Julian wrote:
I've got a problem with this viewpoint. There are elements of it that just
don't feel right. The reason it doesn't is this presumption of imperfection
and absence of intelligence on the part of the dynamis (though it does
depend on how you define intelligence). If you make that presumption, then
the rest is logical, even if it ignores a lot of relevant and conflicting
data. But the presumption itself is questionable.
If you start from the opposite presumption -- that the dynamis is perfect
and capable of demonstrating some form of intelligence -- then a whole
different perspective is possible, which is just as consistent with evidence
and experience (more so, to my way of thinking).
The life force, the consciousness (as distinct from awareness), that
pervades us all -- makes the difference between a living body and a dead
one -- is just that. The life force. And although you can point to its
different qualities, it remains an indivisible whole which permeates the
entire organism. We see the same patterns pervading the mental, emotional
and physical realms of our patients, even echoing out into the events of
their lives. Since we are intelligent, articulate beings, then why shouldn't
the "dynamis" be infused with those qualities too? In fact, it would be
somewhat inconsistent if it wasn't. So although the dynamis may not *be*
intelligent as we commonly understand the term, it doesn't mean that
intelligence isn't evident in its workings, or that its workings aren't
articulate.
Symptoms can certainly be seen as the body's attempt to heal itself, but it
depends on how you perceive that to be working. The dynamis simply reflects
the entirety of the present energetic state of the individual. As above, so
below. If the present state contains unhealthy elements, the dynamis
projects the nature of those elements. It just says "this is how it is; this
is the picture of you". And because there are physical analogues to mental
and emotional states, there could be said to be an intelligence evident. In
other words, symptoms speak a language, they're articulate. Our everyday
language is full of clues to this -- expressions we use without thinking,
but which, when taken in literal terms, demonstrate consistency with
patterns exhibited in pathology. I've cured as many people from cystitis by
asking them what they're "pissed off" about as I have using remedies.
So if anything, it's the mind that comes across as unintelligent. By not
being able to understand what the symptoms are saying about the individual's
state, the mind and will are not engaged in an appropriate response. Instead
efforts are most frequently put into trying to silence the dynamis which,
for as long as the state remains, will find some way of articulating the
nature of it. Because it's there. This puts mind and dynamis into
opposition. This is not health.
I forget which Eastern philosophy voiced the idea that all illness
originates from wrong thinking, though "wrong" is perhaps rather too emotive
a word for some to stomach. You could possibly substitute "unhelpful". Mind
and dynamis are part of the same force so they need to work in the same
direction to give free expression to the fundamental nature of the
individual (or Organon aphorism 9 if you prefer). The dynamis, being a
fundamental element of the life force and hence closer to that fundamental
nature, in a sense has profound intelligence because it's able to express
accurately, even eloquently, exactly what's standing in the way of
manifesting that perfection. If the rest of the organism is not
response-able, then the state continues and deepens (which the dynamis
reflects in "worsening" symptoms) and the whole organism is brought to a
halt. If response-ability continues to be absent, if the will of the
individual (whether consciously or subconsciously) isn't focused on changing
the state *that needs to be changed* (ie. not the symptoms, but the state
they are reflections of), then eventually the organism's energies become so
conflicted or dissipated that life is no longer tenable.
So far from being imperfect, it strikes me that the dynamis is a most
perfect thing. It's the guardian of aphorism 9! The imperfections aren't in
the dynamis, but in the focus of response-ability.
Regards
Wendy
http://www.smeddum.net/