Timothy Dooley - Homeopathy: Beyond Flat Earth Medicine

H OMEOPATHY

Beyond Flat Earth

Medicine

An Introduction for Students

and Patients

Timothy R. Dooley, N.D., M.D.

Timing Publications

San Diego

Homeopathy: B eyond F lat E arth M edicin e . First Edition Copyright 1995 by Timothy R. Dooley. Second Edition Copyright 2002 by Timothy R. Dooley. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address Timing Publications, 3446 Park Blvd., San Diego, CA 92103, 1-888-584-6464, or email us at info@beyondflatearth.com.

Editing: Ming Dooley

Typography and design: Kamala Alister and Ming Dooley

Cover layout and design: Kamala Alister and Ming Dooley

Cover photo/history: Julian Winston.

Publisher's Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Dooley, Timothy R, 1953 -

Homeopathy: beyond flat earth medicine/Timothy R. Dooley

ISBN 1-886893-01-2

1. Homeopathy popular works

RX76.D6 2002

615.5

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number (First Edition): 95-60000

The ideas, procedures, and suggestions contained in this book are not intended as a substitute for consulting with your physician.

See back page for ordering information.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thanks to the following for their reading of the initial manuscripts, helpful comments, or other contributions: Lynne Smith, Kamala Alister, Martin Bloch, M.D., Paul Bergner, Dennis Gay, Marnie Vail, M.D., Tanya Kell, Katherine Dublinski, Jade Goldstein, John Collins, N.D., Carol Bloch, Jacquelyn Wilson, M.D.. Special thanks to my wife, Ming, for her help in every phase of this project.

The cover photo depicts the statue of Samuel Hahnemann, founder of homeopathy, from the Hahnemann Memorial in Washington, D.C. This monument was conceived by the American Institute of Homeopathy around 1890. When a location for the memorial was needed, President McKinley, a homeopathic supporter, was in office. Located on Scott Circle, the memorial is in direct line with the White House. It was dedicated June 21, 1900 with President McKinley and other dignitaries in attendance. The project was funded by private donations.

Dedication

To my children:

Eamon, Shane, Conan, Brennan,

Ciara, and Nadya

who,

along with my wife, Ming,

create the home in

homeopathy.

Contents

For years my patients have asked me, What book do you recommend I read to learn about homeopathy?

Despite an abundance of books on the subject, there was no single book which I felt sufficiently explained the concepts and information needed.

So, I wrote one. This book is based on my own experiences and observations, which over the years have confirmed the basic theories of homeopathy.

Few people really get it when they are first introduced to homeopathy. The concepts are straightforward, yet somehow elusive. People attempt to understand and interpret homeopathy based on their prior education and experience. This is only natural, but will limit their ability to perceive something truly different.

Most physicians foolishly reject homeopathy, despite the fact that they know nothing about it. After all, how valid can it be if they, the experts, were not taught about it in medical school?

Homeopathy, however, stands on its own. Its increasing popularity and use suggests that all healthcare providers, whether or not they agree with homeopathy, should at least be familiar with its basic tenets and those who practice it responsibly.

Chapter 1

I had just opened my naturopathic practice in 1978 when a 25-year-old nursing mother entered my office.

Her complaint was mastitis, a painful infection of the breast. The problem had begun some five or six weeks earlier. She had just completed her second course of antibiotic therapy from her medical doctor. Each time the antibiotics ran out, the problem would recur with a vengeance. She had continued to breast-feed throughout the ordeal.

The patient was in a great deal of pain. She said it felt as if the pain radiated from her breast throughout her whole body.

She had a fever with a temperature of around 101 F. On examination her right breast showed an angry red streak extending along its side. It was very tender to touch.

I took her case according to the homeopathic system and prescribed a medicine for her. It was the homeopathic remedy known as Phytolacca 30C.

I was inexperienced at that time in treating complaints of this nature. I knew this could turn into a much worse condition, such as breast abscess, and thought perhaps she really should be on antibiotics. But she was fed up with the antibiotic approach and insisted on trying the remedy.

I told her to call the office first thing in the morning and report how she was doing. She agreed and went on her way.

That night I lay awake in bed with anxiety. I suspected it had been irresponsible for me to treat this patient homeopathically. I feared she had already taken a turn for the worse and perhaps was at the hospital emergency room.

The next morning when I arrived at the office, I pulled her chart and called her without waiting to see if she would report in as agreed.

She was surprised to receive a call from her doctor.

How are you doing today? I inquired.

Im fine, she said. The pills worked.

What do you mean the pills worked? I asked.

Well, I mean they worked. Its all gone.

You mean, the infection is all well, the fever and everything? I asked, unable to hide my incredulity.

Yes, its all fine... isnt that what was supposed to happen?

Er, ah, why yes, of course that was what was supposed to happen. I was just checking up, I replied, regaining my professional composure. I told her to stop taking the medicine, and to call me if there was any recurrence.

From that moment, I gazed on my little white homeopathic globules with new found respect. I had not thought it was possible for such an infection, with such an acute presentation, to completely disappear overnight. On one dose of the remedy!

When I saw her a month or so later during a visit for her child, she told me the infection had started to come back about a week after the remedy, so she had taken a second dose and everything stayed well after that.

This kind of remarkable cure becomes more common as one gains experience in homeopathic prescribing. The secret is individualizing, treating each patient as a unique whole.

Few people today would argue that the earth is flat. Everyday experiences such as satellite television and airplane travel all attest to the simple fact that the earth is a sphere.

But it wasnt always so. Even to this day, because of its enormous size, the earth appears flat to the earthbound observer. We still refer to the end of the day as the sunset, indulging in the illusion that it is the sun which has moved behind the visible horizon.

In the past, people were taught from birth that the earth was flat. Science, religion, and common sense all combined to reinforce this perspective. It is easy to appreciate the great conflict that arose among these people when new theories of a spherical earth suggested that their world view was inaccurate. It was impossible for those clinging to the flat view to appreciate the spherical perspective as long as flat thinking was used in its evaluation.