Our Lacs Literature: Lacking No More!

Book #1) One of the first Homeopathy books I ever owned was the great collection of Milks from Homeopathic Links (The Materia Medica of Milk: Collected Articles). It brought the Family of Lacs into our awareness. With its' superb Introduction covering the group's Themes thru to information on the individual substances/rxs & their symptoms it was simply brilliant (13 rxs from Lac asinum to Lac suis with Lac humanum sitting appropriately in the middle). It was well worth what I thought to be a hefty price during my "student days". Just like breastfeeding, how can any Homeopath argue that Lacs are not a natural grouping. Most certainly a classification we have benefited from...or, should I say, been nourished by.

Some practitioners resist prescribing based on Families, but, nonetheless, will group remedies according to some form of classification: we are all familiar with pathology based groupings. Longstanding ones or chronic ones, dare I say, that come to mind are "The Grief Remedies", "The Insane Remedies", the Headache or Diarrhea Remedies, not to forget the Malarial Remedies or Whooping Cough Remedies, etc. Our old time masters and, of course, Hahnemann were doing this. Naturally the Miasmatic rxs can be seen as pathologically based but as you know, Hahnemann himself did not only mean to classify a rx per dx but also as a way to clear ancestral Miasmatic imprints that were more about susceptibility as far as energetic resonance - even from one's cultural/geographical perspective as has been discussed of late (another posting my friends). All in all, since early times in our history, Themes of remedies were observed. As early as Kent the Essence of remedy pictures were being captured as a predecessor to modern Family Classification - of the variety I am speaking about when I talk about the Themes of the Milks for instance. Kees Dam's Introduction in the Materia Medica of Milk is still worth referencing to this day as it set the bedrock from which we can add to our knowledge of the Lacs: "I have attempted to give a format that can serve as a start for anyone who wants to elaborate, expand and deepen it more." (p. 22) A great way to bring a resource and a Family into the fold. 

The Lacs definitely have their Themes with individual remedies of the Family falling under various groupings. A prime example of this is found in Louis Klein's Clinical Focus Guide. For Lac delphinum he has the rx as part of the following "Homeopathic Groups & Miasms: Soft-sided Group, Milk Group, Cancer Group, Rabies Miasm". (p. 151)  This rx is a prime example of the many expressions in human form of a remedy's source...of course, there are so many, but the Lacs certainly do lend themselves to this. Personal Aside for Your Information: It takes one to know one - I am a Lac rx and when I behave and think in a way that relates to source it's almost funny, I have to say...now that I can have a sense of humour about my rx, which was not easy initially...likely because I am finally moving out of the state, at last!! It is not a pretty picture to be a Lac, let me tell you!
 

Further to this, we can also look at Families, for example, within the context of the Source. Homeopathic Families can be from a Botanical Family: The groundwork of both Scholten and Yakir's work that we are now able to benefit from with their Plant Systems that are based on Botanical Classification. Substances with common elements/composition can be grouped together, with Lacs or Acids being obvious examples of this. Thus, Lacs can be grouped via their similar constituent parts/chemicals never mind their Themes as per Mental/Emotional and their Physicals (And Phys as you may know can very well express under Themes that tie them to the Mental sphere of the state).

Here is Milks info with Contents to look over and Lac-c case: http://www.narayana-verlag.com/The-Materia-Medica-of-Milk/Corrie-Hiwat-Harry-van-der-Zee/b1275?page=1 

Book #2) So, if we were to put Family groupings on a Classification Continuum of sorts we would have the Pathology based remedies at one end and on the other end we would have something like what Massimo Mangialavori does in his work: remedies of different sources grouped under headings such as "Destruction/Self-Destruction". See here as example: (http://www.narayana-publishers.com/Self-Destructiveness-The-Acids-and-Similars-in-Homeopathic-Medicine/Massimo-Mangialavori/b2547).

Under this heading you find not only Acids but Spiders, Solanaceae and many other sources of remedies that have the Theme of Destruction. Just to be clear, he points out that we Humans by nature are destructive, but, as is the case in Homeopathy when a Theme of Destruction (or whatever other Theme/element that can be named as a Rubric for example) is found in a case or in a remedy it has to be really a big deal or predominant – albeit it can be subtle but running almost as an unseen undercurrent in the case, as with the Acids. So, maybe we see Destructiveness at the onset of illness in a subtle way and as well on mental plane in less obvious way then we would with, say a Snake (mind you some Snakes have destruction in subtle ways too (it all depends, as we say!) – but outward Destruction is a little different than what the Acids are about – they burn thru things and harm themselves along the way even more than   Snakes).

The Lacs work of Massimo Mangialavori is grouped under the heading or Theme of "Identity and Individualism". See here: http://www.narayana-verlag.com/Notes-Session-5/Massimo-Mangialavori/b1832?page=1

I am sure that his latest book, Praxis, would have some Lacs info as well and one day I hope to find out...got it on my Wish List;-)

I should mention here that Kees Dam points out that Rajan Sankaran has the Lac element as being the "basic feeling" for a patient in his way of viewing Lacs as a Family and that the "compulsion" is the Mammal aspect of the rx/state (this is captured as well by Massimo's heading). You feel that your identity is not strong and so you act to individualize yourself, the story of my life folks, lol! Sankaran's reference is in Spirit of Homeopathy...and on p. 9 of M.M. of Milk.

The Family of Lacs is an obvious grouping and now with all the great literature available to us it would be a total shame if we are not prescribing from the full range of available and potential Milks. I simply can't fathom that there are practitioners that think only to use just what was available in Hahnemann's time – Lac caninum as an example of a rx that gets overly prescribed from what I sense (note - it was a Rottweiler that sourced the milk). As early as 1905, James Tyler Kent stated in his lectures on Lac caninum: "All the milks should be potencized, they are our most excellent remedies, they are animal products and foods from early animal life and therefore correspond to the beginning of our innermost physical nature. If we had full provings of monkey's, cow's, mare's and human milk they would be of great value." (Lectures on Materia Medica).

Book #3) Jane Cicchetti in her lovely book Dreams, Symbols, and Homeopathy has a whole chapter on "Milk Symbolism" and it is here you can get a good sense of the potential that Kent saw for the Lacs. She shares with us that in his time there were Lac caninum, Lac felinum and Lac vaccinum (cow's milk) as proven by Samuel Swan, MD. He also did provings of individual constituents of cow's milk, including Lac defloratum. See pp's: 169-78 for info on this.

At the start of my studies in Homeopathy I missed the earlier Links journal issues with lots of Lac cases – the historic Lac maternum work of Tinus Smits, for instance...when he first introduced this remedy to the international Homeopathic community (5/99, Volume 12, Millennium issue of Homeopathic Links). I started my subscription in 2004 and there was always mention of the Lacs but interestingly I did not see the rxs as belonging to a Family. We most often learn from our cases and since I had no Milks in my caseload (or did I?) I didn't take much notice of the literature (until I got my Milks book that is and actually still somehow only viewed theorectically). As mentioned already I am a Lac rx, but early on in my career I was not given this rx, so I think I can be forgiven my Lac(k) of awareness and interest in the Lacs... but for a while now many of my patients have done well on Lacs when called for - now it doesn't surprise me that at any given time a Lac will be needed by someone that we are seeing in our practice.

Nowadays newbies on the scene can take the Lacs for granted, getting exposure to a very nice array of books that have since been published, complimenting the Links Milks beautifully. Since there will be a Lac coming your way any day now, ha ha, I will continue with my overview of the Lacs Literature and what information I know to be available to date.

Already, you have the Mangialavori info...which incidently was not exactly a book but part of the Session Notes from his 3 year International Post-Graduate Course (read, advanced course, as in the HMC of Klein that we have on our shores - they both do Webinars, so now, hey, you don't have to travel...mind you Italy would be grand! I can't complain cause this summer I go to Klein for advanced learning, he holds a retreat on an Island...Bowen Island, B.C. - I can hardly wait, my first time and so feel I now have Arrived!). Note - Massimo's MM and his Theming work were part of MacRep and was available to Homeopaths with that software early on.

This is everything else that we have to date:

Book #4) The journal Spectrum of Homeopathy did a great issue on Lacs called Cats and Dogs. This was issue number 1 of 2012. Here we get a view from the pinnacle of what Homeopathy can offer by way of prescribing the Lacs: simply outstanding, as are all things Spectrum. Half of the issue is devoted to the Canidae Family remedies – with Husky and Coyote cases by David Johnson of the US thru to Lac caninum (Alsatian) or German Shepherd by Heinz Wittwer of Switzerland. All are presented so as to give a well rounded picture of the Lac-c related remedies.

The other half of the issue is on the Felidae Family remedies. It has the basics of what are similar in the Cat Family with awesome cases from Britain's Jonathan Hardy of Lac-leoninum and Sanguis panther tigris (does a DD of the Big Cats as do the Joshi's that is handy to have on hand). And
there is a wild case, so to speak, of Alize Timmerman of the Netherland's whereby she treats a couple that are 2 very different Lacs (Caninum and Leolinum!). You can see commonalities or Themes, but, more to the point, what was clearly illustrated for me was that the correct Lac must be given and that if one sticks with only a few Lacs in their prescriptions it will not be helpful in anyway for our patients. Been there, done that...in my cases for instance where I over or misused Lac-maternum in lieu of the exact milk of another mammal, as in Lac-leoninum or lupinum. Mind you, it was not totally for naught because in one case when I "opened with" Lac-m it brought out the true state of a boy that was there all along but quite hard to pin point...as is the case with Lac-lupinum. This is mentioned specifically about this rx in a book I will tell you about later...Lac Remedies in Practice (why oh why, did I not see that his dream of putting on a wolf's head for "Show- and-Tell" in his Kindergarten was not an indication of him resonating as a wolf, lol).

Here is info on this most wonderfully up-to-date resource: http://www.narayana-publishers.com/spectrum-homeopathy/spectrum-of-homoeopathy-012012?fromOverview=homeopathy-news

Book #5) I'll mention here that my other source of info on the Lacs early on was what I got from Louis Klein in his HMC course that I finished Spring of 2012. He has great cases and off the top of my head I can recall (and visualize from the videocases) the Lac-caprinum patient – a fabulous case whereby the sexual aspect of not just the goat itself but the lonely goat herder was captured in this man, fascinating, and a nice curative rx for him (as clearly no other Lac rx would have been). As with all of Klein's material he Themes it right away and beautifully, with the Lacs being no exception. Something to keep in mind with the Lacs from his practice and what I can now confirm: with patients needing a Lac, you see the Animal but in a muted form: washed, as if with milk. As an example of this: my Lac-delphinium case stopped competitive sports due to being too aggressive when playing sports. This was in order not to injure others on her own team but especially the opposing side. This is a great example of the human expression of this source...those noses are hard on dolphins (and even sharks can be dissuaded from attacking dolphins when a pod of them put their "noses to the grindstone", ha ha). The patient's sport was hockey and as some of you may know, you can really get hurt and hurt others in this sport, especially when it is played Canadian style. As well, from Klein, his take on this Lac in particular is that there are Family Secrets - this is somethg unique to Klein about Lac - delphinum/what he has seen in his practice...it is in fact what lead me to the rx (okay, my Clinical Supervisor lead me to the rx based on Klein's work...I shall not lie - which I would never tell a lie, even though I am a competitive animal, but since I am a Lac I likely wouldn't as much as one which has a venom for instance, ha ha).

Book #6) A comprehensive book about the Lacs that really is gorgeous and also shifted how Lacs/Animal consciousness/rx states have been viewed is Nancy Herrick's Animal Mind, Human Voices: Provings of Eight New Animal Remedies. It was actually on the scene prior to the Milks book (it was published in 1998, 4 years earlier).  Five of the 8 Animals are Milks, specifically: Elephant, Lion, Wolf, Dolphin, Horse. Rat is there, but blood not milk, Dinosaur - milk not available understandably (fossilized bone thank you very much)...and Butterfly is indeed an Animal Remedy but an Insect one at that and with no milk of course (ps - NYC cockroaches are known to produce something akin to milk for their young!). Interestingly, Mangialavori's "book" that has Lacs also has Insects and Parasites in it as well. So, maybe an Insect and Mammal are feasibly closer than a Plant and a Lac would be - and since I am a Lac I would say this to be true, cause only now can I spot out a Plant patient. Mind you early on I not only had a blind spot for them but did as well for Lacs and Animals in general, due to being the muted Animal that I am;-)

As far as reading material, you do not get much better than the Herrick book. She really set the stage for source info laid out beautifully as well as Theming with the Provers words/info captured in such a beautiful/artful way...poetry in motion...and practical for us as well. If you have not read this book, get your hands on it - it is equal to the Milks MM but admittedly it would be a luxury if it was a toss up between the Links Milks book or this one...but, if money is no object both are essential...one is the Science and the latter, Herrick's, is the Art with a definite and strong cross over. The two make a perfect starter kit on the Lacs for Homeopath's of all stripes.

Here is info on the book with a PDF of the Contents and as a "Reading Exerpt" there is some info on Lac- delphinium...with rubrics from her beautiful proving...the Intro is also there and you get what she learned from doing these Animal Kingdom Provings:
http://www.narayana-verlag.com/Animal-Mind-Human-Voices/Nancy-Herrick/b1894?page=1
 

Books #7) & #8) At this point I would be totally amiss not to bring into the conversation Patricia Hatherly...adding to our ever growing list of books. Of everyone associated with Lacs, I think of Hatherly as the "Mother of the Milks"...especially Lac- maternum, Colostrum and Lac-humanum. I had access to her first book, albeit borrowed from a colleague and not read cover to cover, (was at the same time that I read Melissa Assilem's Matridonal Remedies, which incidentally I would say is another book for the List - see my earlier posting on this book, which I have not numbered or placed on the Lacs list, but could very well as it's a necessity just as Tinus Smits work on Lac-m and Lac-h, see also my posting on his work...specifically the "Universal Layers").

Patricia Hatherly is a one-woman-show as far as Milks, Breast Feeding, and the connection between the two! This was true with her first published book and is just as true today with her second book, The Lacs: A Materia Medica & Repertory (2010). As far as I am concerned she is part and parcel of the Theme of this Family! It expands on her earlier published book called The Homoeopathic Physician's Guide to Lactation which came out in 2004. A thorough work that covers lactation issues so as to prescribe for mother and baby to help with problems that arise for either with breastfeeding. Patricia Hatherly is a Lactation Consultant and Homeopath in Australia. In 2002 she did the proving of Lac-m and in this book she does a DD of Lac-m and Lac-h and also looks in detail at Lac-c. Her first book covers the constituents that make up human milk and detailed info on the physiology of human lactation (covered as well in the MM/Rep). 

Her work relates to the concepts of Nurturance, Bonding and Attachment Theory that are all part and parcel of the Themes of the Lacs. The very core of what the Lacs are about starts here for us humans as was mentioned in Kees Dams work but really is brought home by Hatherly. Spelt out: Humans are Mammals that need to be brought back to the breast, as in needing the remedies of the Family of Lacs for ourselves/our patients because we have evolved to the point that we actually are no longer Securely Attached, i.e. - not having been able to latch on as it were to our own mothers, and, thus, to our roots as Mammals...hence, Hatherly's tie in with breastfeeding and why we ought to get back to the basics of this as well as use Lac rxs to address states that we get into due to a breakdown in our natural ways. This essential "lack" can very well address the very Human problems we have despite the other Kingdoms that our patients may well belong to...and so, even if one is a Mineral or an Insect for that matter (and least we forget, a Plant) maybe at some point mammary gland remedies - just as with the Matridonal remedies - may be called for in the case/at some point in time.

I now do have Hatherly back in my life - just this winter Patricia generously sent me a copy of her MM and I do love it just as others do. I will write a full review for a North American journal to highlight it for those that somehow are not aware of it. There are already 2 reviews pointing out how it is clinically useful. Roger van Zandvoort correctly calls it an "Opus" of a book...and he should know as he is a repertory man extraordinaire. So his naming it as such certainly does make the argument for having it on your shelves. Having said this, I will say that the prescribing of Milks from my experience is about having the right frame of mind to grasp that a Lac is needed either "Constitutionally" or as a matter of clearing a state that is somehow imprinted onto the patient and, therefore, it could be a matter of needing a Lac for the reasons as outlined in the Themes of the Family with a particular one being necessary to do the job...really, as with all remedies, the correct one at the right time is what it is all about! Aside: funny enough Kees Dams (I need to meet this man!) has this to say on what is the perfect Simillimum - interestingly it is in a piece he did on Lac-m in Interhomeopathy, February 2006 - "It must be given at the right time and in a form that can be dealt with." There are two other points and more great stuff in this piece that elaborate further on finding the Simillimum that really reinforce my sense that Lacs are actually underprescribed (that is the correct Lac for the patient needing a Lac if they do - recalling my sense that Lac-c is overprescribed, but in my opinion it is not actually being given as a Lac rx per se).

And now here are the 2 Hatherly reviews that might help tip things in favour for her work:

http://www.narayana-publishers.com/spectrum-homeopathy/spectrum-of-homoeopathy-012012?fromOverview=homeopathy-news

http://www.minimum.com/reviews/the-lacs-materia-medica-repertory.htm

Lastly, Hatherly has a newsletter that you can get sent to your inbox and it is on her website that you can sign up for it, Milk Matters: http://www.patriciahatherly.com/
Note - her site has great articles/cases and provings that you can read/get a sense of how intertwined her Lactation consulting work really ties in with Lac prescribing for states induced by the problems that can arise for women and infants at the time of birthing/breastfeeding, etc. 

Book #9) So, without further ado since you already have added this to your own Wish List, I will side step Australia from whence Hatherly and one other Lacs author hale from (coming up...)...to mention that Farokh Master has a book (actually power point slides from a lecture it would seem) that I would say needs a quick mention because we are after all doing an inventory of our Lacs Literature.

It was made available to the Homeopathic world in 2010 and I had always scanned it along with my Klein notes when considering a Lac rx. Now, I have such a plethora of material I just whip thru them all like a card deck - got it, need it, want it - when thinking a Lac rx is warranted for a patient. But the Master book is perfect in particular when needing to DD the Milks based on only Physicals...and not on doctrine of signatures and such, as in seeing clearly Animal traits put onto Humans (opposite of Anthropomorphism). A quick note on this here: it's not as obvious in most cases until you actually know what the rx is - until you do, all the words used and gestures do not make for an easy prescription...once they are on the rx though, let me tell you, they are literally speaking the source and it is crazy! You see it in subtle ways once you have come to the rx and you look back at the words of your patient. Anyways, back to Master's book: I find it very trustworthy as it has great info on the Physicals of the rxs as already mentioned...as he does par excellence in all his work from anything such as Snakes, Fungi to his top notch Pediatrics clinical guide of 75 remedies. He really rounds out the info that was lacking not too long ago - but, thankfully not so much these days. I am still grateful for the book because it was helpful in all my cases...the other books I had initially did not have enough on the Physicals...and as happens in our Literature on whatever topic each book has it's own special gems that can only be found in the one book and no other and so, you have to constantly be re-reading, borrowing, using your Reference Works or such and then doing it all over again when you next suspect a rx from a certain Family although you already prescribed from that group of rxs!

Here is the Master book with the Contents and Lac equininum info as a PDF, a "Reading Excerpt":
http://www.narayana-verlag.com/Lacs-in-Homeopathy/Farokh-J-Master/b929?page=1 

#10) One more diversion prior to the Last Book, Number #11)...If you look at the website of Narayana and do a search of "Lacs" you will see a DVD of a "Congress" (Seminar for us North American's) with a Homeopath named Jonathan Hardy...I was there in the flesh, maybe I am in the video?! not as a case - although I very well could be - but as an seminar participant! Anyways, this was a lecture as part of the Mental Health Congress that had Scholten, Klein, Sankaran and others that was outstanding (see my previous "review" posting on the Congress). Unfortunately, from what I can see of the Contents the male Lac- leonium case is not there - it really struck a cord with me as it was a prime example of doctrine of signatures/the source in Human form as in Animal Mind, Human Voices...it was almost Animal Mind and Voice. The patient embodied the lone male lion that is forced to leave the Pride and make his way in the world on his own, trying to not only get a mate(s)/females but to even survive on the savannah (or in this case, in the pub life of England - where Hardy hales from - that is very social, but, alas, not for the lone Lion:-(

There is a female patient that gets Lac-leoninum but for the life of me I can't seem to remember her as clearly the lone male Lion...I do recall it being a great case but I can not get a visual on her - hey, I could get the DVD and then it will come to me...fortunately, the last book I will tell you about has a great DD on Lac-leoinum and Lac-felinum that really informs beautifully on the version a woman needing Lac-leoinum is about...but, to finish with Jonathan Hardy, if we can get in print his data from his experience that would be great - hint, hint Narayana Publishers, cause I am seeing you have established him as an author with you and published his work on Spiders and Scorpians (I have that on my "Wish List" too, along with the DVD - this List of mine is getting a little out of hand I must say, there is such a flurry of publishing activity it makes for hard choices on the budget of a Homeopath!).

Here is the info on the DVD: http://www.narayana-verlag.com/Mammal-Remedies-in-Homeopathy-1-DVD/Jonathan-Hardy/b15923?page=1
Note- Bonus material: you get to see the Matridonal rxs come alive with the adapt use by Jonathan Hardy in 2 cases in the 2 hrs of footage. Until recently, there was little on their use other than from the Homeopath that brought their use to us, Assilem - and her perspective is one that you have to wrap your head around and get into the groove of her prescribing/her framework or overall context in order not to miss an opportunity to get your patient their needed Matridonal rx! I had, fortunately, my teacher, Louis Klein's cases - off the top of my head I believe it was Umbilicus humanus...always huge learning for me to see his video cases when I was in the HMC cause having a patient matched to the MM of the rx is always the best and Klein put his patients up and we dissected the case so that a way to recognize the rx in one's own practice was what it was about, love ya Lou!

#11) So, we are at the last book at last...on what has proven to be a very extensive Literature List. I have saved the best for last (but in no way, would I say not to get at the very least 2 others of the above books if you are starting to build up your Lacs Library). This one really struck a cord with me, maybe my Umbilicus cord, ha ha. It could have been the timing on this - and I have to thank a local Homeopath, Nadia Bakir for mentioning it in a local discussion group on Face Book when someone else was asking about a case...that was maybe 1 year and a half ago right about now and I am still singing the praises of this well done book...which is, drum roll: Lac Remedies in Practice: Clinical Material Medica with Cases by Philip Bailey - our other Australian Milks Homeopath...what is in the water there anyways?

This book like Hatherly's book came out in 2010 - okay, there definitely is something going on to have them both resonating with Lacs and getting their works out the same yr. Well, it matters not cause they are very different books and compliment each other nicely. So, what is it about this book that I like so much....hum, let me thinkie on this. Firstly, I would have to say, the Themes Bailey has of the Lacs have a different spin in many ways from others - but not out of orbit or anything, just a slight shift but enough that he expanded the horizon for me personally on Lacs and the possibilities they hold for patients in our modern world that is so very devoid of love, support, interconnectedness, etc that is helpful and kind...somehow with the cases he has Down Under one gets the distinct sense of alienation that people needing Lac rxs would feel - they are trying to survive (Animal quality/Kingdom) and yet are really not aware of this...sort of somehow stands out with Bailey, as no other Homeopath's Lac cases for me. So far, I am aware I have not said anything concrete, but that is the quality I had upon reading the 15 pages of the Introduction's Themes...it was as if you get a feel of the Themes more than just the words with Bailey: Missing Foundation, Ambivalence, Paradise Lost, Alone & Co-dependent, Where is the Man?, Victim Consciousness, and Push & Pull for instance are 7 of the 12 Themes....not including ones that are unique to each of the 8 rxs that Bailey has info/rubrics, cases for: from Lac humanum to Lac lupinum - this last one being very good info that somehow had me really appreciate his unique spin on the Lacs. For instance, the case had a feel that was so different from others I had...and with this book I was able to really see some of my cases with clarity where I had been lost with them prior to getting this book. I would whole heartedly recommend this book. I have learned not to judge a book by its cover - this is a nice one mind you - but in terms of Bailey I had judged him by his author pic and ruled out this Lacs book as anything I would have been interested in because I believed his Homeopathic Psychology book was something that was very simple, my can I ever be judging! So, will have to check that one out one day....and always remember never to think just cause someone is good looking that they are not necessarily flakey, and boy, who am I to pronounce on flakiness!!

Here is the info on the book with the FULL Introduction!! As well for another "Reading Exerpt" the great folks at Narayana got the great folks at Emryss to allow for the Lac delphinum chapter and verse be included for your reading pleasure. Enjoy: http://www.narayana-verlag.com/Lac-Remedies-in-Practice/Philip-M-Bailey/b9157

Oh, a review too. And a good one to give a sense of what makes this book special (I forgot that Bailey breaking it down, his thinking at time of case taking & case analysis is very, very helpful): http://www.narayana-verlag.com/Lac-Remedies-in-Practice//Review/r37

So, Everyone! it has been fun to do this little exercise -- an inventory of our Lacs resources. I hope it will prove to be helpful for those of you trying like myself to always get the best value for your hard earned dollars. It is totally exciting times for us Homeopaths because we have so many quality books to chose from now and, therefore, so many more remedies we can match our patients to when they come to us for help...what really we all strive to do, heal those that cross our paths on their and our own journeys of healing.

 
 

Homeopathy's Green Revolution: Adapting to Jan Scholten's Plant System

Large Sensitive Plant, Robert Thornton, Botanist (1768-1837)

Botanical metaphors appear so ubiquitously in Chinese [historical medical] writing that we are apt to take such remarks for granted. Yet in them we may discover one answer to [the] query about the relationship between various viscera and the parts that each governs [in human beings]. And that answer is: it is just like in plants. Governing viscera and governed parts, the vital inner core and the expressive surface - all these are related in the same way that roots and stem are related to the leaves and blossoms. When the spleen ceases to nourish, the flesh becomes soft and the tongue wilts; when the kidneys cease to nourish, the bones become desiccated...according to the Nanjing, the source of vital breath serves as the body's stem and roots. When the roots are severed, the branches and leaves wither.
Shigehisa Kuriyama
The Expressiveness of the Body: and the Divergence of Greek and Chinese Medicine, 2002

The basic quality of a plant is sensitivity. It is a living organism rooted to the soil, unable to move. To survive, it needs to be sensitive to changes in the external environment and also capable to adapting to these changes, for it cannot move away. These features are also descriptive of those needing a plant remedy. They are of a sensitive nature, affected by many things and adjusting /adapting to these.
Rajan Sankaran
The Substance of Homeopathy,1993

This last year has been The Year of the Plant for me in a few ways. I learned, for instance, of Agrohomeopathy and met the author of Farm and Garden who is published by Narayana. Very interesting to prescribe for plants and soil as one does for any living breathing organism, like humans and animals. See here on Kaviraj's book http://www.narayana-publishers.com/homeoplant_home_en.php
See here for me applying rx to soil at the start of gardening season (I'm the one succussing rx in Evian bottle) https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150195121266611.314666.260723946610&type=3

What also got me going Green in my practice was a beautiful book called The Tree: A Natural History of What Trees Are, How they Live, and Why they Matter, by Colin Tudge. It profoundly affected me as it coincided with a case of Pinus contorta that I had while reading the book. It was like "By George I Think I've Got It!" at Last! on the Plant Kingdom....this case more than any other, but wait, there were more compounding and groovy things happening too. Another book I read for the Pinus contorta case continued to help me go deep into the Plants in a way that was so much more beyond where I was at in the previous year. The book: Arbor Medica - Volumn I (there is a second volumn). It is by Steven Olsen, living in the US. There are some extremely lovely cases of trees of our continent, including 6 of the remedy of my lovely patient of the Conifer Order, a Lodgepole Pine.

In actuality I had a Tree before this: a Rhus glabra case that Louis Klein helped me come to the remedy of an older man that came to me for his life-long psoriasis (okay, Lou got the remedy completely as I was completely at a loss - asked for advice on the case when in Klein's HMC course). A gentle soul but as a human resonating with the Common Eastern Sumac he was just so different than the Lodgepole or Shore Pine (Pinus contorta) of the Pacific Coast. When I compared these two cases I was able to see the DD on small and large trees, and even all the Plant rxs I had up to this point - and really on all MM, Kingdoms, etc. that I had floating in my brain from the last four or five years.

What exactly did it for me was the comparison I was able to make in my mind based on these two trees - comparing as I did the trees that are the ones at the edge of the Woods to the trees that make up the actual Forest....and ones that are inland as compared to being on the shores of oceans. I think anyone seeing me making these comparisons would have seen a light bulb go on over my head. See here on these indispensible and outstanding books: http://www.narayana-publishers.com/Steven-Olsen/en/a613
(Also here is info that matches my first tree patient so well: http://www.minimum.com/reviews/rhus-glabra.htm)
(Note - hope to share this first and possibly the second Tree case in future - see end of this Blog cause I do have another Plant case I am aiming to share, so don't hold your breath;-)
(And here is the Info with Exerpts from the lovely Tudge Tree book: http://www.amazon.com/Tree-Natural-History-Trees-Matter/dp/0307395391)

In fact this last year saw many of my patients turn into Plant remedies. Admittedly, I did really (overly and likely inaccurately at times) prescribe a lot of Minerals. But the patients that started to come out of the woodwork, ha ha, were, perhaps, picking up on the vib that I was sending out - maybe just confidence that I was going to now get them?! In actuality, it was random, my prescribing of Plants. Hit and Miss: when it was a Hit is was totally fascinating as these patients were really different in nature, as it were, then previous people I was seeing....However, it was still easier to prescribe accurately and consistently for actual plants and soil than for people that needed Plant remedies (okay, I did email Kaviraj somewhat to get the rxs organic farmers were needing out there this last couple of growing seasons - incidentally, that is who is mostly doing Agrohomeopathy in North America. Cool, eh? Note- see here on International usage: http://agrohomeopathy.org/2011.htm).

Oh, I should let you know that with the Colin Tudge book, The Tree - once you read its' Preface and if you get your hands on a book entitled What a Plant Knows: A Field Guide to the Senses, by Daniel Chamovit,  you will almost certainly be convinced of the sensitivity of the Plant world. And this is way beyond just thinking that they are just sensitive (Hello. A Given for us homeopaths thanks to Sankaran!). You will see their drive to survive as substances equal to members of the Animal Kingdom and their ability to structure and control things and those around themselves just as a top notch Mineral general or workaholic (homeopathic Mineral people that is). Plants are coming from a place that has kept their whole race alive - adapting to fit the environment they are so integral to and that we actually could not live without. Tudge, I feel correctly, argues that it is due to the wood of trees that human culture has evolved. Just think architectural wonders of the world - arches and such in cathedrals for instance - oh, and also think, paper! (without of which you would not be reading this - cause at some point the printed word needed paper to evolve to this, the internet and paperless communication - of which I, for one, am not a total fan....a true book lover;-)

Aside - brings to mind the children's book The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein - a real tearjerker but does actually sum up the plight of our Tree brother and sisters on the planet - captures the cases that one sees at Seminars of Plant Kingdom patients...get a box of Kleenex (made from trees) at the ready if you plan on reading/seeing this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TZCP6OqRlE

While little old me has been getting into Plants, Jan Scholten has been quietly lauching his new Plant System. His Greening, I am sure, has happened over time as well, but with truly profound effects - his insights are not only going to change all my unsolved past cases, present cases and future cases but, will help so many more homeopaths the world over - which adds up to thousands upon thousands of patients. His time has certainly come (again). In actual fact, I believe, it's our time that has come. We will be able to recognize the smallest of the small plant remedies (& that includes trees & big vines, shrubs, etc.)...in patients that never would have a hope of us getting their remedy without this System. This System has revolutionized homeopathy - Yes, this is our Green Revolution!

Just a few weekends ago saw North America's turn to get information on this New Plant System by Jan Scholten - West Coasters were the first to get it as he bypassed Toronto and the Eastern Seaboard by landing in Vancouver, Canada. Louis Klein, our continents host and peer/friend of Jan Scholten, had him present to what I heard to be a great 3 days.

Our three days in Toronto were also totally amazing - hard to describe in words really. Despite the bits of news I had on his new Plant System work and even preliminary information (seminar notes from friends there and a goodie bag from Lou, a book preview and handy charts emailed to us) I was totally blown away with the real thing once Jan got to us...and got to us all he did: deeply and beautifully.

And although he gave us a grand overview of the System there was, for me, many other experiences that made for the most lovely Homeopathic seminar that I have EVER attended, bar none!

Naturally, we got video cases and, of course, there was camaraderie in the usual ways but this seminar was really mind blowing and way beyond just the intellectual growth and development that can happen with all the great homeopaths that we have teaching us....What we get is always based on years of experience and insight...and insight is certainly what I see with Jan Scholten. This seminar played out differenctly than others, which I always have immensely enjoyed. So, why was this one so different? Admittedly, I got to socialize with Jan and lots of senior practitioners as I have not had the opportunity to before and was touched to have the time and interest of Jan himself and others, like Lou....to talk to about homeopathy and fun topics (that related to homeopathy as all things ultimately do;-) Yes, it was very special for me.

Moving out to the Macro Level: For instance, on the same weekend as we were learning from Scholten, Sankaran was on the other side of the Continent in sunny California. One year ago I was at what was called the Sankaran Wednesday Summit in Toronto which was exceptionally great too. For me, however, the main difference is that Scholten makes a scheme that is broad but also universal - like a Law of Nature - that others, in my opinion, do not do in the same overarching way. Don't get me wrong, I do like Rajan Sankaran a whole lot and attend him, read his works with exuberance, etc....just as I love Massimo Mangialavori and others that contribute to my knowledge and help me in my growth and development as a homeopath and, as well, as a human being.

However, I feel the other methods, Sensation Method, for example, are amazing tools to work with, BUT, the difference between a Method and a System is that one leans more towards being a technique while with the latter you have the capability to use a variety of methods in case taking and then apply the System to find from your case analysis the remedy. Now, I have not done this totally as of yet (small rx to be dosed by patient still - so not able to confirm results). At this point this is mere speculation on my part and theoretical thoughts I have going on in my head....but, it is the basis as to why I felt so excited at this last seminar with Jan Scholten. As others may have experienced in the room, I realized that we were in the presence of something that was going to shift things for all of us BIG TIME. Those of you that use Sensation Method or Source Prescribing please do let me know what you think and what you felt with the possibilities of Scholten's work/his Plant System - or how you use his Element Theory in relation to your work).*

* - To mention quickly here re - Sensation Method - from my experience of trying it and reading cases - you actually can get the data that can be used with Scholten in that you get the problem for the person - in life at the time of them coming to you/presenting symptom picture unless you completely bypass all discussion of the CC and just get them in a state that only presents the Sensation Level right from the get go.

One thing I can say is that Sankaran's exemplary Volumes of An Insight into Plants must always be honored as they were what tuned the homeopathic community into the vib of the Plant Kingdom. When in my 20's - like 2 lifetimes ago - after reading the book The Secret Life of Plants I had the experience of meeting the author - in fact I recall spending Christmas with him as his daughter was a dear friend of mine. I always wondered what use the information from the book would be in my life...it was very intriquing to say the least, but even as a Philosophy major in my university days it somehow wasn't even anything I could make fit into the esoteric interests I had! The late Christopher Bird, one co-author, was a truly fascinating man - a true character is one thing I can say of the man. He came to mind when I met the Agrohomeopath, Kaviraj, as they actually have a resemblance physically but also, I believe, their spunk and drive are similar - kindred souls.

Christopher Bird was a dowser and, I think, that if he had known of homeopathy he would have found resonance with it....as his daughter now has. I recall years back noticing that Sankaran's first volume of his Plants books opens with a quote from The Secret Life of Plants - he certainly found a use for the information he read! Also, of note is that Jan Scholten was asked to do the Foreward for the book as well - he saw the potential of making Plant families fit the Periodic Table by way of crossing with Miasms (Columns) so as to be able to classify the information on Plant remedies and to, therefore, be able to systematically get to an individual Plant remedy. This may very well have been the impetus for his new Plant System. This is what happens when you get the synergy of two great minds/spirits playing off each other even if they are working independently of each other.

Anyways, to get back to the task at hand.Yup, it was outstanding homeopathy for us and it was great that Lou Klein brought Scholten to explain directly to us on what he has been up to. Two years ago I recall that he spoke of his upcoming book, the forever elusive book - but now, it is going to materialize, this Plant book. I am holding him to it - 2013, and early in 2013 is what I heard him say!

As I mentioned I had glimmers of what was going to be presented: firstly the Narayana publishing team was at Jan Scholten's Utrecht seminar last Spring and told me "...to be prepared for mental gymnastics". And then there was somehting that is a little bit more difficult to say how it directly prepared me for Scholten's Plant stuff. But, here goes. While I was getting ready after the "Narayana warning" I was reading all sorts of botany stuff that was about Plant Orders, Species, Families, etc.

And then, lo and behold, I get wind of another Plant System that not only was available in prelimary form (like Scholten's at this point, granted, for seminar attendees)...and it too will be likewise be published in 2013 (this other one by Narayana Publishers).

Waaa...what is this? What are you talking about? I ask my friend/mentor Pat Deacon, a well seasoned homeopath, total gold standard kind of homeopath, who tells me one day last June when we are chatting on the phone - about another Plant System!

Yakir, Table of Plants

It was almost surreal...but not enough that I did not get myself my own copy of the plasticized chart of one Michal Yakir's Table of Plants and her booklet - now available from Narayana (while translation from the Hebrew of the whole book ensues). Obviously the Universe is manifesting all good things we need as a homeopathic community...sweet.

Sidestepping Scholten for a quickie:
1) Here is the Michal Yakir info: http://www.narayana-publishers.com/Table-of-Plants/Michal-Yakir/b13670
2) Why check her stuff out?
a) Her work is in and of itself very beautiful, really great stuff in fact!
b) Already have found rxs for patients, four legged ones - 2 dogs - and will be applying to a biped, a woman in her 40's in the next few days.
c) Superimposed with Scholten's Periodic Table and Sankaran's Scheme and it works! So, here we see an example of what we should be seeing in homeopathy: that "all roads lead to rome" and/or "great minds think alike". So, with my last case, I will do again what I did for the dogs - work with the PT but as well, since now have my seminar notes will use Plant System. Note- Sankaran's Schema worked with one dog but not the daughter of the original case/dog. With the second, younger dog, only could get to a small remedy that, upon first inspection, seemed not to fit: Fago (Buckwheat) does fit & since have learned from the patient's owner that it is the only grain that she can tolerate - this very emaciated dog with not only parasites (actually has been been unable to eat nearly everything for several weeks....but a Theme of Assimilation (or even more directly from Yakir: "The Hero: Struggle for Separation" Theme of Column 3 of her 6 Columns...which are about Human Evolution or Individuation. Again the cool comes into play and you just gotta get this Table!

For keeners, read this on Indigo -- how it would be placed in the Yakir System - you can skip this if you want to get back to Scholten.

On Indigo: Last Spring Pat Deacon told me that Yakir was more than sound, that it was actually astounding. I recall at the time I had just gotten to the remedy Indigo for a patient - was by way of Source Prescribing and using Complete Dynamics software (she is doing very well on the remedy and hope to write up the case for the homeopathic world soon). Anyways, while on the phone with Pat she pulled out her Table and read out what was said on the rx's Plant Order (that be bigger than a Family...which is the Fabaceae Family, which is under the Order Fabales which are under Rosids, which - mental gymnastics or what? are under the large umbrella of a Clade which contain 70,000 Species, which are more than a quarter of all Angioperms...which are...are....flowering plants! See, wasn't that simple? (so, it did pay off to read things on botany last Spring:-) Anyways, the patient that needs a Plant rx from the Fabales is in the 2nd of the 9 Rows that Yakir has going down the left side of her Table. These are Developmental Stages based on Erik Erikson's Model of Human Development - having been a Social Worker one lifetime ago I could immediately relate to the psychological reference. The 2nd Stage is "Beginning of Life or the Oral Stage, Basic security and trust....and they are also in the 5th Column of 6 columns that are on her Table. The 5th being about "me and the Other". The details on this being "Masculine quality, Father - child relationships. Split! Laws and limitations. Religions and fanaticism, rigity and hierarchy, criticism" etc. It is Miasmatically Syco-syphyillic and in the Elements of Earth/Water bordering with Earth/Fire. Oh and with the patient I have of all the intersects of the Table this one is the only one that fits - once I had my own Table I went thru carefully to see if other possibilities worked; they didn't. Now isn't that so very awesome?

Now for the Hahnemann style of writing - here is a Footnote within this Aside on Indigo: See here for a chart of Erikson/note- he has 8 Stages although Yakir has 9, as her 1st Stage is "Before Birth" - which we all know homeopathically is a very real Stage.
http://psychology.about.com/library/bl_psychosocial_summary.htm

Lastly on Yakir -- Jan is aware of her just as Lou Klein is - she references Klein in her work and he sat with her when he was in Israel and looked over her work as he told me in our little social chit chat....like I am in with our teachers/writers making small talk....

Okay, okay, jumping back to the Scholten Seminar.

Speaking of jumps and of Lou: Louis Klein said to grp that this Plant System is a Quantum Leap for Homeopathy - indeed Jan Scholten's insight is brilliant in its' all encompassing way. You can get the tiniest of the tiny rxs that you just would not get without his work....granted you may have to climb some cliff or wade thru some swamp to get to the substance and then you will still have to do a Trituration of it for your patient - more on this later, as that is certainly what is happening these days.

Jan himself said of classification systems is that they need to reflect the Laws of Nature or that we see in the natural world - so, with something like his Elements Theory it was based on the actual Periodic Table which reflects the actual Mineral Kingdom. We definitely see how this works beautifully in our daily practice. Myself, I was fortunate enough to get a foundation in homeopathy that incorporated Scholten right off the bat and I had put it to use immediately. Scholten pointed out that Hahnemann in effect classified his rxs/cases with the introduction of his Miasmatic "theory". Makes sense to do that Mr. Samuel H. After all it's just human nature to group things...a sorting of sorts. We all do it even if we are not making whole Systems like the groundbreaking homeopaths who are making Quantum Leaps or making strides at any rate. I do it with my case files, my remedies and even the spices in my kitchen cupboards - none of that alphabetical ordering for me!
For those ready to "wander down the garden path", here from Jan's own Website is further info on his thoughts on Classification: http://www.janscholten.com/janscholten/Downloads_files/homeopathy%20classification.pdf

Jan Scholten's Plant System is based on the classification system called the APG Classification III - this currently is used by botanists. Some places, I presume classify by older systems (in the lovely The Tree book you get a taste of the places where pressed leaves and shoots are housed in collections kept in drawers and such...and the impression I have is that some of these institutions of learning or botany are likely the ones using the older but still useful Cronquist Classification. As a note Yakir uses the Cronquist System as does Sankaran - which is fine and dandy but the advantage of Scholten's choice is that the DNA of plants is reflected so, therefore, the evolution of the Plant Kingdom is as well. Hence, this mirrors the Development or Themes seen in the Plant Families that are covered in his system. (Related to Sankaran and Botany Classification, here is a little piece that may be of interest to some of you: http://hmp.rajansankaran.com/content/view/103/1)

Doctrine of Signatures as it were is lovely and myths/human resonance with Plants is awesome too...who doesn't love it when all of this comes into play in their cases? (My Indigo case will illustrate this well). But the clincher is when the DNA is covered by way of the evolutionary issues (the human developmental issues) that the patient is stuck in. Now, that was in the category of "mental gymnastics"!

Warming up to an explanation - from what I can from my understanding from cases that we saw cause those are what really helped and all the charts we had (which, we heard, will be in THE book).

Jan said that we will see lots of prescriptions from the Plants in the Campanulidae and Lamidae Class of Plant...with a huge number of species of plants...but we should be relieved as in total there are "....250,000 or 300,000 species..."...according to Jan, practically his opening remarks - not to scare us or anything; was I nervous about botany and classification - nah! What a Clade again...oops....will have to open up a book to explain.  No, he didn't "promise us a rose garden" - sorry but there are just so many plant puns - no, he did not say it would be simple. And really these ended up being his last words at the close of the Seminar as well. Jan emphasized within his first words that "... to make it more simple I reduced the Genera - there are just 15,000...so this can be managed.".Emphasis aside, I recall saying to myself upon hearing all this, "This Plant System better work with these sheer numbers".

(Here is great piece on Genera that I think will help you feel you can manage: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_largest_genera_of_flowering_plants
This is the site recommended by Scholten - continuously updated so you too can be up to date on all things Angiosperm: http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/APweb/)

So far, I have not gotten into how to apply the APG Classification homeopathically - so let me jump in with this.

The first case of the first day was a girl that got a Lanthanide. It was a warm up but maybe to also make the point to think with the Periodic Table still. But this is qualified with this: you do this only to a degree as you can just go straight to what are like the Rows and Columns in Element Theory BUT with new names...so, here we go.

This Plant System has 7 Series instead of the Periodic Table's 8 - the Gold and Lanthanides are combined. So, Hydrogen corresponds to the Division in the Plant Kingdom called Phyla - that are the Algae, of which we have no remedies as of yet. Carbon Series are the Mosses, called Bryophytae thru to the Uranim Series being the Fungi....we will likely mostly see our "true" Plant prescriptions mostly in the Carbon, Silica Series along with Iron, silver and Gold (Lanthanides). There is this fun thing we got to doing as a group where we were using the numbers assigned to the Phyla, Orders, Families and a thing called Phases and Sub-Phases - but I get a head of myself (now frothing at the mouth with excitement remembering the initial ah-ha moment with this whole aspect of the System).

Okay, we have established that the Series of the Periodic Table are more or less used - woo hoo. Next, we come to the Stages we have all come to know and love. We drop 18 - the end stage literally. Jan says he has not seen anything corresponding to the Noble Gases in the Plant Kingdom...maybe plants are just so vital and alive in themselves as substances and, therefore, as people that are resonating with Plants, I guess, when they die they can be in a bad shape with their pathologies but they don't exit in the same way as the remedy states of Stage 18. More to ponder - mind you, Jan said he will be open to Plants that are matched to these remedies, the Noble Gases...hey, maybe it will be one of us who finds one in the future? Imagine.

This work is a work in progress but since he is going for it - publishing that is - it seems it is a safe bet to get the book as it will save you immense amounts of time. Here, for now, is more to show you how you can incorporate Jan into your life. I have already started putting my seminar notes and handouts to use - especially on my backlog of new cases from the last few weeks....the last 2 women patients seem so Plant-like it seems they came to me knowing that I was going to attend this Seminar.

So, back to work here: The next thing is the Phases - here is a new word....which are reflective of the Plant Orders. There are 7 of 'em, these wonderful Phases. The 7 Phases have a quality of the Stages of the Carbon and the Silica Series - which, if you look at your Periodic Table Chart have only 7 Stages. This was super hard for me to grasp: Do we not get so darn used to looking at 18 Stages? Over and over and over again I kept forgetting we can crunch together the Carbon/Silica Series and take out the Noble Gases of those 2 Rows.

I did not get this on my own even once - luckily I was sitting next to my Master Clinician Course buddy (HMC that Louis Klein taught). Lynn is a super smart woman...and patient to boot! So, when I leaned over to whisper the same questions to her each and every time we were supposed to be indepently working on a case she patiently reminded me that just because someone was in the Silver Series or a Lanthanide it didn't mean we couldn't place them in a Phase or if we thought of them as a Stage 12 or 13, etc. it did not mean they could not be placed into a Phase....

I would like to say in my defense that she was an exception to the rule. Throughout, Jan was reminding the whole group of this - even to the very last. Day 3 in the last hour of the Seminar....granted I was getting foggy and so, was regressing to a single cell organism, an ameoba maybe...but, hey without those how could we have evolved to such complex beings. So it was a good thing I was willing to ask simple questions (was this not an contribution to the group's learning?).

So, there are Sub-Phases too. Cause without more to add it would be pointless, as you could only get to the Orders of the Plants and never to the Families. Oh, it is also the same 7 Phases' Themes that are used to determine the Sub-Phase...lost yet? Don't worry, be happy cause there is more.

There are the 17 Stages - but, shit (oops) I forgot that they are based on the Periodic Table at this point (and remember next you are going to learn that all of this gets to be expressed in numbers - which, believe it or not, makes for a simplification of all of this. Oh baby, you are so going to love it - Homeopathy by Numbers!).

Yep, my notes confirm this - the Element theory Stages are brought back into it at the very end. Not for the fun of it (even though it is all fun and games at times), but for something...scanning notes here....here it is: nailing it down to one plant of a Plant Family. Therefore, you gotta match a Stage (i.e. - 9 or 16, for instance) to the Series you decided the patient is in (Silica, Gold, etc). The Stages of the Periodic Table have equivilants to the 7 Phases...why? Hum, let's see.....Well, suffice it to say, it makes sense - you gotta get the book, but for the purposes of making this enticing I'll leave you with this: you will get to find a small little Plant (or big one) that you could not normally get to and ever prescribe. This can not be emphasized enough as it is utterly Revolutionary - for homeopathy to be matched to the real world...what a homeopathic classification system should do and can now do!!

Back to the numbers I mentioned earlier: What are they about? Well firstly, a remedy can be this for example: 63356.12...you know, Amaryllis. This is right out of the handout that we were given, but paraphrased. We can get to this number/rx as a prescription if we use the Plant System. Here's how. Brace yourselves: the first number of the rx, Amaryllis, represents the Phylum (here that is Angiospermae - just plain old flowering plant group- of the Clade that the plant belongs. The second number, here it is a 3, is the Class and it is from the Silica series which are the Lilianae. Then next we have the 3rd number which is also a 3 and this is the Subclass - the Lilidae. The 4th number is the Phase (remember the 7!) and here it is the number 5 of Phase 5. The 5th number is the Sub-Phase and it is the number 6 (it repersents how the person feels of their Phase - yikes, never warned you on this/more later). Last number, yeah! It is the Stage or Genus of the plant/rx - here it is 12 (Cancer Miasm - so easy as that's straight out of the Stages of the Periodic Table).

The last number really gets you to the single rx/plant of the patient...so, of the Solanaceae the Stage 10 or the Sycotic plant is Stramonium...Stage 13 is Hyos which makes it of the Mycotic Miasm. Belladonna is Stage 1 or 12 (Acute or Cancer - with Sankaran placing it in Acute)...of the Solanaceae, etc.

Aside: Let's get Massimo Mangialavori in on the discussion, another of my fav great homeopaths. I wonder if Jan has read the cases in Solancaceae: Nightmare between Light and Dark ? I read it cover to cover just this past summer. Each case is permanently fixed in my brain. The Magdragora man, "Vincenzo" exemplifies clearly the links this plant root holds in the myths and traditions from Medieval times. "Giovanna" the Solanum nigrum case is really destructive and as Mangialavori says it is about self-destruction. His DD's for each rx are such excellent work. Should mention - cover your ears Jan - that on page 203 of the book, Massimo adamantly states, "I deeply, strongly disagree with collecting homeopathic families by just considering botanical family." Interestingly, he also argues against what could be Sankaran's basis of practice/method - this is on p. 129 of the book...must admit here that his Praxis books are still on my list to read, next summer...I think I need to check them out so as to get further clarification on what he is saying in relation to Scholten and Sankaran, others....

Back to the Seminar: Will start to wrap it up by way of giving you a little more on the Phases. This way you can get more of a sense of them and not just be left with only numbers - which are a tool for symbolizing aspects of the botany classification as matched to Human Development. So, here we go.....A la Scholten, Phases represent the problem in the case or the patient's life - this is HUGE folks....you gotta get this as it is the bedrock or maybe more apt to say the soil in which the System grows: the Problem for the patient - why they are stuck in their life. Like the emphasis of the Chief Complaint from Sankaran. Somehow this was super easy for me - unlike the squishing of the 18 Stages into the 7 Phases.

The 7 Phases are about the evolution of belonging....to a group essentially. The theme is about wanting to belong and belonging or not. If not it can be about rejection but can be where you are on edge or cusp of belonging or not even to get into the group to belong in the first place. So, the problem revolves around whether the patient is excluded from a group or not. The group can be family or co-workers, etc., helping to determine the Series to place the patient - think Periodic Table - like Ferrum or Carbon, etc. The System moves thru Phase 1 from the outsider, not belonging (not even made it to belonging in the first place) to Phase 7 where you are rejected...with parasitic plants in this category. So, like the Stages it is about coming into being and then giving it up - birth and death or The Life Cycle.

Eureka moment happening right now: hey, maybe the reason we do not have a Stage 18 (or Phase 8) is that Plants are always becoming the soil they come back to life in?! I can not take credit for this thought, as likely Jan said something to this effect (or not? hum, I wonder if I am a genius? or not!).

To help bring this all home, I think one case is in order, not Order, ha ha....botany nerd jokes now. So, we got about 7 or 8 a day but there was one that is interesting in that it also brings into play a concept that is important to the homeopathic community. Concept: we need to be doing remedy Provings. There will always be one person out there that could do with the one remedy that you may bring into our Materia Medica. But, naturally, once a remedy exists countless people will benefit once the information is made available to us.

So, on the second day of the conference we see a case of a woman in her 50's - here from my notes is the info on the case. She has a history of rheumatoid arthritis and then has a diagnosis of Lupus. She likes plants, fresh flowers in her house all the time, has had a great childhood when growing up in Morocco. She is later married off to a man from Morocco by her parents and she moves to the Netherlands. She was feeling forced into this marriage and his rougher country background and her more educated city ways were what was the basis for her initially not being happy.

As well, she was unable to speak the language at the start/with move and she was doing all the cooking and having sex that was not to her liking - she once was in hospital for her arthritis and he had not even visited her. It was after their second child that a lot of her health problems started - she has thyroid issues and feeling that her chest is too rigid - "as if wooden piece that is too hard" was in her chest...she has menopausal complaints, flushes, and bleeding gums with teeth falling out along wiht other concerns/problems.

At the time of her visit she was divorced...after 10 to 12 years in the relationship and she allocates her health issues to the bad marriage. She feels she stayed in the marriage longer than she should have due to her children - with them she did not show them her pain. She did not complain as she "....wanted to laugh and not lament".

At the time, of doing a Trituration Proving with a group of homeopaths on the Island of Lamu off the Coast of Kenya in 2011 Jan remembered this patient that he had not a good remedy for. At the seminar we were able to get the book of the 16 Provings that were done over a 7 day period in March 2011. Our local homeopathic supplier, Riverdale, was there with a wack of them and having bought it on the spot I devoured it immediately and would recommend it for a few reasons. Mainly, yes, for the remedies but just as equally for insight on how doing a series of Trituration Provings with others can feel and elicit deep insights/remedy information based in what Jan calls the 3 Phases of Provings.

These he says can occur and when you go through the 3 Phases what you end up is a well rounded picture of a remedy. Jan calls the Phases, Expression, Problem and Solution, which enables us to get more than what we often have in our MM. Often he has found that we have only the first Phase info, the Expression Phase. Paraphrasing here: "It gives most often only superficial expression of the remedy. For Provers that never get past this Phase then you get a continuation of the remedy Proving and get stuck in it with dreams and symptoms afterwards for some time...from a few days or more..."...and, as we have all heard and dreaded hearing about, maybe one can get grafted on symptoms that stay with you. Hence, why I have not done a Proving so far. Definitely not a good thing and not helpful for task at hand (Proving a remedy).

(Just now I was reading the Introduction by Nancy Herrick to her most beautiful book Animal Mind, Human Voices: Provings of Eight New Animal Remedies (1998). Here she speaks of the residual effects of doing Provings and how the remedy state can stay with Provers well after the closing of a Proving. These 3 Phases would be helpful to her and ensure that her Provers can get past the Expression (and Problem) Phase so as to have closure with the experience of the Solution Phase - discussed in Lamu Provings on page 10.)

Roots of the Black Mangrove.

The remedy Ceriops tagal, Yellow Mangrove, was what came to Jan's mind for this patient. This Mangrove is labelled "the princess and frog" remedy and is a DD with Natrum, Oxygen, Muriaticum, and Iodatum. "It had a picture of a young woman that is married by her family, her father to an unknown man and has to go and live with a strange family." This from the Proving write up in the book. It is one of 4 Mangrove trees that are in the book/on the Island and like Rhizophoraceae, Mangrove, there are similar Themes. An example is that with this remedy "Family lost, from being married, death of family members, accidents." "Innocent girls, living very protected, playful, singing, swinging." As well there is "Protection[:]...alone, threatened, trapped in a strange hostile family, environment or traditions overruling emotions, leading to violence and wounds, pain and sadness." Just now upon re-reading the write up of Black Mangrove, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, I see that these Mangrove rxs are on a spectrum of violence/destructive - with this one being on the extreme end of the spectrum. The Yellow Mangrove in this case has less of the violence, but, nonetheless has it, but has the isolation based on similar reasons/themes (i.e. - Patriarchical traditions, etc). Fascinating.

With this woman, it is brillant work and especially wonderful how Jan happened to do a Proving -  quite a distance from home at that...and he had the case open and then could help the patient with a similar problem. Although he saw that she was not a girl and the situation had passed - divorced already - she was still needing to clear her life of the effects of being married off...it "was not a Contitutional remedy" said Jan, but, one, however, that was needed.

What I got from this case like no other is that Jan shows his dedication to bringing forth remedies and prescribes in very creative ways. It is what separates our great homeopaths from the others. It's a tradition that started with Samuel Hahnemann and one that is a good one for us to support and follow in the footsteps of. I think the situation of the patient is one that was very marked - to have been isolated in a foreign land, trapped and very sick and, yet, not able to escape. It could only be helped with this remedy. This patient, like Mangroves, must adapt to growing in a harsh environment - these trees, the only ones of their kind, have adapted to survive in salt water (Natrum).

In this case, after the remedy, the patient had a period of time with more flushes - "...then her mood went up and she was more cheerful - she had a feeling to handle the whole world. Her arthritis took about 6 months to heal. Shortly after taking the remedy, she had this dream: She was flying with her sister on a motorbike. A man jumps on her; he has something poisonous; she dies and then she comes alive and starts a new life. The man was her ex-husband, he does not die. 'I had the feeling he was always after me'." (another few doses are needed to tie up the state/case).

Info on the book is here - with an Expert on Ceiba pentandra known in English as the silk or Java Cotton Tree. One thing you get from a cursory read of this Proving is that a lot of information can be received during the process of bringing a substance to a C3 potency. On second thought, I believe, it is due to the brilliant mind of the Master Prover, Scholten, that enables the nature of the substances to come out in their full homeopathic glory: http://www.narayana-publishers.com/Lamu-Provings/Jan-Scholten/b11684

In coming to a close on my experience on the Seminar - I would summarize that with this Plant System, once you hear it and see it (cases like the above) it all becomes clear and makes perfect sense. Albeit I needed all 3 days to get over the mental gymnastics I was doing right to the end. However, since it it is based on the living breathing Plant Kingdom that we as humans are so connected to it is simply getting in touch with nature and using our god or goddess given rational faculty of classifying everything - remember we do this all the time (who has their spices lined up alphabetically? With me, it is at the very least divided up by sweet and savory and also along the lines of recipes I use them in...but, having said this I will be putting my remedies in alphabetical order soon as there are now too many to remember by patients that I have seen).

I feel that Jan Scholten is so advanced and has advanced our world - he totally rocked it (yes, Quantum Leaps will do that)....but at the same time, he has brought us back to the beginning. The soil and seeds of our existence: the basis of our practice is Mother Earth - we all exist on the planet together. As homeopaths we need to be firmly rooted, so to speak, in the Plants that so many of us resonate with...sensitivity is about that - feeling and sensing. As Plants sense with their own version of sight, of smell, and of touch we too resonate with vibrational energy that is very much in tune to the subtle energies of Plants. The time for Plants has come - they are just so awesome and lovely, really hard to find the words to describe...and, I believe, it may be the homeopathic community that enables the world in general to come to know plants more deeply as substances and entities in themselves that may finally be fully valued & not only for what they provide for us humans.

Just over a year ago in this Blog I said I was going to write on my healing journey and, yes, my latest remedy - only the 3rd in the last 8 years - is one that came out as a state that I was in at the Seminar - really extraordinary, Bestest Seminar Ever! Didn't I say?!

But, truly it is painful as some of you may know personally to see why your own depth and intensity exists around certain issues - which makes for some difficult soul searching but it does help us to be good homeopaths at the same time....oh, what we do for the cause! I think, however, I will spend time on some inner reflection and stay in the place that has come out from being at this last Seminar: to stay in a place of Quiet and Stillness and hold sacred my own healing work and journey.*

*Sorry, but just one last aside, promise! The book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking is something to read in relation to oneself, patients and the Plant Kingdom: http://www.amazon.ca/Quiet-Power-Introverts-World-Talking/dp/0307352145

So, just as my patients are still healing even though I may already have found their remedy (or not) - it really is an ongoing evolutionary journey we are all experiencing and it continues even after death - we make the soil for the next generation of souls that manifest - they literally grown in the soil we leave for them, hopefully a nutrient rich soil. I knew this theoretically but somehow this all hit home for me this last Seminar, by being in the presence of Jan Scholten.

I wonder if coming to the Plant Kingdom by way of the Periodic Table has enabled Jan to be even more open than he already was. I am sure all along he as been highly perceptive, sensitive, and open - as we know he was able to see the subtle energies and ways of Minerals and other remedies he has all along presented to us (Lanthanides!). This time, nonetheless, I noticed a change in feel from when he was last in Toronto - I recall I liked him before and recall some beautiful Plants cases like a Case of Oak last time, but having been in his presence again has me wondering is it me or is it him that has changed. Yes, my perception of him is really just that, but putting that aside, I do feel justified in my sense that he has been softened just a little bit more by living, breathing and sitting with the energy of the Plant Kingdom.

The Green Revolution for us homeopaths has a whole new meaning when we think about changing our ways for the sake of Mother Earth. If we prescribe more Plants we can help save the planet one patient at at time. Think about it: when in the non-compensated state Plant people will be sensitive without being victim to their own wounds and traumas, and, so can share their lovely and vibrant Plant energy so as to help Mineral and Animal remedies soften up and be more at peace with their issues and themselves.

So, go forth and have fun applying this amazing System. Let me know if you can figure out the Stages and Phases all at once or have to be reminded of crunching up the Stages into only 7 not 18 Phases! Best of luck and remember what Jan Scholten said to me the other day at a lovely social gathering: If you have a good case publish them just "because a good case is a good case" no matter if you are a beginner or experienced practitioner. It's an obligation so we can get to know the wondrous Plants we all can be prescribing.

Beautiful, beautiful Plants.
 
"I died a mineral, and became a plant, I died a plant and rose an animal. I died an animal and was a man. Why should I fear. When was I less by dying."
Jala-uddin Rumi (1207-1273)

Yup, Bestest Seminar Ever!