Reprinted with the permission of The Homoeopathic Links Journal, Volume 23, Summer 2010. Reviewed by David Nortman, Isreal.
In Inspiring Homeopathy Dutch homeopath Tinus Smits takes up the challenge of establishing homeopathy explicitly as a system of spiritual healing: "The purpose of therapy is no longer to obtain a stable healthy state, but to engage in a process of growth", which involves working through universal layers that correspond to the challenges of the soul in its process of incarnation. Through this process of "inspiring" (in the sense of "spiralling in") we become increasingly aware of the core of our being. Thus Smits views humanity through a more collective lens than common nowadays, arguing that our apparently individual healing journey passes through common challenges universally encountered by the soul.
The method is based around the proposition that there are several remedies commonly required for bringing the patient to a full resolution of each of these layers, which are seven in number (plus more that may await discovery). These remedies are indispensible especially in long-term cases which stall even after the constitutional layer has been addressed. Some of these universal-layer remedies are well-known but underutilized, while two have been newly introduced by Smits:
1. Lack of confidence: Carcinosinum, Cuprum metallicum, and Carcinosinum cum Cuprum (an amalgam of the first two remedies).
2. Lack of self-love: Saccharum officinale.
3. Lack of incarnation: Lac maternum.
4. Lack of protection: Vernix caseosa (made from the sebum from the skin of newborns).
5. Victimized forever: Rhus toxicodendron.
6. Good or bad: Anacardium orientale.
7. Disconnection with the soul: Hydroge-nium.
Along the way Smits shares an assortment of insights gained over his long career. Through detailed demonstration of his case-management style he demonstrates the utility of frequent repetition of medium and high potencies, along with techniques for avoiding aggravations. He discusses how the spiritual development of the healer influences the information that the patient reveals during the consultation. About provings Smits says that a remedy picture shouldn't be considered established until elaborated on by clinical experience. This is because provings conflate remedy symptoms with cured symptoms (when those are not indicated, as in many provings) and, more problematically, with symptoms that are due to an emergent layer: for example, he argues that the anger and violence in the proving of Lac maternum more properly belong to the Rhus toxicondenron layer which sometimes follows it.
While Inspiring Homeopathy offers original, clinically oriented materia medica of several important remedies, in some cases indispensably expanding our knowledge of them, I would caution against accepting Smits' allegedly comprehensive clinical approach at face value. Based largely on Smits' clinical experience, the system is susceptible to the peculiarities of the practitioner (since different practitioners attract different sorts of patients), to selection bias in case examples, and to the cultural factors that altogether make the patient population particular and an inadequate basis for confidently propounding a universal therapeutic system. Therefore, while considering this approach and experimenting with it. one should do so keeping in mind that over-prescribing from a small repertoire of remedies is a universal hazard in homeopathy.
Inspiring Homeopathy is well-edited but not professionally typeset and finished with a rather delicate soft binding. Despite this minor quibble, the book offers original clinical material for advanced practitioners as well as thought-provoking commentary -some of it unique and some common to other spiritually oriented homeopaths - that many practitioners and all students of homeopathy should benefit from.
Reprinted with the permission of The Society of Homeopaths. From 'The Homeopath' Journal, Summer 2012 edition. Reviewed by Teresa Moore.
From his many years of experience Tinus found that, while individual remedies (as he refers to classical homeopathy) were most certainly helpful, and often curative, some patients required treatment for layers, which may have been acquired accidentally ie by vaccination, trauma, grief, fright etc or may be Universal, ie relating to the process that every human being has to go through to reconnect with his centre or Higher Self.
The term Inspiring Homeopathy, came from the Greek root of spiralling into the centre, about inspiring, to inhale, our first physical act at birth, and also the inspiration from the self and the Cosmos, being one and the same. His view was that often patients were involved in the process of growth and spiritual development rather than just the achievement of a stable healthy state. He recognised a common sequence and devised the Universal Layers concept to assist their progression.
The book is in 2 parts - the theory and the layers with associated remedies: - Carcinosinum (15T - the remedy is made from 15 different tumours). Cuprum metallicum, Carcinosinum cum Cuprum (all these around lack of confidence) - Saccharum officinale (lack of self love) - Lac maternum (lack of incarnation) - Vernix caseosa (lack of protection) - Rhus toxicodendron (victimised forever) -Anacardium orientale (good or bad) - Hydrogenium (disconnection from the soul). This doesn't mean that patients need go through the whole series but he did find that after a period of time on say Saccharum the next -remedy to show itself was very likely to be Lac maternum. Although aimed generally for animals, the focus and case studies in the book concern mainly cats and dogs as pets. As an animal resource therefore the book would have limited usefulness.
Tinus is very thorough in his analysis of his cases, of which there are many examples in the book. He tried and tested his theories for reliability and was keen to confirm and refine proving symptoms with clinical evidence from his practice. He is very clear about potency and repetition of doses. He is also clear about how to recognise when a remedy has been suppressive rather than progressing towards cure.
The Materia Medica is laid out as an essence followed by cases and a synthesis of rubrics and expands on some remedies that are very well known but which he prescribes in perhaps less familiar circumstances such as Rhus toxicodendron where the patient has experienced deep trauma in this or a previous life. When sugar consumption in Europe is an average of 50 to 60 kgs a head (that's about 9 stone in old money!) Saccharum definitely deserves a closer look with its behavioural and eating problems as does Vernix (from the sebum of 10 different newborns) with its hypersensitivity.
However he does note that resonance with the patient is vital and for this the homeopath must be making progress with their own self / spiritual development in order to recognise where the patient is on their journey through the layers. He did also observe that other practitioners may help a patient with a remedy different to one that is obvious to him, so this concept may suit only some practitioners. However if you have stuck cases (and who doesn't?) you may find Universal Layers can help. I'm looking forward to becoming more familiar with the remedies and adding this approach to the other tools in my toolkit.
Review of Inspiring Homeopathy by Tinus Smits (Emryss Publishers, 2011) By Kathy Thomas.
Having studied many of his stalled cases, Dutch homeopath Tinus Smits concluded that people have different aspects or layers (accidental, individual and universal) which can be treated one after the other. This methodology is called Inspiring Homeopathy where the focus is on the process the patient is in at any one moment, rather than on symptoms. Smits believes that this approach is often more successful than looking for the one constitutional remedy. Accidental layers refer to such accidents like vaccination, surgery, drugs, intoxication etc and must be removed before treating individual or universal layers. These layers represent obstacles to cure. Once the accidental layer is cleared through correct prescribing, it is important to understand at which layer the patient now lives – individual or universal.
Individual layers are a personal process liked to an event in the past which disturbed the person’s energetic balance. If a clear picture of an individual layer emerges, the relevant remedy is given. At the level of universal layers, individual remedies don’t work and the patient must be treated with one or more of the seven universal remedies: Carcinosinum (lack of self-confidence), Carcinosinum cum Cuprum (lack of self-confidence with lack of basic trust), Cuprum metallicum (lack of self-confidence with rigidity and strict control), Saccharum officinale (lack of love, including self-love), Lac maternum (lack of incarnation), Vernix caseosa (lack of boundaries), Rhus tox (feeling of being victimised by old traumas from the past), Acacardium (alternation between good and evil leading to judgement and guilt) and Hydrogen (disconnection with our soul or centre).
Once the first layer remedy has finished working, the homeopath can treat the next layer that emerges according to its specific symptom picture. Working through these layers helps a patient “resolve their problems and to help them to evolve to a deeper awareness and more stability in physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health” (Page 6). Smits believes everyone has to go through this process in order to connect with their Higher Self. Going through the layers can take many years.
If there is no clear picture of a universal remedy, the patient is not ready to go into the universal layers and needs an individual remedy. Smits recommends that only homeopaths who have done personal work and gone through the universal layers themselves should use this approach. Otherwise, the homeopath will not resonate with the approach or the remedies and be unable to prescribe them successfully.
The first 90 pages of the book is devoted to explaining the process of Inspiring Homeopathy. Smits also discusses topics like the dynamic nature of health, totality of symptoms, causation, aggravation and posology use for universal remedies He includes an interesting discussion on why he believes some homeopaths find prescribing difficult. “We can only practice the kind of homeopathy with which we are energetically connected.” He also explains the pitfalls of muscle testing to find a homeopathy remedy.
The remaining 180-odd pages is devoted to materia medica about each of the universal remedies. As well, cases are given to illustrate the use of the remedies. This section was really useful and I gained a new insight into some of the remedies like Rhus tox.
Published more than a year after author Tunis Smits’ death, this edition of Inspiring Homeopathy is edited by Tim Owens and Kim Kalina who do a great job with the text. Unlike many translations of Dutch texts, it is easy to read and not bogged down with ‘Dutchisms’ or awkward English. I feel that this approach is another useful tool to add to our toolkit. Perhaps some of us are already practising the method without being aware of it! At the end of the book, Kim Kalina explains how Tinus viewed his work with Inspiring
Homeopathy as a work in progress. Luckily, Kim is involved in continuing Tinus’ work through seminars in the States. Perhaps someone can persuade them to run a course in New Zealand. After reading the book, I’m really keen to learn more.
