: To: Glen Kohler,gkoh…@crl.com,Internet

: GK> The underlying theme of alternative health is to recognize and go
: GK> with your own innate intuition and intelligence that resides in your
: GK> body, emotions, and in your noggin.  If you don’t think you are
: GK> getting results, then you very likely are not getting any.

: Have to disagree with you here, Glen. The healer <always> has to have a
: higher understanding of health than the sick person.

You haven’t disagreed with me yet, Paul.  I have said nothing about
relative degrees of understanding–merely that the lady will do well to
trust her intuition.  If you  mean to assert that her intuition is
necessarily faulty, *then* you are disagreeing with me.

: An alcoholic wants
: another drink. A person with a cold wants to feel better without noting that
: they ran themselves down in order to get the cold and need to improve their
: lifestyle.

Are *all* sick people illness-producing substance junkies?  Truly,
many are, but to say that all are is, to me, a sweeping generalization
that smacks of the absolutism the AMA is often accused of exerting….

: As regards homeopathy, the king of ‘wait and see’ therapies, this is like
: saying that you want a wall built around your house, but you want to stop if
: its not done in one day.

I haven’t said *anything* about homeopathy, Paul.

: Constitutional homeopathy requires <<<<patience>>>>.
: If you have the right doctor and the right medicine, it is not uncommon to
: send the patient away for two to five years, with the understanding that
: whatever symptoms arise they are to be borne without additional therapy from
: other modalities (except as approved by the homeopath), unless things get too
: rough (and then the homeopath is consulted again). You get great results if
: you wait a long time after a successful dose to treat again.

The primary question before all others is whether a given course is the
once the patient chooses to embark  upon.  All else flows from this.  In
the present instance, either the patient, in her heart, may very well not
choose to–or the practitioner in question has failed to make the way plain.

Regardless of
the efficacy of a given modality, the wills of the patient and
physician must be aligned for treatment to be effective.  If they are
not, for whatever reason, then another modality or another practitioner
of that same modality or an entirely different one will probably work better.

: Nonetheless, East-Asian Traditional Healing is not the first choice for
: asthma, an inherited illness. Homeopathy comes first; if you prove incurable
: or untreatable homeopathically, go see one of us ET healers.

This is an understandable assertion for a homeopath to make, but it
somehow fails to resemble an objective finding…  Incidentally,
many practitioners do not automatically categorize asthma as an inherited
illness.

: Not all healing
: is on the same level. Homeopathy is a MAJOR healing discovery, and we do well
: to defer to it in the case of inherited disease.

Major discovery, without doubt.  Absolute deference in all cases of
inherited illness … maybe not.

The problem with all schools of healing is that they tend to breed True
Believers and Zealots.  There’s nothing wrong, (IMHO), with penicillin
when one’s life is at stake, nothing wrong with surgical intervention
when life or structural integrity hangs in the balance.   Nothing wrong
with needles or herbs, with massage or shiatsu.  Certainly there’s
nothing wrong and very much right with potentized remedies shaken and
diluted to infinitesimal concentrations…. BUT:

        As soon as someone says "This is THE Way…"

                I recognize the Same Old Song.
—
Glen Kohler, CMT
Health Arts Wellness Services
P.O. Box 9719  Berkeley, CA  94709
510-845-8485

GK> The underlying theme of alternative health is to recognize and go
GK> with your own innate intuition and intelligence that resides in your
GK> body, emotions, and in your noggin.  If you don’t think you are
GK> getting results, then you very likely are not getting any.

Have to disagree with you here, Glen. The healer <always> has to have a
higher understanding of health than the sick person. An alcoholic wants
another drink. A person with a cold wants to feel better without noting that
they ran themselves down in order to get the cold and need to improve their
lifestyle. Someone whose Liver is over-reaching wants to stay up late;
staying up late they make their Liver over-reach. There are positive feedback
loops that the ill get caught in, and it is exactly their judgement that
becomes flawed as a result. Hmm. I feel tired this morning, I think I’ll have
a cup of Joe. Nope, my healer said I can’t. But I’m suffering. Too bad,
that’s the road you need to walk. You’ll see the reason in a few months, or
in a year. You cannot ask a five year old what they want to eat for dinner,
unless you want to feed them Captain Crunch.

As regards homeopathy, the king of ‘wait and see’ therapies, this is like
saying that you want a wall built around your house, but you want to stop if
its not done in one day. Constitutional homeopathy requires <<<<patience>>>>.
If you have the right doctor and the right medicine, it is not uncommon to
send the patient away for two to five years, with the understanding that
whatever symptoms arise they are to be borne without additional therapy from
other modalities (except as approved by the homeopath), unless things get too
rough (and then the homeopath is consulted again). You get great results if
you wait a long time after a successful dose to treat again.

This particular person is probably not getting very sophisticated homeopathic
care. Nonetheless, East-Asian Traditional Healing is not the first choice for
asthma, an inherited illness. Homeopathy comes first; if you prove incurable
or untreatable homeopathically, go see one of us ET healers. Not all healing
is on the same level. Homeopathy is a MAJOR healing discovery, and we do well
to defer to it in the case of inherited disease.

- "All other creatures look into the Open with their whole eyes. But our
eyes, turned inward, are set all around it like snares, trapping its way out
to freedom." -Ranier Marie Rilke

b> Beyond that, one might consider a second homeopathic opinion, an
b> examination of the potencies used, the possibility that something is
b> antidoting them……given my own asthma, I wish homeopathy were an
b> exact science.

Your other points are well taken, but these concerns aren’t particularly
valid. Potency and "antidoting" or interference in the energetic picture of
the drug would not be at issue, unless a sense of improvement had been
experienced first. If nothing has happened, probably similimum has not been
found. The doctor might be keynoting (sounds like it). A second opinion,
definitely; a second doctor probably.

- "We no longer know what is at stake in language." -MH

G> Third, the homeopaths that I have consulted with are pretty insistent
G> that all other medicines be stopped when the homoeopathic remedy is
G> started.  I am only speaking as a consumer of homeopathic treatment
G> when I speculate, and I hope that the practicioners and more
G> experienced homeopathic students will clear this up, but it seems to
G> me counter- productive to practice one school of healing art that
G> seeks to heighten the functioning of your body to combat an illness
G> at the same time that you are following other methods that, in the
G> case of many medicines seeks to suppress the body’s reactions to
G> illness. You may be trying to do too many things at one time to your
G> body.

Your comments are good, Gail, but it isn’t always necessary or possible for
asthma medication to be eliminated before homeopathic treatment is applied.
But you need lots of patience, something both doctor and patient here are
short on. I can’t see any way in which 7 med’s should have been used in one
year’s time. You have to take your best shot, and then WAIT. Failure to wait
is the key cause of homeopathic failure, especially when the person is
concurrently dependent on some drug. It will take that patient longer to
mount a response to the H. medicine, and the doctor should say: come back in
six months and good luck until then. If they don’t, well, the patient is
wandering in darkness with them.

>Just my view of things as I wait for homeopathy to overcome an
>allergy problem in one of my pets.  Patience is necessary.

So true.

- "We no longer know what is at stake in language." -MH

Deanna:

The underlying theme of alternative health is to recognize and go with
your own innate intuition and intelligence that resides in your body,
emotions, and in your noggin.  If you don’t think you are getting
results, then you very likely are not getting any.

As far as asthma goes, many people, including myself, find tradition
Chinese medicine to be highly effective.  And not only for asthma, but
for a wide range of conditions.

Another "front" for improving health is exercise, notably Tai Chi Chuan,
Chi-kung, or yoga.  

One final note: my opinion, which is based on extensive experience, is
that any practitioner that balks as referring a patient to another
practitioner or modality is not acting on behalf of that patient’s best
interests.  If you raise the subject of Acupuncture, Chinese or Indian
herbs, or Naturopathy, and receive a lecture on why you should not try
something else, (after ingesting remedies that haven’t helped you for a
whole year!), you should not let that lecture deter you from going
anywhere else that might strike your fancy.

Best Regards,

Glen Kohler, CTM
Health Arts Wellness Services
P.O.Box 9719
Berkeley, CA  94709

e-mail to: gkoh…@crl.com
—
Glen Kohler, CMT
Health Arts Wellness Services
P.O. Box 9719  Berkeley, CA  94709
510-845-8485

r> I haven’t seen a professional homeopath, but with the little I’ve
r> tried, I can say from personal experience that the right combination
r> (however difficult to find it may be) can be miraculous.  It just
r> sometimes takes time — trial and error, sort of.

Scary. The right combination is a single substance. Homeopathy is not simply
trial and error. It is informed treatment followed by assessment. Two
different things, that.

- "How deeply the cry of a bird can move us–any cry that is cried out
whole." -RMR

r> >I have been on homeopathy from a constitutional physician for about
r> 1 >year now. I have been unable to end all other drugs…..because of
r> asthma >but my homeopath says I should still see results. I have
r> seen none and after >about 7 different remedies, I am really
r> disillusioned about homeopathy. >Any advice or comments
r> >Deanna

7 remedies in one year?????? You are seeing the wrong kind of homeopath. The
usual Traditional dosage rate is one dose, followed by six to eight weeks, at
which point if nothing has happened you wait. If nothing has happened then
after say four to six months, the case is retaken, and a new medicine is
tried if appropriate. Then you wait some more. The likely result is that you
get one or two med’s in the first year, not seven. Rarely even three.

Find someone else. It is true that asthma is hard to treat and takes a long
while to resolve, but you can’t get there by shooting in the dark. Too many
doses and your symptoms are shifted, and then who knows what med you need
(unless your doctor uses a machine, which is an instant fail as an
appropriate doctor in my book).

Feel free to e-mail me privately if you need me to clarify this (or post to
the conference). BTW, since you are in the Bay Area, you have the Hahnemann
Clinic nearby.

- "Man existed originally within the creation for the sole purpose of
alleviating our creator’s suffering." -GG

>I haven’t seen a professional homeopath, but with the little I’ve tried, I can
>say from personal experience that the right combination (however difficult to
>find it may be) can be miraculous.  It just sometimes takes time — trial and
>error, sort of.
>Sarah

A couple of things that I have learned from my veterinary homeopath with
regards to this type of situation.

First, I can only assume that you asthma is a long-term problem.  It
is the opinion of my homeo-vet and from what I have read that these
long, chronic illnesses definitely take a long time to recover from.

Second, I am concerned that there are 7 remedies involved here.  It
makes me wonder how involved a history your practicioner took if there
are 7 options.  I feel, deep down inside, that your case needs more
work if there is this much latitude left in the treatment decision.

Third, the homeopaths that I have consulted with are pretty insistent
that all other medicines be stopped when the homoeopathic remedy is
started.  I am only speaking as a consumer of homeopathic treatment
when I speculate, and I hope that the practicioners and more experienced
homeopathic students will clear this up, but it seems to me counter-
productive to practice one school of healing art that seeks to
heighten the functioning of your body to combat an illness at the
same time that you are following other methods that, in the case of
many medicines seeks to suppress the body’s reactions to illness.
You may be trying to do too many things at one time to your body.

Just my view of things as I wait for homeopathy to overcome an
allergy problem in one of my pets.  Patience is necessary.

My two cents,

Gail Brookhart
brook…@ucunix.san.uc.edu
Cincinnati, OH

>I have been on homeopathy from a constitutional physician for about 1  
>year now. I have been unable to end all other drugs…..because of asthma
>but my homeopath says I should still see results. I have seen  none and after
>about 7 different remedies, I am really disillusioned about homeopathy.
>Any advice or comments
>Deanna

I haven’t seen a professional homeopath, but with the little I’ve tried, I can
say from personal experience that the right combination (however difficult to
find it may be) can be miraculous.  It just sometimes takes time — trial and
error, sort of.

Sarah