The principal of like cures like is not a new idea. It dates back to Hippocrates, 460-370 BC, who said:
“Through the like,
It was not until the end of the 18th century that a brilliant German doctor and chemist, Samuel Hahnemann, began experimentation, which led to the system of medicine we now know as Homeopathy. Disillusioned by the savage medical practices of the day, Hahnemann had retired to a life of translating medical texts. While translating these medical texts, he noticed that the substance Peruvian Bark or Cinchona, was listed as causing symptoms, such as numbness of extremities, anxiety, intermittent fevers, similar to symptoms of Malaria, which it was then used to cure.
|
 Samuel Hahnemann, 1755-1843 Founder of Homeopathy |
Cinchona Tree
In his experiments on himself and others, Hahnemann found that even in small amounts the substances were still capable of producing side effects. Hahnemann found that by diluting further, the side effects disappeared.He also established that if the substances were shaken vigorously during the dilution, a practice known as “succussion”, this released a previously dormant energy, making the remedy more potent than before.
Each remedy was diluted to such an extent that no actual material of the original substance was left. Hahnemann believed that what existed after this dilution and “succussion” was the transference of the energy of the original material into a new, neutral material.
Hahnemann based this new system of medicine on certain laws and principles:
- Law of Similars
- Law of Proving
- Law of Potentization
- Law of the Single Remedy
“Any substance which produces specific toxic symptoms in a healthy person, when given in its full strength form, will cure a sick person with those same symptoms in a very diluted form." -Hahnemann
Constance Hering, a medical doctor of the times, originally set out to disprove Hahnemann’s new form of medicine, and later became known as the “American Father of Homeopathy."
One of his most important contributions is known as:
Hering’s Law of Cure
- Healing progresses from within, out. From the deepest level (mental and emotional) to external (skin and extremities)
- Healing progresses in reverse order of the original appearance
- Healing progresses from above down. From upper parts to lower parts
Homeopathy Today
Today, the World Health Organization lists homeopathy as the second most widely used system of medicine in the world.
Its growth in popularity in the United States has been around 25 to 50 percent a year throughout the last decade.
It is widely used throughout Europe, Germany and Australia.
In India, Homeopathy is granted equal status to conventional medicine and there are over 100,000 homeopathic practitioners.
In Norway homeopathy is the most popular form of medicine.
The Royal Family in England has been using homeopathy for over 150 years.