primary and secondary action - was 30C's- Dr. John/Paul

[David Little]

At 02:26 AM 4/20/2006, you wrote:

Hello Paul,

All of these ideas come under the general title of the "laws of natural
healing by Homoeopathy". The term "laws", however, are not considered
absolute as there are always exceptions to the rules and the uncertainty
principle still applies. There are great similarities and differences
between a natural chronic disease and a homoeopathic remedy. These are what
allow for the cure. I will try to explain.

1 (A). A chronic disease (in Hahnemannian terms) is a illness that is life
long by its very nature. The examples are psora, sycosis and syphilis, but
may also include chronic TB, malaria, chronic hepatitis, herpetic diseases,
AIDS, etc. Once you have syphilis you always have syphilis although it may
not produce sever damage in everyone.

(B). The first law of our healing art is similars cure similars.
Hahnemann taught that two similar diseases can not exist in the same
organism at the same time. Why? Because the strong always overcomes the
weak and takes its place and fills the susceptibility factor. Samuel gives
a get number of examples, where acute miasms cured a chronic conditions. He
offered these as examples of how Nature cures. This method, unfortunately,
can be very violent as well as dangerous as only the strong survived.
Although Hippocrates and Paracelsus both used similars their use was
restricted due to the inherent dangers as many contained toxins and some
where poisons. It was not until Hahnemann added the other great maxims: the
single remedy, the minimal dose, and the potentized remedy Homoeopathy was
born as a general medicine. The principles enshrined in the Organon made it
possible to use every potential medicinal substances to treat all diseases
in a safe and effective manner.

(C). Homoeopathic medicine is a form of controlled disease exposure.
Unlike raw nature cure a human being can use their intelligence to control
the remedy, the strength of the dose, the degree potency power and the
duration of the exposure to the medicinal disease. Now here comes a very
important point. A homoeopathic remedy produces only a *temporarily
stronger medical disease" that will fade of its own accord over time. A
natural chronic diseases will *never fade away* of its own accord not
matter how long one waits. Therefore, the stronger for the moment transient
medicinal disease replaces the power of the natural chronic disease with a
*temporary disease*. This temporary medicinal disease will weaken on its
own accord if the remedy is not repeated. So the main point is that the
"permanent" natural disease has been traded with a "temporary" medicinal
disease. This is the role of the primary action. What is a impossible to
control instinctive process becomes subject to actions of the reason gifted
mind.

(D). Because the power and duration of the transient medicinal disease
can be control by the prescriber it will come to an end by choice of the
observant practitioner rather not through an accident of nature. Due to the
exceeding small size of the dose, the subtle nature of potency power, and
the ability of controlling the duration by repetition, the vital force
finds the temporary medicinal disease easy to remove compared to the life
long chronic disease. Now rather than opposing an unmovable chronic
diseases the vital force is only confronting a subtle, limited transitory
medicinal disease that IS removable. What was an impossible to win life
long conflict involving progressively deranged nervous secretions, more
dangerous anti and pro-inflammatory processes, and more damaging immune
factors that attack the whole organism now becomes a winnable process
involving a transitory, controllable primary action associated with a
medicinal disease that is easily removed by the homeostatic secondary
action of the vital force. This is the role of the curative secondary action.

For the above reasons, I state that the cure takes place through the
interplay of the primary action of the remedy and the secondary curative
action of the vital force. This is the action-reaction model which is in
harmony with what we know about physics and well as physiology. Now as to
why the patient doesn't just get even sicker on the remedy disease if it is
stronger? Well, for a short time while receiving the impression of the
primary action they are subtlety more deranged but if the dose, potency and
repetition of the remedy are properly controlled this increase is so mild
and short it passes with little or no notice. So for a moment the patient
is more "dynamically" ill but it is so subtle, so transitory and met so
quickly with a balancing curative secondary action that it never gets out
of control if the homoeopath is careful.

What happens if one gives too large a dose, too high a potency, and
repeats the remedy when it is not needed? That produces what is called a
similar aggravation because the remedy symptoms are much stronger than the
natural symptoms. If the remedy is repeated and repeated in large doses in
potency it may produce a new more serious medicinal disease in place of the
natural disease. At this point it may be met with an antagonistic secondary
over reaction of the vital force and then all "H" breaks loose. This is all
the more reason to understand the checks and balances Hahnemann integrated
into our system of healing. These main controls are similars, the single
remedy, the minimal dose and the potentized remedy and understanding the
proper direction of cure.
I concur with the above ideas in general.
This is a great mistake. Remember, the Introduction of the Organon warns
us NOT to imitate the methods of the deranged instinctive struggle of the
VF in crisis! The VF will suppurate one's whole arm in a effort to remove a
deeply embedded splinter when the rational mind can use Silica and remove
the object with no inflammation! I constantly receive letters where
patients have been aggravated for weeks and months and are getting weaker
and weaker yet they are told that this is a necessary "healing crisis".
They are told to "grin and bear it" as it is "normal'. This "no pain - no
gain" altitude has nothing to do with Hahnemann's idea of a rapid, gentle
permanent cure! Too much excessive primary action burns up so much vitality
that there is usually very little secondary action and the patient feels
drained in the long run. That is exactly WHY Hahnemann wrote in the preface
of the Organon that homoeopaths should be nothing that weakens the vital
force. A short aggravation is always followed by healing but the longer the
aggravation the more danger it poses.

Now there are natural crises during treatment at times. These usually
involves the return of old unresolved symptoms or surrogate discharges from
the organs of elimination in the form of sweat, urine, catarrhal
discharges, a skin eruption, and the like. These should pass through
quickly, not be overly painful, and be followed by an increased feeling of
well being and improved vitality. If old symptoms return but they are
stronger and more painful than the original complaint this is also a sign
of TOO MUCH medicinal power and is a similar aggravation. For example, if
the patient had an eczema on their arm that was suppressed and it returns
and spreads over all their body something is wrong and needs to be
adjusted!!! Telling the poor patient this is "great" is out of touch with
reality!

I am amazed when practitioners don't recognized their basic remedy
reactions and don't now how to manage cases and make proper adjustment in
posology matters when necessary. Hahnemann wrote that Homoeopathy is based
on knowledge of disease, knowledge of medicinal powers, and knowledge how
to apply the latter to the former. Finding the correct remedy is only 1/2
the process of cure. One has to know how to apply the remedy also. In fact,
the better the remedy the more critical the size of the dose, degree of
potency, and repetition of the remedy matter. I see many cases where the
right remedy may have been chosen but the application of the remedy was
very poor indeed. It is a hit or miss method where it either works, does
nothing or causes trouble. What ever happens just "happens". Some don't
seem to know how to adjust the posology factors and case management as the
case progresses. This is the fault of our educational systems where even
some teachers never really even read the Organon much less digest it over
the years by applying it in a clinical situation.
Hahnemann noted that the remedy simulates the natural disease with a
momentarily stronger but temporary medicinal disease. This causes a
differentiation process where the vital force "apprehends" that which
should be removed. This is definitely a transmission of data in some form
that the instinctive vital force understands. According to the Deism the
Esse is based on the image of perfect as its nature is Divine. This innate
pattern, however, can be distorted through free will and improper actions.
One can follow Nature's Way or do their own thing and suffer the
consequences. At the same time, we live in an uncertain world where any
"befallment" can happen by according to the time and circumstances. As
Hahnemann said; As long as humanity has existed it has be subject,
individually and collectively, to diseases or moral and physical causes.

The inner Wesen (being, nature, esse) is the source of the vital
principle, vital force and vital energy. These 3 forces make up the human
being as a dynamic Gestalt pattern in which the whole is more than the sum
of its parts. The Esse has vital principles which establishes the pattern
of its nature and being and manifests through the voluntary system as free
will. Through adaption the Essential being has developed an organic vital
force that is instinctive and autonomic in nature and rules the physical
organism. This force also has vital energy which is the pool of vitality at
its disposal. The more vitality the easier and quicker the cure. So on a
deeper level a human being is an Esse that is made up of principle, force
and energy.

These are a human being's most intrinsic qualities and are at the root of
healing from within to without. The brain and neuro-endocrine system are at
the "head' of a person and the functional polarity of the mind. Changes in
the higher control centers of physiology are part of healing from above to
below. If the mind and nervous system establish better function the rest of
the body will follow. Sometimes the pains will even move down the body as
the brain and nervous clear. Disease starts with a dynamic functional
mistuning that leads to pathology. The cure begins with a dynamic re-tuning
of function on the higher levels that leads to the reversal of pathology in
the physical plane. Such things are at the root of the direction of cure.

Anyway, Paul, this post was just one of my reviews of the basics, which
is my role in the community. I know you understand this and more very well.
I try to make sure that all have a good foundation so we can reach for the
sky without falling on our heads! I might add that in IMO Hahnemann's
explanation of disease and cure are still the best model and offers a very
useful clinical guide to posology adjustments and case management
strategies. Hahnemann's hypothesis of controlled disease exposure will
definitely be at the root of the medicine of the future.

Similia Minimus
Sincerely, David Little
---------------
"It is the life-force which cures diseases because a dead man needs no more
medicines."

Samuel Hahnemann

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David Little © 2000