“An Advanced Clinical Guide to the Professional Homeopathic Practice"

INTRODUCTION
I have finally resigned myself to the fact that I always will be writing, in spite of my previous assertions that “This is my last book.” I am primarily driven by my enthusiasm at continually discovering nuances of this magnificent science that enable me to treat patients in a more effective and faster fashion than ever before. For the good of mankind, I feel that I need to share these realizations with the rest of the world, and then let them decide if there is any reason to be as enthusiastic about it as I am.

While I have already worked a great deal (more than 800 pages written, to be exact) on my next book, “Beyond Jung: Delusions, Dreams and Homeopathy,” I have found it necessary to postpone this colossal work temporarily and create a bridge, so to speak, between my previous works, Hahnemann Revisited and Achieving and Maintaining the Simillimum and my proposed two-volume Dream/Delusion book.

As I constantly study Hahnemann and the Old Masters and follow clinical cases, I have experienced the need to correct, or rather fine-tune, some aspects of the homeopathic practice. None of these changes are my invention. All the credit goes to Hahnemann, as I am continually astounded at the exactness of his words and advice for the homeopathic practice. I hope to present this fine-tuned version to the homeopathic world so that homeopathic practice may become more uniform worldwide, but also so that the student, and yes, the practitioner, whether beginner or advanced, can offer the patient what Hahnemann promised in Aphorism 2 of the Organon:

“The highest ideal is to restore health rapidly, gently, permanently and to remove and destroy the whole disease in the shortest, surest, least harmful way, according to clearly comprehensible principles.”

How every one of Hahnemann’s words still ring true! It is this fact that has motivated me to continue to look for “final” and “easy” principles to apply in the modern world. Notice that I have placed that word final in quotation marks. These principles will never be “final,” but hopefully, this will be my “6th edition of the Organon”, if I may be so bold as to make that comparison. I would like to stress that I never fail to take into account “according to clearly comprehensible principles,” those principles that were so well outlined by Hahnemann.

I have endeavored this book as a companion and extended guide of my previous books. It was written for the practitioner and the student to focus on four major issues that are frequent topics of controversy among homeopaths and have, therefore, a great impact on the way homeopathy is presently practiced. I not only intend the reader to get involved and investigate in an academic way, but foremost, I attempt the information presented to guarantee the clinician the fastest and most optimal results.

In this book, the reader will be FIRST led to ask himself eleven essential questions after the patient’s case has been taken following the principles set forth in my book Hahnemann Revisited. If those eleven questions can be answered correctly, the homeopath will not be led astray and therefore, the simillimum will be within reach. This information can be presented to any student and the patient will come alive without even been seen once. Many aspects of Hahnemann Revisited and Achieving the Simillimum are fine-tuned and answered in these questions. It is like a final summary of observations that compromises all of the patient’s facets, presenting the homeopath with the simillimum on a silver platter.

This second part of case taking is not only neglected in allopathic medicine, but it is equally and surprisingly done in homeopathy as well: asking about emotional traumas related to the pregnancy to explain the epidemic numbers of challenged children now united under disorder names such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Attention Deficit and Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). There are still many challenged children who do not fall under any of these most prevalent classifications. Of course allopathy is doing its best to come up with new disorders such as Selective Mutism…but these are disease names which will never explain nor do answer the two most important questions that parents always ask: “What caused this disorder in my child,” and “What can you do for my child?”

While allopathy remains silent on the first issue, the second is addressed with cumbersome therapeutic approaches that achieve limited success while demanding ever more resources, time, and money for all involved. Yet homeopathy has the answer to both questions. This book will help the homeopathic practitioner to zoom in on the “first site of possible emotional trauma:” The uterus. The promised and presumed safe haven/paradise for the unborn child, but where there is plenty of danger.

Allopathy and many homeopaths have still not figured out that besides the miasmatic (hereditary) background, the uterus is the first place where an emotional trauma can be committed towards the fetus. While allopathy focuses on every possible physical aspect during pregnancy, physicians still remain totally in the dark regarding emotional traumas to the pregnant mother that result in challenged children.

SECOND, as I read the Organon for the 105th time, I found that the miasms section, a topic extensively discussed in my book, “Hahnemann Revisited,” deserved a fresh look. I have learned to respect to the letter every word that Hahnemann sets forth in these aphorisms. This, together with experience drawn from my practice, has guided me not only to a welcome simplification of the miasmatic theory, but also to a doctrine that I can use in the management of the patient. I alluded to this already in Achieving the Simillimum, but in the present book, I will connect it to Hering’s Set of Observations of Cure, the guide to true success in practice.

The miasmatic theory has not been only neglected in the homeopathic practice, but it is often denigrated by “eminent” homeopaths as nonsense and, therefore, of no importance in the practice. Nothing could be further from the truth. This one aspect of homeopathy makes more and more sense in this complicated world as it explains and predicts many disorders, behaviors, and diseases of humankind. This miasmatic theory is Hahnemann’s most important gift to mankind, far ahead of present allopathic genetic science. This book provides the reader with an easier and correct guide to its application in the practice.

There is no more contentious topic to homeopaths than the potency selection of the remedy, the THIRD issue in this book. There seems to be no uniform opinion and harsh discussions often take place. Throughout the past 200 years, both camps, high and low potency prescribers have been involved in heated discussions, claiming that they both have experienced success. There is no doubt that this is true, but is there a middle way? Is there a potency choice guided by common sense rather than passion? Is there a potency choice that can satisfy both camps because it makes sense and it is effective?

I wholeheartedly believe there is. In this book, I propose a schedule that not only makes great sense, but it guarantees greater success in the practice. And all is based on Hahnemann’s clear indications. Is this not all what a good homeopath wants? The best for the patient and for homeopathy?

The last and FOURTH topic is Hering’s Set of Observations of Cure. Was everything said by this eminent homeopath? Are there other observations that can be added to assure the homeopath of the direction of cure and choice of the simillimum? Can allopathic terminology be used to bring Hering’s observations up to modern times? Even Traditional Chinese Medicine provides more answers regarding this Set of Observations in clear and simple terms.

While “Hahnemann Revisited” and “Achieving and Maintaining the Simillimum” have, among other excellent literature from dedicated authors, paved the way to the serious study of homeopathy, this latest book has fine-tuned several principles based on science and art, the latter being the confirmation from the practice. These changes I propose are from countless cases I have used my newest methodology with, including on myself, my beloved wife and my family. Through my seminars, many of my students have already reaped the benefits of this newest information. I believe that the natural order of my books for the practitioner to read is first Hahnemann Revisited, followed by Achieving and Maintaining the simillimum, followed by the Practical guide and this series of homeopathic clinical books will be rounded up by the future book, ‘Beyond Jung: Dreams, Delusions and Homeopathy,” which will provide an extensive practical approach to dreams and their homeopathic use, and a new Materia Medica of one hundred polychrests based on the method set forth in this book (the core Delusion or CD).

May you follow Hering when he said, “Don’t reject anything without trying!” May success in practice be yours so that homeopathy can win the hearts of thousands of people more and more every day!

Dr. Luc De Schepper

Beyond Jung: Delusions, Dreams and Homeopathy

INTRODUCTION
The colossal material and psychic destruction brought on by wars all over the world, (some recent examples being Iraq, Congo, Kosovo and Afghanistan), should direct our interest more imperatively than ever to the realm of spiritual and psychic realities. But is this the case in reality? Our intellect has achieved the most tremendous things, while in the meantime our spiritual dwelling has fallen into disrepair. As Jung said, “mankind wants peace and mankind prepares for war: Humans are powerless against humans.” Wars, the oldest of means for settling disputes must be considered as the most inept intervention and the most grievous waste of energy. Or is it now a time in our history where good must stand aside so that anything destined to be better must first appear as evil? Real peace must happen within us. Many people spend a life time searching for real happiness while chasing idle dreams, addictions, even religion. The irony is that the only place they ever needed to search was within. Mankind might be exposed to epidemics of fire, earthquakes, wild beasts and other misfires of Nature, but today more than ever, the real epidemic is the psychological destruction of man’s soul.

We cannot create world peace if we are riddled with inner conflict, hatred, doubt or anger. We radiate these feelings and thoughts that we hold inside, whether we speak them or not. Whatever is splashing around and brewing inside us, is spilling into the world, creating beauty or discord with other beings’ circles of life, humans, plants and animals! We must remember that eternal wisdom” “Whatever you focus on expands!” Strange ideas may seize upon otherwise sound individuals, occasioned by hatred or suspicion. The world history is full of such examples and we seem to repeat the past as if lessons are never learned. A true lunatic is harmless since one recognizes that he is sick and he will be taken care of. But the unconscious infection of groups of so-called normal people is more subtle and far more dangerous. The perils of the soul have never disappeared and in the Second World War, driven by the quest for space (“lebensraum”), an entire population was infected with autonomous unconscious processes. It is a subtle, secret poisoning of reason among so-called normal people. In spite of our so-called highly valued culture, we Westerners are still children when it comes to the psychic world. We have only rediscovered the rough diamond but it is waiting to be polished. We certainly cannot compete with the intuitive clarity of the Eastern culture.

The human language of our Materia Medica is the supreme strength of homeopathy and we should look upon allied sciences like TCM and psychology to know our remedies better. Psychology, a much neglected step-child of medicine, can help human beings to understand the many incomprehensible evils that man has brought on his neighbors and on himself. Introspection and the investigation of our shadow side must be the guide to a more meaningful future. The very existence of a more peaceful world depends on the psyche that seems to hang on a very fine thread. Much will depend on to what extent each individual captures some of the positive collective psyche and transforms it into an individual one that can take responsibility for the world that he has created around himself.

Man must realize that the root of all good and evil lies in his own psyche. In order to create law and order in this world, we must first create peace and balance in our own psyche. Over the last century, the world has changed its face in so many different aspects, but man's psyche, his worries, sorrows, desires and hopes have remained the same. If anything, a demanding fast-paced world has made such sentiments all the more pervasive, contributing to the soul's struggle with itself.

Analysts, psychiatrists, and psychotherapists have always seemed to be at the forefront of the psyche’s investigation. However, what these
professionals lack and are still missing, is a tool that can not only
investigate the psyche’s meaning through dreams and delusions, but that can also help it move forward to homeostasis, unlocking its present stagnation. As the physical body needs constant help from our immune system to maintain such homeostasis, so the psyche needs assistance from the Vital Force to regulate the fine balance between daily neuroses, anxieties and phobias, on one side of the danger line, and more advanced psychopathologies (like dementia praecox) on the other.

C. G. Jung stated that only through great good fortune could he bring
together the fragments of a schizophrenic patient, but he did not like doing it because "it was a frightfully difficult work," (C.G. Jung, 1968, page 113). The very nature of the disease which is personality disintegration rules out the possibility of psychic influence being the essential agent in therapy. Although Jung professes his indebtedness to Paracelsus whom he praises as one of the first psyche’s explorers, (C. Jung, 1966, p111), he unfortunately seems to never have heard of Hahnemann and homeopathy. Certainly, the disciplines of psychotherapy and still more so, homeopathy have to acquire the strength to swim against a stream of collective prejudice, which has only become stronger with time.

The creation of powerful psychotherapeutic allopathic drugs was not a step forward in the history of psychiatry since such drugs do not advance the psychic forces, but submits them to a chemical influence that enslaves the whole patient. I cannot believe that the robot-like, unfeeling patient, having suppressed and repressed his emotions with the help of the strong, dissimilar, artificial disease created by a psychotropic, allopathic drug is capable of advancing his psychic experiences. There is neither introspection, nor insight and the small amount of psychic strength left in the patient is suspended and perhaps even destroyed. I doubt that Jung would have embraced these mind-numbing tools. What I see in this world that has been infected by these numbing allopathic drugs, is that people are not able to neither grieve nor feel properly anymore. The act of suppressing grief does not annul the need to grieve. People have lost the capacity to suffer naturally and, if become in touch with their feelings, most sink like a shipwreck on the cliffs, overcome by the natural grieving process and hold out for the fata morgana of the delusional psychotropic allopathic drugs.

Does everybody have to become dull, Graphites people who do not see the connection of physical suffering with psychological imbalances? Is there no more place for a gentle healing of emotions rather than suppression of them? The numbing through drugs is spiritual anesthesia and an excess of anesthesia leads to spiritual death. Even though allopathic medicine can define health correctly in theory, in practice this definition and its contents are totally destroyed on every plane. Instead of striving for the social, psychic and individual equilibrium of the individual, it offers as healing only a grotesque patching-up of the body, while the psychological and spiritual sides of the human being are relegated to the darkest, unreachable corners. I hasten to say that even within allopathic medicine, there were and are magnificent thinkers who have noted these shortcomings. And with shame and sorrow, we note that homeopathy itself has many practitioners who call themselves homeopaths but act in accord with a corrupt, destructive and shortsighted institutional form of medicine.

More than anyone else in his time, Jung was interested in "what the patient had to say," that is, in discovering the true story that lay behind the patient‘s suffering. Can numbing and suppressing the emotions through allopathic medication lead to more insight and cooperation from the patient? How can repressing emotions be equal to a cure? Any homeopath knows that allopathic drugs only suspend and postpone, but never cure the chronic natural mental disease (A38: "The stronger of two dissimilar diseases will suspend or postpone the weaker one"). Ever increasing drug doses are required to maintain the suppression and to avoid the unleashing of the torrential symptoms belonging to the natural disease that are held prisoner in the psyche. But unleashed they will be! The psychic prisoner, (the natural mental/emotional disease), will turn its fury onto man’s physical realm, destroying it with a frenzy and intensity equal to its expression on the emotional plane.

I have admiration for the way Jung conducted his practice. He was a pioneer who was fully aware of the enormous number of questions remaining to be answered, and therefore, calling for further investigation. Like Hahnemann before him, C. Jung was always searching, with unusual freedom from conventional prejudices, to understand the patient in all his individual idiosyncrasies. Just like Hahnemann is maligned by some modern homeopaths, it has been my experience that both Jung and W. Reich are almost never mentioned in the psychoanalytical community. It is as if the mere mentioning of their name were an act of disloyalty. Therefore, the burden of advancing the psyche beyond Prof. C. G. Jung, and the burden of answering some of those burning questions has fallen squarely on the shoulders of the competent modern homeopath. By competent I mean being a true Hahnemanian homeopath practicing according to the Organon’s 5th and 6th Edition, versus the 4th. There is no place for mind games ("jeux d'esprit") nor for speculation as propagated by neo-pseudo homeopaths. "Projection is a fundamental error of scholasticism that has lingered on into our modern times ..." (C. Jung, Psychogenesis of Mental Diseases, p185).

The true homeopath must not only be an empirical scientist, but also an artist if he is to bring forth new compelling and strong theories which must, of course, always be grounded in the infallible basic homeopathic premises and in the laws of nature. Only these will help man to understand life and mankind-- why he is and who he is. Nature makes no errors, man does. The tools available to homeopaths which were lacking to Jung and all subsequent psychologists are the numerous homeopathic remedies that cover many psychic states in their similarity (not equality) which allow the patient to advance rapidly, gently and without sequelae to a permanent cure (Organon’s Aphorism 2).

Each Homeopath carries the torch of knowledge only a part of the way, at which point someone else takes it over. I firmly belief that homeopathy can pick up where Hahnemann left. Just as Jung encouraged his patient to pick up pencil or brush and to play an active part in his analysis, in the same fashion, the homeopathic remedy chosen based on similarity, opens new avenues to the patient and facilitates his recovery and progression in a dramatic way. The patient has been given a car (the remedy) of which he is the driver (as active participant versus a passive slave). The homeopath is the co-pilot, compass and map, ready to help out when necessary (management). Thus this journey is the beginning of the patient’s independence and the setting him free from his delusions.

Healing the soul through homeopathy is like following a moth's struggle to freedom when the right time has arrived. At first, the moth is too weak and underdeveloped to survive in a hostile world, therefore, a strong exterior casing (cocoon) is necessary for its protection. It is like the human being who suffers from his delusions and needs compensations as a defense mechanism, but needs the simillimum to break the chains of his. When the moth is strong enough in its cocoon, it will start its outward journey, but if the moth‘s casing is broken too early/sooner than ready and brought out to the world, it could not survive, endure, nor thrive in it. The growth and struggle this moth must endure is part of its evolution and journey and it lays the foundation for the moth to survive and thrive in the world in freedom. Homeopathy helps the patient along a similar journey, contrary to the soul’s enslavement by psychotropic
allopathic medications. If man is not prepared and strong enough, freedom can be just as imprisoning as prison itself, therefore excellent homeopathic case management is a journey of the soul and spirit which takes place through the mental, emotional and spiritual plane.

Besides the indicated homeopathic remedy, there is also another tool used by the competent homeopath as a guide through the maze and the secrets of the frightful psychological diseases: Hahnemann’s 1828 miasmatic theory, which is the precursor and unrecognized solution to the allopathic genetic theory. This miasmatic practice should be practiced not to safeguard the individual, because he is only a passing phenomenon. Far more important it serves the purpose to safeguard the human species. While allopathy is still struggling with the first practical genetic application, the more advanced homeopath understands, predicts, and already treats his patients according to what Jung would call his “predetermined fixed response pattern“. As much as in the case of constitution and temperament, the patient cannot elect his response to a specific situation especially in a strongly loaded emotional event or in a high-feeling complex, (Footnote 1). To a certain degree, and in different levels of intensity, he will follow what is “predestined” for him. Knowing well the positive and negative side of each miasmatic state, the Homeopath will be able to remove the blockage produced by this genetic background allowing the indicated remedy to work in a timely and effective manner.

Both the homeopathic remedy and the miasmatic nosode are keys to the unconscious world of which dreams are the mouthpiece. Where Jung had only dream analysis, now besides having anamnestic analysis, word association (Footnote 2) and active imagination at his disposal, the Homeopath can use these extra tools to unlock even the sturdiest door. The homeopathic analysis shown by A153 with its rare and peculiar psychological and physical symptoms is superior to the one used by Psychology.

Foot note 1: A complex is a picture of often a psychological, of a traumatic or of painful nature, which make up the contents of the unconscious. It constitutes the distressing personal and private side of psychic life, therefore it is often suppressed (the Natrums) or repressed (the Magnesiums). Whenever the Homeopath touches a patient’s such delicate complex, the patient may react with telltale indicators such as silence, anger, irritability, crying, failure to remember the response subsequently, hesitation or lengthened response time, or stuttering. The patient may even close her eyes for a brief time. When this happens, the homeopath must know that it corresponds with a painful NWS in the patient’s homeopathic history as the term complex stands for “personal matter.” It is a cluster of images and ideas revolving around an emotional center. Often negative delusions are high-feeling toned complexes and even "positive" delusions are generated often by a painful NWS. The content of the unconscious collective (a deeper inborn layer) is known as Archetypes which manifest themselves in fantasies and symbolic images.

All man have such common inherited patterns of emotional and mental behavior that come upon man like fate and their effect is reflected on his most personal life.

Foot note 2: Word association is when the psychoanalyst gives the patient a series of up to a hundred stimulus words and instructs him to respond with the first word that comes to his mind and the analyst measures the reaction time, the time it takes the patient to formulate an answer. When the stimulus word hits a painful feeling-toned complex (the NWS), the patient will take much more time to make an association. Sometimes he won’t answer at all. Those words that score the longest time, if not totally understood, the psychoanalyst asks the patient what they relate to, especially in affairs of the heart, consciously suppressed or delegated to the unconscious. I think about words such as “love, marriage, mother, child, etc.” which will often provide us with striking insight in the patient’s mind. See definition “Core Delusion, How to find it,” for further info.

When it comes to dreams, allopathy tries to explain them by using its technical tools which are expected to discover abnormal brain activity. It is hoped that the union of Neurobiology and Psychology be the answer to uncover the dreams secrets and bombard the patients with PETs (Positron Emission Tomography) and MRIs (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), which should detect abnormalities in the brain. But this new technology hardly seems to help unravel the mysteries of the night as was so much hoped. Allopathy would do well to build on what Jung had to say about dreams. It is sad and unfortunately true that man learns nothing from his past history and experiences. As man is more than ever prejudiced toward the past, the truth often gets condemned. It is fate that homeopathy shares with the Jungian philosophy.

If Jung came back to life, he would have to repeat even more firmly that “Our present lives are dominated by the goddess Reason who is our greatest and most tragic illusion," (C.G. Jung, 1968, p91). There is indeed a concerted effort from science to turn away from anything that is "not reasonable," even if it can be demonstrated, like the meridian’s presence in TCM and what the late Benveniste showed in his research regarding the preserved activity of homeopathically diluted remedies in which there are no molecules left. Present science prides itself in unlocking all of nature’s secrets, but at the same time is losing the battle against diseases like Infantile diarrhea, malaria, leprosy, TB, teenager suicide and depression and other epidemic occurrences. Rather than the patient‘s "objective" analysis, it is the psyche’s investigation that remains the science of the future. Every inquest in a disease should start with an in-depth analysis of the patient's psyche, which includes the totality of his conscious and unconscious psychic processes.

C. Jung would have been dismayed with psychotherapy‘s modern rules. Medical plans sometimes cover only ten visits per year, fewer, or none at all. Gone is the yearlong study of the psychically challenged patient. One more reason why psychotherapy needs to have a more effective tool available like the homeopathic remedy which can bring the cure to a quarter, a third, even half of the time. Nowhere more than in psychiatry is A246 applicable and desirable. From this point on, this book will attempt to show the need for homeopathy and psychology to “enter into an active dialogue”.

Nowadays new theories abound in psychology and homeopathy. We can get along for quite some time, no doubt, with inadequate and speculative theories, but eventually inadequate therapeutic methods will bring nothing but complications and dismay to the patient. My continual search for different approaches to finding the simillimum is always based on my failures which are priceless experiences that open the door to a better approach. Every patient arouses the explorer in me, my curiosity, my spirit of adventure and my compassion. Every patient touches my heart, which is too soft but, it has held out so far as positive rewards have always been superior to the many negative forces in my life. It is a sacred duty to protect Hahnemann's seed of homeopathy's knowledge from the fatal frost of fantasy and speculation. This does not imply unqualified submission to a dogma; one can very well maintain an independent judgment. Open discussion is essential to science. This “who is not for us is against us,” this “all or nothing,” is in my opinion necessary for religious sects and useful for political parties. But to science, this attitude must be considered harmful. “Just as the stoutest walls are reinforced with many different materials, so the strongest groups allow differences to coexist inside the whole.” In homeopathy, we are all a family in which even the father (Hahnemann) enjoys no dogmatic authority, but only that to which he was entitled by reason of his abilities and labors. His pronouncements should not be followed blindly, as if they were divine revelations, but like everything else, should be the subject of thorough criticism, which he would have accepted with the wisdom and attention it deserved. Moreover, we, his younger children, should accept being told the truth to our face about our mistakes and successes, however bitter and sobering it might be, without childish sensitivity and vindictiveness.

Just like in alchemy, homeopathy exposes how arduous the work the homeopath has with each patient and how few can attain the necessary knowledge and experience to undertake this task. May this book contribute to mankind’s relief of suffering. May it bring relief to the modern man’s isolation and confusion and help him integrate both, his luminous conscious side with his dark unconscious one. May this book show that homeopathy is a healing modality that has the power of curing man's psychic and physical suffering, since it does not only has all the necessary tools to relieve suffering but also leads the patient to the fulfillment of his full potential, which is homeopathy’s highest spiritual goal.

EPILOGUE
After many years of experience I now know that it is extremely difficult to discuss true classical homeopathy at public meetings or seminars. There are so many misconceptions of the matter, so many prejudices against the latest Hahnemann views, that it is almost impossible to reach mutual understanding in a public discussion. Yet, a question that I heard with increasing desperation among homeopathic students and practitioners alike is, “Why is it that there are so many different opinions regarding the practice of homeopathy?” It indeed must look as a dark, obstructing evil to the student when he is confronted with so many contradictory opinions where Hahnemann has supplied us with so many clear and logical instructions. I have always found a quiet conversation on the subject much more useful and fruitful than heated arguments in public. Unfortunately, it often happens that so-called homeopaths think themselves entitled to judge homeopathy who have not even read the Organon. It is my firm conviction that no one is competent to form an opinion on the matter until he has studied the basic writings of the homeopathic school. Only then, will we see that these endless fights among homeopaths, which are the sole cause of non-progression of homeopathy, are absolutely unnecessary. Hahnemann’s teachings are clear, he invites us just to “follow him well.” So far, I have found nothing in the modern literature anything that can contradict any of the aphorisms in the 6th edition of the Organon, nor have I found anything worthwhile to be put in the “7th edition.” Please inform me if I am wrong and where I am wrong.

The great problem of our time is the fact that we don’t understand what is happening in this world. We are more and more confronted with the darkness of our psyche, our unconscious, and seem to have lost our “meaning of life.” This spiritual disease shifts our values and everything loses its certainty. How can we become more objective with our psyche? How can we be more honest with ourselves and confront our core delusion so that we understand why we are doing the things we do in spite of the things we say. Why is it that homeopaths are willing to dish out homeopathic remedies to anyone, while I have found that only a small fraction of those enthusiastic homeopathic supporters is taken their own remedy? I can hardly think that the homeopathic practitioner’s association is more perfect and balanced than the rest of the population. We must look at our soul not just with a telescope but rather a microscope. Otherwise what is abnormal and needs correction will look as beautiful constellations pleasing the ego. So are you, the reader, on a homeopathic remedy? If not, it is time to start your journey to psychic and physical health. The path to individuation is a lonely, cumbersome and often unpleasant one. Few honest individuals can bear such search but knowing and feeling the progress one is making during such travel, makes up for the loneliness felt in a world of fake and superficial glitter. When we are close minded we cannot accept unconditional love. When we are able to show our vulnerable side, it is the chance we take at being hurt the most or loved the deepest. Many closed people remain so all their life. I’d rather be vulnerable and take my chances at living a full life. To those that search for the same and want to reach their full potentialities, we want to be shining examples and branches of hope and faith. With roots planted firmly in the science of earth and man, and branches reaching towards the vast spiritual art, we find balance and create the Tree of Life!

Above all Paracelsus believed in magic, intuition, and empathy. So do I!

Dr. Luc De Schepper

“We homeopaths better hang together, or most assuredly, we will hang separately.”
Modified version of Benjamin Franklin

Although I wrote this book in a spirit of dispassionate inquiry, I cannot expect my critics to always respond in kind. Practicing homeopathy is a challenge and criticizing each other seems to be a national sport. Truth never needs to fear, and I welcome intelligent well-founded criticism. I have always attributed my writings to Hahnemann, and yet I hear criticism such as, “you think Dr. Luc’s way is the only way?” Never have I mentioned that it is my way. Hahnemann deserves all due credit. But then again he was constantly criticized by pseudo-homeopaths as well, who found it too difficult to adhere to the Laws and Principles of homeopathy. They pretend they have cures too. But what kind of cures? Do they hold up to what we need to witness in Hering’s Set of Observations? Do they keep in account miasmatic blocks, obstructions to the cure, the nature of the disease, the patient, and the remedy? Why do they stick to what Hahnemann called his “barbaric methods, the 4th edition Organon”?

It is as if homeopathy froze in time around 1828 as most of the techniques used in modern practice are from this period. Although Hahnemann’s personal practice grew immensely beyond the stage of the 4th edition Organon, homeopathy as a whole did not. Most practitioners are still practicing by the rules laid down in 1828-1829. This is more than strange as the next 14 years of Hahnemann’s career, were the most productive of his life. Different reasons exist for this behavior. Laziness of the practitioner is a universal syndrome in most professions. Statements like “I am doing well enough; I am satisfied; why make more effort; why study more” are all arguments that do not hold up under scrutiny. Why bother to check facts when you can quote a new guru-homeopath’s opinion who charmed your shoes off yesterday? Then there is arrogance: “I am a great practitioner. I do better than most.”

Indifference is another prevalent emotion: “I can’t spend my time investigating what Hahnemann did in his later ‘senile’ years.” Maybe, the practitioner is guided by misplaced egotism: “I want to do my own version of homeopathy. Homeopathy did not stop with Hahnemann. He would have been proud with my experiments.” Yes, it is the duty of every generation to go beyond the last one. Hering once said: “It is the duty of all of us to go further in the theory and practice of homeopathy than Hahnemann has done. We ought to seek the truth, which is before us and forsake the errors of the past.”

Homeopathy has evolved considerably in the last 150 years. Nevertheless, homeopaths still have much to learn from what Hahnemann taught in his works. I doubt he would be proud if we are sinning against and omitting basic laws and rules. I do agree that too much dogma is always counterproductive and that an open mind is an important part of growth. I can hope that we all can progress beyond Hahnemann’s knowledge, but we are not going to arrive there by denying that the Organon had anything to do with it. The Organon is the text on which homeopathic healing is based. I never thought it was a religious document to be followed blindly, but I do treat it with the utmost respect, because without it there would be no homeopathy. Insults from “well-known” homeopaths such as “religious dogma,” “stuck in the past,” and “that old, dusty bible,” are used to undermine the careful observations of several generations of experienced homeopaths.

To “modernize” homeopathy by ignoring its legacy is like throwing the baby out with the bath water. It is like building the proverbial house on a base of sand instead of upon rock. As soon as the winds of difficulty blow, and the rains of hard times fall, the house will come crashing down. Kent, in his Lesser Writings (1994, p. 210), states: Eclectics building upon the uncertain sands of theory need to be continually rebuilding, as each new theory causes a shifting of their foundation. Homeopaths, building upon the unchangeable rock of law, need never rebuild. I am reminded of the present state in which “progressive” homeopaths use the words “dogma and old books” to belittle Hahnemann’s true teachings, when I read an article by Adolph Lippe, a famous homeopath of the 19th century:

“The progressive, anti-dogma wing of the homeopathic school, yearning for recognition, have distinguished themselves once more, and have given rise to a new phase of the history of medicine. As it cannot be long before the recognition craze will evaporate, it may be as well to put
on record the events of a few years, if for no other purpose than to complete history, and exhibit the folly of the recognition seekers, showing them how they are not only successful in their attempts to patch up a peace, but how in fact, they receive a severe rebuke from the other side of the house (Lippe, 1887).”

It would be more fruitful for us to study what really is in the Organon. The foundation is based upon the hard works of countless men and women who came before us and dedicated their entire lives to the enrichment of homeopathy. The speed of light has not changed over the centuries, and neither have the homeopathic laws of healing. Maybe the practitioner is guided by ignorance, but we should remember that ignorance is a crime when you deal with people’s health. What fits on the solid foundation, confirmed through experience in the field, we will use and develop further. What does not work in harmony with these well-proven methods, we must leave behind.

The history of homeopathy is just like all other discoveries in the world. Christopher Columbus in 1492 discovered a small island; his successors found a vast continent. As Columbus forever will be the discoverer of the Americas, Hahnemann always will be the founder of homeopathy. Patients want “promises” from the profession but Hahnemann calls one “ignorant” who can lightly promise the cure of a difficult disease. We may have to wait for centuries for a “Hahnemann” to come again and lead us to completion of the work he left us. So far, no one has been able to pick up where he left.

The advanced methods of the Organon are artistic ones that must be individualized to the patient. No preconceived schedules or protocols can guide the practitioner. You need to remain flexible and alert as the daily dose might be correct for one case, while one dose a week or even once a month is sufficient for other cases. In very acute cases, one single dose may suffice, or it may be necessary to repeat the dose at very short intervals. In chronic diseases, one dose might act for days, weeks, even months, or it may become necessary to repeat the dose daily or more often for a day, a week or even for months. In all this the practitioner must be guided by his individual judgment based on the advanced methods that Hahnemann taught.

As a classical homeopath, I have learned great respect for these principles, over the years I also have given wrong remedies and caused negative effects, suppressed symptoms with partial simillimums, disrupted the Vital Force with untimely repetition, and aggravated to the point that antidoting was necessary. Some say they have never seen any problems, suppressions or aggravations caused by giving homeopathic remedies. Bunkum! Such claims sound very, very hollow as this would mean that all the great masters who preceded us were incompetent souls – including Hahnemann, Kent and Hering! The wisdom of the rules of homeopathy are the result of two centuries of clinical experience, not religious dogma, fundamentalism or fanaticism. It is not always easy to be diplomatic when one is being called derogatory names and the blood, sweat and hard work of one’s experience is being called dogma.

Some practitioners ask, “Why go through all the trouble and work to use the watery solutions of the 5th and 6th edition, when I have satisfactory results using the dry dose of the 4th edition?” For some using bottles, spoons, brandy, etc., is just too “expensive” and too great a bother. It is just so “easy” to throw an undetermined amount of pills in someone’s mouth. The answer is simple. Do you want to treat the most chronically ill with their strong miasmatic background? Do you want to prevent unneeded similar aggravation? Do you want to treat the most sensitive patients, a group, which seems to increase daily in numbers? Do you want to speed up the time to cure by half, a quarter or less the time that it takes with a dry dose? Do you want to be successful with heavily suppressed cases and with illnesses deemed “incurable”? Do you want to use Hahnemann’s most advanced methods and walk in his footsteps?

If you do, then this book is for you. What do you have to lose? That your patient is cured more rapidly? That you seem to be able to help people more than other homeopaths? That your patient suffers less and often has no similar aggravation? It is a win-win situation for homeopath and patient alike. So far, few have responded to Hahnemann’s promises of 1833 (5th edition), and 1842 (6th edition). A little more effort and dedication from the homeopath will be well worth the efforts to relieve the suffering of mankind.

Let’s remember Hahnemann’s warning:

“I must warn the reader that indolence, love of ease and obstinacy preclude effective service at the altar of truth, and truly freedom from prejudice and untiring zeal qualify for the most sacred of all human occupations, the practice of the true system of medicine (1810, Preface to First Edition of the Organon).”

Let’s also remember Mark Twain’s immortal words: “Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you want.” It is in the spirit of studiousness and accuracy that I offer this work. May it unite all homeopaths. If some challengers can overcome their repugnance to what they deem as “mere blind faith and fanaticism,” they will find much to learn. The door is open!

Hahnemann Revisited

When an allopathic physician converts to homeopathy, there is usually an interesting story behind it. Mine begins on my first day of practice—a disaster from beginning to end.

When I graduated from medical school in Belgium 27 years ago, I felt like Dr Schweitzer and Superman combined: my black bag was filled with pills and injections, my heart full of good intentions, and my enthusiasm zenith. The day I open my office, I instructed my wife (I could not afford a receptionist) that in case a patient showed up. To tell her or him that the doctor was very busy and let the patient wait a little. It never looks good of the doctor to sit around waiting for a patient. When the doorbell finally rang, hopes were high for the first catch of the day. My wife rushed down the stairs while I tried to hide. Having been well instructed, she said to the man at the door, “ My husband will be right with you. He is talking on the phone with a patient.” The man looked puzzled and then replied, “That's very strange, I am from the phone company and I can me to install the phone.

What an embarrassment! However my painful journey was not finished yet. My first real patient was a young girl of 15 with a complaint of chronic headaches. Her headaches were triggered by a change of weather, which was unfortunate as the weather in Belgium changes four times a day. She had tried the existing headache medications for her previous doctors, but she thought this new young gun from medical school would have some new weapons in his arsenal. Of course I had none.

After the telephone and headache debacle, I took an aspirin for my own headache and decided from there and then that there must be a life beyond allopathic medicine. That was 27 years ago, and I have never stopped studying since them, I discarded all my medical textbooks and replaced them with acupuncture and homeopathy books. Since then I have learned and practiced a number of different holistic modalities, also including natural foods nutrition, vitamins, supplements, and herbs. For the last eight years, I have practiced only homeopathy, because it is more powerful, goes deeper, acts more quickly, and benefits the patient more than any other modality. To this day I have not regretted the change. On the contrary, I feel that I have earned far more gratitude and appreciation for my patients and derived far more satisfaction that I ever could have dreamed of it I have remained an allopathic practitioner.

Of all the healing modalities I have studied, I have found homeopathy the most fulfilling, Homeopathy individualizes to the patient. The remedies are tailored not only to the patient’s symptoms but also the their personality types and to the reason they became ill. If a patient feels ill even when her lab test are normal, we take her seriously and listen carefully. As a result, we spend time really getting to know our patients, and the patients often say they feel better just from being listened to non-judgmentally. Homeopathy is interested in the why of our patients: why did they fall sick? Why do they react to particular life situations in a particular way? Why do they experience certain emotions? It involves plumbing the depths of human nature, and the mental/emotional makeup of the patient takes high priority in our prescribing. Homeopathy works with the body’s own natural healing energy, the Vital Force. And it empowers the patient: the practitioner listens to the patient for guidance in prescribing and assessing the patient’s reaction to the remedy, encouraging the patient to listen to her own body. The dynamic between practitioner and patient is more evenly balanced in homeopathy than in most other forms of healing, to the benefit of both.

Homeopathy has unchanged laws and principles, which once mastered, will unfailing guide the prescription and the management of the case. Unfortunately the information has not been easily available, and the homeopathic tradition has largely been lost, at least in the USA. Ideally, Homeopathy would be learned best in the clinic, as an apprentice to a master who had learned from earlier masters, but this is not possible in this country. In this book I hope to make available to a wider audience the information I have gleaned from an extensive study of old books and journals, many of which are out of print.

In particular I have been fortunate enough to study Hahnemann's casebooks from his last years in Paris. The more I read of Hahnemann’s writings, the more I am convinced of his genius. On every page of his casebooks are brilliant observations and cures. I call this book Hahnemann Revisited because I believe he has the answers and guidance highly relevant for us today, although sometimes inaccessible because they are couched in his old-fashioned language, have also been greatly inspired by the master homeopaths of the past, like von Boenninghausen, Hering, Lippe, Kent, Dunham, Grimmer, Tyler, Wright-Hubbard, and Schmidt; their wisdom full these pages. I have attempted to elucidate their teaching with examples form my own practice as well as theirs.

Certain aspects of this book may seen to depart from the mainstream of modern homeopathy—in particular the emphasis of miasmatic prescribing and LM potencies—but these were an integral part of Hahnmann’s great teaching and I believe they deserve to hold a central position in Homeopathy today. I like to believe that they are not widely used simply for lack of sufficient training. It would give me great joy and fulfillment if this book would serve to spread the knowledge of these powerful healing tools of homeopathy.

This book is meant for the serious student of homeopathy, for the practicing professional homeopath, and the health care practitioner interested in learning more about it. For the student, I hope that fulfills a need for a thorough introduction to homeopathic therapeutics and methodology. I hope that my fellow homeopaths will find something of value in it, and that allopathic practitioners will find a window on a different way of viewing health and healing. This book is not intended for laypeople….

I would like to share a few words, if I may, with the students who read this book, healing is a gift, and your presence as a healer can be a gift in itself, if you give your patient your attention, your respect and your love. As Mother Theresa said, “From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. If your heart if full of love, you will speak of love.” And you will make your patient heal even more before you give a remedy, Don’t be discouraged if you make a mistake. I have made many mistakes along the way, and I have always learned from them, I have been practicing alternative medicine for 30 years and I have never stopped learning. I wish for all of those who read this book the same enthusiasm for life-long learning….

Dr Luc De Schepper