Remedies as Synchronicities

C. G. Jung’s synchronicities are fun to explore from a homeopathic perspective. They may shed some serious light on what our remedies are and open a much clearer view on what is happening during provings.

All of us know about the apple falling down onto the head of Sir Isaac Newton. The story may be fake and perhaps gravity doesn’t even exist as such, but nevertheless that apple serves as a good example of synchronicity (“the meaningful coincidence”).

And here I’d like to ask several questions to my homeopathic colleagues.

• Do apples cause “the discovery of the theory of gravity“? They really seem to, don’t they?
• Can synchronicities like this one be repeatable and/or predictable, i.e. scientific?
• What is the nature of synchronistic events? What mechanisms are involved here?
• Is synchronicity an “inner” or “outer” phenomenon? Could it be a pear or an orange or even a remedy instead of an apple?
• Is synchronicity more about “an apple” doing something to us or it is more about the change in the perception? What if apple is needed only as a catalyst for our inner processes?
• How can we explore synchronicities that are “acausal” (C. G. Jung’s word) by their nature?
  • Should we study “apples”, i.e. remedies? (By the way “apples” may seem extremely dangerous at times, they are even supposed to having caused the original sin to both Adam and Eve!)
  • Or is it a phenomenon of perception itself that should be explored?
• Does speaking about synchronistic properties of apples make any sense?
  • What if synchronistic properties do not exist as such?
  • What if an apple (remedy, crystal, etc.) becomes just a tool created by perception to make some change in perception?
• What is the nature of perception? How can we approach it? Do we need sophisticated lab equipment, huge finances and teams of colleagues involved or maybe just sitting down and listening with attention is enough?
• But THE MOST PRACTICAL QUESTION for homeopaths is this: How should we choose the most meaningful remedy for a proving that would result in the deepest, life-changing synchronistic experience?

I hope these questions speak for themselves and lead you to the pretty obvious answers. But nevertheless I’m going to share some impressions based on thousands of remedial synchronicities experienced together with my patients.

Do apples cause a theory of a gravity?

You see, determining cause & effect here becomes tricky. C. G. Jung himself defines synchronicities as being “acausal“.

Our material world seems predictable and recognizable. Apples are apples and oranges are oranges – and both have properties of their own.

• All the objects, substances (especially active substances) and phenomena belonging to a manifested reality (Yang) possess their own active, causing physical properties that can be explored, described and attributed to that particular substance, object or phenomenon:
  • Usually that’s done objectively, in a true scientific manner by observing their properties and effects both in vitro and on other people: that’s the realm of biochemistry, clinical pharmacology, toxicology, clinical trials, etc.).
  • But homeopaths have once started a radically different and pretty revolutionary approach of exploring substances subjectively, i.e. experiencing them through provings (systematic experiments carried on ourselves and other volunteers). Actually, it is a very simple approach widely used by gourmets, perfumers, audiophiles, etc. But homeopaths started such a practice for the sake of healing and they began with pretty active and even toxic substances taken in therapeutic doses (classical Homeopathy is built on these).
• But then little by little homeopaths began exploring seemingly inert substances and higher and higher dilutions that enabled access to a completely different not-yet-manifested side of reality (Yin) and exploring a potential that’s always hidden.

Such diluted, potentiated substances appeared to have synchronistic properties that are passive, cause nothing, but just reveal similar aspects that are already present in ourselves, but kind of hidden, suppressed, not-yet-manifested (Yin).

With the help of such remedies these rise to the surface from deep within (from Yin), become realized in a manifested reality (Yang) and therefore – perceptible and recognizable by senses.

That’s how information works. It actually doesn’t work at all. It is not supposed to. Books about cooking do not prepare meals for us. They do not even cause us to work at the kitchen stove. If such an interest is already within us these books (actually, some particularly similar one) may help to reveal it.

In this case homeopath actually does the work of librarian whose aim is to help you to choose the book that’s the most interesting at the present moment.

• In acute cases books/remedies show us the solution of that particular problem (by showing the totality, overall picture).
• In chronic cases they reveal what has been hidden, suppressed (by bringing the light of attention onto these aspects, raising them to the surface/perception).
• And then it may happen that something very essential about us gets revealed – so we get these life changing experiences with the remedies. These are not as rare as you may think – if only we follow the present interest.

You may consider these are the ultimate “prescriptions”. But they aren’t prescriptions! Imagine librarian gives you the book about cooking and have never even considered becoming a cook. But you begin reading and suddenly you discover a great interest.

So these life changing prescriptions are never symptomatic. They are related to neither anything you see in the patient nor he/she may tell you. It seems we’ve almost accidentally found a book that’s life-changing!

Such synchronicities come up spontaneously as unexpected reaction to a remedy that stuns both you and your patient.

They are actually proving experiences you take part together with your patient.

Similarity is not enough here. There are many books that are more or less similar. But it doesn’t mean all of them are important and interesting for us to read in a present moment. We call it the present interest. It belongs to us, and not to the similar remedies/

The same applies to movies we watch, the music we listen, the colours, scents, even cloths we choose, the job we get involved into, people we meet,…. These are all about discovering our own aspects we’ve never been aware of. It would be impossible for us to discover these without the help of seemingly “outer” objects, phenomena, people,…

Such a quest of self-exploration may seem endless. Up until one day you discover there is no “I” inside who’s separate. “Outer” and “inner” become one continuous experience happening in the present moment. We stop and suddenly the true Self is revealed.

Impossible to be approached up until they get revealed, realized in our manifested reality.

Special techniques were developed in order to purify and employ these properties. Also, special vocabulary/terminology has been built (dynamisation, potentiaton, etc.).

And nevertheless, still there are no direct causal relations evident here.

Poetic Homeopathy

S. Hahnemann called this principle “similia“. Please note, it’s more of a poetic rather than scientific term. That’s why homeopaths seek similarity and not some isopathic exactness (it’s a pity, most of homeopaths misunderstand the purpose and importance of isopathy, but that’s another topic for discussion). Well, you can’t be exact when dealing with realm of unknown (hidden, Yin)!

Essentially, poetry is always inner, its about discovering something in us; and even if the poem seems to describe some “outer” objects – it is more about reflecting our own impression, glimpsing inwards into ourselves and exploring the relationship with that aspect rather than providing some objective technical data.

Poetry is also about the precision – not about a scientific, technical one, targeted on outer objects, but about inner precision – the ability to be aware of the inner world and find precise words to share it with others – so that they could discover something similar in themselves.

That’s exactly what Present Homeopathy is for: exploring the worlds of perception…….. In chronic cases it goes much much deeper than classical approach, although the latter still remains invaluable in treating acute diseases.

Homeopaths have missed the point of transitioning from describing the effects of raw substances to experiencing potencies. They have missed the transition from scientific literature to poetry. Having become poets they still think of describing the outer world in the most systematic way. They try to be “scientific poets” and want their poems/remedies to be strong, predictive and scientifically validated.

Poetry may seem individual and subjective though. Employing it into practice seems somewhat vague and unreliable. At some point we might even think its we who give the meaning to those words.

We may think poetry is subjective. But the truth is in no way we can control this subjectivity! So the poem either makes impression on us or it doesn’t. It is similar – or it is not. And that doesn’t obey any rules or laws.

If you send me the poem that’s similar to my inner state (to what’s important to me – we call it the present interest – some synchronistic magic may happen.

Synchronistic Properties of Remedies

Please note, these synchronistic properties of a poem (or apple, or whatever) are inherent, they are information that’s 1) already there we want it or not, 2) can’t be diluted (you can’t alter the meaning of this text by making the font smaller no matter how much you try), 3) can’t be changed or influenced in any way (perception is happening right now, right here in the present moment, and all our attempts are either too early or already too late).

Information is always here. It is never there.

INFORMATION is the perception that’s happening here & now.

Information/perception is absolutely magical by itself. It does not require any special empowerment – not a single our effort for it to happen (e.g. you do nothing, you apply no effort at all for seeing, listening – all the kinds of perception to happen). Perception is simply happening. And then there is pure Attention, pure Awareness, being simply present and that’s all. Perception appears to belong to Attention, which kind of explores itself through “perception”.

Attention is the ultimate Yin. To be even more exact – it is beyond literally everything. Having not a single quality of its own, existing beyond space and time, being like a perfectly clean mirror it cannot be perceived, but it reflects/contains all the universe we perceive in the present moment. Attention as the ultimate Totality in which the Life is happening – as an interplay between the manifested and hidden sides.

Totality/ Attention is actually the goal of our practice. It is the true Healing we all seek:

1. we start with pretty obvious, objective, “outer” reality, we explore the outside world;
2. we turn onto ourselves through provings (listening as we call it here) exploring our inner worlds and sensitivities;
3. we go even deeper, we start exploring the perception itself until we face the Attention and dissolve in it completely.

Consider that’s potentiation of the practitioner happening during everyday practice: diluting ourselves in Attention/ Totality up until our “chair becomes empty” as my teacher used to say. The higher the dilution, the less and less ego is involved in practice, the more and more spontaneous it becomes. Our true potential gets revealed and Healing can do its work undisturbed.

The Role of Potentiation

Homeopaths still think of potentiation as of something special that kind of enhances a raw substance, ads some depth or energy to it and results in extremely special “energetic” remedies.

Well, I. Newton didn’t have to potentiate apples in order to discover a theory of a gravity. What if potentiation is optional, i.e. not necessary at all for synchronistic properties to be revealed?

Actually, potentiation is a nice way to get rid of the causing properties – so that we get an opportunity to kind of isolate, purify and explore the revealing/synchronistic side. Potentiation always takes away something that is too much – in our case it helps to get rid of an active substance leaving only the pure potential. As potencies increase:

• we get less and less of that active substance
• the remedy gets weaker and weaker up until it both
  • ceases working in clinical cases and
  • stops causing symptoms to volunteers.
• Such remedies get relatively safer (at least in toxicological sense), but also less predictable (this potential/ synchronistic side is completely out of our control) and therefore less scientific.
• Remedies get less and less defined, i.e. they get kind of blurry and we may even get an impression their “range of action” kind of increases. (Looking at a blurry and almost abstract photograph we may see ourselves better.)
• The higher the potency the less control and predictability we have on a remedy.

Potentiation does not enhance synchronistic properties of a raw substance in any way. It adds nothing. It only takes away.

Synchronistic properties have always been here as a potential and have been approached and revealed through the synchronicities that happen. They are not a property of homeopaths. They are universal and employed by numerous approaches used by numerous holistic practitioners.

Numerous herbalists, shamans or mineral therapists employ what they call “metaphysical properties” of herbs and crystals. They do not even try to get rid of substance – on the contrary, they enjoy and respect it.

Remedies as synchronicities in practice

In no way we can cause that “acausal parallelism” (C. Jung) to happen. It always happens spontaneously – by itself. Altogether with our remedies we appear to take part in such synchronistic events as if by chance – and that “by chance” becomes bread and butter of our everyday practice.

For example yesterday I had a case of some “stomach disease” that eventually got solved by some little masculine drainage remedy. I had no clue why it was needed, but just went into manufacturing it in front of my patient. As if by chance this guy started talking about his divorce that appeared to be crucial for this case to be solved.

Such things happen several times with each case we take. One by one remedies lead us deeper and deeper into the core of the case up until we find ourselves at the point we started.

Consultation process changes instantly as we arrive to meaningful remedy. Especially that’s evident with small kids. Their mood and behavior change instantly and pretty radically as we arrive at the remedies needed and start manufacturing them.

“Not knowing” or a simple beginners mind is the key for these everyday miracles to start happening.

We couldn’t plan and arrange that apple event for I. Newton in advance. We can’t even predict synchronistic events. Does it make us helpless? Not at all!

Look, there is always attention involved in synchronistic events. As a rule attention is always aimed (usually, for quite a prolonged periods of time) at solving some particular problem that has no direct relation to apples.

Sir Isaac Newton definitely wasn’t even thinking of “a theory of gravity” as the latter simply hadn’t existed at that time.

1. He probably had a bunch of clues, phenomena and looked for some kind of totality that could embrace these into one. (That’s how homeopaths deal with acute cases in a classical way.)
2. He also might have started with totality – with some overall impression of wholeness, some principle that had never been put into words before, so he needed the missing words/links/concepts (details, particulars) that give body to this totality and make it perceptible. (That’s how we approach chronic cases in Present Homeopathy.)

When we discover a problem that needs to be solved, we keep it in our attention for a while. So that whenever we go, whatever we do we continue to keep this question: “What is it?” And then one day when some critical amount of attention is reached, some kind of a synchronicity may happen (like an apple falling onto head) and… something completely new, something that hasn’t been there before is created out of that Mist/Potential/Pure Consciousness/… (call IT as you wish).

“Perception is transparent”

James Jealous, D.O.

Perception simply is happening in the present moment. You do nothing. You are Present and you experience the wholeness of perception happening by itself – the whole bundle of all the senses and thoughts happening NOW.

Actually, that’s exactly how the whole world is being created by Attention out of Attention in a present moment. It is a never ending process of Creation that requires no effort at all. You are Aware and that’s more than enough for Life to bloom at its full extent.

The Essence of Potentiation

Potentiation is about realization of synchronistic/ revealing properties of whatever: minerals, plants, Moon, poles of a magnet, etc. It is about getting the Gold out of the lead speaking in alchemical terms.

1. Realization starts with becoming aware of another not-yet-manifested side of Reality first of all. One our pharmacists manufacturing homeopathic remedies in our oldest apothecary enjoys her work because of what she calls “the secret present in the remedy making process”. She still can’t explain it, but nevertheless she clearly perceive it as “the secret” that brings some special enjoyment.
2. But if we start training our listening skills through numerous listening sessions that secret gets revealed little by little. The whole process of making remedies becomes perceptible, obvious to senses. Let’s say, at some point it becomes 100% obvious – though definitely not in the way you think it may happen.
3. And then eventually the Truth is revealed. It is beyond the dualities: potential & substances, hidden & manifested, Yin & Yang, It has no name and is beyond all kinds of perception.

Actually, ATTENTION = POTENTIATION here. Attention itself does not need anything special – simply what is, is enough.

All this sophisticated process of making homeopathic remedies – no matter what method you use – is for keeping our minds busy while Attention is free to Listen. Simply sitting with a remedy (like we do through our listening sessions or while reprinting remedies) is too difficult for most of guys who haven’t trained their attention. But weighting the right amounts of substance, counting all these drops and succussions keeps attention on the process for a prolonged period of time. You can’t bake an apple pie without attention, don’t you?

When we get involved into manufacturing remedies or consulting patients we go through certain stages of awareness throughout our professional career:

1. Usually we start with the aspects that are pretty well defined and PERCEPTIBLE. There is technical side of remedy making process that we have to attain at first. A novice is awkward in dealing with all these bottles, drops, pills, etc., but with time and efforts it becomes our second nature. Our effectiveness never reaches 100%, but at some point we start to feel we’ve reached the peak of our abilities, e.g. we can pour the exact amount of drops from a bottle. We definitely know there is still a room for further improvement/growth, but we can’t find a direction.
2. The one day we discover LISTENING. We discover that while our mind and body are busy with the remedy making process our attention is free to listen and little by little we submerge into the sea of sensations. So that each remedy making process is accompanied by various sensations. And if we learn how “to work as if our chair is empty” these sensations appear to belong to a patient we are dedicating the remedy. If we are pharmacists we also start to recognize the styles of perception of different practitioners we receive prescriptions from – up to we become aware of how they perceive their patients and their own worlds.
3. And then one day we discover the Ultimate ATTENTION that’s not personal at all and does not belong to anyone. It creates all this world out of Nothingness. Our listening grows into Listening here and there is nothing else we can do, but be simply Aware of Awareness itself. In a professional sense we become aware of Healing happening spontaneously. It utilizes our professional skills, but does not depend on these.

The same stages of awareness apply to a consultation process and our relationship with the patient. We 1) start with techniques, 2) proceed into listening and 3) end up with the Listening.

Each consultation becomes a series of the strangest and unique synchronicities that seem to be triggered by our remedies. Attention plays an essential role here:

• In ACUTE cases we look at the details (symptoms, sensations, Yang), but our goal is the totality. And totality is not the details. So we learn to look as if through the details, to be aware of sensations (listening skills are needed), but at the same time to kind of defocus on a blurry background. And then as we test, we go through remedies one by one and with a certain remedy that blurriness suddenly becomes clear. The details disappear and we suddenly we perceive the whole picture. That’s how remedies reveal the totality in acute cases.
• But in CHRONIC ones it’s all vice versa. The symptoms, sensations are vague and most of important clues are hidden. We actually start with blurriness (the misty landscape standing for some totality!) rather than details. We remain calm and content with what we have, we do not rush to ask questions, gathering facts and filling the case with artificial details. We listen to that blurriness (totality!) and start recognizing some remedy set (each remedy set can be experienced as certain kind of blurriness/totality on a perceptual level). We test these remedies keeping our attention on blurriness until with a particular remedy the missing details start to appear out of the mist revealing us what has been hiding behind the chronic disease.
• And again, one day we discover the ATTENTION/ HEALING/ TOTALITY. Actually, it’s we who are discovered by It. It still appreciates our efforts, but It takes over and does it in the way that remains hidden. At some level of Stillness the sensations kind of blank out and when perception comes back – the situation appears to be different. Transmuted, healed. Maybe whole situation changes, or maybe only the parts it – but it always happens in the perfect way it has to. We call it transmutation because it is imperceptible (perception kind of blanks out) and it’s very different from transformation that can be observed from the beginning to the very end.

The journey through these stages requires Attention that is free, not fixed.

For most homeopathic practitioners attention is fixed on the remedies. That’s a dead end. It leads nowhere.

Well, it leads two ways, but neither is preferable:

• We may continue expanding our arsenal of remedies and techniques endlessly, never reaching the perfection,
• We may limit ourselves to a particular set of remedies – limiting our personal and professional growth.

Again, there is nothing wrong to start with the remedies. For beginners it is actually the only way to go. But differently from a classical approach, in Present Homeopathy we are not going to get involved into reading books or listening to lectures too much.

We are going to make the remedies perceptual. On this stage remedies literally teach us how to listen, i.e. how to sense, they reveal us sensations we’ve never thought are even possible to feel. Different remedy sets introduce us to new landscapes of sensations, actually.

Please note, that only actual sensations we’ve really experienced count here. Reading books makes very little sense here. That’s a very exciting phase and it should not be missed.

But homeopaths have got stuck on that “remedy phase” similar to how allopaths have got stuck in naming, defining, recognizing and dealing with different sorts of “diseases”.

The problem is that differently from the material (causing) properties, synchronistic (revealing) properties of our remedies can’t be described as such. They are too diverse, too spontaneous and unpredictable. In no way anyone before I. Newton could predict apple to reveal the theory of a gravity!

My dear colleagues, do you perceive the absurdity of the situation our profession has become trapped into? Perception of this absurdity is the most beautiful experience that can happen with a homeopath!

Please, stop bloating these repertories and Materia Medicas with useless information. Do not look outside, into the remedies anymore. You do not have to include I. Newton’s theory of a gravity, neither the original sin of Adam and Eve or S. Jobs’ brand under Apple.

Look not into details, but the very essence. The Totality, as you call it. Where all these details, all these possible effects and situations happen?

Synchronicities happen inside. They happen in the perception, actually. So please, let’s transfer our attention from remedies (apples) to ourselves, to the very process of perception. And let’s explore that with the help of our remedies.

A whole new world is going to open before your eyes. It is radically different from what you’re used to. It does not even require thinking. Awareness includes thinking, but does not demand it. Thinking, analysing, remembering – all that start to gradually dissappear from your everyday practice.

You start dealing with unknown. With each new patient you make at least several discoveries. You start with simple everyday things, you preoceed to something of theory of gravity caliber and you end up with theory of everything for the case given. You end up with Totality which is like meeting the God / the Self in your patients world.

Literally everything that IS happening, all these details you’re perceiving now are for knowing the self better and eventually for discovering the Self. That’s the only purpose of everything. That’s the ultimate Joy and ultimate Healing experience.

Whenever you switch from exploring remedies to exploring yourself, Homeopathy gains its true meaning and purpose. It’s about you realizing your potential to a full extent! That’s about becoming what you really are. That’s Health, actually.

The Life is perceived as one Synchronicity happening in a present moment. You simply perceive Life as Whole happening at once in a present moment, in Attention. There is nothing more beautiful than that. It becomes evident it has a meaning which is… the perception itself, as Lyla, a Divine Play itself. It has no serious meaning at all. It’s about being experienced and that’s it.

Synchronicities in Practice

Synchronicity is an ever present reality for those who have eyes to see.

C.G. Jung

On a more practical everyday side you are all looking for – it is about perceiving our practice as multiple synchronicities happening during each consultation. With trained attention you start perceiving multiple synchronistic events each day. They kind of show you the way through each case and also drive you through daily life. Everything that happens with you, every patient you meet, remedy bottle take, the book you open – everything becomes synchronized and meaningful.

That’s a radically different quality of life and practice than most of us are used to. It is natural and inherent to each of us and yet it surprises us greatly each time.

Present Homeopathy is unique in offering a special and systematic everyday training to attain that. You need nothing special to get involved, except you attention, which is actually Attention, but you do not know it… Let’s discover It together!

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