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| Hpathy Ezine - September, 2009 | |||||
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Andrea Brancalion<-- Interviewed by Katja Schütt |
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| KS: Welcome to Hpathy Dr. Brancalion! More than 36,000 readers are looking to find out more about veterinary homeopathy in Italy and your connection with Eugenio and Marcelo Candegabe. Can you tell us first a little more about who you are and how you came to homeopathy? AB: First I want to thank Hpathy for the invitation, for which I feel honored. I got my diploma in veterinary medicine in 1981. My great-grandfather and my grandfather both were veterinarians. I grew up with this conditioning, but think that the occupation has changed much in Italy since that time and is not as beautiful and romantic anymore as narrated by James Herriot for example. I became acquainted with homeopathy in the 1980's thanks to a physician from Rimini, who cured me of asthma. Since then all my attentions were directed towards homeopathy. In 1992 I got the diploma at the "Scuola Superiore Internazionale di Medicina Veterinaria Omeopatica" (Cortona, Italy), managed by Dr.Franco Del Francia, who soon nominated me as a teacher of this school.
KS: Yes, James Herriot's heartwarming stories really let the reader fall under his spell. I'm sure many veterinarians owe their career aspiration to his stories. I wish he had known about homeopathy, and that every physician and homeopath had the same deep affection for people and animals as he. AB: Herriot never spoke of homeopathy in his books, but he solved many of his cases in a very original way, respecting what Hahnemann said in § 4 Organon and demonstrating his broad view of medicine. That's why he was so great! The constant search for the best solution and to be very affectionate to the patient, is the premise to be a good physician and homeopath who "loves" his patients. KS: You work closely with Dr. Eugenio and Dr. Marcelo Candegabe. How did their teachings influence your work ? AB: In the beginning only with Eugenio Candegabe. I met him in Cortona in 1990 during a seminar. Incidentally, as if it were predestination, he sat down near me in the restaurant and soon I started to talk with him. Later, after the lunch, he embraced me like a son and said to me that I was like him, and that I have to study much and work, work, work… and that he would “appreciate staying in contact” with me. There it was and is still today. Sometimes it seems to me like I’m his adoptive son, and incidentally, his real son, Marcelo, and I, we are like brothers. Marcelo calls me "my other brain", a large but very eloquent name with regard to our relation. I met Marcelo personally only in 2003, in Tivoli (Roma), during a seminar with other Argentine masters like Zalman Bronfman and Juan Shaffer from the E.M.H.A. He presented us our bemourned other "brother" Hugo Carrara, with whom we worked together until his death in 2007. Since then the relation between Marcelo and me still intensified more. The most important, but of course not the only teaching I learned from Eugenio and Marcelo, was "to be as objective as possible towards the patient", and always to try to go beyond the limits of our prejudices. As Hahnemann said of course! But the majority of homeopaths often forget this basic rule. Therefore the Method of Pure Homeopathy (of Candegabe-Carrara, 1995) was for me the confirmation of what Eugenio Candegabe had taught me before: "There has to be a symptomatological coherence, each symptom is in relationship with the other symptoms, we can't view symptoms as a group without character. This coherence has to be sought in each patient". Of course, Paschero's soul is always flying around us ! It was and is easy for me to learn from these two masters. I think that my "homeopathic" predisposition resonates harmonically with the Escuela Argentina "Tomas P. Paschero", just as everybody has his own predispositions and his own way to go in his life. With the birth of the "Universidad Candegabe de Homeopatia" I was appointed automatically as an associate professor, the first European among the physicians and veterinarians. KS: You had the tremendous luck to find two masters from whom you could learn and with whom you share a valuable friendship. The homeopathy student has to find his own way through a variety of learning opportunities, but education often does not suffice to become a successful practitioner. What would you recommend to them besides their formal education? How do you teach them to look within and find the answers they seek? AB: Of course it is important to have good teachers. But an old aphorism states "if the disciple is ready then he will meet the teacher", and another aphorism also states "the teacher opens the door and the disciple decides whether he enters". Both aphorisms tell a grand truth. All pupils are anxious to learn the Materia Medica and rapidly want to begin to practice. Many schools teach especially the Materia Medica of polychrest's which are most frequently used in practice. But I think it is even more important to know the method and doctrine than the materia medica. Obviously I speak from a priority and not from exclusion! We can remember about 100 remedies, but how many potential remedies can we prescribe? 1500, or more. The homeopath cannot know all remedies in depth, therefore it is important to have a method which allows us to arrive at a group of possibly indicated remedies, and to study these and especially the more unknown remedies in depth, and to progress with the materia medica study in this way, case after case. To know the methods which allow us to progress with the case is most important, i.e. the analysis of symptoms and their totality, hierarchization, homeopathic prescription and prognosis, prognostic observations, second prescription etc. We need to know the Hahnemannian doctrine completely, which is fundamental, and we have to study the Materia Medica continually, our whole life. The doctrine answers all questions concerning the patient (individualization), and in the Materia Medica we find all the tools with regard to his disease. As Kent said: Homeopathic medicine is art and science. We have to study the science, but the art is learned from the teachers. KS: Dr. Marcelo Candegabe did invent the Candegabe algorithm which you then explored for animals. Can you tell our readers something about your research and findings regarding the animal algorithm? What difficulties did you face? AB: I received an email from Marcelo Candegabe on 10th April 2008 (Hahnemann's birthday!) which confirmed his presence at the seminar in Treviso in October, the memorial in honor of Hugo Carrara:
I answered: "I'm curious to learn your new and incredible "mathematical" method, although it seems to be too easy to be true! But I have much confidence that in what you are doing and in this new approach. I like the title very much, as the song says "the hidden code of that look is like a sign and I cannot free a subtle desire that seeks me out, trembling!" On 12th April I got another email: "About one year ago I was working with a philosopher and two mathematicians, of whom one was a Pythagorean and specialist in ancient mathematics. They put the algorithm together according to all my indications. I'm honest if I say to you that I too can't believe what I see, but the practice has changed into a delight for me and my mind has opened like a bird flying over the unmanageable materia medica. I know that this seems to be unbelievable and even strange. Maybe it were born out of my anguish about the absence of Hugo, that I could not help him to live on, or because of the lack of something still more perfect in our method, of being tired of the practice or the dream I had with Hugo and you: to make homeopathy almost mathematical. Now I put together evidence. I know that I will be approached with criticisms from all sides, even in my own school, that's why I have to "testify" the cases with the most possible evidence. Let’s see what the future brings us. For about 60 years I did not cease to fall in love with the adventure of life. I send you a big hug. Marcelo." Everything that happened to Marcelo also happened to me in clinical veterinary homeopathy! As Eugenio Candegabe said, everything is born from "Marcelo's restless mind which is always in motion", but the work to arrive at the algorithm was that of scientists, and the only difficulties were to find out which objective data's of the patient are to be inserted into the format. Today we can say that we are well established and that the findings are good and sometimes incredible ! The animal algorithm has been tested in the whole world and supervised by myself. We think that the algorithm represents the most advanced method which allows one to investigate the entire Materia Medica and to exploit all existing pathogeneses without artificial schemes (miasms, periodic table, remedy families etc.). This was not imaginable until today. KS: When reviewing the theory of the 4 dynamic levels I would conclude that the algorithm only supports the choice of remedy in cases of level 1 and 2, i.e. where the totality of symptoms reflects the entire biopathographic history of the patient, and where the morbid constitution of the patient is coherent? AB: One needs to understand the theory of the dynamic levels correctly. It is not exactly as you conclude. At first we have to chose the remedy between those given by the algorithm (or also the repertorization), the remedy which is most similar to the patient according to the available symptoms: mentals, generals, locals; the best totality we can get. Only then do we have to attribute the dynamic level 1,2,3 or 4. The algorithm can only replace the repertorization or better, the 2nd or 3rd step of the method of pure homeopathy, and the other steps remain the same. There are 15.000.000 substances of all three kingdoms which are potential homeopathic remedies, but we only have about 1.500 pathogeneses. This only represents 1% ! That's why we cannot think that the algorithm always comprehends the remedy which presents the biopathographic symptoms of the patient. Regarding the coherence of the morbid constitution, this does neither depend on us nor from the algorithm, we can only prove it or not. But homeopathy is very generous and demonstrates every day to act beneficially in spite of everything ! The method, with the integrated algorithm always represents an approximation, more perfect than before probably, but an approximation, as everything in medical science. KS: According to your experience, about how many patients manifest a coherent symptom picture in your practice, and need a life-long simillimum? AB: When Hahnemann established his theory of miasms his intention was to extend the action of the remedy, because he noticed that the patient relapsed into his disease, and not to facilitate the selection of the remedy. Therefore we can think that the ideal for each true homeopath is to find the remedy for the life of the patient. Theoretically this is possible, but, as I said before, it is not easy and not possible for all patients... and depends on the art of the physician and his doctrinal mind. KS: To have a further tool to support and confirm the remedy choice is really enriches homeopathic practice. Could you demonstrate an example here? AB: An example: Dea is a German shepherd and my patient since her birth. She is 10 years old now and did well on Lycopodium which she got for hip dysplasia, worse on the right side, which was characteristically in coherence with this remedy. One day Lycopodium did not act anymore and Dea presented the following symptoms during the consultation in March 2009: loss of strength to rise and much pain, fear of being touched, amelioration from cold application on the suffering parts, and aggravation from the heat of the straw mattress. This looked like Ledum to me. Dea's algorithm is the following: Results of the study: Data's of the patient Species: dog Name of the owner: Federica Name of the animal: Dea Date of birth: January 4th 1999 Report about the Candegabe algorithm List of harmonics Predominant remedies Guajacum officinale Mellilotus officinalis Upas tieute Characteristic Plant Dea presented a vegetal characteristic and between the predominant remedies Guajacum attracted my attention. Reading the materia medica of Guajacum I noticed that this remedy has the same modalities as Ledum and covered also the mental and characteristic symptoms of the dog. I applied Guajacum 200K on 03/13/2009, 3 drops en plus each day and on the 04/26/2009 the owner reported: "Since the beginning of the therapy she does not have any pain and moves with much agility. Now she tries to jump in the car by herself! Before, she got tired when ascending the stairs in the house (30-40 steps) and now she has no problems doing it 3 or 4 times a day. I can touch her and she is not fearful anymore. She seems to be very calm and feels much joy. She eats much more calmly and has less hunger than before. That's why I'm happy !!!" Guajacum 200 still acts (today July 21st 2009). The algorithm forced me to study a remedy which did not emerge in my repertorization and which is very close to Ledum, to which the repertorium pointed... and the action was rapid and spectacular. KS: Thanks for this interesting case! I'm sure every homeopath would love to know how to find the predominant remedies. Where could our readers learn more about this approach? AB: Information's about the algorithm can be found at www.universidadcandegabe.org but there is no book published yet. KS: I have seldom seen a veterinary homeopath using LM (or Q) potencies. Could you tell us about your experiences? AB: The LM potencies were invented by Hahnemann, and as Masi A. Elizalde said: "There is no veterinary homeopathy, one has only to apply the universal principles to the different levels of the biological scale". Therefore there is nothing unusual in utilizing this scale. Interesting is its insertion in the Method of Pure Homeopathy, not contemplated before, and which I describe in my book "La Scala LM e la Prognosi nella pratica dell'Omeopatia" (H.M.S. Editor, www.hmssrl.com), and which was approved by Marcelo Candegabe and Hugo Carrara, the inventors of the method. The use of this scale depends from the dynamic prognosis, the seventh step of the method. The results are proportional to their correct use: if we use the LM potencies correctly, then they are very satisfactory, especially in severe cases. We have used them in many cases and apply them safely. KS: Many homeopaths, at least here in Germany, start treatment with quite high LM potencies, contrary to Hahnemann's instructions. Based on the evaluation of the approximate equivalent of the material content of LM and C dilutions they argue that LM's are low potencies. With which potencies do you start usually and what is your opinion and experience about the action of LM potencies? AB: As written in my book on LM potencies, the evaluation of the approximate equivalents between LM and C potencies does not have any value. I described this scale very meticulously: 1. LM2, after its 6 operational steps which are necessary for its performance, has a dilution of 1:2.500.000.000.000.000. The equivalent operationality with centesimal potencies would lead us to 6C which has a dilution ratio of 1:1.000.000.000.000, which is the 2.500 part ! 2. To prepare a LM2, three hours of trituration (the most formidable way of dynamization) are necessary and 200 succussions. To prepare a 6C 60 succussions are necessary at the most, that is, 140 succussions less and without 3 hours of trituration. How can some homeopaths argue that LM's are low potencies ? They may be mild, but not low. That's why Hahnemann recommended always to start with the lowest LM potencies, and I follow this!. KS: I agree with you and with Hahnemann who encouraged us to "imitate it, but imitate it exactly." Each science requires the precise application of its laws and principles. Last but not least, as Italy is a bit isolated due to the linguistic barrier, could you tell us a little about the status of homeopathy in Italy and what possibilities the homeopathic practitioner has? Where do you see your future? AB: Homeopathy is still not ratified in Italy, but now we already have to talk about Europe, and I think that all European countries will be legally adequate within some years. But I don't think that this is the most fundamental problem for homeopathy. Not only in Italy but all over the world, the most important problem is the coherence of its evolution with the doctrine of Hahnemann, that is to say: to call "homeopathy" what is real homeopathy, and not homeotoxicology, anthroposophy, phytotherapy, complexism, etc., and consequently to respect it's principles: the law of similars, pure experimentation, single remedy, minimum dose, Hering's law. There are many homeopathy schools of good quality in Italy. The most traditional and prestigious one for veterinary medicine is the school in Cortonawww.omeovet.net, which is known all over the world, and for medicine the school LUIMO www.luimo.org but not only these. There are many so-called "homeopaths" here, but only a few of them are classical Hahnemannian's. Therefore it is not always easy to find a physician. One can find a list in the register of physicians and veterinary homeopaths at www.omeomed.net My near future will be in Italy, but I like the project of my friend Jeremy Sherr (who will be in Cortona in October) in Africa very much, and maybe, when I will retire..... KS: Thank you very much for your interesting thoughts. I hope your explanations have aroused the curiosity of our readers to explore the algorithm, and have motivated them to use the LM potencies also in veterinary homeopathy. May your wish to join Jeremy in Africa come true, at what time so ever ! AB: Thank you, I wish Hpathy all the best ! ---------------------------------------------------- Katja Schütt Associate Editor Homeopathy 4 Everyone (Hpathy.com)
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