by Deborah Collinspublished in Spectrum of Homeopathy 3/2010 |
The Source in HomeopathyThe Source in Homeopathy
The Source in Homeopathy making use of the methods and maps of rajan sankaran and Jan scholten, as well as her own background in science and spirituality, irene schlingensiepen-brysch helps her patients to follow the “red thread” inwards towards the source remedy – an energy pattern from somewhere in the universe – thus uncovering the possibility to utilise with confidence remedies hitherto unknown and unproven.
hahnemann vehemently opposed speculation with regard to the source of the patient’s complaints, asking us to rely solely on the visible condition. after years of practice, during which he had encouraging success with acute diseases, the little or no success he had with chronic ailments prompted him to speculate on the existence of an underlying miasm, which maintained the state of illness in the patient. it seemed to him necessary to delve into that which was invisible; it was only much later that his speculations were validated by the science of microbiology. Meanwhile, we have learned of other “invisible” sources of chronic illness, such as genetics and psychological factors. in order to help our patients to heal, we require methods of coming in contact with these deep sources, these cellular memories, and bringing them to the light. these methods need to be highly accurate and specific for the per-son in question, tapping into the patients’ inner wisdom and healing capacities, and avoiding speculation and guesswork.
a patient can take on the pattern of any imaginable source in nature, as an expression of his/her problem. in acute psychiatry, this is perhaps more evident than in our day to day life: a patient might describe himself as a ‘sun god’ or a ‘deer’, and his whole person can be overtaken by forces that seem inhuman. With the more ‘adjusted’ patients, these patterns are less easily visible and require prompting to unveil. even on discovering the inner landscape of the patient, we are sometimes puzzled as to how to interpret it, for it does not always fit into the known categories or remedies that we have available. Despite the concerted efforts of homeopaths worldwide, relatively few of the endless possibilities for remedies have been proven and made available as remedies, and yet it is to these that we generally turn. recent developments by rajan sankaran and Jan scholten, in mapping the mineral kingdom and plant kingdoms, have made vastly more remedy choices possible. irene schlingensiepen-Brysch, with her previous scientific background and thorough study of these methods, has broadened this approach to allow, in principle, all patterns in nature to be recognized. the essence of ‘geyser’, for example, with its fragile structure and sporadic outbursts, can be found in rather shy, gentle women who from time to time experience phases of anger or irascibility, while avoiding conflict in general. it is not possible or necessary to memorize the characteristics of every possible remedy but it is possible to help our patients to reveal the source themselves, by relying on their innate wisdom, while they are gently guided inwards. in her book, “the source in homeopathy”, schlingensiepen-Brysch describes such a journey with her patients, carefully but surely following the track inwards towards the source – here defined as the substance from which the respective remedy for a MiasMs ¦ books
patient is made. the footholds for each step are the irregularities in the patient’s flow of speech and the words or phrases that are seemingly meaningless or out of context, since these originate from the unconscious. We are cautioned to stay alert from one second to the next in order to avoid speculation and to remain in constant contact with the patient. as one comes nearer to the source, the imagery becomes richer and more defined, and yet it usually leaves the prescriber in a state of perplexity, as though he/ she has entered a hitherto unknown world. here, the roles become reversed, for it is the patient who “knows” and the prescriber who knows nothing. one is asked to learn to simply endure this discomfort of “not knowing”, for it is exactly at this point that the goal is nearest. By trusting this innate knowing of the patient, one can ask “where on earth or within the whole universe does something ex-ist in exactly this fashion?” often, surprisingly appropriate answers lead to the remedy or to its name. not every patient is capable of such a journey, nor is it always necessary; it proves to be those with a certain self-awareness and an ability to listen within themselves, who are most able to move inward to their source remedy and name it. sometimes, very old people and children have a direct access to the inner pictures of their source remedy.
the cases presented in this book are beautiful examples of the process of following the ‘red thread’ to the source. sometimes, very severe pathologies, which one would assume to be incurable, end up being completely reversed, as in the case of an elderly man presenting with arthritis, a non-functioning intestinal tract, and the inability to retain any food. he had lost considerable weight, was extremely weak, and suffered from memory loss, but he launched into an account which finally led him to talk about ‘counterfeiting money’, creating coins from heavy brass (a mixture of copper, tin and lead). although unknown as a remedy, heavy Brass was made up for him and given in lM potencies, which first helped to reduce the nausea, then restored the function of his bowels, gradually alleviated his arthritis, and improved his memory. all three elements of brass are well-known in homeopathy but it required a different approach to elicit the information necessary for this unusual prescription.
ten levels of case-taking are presented, similar to rajan sankaran’s model, ranging from level one, the name of the complaint, through the basic emotions concerned, the inner experience, the body language, the source of the remedy, the energetic perception, the consciousness, and finally, to the unnameable. here, one perceives the depth of philosophical and spiritual understanding brought to this work. throughout the book, insights are given into the essence of various sources in nature, in such a way that they become living entities for us and thus more easily recognisable in our patients. the book culminates in “a short history of the long development of the universe”, with striking examples of patients whose soul images represent the process of development and disintegration of the structures of the universe. this is the first book i have encountered which melds science and soul in such a way that both are enriched, and in which we, homeopaths, are invited to participate, in an ever deeper interaction with all of life. it is a book that excites and challenges; it is one of the most comprehensive, rigorous, and inspiring books i have read on homeopathy. |
