Homeopathy Papers

The Law of Similars Similia Similibus Curentur: Like Cures Like

homeopathic remedies for slipped disk or intervertbral disc prolapse
Written by Martha Derbyshire

Homeopath Martha Derbyshire presents her in-depth understanding of the Law of Similars.

Abstract

This paper explores the law of similars and the premise that ‘like cures like’ as the operating principle of the medical art form of homoeopathy. The homoeopathic principle of similars operates on the invisible interior state. This principle will be related to the dynamic between practitioner and patient, to transpersonal psychology, energy transmission and finally to the spiritual models of duality and presence. Similarities between the modalities of my professional practice of energy medicine which include homoeopathy, ‘laying on of hands’, and transpersonal psychology will be identified.

Introduction

I was introduced to homoeopathy in the early 1980’s. Fascinated by the concept that the energetic dilution of an apparently offending substance could cure a condition with similar characteristics, I decided to treat my husband’s yearly outbreak of poison ivy with the homoeopathic remedy made from the poison ivy plant. Instead of progressively worsening, the poison ivy rash and irritation cleared quickly; twenty-five years later, he has never had poison ivy again. A remedy made from poison ivy cured the menacing reaction of an exposure to the crude form of poison ivy! The homoeopathic precept of ‘like cures like’, or the law of similars that acted in a curative manner in the preceding example is the basis of this paper.

My study of homoeopathy developed for ten years before I began practicing professionally. I felt constrained by the western approach of intellectually determining remedies, and had a passion for learning about energy, consciousness, and what is not apparent to the common senses. I had witnessed in many patients how homoeopathy could affect change on subtle levels and cure illness, so I decided to explore the feasibility of a similar transformation happening through an awareness of consciousness. I expanded my education and practice of energy medicine by including intentional interaction with the human energy consciousness system. Work with the human energy consciousness system, ‘laying on of hands’, and ‘hands on healing’ are descriptors of similar energy healing strategies. Defining and describing energy healing is beyond the scope of this paper, but will be referred to. Homoeopathy is the arm of energy medicine this paper will focus on. As I integrated the energy healing modalities in my clinical practice, the parallels between homoeopathy and ‘hands on healing’ became evident. This writing will demonstrate how the law of similars applies to both forms of energy medicine.

The transpersonal is that which is beyond the personal or conventional and delves into the profound aspects of human behavior. It includes not only the normal facets of psychology but also the higher aspects of human experience, unusual states of consciousness, spiritual experiences and transformation (Braud & Anderson, 1998; Scotton, Chinen, & Battista, 1996). Homoeopathy and its law of similars are specific to the innermost being of a human, to that which is more internal than physical organs. The dimension homoeopathy affects is invisible yet energetic, and this plane includes but is beyond both the medical and psychological norms. Homoeopathy is spiritual in form, employs alternate ways of knowing and is less recognized as a medical science than most. This writing will address how the practice of homoeopathy and the application of its principles are considered a form of healing art. Homoeopathy is mysterious, paradoxical, and is surely transpersonal in nature. My life long curiosity about affecting change with the profoundly subtle, including intention, attention and compassion, has been further sparked by this investigation.

After a summarizing definition of homoeopathy, this paper will discuss the law of similars, the dynamic life force and energy field that homoeopathy affects, and how the law of similars applies to the patient/practitioner relationship. The relationship of transpersonal psychology, morphic resonance and duality with homoeopathy will be discussed. This compilation will be used as a springboard for future research on the transformative potential of energy medicine.

Homoeopathy Defined

The homoeopathic approach is phenomenological in nature. German physician, Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843), developed theories of homoeopathy based on his observations. While translating medical texts and studying the toxicology of Peruvian bark, he noticed the similarity between the characteristics of the bark, which was used to treat malaria, and those of malaria itself (Vithoulkas, 1980; Whitmont, 1980). The resemblance between the substance and the disease led him to consider the paradox that this similarity might not be coincidental but the basis of the healing effect (Whitmont, 1980, p.1). To explore his theory, Hahnemann ingested the bitter bark himself and recorded his mental as well as physical reactions. He experienced the toxic effects of the South American bark. Finding that malaria symptoms were produced by his consumption, he continued experimenting by giving the bark to people with malaria. Hahnemann confirmed that the Cinchona (Peruvian bark) produced malarial type symptoms in healthy people and relieved malarial symptoms in those who were ill (Weil, 1988, p. 16).

After years of experimenting with ingesting a variety of substances, and testing them on other people, he confirmed the principle that “any medicine will cure the particular kind of disease the symptoms of which happen to be most similar to those symptoms it produces upon healthy persons when consistently ingested” (Whitmont, 1980, p. 1). “It is this insight which is the fundamental pillar of the science of homeopathy: ‘Similia Similibus Curentur’, as it was coined by Hahnemann—’Like Cures Like’. Any substance which can produce a totality of symptoms in a healthy human being can cure that totality of symptoms in a sick human being” (Vithoulkas, 1980, p. 92).

Plant, animal, mineral, and imponderable (such as the vibrations of cell phone, x-ray, the moon, etc.) substances were given to healthy people in order to determine the physical, mental and emotional effects they would produce. “Medicinal actions must be studied by observing what alterations of condition are brought forth in healthy persons by moderate amounts of single medicines” (O’Reilly, 1996, p. 144). This technique is known as a proving—proving the remedy on well people results in a collection of mental, emotional, spiritual and physical characteristics that this substance may arouse in a well person or cure in an ill person. Just as each person is individual in his reaction to life or disease, so does each substance have a particular profile, personality or set of distinct attributes. The compiled lists of these proven characteristics of homoeopathic remedies become Materia Medica, which is like an encyclopedia of remedies. As new remedies are proven, new materia medica is assembled. Homoeopaths refer to this ever-growing library of remedy profiles for prescribing.

The word homoeopathy comes from homeo, meaning similar, and pathos, meaning suffering. Presenting symptoms in an ill person are matched with a proven substance with the most similar characteristics. The symptoms of the disease are the guide to the correct remedy (Kent, 1900). “To find the resonant frequency of the entire organism and therefore strengthen the entire dynamic plane of action, one must record the totality of all deviations from normal on all three levels in all details of their individualizing character” (Vithoulkas, 1980, p. 93). The close correspondence between the mental, emotional and physical signs and symptoms of the patient with the idiosyncrasies of the remedy is the key to successful homoeopathic prescribing. This demands a skilled observing practitioner, who notes the patient without interpretation or bias. Just as every individual is unique, “every medicine exhibits particular actions in the human body which do not come about in exactly the same way from any other medicinal substance of a different kind” (Hahnemann, 1900; O’Reilly, 1996); each medicine acts in a unique way.

Hahnemann and his colleagues continued experimenting on themselves since self-provings give a most reliable experiential understanding of the effects of the medicines (Hahnemann, 1982; O’Reilly, 1996). Applying the law of similars clinically, they discovered that medicines chosen for their similarity to an illness could also have toxic effects. On the basis of this observation, Hahnemann began experimenting with diluting the substances in water and activating the dilution by forcefully shaking or succussing it (Whitmont, 1980, p. 4-5). This is called attenuation. Another apparently paradoxical finding emerged: the repeated dilution of the crude substances created a more powerful therapeutic action and led to the concept of “less is more”, or the Law of Infinitesimals. Count Amadeo Avogadro (1776 -1856), who was a contemporary of Hahnemann’s, calculated that dilutions beyond a certain range “are unlikely to contain even a single molecule” (Weil, 1988, p.33-34) of the original substance. While homoeopathically prepared medicines go well beyond the Avogadro limit, their efficacy is on the dynamic or immaterial plane rather than the physical; “trituration (grinding into a powder) and succussion (forcibly shaking) unlock the natural substances, uncover and reveal the specific medicinal powers lying hidden in their soul” (Hahnemann, 1982 p.190).

Rather than seeing bacteria or an outside agent as the cause of illness or as something to be eliminated or suppressed, the homoeopath sees the symptoms as a manifestation of a disturbance on the dynamic plane within. By exploring and studying the symptoms, the homeopath looks for the “resonant frequency” of the distress and treats this frequency with a diluted and potentized substance of a similar frequency (Vithoulkas, 1990). The action is on the level of frequencies or vibrations. The vibration or energetic frequency resonates with the patient to affect change on the physical, mental and emotional levels.

Close (2005) suggests Hahnemann’s scientific system was developed based on the philosophy of Francis Bacon who established inductive methodology for scientific inquiry of natural phenomena. With this inductive methodology, reasoning proceeded from fact to law through experience and observation, not opinion. We could also apply Bohm’s (1980) concept of the implicate order as a multidimensional reality to homoeopathy. Comprehending one aspect of a person flows to the inseparable other qualities of that person–the mind enfolds the body and the body enfolds the mind. Bohm (1980) goes on to say that the more inward or deeper actuality is not mind or body but a higher dimension that is beyond yet includes both mind and body. From this we infer that the mind and body are ultimately one; the mind will affect the body and the body will lead us to understand the mind. The body’s symptoms lead the homoeopath to understand the mind of the patient; conversely, the patient’s mental symptoms, beliefs, and delusions help the homoeopath understand the etiology of the physical distress. Homoeopathy deals with the body, mind, heart and spirit as one and inseparable.

Homoeopathy came to America in 1828; welcomed and successful, it grew to be accepted in hospitals and teaching centers. However, the American Medical Society, formed in 1846, adopted ethical codes that discouraged physicians whose practice was based on specific dogma, including homoeopaths. Some homoeopaths conformed but by the middle of the 20th century there were few homoeopaths left practicing in America (Weil, 1998). There has been a resurgence of homoeopathy in the last thirty years with a parallel increase in complimentary and alternative medicine. It is interesting that this coincides with the development of transpersonal psychology as well as the advent of new physics. Homoeopathy and transpersonal psychology share elements of spirituality, holism and profound subtlety.

In the early 1800’s Samuel Hahnemann experimented with ingesting substances to find they caused the same symptoms to occur in healthy people as they could potentially cure in ill people. Based on the law of similars, he developed the medical art of homoeopathy. Portraits of plant, animal, mineral and imponderable substances are rendered by provings with healthy people. The remedies are attenuated to match the frequency of the internal state upon which they act. Homoeopathy is holistic in nature as it works with the body, mind, spirit and heart.

The law of similars

The curative virtue of medicines thus depends on their symptoms being similar to those of the disease, but stronger.

It follows that in any particular case, a disease can be destroyed and removed most surely, thoroughly, swiftly, and permanently only by a medicine that can make a human being feel a totality of symptoms most completely similar to it but stronger.

Since this natural law of healing is confirmed in all objective experiments and authentic experience in all the world, it is established as a fact. Scientific explanations of how it works are of little importance, and I see little value in attempting one. Nevertheless, the one that follows proves itself the most likely, because it is founded on experience. (Hahnemann, 1982, p.28-29)

Physicist David Bohm (1980) asserts that a fact is established and is not likely to be nullified since it has been rigorously tested. He continues that this is only relative, as facts may also be refined or even radically changed as a result of further investigation. Bohm (1980) considers thought as an art form that gives rise to new perception. The development of homoeopathy was rigorously tested; it did not conform to the scientific facts of the time; it was a pioneering study that is now considered a medical art form. It is a relatively young science, one that appears open to further investigation. It was Hahnemann’s curious mind that instigated his investigation, and led to his new perceptions.

The law of similars is not only a homoeopathic concept, but is a natural occurrence in many arenas. Comedians make people laugh by pointing out the obvious, often foolish, things we commonly do—the proclamation of our very own silliness is what makes us laugh with delight. The artist brings attention to the familiar things around us through still life, landscapes, portraitures and even the abstract. These depictions of the artist’s reality, of things that are similar in our own lives, bring us pleasure. Artists, poets, actors and musicians are not necessarily bringing in new vibrations, but are waking up in us what we already know; we are comforted by the similarity. We tend to be attracted to others who are like us, and who share values on some level. These are a few simple demonstrations of the law of similars at work—bringing awareness to that which can be experienced with the physical senses, and feeling ease or spaciousness with the similarity.

Hahnemann’s original writing of homoeopathic theory is presented in his book The Organon of Medicine. He did not speculate but discovered the precepts through experimentation and recognized their importance. He acknowledged that others had put the concept forward throughout western history, beginning perhaps, with Hippocrates who said that disease might be cured either by opposites or similars (Kent, 1900; Vithoulkas, 1980). A contemporary Indian homoeopath, Rajan Sankaran (1992), reminds us that the principle of similars was revealed by the ancient Indian poet Kavi-Kalidasa: “Shruyate hi pura loke, vishasya visham audhadham”. Translated, this reads: “It has been said of old time in the world that poison is the remedy for poison” (p. 1). There is a story from the Trojan War where Achilles gave Telephus a wound that would not heal. An oracle informed Telephus “he that wounded shall heal”, but Achilles claimed no medical knowledge. It was Odysseus who recognized the spear as inflicting the wound; pieces of the spear were scraped off and applied to the wound, which then healed (Wikipedia, 2008).

Vital disorder cannot be turned into order except by something similar in quality to the vital force. It is not similitude in quantity that we want, in weights, and measures, but it is similarity in quality, in power, in plane, that must be sought for. (Kent, 1954, p.99)

James Tyler Kent (1954), professor of homoeopathy, who lectured widely on the principles of the Organon, explained that homoeopathic medicines could not affect the subtle interior plane of the physical body unless they are raised or attenuated to a plane of similar quality. Vithoulkas (1980), a world leader in homoeopathic practice and philosophy, clarified that in order to affect the dynamic plane in a person, we must find a substance similar enough not only in its characteristics, but also in frequency or strength. If a substance is capable of producing a similar symptom picture in a healthy organism, then the likelihood of its vibration rate being very close to the resultant frequency of the diseased organism is good. Increasing the vibration through attenuation, the frequency becomes stronger and therefore a powerful strengthening of the defense mechanism can occur – through the principle of resonance (Vithoulkas, 1980).

Homoeopathically prepared substances have characteristics similar to the presenting signs and symptoms of the patient; the remedy must also be similar in quality and intensity. The energetic frequency of the attenuated physical substance is the active force. O’Reilly (1996) explains this notion of similarity and intensity by examples in the physical realm: one can placate olfactory nerves that have been insulted by foul odors by instilling yet a stronger odor. Music will not placate our olfaction because it appeals to a different sense or exists on a dissimilar frequency. We must affect a similar and stronger sense of the same frequency in order to affect change. On the emotional realm, another whose grief is greater may soothe a person who is mourning—there is a likeness but a stronger expression of the grief. When a person is crying and another begins to sob, it is likely that the one crying gives way to the one who is sobbing. When the similimum, or the most similar homoeopathic remedy, resonates on all levels (physical, emotional, mental and spiritual), with a matched intensity of acting on the subtle, interior plane, the life force will no longer feel the weaker disease.

Close (2005) saw the law of similars as the application of Sir Isaac Newton’s third law of motion, which states that action and reaction are equal and opposite. The influencing action of the law of similars can go both ways. Hahnemann (1982) observed that repetition of unsuitable medicines actually created new diseases that were associated with the said medicine. If the medicine isn’t similar in nature to the presenting disease state, the condition could be complicated and a new dissimilar disease results. A dissimilar remedy may evoke symptoms, or aggravations, that are not common to the treated disease or person. Close (2005) poses this as apparent in our practice of vaccinations. When a live vaccination is given to encourage the immune system to build antibodies against that same disease, it is not uncommon for a dissimilar disease to result. Two diseases that are very similar will not exist next to each other; the stronger one destroys or predominates the weaker. By its somewhat greater strength, it transforms the vital principle’s sensation of the natural disease condition. Because there was no disease present that is similar to the one being vaccinated against, if the vaccination is dynamically stronger, it will predominate. A dog of mine got a rabies vaccination when she had a skin ulcer. The next day she died, not of the skin ulcer (which was an acute disease that left her compromised) but of the domination by the rabies vaccine, which caused a dissimilar, and fatal disease.

Studies of protoplasm’s reaction to stimuli have led to a universally accepted biological law that states: “The same agent which in relatively large quantities damages or destroys activity, will in relatively small quantities stimulate it”. (Close, 2005, p. 69 – 70). The law of similars can be recognized in contemporary medicine: we know there are damaging effects from large doses of drugs upon a healthy being, and that small doses of the same drug have a more moderate effect. This is demonstrated in the case of a current patient of mine who was taking conventional medication for anxiety. At the prescribed dose, the medication worked to reduce her distress, but when she took it upon herself to increase her medication, the same symptoms that the medication was meant to reduce became extremely aggravated. While the medication could suppress certain symptoms with a moderate dose, in a large dose, it caused exacerbation of the same symptoms. The law of similars works in a similar fashion to the concept of equal and opposite action and reaction.

The principle of similars has been at work all around us for centuries from comedians who make us laugh to Hippocrates and the Trojan War, to traditional contemporary medicine. The law of similars was coined by Hahnemann to explain the basic premise of homoeopathy. To put it very simply—that which is similar on the physical plane and on the dynamic plane, is healing, especially if it is more powerful.

The invisible interior state – the vital force

A further similarity between the ways of the physicist and mystic is the fact that their observations take place in realms which are inaccessible to the ordinary senses. In modern physics, these are the realms of the atomic and subatomic world; in mysticism they are non-ordinary states of consciousness in which the sense world is transcended. (Capra, 1991, p. 305-306).

The immaterial is responsible for life functions, and without it the material organism would die. The law of similars assumes that the immaterial must be treated with like immaterial force to effect change. Homoeopathic remedies act dynamically, or between the dynamic of the original healing substance and dynamic force of the person (Hahnemann 1982, Kent 1900, O’Reilly 1996, Vithoulkas, 1980). “This is akin to the force of a magnet whose influence on a nearby piece of steel or iron happens by means of its own immaterial, invisible, spirit-like energy—the interaction is dynamic” (O’Reilly, 1996, p. 67). It is not from external things that man becomes sick, not from bacteria or the environment, but it is the disorder of the internal, immaterial, or a lack of harmony in the vital principle in man that causes illness. The external causes of disease or suffering, like tumors, can be removed externally with surgery, but natural disease is produced by a spirit-like power that upsets the spirit-like vital principle and results in suffering (Hahnemann, 1982). The cause of disease that Hahnemann is addressing is internal. The causes are invisible but are known to us through symptoms. The exciting cause of disease is immaterial and flows from the inner most center of the human being to the material and presents in symptoms in the mind, the emotions or the body (Kent, 1900). The symptoms are the signposts to and the representation of that internal state.

Tulku (1979) proposes that a human is the embodiment of his consciousness; what a human is inside is the same as what he is in the physical realm: “A person’s characteristic behavior patterns—his obsessions, his dullness, his unhappiness, or his feelings of great fulfillment—are all manifested on the physical level”(p.87). It is what transpires internally that is ultimately manifested on the external, or in the physical realm. The physical signs and symptoms of suffering, then, can lead us to understand the internal state of being. It is this internal state that holds the etiology of disease and by addressing this internal being, by stimulating it with a similar frequency, healing can occur.

Kent (1900) purported that everything in the universe has an aura or an atmosphere and that this aura is an important sphere in the study of homoeopathy. He suggests that the consciousness between two substances, or auras (or auric fields) is where affinities and repulsions are known. Humans tend to be in harmony or antagonism; this is evidenced in the atmosphere or aura between them. Just as the cause of harmony or antagonism is invisible, and not perceivable by our ordinary senses, the cause of disease is subtler than can be seen with the human eye. Kent (1900) suggests it is possible to perceive the innermost, or the realm of cause, through understanding and through the spiritual eye; we can then bring that spiritual understanding to the physical realm. Just as the physical symptoms of disease can lead us to the internal state of being, so can that internal, invisible state help us to understand the physical manifestation.

I have often wondered if homoeopaths with whom I have studied were actually figuring out remedies to prescribe based solely upon their intellectual knowledge of matching symptoms with remedies (repertorization) and materia medica. While they taught the mental, linear approach to prescribing, it seemed to me there was a deeper, more refined knowing that was occurring. Perhaps intuition, profound insight, or a telepathic knowing informed the masters. Could it be this is what Kent meant when he suggested we might understand through a spiritual eye? Is the spiritual eye an attunement with the practitioner’s own inner being, or a resonance with the inner being of the patient? There was no acknowledgment of a higher perception or an attunement to the inner realm from my homoeopathic teachers. One can use the intellect to understand physical symptoms to a certain degree, but I believe it is beneficial in understanding the subtle realm if one can access that realm through perception or harmonizing with the subtle realms in themselves. I suggest being receptive to and bringing consciousness to the aura of and the interaction with the patient may enable facilitation of the correct prescription of a remedy, and may also have therapeutic value in and of itself. The vital force is the vehicle for human expression; it is the energy vehicle that motivates, builds and maintains the physical body (Miles, 1992,).

The dynamic plane is the plane of the essence of life, the plane on which disease originates, as well as the plane of the origin of the defense mechanism. It has exactly the same relationship to the physical body as electromagnetic fields have to matter. (Vithoulkas, 1980, p.87)

According to Vithoulkas (1980) the first disturbance of disease occurs on the dynamic electromagnetic field of the body. Addressing imbalance on the dynamic plane, with a matching dynamic force is a therapeutically sound approach. Vithoulkas goes on to say acupuncture, ‘laying on of hands’ and homoeopathy are three healing strategies that affect the electrodynamic field with vibrational levels that are similar enough to resonate with one another and have healing potential. Herbs, minerals and other substances can also effect change and encourage healing because there is an affinity with the condition of the patient. But, it is the potentization or attenuation (dilution and succession) of substances that liberates and intensifies the energy of the substance making it more available to interact on the dynamic level (Vithoulkas, 1980).

Material forms conform to the laws of time and space. Materialists see what is beyond the material mind as mysterious, and tend to look for cause only in the material world. Material entities never cause anything and have no creative influence (Miles, 1992). When Hahnemann (1982) refers to homoeopathic remedies as being stronger, more intense or more powerful than a disease, he is not referring to the material form but to the internal state. “The more internal it is the more intense, the more it approaches the first substance, so that intensity as to cause means higher or more internal, higher in the sense of subtleness or fineness” (Kent, 1900, p. 103). Homoeopathically prepared substances are potentized to achieve this higher intensity, a more subtle substance will meet and interact in the realm of cause, on a deeper level, a more inner level rather than on a physical level. “The influence of medicines upon our organism is exerted dynamically, as if by contagion, without the transmission of the slightest particle of the material medicinal substance” (Hahnemann, 1982, p. 18). The transmission between the remedy and the person happens on the dynamic plane.

Homoeopathic philosopher, Stuart Close (2005) sees Hahnemann as engaged in an attempt to find a basis for disease in the interior state. I consider this a transpersonal arena. Homoeopathic principles extend to the power or the person behind the force and beyond the confines of matter. Hahnemann (1982) termed life as a dynamic principle with an energetic essence. The internal state is energy, which is “the universal principle and cause of vital action and reaction, organization, growth, self-preservation and reproduction, inherent in all living things” (Close, 2005, p.43). Mass as a form of energy, states Capra (1991), is not destructible, but can be transformed into other forms of energy. When subatomic particles collide with one another, energy can be altered and redistributed. It is possible that this is the action of homoeopathics.

Today, information is plentiful about material being created from and vanishing into energy (Capra, 1991). Sri Aurobindo (1994) proposes that all substances have consciousness, and that man is energetic by nature. Exploring the subconscious as the doorway to transformation, Scotton (1996) suggests that the ego extends internally and externally, containing the entire universe. Sheldrake (1995), a modern physicist, recognized energy fields as associated with all material objects, material objects are therefore considered forms of energy, and energy fields are considered aspects of matter. It is accepted that energy is the principle of change, and that change is related to the nature of the fields involved.

Hahnemann and his colleagues attempted the difficult task of putting words to such metaphysical concepts over a hundred years ago. These pioneers used both qualitative and quantitative research to substantiate their findings, and applied metaphysical concepts to develop medical principles that have stood the test of time. Modern physics is more recently developing a language that supports their findings.

As electrical scientists are examining the theory of electro-magnetic induction, biologists recognize the life force present in the smallest part of the whole and physicists explore morphic fields and resonance, the world of energy, infinitesimal theory, and electromagnetic resonance are more in the mainstream (Close, 2005). The resurgence of homoeopathy and other forms of energy medicine is reflected in the movement of bringing the quantum into science and the public media. Movies such as “What the Bleep Do We Know’ and ‘The Secret’ directly discuss metaphysics while movies such as ‘The Green Mile’ and ‘Powder’ introduce elements of the extraordinary under the auspices of fiction and psychological thrillers. Nonetheless, these are demonstrations of an interest in the more subtle possibilities; they are also educating the public in an acceptable venue.

Homoeopathy acts on the invisible, interior state of being. The law of similars maintains that if illness is a disorder of the internal, then a medicine must address the disorder on the same internal plane. Perhaps this is applicable to other therapeutic interventions as well—they must be of a similar dimension, quality, and consciousness to be effective. Bringing consciousness to the aura of a patient, using a spiritual eye to empathize with the patient’s condition and being aware of the interplay between the body and the mind may be ways of meeting the patient on the invisible plane where disease originates. The internal state is more intense than the physical and is being recognized as such by metaphysics and science.

Practitioner/patient relation

When taking a homoeopathic case, or as a transpersonal practitioner, it is important to give credence to the patient’s own words. “As a thorough and genuine medical-art practitioner, never put conjecture in the place of perception” (O’Reilly, 1996, p. 138). Otherwise, likes cure here too—meeting the patient in his perception, with his words rather than trying to fit his disease or situation into a box, a diagnosis, or something easy to understand is one step toward resonating at the same frequency. Sankaran (1994) suggests we need to observe more than inquire, to feel the state of the patient, and to strive to experience the experience of the patient.

As I recall Plato and Socrates discussing in The Republic (Cornford, 1941), Kent (1954), insists the practitioner “ought to keep himself in a state of purity, a state of humility, and a state of innocence. The scientific men who are in the greatest degree of simplicity are the most wise and the most worthy” (p. 216). Though this may sound arrogant, his point is well taken for “the field-resonance phenomenon is a factor to be taken into consideration for better or worse in all cases of interpersonal interaction, but foremost in its effects on the pathology of the patient-healer dyad” (Whitmont, 1993, p. 200). There is an energetic exchange going on between the practitioner and patient at all times (Gordon, 1998). Especially in the transpersonal realm, likened to the quantum world, the “scientist cannot play the role of a detached objective observer, but becomes involved in the world he observes to the extent that he influences the properties of the observed objects” (Capra, 1991, p. 141).

The well being, pathology, attitude, intention, and relation to the transpersonal realm of the practitioner will influence the interpersonal field with the patient. Whitmont (1993) suggests the practitioner needs to be as conscious as possible of his personality complexes, and of how aspects of his own story are similar to those of the patient. “The fact that the healer’s propensity to his own illness is activated in a mutually containing field with the patient makes it possible to have his own “illness” become the “similimum” that is offered for the healing process” (Whitmont, 1993, p. 197). Consciousness of personal issues on the part of the practitioner is like potentization of the psychological aspects of the similimum. When working on the transpersonal level (because of the powerfully subtle intensity), awareness of the potential for inducing harm needs to be heightened as does practitioner self care and awareness.

The principle of similars reigns again: to hear and feel what the patient is saying as authentically as possible is listening with a similar frequency to what is being said on more levels than words alone. Bringing attention and consciousness to what the patient is saying raises the frequency of the state and creates a healing environment. If the practitioner’s state of being and state of health is as optimal and simple as possible, he provides a healthy template for the patient to resonate with.

Transpersonal homoeopathy

“To Hahnemann belongs the honor of having been the first physician to connect biology and psychology with physics in a practical system of medicinal therapeutics, and to give an impulse to studies in biodynamics” (Close, 2005, p.336). Analogous to the transpersonal, Hahnemanian medical philosophy is based on humans as spiritual and psychical beings as well physical ones. He recognized the psychosomatic aspect of healing that is a popular tenant of today’s holistic approach. Homoeopathy is a holistic and transpersonal science in that “all aspects of peoples’ lives are important and that all aspects of health and healing can be integrated” (Gordon, 1998, p. 31). Homoeopathy respects that true power is from within (Kent, 1954), which upholds qualities of integrity, personal responsibility and spirituality. It pays tribute to the individual, accepting that for every possibility of personality, there is the possibility of a substance pattern ‘out there’, which duplicates it (Whitmont, 1980).

Remedies made from the earth plane replicate human traits and act on the invisible level, thus ultimately connecting us to the earth and to the spirit. This in itself, leads us to feel an ultimate connection, a sense of not being alone in the universe, and is a tributary for the model of unitive consciousness. In his book, The Alchemy of Healing, Whitmont (1993) speaks about how we are part of the organic whole of the living earth, that our psyches are part of a cosmic consciousness or information system (he likens this to Jung’s concept of the collective unconscious) and our bodies and psyches relate as parts of a whole. This quality of non-separation between earth and human is applied to homoeopathy:

In a mosaic of unknown scale, the various states of human consciousness and the ingredients of the human drama are encoded in various mineral, plant and animal substances—the unit “particles” of our earth. They slumber in these materials waiting for their unfolding on the human level. (Whitmont, 1993, p. 22)

The remedies made from earth’s substances are mirrored in our psyches and point to the interconnection between earth and humans. The body, or an external pattern, will reflect what is not assimilated by the psyche or ego consciousness. Otherwise, there is not a separation between the internal state and the external; the differences between them are irrelevant. While our world is partially a creation of our minds, we are also in constant relationship with the greater world mind and therefore we are a creation of our active relationship with the cosmic consciousness. Whitmont (1980) notes:

“We have, however, placed the law of similars into a wider context, namely into the universal dynamism of the transformation of human life through the realization of correspondence; we have placed it into the realm of the strange mystery of the effect of confrontation with the universal simile. (p.47)

The ultra-molecular transmission of a homoeopathic remedy is similar to transmissions with other people, including a transpersonal practitioner. Whitmont (1993) continues: homoeopathic remedies touch directly into the biological system; the physical and psychological affects follow. In the exchange between people, Whitmont suggests the reverse happens—a psychic induction leads to a somatic response. The homoeopath uses remedies that are pharmaceutically prepared (attenuated or diluted and succussed) to influence a person on the invisible, spirit-like, dynamic plane. I propose if a healthy, transpersonal practitioner is able to meet an individual sufficiently, that is, to recognize the similarity in the other and resonate strongly with the totality of the other, there may be a similar dynamic matching possible on the transpersonal level. This would require matching the frequency of the disease or imbalance (as a homoeopathic substance meets the disease) on an energetic level, as well as the health of the individual (as an attenuated substance meets the true essence of the person). Remembering that a remedy produces symptoms of illness in a well person, and can offer relief of those same symptoms in an ill person, we note that the remedy has a full spectrum including both ends of the polarity—the wellness and the illness. The similarity or matching frequency must be on a spirit-like plane, an innermost, subtle realm.

O’Reilly’s (1996) interpretation of the Organon says, “When two very similar dynamic affections meet in a living organism, the stronger extinguishes the weaker. This is the law of similars upon which every real cure is based” (p. 76). Could it be then, according to the law of similars, that if a patient has a fear and the transpersonal practitioner has experienced a similar fear, at a similar strength, but has processed and brought it to awareness, the fear has been attenuated and may have a healing effect? If the practitioner can deeply empathize with and feel compassion around that fear rather than denying it or otherwise manipulating the fear, there is an attenuation of the fear (the practitioner has raised the frequency of the fear) and thusly produced a healing effect? Could the practitioner’s consciousness of the fear for what it is, on a dynamic level, which is beyond the personality, deeper than the defensive posture, and broader than the physical, otherwise, meeting it on the transpersonal level, provide a healing response? I suggest these tenants are possible.

I relate homoeopathy and energy healing to a child who is demanding his mother’s attention. If the mother stops what she is doing and gives the child full attention, the child is generally satisfied and continues to play. The child is seen, there is a resonance with the mother, and the need was not only met, but also accented or attenuated by the attention of the mother. If the mother, on the other hand, remains distracted and gives only partial attention to the child or asks the child to wait, the child is likely to become more demanding, will fall down, get hurt or do something potentially destructive in attempt to get the need met. The attentive mother fully embraces the child, raises the vibration of the interaction through the visible and invisible attention, which allows the child to be relieved of the need, satisfied, and able to move on.

Working through human issues like aggression, profound sadness, or family constellations is often facilitated by consciously confronting the potentially destructive patterns. In homoeo-psychotherapy a state similar to a destructive one can be attenuated through words (mental level), and feelings (emotional) that produce a curative reaction on the inner dynamic (spirit) level (Sankaran, 1992). Use of archetypes, symbols, or dreams as therapeutic tools can assist in providing a similimum to a distress. In a sense, healing, therapy or other personal growth efforts attenuate the problem by bringing consciousness to the issue, and can bring even more intensity if compassion and love are offered (Whitmont, 1993). Even if the practitioner is affecting the psychic rather than the biological field, they are applying the law of similars by matching the distress with a dose of itself, and stimulating the invisible, dynamic force that leads toward transformation (Whitmont, 1993). When one is more aware of personal delusions, the inner being is affected in a fashion similar to the affect of a homoeopathic remedy.

Near the end of the Organon, Hahnemann (1982) supports the above discourse with his suggestion that a healthy, well-intentioned mesmerist may be able to dynamically stream into another human being—even at some distance. He contended that the dynamic stream from the mesmerist more equally distributes the life force in the other. “It removes the general and morbid derangement of the patient’s vital principle and replaces it with the mesmerist’s normal one, which acts strongly on him” (p.210). I concur with Hahnemann’s suspicion that a healthy healer with good intention is able to affect another through a dynamic transmission.

Another indicator of the law of similars being successfully applied homoeopathically is when the “the history of past illnesses appears briefly in the reverse order, like a film being played backwards. When this happens, we know that not only the present, but also its cause in the past has been treated and the future is secure” (Sankaran, 1992, p.3). This reflects the loosening of the confinements of space and time that present day meta-physicists like Capra (1991), are exploring: “Relativity theory has thus shown that all measurements involving space and time lose their absolute significance and has forced us to abandon the classical concepts of an absolute space and an absolute time” (p. 166). Homoeopathy appears to operate outside the ‘normal’ boundaries of time and space; it is indeed a transpersonal practice.

Homoeopathy is a transpersonal and holistic science; it prioritizes humans and nature as physical, spiritual and psychical, interconnected, and undivided. A transpersonal practitioner may utilize the principles of similars in therapeutic techniques. A practitioner who is able to traverse the more subtle realms of consciousness, and energy fields, and has a high level of internal awareness, may be able to affect a patient in a way similar to a homoeopathic remedy.

Morphic Resonance and Duality

“The morphogenetic fields of all past systems become present to any subsequent similar system; the structures of past systems affect subsequent similar systems by a cumulative influence which acts across both space and time” (Sheldrake, 1995, p.13). Sheldrake’s theory of morphic resonance might be considered a variation of the law of similars, and have some bearing on how subtle influences affect transformation. If a person is born with their highest potential and strays from the expression of their true self through suffering or illness, that potential remains present to its similar, subsequent expression of suffering. We have seen that in homoeopathy, the suffering (signs and symptoms of disease) leads us to a substance of similar frequency that is thereby healing. The goal of health is always available, even in the midst of distress. One is not either sick or well, but both simultaneously. The past is available in the present and the present in the future. There is no exclusion in an inclusive view of the cosmos.

Sheldrake (1995) explains that the Greek word ‘entelechy’ indicates that a goal (say the health or evolution of an organism) is contained in the system, and the system (or person) will move toward that goal on the microphysical level but also across time and space or on the quantum level. He likens this to the template nature of DNA that holds the genetic code and attracts like codes to follow it. Similars attract. Sheldrake (1995) suggests that energy is the principle of change, and the order of the change depends on the structure of the spatial field.

In order to account for the fact that physical systems influence each other at a distance without any apparent material connection between them, these hypothetical fields are endowed with the property of traversing empty space, or even actually reconstituting it. In one sense, they are non-material; but in another sense they are aspects of matter because they can only be known through their effects on material systems. Morphogenetic fields are spatial structures detectable only through their morphogenetic effects on material systems: they too can be regarded as aspects of matter if the definition of matter is widened to include them. (Sheldrake, 1995, p. 72)

I suggest that homoeopathy is microphysical, quantum, and morphogenetic. If the highest potential of an individual is always available in the template of his being, on an innermost level, a homoeopathically prepared remedy recognizes itself and is recognized by the potential healing entity and an energetic resonance takes place. “Energetic resonance occurs when a system is acted on by an alternating force which coincides with its natural frequency of vibration” (Sheldrake, 1995, p 95).

As we saw in the introductory case of poison ivy, that which makes us ill can heal, and that which can heal can also make us ill. To be alive is not to progress straightforward but to be constantly exposed to the motion of polar opposites, to swing back and forth between balance and disequilibrium; it is the summation of this complementary opposition that is our wholeness (Whitmont, 1980). The ideal personality grows out of the resolution of opposing elements. Our suffering and healing are aspects of the same transpersonal expression of implicate-order entelechy (Whitmont, 1993). “In essence, the healing element is identical with that very invasive factor which, while still unintegrated, produces the illness. The healer and spoiler are two aspects of the same archetypal pattern” (Whitmont, 1993, p. 191). This complimentary opposition is indicative of the both/and, inclusive, non-dualistic view of eastern thought. Simplified, this opposition abounds in nature: night is complimented by day; the incoming tide is equivalent to the outgoing, the moon waxes and wanes. Neither extreme is good or bad, they are opposites, but compliment one another. When both are recognized, there is balance. The ways we see this in nature is also seen in man: our breath goes in and out, our pulse swells and rests, and one motion is not better than the other. The entire rhythm, both ends of the spectrum, are necessary for the function to occur. I agree with Whitmont that the nature of man has this complimentary opposition. When our totality is recognized or brought to consciousness, we are closer to our full expression.

“Thus, to the primary action of every substance that in large doses strongly alters the condition of a healthy body our vital force always produces in the secondary action the exactly opposite condition” (Hahnemann, 1982, p. 63). Every homoeopathic remedy contains its opposite within. Every action has its opposite reaction. This is also true on the physical level: one gets hot from rigorous exercise, then experiences the opposite condition of being chilled when the exercise stops; or ingesting large amounts of sugar may elicit excitation only to be followed by lethargy. On the emotional level those who are quite patient when healthy may become obstinate or self-willed when ill. Those who are rather feeble minded when well may become clever and sensible when ill (Hahnemann, 1982, p. 151). Scotton (1996) reminds us that the human mind tends to perceive qualities in relation to their opposite; opposites are present in the psyche and may even be expressed simultaneously. To consider that the inclusion of opposites is couched in the law of similars leads to the concept of holism, non-duality and unity. David Bohm (1980) puts it succinctly: “the whole implicate order is present at any moment” (p. 195). Homoeopaths acknowledge the inclusion of opposites, and the similar basis between spirituality, psychoanalysis and homoeopathy:

Disease is a restriction of vision; it is a narrow way of looking at things. Only awareness of this delusion can remove it, just as light removes darkness. Delusion disappears only with awareness. Much of what meditation, philosophy and psychoanalysis have to do with is creating awareness of a person’s false perception of the present. Homoeopathy is also based on this. The remedy creates awareness of your delusion by putting you in touch with the original situation from which this delusion came. Thus it is based on the same truth: disease is delusion; awareness is cure. (Sankaran, 1992, p.30)

Otherwise, health is consciousness without delusion, and while awareness may be considered the opposite of delusion, it is what cures. The Eastern worldview holds the awareness of the interrelation of all events and phenomena as a basic oneness with all things interdependent and inseparable (Capra, 1991). When one person becomes aware of his delusion, gains presence or health, the whole is affected, not just his whole, but also the whole of the universe. Being aware of delusion includes both awareness and acceptance of the delusion, or all of what is, which is presence. Homoeopathy facilitates presence, which is the true measure of health (Sankaran, 1992).

According to morphogenetics, the state that a human being is born into is present throughout life and just as the past is included in the present so is the present in the future. Indicated by the principle of similars, we are our distress as well as our health; the complimentary opposition is non-dual and follows the natural rhythm of night and day, or breathing in and breathing out. I surmise that being conscious of duality without judgment is an element of being aware, and is therefore another indicator of health.

To be in the moment, aware of what is, to be intentionally paying attention, and in attunement with oneself, is a personal practice of the law of similars; it is living homoeopathically. When the internal busyness is quieted and we are in touch with our inner most being, we are giving ourselves a dose of ourselves—our truer selves. Perhaps this is why meditation is an effective path to well being. Being in presence as a transpersonal practitioner provides an atmosphere or an electromagnetic field with which the patient may resonate. Presence is always available for the patient, but access to a state of presence can take practice. Applying the law of similars, the practitioner’s presence may resonate with the potential for awareness of the patient, even though delusion or suffering masks it. While the homoeopathic works on the innermost dimension, the presence of the transpersonal practitioner also offers a greater attunement to her internal life and the internal lives of others. Compassion and empathy are quite naturally evoked when the relationship is based on inner attunement (Siegel, 2007). “When the other has presence, when his or her reflective skills permit mindful awareness, then in that moment we are seen with authenticity and directness” (Siegel, 2007, p.263). Considering the idea of morphic resonance, it appears that repeated exposure to the presence of others makes a similar state more probable.

Conclusion

The transpersonal practice of homoeopathy is based on the law of similars, which states that a substance that produces symptoms in a healthy person will cure those same symptoms in an ill person. Remedies work on the innermost, invisible and dynamic plane, yet effect the mental, emotional and physical planes. To match the frequency or intensity of an illness, and to invite the remedy to match the plane of the etiology of the illness, substances are highly diluted and succussed so the energetic frequency or the vital dynamism of the substance interacts with the spirit-like or dynamic state of the disease. The substance, the intensity and the plane of interaction must all match for the principle of similars to be most effective. Homoeopathy is a holistic modality that treats the mind, body, emotions, and spirit through resonance on the dynamic plane.

The Law of Similars is applicable to other strategies of energy medicine and transpersonal modalities. Communication on the immaterial plane rather than the physical plane alone is effective and powerful not only in homoeopathy, but also in the energetic exchange between practitioner and patient. If we apply homoeopathic principles, like seeing disease as a disturbance on the internal plane, to other healing venues, we might address disease dynamically rather than physically. The transpersonal practitioner might honor the metaphysical implication of the distress and address it with respect to the subtle, internal, dynamism of the patient. A transpersonal approach to wellness might consider matching the quality and intensity of a distress along with attenuating the distress by bringing consciousness to the subtleties of it.

The principle of opposites is inherent in the principle of similars. Every remedy holds both ends of a spectrum; for instance, it can be toxic and it can cure. Coffee, in its physical form, might give an energetic boost, but as an attenuated remedy, it is used as a sleep aid. This nature of polarity is also evident in humans. I propose that to bring the polarity, or the wholeness, of a patient to consciousness, without judgment, on the subtle level, is potentially transforming. If practitioners work on a level similar to the dynamic plane on which homoeopathic remedies work, they might promote a similar healing and transformation response. I hope to explore this theory in my upcoming research.

I am pleasantly surprised with the relevance of this study to my intended research on the transformative potential of energy medicine. Theoretically establishing the energy strategies I employ in my professional practice (homoeopathy, hands on healing and transpersonal psychology), like the prongs of the three-legged stool, will provide a stable foundation for using clinical cases as data for analysis. Inquiry into the qualities of presence, awareness, intention, attention, resonance and attunement and how they impact transpersonal therapeutic work will be a natural extension of this introduction to the law of similars. I look forward to using a phenomenological approach in my forthcoming case study with a hermeneutical quality that will honor and utilize the interior state, dynamism, and presence.

“It is the belief in the perfection of our original nature,

the realization that the process of enlightenment

consists merely in becoming

what we already are from the beginning”

(Capra, 1991, p. 124).

References

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Braud, W., & Anderson, R. (1998). Transpersonal research methods for the social sciences. Thousand Oaks, Ca.: SAGE Publications.

Capra, F. (1991). The Tao of Physics. Boston: Shambala Publishing, Inc.

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Cornford, F. (1941). The republic of Plato. London: Oxford University Press.

Gordon, J. (1998). Manifesto for a new world medicine. Subtle energies & energy medicine, 9(1), 27-50.

Hahnemann, S. (1982). Organon of medicine: The first integral English translation of the definitive sixth edition of the original work on homoeopathic medicine. Los Angeles: J.P. Tarcher, Inc.

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Scotton, B., Chinen, A., & Battista, J. (1996). Textbook of transpersonal psychiatry and psychology. New York: Basic Books.

Sheldrake, R. (1995). The hypothesis of a new science of life: Morphic resonance. Rochester, Vermont: Park Street Press.

Siegel, D. (2007). The mindful brain: Reflection and attunement in the cultivation of well being. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.

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About the author

Martha Derbyshire

Martha Derbyshire has studied homeopathy around the world and practiced Classical Homeopathy for over 30 years. She is the co-founder of the Maine Association of Homeopaths and is certified by the Council of Homeopathic Certification (CCH). She has been a member of the North American Society of Homeopaths (NASH) since its inception and completed the HMC course with Louis Klein. Martha has a master’s degree in Transpersonal Psychology (M.T.S.), a master’s degree in Educational Administration and is a graduate of and was a faculty member at the Barbara Brennan School of Healing. Her private practice of Homeopathy, Energy Healing and Spiritual Psychology is in Camden, Maine, USA. Visit her at www.marthaderbyhshire.com

3 Comments

  • Dear Martha,
    thanks for publishing this highly informative and well written article, it’s my personal favorite on this subject!

    Great job!
    Katja

  • Dear Martha,

    1 There are some pseudoscientific statements in your article.

    2 Classical homeopathy goes against science-based modern medicine, which considers it a pseudoscience and shows its gradual disappearance worldwide, except in India.

    3 David Bohm was a brilliant theoretical physicist that got sidetracked by Jiddu Krishnamurti, a Hindu spiritual leader. When Bohm found out that this leader was leading a double life (Google “Lives in the Shadow with J Krishnamurti” by Radha Rajagopal Sloss), he got depressed and died of a heart attack.

    4 Most physicists and scientists worldwide don’t know who Fritjof Capra is. His book The Tao of Physics is misleading and full of pseudoscience.

    5 Dr Andrew Weil, Dr Mehmet Oz, Dr Dean Ornish, Dr Mark Hyman, and many others, promote pseudoscience.

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