Natural Remedies: Homeopathy And Why It Works
In the event that Homeopathic remedies may be denied us because drug companies manage to get them banned, OR standard allopathic medicines suddenly become unavailable, here is a method for making Homeopathic remedies at home. You never know – the day could come when we will need to produce our own medicines.
Homeopathy is a safe alternative to medicinal drugs. There are several thousand known remedies, with new ones being proven each year. When the right remedy, or remedies, are chosen, they can work miracles in diverting a range of illnesses, from childhood whooping cough, croup, bronchial complaints, scarlet fever, and tetanus, to arthritis, hypertension, rheumatism and depression.
Homeopathy is an example of ‘Isopathic’ medicine, that is, the treatment uses remedies from the same substance that will actually cause the illness in its undiluted form.
(Not to be confused with the other ‘I’ term in medicine – Iatrogenic – An Iatrogenic illness is doctor-caused illness, or drug-caused illness)
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Some doctors and other health professionals claim that homeopathy cannot work, because ‘it doesn’t have anything in it’, but these people are ignorant about the way in which Homeopathy does its magic. They do not understand the principles of homeopathy. Yes, it has very little of the original substance in it, but the healing essence of the final homeopathic product is in its vibration, and not in a measurement of a ‘substance’. These sceptics are measuring the wrong thing in the homeopathic remedy, when they assess it as having ‘no active ingredient’, and what’s more, they have no experience of using it. Homeopathic remedies work by vibration, not by substance. Many doctors and drug pharmacists cannot grasp this concept, because they have been conditioned to think in material terms of substance alone.
These sceptics seem to fail to see that ‘like cures like’, and that we often use the principles of homeopathy in our daily lives without even thinking about it. They are also blind to the fact that homeopathic principles have been used in some allopathic medicines for some time now. Quinine is one example. Digitalis is another. X-Rays for skin cancer is another. All these things can produce the disease which they are used to treat.
The original substance in a homeopathic remedy is chosen because of the symptoms it produces in a healthy individual. A common, everyday example of how this happens is in the humble onion, and its relative the garlic clove. If you eat these things raw, or even peel an onion, and you are in a healthy condition, you are likely to get a runny nose, or begin sneezing or coughing. You may even feel your temperature rising. These are healthy reactions. Well, when you are sick, onions and garlic can be used to CURE these symptoms, these complaints. If you feel you are getting the flu, or a cold, then onions and garlic are the best things to take to alleviate those symptoms which present as a runny nose, sneezing and a temperature rise. And so you can use the homeopathic preparation, made from the plant or substance which produces those symptoms, to reverse the condition.
I have come across two methods for making homeopathic remedies, and I shall describe both of these here.
One method for the process is derived from the book by the homeopathic physician Dr James H. Stephenson, M.D., entitled ‘A Doctor’s Guide to Helping Yourself with Homeopathic Remedies’. This book was first published by Parker Publishing Co. Inc., New York, in 1976. I have added to the basic steps suggested by Dr Stephenson, with a few pointers of my own, to make it easier for the beginner.
Here Is How You Make Your Own Homeopathic Remedy:
Use a small, clean, sterilized bottle. It is important that the bottle does not have a trace of another herb or substance in it. However, you can use the bottle unwashed if it is the container which held the herb tincture or essence you wish to use as your homeopathic remedy.
You are going to dilute your original essence either six times, or twelve times. These dilutions are the common, recognized potencies for basic homeopathic medicine. The six-dilution method results in what is called a 6C potency, the remedy which has been diluted twelve times is called a 12C potency.
First of all, you need to have a small quantity of the substance you wish to make into a remedy. Make an infusion of the herb you wish to use, or make an essence by soaking a little of the herb in alcohol for a few days. Or, as mentioned above, simply use the unwashed container which held the original remedy you wish to use.
To make the first dilution, take one part of the original essence, or ‘Mother Tincture’, and add it to nine parts water. See the recipe below for making the ‘Mother Tincture’.
Dr Stephenson endorses the idea which many homeopathic experts have, that enough of the original substance is left inside the bottle to begin the second dilution, after you discard the first dilution from the bottle. But the theory is that with each dilution, you use one part of the solution containing the substance, and nine parts water or diluted alcohol. If you use this method, then I think that this will result in a ‘C’ potency, which is 1:100 – one part original essence and 99 parts water or alcohol.
Dr Stephenson says that the ‘C’ potency is made from the ratio of 1 part activating substance, and 9 parts water or alcohol. But other books give the 1:10 ratio as being an ‘X’ potency, which makes sense.
So – Decimal factor ‘X’ is in dilution of 1:10.
Decimal factor ‘C’ is in dilution of 1:100.
Whichever of these systems you use, you would use the same chosen ratio each time you dilute and succuss the mixture to the required potency. i.e. if you simply use the remains in a bottle, which would give you a ‘C” potency, then you would use a similar amount of remedy in the bottle each time, which will keep the ‘C’ ratio consistent: Simply tip out the remains after each dilution and shake up (succussion) before filling the bottle again.
If you decide to make the ‘X’ dilution, then you would use one/tenth of the remedy each time, filling up the bottle with 9/10 water or alcohol or both.
You must shake the solution vigorously with every dilution. Put the lid on the bottle and shake it hard, banging the bottle on the back of the arm each time. This is known as ‘succussion’. Succussion releases the energy of the material being used, fixing it into the dilution. Dr Stephenson recommends 15 vigorous shakes with each dilution. Some people use more shakes each time.
Each time, after the succussing of the remedy, empty out the bottle until you have one tenth of the remedy left in the bottle. Add more diluting liquid to top the bottle up, and succuss again. Do this either six times, or twelve. With the last dilution and succussion, it is important to use some alcohol as your last diluting substance. This will keep the remedy for years, if you add a quantity of vodka to the last shaking. If you use all water, the remedy will not last more than a few days.
I use pure vodka to keep my remedies. One part vodka, one part boiled water or distilled water.
Note: Sensitive people need to take care when making home-made homeopathic remedies. Coffea, I have found, is extremely potent before it has been diluted properly. The in-between dilutions are very strong – much stronger than coffee in its pure form.
Reactions can be minimized by using rubber gloves, and by using just small amounts of the product when making your remedies. A 15ml bottle is ideal.
How to make your own Mother Tincture: Chop up your chosen material, such as a herb and soak it in alcohol or a mixture of 90% alchol and 10% water.
Put on the lid of the jar and leave for two weeks. Shake the herbal mixture several times each day to distribute the healing ingredients through the tincutre.
After two weeks you can store the Mother Tincture indefinitely by keeping it in an air-tight bottle and keeping it in the dark. Using a brown or dark green bottle is preferable.