Infinitesimals, Miasms and Similars: Principles of Homeopathy

Posted on March 8, 2017 by David Lawrence Preston

Homeopathic remedies are designed to gently prompt the immune system into fighting a health problem by giving it the necessary information to do so. They are based on the notion that a diluted preparation of a substance that causes symptoms in a healthy person can cure diseases that cause the same symptoms in a sick person.

It is a holistic approach to healing in that it seeks to treat the whole person, not just the symptoms. Every remedy is tailor-made to suit the individual once the homeopath has carried out their diagnosis, which includes mental and emotional issues as well as physical problems.

Although homeopathy uses common substances mainly from plants and minerals, it is quite different to herbal medicine and the mechanisms by which they work are completely different.

The founder of homeopathy, Dr Samuel Hahnemann, identified ‘natural laws’ on which the method is founded:

The ‘Law of Similars’

The Law of Similars states that a disease can be cured by a substance that produces similar symptoms in healthy people, in other words, like cures like.

For example:

Raw onions cause sore, tearful eyes. Extremely diluted extract of raw onion can be used in a remedy to treat colds, flu, or other illnesses that produce the same symptoms.
Caffeine can be used in homeopathic dilution to help patients suffering from insomnia.
Nettles can be used homeopathically if the skin has symptoms similar to a nettle sting.

Critics of homeopathy are derisory about the Law of Similars. They say there’s no scientific evidence that it works. Indeed, it directly contradicts Western medical practice which tends to use substances which are opposite to the problem to suppress it, thus preventing rather than supporting the body’s normal reaction. But homeopathy is non-suppressive. Practitioners believe that suppressing the symptoms doesn’t deal with the cause, and unless the cause is treated, the condition is likely to get worse.

The Law of Minimal Dose (Theory of Infinitesimals)

The debate around the Law of Similars pales into insignificance compared to the controversy surrounding the Law of Minimal Dose. This states that the lower the dose of a homeopathic medicine, the greater its effectiveness. Most homeopathic remedies are so dilute, they contain little or no ‘active’ ingredients, just an energy blueprint.

When preparing a homeopathic remedy, substances are dissolved in water or alcohol, then repeatedly diluted and vigorously shaken between each dilution. First, the ‘mother tincture’ is diluted by 1 part in 100 or 1000, and shaken. Then it is diluted again to produce a 1 part in 10,000 or 1,000,000 and shaken again. A one-in-a-million dilution gives only a 60% chance that a single molecule of the original mother tincture remains in the solution. Critics argue that this merely adds more water to what is just water, but homeopaths believe that this process transfers the information, energy or ‘essence’ of the substance into the diluted remedy. The body is naturally responsive when ill, so that it is able to respond to these otherwise undetectable amounts.

Homeopathic remedies usually come in the form of a small sugar pill. Once the remedy has been diluted to the required degree, sugar pills are dipped in the remedy and allowed to dry. The essence of the tincture is now believed to have been transferred to the pill. But detractors say they are just sugar pills that have been dipped in water, no more, no less.

Conventional science holds that the more there is of a substance, the greater its effect. Homeopathy contradicts the belief of the pharmaceutical industry that increasing the dosage increases the effect of a drug.

Miasms

Homeopathy achieved good results in Hahnemann’s day, but it wasn’t one hundred percent successful. At first, he couldn’t understand why, then after twenty years in practice he deduced that there must some blockage that must be addressed before a cure can be achieved with the usual homeopathic remedy. He called these deep-seated causal influences ‘Miasms.’

He identified three chronic miasms – Psora (which causes under-functioning), Leutic (self-destruction) and Sycosis (over-functioning). He associated each miasm with specific diseases. For example, Psora is associated with Scabies and any condition that erupts on the skin and itches, hence the homeopathic remedy to address Psora should be produced from scabies itself.

Modern practitioners test for miasms and treat them with homeopathy or other methods such as EDS (electro-dermal screening).

Why the scepticism?

When something that has helped so many appears to have no value according to the scientific method, then surely it is the prevailing scientific method that is flawed!

The problem is, homeopathy’s key concepts are simply not consistent with our current understanding of science and is consequently difficult to study using current scientific methods. It has more in common philosophically with Oriental than Western practice. Each remedy is individually tailored to the patient, so it cannot be tested in random controlled trials, and because it is based on one remedy for one person, it is difficult to construct studies using standard scientific methods.

Hence critics argue that homeopathy relies largely on anecdotes rather than evidence and any success is mainly due to the beliefs of its followers. In other words, placebo. There are still those who consider the use of placebos as ‘fooling’ patients by giving them ‘useless’ pills and potions, even if they help bring about a cure.

Even so, the BBC report still refers to ‘sham’ treatments’ and ‘unproven treatments’ as if the author, Michelle Roberts, is still not really convinced. She writes that three quarters of doctors claimed to offer ‘unproven treatments’ such as complementary therapies on a daily or weekly basis, and even refers to ‘fake’ acupuncture (which has been used successfully for over five thousand years) in such terms. She misses the point – in most cases it is not the medicine that brings about healing, but the patient’s own healing abilities restoring equilibrium and removing the resistance to full health.

Research shows that placebos are most effective a relieving subjective conditions such as pain, and their effect is based on cultivating the patient’s expectations of a cure. Hence the size, colour and packaging of placebos all play a role, as does the presentation and manner of the practitioner who prescribes them.

Homeopathy has helped millions of people. The Law of Similars, Infinitesimals and the Principle of Miasms have proved their worth over and over again. It’s about time ‘science’ caught up!

©FGATT, 8.3.2017

Chemistry says that homeopathy can’t work. Patients and homeopaths know it does. Does quantum theory and holography explain it?

Homeopathy: Mystical Medicine, Science or Quackery?

Posted on March 8, 2017 by David Lawrence Preston

Samuel Hahnemann was born in Eastern Germany, in 1755. At age 23 he decided to study medicine and become a doctor. He established a village practice in 1780, and eventually moved to the regional centre, Dresden.

It wasn’t long before he became disillusioned with the therapies he was expected to offer to his patients. Medicine had moved on little since Hippocrates. Many treatments involved brutal, inhumane methods. Bloodletting and purges were common, and various substances including mercury, arsenic and lead were used which often poisoned patients. He began a lifelong quest to find kinder, more natural ways of treating illnesses.

From 1789, now living in Leipzig, he devoted himself to the study of chemistry and medicine. Hahnemann was no witch doctor. He believed in the scientific method. He was a keen experimenter, observer and documenter of his findings. He experimented using various substances on healthy subjects to see what effect they would have, and discovered that even poisonous substances could have curative properties.

One experiment used cinchona bark extract, which yields quinine, a known treatment for malaria. Puzzled by his findings, he repeatedly took it himself. That confirmed his suspicions – cinchona bark extract caused him to develop fever-like symptoms similar to those caused by malaria. He surmised that if a substance could cause disease symptoms in a healthy subject, small amounts could cure a sick person who had similar symptoms. He called his system ‘homeopathy’.

Proving

He then developed a testing method called ‘proving’ to determine which substances could be used as remedies and which medical conditions they could be used to treat. Healthy volunteers took highly diluted potions of the test remedy for several weeks and recorded any physical or emotional symptoms they felt. If a patient later presented the same symptoms, Dr Hahnemann prescribed a substance that had caused the same symptoms in the healthy volunteers. The ‘proving’ method is still used by homeopaths today.

Potentisation

Another innovation was the process of ‘potentisation’ derived from his theory of ‘infinitesimals.’ Hahnemann used many dangerous ingredients in his research, but he realised that such compounds needed to be diluted to ‘safe’ levels before use. Potentisation involved dissolving the active ingredient in water and repeatedly diluting and shaking it vigorously. He believed that the more a remedy was diluted, the more powerful it became.

‘Firsts’

Dr Hahnemann was responsible for several other ‘firsts’. He was the first to prepare medicines in a systematic way and test them on healthy human beings to determine how they acted to cure disease – previously medicines were prescribed on the basis of trial and error and tradition without experimental corroboration.

He was the first to differentiate between ‘acute’ and ‘chronic’ diseases. Acute diseases are serious but transitory; they have a beginning and an end. Chronic diseases are ongoing. They could be lying latent and made manifest at any time in a variety of ways.

He identified poor hygiene as a contributory cause in the spread of disease, and his success with cholera and typhoid fever was in part due to this. He recognised the healing contribution made by a balanced diet, rest, and isolating patients during epidemics. He became known for his work with people with mental health problems, regarding their treatment in his day as cruel and harmful, and urging a more humane approach. He was famous for his success with insane patients using homeopathy.

Publications

He published his first treatise in 1810 – The Organon of the Healing Art – in which he explained the fundamentals of homeopathic medicine and guidelines for practice. He later published Pure Materia Medica which included details of his research and the remedy provings. In Chronic Diseases, Their Peculiar Nature and Their Homeopathic Cure, he explained how natural diseases become chronic in nature when suppressed by improper treatment.

Dr. Hahnemann treated thousands of difficult cases. Many had defied medical practitioners all over Europe. Physicians from the Old and New Worlds flocked to him for training in his methods, but they were in the minority. The majority of his contemporaries saw this giant of medicine as a quack of the first order! His theories and practices were derided by most medical practitioners of his day, and still are.

The ‘Scientific’ Verdict

Frankly, the scientific evidence is inconclusive, but this doesn’t prevent most doctors and medical researchers regard homeopathic remedies as placebos at best and quackery at worst. They point out that most studies have concluded that there is no evidence to support homeopathy as an effective treatment for any particular condition. Where studies report positive findings, they dismiss them as flawed: flawed sampling, flawed methodology, flawed conclusions and so on. Homeopathic medicines are infamous for containing no active chemical ingredients. Conventional bio-chemical science has no explanation for their efficacy. It can’t be true, they say, therefore it isn’t.

The ruling pharmaceutical-based medical establishment delight in attacking homeopathy. For example, in 2009, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned, with Africa’s rural poor in mind, that homeopathy should not be used for conditions such as HIV, TB, infant diarrhoea, influenza and malaria. Under a banner headline, ‘Homeopathy not a cure,’ they wrote, ‘We hope that by raising awareness of the WHO’s position on homeopathy we will be supporting those people who are taking a stand against these potentially disastrous practices.’ (Please note: the authors were referring to a handful of conditions; the headline gave the impression homeopathy could not cure anything at all!)

In the same report, a specialist in infectious diseases at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, was quoted as saying: ‘I think it is irresponsible for a healthcare worker to promote the use of homeopathy in place of proven treatment for any life-threatening illness.’

Needless to say, the Society of Homeopaths strongly disagreed. ‘This is just another poorly wrapped attempt to discredit homeopathy,’ said their Chief Executive. ‘The irony is that in their efforts to promote evidence in medicine, they have failed to do their homework. There is a strong and growing evidence base for homeopathy and this also includes childhood diarrhoea.’

Choice

Surely, in view of its positive track record, it is reasonable to consider what beneficial role homeopathy can play in any circumstances. What is needed is not crude dismissal but further research and investment into homeopathy.

So what’s the truth? Hahnemann was, above all, a man of integrity who devoted his life to rigorous testing of homeopathic cures. It has benefited millions since and continues to do so, but there are no recent large scale studies that show homeopathy as conveying any benefit over and above the placebo effect, only small scale observational studies and laboratory research.

What’s wrong with the science?

In science, if something cannot pass a controlled trial using conventional methods, it is assumed not to work. With homeopathy (and other alternative medicines) even though practitioners know it works because they have seen it with their patients, when it fails in scientifically controlled trials they conclude that the trial must be flawed. Conventional methods are not the way to prove it.

According to mainstream science the humble bee is incapable of flight. Its wings are too small, its body too cumbersome. Similarly, there is a strong and growing evidence base for homeopathy. Let’s hope homeopathy can take its place as a scientifically proven and properly understood therapy in the future, helping lots of people. Then we will know for sure whether Hahnemann was truly an idiot, importer or genius!

©FGATT 8.3.2017

Herbal medicine: does it work?

Posted on March 6, 2017 by David Lawrence Preston

Most healing approaches involve ingesting various substances that alter the biochemistry of the body in some way. Humans have always taken various substances believing they have a remedial effect. In times gone by, most of these were found in the natural world. Nowadays they are equally as likely to have been conjured up in a laboratory.

Herbal medicine

Herbs have always played a role in physical and emotional wellbeing. Many well known herbs have been found to have potent antiseptic, antibacterial and medicinal qualities. They can help prevent ill health, cure minor ailments, bring about a feeling of wellbeing, energise and relax. Some have great nutritional value too, e.g. containing vitamins, minerals and trace elements, easing digestion and elimination. Many are easily grown in a garden or window box.

Herbs can be used in many ways – infusions, tisanes, tinctures, creams, poultices and ointments etc. Their oil is extracted for massage, aromatherapy and inhalations or simply a pleasant, relaxing bath.

Herbal medicine uses exclusively plants and plant extracts – or does it? Not totally. Most come from flowers, stems, root, bark and so on, but Chinese herbs can also include animal and reptile parts including tusks, horns and hoofs and the much-prized seahorses.

Does it work?

A 2007 study by Guo et al [1] began by stating that ‘evidence of efficacy for some herbal medicines, but by no means all those in common use, has increased substantially in the past 29 years.’

The authors went on to point out that most studies were of the classic type where standard doses of single herbs are administered and results compared with a control group given a placebo. But herbal medicine, like most holistic medicines, is simply not prescribed in this way. It is holistic in approach. It aims to treat the whole person and repair the underlying causes of disease, not just deal with symptoms.

It is widely recognised that the sorts of trials used by the pharmaceutical industry and endorsed by governments around the world are unfair on holistic medicine precisely for this reason.

‘There is a sparsity of evidence regarding the effectiveness of individualised herbal medicine,’ write Mr Guo and his colleagues as if they have proven that herbal medicine is useless. But they did not. They could equally have written that there is a sparsity of evidence that it doesn’t work, and plenty of evidence from centuries of use that is does. For example, everyone knows rubbing a nettle sting with a dock leaf brings relief, camomile or valerian are great for disturbed sleep, St John’s Wort is clinically proven to help with depression, garlic for colds, lavender and eucalyptus for blocked noses, peppermint as a pick-me-up, fennel seed for digestive troubles, licorice for constipation and so on.

The burden of proof is much greater for natural medicines than for the pharmaceutical industry. Personal experience is mistrusted as if it counts for nothing. You can imagine what would happen if a group of herbal practitioners published a study on such flimsy foundations and concluded that herbal medicine is effective and can be highly recommended!

Herbal medicine can be powerful, effective and side-effect-free in trained hands, but of course there are no profits to be had by the big pharmaceutical companies for products that can be found in the natural environment or grown in a window box!

©FGATT, 6.3.2017

[1] R Guo, PH Canter and E Ernst, ‘A systematic review of randomised clinical trials of individualised herbal medicine in any indication,’ Postgrad Med J 2007; 83:633-637 (at www.postgradmedj.com)

Are you sure you want to be well? The problem of ‘secondary gains’.

Posted on November 15, 2016 by David Lawrence Preston

When a patient fails to recover even when receiving the best possible treatment, we must question whether they really want to get well. Why? Some people like being ill. They enjoy the attention that comes with it. It may be the only time anyone takes an interest in them.

When a person subconsciously depends on their illness for sympathy, security and so on, we allude to ‘secondary gains.’ Secondary gains are the hidden or not-so-hidden benefits of staying ill. They hinder recovery because without the desire to be well, healing forces remain dormant.

I once had a client whose ex-husband allowed her to stay in the former marital home until she recovered from a debilitating illness. Years of treatment had brought no improvement – but where was the incentive to get well? She would have lost her home, her welfare benefits and not least all that sympathy and attention.

If you are suffering from a chronic illness and have tried everything you know to get well, ask yourself if you really want to recover and why. Be honest with yourself. The answer may be revealing.

©David Lawrence Preston, 15.11.2016

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Healing and Creative Imagery

Posted on November 15, 2016 by David Lawrence Preston

Creative Imagery (visualization) is an invaluable healing tool with proven health benefits. It can reduce chronic pain, anxiety, high blood pressure, cholesterol and the stress hormone cortisol. It boosts brain function, the immune system and the heart and circulation. When we relax and focus our minds, we stimulate the life forces within, allowing the body to regenerate itself.

Moreover, when we send loving thoughts to a body part and affirm life flowing through it, we direct healing forces to it. A gentle focus of attention is all it takes to free the body of minor ailments, and more serious conditions can be relieved with regular practice. It can also prevent medical problems.

Try this: when in a relaxed state, take your awareness to your body and notice any pain or discomfort – you’ll find your attention wants to go there. There are lessons to be learned, so ask your Higher Self what your body trying to tell you. Then make the necessary adjustments to your habits or lifestyle.

How to use Creative Imagery for healing

Creative Imagery has been used for decades by eminent doctors such as Dr Carl Simonton, Dr Bernie Segal, Dr Milton Erickson and Dr Dean Ornish. They have written extensively about their techniques.

The following is typical of the type of healing routines they employ:

Thoroughly relax your body and mind. Focus on your breath; imagine it as a form of healing energy. As you exhale, mentally direct this healing energy to the injured part., Affirm, ‘My …. Is healed and strong.’
Next, visualise the part as already healed. If it is a cut, see the flesh smooth and unscarred; if a break, see the bone neatly knitted together. If there is any swelling, see the joint back to its normal size. Don’t worry if you’re not sure what a broken bone or sprained muscle looks like – imagine how it will look once healed and let your unconscious take care of the rest.
Thirdly, visualise yourself doing all the things you will be able to do once you have fully recovered. Remember, focus your mind on what you want, not what you don’t, and you will be surprised how the healing process is speeded up.

Healing with white light

Healing energies are often visualised as white light. White light symbolises loving, healing energy. For example:

Imagine yourself resting in a sanctuary bathed in pure white light. Go within and release your inner healing energies.

See the symptoms clearing, the light of pure love working on the body, strengthening and supporting, mending the joints and muscles, disease and negativity flowing out of the body.

Visualise your body bathed in light, strong, healthy, doing everything you want it to.

See the body infused with light and affirm: My body is strong and healthy. All my muscles and organs work in perfect harmony. Vitalizing energy floods my whole consciousness and I am healed.

With proper self-management, doctors would rarely be required, but you must adopt good habits or sooner of later the body will demand attention and force you to change. Remember, good habits are not just to be adopted when you are ill. Prevention is better than cure, and positive attitudes, wise words, creative imagery and loving actions are among the best form of prevention.

©David Lawrence Preston, 15.11.2016

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Don’t judge by appearances – an important holistic healing principle

Posted on November 14, 2016 by David Lawrence Preston

We live in two worlds simultaneously – the physical world bounded by time and space; and the invisible, formless world of energy, intelligence and information. In the quantum world where our consciousness resides we are always well; only in the physical world of matter do we vacillate between sickness and health. When we buy into destructive beliefs we risk suffering the appearance of ill health.

Focus your thoughts on mind on what is true:

You are a manifestation of Spirit, the only power working in the universe.
There is no absence of life, love or intelligence anywhere.
Every moment life, wisdom and power flow into and through you.
Pain, sickness and old age cannot master the essence of you, whatever the appearances.

Turning your attention to the in-dwelling Life Force fills mind and body with new energies. Talk to your mind and body as you would talk to a patient. The Intelligence within will do the rest.

Use affirmations such as:

Health and well-being flow into every cell of my body.
Love fills my whole being and dissolves anything detrimental to my health.
I am a child of the universe and it is right for me to have perfect health. I claim it now.
Every day in every way I’m getting better and better.

Health and healing are your birthright. Your worthiness to be healed is never in question. Believe in your recovery. If doubt gets in the way, the healing flow is blocked.

©David Lawrence Preston, 14.11.2016

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How to Books, 2007

The remarkable healing of Myrtle Fillmore

Posted on November 14, 2016 by David Lawrence Preston

Myrtle Fillmore was born in 1845. She was repeatedly told as a child that her health was poor and that she was prone to tuberculosis – believed fatal in those days. It wasn’t until her early forties when, having contracted tuberculosis, she attended a talk on healing by an influential teacher of the time. When she emerged from the hall, one thought repeated itself over and over in her mind:

‘I am a child of God and therefore I do not inherit sickness.’

Her belief that she was inherently fragile crumbled and within two years she was completely cured. The following year, at the age of 44, she gave birth to a third son. She wrote in her diary, ‘Spirit spoke to me very clearly, saying, ‘You have looked among your faults; now look among your virtues.’ And I did; and there I found the cause of the deep-seated physical suffering and congestion.’

Energy and intelligence

Myrtle wrote the story of her healing. She told how she realized one day that life is a flow of energy guided by intelligence and that we can instruct the body to do as we require. She became attentive to her thoughts and prayed every hour for help. She asked for forgiveness for past mistakes and told her muscles and organs that they were drawing on an unlimited Source and were healthy and strong.

After the healing, others sought her help. She helped a crippled man to walk, cured a woman’s asthma, helped a boy blinded by cataracts to see, cured a boy of tonsillitis and another of croup. She told all who sought her help that it was God’s will that they be healthy and that the healing power of Spirit was within them.

Meanwhile her husband, Charles, a down to earth businessman with an inquiring, scientific mind, realised that something extraordinary had happened. He wanted to know the reason for the healing and found many conflicting explanations. He became convinced that there was a great power behind the healings. In the decades ahead he gave many talks and wrote many books about metaphysics.

Charles and Myrtle went on to found a prayer and healing ministry. She died in 1931, aged 86. Charles lived to be 94.

©David Lawrence Preston, 14.11.2016

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How to Books, 2007

Holistic Self-Healing

Posted on November 13, 2016 by David Lawrence Preston

Many people worried about the side effects of conventional treatments are turning to holistic healing methods, and for good reason. It treats the patient as an individual and addresses the whole person, not just part with the illness. It is natural and gentle, and doesn’t rely on poisons (drugs), sharp blades or burning (e.g. lasers) for results. It is suitable for all ages and dispositions, and most importantly, recognises that mental, emotional and spiritual factors all have a part to play.

Holistic healing is based on the principle that the part can never be well unless the whole is well. It also acknowledges that it not doctors or therapists who heal – they are only catalysts. Their role is to stimulate the Life Force within, thus enabling the body to heal.

The body wants to be in balance

Sooner or later a badly treated body will demand attention. The body wants to be in balance. Any imbalance indicates a state of lack, e.g. loneliness, fear, guilt, anger and so on can all lead to physical symptoms, or are a sign that some aspect of our being needs correction.

If you are frequently ill, examine your thinking and lifestyle. Do you take good care of yourself? Do you need to change your ideas or beliefs? Could it be that your Higher Self is sending you a message?

The doctor’s role is to facilitate healing

There’s a saying, ‘God does the healing; the doctor gets the cheque.’ No doctor or therapist alone can heal you because it is not they who bring about the healing. Only the energy and Intelligence of the universe heals. Healers work on the presumption that they can tap into this healing energy.

As soon as any part of the body becomes ill or injured, invisible forces get to work to repair it. The doctor’s role is to facilitate these healing forces. I have a friend who is an energy healer. She has helped thousands to regain their health, but says, ‘Please don’t say I heal people. I simply channel healing energy through me into the person who needs it.’

There are few incurable conditions

Try and think of an illness or disease that has never been cured. You probably can’t, because there aren’t any. There are well documented and verified cases of AIDS, cancer, diabetes and other ‘incurable’ conditions being cured. Medical people call this ‘spontaneous remission’, which means they don’t have an orthodox explanation for it.

There are few incurable conditions – but there are incurable people!

Go into the Silence to heal the body

Meditation – going into the Silence – has proven health benefits. It can reduce chronic pain, anxiety, high blood pressure, cholesterol and the stress hormone cortisol. It boosts brain function, the immune system and the heart and circulation. When we relax and clear our minds, we stimulate the life forces within, allowing the body to regenerate itself and become more youthful.

Stay well

With proper self-management, doctors would rarely be required, but you must observe good healthy habits. Otherwise sooner or later the body will demand attention and force you to change. But remember, good habits are not just to be adopted when you are ill. Prevention is better than cure, and positive attitudes, wise words and loving actions are easily the best form of prevention.

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Health and Beliefs

Posted on November 1, 2016 by David Lawrence Preston

No serious medical practitioner can now deny that mind and body are one. In the 1980s scientists such as Dr Candace Pert proved that thoughts travel along the nerves to the muscles, organs and tissues, influencing the process by which cells are renewed and that meanwhile, cells continually send messages to the brain.

The mind can make us ill, and it can make us well. A state of peace and well-being creates healthy cells; anxious states do the opposite. Negative thoughts can give rise to all manner of conditions. Beliefs are simply collections of thoughts to which give sanction, so be careful what you think and say about your body. If you hear yourself saying, ‘You’re a pain in the neck’ or ‘this is a real headache’ don’t be surprised if you get one!

In her book, ‘Positive Thinking,’ Vera Pfeiffer relates the incredible tale of a convicted murderer in the United States who chose to have his wrists cut rather than go to the electric chair. The poisoned was blindfolded, a warden traced across his wrists with a feather. He died instantly. There are similar stories of African tribesmen when witch doctors pointed a ‘magic’ bone at them. It’s not the bone that killed them, but their belief in the power of the witchdoctor.

If you are unwell and don’t believe that you will recover, your belief (not the illness) can prevent you from getting well. Norman Cousins, who cured himself of a terminal illness after doctors had given up on him, wrote:

‘Drugs are not always necessary. Belief in recovery always is.’

Those who believe that illness is a sign of failure on their part or a punishment for mistakes made in this and previous lives heal the slowest of all.

What we can learn from placebos

Placebos are pills and potions with no active ingredients (i.e. ‘active’ in the conventional sense). They are often used in clinical trials as ‘controls’. One group takes the test drug, the other a placebo, and the outcomes are compared. It is not unusual for the improvement to be similar in both groups. Some patients even get the same side effects from placebos as if they had taken the actual medication.

The main factor in successful healing with placebos is the belief of the patient, hence the size, shape and colour of the tablets influence results, as does the healing procedure. Anything that makes the treatment seem more credible, such as the doctor’s bedside manner, improves the placebo effect. Placebos are least effective when the patient is unconscious or unaware of what is going on.

Placebos tell us something important about the mind-body connection. They are rarely used these days because doctors consider it unethical to tell patients a pill has an active ingredient when it hasn’t. Pity. How much potential for safe, effective healing is being lost?

The biochemical revolution has almost run its course

Understanding the relationship between beliefs and health will be among the greatest advances in medical science in the coming century. The biochemical revolution of the last sixty years has almost run its course and will one day – soon – be seen as ‘old medicine’ as doctors look elsewhere for solutions to intractable medical problems.

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Your Body’s Energy

Posted on November 1, 2016 by David Lawrence Preston

Good health has its origins in the invisible energy field from which atoms are formed. The body is energy in vibration. When we give our bodies what they need, including plenty of loving attention, we increase the flow of life-giving energy.

What is your body made of?

Chemically, the body is mainly carbon, water and waste, but this is only its outward appearance. Through a microscope, we see that it is made up of cells. Cells are made up of molecules, which are made up of atoms. Atoms are made up of subatomic waves and particles spinning in formation, held together by an invisible information field. We are, in fact, 99.999% empty space.

We are made of the same stuff as everything else in the universe. We are, in a very literal sense, stardust!

The body is more than a marvellous machine; it appears to be a solid collection of muscles, bones and tissue, but is formed of energy. We’re a paradox – we live in physical bodies formed out of something non-physical, animated and held together by an invisible ‘life force’.

The Chakra System

Thousands of years ago, sophisticated systems of healing were developed in India and China which are just as effective today. The Indians recognised that the body is regulated by seven ‘wheels of light’ or major energy points known as ‘chakras’. The first five are situated along the spine, the sixth and seventh in the head:

The Base Chakra at the base of the spine, relates to the adrenal glands, spinal column and kidneys.

The Sacral Chakra at the top of the triangular bone forms the keystone of the pelvic archand relates to the reproductive system and legs.

The Solar Plexus Chakra in the lower back governs the nervous system and stomach and regulates blood sugar.

The Heart Chakra, related to the Thymus Gland, controls the immune system, heart and circulation. It is situated between the shoulder blades.

The Throat Chakra, situated in the neck, relates to the thyroid gland (which controls the metabolism) and governs the lung, bronchial and vocal apparatus and alimentary canal.

The Brow Chakra is found in the middle of the forehead between the eyes. It links to the pituitary gland, which controls maturation and growth.

The Crown Chakra at the top of the head governs the other six. It relates to the pineal gland, which is responsible for the production of melatonin, a powerful antioxidant which strengthens the immune system and may increase longevity.

The aura

The energy field extends beyond your physical form. A field of electrical energy, the ‘aura,’ radiates from you as a magnetic field radiates from a magnet.

Your aura expands, contracts and changes hue according to your physical, mental and emotional health. When you are well, it expands and glows brightly; when you are unwell or cut off from your inner peace, it closes in and turns dreary grey.

Although most of us cannot see them with the naked eye, we are aware of others’ auras at a subconscious level. A healthy aura attracts and energises us; a dull aura repels.

The aura can be photographed using a technique known as ‘Kirlian’ photography. Why not have your energy field photographed? There’s bound to be someone in your area who practises Kirlian photography. You’ll find it illuminating, literally!

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

TCM dates back at least four thousand years, and is a radically different way of understanding physical function and the causes of disease than its Western counterpart. At the heart of the TCM healing model is the flow of energy, ‘qi’ or ‘chi’, through the meridians (energy channels). Disease is viewed as a lack of harmony or disruptions in qi. Practitioners aim to influence the delivery and control of this subtle energy, to address the root cause of illness rather than merely treating the symptoms.

Treatments include herbs, acupuncture, dietary therapy, tui na massage, cupping, moxabustion (applying heat) and Qigong exercises.

Kinesiology – evidence of cellular intelligence

Kinesiology is a complementary healing system based on the principles of traditional Chinese medicine. It taps in to the innate intelligence present in every cell. The practitioner tests the strength in various muscles to identify problem areas, then restores balance within the body, relieves energy blockages and helps the body’ to cleanse itself of toxins and heal naturally.

A growing interest in energy medicine

For a long time Oriental Medicine was regarded in the West as esoteric, but now it is proven to be verifiable science. For example, meridians have been mapped using thermal imaging, electronics, radioactivity etc. They are high-speed highways for information carrying and energy interchange.

Science is beginning to acknowledge that chemistry, although successful at explaining many of the functions of the body, does not adequately explain its integrative workings. Energy medicine is integrative: it combines physics, chemistry, biology and the information network in the body that conventional biology knows next to nothing about.

The state of your energy field dramatically affects your physical state. Managing your energy field is within your grasp. For example, be aware of the energy of people you mix with and the language you use. Seek out places with healthy energy (e.g. the natural environment), use earth-based PEMF therapy devices and distance yourself from anything that weakens your energy field.

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