and detailed questioning. Next, I get
the person's life story. This biography includes, the patient's home life, their relationship
with their parents and other siblings, their school life, what they did after school, their
relationship with their wife or husband, as well as a comprehensive examination of the
major stresses they have endured. From these events and circumstances, I look for
trends because biographical trends make far better mental rubrics than emotional
responses.

For example, a woman is suffering from chronic inflammatory arthritis, worse in the
evening. She has gastric reflux also worse at night, and her menses are painful and
exhausting. In her childhood, her mother and father always argued so too did her sisters.
Her relationship with her husband is tense and they are always arguing. They fight
because he reminds her of her father as they both have quick tempers and are critical.
Two years ago, just before her arthritis began, she was forced to leave her job by her
boss, who tormented her and insulted her in front of her fellow workers.

The repertorisation for this woman would include rubrics such as

 1.? Inflammation in the joints
2.? Heartburn
3.? < Night
4.? Painful menses
5.? Censorious
6.? Quarrelsome

In Australia, there is a current tendency to analyise the personal experience. This means
emphasizing the emotions experienced by an event rather than capturing the event itself.
While this technique is common practice, I personally find it unstable in its clarity and
choose not to use it. Turning biographical trends into rubrics gives far greater security
and prescribing accuracy.


Grant has been working and studying in various fields of natural therapies since 1987.
Grant's qualifications include Homœopathy, Naturopathy, Clinical Hypnosis and a Post
Graduate Diploma in Eriksonian Psychotherapy. Grant is the current Principal and
senior lecturer of the Victorian College of Classical Homœopathy, a position he has
held since 1995.

His first book, @

 

 
details the nature of miasms and how
facial analysis can be used to determine the patient's dominant miasm. His second book
released in 2006,     @  continues this work with detailed
descriptions and examples of facial analysis. Further research on how miasms influence
us in our daily lives and define our individuality will be published in his third work in
2007. Grant continues to teach, give seminars and see patients through both the college
and his private clinic.

Grant has lectured in Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, Europe and the United
States.