Homeopathy Papers

Tidbits 86: ROBIN MURPHY, MISHA NORLAND!

Written by Elaine Lewis

Elaine bids her favorite teachers a heartfelt farewell.

Robin Murphy

By all rights, I could have written a tribute to Robin Murphy a month ago, just in time for the November issue.

But it would have been nothing but 5 pages of crying, dotted with “This is a disaster!” and “No way is this happening!”  Not my best work, I can assure you.  After waiting a month, I just might be in the final stage of grief: acceptance.

As most of you know, Robin Murphy ND, one of the greatest homeopaths who ever lived, died on November 17, 2021 in the hospital, of covid 19 pneumonia; he was 71 years old.  It’s a real blow to homeopathy and natural healing in general.  More about Robin in a minute.

Misha Norland

While searching for images in google for this article, I came across the craziest thing, it was a “R.I. P.” for Misha Norland, founder of the School Of Homeopathy in Devon, England who apparently died a week after Robin!  I said, “What the heck is going on here?!  This must be a mistake!  No way!!!!!!”  But then I found this very moving tribute on youtube from Rajan Sankaran

and I knew it had to be true:

Few people know that I was actually enrolled in the School of Homeopathy for a short time, but I couldn’t finish the course due to being a new mother and therefore, exhausted!  But I was there long enough to come to appreciate Misha Norland as my favorite teacher!

His description of the Nat-mur child is something that will stick with me forever.  He said, “The Nat-mur child: the mother will try to comfort her when she’s crying but there’s no consoling her: ‘I don’t know what to do with this child, I try to pick her up but she’s all spikes and thorns!'”  Oh, so brilliant!  Fortunately for us, Misha is all over Youtube with his snippets of materia medica.  For instance, his micro-lecture on Lycopodium, very useful information:

Misha was 78 years old.  Rajan Sankaran wrote:

“My friend, my brother, Misha Norland, passed away in his sleep on Friday night.  Our connection has only become deeper in the past 35 years.  I have been in touch with him frequently in the last weeks.  He is one of the nicest, purest, and the most loving souls I have ever met.”

I echo these sentiments and extend my best wishes and condolences to Mani Norland

who is now the head of the School of Homeopathy.

******************************

Back to Robin

It was on or about November 17th.  I was asleep on the couch.  Shana came bounding in with news from her ever-present Smart Phone.  I didn’t open my eyes.  Suddenly she blurts out “Robin Murphy died.”  I shot up like a bolt of lightning and grabbed her arm!  “No!” I insisted.  “He did not!  It’s a rumor!  It’s some other Robin Murphy!  It’s a common name!  A lot of people are named Robin Murphy!  Robin is the healthiest man on the planet, he’ll live to be 100!  Go to his website, see if there’s anything written there!”  No, there was nothing there.  “See?” I said.  Then Shana announced, “Alan just wrote.  He says he’s sorry to hear about Robin Murphy.”

“What????  OMG!  Write back to him, ask him where he heard that, I’m sure it’s a mistake!”

“Alan wrote back, Mom; he says he heard it from Miranda Castro.”

OH NO!!!!!!  Miranda Castro is nothing if not 100% reliable!  I was now in complete devastation mode and in denial!  “This could not have happened!  He’s too healthy!  He’s a vegetarian, a Tai Chi and Qigong instructor!  See below, Robin leading his Qigong class:

There is no way this could have happened unless… unless… could it have been covid 19?”

Yes.  That’s exactly what it was.

I got up.  I had to take Ignatia!  The funny thing was, shortly after hearing what happened, I came down with a cough and a sore throat!  Weird because I never get sick!  I always take Ferrum phos. 200C right away and that’s the end of it.  But Ferrum phos. wasn’t working.  I tried Phosphorus, and that wasn’t working either.  I went through one likely remedy after another and nothing was working.  I imagined that this was what it was like for Robin.  That he tried the remedies that should have worked and they weren’t working.  (Check this month’s Quiz for details on what was wrong with me and how I got better.)

It All Started…..

I suppose it all began with Dana Ullman…

and his catalog.  Before the internet, there was the Homeopathic Educational Services catalog—that somehow knew to come to my house.

Right in the middle of the catalog were all the seminars on tape from various homeopaths including George Vithoulkas, Vasilis Ghegas, Roger Morrison, Andre Saine….  But taking up the most space by far was Robin Murphy and all his seminars—all 32 of them!

I bought them one by one.  I would say, “Well, I’m just going to buy this one.”  I said that 32 times!

Robin’s seminars consisted usually of eight 90-minute cassette tapes.  The first one I bought was on Psychological Prescribing—because my sister was having trouble with her creepy narcissistic boyfriend.  See, that’s the great thing about Robin’s course: you buy what you want, when you want, you stop when you want or go all the way through to the end, and there’s absolutely no pressure!

No one but Robin was offering his entire course, from start to finish, through Dana Ullman’s catalog, with no questions asked! 

At first, I listened to all of Robin’s tapes all the way through.  Then I went back to the beginning, started all over again, taking notes the second time around.  I have 3 three-ring binders full of notes!  When Alan landed an interview with Robin Murphy for our “Homeopath In The Hot – Seat” feature 10 years ago–and sending me out to do the interview—I took one of my ring binders with me for him to autograph!  I thought of how cool that would be; one of a kind!

My notes are all typed out and very artistically arranged (in my opinion), I was very proud to show them to him!  Robin said, “Can I take this home with me?  I want to copy it.  I’ll send it back to you.”

“You want to copy my notes???”  OMG!  World-famous homeopath, Robin Murphy, wants to copy My notes!!!!  Holy cow!!!!

Not only did I get his autograph, but he gave me an A!  Actually, an A+.  Look at this!

The interview I conducted that day will be linked to at the bottom of the page.

***************************

Dana Ullman was nice enough to send this:

Robin Murphy, ND (1950-2021) was a master synthesizer of homeopathic practice.  Even in the 1980s when he began to teach homeopathy, he avoided the debate around using low or high potency medicine by proclaiming a value for using all potencies. He didn’t need to debate whether to prescribe a constitutional medicine or a pathological remedy because he wrote and talked about using each at their appropriate time.

Yes, absolutely.  Every case is not a constitutional case.

His ultimate contributions to the homeopathic literature were his materia medica and his repertory, both of which provide a synthesis of all previous literature before his.

And putting the Repertory in alphabetical order and adding new logical chapters–so essential; so needed!

In 1993 he published his repertory which was initially called the Homeopathic Medical Repertory, and then the Homeopathic Clinical Repertory, and then finally the MetaRepertory (he was into concepts about “meta” way, way before Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook!).  Distinct from Kent’s Repertory which began with the chapter on Mind and then had chapters that went down the body, Murphy’s repertory was so much easier to use because it was alphabetical.

Exactly!  Reference books have to be in alphabetical order, it’s only common sense!

And being a clinically-minded teacher of homeopathy, he included chapters that were practical to homeopathic practice, including having chapters on practical subjects such as Clinical, Constitutional, Toxicity, and Vaccination, as well as separate chapters on Cancer, Children, Food, and Speech.

Similarly, his materia medica was first published in 1996 as the Lotus Materia Medica, and then Nature’s Materia Medica.  And like his repertory, the description of the usage for each medicine provides a summary of its key symptoms, then a summary of its emotional and mental symptoms, and then an alphabetical listing of parts of your body.

Ultimately, Robin Murphy, ND, was both a Hahnemannian and a Kentian, and he felt totally comfortable in both “camps” because he felt that different cases called for one approach or the other.  And he was so much more than a homeopath.  He also had a profound interest in and appreciation of herbalism and alchemy, yoga and meditation practices, tai chi and Qigong, and naturopathic therapies and detox treatments.  He was the ultimate renaissance doctor of the 21st (or maybe 22nd) century!

So true!

Finally, as a seller of homeopathic books since 1975, I may have sold more of Robin Murphy’s books and his recorded lectures than anyone else on the planet.

I suspect you sold them to me!

He and I had a solid collaborative relationship that sought to educate as many people as possible on the profound principles of homeopathy as well as on how to optimize the use of these medicines to improve people’s health and to truly transform a person’s life.  This collaboration may make me a founding member of his fan club, a membership that I will always honor.

Thanks Dana, I appreciate you.

–Dana Ullman, MPH, CCH

www.homeopathic.com

******************

Dr. Luc DeSchepper, author of many books including my favorite, Hahnemann Revisited, wrote in to say the following:

For me he was the most generous person to give me information. Thanks to him, I found the library in Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan and spent hours there copying the many old journals.

He was a giving, humble person, someone I loved and will miss.

He was a true Hahnemannian homeopath

Not many of those around….

and deserves all our respect.

Truly!  Thank you!

Luc

****************

Jim Klemmer wrote in.  A lot of you know Jim as the owner of Natural Health Supply www.A2Zhomeopathy.com .  I always tell people to go there and buy the 30C Emergency Kit; buy it now!  Don’t wait until after you get sick!

Hi Elaine, here are my comments regarding Robin.  Robin had the ability to make Homeopathy available to anyone, medical or layperson; his practical approach to the use of the remedies was key to his approach to wellness and medicine in general; his role in the resurgence of the use of Homeopathy in our alternative medicine world is, and will be, without question of benefit to gererations now and to come. He will be missed by all he touched in so many ways.

*********************************

Thanks Jim!  Lastly, Alan, our editor, wrote in to say:

Elaine,

When I was running the study group at the Jefferson campus, we had many members that were single mothers  and others who were just struggling financially.  They were passionate about homeopathy, but couldn’t afford some of the books.  I wrote to Robin Murphy and told him about the situation.  He sent us 50 copies of his repertory!

When I had a health problem that needed some novel solution, I wrote to him and he sent me a detailed email with several ways to solve it.

When I was at one of his seminars, I experienced that he was generous with his knowledge.  He shared so many little known secrets of healing, that I and others couldn’t write fast enough.

He was outgoing and loved interacting with the crowd.  But when he took a live case, his demeanor changed instantly, as he went into a very calm and focused state.  He was total concentration and empathy for the patient.

Thanks, Alan, beautifully said.  Earlier I promised I would post the link to my interview with Robin Murphy at the end of this article.  Here it is:

Robin Murphy N.D.

So, listen up everybody, I was just at Robin’s website — www.LotusHealthInstitute.com — and he’s got a page there that features all his podcasts!  This is all new to me, so click below:

https://lotushealthinstitute.com/podcast

At the moment, his online store is off-line, being updated, I imagine; so, check back in from time to time. 

May the work and memory of Misha Norland and Robin Murphy live on forever!

Rest In Power!

____________________________________

Elaine Lewis, DHom, CHom

Elaine takes online cases. Write to her at [email protected]

Visit her website: https://ElaineLewis.hpathy.com

About the author

Elaine Lewis

Elaine Lewis, D.Hom., C.Hom.
Elaine is a passionate homeopath, helping people offline as well as online. Contact her at [email protected]
Elaine is a graduate of Robin Murphy's Hahnemann Academy of North America and author of many articles on homeopathy including her monthly feature in the Hpathy ezine, "The Quiz". Visit her website at:
https://elainelewis.hpathy.com/ and TheSilhouettes.org

20 Comments

  • Misha Norland too? What a devastating loss to the homeopathic community, but consider the lasting imprint each of these homeopaths and teachers made on many and will continue to make for generations to come (including the many ways their former students contribute, teaching others who contribute, ad infinitum!). Like ripples on a pond.

    Thanks to Elaine, I own one of Robin’s repertories and have benefitted greatly from Misha’s thoughtful and concise youtube videos spotlighting various remedies in such a descriptive way that makes it easier to appreciate the essence and nuance of each remedy picture.

    • Thank you, Claire. Robin’s alphabetical Repertory, now in its 4th ed., has made homeopathy much more accessible to ordinary people. Every homeopathy school should be using it.

  • Elaine, thank you so much for your heartfelt and candid reminiscences. Like you I also had similar reactions of disbelief. Reading about Robin was a shock. And then to read about Misha was like a lightning bolt striking. We were blessed to have been born in the same era and to have studied under these passionate teachers. I pray that their immortal souls abide in the light and peace of eternity. Thank you for this lovely memorial.

  • I just wanted to share your sadness at the news of Robin Murphy’s untimely death. May his beautiful soul rest in peace.

    And to thank you for the amazing interview you posted on Homoeopathy for Everyone. I learned so much from that.

    Robin was a genius and we were honoured to share his passion……… his legacy lives on and we have the privilege of re-visiting his teachings in his books and recordings…….. each one a gem which would take lifetimes to digest!

    May I have your permission to post that interview on Homoeopathy Friends (Facebook). It really was an eye opener for me!

    • Yes, please post on Homeopathy Friends. Thanks for leaving your comment. We are blessed to inherit all his writings, lectures, so much material; I just ordered a new seminar from Dana’s website and I can’t wait til it gets here, though it will be a little sad to listen to this time.

  • In 1992 I attended a brilliant Robin Murphy weekend seminar in upstate New York. I will never forget how he ended the weekend by having all of us take part in singing the old round: “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”(gently down the stream; Merrily merrily, merrily, life is but a dream.) I trust he has awakened from this dream and finds himself in a beautiful new world where he can continue his work undiminished.

  • Elaine, that’s really devastating news. I am too very fond of Robin Murphy Repertory and his books. We did lose a legend in our field of Homeopathy. Thanks a lot for dedicating this article of yours to Dr. Robin Murphy !!
    He left us a treasure to explore, and very sad to know that
    “Good things don’t last long !! “

  • Please forgive my cold objectivity, Robin was a friend. I am not a follower of homeopathy. I suppose every medical modality has its scope and limitation. The delta variant of Covid-19 has killed thousands if not millions.

    Is it not possible that homeopathy is not the BEST way to treat Covid-19?
    I do not know the details of Robin’s treatment.

    Ivermectin and other drugs have been used effectively against Covid-19.

    Perhaps the homeopathic community should reconsider their approach.

    • Hi Alan, unfortunately, I have NO idea how Robin’s case went south. And if you were a friend of his, maybe you could find out and let us know? The day after I heard that Robin died, I got sick! And none of the “normal” remedies were working! I had a cough and a sore throat. Trying remedy after remedy, I began thinking to myself, Maybe this is what happened to Robin, nothing that should have worked was working! Then a homeopath/friend from Canada emailed me. We talked. She said to me, “Try Coccus cacti.” I had never taken that remedy before, but luckily I had it here. I took Coccus cacti 30C and incredibly, it was absolutely the right remedy, the sensation in my chest disappeared almost immediately and that very night I was able to get up, leave the house and go to Whole Foods for my shopping! A remedy I NEVER would have thought to take on my own saved me! Was this the remedy Robin needed, maybe before he came down with pneumonia? We’ll never know. We’ll never know if the hospital killed him, which is usually what happens, and I can just imagine a scenario where panicky family and friends force someone to go to the hospital and then that’s the end of him, we’ll just never know what he tried that didn’t work or whether going to the hospital was his choice–no one is talking. However, having said that, I have nothing against Ivermectin and I even wish he could have availed himself of intravenous Vitamin C.

      • Elaine, Thank you for writing this heartfelt article. I never met Robin, but he was one of my first teachers. I listened to many of his recorded teachings. He taught me much about practical homeopathy. I only just discovered news of his death. I am sad for the great loss to our homeopathic community. Years ago, my neighbor passed away with her doctor present (also my neighbor). She was a warm & loving person. She sputtered & came back to tell us how beautiful it is on the other side. May he Rest In Peace.

  • Is the elephant in the room that maybe he didn’t have covid vaccination as he died from covid pneumonia ? Maybe in a new pandemic with a new disease time is against us to find remedy.

    • Are you saying if only he had taken the covid vaccine none of this would have happened? No one knows if he did or didn’t get the covid vaccine. Robin’s business demanded that he travel frequently, to Europe, Asia, etc. It’s hard to imagine he could have continued to do that without complying with numerous vaccine mandates. But it’s all speculation, as nobody knows and nobody’s talking.

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