A Meditation on Massimo Mangialavori

“A complex system presents properties which amount to more than simply the sum of its component parts…a complex system can be composed of only a few elements, but the interaction of components on one scale can lead to complex global behaviours on a larger scale that in general cannot be deduced from knowledge of the individual components.”
Paolo Bellavite and Andrea Signorini, The Emerging Science of Homeopathy: Complexity, Biodynamics and Nanopharmacology, 2002

Massimo Mangialavori is a soft spoken man, yet is very clear about what he thinks. He is a complex system. The components of the seminar I recently attended being like a hologram – each part reflected the whole: his whole system was illustrated thru 2 cases that held everything together (running thru the case, if you will). If you intersected at any point you saw in one part his whole Self. This lovely man was represented in his approach to case taking or, for the purposes of teaching us in the seminar, how he presented his 2 cases as paper cases (well, actually written powerpoints)…consciously not as video cases. His whole Self was captured with his philosophical discussion on historical healing traditions from Western to Asian and Shamanistic ones in between. His whole Self was made evident thru all the facets of what he discussed, from the remedy to his thoughts on different aspects of homeopathy.

A mission-like statement from Massimo’s website:

“I hold it to be true that the story of medicine is begun by man, each and every time that a patient seeks for a remedy: in something, in someone, in something suggested by someone. Yet this dynamic interaction expresses itself therapeutically in a way which we are still far from understanding in its entirety, and which has to do with Medicine - all of it.” Dr. M. Mangialavori

He also can use the F word (very appropriately and only once) and is lively and animated, but not hurried…Um, more of a man with a quiet determination or, more to the point, with integrity. Yet, you totally experience him as being flexible and open enough to see that his experiences are just that, his own experiences.

Massimo referred to Hahnemann’s beautiful words by way of illustrating his appreciation of our founder and to discuss health and disease as an underlying theme of his lecture. I would say he undoubtedly is living his higher purpose:

“In the healthy human state, the spirit-like life force (autocracy) that enlivens the material organism as dynamis, governs without restriction and keeps all parts of the organism in admirable, harmonious, vital operation, as regards both feelings and functions, so that our indwelling, rational spirit can freely avail itself of this living, healthy instrument for the higher purposes of our existence.” Aphorism 9, Organon, 6th Ed., S. Hahnemann

It was a real privilege to see him in a seminar. It was my first time and I was very impressed indeed. I sat right up front (due to wearing the wrong glasses that day). It was wonderful as I felt the Vib and not just watched; it was as if he spoke to me! There were about 100 - 150 people (who knows as they were behind me! lol). I was one of the first 10 to sign up (on FB, so, maybe in top 50) as he was my first love in Links – which really helped me to get to know the names of the avant-garde in our field. Sort of like the Polycrests…they get presecribed and with more usage they are the one’s that we get to know. In this case, it is warranted as they, like Massimo, are not names but, they are human’s having experiences that have evolved with careful thought and intentions going behind their cases. Why are they presenting them publicly in the first place? They are advancing Homeopathy…MM for sure and our practice in order to ensure that we are all going along with them on a journey down the road to the best that we can be. These are the Stage 10 of the Silver Series people, and it’s in seminars where they shine.

It was a most enjoyable seminar in the same way that I enjoyed Jan Scholten before and how I experience my wonderful Master Clinician Course (HMC) with Louis Klein. Yet, it was completely different from anything I have experienced before. He was not teaching Materia Medica and we did not watch cases as we do with the other evolved teachers. He was worlds apart from Farokh Master, that was last May. Different from Rajan Sankaran and Divya Chhabra (who I also have seen personally here in my hometown a few years back*) and who, no doubt, are “big names”. Master, a “big name”, I would say maintains the status quo, but I have a place in my heart for his love of detail – I feel I need him on my bookshelves just as I need to read Sankaran but don’t practice the Sensation Method.

* - Sorry to brag, but we here in Toronto just have to step out our door these days and it’s raining world class Homeopaths – Paul Herscu and Peter Fraser are here next, both in April. We don’t say “April showers” for nothing!

This seminar was about Massimo’s own journey to get to his Method of Complexity and then how it works in cases – basis of the books Praxis Vol 1 and Vol 2. He signed these so lovingly as everyone lined up to chat with him. It seemed to me that he was in a Zen like state (even with the use of the F word in the mix). Did I mention he gave the finger in a story he told, sort of as though it were a koan. It was about an allopathic doctor who was going to sue him when he hung up his shingle in a small Italian town he once resided in. When he described for us how he responded in his thoughts to this threat he gestured using the middle finger of his hand, oh my! Funny guy but, to be clear, not comical. Sort of like the Buddhist monks I’ve heard speak on life’s lessons.

The seminar was in fact like getting on a tour bus but with Massimo Mangialavori as the guide. He took us on a trip back in time and then returned us to our present place in time and space in the Land of Homeopathy. I love organized tours as long as there is still a sense of adventure. We certainly did go exploring. He can field questions and give his views without losing the thread of the whole lecture he was giving. I recognize it might not have been everyone’s cup of tea, but, for me, it was great! I love this type of off the wall stuff – but, it could have been a situation where you were either on the bus or not…I sensed that there were some wanting off the bus, but there were no bus stops to disembark as Massimo was invited to present this seminar and had no idea that some were only prepared for the “usual” type of seminar – MM with cases and smatterings of philosophy and ideas about practice as side bars, not the other way around.

I will add that I feel there is no such thing as a typical seminar as all great homeopathic teachers have a philosophical framework that is applicable to practice. In a good seminar and in their writings these evolved homeopaths share this as they teach us MM. Their philosophy isn’t airy fairy…but, rather, it’s something that you can sink your teeth into, bite it off, chew it and then swallow and digest it to actually gain nutrients from it to create energy that is forever growing and useful to you in your practice. I always end up chewing with my mouth open as I bite off more than I can chew when I’m excited…but, I also, go back to thinking of Buddhist monks that chew their food 50 times per mouthful. In this way, I try to remember that it is all good – there will be plenty of food for thought for years to come, so no need to panic and gulp down the mouthfuls all at once.

In my opinion, it is a luxury to take time out of our busy schedules to have a holiday; I felt like a tourist in my own city with Massimo. This journey was one where you got to step back in time, in life really, and take a breather to view the big picture. To reflect on the historical context of homeopathy – we were guided through its evolution. His explorations on his journey led him to the unique place he holds in our modern homeopathic history. Needless to say, his books are now on the top of my reading list. The contents of Praxis and Preface and Introduction can be found here (I haven’t peeped as still savoring my tour with Massimo): http://www.narayana-publishers.com/Praxis-Volume-1-and-2-English-edition/Massimo-Mangialavori/b7934

Any sensitive, creative person that has an inquiring mind, I believe, would actually end up somewhere close to where Massimo (Louis, Rajan or any other “big name”) has on the Homeopathic map. Massimo did use the description of a terrain and a map as an analogy in his description of MM - of remedies and how we see them in the state of patients.[1]

What I see as common with the homeopaths that have shifted Homeopathy from the earlier times of Kent, Herring and, of course, Hahnemann, is that they, like their predecessors, had to step it up so as to make a quantum leap. They had to make advances in their practice that matched, as it were, the patients and their ailments that were “advancing” with the times. Even in Hahnemann’s lifetime he saw this when comparing the conditions in small communities in Germany to those with his patients in Paris. Instead of doing this in relation to allopathy or conventional science/medicine the homeopathic vanguard of modern times had to do this in relation to other homeopaths who still steadfastly believed that Hahnemann and a few others had mined the territory fully.[2]

Without too much research but upon a quick recall of what I know, I would say George Vithoulkas was the first to do this inadvertently. Maybe some others, but for arguments sake do just go along with me, okay? Next, we got the likes of the above named homeopaths and many others…like Alize Timmerman, Frans Vermeulen, Harry van der Zee, Jeremy Sherr, Jonathan Shore, Nancy Herrick, Paul Herscu….who else is there?? Others that we can think of, Misha Norland, who else? Irene Schlingensiepen-Brysch and Melissa Assilem. Others, at any rate, who are advanced yet have a strong basis in our foundation: hip and happening really, like…jazz musicians that use the musical scale to play some really innovative jazz.

I would recommend this lecture if the opportunity arises for you to attend – he has given this lecture before (seems designed to go along with the publication of Praxis) and we were lucky to have him at our doorstep to present his method – I even drank a glass of wine with him and his son at a social on the Saturday night! (no talk of homeopathy though - we talked about skating as a pastime in Canada). In this 2 day lecture you will get MM of a great remedy, but it will be to illustrate and tell the story of Massimo’s journey of how he both makes the MM of a remedy and how he forms Families – not mere classification (notice the suspense I am creating – “What remedy, damn it, did he do?” you ask. “Oh, you’ll see….” ).

This he argues is what is homeopathically useful, as all the other progressive homeopaths do as well: families/systemically grouping based on experience with the remedies in clinic. He gave the example of conventional botanical classification. So what? Massimo says: we can classify, as does science, but really it is just an innate human trait to classify. The botanical world is classified, but this is somewhat useless to us as there are shifts based on reorganization that continuously happens. In ancient times plants, for instance, were classified by flower colour.

I should mention here that I am interested in what Stephanie Nile’s speaks to in her book, The Structure of the Plant Kingdom. Also, we do know that Scholten’s plant Families based on sciences classification are different than Sankarans, but there is order…and, not just a chaotic or random system (just as his findings with the Periodic Table paralleled the actual scientific classification). From what I can see in the huge amount of exerts on the Narayana website of the Nile's book, she is part of the next generation that Massimo talked about. He declared that the next generation of homeopaths will take over the work of himself and others like Scholten and Sankaran (to use what they have discovered and then move on with the job of classification re- Families and to cross Kingdoms). See excerpts here for those so inclined to take a detour at this time: http://www.narayana-publishers.com/Structuralism-and-the-Plant-Kingdom/Stephanie-Nile/b9756

There was so much spoken about, very complex, haha…but, quite simple at the same time. We were continuously all brought back on the tour bus to the town square to get our bearings. Everything was grounded in the reality of the whole point of homeopathy: to cure patients of their ailments/imbalances. For me, in the town square (breaks) there was time to sip tea and to digest what was said – it was interesting though that the participants did not really chat on the contents of what Massimo said – it was either a case of being in a state of shock or there being lots of inner reflection going on. It was hard to gage what was the reaction of the crowd, again it was a situation of my lack of the correct prescription glasses that contributed to what was happening for me!

Another facet of the seminar was the idea of what substances to use as remedies in the first place. According to Massimo there were 3 things of interest as the basis of why we should bring into homeopathic usage any substance in the first place. They were: its use to humans, the substance’s source characteristics, and also the myths and lore of the substance. The clinical usage, however, is what Massimo finds to be even more important then the proving results of a substance. He spoke to this and put provings in the context of Hahnemann and others, including medical practitioners and healers from European and non-European cultures. His view boils down to this on Provings:

“With the universe of knowledge about the substances, it’s limiting to exclude all the information beyond that which arises from the homeopathic proving.”

He moved towards discussing and illustrating that remedies and their Family classification are only useful from what we see in our patients. So our MM and Reps are useful only if we can get a picture of a remedy based on patients cured with the remedy in question. He is working on his own MM based on what he preaches, cases – 10,000 he has in his data bank (This is what I heard, my glasses don’t effect my hearing…I just wanna know if all of these were his patients over the last 30 yrs, or included are cases of his students and colleagues as well?)!

The remedies are grouped in Families, as most of you would know if you have read his works, unlike myself. He groups around themes that are seen in all the clinical cases that he personally has seen in his 30 years of practice. I do, nonetheless, know this from the great seminar titles/emails I get that Betty Wood sends out – Sigh, I would love to have been attending those over the last few years.

Quick aside – I’ve noticed all the “big names” got underway 30 years ago. Anyways, this seminar had as its foundation or running thru the case! an exploration of 2 cases of Oleum animals. Ahhh, the remedy finally revealed, and what a remedy, folks. The cases were amazing. I wonder if they are in Praxis – will have to wait till my books arrive from Narayana.

Anyways, how he came up with the 3 themes/parts of the remedy were from these and a number of other patients that he saw who were cured with the remedy. A cure, as he states, is when after at least 5 years follow-up there is no more pathology – at a deep level, so not just a superficial cure. A great discussion was had on the merits of Hahnemann’s beautiful aim of cure, Aphorism 9 as referred to above.

He also stated something that some would consider contentious:

“We are looking to treat the patients, their deepest anguish. We have to look at what is not treatable and what is curable in our patient – when we think we can cure that is our delusion. It is bullshit – the most that we can do is to help our patient to be compensated successfully of their state. We can help our patient to better cope and to compensate [their] situation, but whenever in life the difficult situation arises….they always break in the same place [like a crystal vase]…if we treat with a remedy and are helped with deep treatment then they can deal faster and better in the future [with what is their issue]…Best we can do is help with DNA problems, but we can’t change DNA.”

I recall that the main teacher during my initial study of homeopathy gave us lots of Massimo stories. Even though I never finished with the school where it all began for me, it was, nevertheless, my foundation to launch off into the world of Homeopathy. I am still grateful for the awareness that I got of the wider world of homeopathy, the global picture of it. We got stories galore and that is how I best learn, so that school was a good match in that way for me. The Massimo stories were always the best. I must say I had the impression that his presence would be stronger in more of an eccentric way, but this was not the case at all – he’s a philosophical and artsy dude really, but really meticulous and into exacting science of Homeopathy as well. Also, a computer nut who is all about keeping and sorting the vast amounts of data that he plays with to make useful summaries or classifications for us all. I am Left leaning (politically as well) and so, the doubt is too great to move to doing this, but our guys and gals that are centrally located on the periodic table do this important work for us;-) Massimo told us that each morning he spends about 30 or 40 minutes reading over past cases in relation to new Families he comes up with and to compare with his current cases.

The themes of the remedy were given initially to show us that his themes are precise or small but broad as well.
They were:
Withdrawal
Over trying, frustrated as know can’t succeed to be accepted by father due to own inadequacies
Feel deformed/ugly
He used the term as summary, “professional loser” for this remedy. Not that he felt the patients were that – you sensed that he really felt compassion for them in their anguish.

But, what Massimo was telling us was that with the first theme, there are huge number of remedies, right. As with the other themes. Withdrawal is there in lots of other remedies and Drug Family remedies – not all, but many, right? Well, his point is that only with this remedy do you have the constellation of these 3 themes together. And with each case, patient, you see that is Oleum animales you will see the emphasis differently within these 3 themes.

The first case, a 16 year old boy, the second a 45 year woman. Similarities yes, but wonderful expressions (sad and with pathology, granted) of Oleum animales. We also got a DD of a Carbo-veg case and in this 41 yr old woman we could see the commonalities, but once you read over and felt the case we broke off into small groups. We looked at aspects of the cases/sxs and you could distinctly see differences even though there was so much in common on the M/E and physical levels.

The remedy we did is made from Stag’s horn and in line with the criteria of Massimo since it was used as far back as 3000 years ago by the Egyptians and has been used in other forms throughout human history. Chinese medicine for instance: my grandmother who lived in a healthy and vibrant manner right till she was 101 used this ground up in a Chinese herbal concoction that she regularly took. So did my grandfather and he lived until 87…and was vital up to the end too. Admittedly, my grandmother used more tiger bone ground up…totally illegal and not a renewable source like antler horn.

Massimo’s work on the source was cool – the antlers are regenerated each season (we saw shots of the growth rate of the full antler sets – amazing)…Also, about the symbolic fight to mate of the stag, the head is where all the energy and blood go to grow the antlers which are symbolic of male power. The masculinity here is the issue of falling down, though. It should be noted that the horns are made stronger when the stag’s fight, they need to lock horns to actually make more vascular tissue. In terms of falling down, the horns fall down to the ground at season’s end – so, the remedy is not about the erect penis. It is a flaccid penis. The ex-phallus of the animal. Let’s see what else is in my notes: oh yes, a phallus is a symbol of power and so, the antlers are what remain of the power, they are not powerful. Physically the bones, structure of patients are weak.

This is what is seen in the Family of volatile carbons (Clark’s early classification was good said Massimo for this and good DDs) and in this remedy in particular you see in the slow movement, the chill (1/2 of body or parts and with numbness or loss of sensation of parts – physical expression of the withdrawal from world, as is the constant long sleep of the patients – 15 hrs and no dreaming and no sense of being rested when wake). Note- there is more affinity with this group and with the oils, like Oleum jecoris than with other horned animals, such as deer or cows. I did share with him from Louis Klein’s Clinical Focus Guide the write up on this remedy and he was keen to have and read. Massimo told me that he always meant to look at Louis Klein’s work but just hadn’t had time before. Broad minded, for sure, would be a theme in his remedy!

The theme of ugly/deformed was experienced by the 16 year old as having the sensation of an enlarged head/seeing himself as a monster as if he was Frankenstein. In the remedy one often sees head deformity of some sort – as Massimo did in nearly all of his cases with exception of just one, if I remember correctly. The woman had a situation where her jaw could get stuck always in the open position. For her whole life, she never allowed herself to laugh or even smile so as not have her jaw end up unhinged. She also was extremely embarrassed (mortified) of her bad teeth which no one would fix. And, the parent(s) in the remedy/cases of Massimo always are not emotionally available or even physically present that much – so, it takes a drastic health issue really to alert them that their child needs care, even basic medical attention.

In the boy’s case, he had acne that was not really bad, but because his father was scarred from acne he was actually afraid of this for himself – but, the CC of the father was the boy’s slow learning and psychological problems – very slow (all patients have extremely slow movements) and withdrawn (as in 1st theme). He was finally getting help as he was failing at school and the father was at wits end about this as an educator. The boy was more pronounced, clearly obvious in this as opposed to the case of the female case – she was less compensated is what Massimo pointed out. At this point, the tour bus took a great detour and we had a nice discussion on compensation as a concept. At this point Massimo gave his view of health and disease and what is to be treated with homeopathy.

Last tidbit on Oleum animale that is super neat but relevant is that the substance was originally used in modern times by chemist/doctor, Johann Conrad Dippel of Dippel’s oil fame...made from the substance – the stag’s horn. It was in the employ of the Frankenstein family and in their Castle – yes, the basis of the movies and was the place and this inventor, made into mad scientist of Mary Shelley’s gothic novel. And here in the case, totally played out in the life of the 16 year old boy. His father actually showed him the funny version of the film with Mel Brooks in hopes of having him overcome his fears about Frankenstein, but to no avail as he ended up finding and watching the serious version with Robert De Niro. He resonated with the monster in it and ended up feeling even more sad/depressed and isolated, more of a monster himself. It was one of those homeopathic moments – yet, another Massimo story to add to our canon!
(More juicy stuff: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Conrad_Dippel)

So, to finish up my meditation on Massimo I’ll give this to you word for word in honour of him:

“On the concept of simillimum…can be seen in many different ways…according to your expectations. If we are homeopathic doctors means we use homeopathic remedies…we all have different expectations, ie – in the child (16 year old boy) – decent level of treatment would be to not have difficulty with skin and discharges – for the lady would be the backache…could have considered a lot of other remediess – and the remedies would have helped and you would be satisfied and they happy…what your expectation is the key there!!

Define Disease –if start from what Hahnemann said…the aim of good therapy is to have patient achieve their highest purpose of their existence…means you should be able to help person in their evolution…so with the lady not only the back and ear – but to have a more satisfactory life – to be more creative to blow out in her office, to recognize she could have a better life.

You could not expect to come out from school and do this at beginning – I think more then sufficient to help little by little the patient…honest to help the state of the patient – I think the state is the whole of the patient.

When cholera of Europe with Hahnemann – I do best that I can and I am honest, this is better then they take antibiotics…
If you have more symptomatic approach with the patient - superficial then enough to stop the poor kids [of developing world] not to have such diarrhea. If you can take more time to see them and you are interested to do more. [To do] better then possible – not be intimated by idea that [you may] not find a constitutional remedy at first, just try best…

If you treat acutes with [the] constitutional it should work for a few years [for you] to know it is constitutional…with chronic disease need, [such as]MS, need many years of improvement, with a crisis then know is the constitutional…”

In closing, it was inspiring to hear from this lovely human being in his prime (not like the stag horn, haha) that you can simply be honest in your intentions and start small and evolve in getting to the depth of our patient’s states. Knowing MM in a deep and evolved way, as in his Method of Complexity, is essential – but, together, skill and knowledge can go a long way. I would say that due to his genuine interest in us, those of us in the seminar listening to him, I left feeling good and if there had been “I Love Massimo” t-shirts available for purchase I would have bought one.

This is for you Massimo:

Heaven goes on forever.
Earth endures forever.

There’s a reason heaven and earth go on enduring forever:
Their life isn’t their own
So their life goes on forever.

Hence, in putting himself last
the sage puts himself first,
and in giving himself up
he preserves himself.

If you aren’t free of yourself
How will you ever become yourself?

From the Tao Te Ching (#7), Lao Tzu

[1] As it so happens I presently am reading Louis Klein’s Miasms and Nosodes, so can’t promise a review of Praxis and, hence, why I am not allowing myself to read even excerpts from Narayana’s website…and, incidentally, Klein’s book as well meets my criterion of an evolved teacher/homeopath big time! Thoughts to follow one day…for an actual review see: http://www.interhomeopathy.org/book-review-miasms-and-nosodes-by-louis-klein
NB - the comments posted afterwards are interesting as they address my current fav topic: new methodologies vs. traditional classical homeopathy.

[2] Good example of this adherence to original classical homeopathy in our times is in a Master book from 2008. I own it and love it as a dear little friend. Like an old friend that warms the heart and is there when you need them, but they tenaciously stick to romanticizing your past life together, without acknowledging you have changed as a person and, that maybe, it is time to move on...but, at the same time, who better to reminisce with then those that know you from back in the day? http://www.narayana-publishers.com/Understanding-Posology-in-Classical-Homoeopathy/Master-Fernandes/b5368

The Periodic Table in Homeopathy: The Silver Series by Ulrich Welte is The textbook on Scholten’s Element Theory and Worth it’s Weight in Gold

This book is excellent but is also a textbook example of a textbook in homeopathy – something we have very little of and are in dire need of. We need our Materia Medicas and Repertories. A given. We need our books that wax poetic on remedy states or on the beauty of our philosophy and the principles that we operate by. Given. We even need our books about the systems within our amazing System of Medicine that illustrate how we truly heal with science and with the touch of an artiste. Givens. Yes, we homeopaths do love our books. But, the trick is in having the right ones as there’s an inordinate number of them for such a precise and unconventional profession… and we only have so much of our hard earned money to spend!

What we have here is a Scholten’s Element Theory for Dummies of sorts. Kidding aside, this is a book with gentle wisdom and wonderful cases that speak for themselves. The book is practical and can be applied in practice immediately. It is clear and concise yet not simple – it is packed with information that is invaluable.

There are 63 cases and they all make the case for their remedy without being forced. Hate that don’t you? Like when you’re reading something, and you get inset box examples to illustrate something the author wants you to understand and you just know they are made to fit the point – this happens in pop psychology books all the time. This happens, as well, homeopatically all the time, as in when we try to get the patient to fit the remedy! It happens to the best of us. In the Welte book, each case is exactly what an intelligent reader wants…the essence of the remedy illustrated so as to be able to identify the remedy in practice.

You can read the Introduction and see the book's Contents, as well as, get a sense of a remedy write-up or what a Chapter is like: http://www.narayana-publishers.com/The-Periodic-Table-in-Homeopathy/Ulrich-Welte/b6604

In the Zirconium chapter – the first of three cases is a gem! Literally, it is not only Zirconium metallicum but also, Pearl – are pearls gems? Um. The other beautiful thing about this book, making it practical and textbook like for me is that the potency and dosing of each case is included. Soooo helpful as more often than not this is not even mentioned, never mind, expanded upon with the explanation behind the selection of potency, etc. (granted, not too in depth though – as it really is MM and textbook on Element Theory, but total bonus).

The cases are the equivalent of a textbook's inset boxes, used as examples of the theories of, say, Psychology or be it the history text from History 101. And, yet, they are, homeopathically speaking, modern takes on the old time pithy cases that often have to be read in volume to get a full picture of the remedy you are studying. Not that there is anything wrong with that – but, we as humans have gotten waaaay more complex than the Mrs. B of some little village – our ailments are, mind you, the equivalent of the patients seen by Hahnemann in his Paris practice, but instead of just the ailments from the abuses of the medical practices of their day, we have Miasmatic loads that have been compounded by complex lives that are constantly under stress 24/7. We have on top of this the medical abuses our patients also undergo that are so insidious in modern times. A truly sad state of affairs.

Yikes – this is now an inset box within an inset box! Ulrich Welte has made a 101 Textbook for anyone that wants to step into the Periodic Table. You can be a beginner/student or a seasoned pro that is wanting to stop jogging all over the Periodic Table each time you're working on a case. You will be immensely helped to get to the correct remedy using the “new methodologies”.

Although the book is based on only one Series of the Periodic Table, the Silver Series, it really doesn’t matter as Welte uses this Series by way of explaining the whole Table and how to use the Element Theory in whole, meaning all the Series and all the Stages in their full glory. One really gets the sense of how Scholten’s work was an amazing feat when the precision prescribing happens seemingly so effortlessly. In actuality, the thinking behind the choice of remedies is given in the analysis of each case – so perfect; so textbook! Incidentally, the history of the homeopathic use of the Periodic table is placed in context of the scientific development of the Periodic Table, as in Chemistry and Physics. An appendix of the book.

The “new methodologies” BTW are what I am interested in these days for my reading material. I have, of course, an interest in Classical Homeopathy and will always have a love of the learning of how repertories and MM developed and have been used historically and currently.

But, the “new methodologies” are really just the use of science in our healing art/system: we would be operating in the Dark Ages if we did not move towards the use of generalizations/systems of categorization of the MM. Totality of symptoms vs essence is just so passé now isn’t it? – it’s all about what methodology to use for grouping rxs into certain categories.

A Given…that we are gonna group. We’d be crazy not to as we have just too many remedies to choose from and with pure reperorization we could not find the one remedy unless we use the old methodologies in conjunction with Schotlen, Sankaran and other progressive thinkers. It would be a shame not to advance as we can’t treat based on ways that can’t help us find the “unknowns” – case in point, Lanthanides were not used and only the correct remedy is going to cure, so fortunately we have pioneers like Scholten that diligently do their part to advance Homeopathy and strike out into new terrain, literally, ha ha.
.
I will mention here that Welte beautifully outlines in a footnote[1] the parallel journey that Jan Scholten and Rajan Sankaran took to get to their similar classification of remedies/states – similar but different, granted. Schoten used the Periodic Table and Sankaran used plant sensations Miasmatically but, in effect, the sensations of Plant families as a basis to grouping remedies into Miasms is very similar to the Stages of the Periodic Table – the difference was only by 2 years in terms of presenting their ideas to the homeopathic world. Jan Scholten’s Foreward to An Insight to Plants and Sankaran’s own Introduction on his process for developing his system of classification are remarkable examples of collaboration and how great minds think alike.

Independently they came to the same genius idea that remedies have reactions that can be grouped so as to not just have 3000 or so remedies to chose from but, rather, to have 10 Miasms or 18 Stages in order to view remedies by either Families and/or Series so as to be able to narrow our choices down.

See in the book's exert on the Narayana website what Welte calls the “Rise and Fall of the Silver Series” - the same idea as Miasms or Stages. He outlines the creation, preservation and destruction of a Series, which is based on the concept that everyone has this birth and death and then resurrection. He makes a great analogy with the building and decay of a house. With this you really see the Miasmatic parallels – with Psora at the beginning with planning/scanning thru to Syphillis with its’ mistrust, decline and destruction. [2]

To be clear here, it’s not about short cuts…saving time, etc. (but definitely a side effect of Classification). Rather, it’s about getting the one true remedy/accurate prescription. No siree, no short-cuts here as really the choice is not a) narrowed down to only 10 or 18 as there are the Families, Kingdoms, as well as, the Series combined along with the individual remedies within each of these. And, lest we forget, the initial perception of the patient/case taking that has to be done artistically and meticulously so as to be able to be working with the correct elements, so to speak, in the first place – so, really no such luck for us! Short cuts, smort cuts…and anyways, we wouldn’t want it any other way, would we now?

Text books aren’t about a little of this or a little of that – they are about organization of material as in “how to manuals” – be it the events of history or any topic of exploration for that matter. It's about having a way of using all the known data that is currently available…so, even something like History is made so as to be educational for the purpose of having citizens know their, well, history and then be able to be participants in a common, well, history.

Having said what I said about short cuts, I’d like to say that The Periodic Table: The Silver Series, is a in effect somwhat of a short cut somewhat to Jan Scholten’s book, Homeopathy and the Elements from 1996. It's not in anyway that it’s outdated or anything like that. I am revisiting it right now and enjoying it’s brilliance, but I think by sheer volume alone it is daunting and, therefore, unruly for me as a practitioner – it needs a textbook summary…and that is what Ulrich Welte has done.

I would recommend that all of you re-read the Foreward by Fernand Debats of Scholten’s Elements. It puts Element Theory in the context of Classical or modern conventional homeopathic practice. When you read, as well, the Foreward of Welte’s Periodic Table book by Jan Scholten himself you’ll see both how wonderful Jan Scholten is because he sees how the remedy pictures have grown since his cases/work on the remedies within the Periodic Table (a true learner/teacher) and, also, how mature this book is. You’ll be inspired, as practitioners, to be able to get at the correct remedy without having to be Scholten or Welte yourselves.

The test of a system: can it be replicated? So, can I use this in my practice – and the answer, (obvious to you by now, I'm sure) is a resounding “Yes”. This is because, as Scholten himself states “[Element Theory enables] us to grasp our patients’ problems as a reflection of the Element Theory, it has given us a more profound understanding of nature”. Welte’s book is truly a how-to book that you can put to use on your next case or that case that never was cured from last year!! I have to re-visit some of those myself….some of my prescriptions got an initial reaction, but so what? Just amazed the patient initially, but not what they deserve from us and from homeopathy.

The last two times that Jan Scholten was in here in North America, I was struck at how simple it was made to seem. Like, it just came down to placing the patient onto either the Right or Left side of the Table than getting the Row or Series. We were all doing it with the video cases and not as off as one would think one would be when one isn’t Jan Scholten! Once we got the side - from there it was about getting it down to a range of 2 or 3 remedies in a Series, such as the Silver or Lanthanides. Jan Scholten was presenting on Plants - lots of beautiful Tree cases for instance (Scrubby tree or Old Growth Tree?)…Anyways, whatever Kingdom, Element Theory can be the backbone of what one uses to get at the remedy. It was inspiring to be there last November and see a true master of their art in action. In 2006, when he was last here, I didn’t think I could use the Periodic Table and get consistent results. But now with my new Welte textbook and having seen video cases presented by Scholten just a few months ago I do feel that I can – just do it!

Another cool thing that is part of the Welte “textbook” that makes it invaluable: there is a Differential Diagnosis of the Stages (Also, done for the different Series as well – this book is the best!). Similar to the D.D.’s of the Plant Families that Sankaran did.[3] Therefore, we can see the subtle differences between a Doubting/Undecided person in Stage 2 as compared to Stage 1 and 3 and 4…simply priceless! The DD’s of the Stages and Series are each respectively “chapters”, actually Appendices of the book. These are something you will flip to and use over and over again. Also, there are summary Charts and Tables that you will use just as one uses their Schema and plasticized summary card of the Element Theory. With this book and, of course, your Software you are going to rock!

The book is worth its weight in Gold or, rather, Silver!

So, to conclude, I would recommend this book as there is no other like this currently and won’t be for a while. Mind you, we have to hope that the other Series will be done so as to have the cases of each remedy of each Series. Lathanides are covered well by the man, Scholten, that brought them into Homeopathy so, no need Ulrich Welte, wonderful human being to do that for us – just get your cases of the other Series published for us.

Wow, I feel so much gratitude for what we have been given, these gifts are treasures that we can mine and use for helping those that are resonating with the substances all around us that are so amazing. BTW, Mr. Jan Scholten when is your plant book coming out?! FYI: it would seem that he is working in one.
Note- in the meantime as we await publication of these books (uh hmm, guys....hint, hint) we do have the wonderful Interhomeopathy started by Scholten, Welte and Klein…and our beloved Links so as to be able to see modern cases of remedies…searchable online now).

PS - Next time Scholten is here in North America, you might just see me run up to him and hug him….and Ulrich Welte as well. If I happen to meet him, I hope I can discuss some of his “textbook” cases without getting giddy about how happy I am to be a Homeopath at this point in time. It is all being handed to us on a Silver platter, as it were – lucky us!

[1] so, Hahnemanian and German like – but, only time really folks, so no need to panic – it’s not an Organon text-book like book!)*
* Thank God as I did study Philosophy and, boy, those Germans were difficult reads no matter how lovely their ideas – Emmanuel Kant was simple now that I compare him with Hahnemann! At the same time the Organon is simple if you shift your perception, non?

[2] The translation of the book is somethg to mention because along with the original ideas/work it’s brilliant and makes for very smooth reading. Unfortunately, even though charming, a lot of Homeopathic works are difficult to get through due to awkward language; this one’s translation is wonderful and due to Welte’s Silver series creativity and sensitive nature nothing is left to be desired on the language front…a joy to read, really.

[3] Done also for Snake remedies in Table format – Tables/charts are what textbooks are made of! – in this great book: http://www.narayana-publishers.com/Insights-Into-the-Consciousness-of-Snake-Remedies/Sadhana-Thakkar/b4220 (gold standard for MM writing – cough up some more of these, please Sadhana and others that are into ‘tables’)

The Child’s World: New approaches to the homeopathic treatment of children is not just a book about treating children or ‘source’ prescribing or other things that one may, like I did, think it’s about. For me I found it such a great read for various reasons including that it was about treating children and about ‘source’ prescribing! It is, however, so much more.

Before I expound on its’ virtues I would like to put it in the context of the ongoing tradition of homeopathy as practiced in America.

I am talking about when our great healing art was introduced on this continent by the likes of Hans Burch Gram (founder in America, arriving in 1834 on our shores) and Herring, Kent, Wright-Hubbard and so forth. These were, like Linda Johnston, medical doctors that were learned people and, yet, understood how healing truly was done.

Linda Johnston, IMO, practices as they did as many have continued to do – with care and attention to detail the enables them to understand the patients and cure them of what ails them. The same principles of cure are being used and in her book Johnston does a fine job of getting us to see that health and disease are what we must initially understand just as much as the patients even before we can move towards using any of the new methodologies she presents thru great cases.

First off though, I need to let you know that I have the Didier Grandgeorge, have Herscu’s Children's Rxs and, check, have Master’s Children’s rxs and, as well, have Roberto Petrucci’s Children’s MM with rubrics. Also, recently read the wonderful Le Roux Butterflies and Kusse’s Children’s Types along with, of course, the Child Psyche issue, the first one, of Spectrum of Homeopathy. Albeit I have not really sat down with Catherine Coulter’s Children’ Types and many others that I may not even know of. Over the last few years – since being a student and reading Links right from the start – I always went out of my way to find children’s cases by various international homeopaths.

Despite having used all of the above, I have noticed, as a beginner prescriber/practitioner, that what many of these books have in common is they assume that children are either a rx type or that the influences of modern times, as spoken about so well in the Spectrum issue, can still be dealt with in terms of using remedies that are not only the usual suspects but, that we can treat "constitutionally" even with all the new manifestations of pathology that we are seeing in practice.

Louis Klein in his Spectrum piece said we are dealing with what he terms as the “new child”. I love this term – it captures everythg so well, the times, the children themselves…Autism spectrum, PDD-NOS and ADHD and aggression are all part of what we see more and more of along with just more disturbed behaviours all together in what everyone seems now to be accepting as normal (here “all” refers to some and not really all, but teachers, parents, doctors and the children themselves are all, for instance, taking constant runny noses/never finished coughs & colds, as well as, ticks, tapping, even public self-soothing, even masturbation publically thru to constant talking back/rudeness, whining and tears/tantrums along with sleep disturbances and eating & elimination problems for granted (whew, that list was long!)….Are we to accept all of these as part and parcel of normal childhood?[1]

What I observe as a parent (noticing maybe a little too much as I am a homeopath after all!) is that individual parents/families try to address the outcomes of parenting and nurturing without adequate supports as so they turn to interventions from the medical or educational world that can even be harmful never mind helpful. Solutions really are not getting at the root cause of the imbalances we see in children, families and the institutions.

What is great about Linda Johnston’s book is that it does look at causality along with solutions...it puts the child in equation - into a context of development and in society, for instance. It reminds me of the homeopathic version of The Descent of the Child: Human Evolution by Elaine Morgan. A book, by the way, that, IMO, any homeopath would love. They both speak to the nurturing of children developmentally…both come from a children's psychological perspective but with the homeopathic one having a look at the inner world as it relates to both the developmental milestones AND the source that the child(ren) resonate with (hence, “source” prescribing) and the latter one relates to the evolutionary growth of the child(ren) of the species.

It should be noted that despite Johnston’s use of “source” prescribing or what she calls the “new methodology” really a practitioner that doesn’t subscribe to or practice this method - based originally on the Sensation method of Rajan Sankaran - will truly have their eyes opened as to the possibilities of how we can reach into the world of a child and learn what it is that they experience – as this is still really what our casetaking and even analysis of a case is based on: understanding the patient.

Linda Johnston is truly an artist and healer and from her pediatric medical practice that uses homeopathic remedies you can see she is like what Melanie Grimes refers to with traditional allopathic doctors of days gone by that treated with a gentle bedside manner the children, families in their care…with trust and compassion. I Should quickly mention that what Grimes meant about medical doctors is that this is what she went into conventional practice based on as this was her ideal - we know and as she found out that this is not what really goes on - see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZsAfxWcsW0&feature=player_embedded

Anyways, the book outlines how the core of our work is about understanding the child from their perspective and how Johnston helps us get to where we will be able to address the “new child”, all children, by viewing each patient, including adults, as having an inner world that they experience daily – day and night. So, we must get into that world to feel it, to understand what it is about.

After reading the book the one case that exemplifies this and that is ingrained in my brain is the Sunnil Anand case of the 9 yr old girl that had allergies and asthma and experienced it as a brick in her throat that spun horizontally. I have always loved reading word for word what doctor and what patient say in the Intake and here we have transcription of the Interview…Massimo Mangialavori’s cases in Links were always like that and they really helped me so much at beginning see what went on and, therefore, how he came to the remedy – sort of, sometimes, it was if out of left field, but later, with little experience, made sense!

This Sunnil Anand case, one of a few, is an outstanding example of how detailed the inner world of the patient is – with the 7 Levels of Sankaran, this would be at the levels of Delusion and Sensation. Reference to Sankaran is given again, and rightly so, but not really for the choice of the remedy, but more for the method of choosing the remedy by Family and Miasm – so, the remedy in this case was from the Hamamelidae botanical family that is Tubercular is Juglans cinerae, the butternut….which would have been difficult if not impossible to get at without the “new methodologies”…I think the work of Jan Scholten, not referred to here, would have led to the remedy as well in that the Stage and Row of Periodic Table would have gotten to a rx and then the equivalent that he and others are finding in other Kingdoms could have been reached…at a recent seminar with Scholten here in Toronto a couple mths ago he went particularly into the links of Plant Families with the places on the Periodic Table…beyond what he also has written about/worked on: The minerals…metals and salts in plants.

In Child’s World there also is a wonderful history outlining how traditional classical homeopathy started off with prescribing on Symptom Picture moved to the Family/Miasmatic and Doctrine of Signatures and has even further broadened to really see that the source is the patient and the patient is resonating with the source and speaks, breathes, and lives their source – this is beautifully done. So, if you haven’t read all of Sankaran – like the newer Sensation, Sensation Refined for eg...you can skip these (but, note there are great descriptions of remedies a la Soul of Remedies – and the cases add to our MM, so do thk of them as reference books too).

Something to mention that makes the book truly worth having on your shelf – it is lovely read, but can it hold water as reference with one’s limited book budget?? – is that it has the best outline and details on Childhood Development that I have seen in a long time, and I have been reading stuff on this for Psych and Social Work courses along for my own interest for years….so, believe you me, it is the tops! In conjunction with a couple of other resources, such as the evolutionary book, The Descent of the Child, a practitioner has everything they need to gage what is common in a child(ren) at certain ages. Milestones and markers are not explicitly laid out as much as the expectations/goals of certain developmental phases – which, really is much more intelligent a read/reference for us to have on hand.

Oh, BTW, back to one little thing I mentioned earlier – the book is good for thinking and treating our adult patients as well. Linda Johnston states herself: "All homeopaths have had adult patients whose illness involved some unincorporated childhood stage of development or traumatic event that was still overmastering their life. In treating those cases, knowledge of childhood development, stages of growth and normal milestones will be of inestimable value."

Moreover, by way of saying The Child's World is essential, the whole state of pregnancy and birth trauma is part of this book as well (w/cases). Only in the last year or so, did I discover Harry van der Zee’s books on these topics by reading Tinus Smits (Inspiring Homeopathy) on manifesting into self/planet and also work of Melissa Assilem with her Matridonal remedies.
I had all along used Farokh Master’s State of the Pregnancy as my reference and was limited as I had no awareness of more work done that really expanded our horizons on what can be the source of the problem in a case. Linda Johnston is excellent…she covers it all and well. The term, incidently, that really is on the lips of modern homeopaths is “rebirthing” – even children may need to come back again after trauma of previous life time, as a foetus, or from birth is cleared…I will address this all in upcoming blog entries as there are great books on this and cases to read and learn from.

All in all, if you already know and practice incorporating all the stuff mentioned above, I would still say that Linda Johnston’s book is a unique take and presentation on working with children AND adults. It is a book that you will likely read quickly, a real page turner, but go back to for reference in thinking on the world of your little patients.

Although this last quote is about the state of health versus disease it can be applied to getting stuck in our ways/knowledge as homeopaths. Linda Johnston again: "All life has an innate drive towards expression, growth and development. Every advance necessitates leaving a state of stability and familiarity, thus, initiating challenge and risk. Despite the often felt desire to hold on to what is successful and familiar, in nature there is no possibility of staying static, resting on one’s laurels content with the status quo."

So true, and for us it is truly about taking on the responsibility to be healthy and not be fearful about the so called “new methodologies” – the growth and development in homeopathy will be the future of how we work and how we can get results for our patients. I’m sure I will be writing further on this: it’s about the use of all possible substances/remedies, the use of all possible ways of seeing.

PS - If you read this book let me know and feel free to send in your experience of this book. I’ll post on the Blog so others will get another perspective on the book – call me on this as I may be able to swing it so you get a complimentary NEW book to read as well, so as to get reviews from YOU on it!! With the line up of slated books to come out of Narayana ther will be lot's to discuss:-)

Few last things to mention FYI:

This article on history of Homeopathy in the International Diaspora by Peter Morrell is fabulous and not too long: http://www.homeoint.org/morrell/articles/pm_outli.htm

In America: http://www.homeoint.org/history/king/2-01.htm (this is long but chock full of the data you may need for talk/backgrd for discussion at a dinner party, LOL – how to put a damper on a family gathering!)

As for Canada – do we not often get our history & even our culture inadvertently from South of the boarder?? but I will make an effort to get my school notes out as we had a great lecture on homeopathic history here in Ontario – as for the rest of Canada…if anyone has info do send to me and I will follow-up to get the Canadian content up to speed!

Bedside manner with compassion and the medicines, homeopathic remedies, are what we need as a foundation; I feel good fitting myself into the history of our healing art here in North America. Stay well, but do Dare to be Better! Hugs to all of you, gentle readers.

[1] Great piece for practitioners to share with parents is in the Introduction of this book, you can read it here: http://books.google.ca/books?id=h4NukJS7X84C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Edward+shalts&source=bl&ots=gqFgMQTJOZ&sig=rF6kiuIZ4dNLPnHoxeWB0NxXT7M&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false

Introductions Please!

Hello all, just to let you all know a little about myself, other than that the reference to the Overflowing Vessel is from the I Ching's Hexagram that I feel relevant these days for my life: #42, Yi (Increase) which has as its'character a vessel that has water on top of it, overflowing...symbolizing "material abdundance, which enables you to turn your attention to your inner being". All I can say, is about time! As I am almost 50 and really need to do some more inner reflecting - but no naval gazing allowed, as been there, done that! Funny that I am on the course of being a homeopath as it certainly seems to be antithetical to material abundance, that's for sure.

Mind you, my being the Representative for Narayana in terms of their Customer Service where I will work for books is not gonna make me wealthy (will make me wise though), but it will help with regards to the material part of life...since I will not have to buy books as all homeopaths try NOT to do too much of this inorder that we can feed ourselves and clothe ourselves;-) They do add up, especially if you are hungry for knowledge as most of us are and because they are highly specialized.

Interesting though that at this time and in this cyber world there seems to be a growth spurt happening within our profession - Narayana, for instance, is really going at putting out books galoure - I was just told that they are slated to publish 44 books this upcoming year; that is almost 1 book a week.

Insane? What is happening? I think it is because, as stated on their website's homepage, they have selected "...books [that] represent a synthesis of modern homeopathy's newest developments and the most important works of classical homeopathy." So, what does that mean? Well, it means that there are more new developments occuring recently than there have been for a while - since Links came out just 20 yrs ago the rate of growth for homeopathy since inception has more than doubled (I'm just guessing, but totally plausible?!).

After the foundation was laid and some forward thinking masters from the past moved the work of Hahnemann and his peers at the time further along, advancing what was the basis of a great system into "modern times' - it was practiced and kept alive with home prescribing/acute prescribing as well as "constitutional" prescribing...rightly so, as it needed to be kept alive, what with all the attacks/concerted effort to extinguish it and all that jazz. I did read the history, and will next post have a link to really cool history here in N.A. that some of you may already be familiar with and others not.

Now we are seeing homeopathy take off in terms of the innovation and advances it is making in terms of catching up to modern times/ailments and human conditions - it has skyrocketed and is, literally, out in orbit...really getting to the source of the, well, source! That is of the patients/of the remedies/states and everything, hence, words in use these days are essence, core, depth, sensation, energy...Progressive modern day homeopaths with strong foundations in the system of this medicine are really approaching the work of developing the art/science from all angles....all facets of healing are fair game and, again, rightly so cause there is room for all ways that a) get real results, and b) that enhance the work of others, and that can survive the attack of those crazy skeptics all over the place these days.

What I love about Narayana is that they represent the best of of the best: past and present. The selection of past works is very carefully choosen, not just a smattering or random selection from what I can see. I will review some groovy old time guys and gals - couple reading now from the parcel sent to me as a gift!! (so very generous, the folks at Narayana).

And of the present authors/homeopaths, they are chosing who stands out in terms of being useful clinically, even if the work is "theoritical" in nature. Mind you, anything that is practical for our practices is also theorectical cause we are a special breed of people. We usually love dialogue on the far out and funky theories as to why people resonate with certain substances and how disease develops in sentient beings and all that, but we are all about discussing cases from the perspective of what happens when there is movement towards cure and how plays out in real world and real time - like practically how did you dose, what potency, what symptoms did you make into rubrics and so forth.

For me I have been a student and beginner practitioner for about 7 years now - where has this time gone?? And all along I have loved this field, homeopathy, cause it blends both my interests in philosophy and fields like social sciences and the interest I have had in people, psychology and such for instance. I had a interest in health matters as well - reading magazines and books always in search for answers about how to have optimal health and live with vitality and in a spiritually aligned manner... linking my interest in world religions with just how to live a simple and good life (still working on that).

So, in my foundation course, I was just more and more blown away with how deep this homeopathy was on every level. Once I started to practice I got more and more amazed at how very expansive the definition of health and disease became as I learned about how my patients were experiencing their lives and responding to remedies - the awareness that I got from their healing and, hence, growth was not at all what I expected.

Although I was just a beginner practitioner I was able to learn lots thru my own experiences as a patient - went to my schools clinic, unwillingly, but had relief and cure of asthma and allergies that I didn't even consider as problems since I had lived so long with them that I thought were just part of my life. Also, through my daughter I have had the opportunity to see how homeopathy helps address not only physical complaints but works on a level that addresses core problems of existence for a person. It is simply amazing, or "awesome" as she would say!

Anyways, I was trying to say, that fortunately, as a beginner I went straight into what we have here in North America, maybe equivilant to what may exist in other countries - the motherland of Homeopathy, Germany, for example? - the Master Clinician Course run by the perceptive and knowledgable, daring and scholarly Louis Klein. Thank god!! Why I say this is because I have seen some of the people that went to my foundation course remain stuck in a place where they are not even aware of the possibilities that exist for themselves, homeopathy and their patients. More later on this Graduate course and would love to hear about other experiences of education out there (so much to learn even on how we learn!).

I will end by saying that being in Toronto Canada where we have a few schools, including a Naturopathic college that has a homeopathic department run by a progressive, hip & happening homeopath...and wher we have a homeopathic supplier for rxs from all the pharmacies of Europe and N.A. and for books has certainly enable me to feed my hunger. More later on this cute and wonderful "store" too....I worked for a while at the bookstore, also for books really and to pick up my remedies since I was making a weekly trip there anyways (like, if I went in to work, I always came home with a book - not lucrative at all, also, it took away from really getting into practicing - a really great place though).

I recall that the last several books I bought were all Narayana published books. I couldn't get enough of them, so when asked to be the Customer Rep I was astounded and honored as I just loved them already. It all came about just recently and suddenly, but I feel the fit is excellent as I am a fan for sure. And since I am just getting started in my practice with a great clinical supervisor (more on her later too) I feel that I can put time into helping where needed but still do the work I need to find the remedies and manage cases of the few patients that I have. I have to say, my clinical supervisor and I are getting into a weekly groove, so this and that are all making it possible to manage my time better....which, as a mom with a partner, very supportive and productive, and the desire to also be active in the community and participate in my daughter's school and assist in grps that we are belong to I really do need to be on top of my use of time (those time managment courses didn't work, but now that I found my calling I just go at it like a dog at a bone and I don't want distractions from what I am focused on - amazing how that works).

Doing some work with Narayana is not only helping me focus but it is a total pleasure to be able to communicate with the lovely people that started this wonderful publishing business. They are homeopaths and just plain good folks. I will get the scoop on the start up of Narayana for you all dear readers and let you know, as I learn more ALL about them, the choice of publishing and anything you all want to know!

Anything else on me? I guess doing a Blog on the Narayana books will inadvertently reveal things about myself, so hope you get a sense of the love that I have for homeopathy, books and all things homeopathic. I hope too to get to know what you think/feel about the books and your work as homeopaths...how we all benefiting from the new developments and using them - let's all find out and help each other grow and move forward. Best to you all and look forward to this journey.

Yours truly,

Laura