A Book on homeopathy
A few hundred books on homeopathy, grace my medical library. Some are out of print, some rare, some are from India printed on the thinest of papers with a handset press. I cherish all of them. Yet one stands out that I consistently recommend for people beginning their exploration of Homeopathy. My copy is tattered with a broken spine. I still reach for it for a quick read on acute ailments.
Homoeopathic Medicine - A Doctor’s Guide to Remedies For Common Ailments by Trevor Smith, MD
Dr Smith is a very solid practitioner in the UK. He has authored many books on homeopathy, all are very fine.
Let me quote from the back cover:
” A detailed self-help guide to the homoeopathic treatment of common ailments arranged in five sections to relate to the ‘ages of man’/
!. Common Problems and Mishaps of Childhood
2.Awkward Emotional Problems of the Adolescent
3. Acute Illnesses of Adult Couples
4. The Challenge of Middle Age
5. The Elderly and the Difficulties in Caring for them.
It is a practical reference guide, Dr Smith covers some of the foundations and theory of homeopathy and keeps his suggested medical kit small and appropriate to his book.
I found homeopathy in 1974 and with the help of some books used it for several years before homeopathy began its re-emergence in the US. Eventually i became a homeopath, completing a Diploma in Homeopathy then continued on for my Doctorate in Homoeopathic Medicine. Looking back I realize that while homeopathy can be used for self limiting common illnesses with success the power of the discipline is barely touched at the lay level. Unfortunately a true classically trained homeopath is rare in the US.
I urge any person who pursues self-care to go with caution and awareness of the limitations.
Feel free to use the comments section to ask about other books or repertories, materia medicas, etc.
The manifestation of physical disease that is rooted in the emotional, spiritual has always been for me, the key. Homeopathy addresses this so beautifully, even to the ancestral. I wonder if you would address this, and perhaps recommend books that speak to this?
I am so happy you are expanding on healing in such a creative environment. Wonderful!
Comment made on June 11, 2008 @ 9:52 pm
Hej Pat.
That is the hierarchy all right:
’spiritual’, emotional, mental, physical in descending order of importance. Especially true in chronic illness which is an almost exclusive interest for me.
The ancestral is something i have been writing about and have developed as an extension of my dissertation. My thoughts have changed some over the years. I will be posting that on tseka as part of this thread; Patterns of the Spirit.
Comment made on June 11, 2008 @ 10:14 pm
Books about the emotional, mental…
Ok.
Here’s a couple of brilliant minds.
Edward C Whitmont, MD - had a personal association with Jung and others. He draws on myth and Quantum Physics and the I Ching (oooohhhh my kind of guy) to write some wonderful books on Homeopathy and healing.
The Alchemy of Healing -Psyche and Soma
Psyche and Substance - Essays on Homeopathy in the light of Jungian Psychology.
Then there is the incomparable Catherine Coulter.
Another Jungian. Not surprising we attract Jungians homeopathy is all about archetypal energy patterns.
Her work is more for an advanced Homeopath. The titles tell it all;
Portraits of Homoeopathic Medicines -Psychophysical analyses of selected constitutional types (in volumes)
Comment made on June 11, 2008 @ 10:25 pm
Oh thank you Tseka! These are going to be great reads! I’m looking forward to this.
Comment made on June 11, 2008 @ 10:33 pm
Truth is Pat any books on Homeopathy are going to be dealing with the multiple aspects of person it is fundamental to Homeopathy. Even in the earliest days Hahnemann the founder of Homeopathy and Boenninghausen one of it’s most ardent pioneers were completely aware one could not separate mind from body and recognized the ephemeral, often hard to describe, exists.
Whitmont’s books would probably please a more general audience but Coulter’s now that i’m browsing through one would be pretty dense for anyone without an extensive background. No denying she is brilliant tho. wow.
So let me add a book that would be a fine companion to Trevor Smith’s which illuminates the personality of the medicines. This is another book i turn to constantly.
Studies of Homoeopathic Remedies
By Douglas Gibson MB, BS FRCS, FFHom
Indispensable.
Heh seeing all those letters after his name reminds me of an old Monty Python skit of a guy who has the name plate for his desk with extentions to wrap around the room in order to hold all those letters! If i use all the letters after my name they exceed my name- big joke in our family. Leave it to the Brits.
Comment made on June 11, 2008 @ 11:13 pm
Ellen, I’ve sent the url for these two threads to some people who have an interest in this subject also.
Enjoy your painting sessions….
Comment made on June 11, 2008 @ 11:52 pm
Thanks Judi on both points.
Comment made on June 11, 2008 @ 11:55 pm
Ellen,
Greetings. Homeopathic books are my favorite subject. On homeopathic self-care books (besides my own!), I like the “Complete Homeopathic Resource to Common Ailments” by Dennis Chernin, MD, MPH (it comes with a CD-ROM!).
On materia medica, I agree that Whitmont’s “Psyche and Substance” is phenomenal, but I also like Philip Bailey’s “Homeopathic Psychology” and Peter Chappell’s “Emotional Healing with Homeopathy.”
As for new books…has anyone seen my new book, “The Homeopathic Revolution: Why Famous People and Cultural Heroes Choose Homeopathy”? It is NOT an ordinary book on homeopathy…
More of my own comments on various books are at my website: www.homeopathic.com
Comment made on June 12, 2008 @ 11:45 am
Dana! what a surprise. I posted your comment with the addition of your website.
Dana Ullman has done beyond amazing work to bring Homeopathy into the 21st century.
Thanks for coming by and adding to the discussion.
Comment made on June 12, 2008 @ 12:28 pm