Imagine Homeopathy: A Book of Experiments, Images, and Metaphors

330 Pages·2005·17.15 MB·English

by  Christian Kurz

Kurz_Homeo_139221 23.03.2005 11:36 Uhr Seite 1
Imagine
Homeopathy
K
u
The art and science of truly r
z Complementary
successful homeopathic medicine Medicine A Book of Experiments, Images, and Metaphors
With the recent resurgence in the practice ofhomeopathy—whether I Chris Kurz, Ph.D.
m
practiced alone or as a complement to other types ofmedicine—
comes an unprecedented demand for well-educated, highly trained a
g
practitioners. What type ofeducation will lead to true success?
i
Can the art ofhomeopathy be taught alongside scientific concepts? n
Generations ofhomeopaths have mastered such concepts as homeo- e

prophylaxis, genus epidemicus, and constitution, but only the truly H
successful practitioners have achieved a level ofunderstanding far o
beyond simply dealing with patients. m
In this unique book, homeopath Chris Kurz offers a highly effective— e
and fun—approach to learning and retaining all ofthe important o
p
concepts ofhomeopathy. Using vivid analogies and informal langua-
a
ge, Kurz emphasizes the importance oftrue insightrather than rote
t
memorization. Infusing a student’s personal experience with creati- h
vity and imagination creates the most fertile ground for discovering y
and developing true insightand knowledge ofhomeopathy. Each
chapter explores a concept through the lens ofan experiment, meta-
phor, or image. For example, an intense examination ofa common
lemon brings home the notions oftotality and the law ofsimilars;
a road map unlocks the mysteries ofmiasms, and a game ofgolf
illustrates important issues ofcase management.
The result ofyears working with students, Kurz’s inspirational and
thought-provoking approach places the patient at the center ofthe
learning process, as in everyday practice. Imagine Homeopathyis
invaluable as a guide for teachers, an introduction for novices and
laypeople, and a provocative refresher for seasoned practitioners.
ISBN 3-13-139221-5 ISBN 3-13-139221-5 (GTV) ISBN 1-58890-331-1
ISBN 1-58890-331-1 (TNY)
www.thieme.com
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Titelei.fm Seite III Dienstag, 12. April 2005 11:20 11
Imagine Homeopathy
A Book of Experiments,
Images, and Metaphors
Chris Kurz, Ph.D.
Private Practice
Eisenstadt, Austria
34 illustrations
Thieme
Stuttgart · New York
III
Library of Congress Important note: Medicine is an ever-
Cataloging-in-Publication Data changing science undergoing continual
development. Research and clinical expe-
Kurz, Chris. rience are continually expanding our
Imagine homeopathy : a book of exper- knowledge, in particular our knowledge of
iments, images, and metaphors / Chris proper treatment and drug therapy. Inso-
Kurz. far as this book mentions any dosage or
p. ; cm. application, readers may rest assured that
ISBN 3-13-139221-5 (alk. paper) – the authors, editors, and publishers have
ISBN 1-58890-331-1 (alk. paper) made every effort to ensure that such ref-
1. Homeopathy. erences are in accordance with the state of
[DNLM: 1. Homeopathy. WB 930 K96i knowledge at the time of production of
2005] I. Title. the book.
RX71.K87 2005 Nevertheless, this does not involve,
615.5’32–dc22 imply, or express any guarantee or respon-
2005008510 sibility on the part of the publishers in
respect to any dosage instructions and
forms of applications stated in the book.
Every user is requested to examine care-
fully the manufacturers’ leaflets accompa-
Photo credits: nying each drug and to check, if necessary
Fig. 3, p. 35: Roland Schuller in consultation with a physician or spe-
Fig. 6, p. 71: www.photosphere.com cialist, whether the dosage schedules
Fig. 25, p. 254: www.philipgreenspun.com mentioned therein or the contraindica-
tions stated by the manufacturers differ
from the statements made in the present
book. Such examination is particularly
important with drugs that are either rarely
used or have been newly released on the
Illustrator: Adrian Cornford market. Every dosage schedule or every
form of application used is entirely at the
user’s own risk and responsibility. The
authors and publishers request every user
to report to the publishers any discrepan-
cies or inaccuracies noticed. If errors in
this work are found after publication,
errata will be posted at www.thieme.com
on the product description page.
Some of the product names, patents, and
registered designs referred to in this book
are in fact registered trademarks or pro-
prietary names even though specific refer-
ence to this fact is not always made in the
text. Therefore, the appearance of a name
without designation as proprietary is not
© 2005 Georg Thieme Verlag, to be construed as a representation by the
Rüdigerstrasse 14, 70469 Stuttgart, publisher that it is in the public domain.
Germany
http://www.thieme.de This book, including all parts thereof, is
Thieme New York, 333 Seventh Avenue, legally protected by copyright. Any use,
New York, NY 10001 USA exploitation, or commercialization outside
http://www.thieme.com the narrow limits set by copyright legisla-
tion, without the publisher’s consent, is
Typesetting by Satzpunkt Ewert GmbH, illegal and liable to prosecution. This
Bayreuth applies in particular to photostat repro-
Printed in Germany by Appl, Wemding duction, copying, mimeographing, prepa-
ISBN 3-13-139221-5 (GTV) ration of microfilms, and electronic data
ISBN 1-58890-331-1 (TNY) processing and storage.
IV
I dedicate this book to Kathi and Alex.
They have shown me how much magic there is in imagination.
V
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Foreword
I am honored to have been asked to write this introduction by
the author. Although I have known Chris “on-line” for about
ten years, I finally met him in person when I visited Slovenia in
August 2004. I was not disappointed.
In the last 20 years there has been an amazing resurgence of
homeopathy. Since 1990 there have been more books published
about homeopathy than there were between 1875 and 1885—the
“golden age of homeopathy.” Publishing a book about homeopa-
thy is not a money-making proposition. Most authors, now as
then, write books either at the behest of their students or because
they believe they have something valuable to say. It remains for
the readers to sort the wheat from the chaff and it will be a task
that will happen over time.
Many of the books written these days concern homeopathic
methodology, the “how to do it.” Many of them are based on the
author’s clinical experience. In this category we have the books
by Rajan Sankaran that introduced us to the concepts of “king-
doms”—the need to assess patients in terms of their need of an
animal, mineral, or plant remedy—and the books by Jan Scholten
that take us through a fanciful exploration of the periodic table
Foreword VII
where the series and stages can point us to unknown remedies
that might be useful in a case. Many of the newer books are about
the provings of new remedies: the numerous milks from both
animals and humans, the feathers of birds, the blood of several
species, and the assorted other elements—hydrogen, neon, pluto-
nium—as well as a number of meditative provings of impondera-
bles like Luna and Sol.
But among all these books there are few, if any, that get to the
issues that are underneath it all; what is homeopathy and, more-
over, how do we think about it? Those are the big questions the
answers to which are found, one step removed, in all those other
books.
The grand philosopher Bertrand Russell said: “Many people
would sooner die than think. In fact they do.”
What Chris is asking us to do is exactly that: to think about
the “why” and not the “how” of it. It is a piece of homeopathy that
is not often talked about as people rush into learning the method
before asking the basic questions.
Says Chris: “Although this book will not by itself revolution-
ize educational practices in homeopathy, I conceived it with the
teacher in mind. Hopefully, it will encourage more lecturers and
educators to rethink their teaching style.” And that is certainly
needed. Good clinicians are not necessarily good teachers.
We see this rush into the method and inadequate teaching at
many seminars. The speaker presents a case and asks, “What
remedy did I give?” Often, no one can “guess” the remedy and the
speaker then astounds the audience by discussing a new or
VIII Foreword