Tag Archives: miasms

A look at the chronic miasm : Sycosis (Medorrhinum)

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This week we are pleased to have a guest blogger, Jeff Korentayer from the Arcanum Wholistic Clinic.

I periodically touch down into the materia medica of the chronic miasms (inherited disease tendencies), and today is the perfect time to have a look at the Sycotic miasm, which is best known through the remedy Medorrhinum. The 8 universal chronic miasms map out over the 4 seasons of the year, 1 pair per season. The Spring Equinox marks the time of year when the daylight will start to overtake the night, and the many implications for new life and rebirth abound through nature.

This time of incredible manic expansion of life is the natural home for this miasm. Medorrhinum is full of extremes in all forms of physical, mental, and emotional symptoms. Here in Saint John, we are already seeing the seasonal extremes of this time of year — last week we enjoyed a couple of sunny 27°C days, while a grey, wet, cold weekend has led to a waking temperature this morning of minus 17°C with the windchill! This miasm is a strong root behind medical conditions such as bi-polar disorder, allergic asthma, and 3D skin conditions, such as warts or skin tags. It is also a very strong factor behind family histories which contain any forms of heart disease.

The general theme running through all the symptoms of this miasm is of an expansion caught by a restriction, which either causes pain, swelling, or inflammation, and a tendency towards exploding outward. In terms of the mental-emotional state and behaviour of this miasm, there are many extremes. Extremes of behaviour and mood punctuate a characteristically brilliant but unpredictable personality, as is often portrayed in the lives of certain creative artists. Aggression and even cruelty are not foreign to this state.

As an artistic impression, you could say that Medorrhinum is represented by the city of Las Vegas — the hometown of “sex, drugs, and rock ’n roll” — where every impulse and wish can be granted, no matter how perverse. It’s interesting that the expression “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” actually represents the emotional aspect of this state of mind. The case study I wrote about last month is an illustration of this state of mind of a guilty feeling which was hidden away inside a little girl.

A drive towards having extremely exciting experiences is characteristic of this miasm. Whether pressing down on the accelerator further than usual on a sunny day with the volume on the radio turned up, engaging in “extreme” and dangerous sports, or pursuing forbidden or perverse sexual experiences, you will recognize this same underlying theme. There is a degree of ‘armoring’ within the medorrhinum state which is attempting to break through at the hand of these types of extremes.

As with all of the chronic miasms, once you understand its most essential characteristics, it becomes relatively easy to identify it as the root of so many varied physical and mental-emotional symptoms. As part of an effective system of medicine, understanding the roots is so much more important than trimming the leaves or branches.

It’s a SAD World, but It Doesn’t Have to Be.

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Did you know…

that there is a cure for SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)?

Yes, you heard right. The sad thing about SAD is that it affects a lot of people, and comes up in February, creating a lot of disorder on and around Valentine’s Day. It’s no surprise that chocolates are one of the favourite gifts at Valentine’s as certain components of chocolate (the real stuff, not the pretend chocolate) help to alleviate the symptoms of SAD. But while chocolate may help, it can’t cure the underlying cause, which in Heilkunst, is often linked to another of the chronic disease archetypes we bring into this world with us, called Ringworm.

In Ringworm the state of mind is “wants to but can’t”. People suffering from the Ringworm chronic miasm would feel caught in things–that they couldn’t do what they want to do. Even just the thought of doing something immediately seems to bring itself down. They feel they can never meet the expectation of family, friends and society. They have strong dependence on someone they trust and they are very loyal. But then they depend on their loved ones to function. They feel trapped. This is the ‘February blah’s’ or seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Even the bowel movement shows the characteristic. It is bashful: wants to but recedes. They procrastinate and can never finish something. They are comfortable staying at home. Physically this is the misnamed “seasonal disorder” syndrome. It is a progression from the untreated chronic miasm Tuberculosis. It is caught in the incredible inertia of the winter month of February.

Classically, ringworm is well known as a skin problem. The skin lesion, which is fungal (people sometimes think it is a parasitic worm), is usually circular (but not always) and can be itchy. It used to be quite common in children and produces a characteristic eruption, a  round patch of reddish/purplish raised, rough skin that looks like it has worms in it. Ringworm as the skin problem has become rare in our days but continues nonetheless in the more suppressed form.

Acute ringworm skin problem can be treated acutely in various ways, drug and herbal related, including the simple use of apple cider vinegar, and, of course, using homeopathic medicines. But, the chronic form is less easily recognized and even less readily treated other than in Heilkunst.

Chronic ringworm can also manifest as a skin condition (not generally itchy), but more likely in psychological terms, such as a certain angry irritability that comes from the underlying keynote of ringworm, which is “wants to and can’t”. This means that the person is motivated to do something, but then loses all energy/motivation to carry out the wish, creating an internal frustration, but also a certain feeling of negativity that makes them feel and look depressed. It can involve constipation, lack of energy, and digestive issues as well (hunger, but difficulty digesting what is eaten).

If you feel trapped and irritable especially around Valentine’s Day, chances are you might be suffering from this chronic disease pattern. Don’t want to be SAD any more? Consider getting rid of SAD, and getting Heilkunst treatment. And if you still want the chocolates, that remains an option. Valentine’s Day is not as far away as you think. There’s still time to take action!

Why Am I Always on the Move but Never Seem to be Satisfied? 

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Tuberculosis – Restlessness

Did you know…

that tuberculosis is also an inherited disease pattern, which we call a chronic miasm?

Just as malaria, which we are familiar with in an acute form, now mostly exists in its chronic, hidden form, the Malarial miasm, so tuberculosis has largely disappeared in its acute form, but still plagues man as a chronic miasm.

If you suffer from the usual ‘colds and flus of the season’, often making the Christmas holiday period and the weeks after more miserable than joyful, you are suffering from the underlying impact of the Tuberculosis miasm. Other lung problems, such as bronchitis, pneumonia, and various coughs, are also largely linked to the presence of this chronic disease pattern in your life, or that of family members. Tuberculosis (miasm) can manifest physically in any part of the body, although the key organ affected is the lungs. This relates to the fact that the issue of Tuberculosis is a lack of grounding and incarnation and lungs are the organ related to the earth element. They feel better at high altitude, but they are then caught in a conflict as their heart feels worse in the mountains. Tubercular children are active, restless, and destructive in a deliberate and selective way.

Tuberculosis has a characteristic state of mind – one of restlessness. Tubercular patients only seem to feel well if they are planning travel or change, preparing for travel or change or actually undergoing a change in routine.  Once settled, they seldom stay content for long, seeking again another destination to travel to (racking up the frequent flyer miles), another place to live, another job to do, a new hobby to follow. These are people seemingly on the move, but not with any deeper purpose than the move itself. For them it is more ‘change for change’s sake’. They can be constantly rearranging furniture, redecorating, renovating.

A darker side of Tuberculosis is a sudden impulse to break or destroy something. They can present as an ‘angel with a devil’s grin’ on occasion, usually more apparent in children, but discernible still, if more subtle and disguised in adults.

If you suffer from lung problems, constant or persistent ‘colds and flus’, particularly in winter, and feel restless, never really satisfied, suffering from ‘the grass is greener on the other side of the fence’ syndrome, then you would likely benefit from treatment for the chronic miasm we call Tuberculosis. Relief is as close as a Heilkunst practitioner near you (and now, with the internet and Skype, relief is just a nano-second away!).

Stay tuned. Next we will look at a little-know, but important and difficult miasm that often upsets Valentine’s Day.

For more information about Heilkunst treatment and studies please visit our website.

Malaria – Victimization

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Did you know….

that we have certain archetypal disease patterns that we bring into this world with us, and that lie at the root of many of our health problems? You did if you have been reading these blogs regularly. Our last blog spoke about the first of these chronic inherited disease archetypes, Psora. The theme of Psora is that of a poverty consciousness.

If you have been reading these blogs, you would also know that the chronic miasms have a certain order to them in the way in which they developed, and also how they are treated in most cases. After Psora, the first of the chronic miasms, we find Malaria.

Malaria used to be endemic around the world, including in Europe and North America, as an acute disease, but is now confined to only a few, mostly tropical places. In most of the world, acute malaria is gone, but has become a chronic,  largely unknown disease, producing and hiding behind many acute conditions that are given fancy names, from Greek or Latin, based on the main symptoms. These conventional ‘names’ aren’t very helpful as they don’t tell us or the person seeking to treat them what the cause is, so treatment amounts to suppressing the symptoms. But the underlying cause remains, and the disease(s) continue, just now deeper inside you and getting stronger as you get weaker. It’s ‘healthcare by proxy’ or ‘healthcare by hook or by crook’ – if you can’t get rid of the cause, then get rid of the evidence and pretend you fixed the problem.

Malaria produces many conditions involving the digestive system, in particular the liver. And the liver is the basis for our energy, our ability to digest food, but also life in general. With a weak liver, we also tend to feel generally weak, unable to handle the demands of the world, and psychologically, we start to feel like we are victims and the world with its many demands is oppressive and unfair.

The characteristic time for Malaria to manifest in most people is in the late Fall, from late October to early December, following the season of Psora (early Fall). The state of mind of Psora, of not having enough, coincides with the waning days of summer, the approach of the colder weather, shorter days, less sunshine, and the dying of nature’s vegetative cover of the earth. Malaria then follows, with the colder, damper and stormier days of late Fall, where we feel like nature is against us, the reprieve of ‘Indian Summer’ now gone and the harshness of winter soon to come upon us. Of course, these chronic miasms are not dependent upon the weather, and can manifest regardless of geography. To an experienced practitioner, the manifestations of each of the chronic miasms can be seen in the various symptoms that can flare up at certain times of the year. Every November, I used to get depressed by the damp, cold weather, get periodic fevers and feel very cold, seeking out warmth and feeling generally like the world was not a welcoming place. These symptoms were very familiar to me, as I had contracted malaria, the acute disease miasm in my youth when working and travelling in Asia and the Pacific. I had treated for the acute malaria, but the deeper, underlying chronic malarial miasm was still there. However, once I learned about it and treated for it, my seasonal malarial symptoms also ended.

Treating for Malaria, as for Psora, and all the other chronic miasms we’ll talk about can make a large difference in your overall health, and prevent other problems from emerging later in life. Even if the chronic miasms are not affecting you seemingly now, they are latent, and waiting to be activated by some event, and once activated can cause significant health issues. Next time we’ll talk about the chronic miasm following on Malaria, Tuberculosis, behind all the colds and flus we tend to suffer from in winter. Stay tuned.

For more information about Heilkunst treatment and studies please visit our website.

What are Inherited Disease Patterns?

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Did you know…

that there are inherited factors that affect our health that go beyond our genes?

Until recently, everything was either controlled by your genes or simply unexplainable. However, despite millions spent on mapping the human genome, it turns out that not only do we differ much from the common fruit fly when it comes to the number and types of genes, but most of the genes are not linked to anything in particular, and are known as ‘junk DNA’. Biology has begun to understand that genes are only receptors for something, like a radio receiver, namely, signals from the environment. These signals are not only physical, such as sunlight, air, water, food, but also thoughts and feelings. In many ways, we are and become what we eat, feel and think. Biology has also come around to accepting the idea prevalent at the start of the debate about evolution some two centuries ago, that we can inherit certain characteristics and influences that are not strictly connected to genes. In a real sense, we are more than what is contained ‘between our hat and our boots’.

In Heilkunst, the idea of inherited disease patterns was discovered by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann between 1812 – 1816, around the same time that the idea of inherited characteristics was proposed by Lamarck and others. Hahnemann spent over 12 years searching for the answer to a problem: despite the clear successes with homeopathy in removing diseases, he discovered that some patients continued to get worse overall. He felt that he was missing something. From diligent observation of his patients, he then discovered that there were certain fixed patterns that could be traced to birth, and also to various disease patterns their parents and even grandparents had exhibited. These were a peculiar kind of primary, constant nature (tonic) diseases.They also had an original infectious nature, once contracted could be passed on to one’s offspring, such as syphillis and gonorrhoea (which Hahnemann named sycosis). So, he termed them chronic miasms in contradistinction to the acute miasms (i.e. infectious diseases) such as scarlet fever, cholera, measles, etc. The passing of chronic miasms from one generation to another does not rely on a physical contact. This, we may consider, belongs to the “unexplainable” part that science hasn’t been able to understand. We may think that during evolution mankind as a whole has inherited some disease patterns from previous generations in a similar sense that we build our thinking and understanding of the world from the generations before us. Each generation or epoch leaves a legacy for the future generations. So, too, disease may be passed on, both in terms of natural diseases (e.g. tuberculosis, lyme disease) and spiritual diseases (e.g. false beliefs).

Miasms, chronic or acute, are primary, constant nature (tonic) diseases. Due to the fixed/constant nature of these diseases, there is a specific remedial agent or medicine for each one of them, which made them relatively easy to treat. However, the interaction between a given chronic miasm and the constitution of an individual produces various secondary disease patterns. These were more difficult to treat, as they varied according to each case. But fortunately, treating for the parent or chronic miasms seemed to remove many of the secondary diseases as well.

With his discovery of the chronic miasms, Hahnemann gave us the ability to treat for deep-seated, chronic, complex disease conditions that had roots in weaknesses that had little to do with the shocks and traumas of this life, but were there already at conception. The more of these inherited chronic disease patterns we had, the more likely that various shocks and traumas would destabilize us. Thus, as important as it is to remove the cumulative shocks and traumas, it is also critical in many cases to go past the point of conception and reach back into the various disease patterns we brought with us.

In our experience, many cases could not be helped without this monumental discovery of Dr. Hahnemann. We encountered many cases where people have tried many other approaches and have had little or no improvement. In the case of children on the autistic spectrum, they are labelled ‘non-responders’. I remember the first time I came across such a case. The doctors and even the natural health community had consistently thrown up their hands. Could Heilkunst do anything, the mother asked? I didn’t know for certain, but knowing that Heilkunst can treat diseases that no one else seems to see or know how to treat, I felt confident it could help at least to some degree. And it did! Since then we have been treating difficult, complex, chronic cases of all types – ones that others have given up on. I still recall one case where a woman did not respond to classical homeopathic treatment and was then told she was ‘incurable’. In tears she came to ask if this was indeed true. I told her that yes, by the tenets of classical homeopathy, this was indeed true, but fortunately, by the laws and principles of the complete medical system that Dr. Hahnemann gave us, Heilkunst, it was not. Her problems were resolved by treating for the shocks and traumas in her life and the inherited miasms.

Who would have thought that a discovery some two centuries ago, the chronic miasms, would be confirmed by the most recent scientific understandings in biology (epigenetics). Heilkunst has built in an effective way of treating for inherited disease patterns. In our next blogs we will look at each of the chronic miasms in more detail. Stay tuned.

For more information about Heilkunst treatment and studies please visit our website.

Treating Birthing Shocks and Traumas

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Did you know…

that we don’t necessarily come into this world in a completely healthy way? In fact, nowadays, the birthing process is often anything but natural or healthy, involving as it does a variety of interventions from drugs and surgical procedures (cesarians and other) for the moms to  various pokings and proddings of the newborns. We are so accustomed to do what we are told, especially when we are in the hospital or in a crisis condition, which birthing seems to have been turned into, that we accept these interventions without questioning or relating the later illness or problems back to these procedures.

Our health is shaped by every experience around us. There is a lot that can happen from conception to birth that can affect our health. The very conditions of conception itself can create a certain stress. If there was fear or grief, or even anger and guilt in the parents, the mother in particular, this can possibly affect the baby. I know of one case in particular where a child was conceived in profound grief in both parents because of the death of the first-born only a few months before from a tropical infection. This induced a state of mind in the child throughout its life involving unresolved grief. A lot of the grief we carry around as adults might have been there from the very beginning. That is why in Heilkunst we look at all significant life events systematically from now back to birth and conception.

I had one case in particular where the child, about 3 years old, was always crying.  Despite various attempts, nothing seemed to work. In further questioning the mother it was revealed that the child only cried when around the mother, but not with the father or anyone else. I noted that there likely had been some kind of emotional trauma early on at the time of conception or during pregnancy. Initially the mother could not identify one, but three days later called, and confessed that for the first week after she knew she was pregnant, she had not wanted the child, and briefly considered an abortion. We then treated the child for the shock of rejection and abandonment, and the crying stopped.

In another similar case, a baby of 18 months seemed not to respond to the mother’s voice, but was fine with the father. Knowing that ultrasounds can affect the hearing capacity of the fetus, and finding out that the mother had had several ultrasounds, we treated for this shock, and the baby now responded to the mother’s voice.

There are similar shocks that can occur from drugs taken by the mother during pregnancy, as well as from amniocentesis, and other interventions. The child is part of the mother’s energetic system while in the womb, and even for some time after, though increasingly less so as the child grows up.

Birth these days is often involved with various drugs, such as Pitocin to induce labour, lengthy labour, the use of forceps, spinal blocks, not to mention the often stressful conditions of a hospital, the too early cutting of the umbilical cord, the separation of mother and child, vaccinations such as Hepatitis B at birth, antibiotics in the eyes, the PKU test, C-sections, etc. While these may be necessary at times, they still constitute a potential shock to the mother and child. These interventions are often not taken into account when later the child or mom experiences problems such as breastfeeding difficulty, jaundice or various other problems of infancy, such as digestive issues, colic, constant crying, congestion, failure to thrive, ear-aches. We consider all these shocks and traumas in the timeline of life events that we treat for. When they are treated for early on, ideally right after, then the child can often avoid many of these problems.

Right from the early days, a child can already be carrying quite a burden of diseases induced by the various shocks and traumas mentioned, both emotional and physical. Heilkunst provides a way to recognize these shocks as contributing to or directly causing health issues, and to effectively and safely remove them. Homotonic and homeopathic medicines are non-toxic and safe for the mother and child throughout the pregnancy, labour and birth. There are also excellent remedies that can be given to help with labour and delivery, to avoid interventions that represent a potential shock to the child (and mother), and to help making the experience more pleasant and natural. Heilkunst is child-safe, child-friendly and supportive of healthy families. With Heilkunst, you can get your children off on the right foot in life, healthier and happier. Next week we’ll look at some issues that affect health that pre-date conception, what we call the chronic miasms or inherited disease patterns. Stay tuned.

For more information about Heilkunst treatment and studies please visit our website.

Removing Traumas and Shocks as Disease-causing Agent

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Did you know…

that most people are suffering from a multitude of diseases, and the conditions that these diseases create seem to be complex and difficult to treat? Difficult, that is, if there is not a clear idea as to what is a disease and what is simply the expression of a disease (condition).

The conventional system emphasizes ‘diagnosis’. True diagnosis should point to the true cause of a disease. But what the medical “authority” is really doing in most cases is giving a name to an obvious and often arbitrary complex of symptoms. In this kind of labelling of an arbitrarily selected mix of symptoms, the cause of this so-called ‘disease’ is either unknown (termed ‘idiopathic’) or is multiple. If a person has painful inflammation of the joints, this main symptom is given a name, such as arthritis, which is simply a Greek term that means ‘inflammation of the joints’. The Greek term sounds more impressive, however. It used to be called ‘gout’, but that is now generally reserved specifically for inflammation of the foot joints. Well now, many things are claimed to cause gout. But since the ‘diagnosis’ says the condition is due to inflammation, the conventional ‘solution’ is to kill the symptom, the messenger, namely the inflammation. This seems simpler to the materialistic mind-set which looks at things rather mechanically. And it fits the tendency to see all symptoms as linked to some drug that can remove them – a drug for every ailment. In those cases where a person has a multiple of conditions, each symptom is treated/suppressed by a given drug, ignoring the underlying cause which generally can’t be ‘seen’ with the allopathic approach.

We have seen endless cases where children with a skin eruption are treated with drugs to suppress this, then later, they develop lung problems, which is really the original cause(s) manifesting deeper in the body. In the conventional system the lung problems are instead considered as a new ‘disease’ and a new drug is prescribed. And this can continue until kidney problems arise, which are then treated with further drugs, without considering the disease-causing effects of the drugs themselves (such as kidney damaging), the iatrogenic diseases. In a case we mentioned in a previous blog, the initial symptoms (high blood pressure) were suppressed without treating the underlying cause, and the drug caused ‘side-effects’, which required a second drug, and this continued until eventually the patient was on 14 different medications.

In the Heilkunst system it is relatively easy to identify true causes, even in complex cases. With the true causes identified, a scientific method can then be applied to systematically treat the complex diseases in the proper order. Our body is more than the flesh and blood material body and we know that by the fact that a memory of a horror in the distant past can still bring up shivers inside us, or the prospect of seeing someone who abused us long ago in childhood could be terrifying and create a bed-bound sickness. The body memory is long and traumatic, events in our life do leave negative imprints on our body–contractions, fear, rigidities, etc. In various degrees these events all contribute to our suffering today. Each shock and trauma needs to be treated appropriately to lift us free from the past. These traumatic experiences are part of the underlying causes of the disease conditions. By treating a timeline of various shocks and traumas, we have helped many people with complex conditions such as high blood pressure, Type II diabetes, autism, among many others. We treat the timeline events in the reverse order to their occurrence as the general law of healing tells us that our innate healing capacity seeks to address the most recent trauma first. The treatment of diseases due to traumatic events that occur since birth has a bio-logic.

Let’s consider a case of an autistic child. He or she could likely receive some or all of the following shocks:

– ultrasound(s)

– amniocentesis

– forceps, Pitocin, C-section

– vaccinations (upwards of 30 or more)

– antibiotics

– tylenol or other fever-suppressing drugs

– surgeries and various drugs following from that

– emotional traumas related to separation/divorce

– bullying and other forms of abuse

– blood draws and other invasive testing

– dental surgery

For more information on this Rudi addresses the topic at an Autism One conference in Toronto 2009.

Treating the symptoms of an autistic child is not only just temporary, but it can be suppressive, making things worse, and add additional drug diseases onto the existing ones. With the Heilkunst system, we treat the shocks and remove these initial layer of causes, which generally brings out sustaining health benefits and improvements. We then work at identifying deeper issues, such as inherited disease patterns and karmic and spiritual reasons for each individual, which will be discussed further in the future bogs. Stay tuned!

For more information about Heilkunst treatment and studies please visit our website.