The inner voice

I listen to my children, to my partner, my friends and my clients. Listening is one of those skills that seems obvious but actually takes skill. I cannot think about what is for supper or daydream, I must be quiet in my mind and concentrate on who I am listening to.

My lesson in listening came to me a few years ago, let me set the scene:
It was a rainy Friday night in England. We where eating our dinner when there was a knock on our front door. I opened the door and there stood a patient of mine with another woman; who was crying. The patient asked to please see her friend right now. I checked with my family and showed the woman into my clinic.
She told me her story of how she had not been well for the last 5 years since her fathers death. She was not interested in working, relationships or anything. She cried and cried throughout the entire session. As I sat there listening to her the thought that she was dying kept coming to me, I did not know why: there was nothing to suggest that she was dying, not physical symptoms, no recent problems, nothing. However, I could not shake this thought. So at the end of the session I gave her the remedies and told her that she must make a choice: to choose life or choose death.
Now this was a scary thing to say to her (anyone) but I knew I had no choice: I had to tell her what I felt was important to her healing.
I did not hear from her until a week or so later, I thought I had probably 'lost' her as a patient. She called me and told me a most incredible story: that same night she left me she was rushed into hospital and diagnosed with a blood disorder (of which there had been only 4 in the world!), she was put into a hospital bed OPPOSITE the bed her father had died in 5 years previously! She remembered what I had advised her and repeated all the time "I want life". She came out of hospital completely recovered and ready to pursue her dreams and life.

Since this event I have begun to listen to myself as well!

Accidents

 

It is entirely NOT our fault when we suffer accidents.  This is a statement I used to believe in until I had an accident in my car: I was driving merrily along when a car hit me in the drivers door, spinning me around and writing off my car. I was promptly rushed to hospital where I was given a neck brace (AKA sanitary towel), pain killers, 2 months off of work (I was working at a medical insurance company) and a course in physiotherapy. 

I went home, I sat on my sofa for about a week not feeling anything, not really being able to move. The pain killers where very effective in removing pain…..and all sensation. I could not get off my arse and get a drink of water let alone make food or a cup of tea: to assist my recovery. I felt spaced out all the time. I wondered how I would feel better when I felt so disconnected? I could not feel my neck AT ALL, let alone if I moved it too much…..

I had a full bookshelf and within the books was “Homoeopathy for the Family”. Odd that: I had never seen it before. I looked in this book and found some remedies I could take, surprisingly I could get them from a Homoeopathic pharmacy around the corner: Helios Homoeopathic pharmacy. I started taking the remedies and stopped the pain killers. I could still feel the pain, but I knew my limits and I could look after myself and heal. I felt I had found the most amazing healing modality.

Before I went back to my full-time job I was enrolled on a course at the London College of Practical Homoeopathy.

Looking back I know that accident put me on my life’s path and my life long love affair with Homoeopathy. It was no accident.

Liver and hang-over remedy anyone?

This is one of those fabulous Homoeopathic remedies that I use A LOT. Not on myself so much anymore (although sometimes it is needed)!
Let me describe your typical Nux Vomica personality:

• Irritable 
• Angry
• Fault finding
• Tend to have a sedentary lifestyle
• Crave stimulants: coffee, alcohol, tobacco, rich food, recreational drugs 
• Business minded which can wake them up at night around 3am (the liver de-toxes between 1am-3am) and they are sleepless thinking about business/work 
• Heart burn
• Gas
• Constipation               
• Headaches/hangovers
• Nausea
• Delirium tremens (shaky hands)
• Blocked nose at night that runs in the day (great cold remedy).

These are just the highlights of Nux Vomica. I have found lots of men work very well with this remedy, but I can assure you it works very well with women too. 

A good friend of mine was showing me his stereo. I reached up to touch it and he slapped my hand away and was quite angry with me. I stepped back surprised at his reaction and realised that my hard working, business focused pal needed some Nux. I gave him a bottle of Nux 200 and since then if gets a cold, sore throat, grumpy with the children for a few days, he knows to take Nux. He says that he feels so much better and is so much nicer afterwards. He has now given up coffee (he does not drink anymore) and is kinder to his liver! A much nicer person for himself and for all around him.

Another friend of mine was telling me about her husband who is a successful business man: he often takes his anger and irritability out on his wife and co-workers. I suggested she tries Nux with him and she has found that afterwards he is more pleasant to be around.

The liver when under stress from lifestyle needs a little help and Nux can hold the liver and assist  with de-tox. When I was at college the liver was described as a red setter dog: loyal and loving to it's owner, look after you liver (presumably) it's the only one you will ever have.

Holism

 

When practicing Homoeopathy you look at the spiritual, emotional, mental AND physical aspects of the person. Often people come with illnesses such as a knee problem, back problem and they also suffer from depression. Sometimes they don’t want me to investigate the depression, only deal with the knee and back: as a Homoeopath this is impossible we have to treat the whole (person), not parts (of a person). For me to have results with the knee and back, I must treat the whole (holism).

I suppose this is where ‘conventional’ medicine comes in. Most people are conditioned to see one specialist for the knee, another for the back and another for depression. When they go to the GP they talk about the knee, the back, the depression as three different symptoms. For Homoeopaths this is the same symptom: the individual in front of us.