Historically, the field of homeopathy has been rife with internal divisions based on philosophical differences that date back to the time it was first disseminated in the medical community of early nineteenth century Europe. While these differences have lead to a plethora of various school of thought and practice, there is one major fault line that divides homeopathic practice and practitioners into two major camps. On the one side is what is generally know as “classical” or “constitutional” homeopathy; on the other is virtually everyone else. What makes a practitioner a classical or constitutional homeopath is the belief that each individual is best served by the administration of a single homeopathic remedy that is carefully chosen to match the nature of that person. To reiterate this with other words, a remedy is selected that “resonates with” the characteristic “vital energy” of that person.
Radiation
The Great Kanto Earthquake hit Tokyo and surrounding areas at noontime on September 1st, 1923. It lasted for somewhere between 4 to 10 minutes with a strength of 7.9 on the Richter scale. Upwards of 100,000 people were killed, the Imperial Palace burned and even the massive 93 ton, 40 feet tall ‘Great Buddha’ statue, which had sat placidly for nearly 700 years some 60 miles from the epicenter, slid forward several feet. The most lethal consequence of the quake were the fires that spread from domestic hearths, in use for food preparation at that time of day, to quickly engulf the wooden structures that housed them. Fanned by high winds, they developed into a huge firestorm that engulfed much of the city.
The Great Tohoku Earthquake and Tusnami of March 11, 2011has yet to prove as lethal with some 13,000 confirmed dead and over 14,000 as yet unaccounted for. Because of the tsunami and absence of open fires, fire was not such an issue this time around. But, the interesting parallel with Kanto Earthquake is that, in the end, the most deadly aspect of the disaster might very well end up being the destruction of another energy source – the nuclear reactors that provide the electricity that has replaced fire.
Thyroid Dysfunction
One of the most common clinical problems I seein my practice is thyroid dysfunction. Nearly twenty years ago, while working in Sri Lanka, it was common to see people, the great majority of them women, walking about with huge lumps - some the size of a tennis ball, some closer to a bowling ball - under their chins. These goitres, or enlarged thyroid glands, were for the most part a result of malnutrition, specifically a lack of iodine in the diet.
At the time I was working as an acupuncturist in a rural clinic, and it was possible to achieve considerable success in treating this condition through nutritional advice and acupuncture. The thyroid problems I see today in this country, though, are of a different sort. Rarely are they caused by a simple iodine deficiency.