Friday, February 6, 2009

Homeopathy Works

When I was first introduced to homeopathy it was presented in a way that was not easily palatable. It was very "foo foo" and all about spiritual healing and "energy" work and a bunch of stuff that really sounded like whackadoo, new age babble to me at the time. Shocking, I know since I often find myself trying to describe it in this way to others and I can only guess from the furrowed brow and polite smiles that they are dismissing me as a nut. When I first discovered the amazing results of using homeopathy I actually mentioned it to my former supervisor. What on earth was in my mind to think that a scientist would actually consider its validity...a pharmaceutical one at that, but he was polite in his quick dismissal that it was complete crap and only created a placebo effect. After a few years of experience and study, I am hoping I can articulate the case for homeopathy in a more concrete way than using only fluffy spiritual words.

So here goes:

We are all at our smallest components, made of particles called atoms. Agreed? Agreed.
An atom consists of a teeny tiny mass, called a nucleus and a enormous space that surrounds each atom where electrons fly around, right? Good.
So the only physical, tangible thing in an atom is the nucleus, the rest is air. Therefore when these atoms all join together to create something we perceive as a chair or our bodies, it is mostly air. Air with moving electrons. Moving really fast. Vibrating, if you will. Kinetic energy.
So if you look at the chair you perceive a solid mass, but there isn't much solid mass there. It's vibrational, kinetic energy. Your mind being of this physical world fills in the space, but really almost everything around us is 99% vibrating air.

Ok, I know I just took a leap away from what most would consider reality but it is all just quantum physics. Quantum physics is the science of very very small. The very very very miniscule small. So small its a whole universe unto itself. Its actually the science of spirituality and in most cases you can just exchange the term.

So if you extrapolate this information you are able to realize that the body, we, are all a conglomerate of vibrating energy.

So when there is dis-ease in the body, it is vibrating at a frequency and it brings about the physical manifestations of that frequency in the form of discomfort and ailments. In the same way we can perceive the chair as solid because it is the physical manifestation of the vibrating electrons, we perceive physical maladies of our bodies because of the vibrational frequency of our beings. It always starts in the vibration (spirit) and as the vibration begins to manifest physical evidence of its current frequency, the symptoms become more recognizable. First they appear in the emotions of the person, then the thought patterns of the person, and lastly as physical maladies which in most people is the first indication of a problem.

So homeopathy works because in the 1800s doctor named Samuel Hannehman discovered like cures like. When your body is exposed to a vibrational frequency similar to the one it is in, it is able to recognize the dis-ease path it is on. Your vital force, the force that animates your being, sees the FULL spectrum of the dis-ease path it is on and can course correct. Homeopathic remedies are the physical thing that helps this. Since the entire universe contains physical structures, made of atoms with circulating electrons creating vibrations, the universe has provided the method to heal before the dis-ease even exists. Some might find it more familiar to use the label G*d when referring to this infinite source of all energy. Whatever the term, all that is needed is already here and available to us.

Hannehman discovered the unique properties of hundreds of remedies by diluting them beyond avogrado's number. Which means, diluting to the point of there being nothing physical left to find. In other words, taking something physical such as a bug or the leaf of a plant, grinding it up and doing serial dilutions repeatedly. Basically reversing the process of creation. Taking something physical and bringing it back to just its energetic (spiritual) form. The vibrational imprint of this plant or bug can then be "preserved" if you will, in water. Water is known to record vibrational imprint. (See my post on Messages in Water). Then this imprinted water is applied to pellets and now you have the vibrational imprint of a plant on a pellet. When given to a healthy person, they begin to exhibit symptoms. Hannehman kept records of these symptoms, a practice that has continued on, so now there are thousands of remedies in a big book called the Materia Medica. The book of all the things we can heal with and what symptoms they should be matched up with in a person.

For simplicity sake I am just going to use one of the most well-known remedies with its most common physical symptom. If someone experiences a lot of bruising and muscle aching the electrons of their body have been vibrating at a frequency that produced an emotional and mental state in them, culminating in the physical bruising. Then there is this plant called Mountain Laurel that, when diluted and given to a healthy person, produces a similar set of symptoms. A homeopath recognizes the symptoms of the client and matches it up to the remedy that causes the same thing and suggests Arnica (Mountain Laurel). Now the vital force, which knows its own vibrational state and its selected manifestations of that state, is given a pill containing the complete picture of that state. It can see the path its heading down (DEATH) and make a shift. The symptoms disappear. It essentially sees itself in a mirror and says, "Ew. No thanks." Just like when we see ourselves in a mirror and feel it necessary to comb our hair. The situation existed before we were aware, but when made aware we can take action to correct it. That's what the vital force does and then dis-ease can be cured gently and permanently.

I have way oversimplified this for the sake of explanation but just wanted to see if I could explain it without it being infused with too much new age spirituality.

At its core, homeopathy is very simple in concept. G*d/Universe/Higher Power/Evolution created all things. In its wisdom, it created the cure before the disease. The only thing needed to cure an ailment is a vibrational shift. Homeopathy facilitates the shift by using the principles of quantum physics.

Eating again

Pregnant Dog Report: So happy that Marley is eating again, after about 10 days of not really eating.
Dog Show Report: We're off to Westminster Kennel Club dog show on Sunday. Canaan Dogs show on Monday. We're not showing our girl ourselves and are just going to enjoy the show as spectators and cheer on Camber and Vixen. The group competition airs live Monday night on the USA network. Tune in to see if one of our girls is out there!
Yellow Dog Report: Isaac, our oldest dog who will be 11 this year has been suffering from digestive difficulty for the last 2 months. We visited the vet in December and she put him on worming meds, something I usually decline but there is only so much diarrhea one is willing to clean up off the floor before desperation sets in. I don't really think that helped, in fact while taking it he was much worse. She also had us take him off raw food and start feeding him cooked rice and turkey. That also didn't really work well for him and we ended up having to add a whole lot of pumpkin help firm things up. The vet indicated that he would probably need to be on cooked food for the rest of his life because old dogs don't do well on raw. Well, in that one month he lost 6 lbs off his already thinning frame. He went from a too thin 42 lbs in December to an emaciated 36 lbs in January. I started him on a homeopathic remedy and that is continuing. I also switched him back to raw food and am so relieved that he is now back up to 40 lbs (2 weeks later). I started adding some digestive enzymes and probiotics to it. He's still a little gassy but seems to be doing ok for now.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Gypsy Soup

My favorite cooked dish this past winter has definitely been Gypsy Soup. A friend originally gave me the recipe because it is out of the newer edition of The Enchanted Broccoli Forest cookbook. However you can google the name and a close version of the recipe will come up. I dislike being tied down to a recipe and this is such a great one for using up veggies that are going soft so really play around with it. The spices used are what give this soup its interesting flavor, the vegetables are unimportant. The technique and order of additions to the pot do make a difference in the final outcome. I'm not good about "amounts" because I don't measure but for the sake of recipe writing I'll estimate them.

In a big soup pot gently heat some olive oil, let's say a few tablespoons. Coat the bottom of the pan. You want the heat at medium-low.

Add:
1 diced onion and let that carmelize while you chop and add the remaining veggies.
2-3 stalks of celery, diced (use the leafy green parts, if you have them)
2-3 carrots or 1 large sweet potato diced
1 diced bell pepper, any color

Let these all slowly carmelize and soften for a few minutes. Then add optional fresh veggies that you are using up such as diced summer squashes, green beans or broccoli.

Next add the dried spices:
1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper. This simmers in the soup for so long it adds a nice warming sensation every bite similar to when cayenne is added to chocolate, but go easy or you'll end up with spicy soup.
1 TBSP basil
2 tsp tumeric
1 TBSP cinnamon
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Salt to taste. I use about a TBSP at this point and maybe more later. People. Good soup is seasoned correctly, which means it is salty. If you salt early in the cooking process (any recipe) the food just tastes properly seasoned and not like freshly added salt. Food that is not seasoned before it is done cooking requires that the consumer salt it later and then it, well, it just isn't
as good as it could have been. Salt now, please.

So once this is all cooking add a box of veggie broth/stock and a can of diced tomatoes with their juice. Bring to a simmer. At this point, the original recipe calls for a can of well rinsed garbonzo beans (chicpeas), but I prefer brown rice pasta. Either broken up spagetti or ziti. Cook until pasta is done. At the end I also like to add a good handful of frozen peas and frozen corn. Add water if it got thick. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. YUMMY!

Tonight I was wanting something bread-like so I made a quick vegan cornbread. It was the perfect thing for dipping! This is a huge pot of soup. Good for the three of us for several days. I like leftovers. Consider halving or freezing half if you don't need as much, though I always find previously frozen soups are sort of lackluster.