Explanation Of Holistic Medicine And Homeopathy
Peter Dobias- DVM, HMC

When I graduated from a college of conventional veterinary medicine in 1988, I had no idea that my view of medicine would one day change so dramatically. I was taught that diseases are caused by bacteria, parasites, toxins, viruses, stress, or by the effects of the environment. I was trained to recognize the symptoms and establish the diagnosis. I was taught I could use a treatment protocol to prescribe medication and the disease would be cured or controlled unless it was incurable or terminal.

I also saw people and animals suffering from incurable and often very destructive diseases with no solution in sight. I could clearly see that the Western medical approach often only maintained patients with serious chronic diseases such as arthritis, diabetes or cancer with no cure available. I started to ask if we could truly cure diseases by introducing chemical and toxic substances in the patients' already diseased body. It simply didn't make sense.

I have also felt frustrated over the fact that medicine doesn't focus on disease prevention. Our society seems to have focused more on shorter waiting lines for surgeries, the number of hospital rooms and diagnostic machines per capita. The advances in medicine have enabled doctors to transplant body parts but if we put more emphasis on good nutrition, environment, exercise and reducing stress in the first place we will need fewer surgeons, scanners and hospital rooms.

What Is Health?

Health is an expression of harmony in the individual's body. In other words it is a state of harmony in the body, and between its organs. If we look even deeper, the organs and cells are made of biochemical compounds that are made of atoms, electrons, protons and other even smaller particles. Health is ultimately a state of harmony of these particles. This harmony is expressed in stability, flexibility and vitality of the individual and one's ability to withstand the challenges of environmental impacts. These impacts can be physical, chemical or emotional.

Disease And Its Symptoms

Disease is the opposite of health. It represents a shift from harmony within the body, organs and energy particles to disorganization and chaos. The individual cannot resist the influence of the environment. On the outside, the disease disturbance manifests in a variety of symptoms. These symptoms can be compared to the signal lights of your car's dashboard. If there is something wrong with the engine, the signal light comes on. If there is something wrong with the body, the disease symptoms — the signals — appear.

First these signals such as skin eruptions, vomiting or diarrhea are subtle and superficial. These symptoms are usually part of the patients effort to establish the original balance. The body simply tries to clean and "empty its garbage bin." If the individual is weakened or symptoms are suppressed by strong "anti" medication such as anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics, and/or anti-diarrheals, the imbalance grows deeper. The effect of these drugs can be compared to removing the signal bulb from your car's dashboard when the engine has an oil leak. The damage goes on despite the fact we do not see the symptoms.

The Effects Of Western Drugs From The Energetic Point Of View

One may get the impression that the absence of symptoms after using a medication means that the disease is gone or cured. In reality, the reason why the original disease symptoms disappear is because the drug becomes the dominant force. The medication's effect becomes "the top dog" which overpowers the disease. It will override the ailment the same way as a jet engine will make the squeaky noise of your car's broken engine seemingly disappear. You may not be able to hear it but it still exists.

If the patient takes the medication long enough, he will fail to recognize that the problem, the disharmony, still exists. The disease will ultimately become chronic and irreparable.

What Are Drug Side-Effects?

In reality drug side-effects are THE EFFECTS that are undesirable. I am certain that nobody would even consider buying food that would cause diarrhea, vomiting, kidney disease, liver failure or seizures? Interestingly, our society has resorted to using drugs — chemical substances — that often have the same and even more serious effects.

The question is, who allows the drug companies to license products that are toxic and harmful to our health? We do...

The Absence Of Symptoms May Not Mean Health

Sometimes I hear clients saying: "My pet has always been healthy. I have never noticed any problems and now he/she has been diagnosed with cancer. How can this be?" The answer is simple. The body's defense system is weak, inefficient and unable to produce symptoms. It is unable to mobilize its defenses to prevent serious disorganization such as cancer.

The Causes Of Disease

There are 3 main causes of disease. They all come from the external environment:

1. Physical cause — a fall, a sprain or bruising are good examples.
2. Chemical — such as poison, food, artificial food additives.
3. Emotional — psychological effect of grief, abuse, memory of a traumatic experience.

Explanation Of Homeopathy

When I was first introduced to homeopathy, it was exciting to see it work but it didn't make any sense! I finished my course of veterinary homeopathy, saw miraculous recoveries, but I still didn't get it.

I learned that homeopathic remedies are made from any source in nature. The main groups are minerals, animal products such as milk or venom; or plants. The homeopathic pharmacist dilutes and shakes these substances several hundred or even a thousand times to fully eliminate any possibility of toxicity. The most interesting part is that the more diluted and shaken these solutions are, the stronger curative effect or potency they have. This is where I used to get lost and confused. My common sense and knowledge of chemistry and physics were telling me that this is absolute nonsense! If I have 20 % alcohol, it is stronger than a 1% solution How can something more diluted be stronger? In order to understand why a more diluted substance is stronger, we have to go to an energetic understanding of the universe beyond chemistry and physics. We have to move to quantum physics.

Bigger Is Not Always Better...

Homeopathy is not the only science that proves that smaller particles can store more energy and power than bigger ones. For example the potential of nuclear reaction is much greater than a chemical. Similar to this example, homeopathy uses the invisible energy of submolecular and subatomic particles that makes it very potent yet non-toxic.

Message In The Water

Before I get into further explanation of homeopathic principles, I would like to mention a breakthrough study by a Japanese scientist and university professor — Dr. Masaru Emoto. His experiments involved distilled water from the same source. When he froze the water and photographed its crystals under a dark field microscope, they were bland and fairly simple. When Dr. Emoto learned what water crystals looked like in their original form, he took several bottles of this water and left them in the presence of individuals in different emotional states such as happiness, sadness, anger, grief or love. What he found out was that water crystallized when exposed to a happy, sad, angry or grieving person. The water simply recorded the energy of emotions in a similar way a CD or DVD records a movie or a song. They all look the same until we insert them into the player that will show us the recorded information.

To use this analogy in homeopathy, the remedy's original substance is the recorder, the diluting solution is the CD and the patient is the player of the recorded information.

Dr. Hahnemann — The Founder Of Homeopathy

More than 200 years ago, Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, became very frustrated and disillusioned with the state of the medical system and the treatments used. Mercury purging and blood letting were the staples of the times. Who knows if it was intuition or coincidence, but Dr. Hahnemann had a bright idea. He assumed that if Mercury causes certain symptoms of poisoning, perhaps it can also cure the same symptoms if used in small diluted and shaken, non-toxic amounts. He was correct! He discovered the principle of homeopathy — like cures like.

Homeopathic Cures

Disease is a form of imbalance or disturbance caused by a foreign influence, energy, that does not belong in the body. The symptoms of the disease are the signatures or manifestation of that energy. The patient will clearly have different symptoms when falling off a ladder, grieving for a lost family member or smoking. If we follow the natural laws, the true cure can only be achieved through neutralizing the effect of this foreign, disease-causing force. We learn from physics that a force, vibration or a wave can be neutralized by the same force of equal or greater intensity applied in the opposite direction. If we use this principle in healing, homeopathy and energy medicine is the best choice. The homeopathic treatment simply neutralizes and erases the disease energy allowing the patient to shift to the state of harmony which is called HEALTH.

Speakers And Sound Wave Experiment

Homeopathic cure makes even more sense when understanding a simple experiment with sound waves. If you place two speakers diagonally in a square room facing each other and they play identical sound frequency the sound will totally disappear in the center of the room. The identical opposite waves will neutralize and erase each other.

Case Collection And Analysis

In order to find the right homeopathic remedy an experienced homeopath observes the disease symptoms — the signature — on an emotional and physical level.

Throughout the last two centuries, homeopaths have put a tremendous effort in researching and proving the efficacy of natural substances found in homeopathic remedies. By compiling the results of cured cases and conducting tests called proving, we have been able to get a very detailed description of the characteristics of over 3000 remedies traditionally organized in books called Materia Medica, Repertories and other homeopathic literature. For more efficient case analysis, most homeopaths use computer programs and search engines to select the best prescription. This does not mean the computer makes a prescription decision. Careful case analysis, experience and thorough approach of an experienced homeopath is at the core of a successful treatment.

Progression To A Chronic Disease

As I mentioned above, when our body registers energetic disharmony, it tries to reset through the process of acute cleansing. The cleansing symptoms are sometimes not pleasant or they can look very dramatic. The key is that they are usually not damaging to the body. If the patient is not supported and the symptoms are suppressed by drugs and not neutralized, we are creating a state of greater disharmony on the energetic level. The patient will eventually become weaker and defenseless. The immune system will eventually lose the strength to fight back.

Chronic Disease Is A Slow And Progressive Deterioration

If we suppress the body's warning signals or if the cause of the problem continuously challenges the body's defenses, we start witnessing the signs of long term irreversible damage. We may still see some efforts for tissue repair but the attempts are similar to a tired nurse who keeps falling asleep on the job because of stress and exhaustion.

Peeling The Onion Of Chronic Disease

Treatment of chronic disease can be a tedious and long process. In homeopathy, we often compare this process to "the peeling of the onion". We systematically neutralize one disturbance after another and allow the suppressed disease symptoms to surface while prescribing needed remedies. I have witnessed some people expecting the same quick fix from homeopathy that suppressive drugs provide. It is surprising how often I hear a comment similar to this: "My cat has had this skin condition for six years, steroids do not work anymore. I am out of patience and funds and if homeopathy doesn't fix this in a month, I will put my cat down."

Patience and a good understanding of the complexity of the healing process is absolutely essential. It may take weeks or even months to neutralize the disease and allow the body to heal. I would like to emphasize that even though a complete cure is our goal, some conditions may not be fully reparable and the patient may require life long maintenance and support.

Disease Prevention

In an ideal world animals and people would be so strong that common life challenges and stressors would not affect them. We would fight off viruses, bacteria, chemicals, and heal physical injuries. The focus on increasing the healing ability and disease resistance equals disease prevention.

Disease resistance can be compared to an inflatable ball. The stronger and more inflated it is, the less likely it is going to be damaged during the game. If it is not inflated properly, it becomes weaker, and more likely to be prone to damage or puncture. In homeopathy, the healing and self-preserving ability is called the vital force.

Stress And Nutrition

No one can deny that healthy and nutritious food is important. During the first consultation, I often hear that my clients are feeding their animals the best food, but their animal friend is still not healthy. How is that possible? The answer is simple. Can we expect our car to never break down even though we buy the best fuel?

Equally important as food, are the environment and our emotions. There is a saying that I learned from one of my very insightful clients, Irene. "It is important what we eat but it is even more important to understand what is eating us."

Comparison Of Conventional And Homeopathic Approach

In Western medicine the same kind of treatment is always used to treat one particular disease. A doctor will prescribe a similar medication for the treatment of a stomach ulcer — antibiotics, antacids, stomach coating agents and diet adjustment based on the diagnosis. The trouble is that the emotional state and patients individual reaction is too often ignored. Conventional medicine simply doesn't see that the symptoms of hay fever, insomnia, stomach ulcer and hip pain may be part of the same disease complex.

In homeopathy, we prescribe and individually select a remedy for each patient despite the same western diagnosis. The prescription is based on the individual response to the disease.

Our Goal Is To Cure The Patient And Minimize The Use Of Drugs

Since I started practicing homeopathy, I have been very surprised that the use of prescription drugs has dropped by 90%. It is not difficult to imagine that if homeopathy becomes mainstream, the losses to the pharmaceutical industry would be huge. Our taxes could be redistributed into preventive medicine, social and environmental programs. I am also concerned that our medical system will collapse under the skyrocketing medical costs.

Use Pharmaceuticals With Caution

I will not deny the fact that sometimes we need to use prescription medication. I also sincerely appreciate the honest effort of some researchers and companies to develop some very necessary and useful treatments especially when the patient loses the ability to repair. There are several different groups of pharamaceutical drugs. If you have a good understanding about their effect, it will be clear which ones to avoid.

Medication Categories

There are several basic types of prescription medication that can be divided into categories based on their effect:

Supplements that provide basic nutrients missing in our diet — this is the least harmful group if used properly and not overused. They should be preferably from a natural source because the chemically made supplements can never be as complete, nutritionally and energetically as their naturally created counterparts.

Drugs that replenish and supplement a missing substance after chronic disease reaches a certain stage. Examples are adrenal hormones, thyroid hormone and insulin.

Antibiotics, anti-toxins, and anti-dotes that neutralize or destroy a particular pathogen when the body is too weak to correct the problem. In contrast to the high use of antibiotics in health care, I find that they are not needed very often. The only time I use antibiotics is when the body is not strong enough to resist and fight off an infection.

Steroids and anti-inflammatories are the most dangerous and damaging drugs of all. They are made to suppress the patient's own defenses. To give you an example imagine that your house is on fire and you are trying to put the fire out with a fire extinguisher. Your friend rushes in and finds you in this unfortunate emergency. Instead of helping you put the fire out, he reaches into the drug cabinet and offers you a sleeping pill. "Don't worry, just go to sleep and everything will be fine." If you are lucky and wake up alive, the damage will be much greater than if you called 911 or used a fire extinguisher yourself. By using this example I would like to emphasize that if we do not allow the immune system to "put out the fire" and heal the tissue — if we put it to sleep with drugs — severe and irreversible damage will follow.

Remember that inflammation is the body's way to heal and prevent further tissue damage.

Anti-depressants are another kind of suppressive drug that block the expression of disharmony on the emotional and mental level. Because they suppress, but do not neutralize the energy causing the problem, they create an artificial sense of balance by suppressing the central nervous system. This will ultimately lead to deeper emotional and physical disharmony. Remember that it is important what we eat but it is also important to understand what is eating us. That applies to humans and animals alike.

There Is A Need For A Free Flow Of Information And Independent Research

I am writing these words with a humility that comes from knowing that despite the miracles of homeopathy and holistic healing there is still so much to learn and discover. I am writing this to emphasize the importance of cooperation in the field of medicine and the need for research in areas of holistic healing. We medical professionals need to have access to unbiased medical research. I observe with deep concern that some of my colleagues have been penalized, disciplined and legally pursued simply for informing the public about the benefits of homeopathy and holistic care. Yes, this happens in Canada, the UK, Scandinavia and in other countries.

I urge everyone to stand up and press our government, institutions and professional associations to change the system of one-sided medical research into a government-supervised research system that is not controlled by pharmaceutical and biotech companies We all have to make it very clear that we are not willing to give up our freedom of choice of medical care that reflects our beliefs and we feel comfortable with.

Final Words

My goal is to provide you with information that will shift your attention to disease prevention. Now that you have learned about holistic healing and homeopathy, you too may feel like going out there and sharing this information with everyone. Don't get frustrated if some of your friends are resistant to accepting your advice. A closed mind can often be opened only from the inside...

Your open mind is the biggest asset in life. If you treasure it, cultivate it and do not allow other people to scare you or discourage you from learning, I can guarantee that you will be successful in reaching your goal — health, happiness and longevity for you and your animal friend...

Peter Dobias, DVM, HMC
The Founder and Owner of Healing Place Homeopathic Centre
www.healingplace.ca