nature-for-homeopathyThat Like Cures Like, or “The Law Of Similars” is one of the fundamental basic Concepts of homeopathy, advocating that a substance that has the power to cause a set of symptoms will similarly have the power to cure them

What is Homeopathy?

Homeopathy is a system for treating diseases which relies on administering to patients natural substances in heavily diluted doses,  when more concentrated doses of the same substance would produce symptoms of the disease itself. It is a form of naturopathy that relies on triggering the body’s natural defenses against disease by evoking the immune system.

Homeopathy is thus a treatment methodology based on the bodies vitality. All diseases and sicknesses are caused by disturbances in the vitality of the individual. The presence of symptoms of diseases is the evidence of the disturbances that are affecting a patient at any one moment. The individual’s vitality has the ability to react to any disturbances that challenge that individual. The vitality can not only adapt to the disturbances, but can also react in a manner that provides the necessary healing.

Miasms And The Causes Of Disease

To a homeopath, a miasm is simply a condition that exists within the body of an individual which leads to the vitality of that individual being in a morbid disarray. Miasms are the principle cause of disease. Every disease can be identified with a particular miasm, and a single miasm could be responsible for causing a number of different diseases.

Upon initial exposure to a miasm, an individual will experience local symptoms, which may be as simple as a skin condition. At this stage, the miasm needs to be treated, to be eliminated totally from the patient’s body, leaving the vitality restored and intact. If instead of doing this, the initial symptoms are mere suppressed by medication, the miasm will in fact deepen, and will begin to affect the internal organs.

The Law Of Similars

The basic premise of the law of similars is that the cure for a disease arises from the similarity of that cure with the substances that would cause the same symptoms of the disease. Homeopathic treatments therefore are based around substances that are able to produce the same symptoms in a healthy individual that are similar to the symptoms of the disease, a concept otherwise known as “Like Cures Like.”

When the symptoms of a disease are identified in a patient, a cure can be effected for that patient by a rigorous induction of the same disease, through the use of specially prepared substances. The substances that are administered empower the vitality of the patient to expel the disease.

Homeopathy Treatment Principles

The remedies that are used in homeopathy are prepared by progressively diluting a natural substance, accompanied with vigorous shaking, also referred to as succussion. In some instances, the serial dilution is continued to such an extent that none of the original substance is actually present in the final homeopathic remedy. Nonetheless, the ultra-dilute solution still retains some of the properties of the original substance, a phenomenon referred to as “water memory.” This suggests that water has the capacity to keep a memory of substances that were dissolved in it, even when all the molecules of those substances have been removed.

This is a controversial science, but one that is being debated enthusiastically. You can see a discussion of water memory at the New Scientist website.

For more information on homeopathy, please refer to the National Centre for Homeopathy website.