Principles of Homeopathy

The highest ideal of a cure is rapid, gentle and permanent restoration of health; that is, the lifting and annihilation of the disease in its entire extent in the shortest, most reliable and most harmless way, on clearly comprehensible principles.

Samuel Hahnemann, The Organon of Medicine, Aphorism 2

Homeopathy is built on the foundation of universal scientific principles that govern the process of disease and the restoration of health. These guiding principles are the primary means by which sickness can be ameliorated and vitality restored.

The Law of Similars

Similia similibus curentur, which means Let likes be cured with like, is the foremost principle of homeopathy: Any substance that produces symptoms in a healthy person can cure those same symptoms in a sick person. Samuel Hahnemann rediscovered this principle when he tested cinchona bark on himself in 1790. A homeopathic remedy is one that produces symptoms that match the symptoms of the sick person. Because these artificial symptoms are similar and stronger than the natural disease symptoms, the person’s immune system or Vital Force is stimulated to throw off the dis-ease. Symptoms are alleviated and health is restored.

The Vital Force

Homeopathy recognizes the unseen energy force that maintains life and animates every living thing. The Vital Force is the dynamic power that stimulates homeostasis, the immune system, the microbiome, and all other functions of an organism. This vital life energy continues until death. Symptoms of dis-ease are produced after the vital force becomes weakened, and symptoms are the body’s best attempt to correct the imbalance. It is the vital force that keeps living things in health, and it is the vital force that must be stimulated to return to health when it has become mistuned. Instead of merely suppressing these symptoms, homeopathy addresses the underlying imbalance that caused the body to produce those symptoms.

Provings

A Proving is the testing of a substance on healthy volunteers in order to determine what symptoms are produced. Hahnemann was the first scientist to introduce experimentation with medicinal substances to determine their physiological effects on healthy people in order to evaluate the use of that substance in disease. Over the years, he tested dozens of substances on himself and others. In the Organon he gave detailed instructions on how to conduct a proving. Physical symptoms are recorded, as well as mental and emotional symptoms. Thus a proving encompasses all symptoms, including those that are strange, rare, or peculiar, for these seemingly insignificant symptoms are often the most important in determining the most fitting homeopathic remedy for the individual dis-ease of a sick person.

The Minimum Dose

In order to reduce potentially toxic effects of medicinal substances, Hahnemann experimented with dilution and succussion. He developed a precise system of potentization whereby the energetic power of a substance is released. In fact, he discovered that when the material aspect of a substance is decreased and dynamized, the energetic potential of that substance is increased. Because the material dose is infinitesimal, it stimulates the body’s natural curative response. Along with serial dilution and dynamization of the homeopathic remedy, the Law of the Minimum Dose also requires the use of the smallest dose necessary to stimulate the curative response of the vital force. Unlike conventional medical treatment with its use of more medicine by a set number of doses or by the use of higher material doses, the goal of homeopathy is to gently stimulate the body’s self-curative powers by use of the minimum dose.

The Single Remedy

Unlike conventional medicine which prescribes many drugs for an ailment, classical homeopathy employs a single remedy based on a person’s individual symptoms. For example, standard medical treatment for bronchitis may include an oral steroid, a narcotic cough suppressant, an expectorant, a pain reliever, and a bronchodilator. If there is a bacterial infection, an antibiotic is also prescribed. Each of these medications targets a specific symptom to suppress. In contrast to this fragmented approach, in the wholistic approach of classical homeopathy, only one homeopathic remedy is given at a time, one that best encompasses the individual’s totality of symptoms. Often only one remedy is needed to gently stimulate the body’s self-healing ability. If symptoms change, then another remedy that better matches those symptoms is needed. Because only one homeopathic remedy is given at a time, its effect can be more easily determined than if several were given at once.

The Totality of Symptoms

Dis-ease is a result of the vital force becoming imbalanced. Symptoms are an expression of this imbalance and reflect the inner energetic state of the individual. Therefore, all symptoms must be considered since they represent the body’s best attempt to re-establish homeostasis. Instead of being separate diseases, symptoms constitute the entire dis-ease of the vital force. The single homeopathic remedy that best matches the expression of this imbalance will gently stimulate the vital force back to health. Symptoms will dissipate as the body returns to a state of balance and strengthened vitality.

Individualization

Another principle of homeopathy is Individualization. Every person responds differently to stress, trauma, the influences of food and weather, lack of sleep, etc. Homeopathy doesn’t treat diseases, rather the dis-ease of the individual as expressed by the totality of symptoms is considered when choosing the single homeopathic remedy. The remedy is individualized to the case at hand. The remedy stimulates similar symptoms in the individual, symptoms that mimic the body’s attempt to restore homeostasis. The curative reaction of the body is triggered by the homeopathic remedy. A person’s individual symptoms form a picture of what needs to be cured. A homeopathic remedy that mirrors this picture will prompt the individual’s innate curative response.

Did you notice how these principles of homeopathy flow from one to another? Just as the Vital Force permeates living things, the principles of homeopathy are interrelated. The Law of Similars relates to Individualization based on the Totality of Symptoms. A Minimum Dose of The Single Remedy that was tested in Provings is chosen according to the Law of Similars. Guided by these principles, homeopathy is able to realize the “highest ideal of cure” that Samuel Hahnemann recognized, “the rapid, gentle and permanent restoration of health.”

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Information contained on this site is for educational purposes only and should not be used to prescribe, diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or illness. Any information provided is not intended to replace medical advice offered by a physician. If you desire or need such advice, you should consult a professional healthcare provider.