|
||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
Forums
Courses
Shop
Diseases
Articles
Journal
Directory|
|
|||||
Interviews |
|||||
|
|
|||||
| Hpathy Ezine - Aug., 2004 | |||||
 |
Jane Cicchetti<-- Interviewed by Elaine Lewis |
 |
|||
|
In your discussion of "The Shadow", you deal with the concept of "scapegoating". It seems that every society picks someone to hate and then projects their own "shadow" on to that person or people. You explain that it's really the shadow that you have to unearth and base your prescription on, am I right? Although the shadow contains very important information that is easy to overlook in a case, we really must consider the whole person- the light and the dark, the conscious and unconscious, mind and body. The reason that I teach a lot about the shadow is that it is the part of a person that has been suppressed and often goes unnoticed. Understanding the shadow of an individual will complete the picture and allow us to be more confident in our prescriptions. Many characteristics are put into the shadow because we don’t want to look at them and we certainly don’t want anyone else to see them. That’s why we must look to dreams and do careful case taking in order to find the symptoms that are in the shadow. As you mentioned, we all tend to project our shadow- and then we hate those things that we project onto. Therefore, a good question to ask someone during the homeopathic interview is what qualities they hate in other people. When someone has a powerful dislike of a certain quality—we can be fairly sure that these are qualities that exist within them- in their shadow. In a family, the scapegoat, is the family member that holds the projected shadow of the family members. I heard of one family where everyone was very nice except for one son- he terrorized everyone, including all of the people in the town they lived in. AND- the mother and father allowed this to happen. This only makes sense when we understand that the son was holding all of the negative energy for the whole family. The scapegoat has a purpose. Unfortunately, we no longer have rituals that utilize the scapegoat, so it gets distorted. Originally the scapegoat was an animal that was driven out into the wilds after a ceremony- carrying the negative energy of the community into an area where the energy would be rendered harmless. Of course, the ritual also made the process conscious, which is what we want to do with shadow energy. Whitmont talked about this as potentizing the shadow energy so that it becomes useful. Jane, I hate people that are hateful! Does that mean I'm full of hate? Do I need a hate-filled remedy? But I do go on. Let's talk about Christianity. You say in your book that the rise of Christianity in 500 AD destroyed the practice of medicine, which at the time was a union of rational and intuitive knowledge established by the Greek civilization. What was inherent in Christianity that caused such a descimation and what kind of medical practice ensued?
Actually, it had nothing to do with the spirituality of Christianity and everything to do with the development of an organized religion that became a political force at that time. The church, representing Christianity, became a power structure that told people what to think and believe and was powerfully against people engaging in spirituality on their own. This power structure was against people connecting with forces of nature, plant spirits and pagan rituals that had been a part of medical practices. Traditional cures using herbal remedies and potions were considered witchcraft and outlawed by the church. Many of the practitioners who were persecuted by the church were women, especially the midwives and herbalists who were re-named witches. Sickness was thought to be a punishment from God and the only way to cure someone was to pray for their forgiveness. That is why most of the doctors of the middle-ages were priests and why the hospitals were in monasteries. Patients in these hospitals were comforted and prayed for but there was very little treatment. Later on universities were developed to train individuals and the practice of medicine was limited to mostly men. Laws were formed that stated that only trained and registered people could practice medicine. So the church led the movement towards a patriarchal, institutionalized form of medicine, and moved people away from earth centered, natural treatments. I am struck that during this time of the persecution of women for trying to practice medicine, Hahnemann insisted that his wife Melanie be given a medical degree, as she was, in his words, "the best homeopath in Europe!" Melanie Hahnemann was a woman who refused to be confined by the restrictions that were placed on women during her time and had a profound effect on Hahnemann. Rima Handley’s book A Homeopathic Love Story describes her relationship with him and how she developed into an excellent homeopath. Melanie is a great example of how personal development can have an effect on others even during difficult times. Jane, this topic is so interesting, we're going to have to bring you back in September in order to do it justice; but, for now, can you tell us about your Ontario conference scheduled for October and what the lucky participants can expect? The seminar is being hosted by Carolyn Ramos of Toronto Homeopathics and will be in Ottawa, Ontario on October 2-3. It is entitled Dreams, Symbols and Homeopathy, Archetypal Dimensions of Healing, (same name as my book). I will be covering the integration of rational and symbolic methods of case analysis, the anatomy of the psyche including the concept of the collective unconscious, the shadow, and the principle of opposites as applied to homeopathy. Specific principles and techniques of dream analysis will be taught. Materia medica of little known plant remedies with their symbolic and mythological significance will also be covered. After taking this course, participants should be able to use dreams more effectively in their homeopathic practice and be more able to discriminate between dreams that are important in finding the remedy and those that are not. They will also leave with a basic understanding of the role of the unconscious in homeopathic case taking as well as how their own psychological state effects their practice of homeopathy. They can also expect to have an enjoyable time and perhaps, understand themselves a wee bit better through their own dreams. For more information, contact Carol Ramos, by telephone 416-604-0017 or email her at seminar@torontohomeopathics.com You can also read more about the seminar on the web at http://www.torontohomeopathics.com/
Continued next month....
|
|||||
| <-- Previous -- Next --> | |||||
|
|||||
