A practical and clear guide explaining the process of trituration, which the authors hope will excite and inspire its readers to experiment with the trituration process. C4 potencies are generating a great deal of interest in the homeopathic community as they follow in the footsteps of Hahnemann's empirical practice of medicine. Moreover, the authors emphasise the personal aspect of trituration, claiming that "doing triturations will not only make you a better homeopath but a better person."
The first publication of its kind - a practical and clear guide to the process of trituration as well as an introductory text to the trituration movement which is taking the homeopathic world by storm. This 'C4 Homeopathy' is a based on hand triturating remedies and triturating to additional higher rounds before making potencies. With examples from homeopaths around the world.
"This is an important book. It is important not so much for the information it contains but rather for the direction it indicates: the direction home, home towards a knowledge which is ours, yet has been forgotten...The process of trituration, so clearly laid out in this book, is a doorway to the study of what might constitute this much needed direct experience; this living relationship between the practitioner and the remedy, in which the reality of the remedy is experienced within, not only as a mental concept." - Jonathan Shore, M.D
When I do triturations I experience an inward turning movement. Every trituration sharpens all our senses and we become more attuned, to ourselves and to others. Triturations deepen our ability to enter into an anamnesis freely and openly. Anamnesis is not just a passive listening to someone's story. In order to understand the deeper message you need to enter into a mutual process with the patient. From triturations you learn to let go of separation issues; I versus you, good versus bad, self versus other. You then enter into the same energetic field with your patient, where everything belongs equally and where everything has value." - Alize Timmerman
"Many of our older provings are unreliable or are partial, so it is very useful to do a trituration of a well-known substance and take this to C4 or beyond to come to a much deeper understanding of a substance." - Susan LaCroix
Reprinted with the permission of The Homeopathic Links Journal, Volume 22, Autumn 2009. Reviewed by Jyoti Pimple, USA.
Contemporary homeopathic training often brushes over the actual making of remedies. This appears to be a result of genuine efforts to quickly lay strong philosophical foundations, and get to the clinical stuff. The Trituration Handbook lends a hand in deepening basic homeopathic understanding while filling in the gaps... if your training brushed over this Hahnemannian principle.
Although the book reads like an excellent research project, it differs from traditional, analytical, homeopathic material by offering process-oriented approaches, storytelling, drawings, verbatim trituration notes and experiences. It also offers traditional homeopathic material such as repertory rubrics. Get ready to firmly grasp the actual "how and why" of trituration, while gaining an appreciation of this fine art. Strong, dominant threads colourfully detail the principle of Hahnemannian trituration, and C4 homeopathy, while offering up "a bit of a lot of things" in this tapestry of a book.
Prior to reading this book, I knew little of the C4 potencies. In reading this book, I learned to differentiate C4 homeopathy from my traditional understanding of centesimal potencies. Herein lays a very strong suit of this powerful little book:
Page 7: "It is important to clarify that 'C as used here has nothing whatsoever to do with centesimal potencies."
The "C" refers to the eight Carbon levels of existence (C0-C8) as described by homeopath Witold Ehrler. This approach conveys a process of doing triturations, as well as the associated higher dimensions associated with C4 homeopathy. The authors have provided a very detailed, clear illustration outlining the levels, which places the C4 potency position in a potency schematic. Karin Degkwitz, a German homeopath, brings years of experience and insight:
Page 13: "In C4 we have the first direct contact with our inner self, our soul. It is the realm of the heart. Here is the heart of who and what everything is. We don't judge here. Here love flows and we realize that we are all one."
The Trituration Handbook will give you a more thorough background to the C4 trituration and prescribing than, say, doing a Google search will. The concrete proving responses and repertory rubrics aren't well represented on the Web, nor is the enthusiasm or the conceptual depth. "Now begins a new period in homeopathy!" Jurgen Becker's quote illustrates the feeling you'll also have.
The organization of the book means that varied material is presented without it being hodgepodge. That said, be prepared for the variety. The book adopts a non-linear approach. Prescribing homeopathic remedies is described as treating the individual from a spiritual, archetypal or collective place. The book catapults prescribing to a new place; the material beacons from the cutting edge.
C4 homeopathy warrants consideration when treating individuals facing existential life problems; this in turn requires you to search in order to help them.
One very strong point in this book: the Provings. I found the provings (Persimmon, Calendula, Carcinosinum, Tumbleweed, and Kidney Stone) invaluable. I appreciated the organization of the provings: Hypothesis; Analysis; Trituration; Natural History; Procedure; The Trituration Experience; Aftermath of the Trituration; The Dreams; and the Conclusion. Here, for example, is the conclusion of Persimmon (Diospyros kaki):
Page 75, Conclusion: "So we come full circle, back to the beginning, before the trituration. The themes of conflict and duality, of war and suffering, of shifting realities and loss of identity, and of survival, growth, and rebirth permeated the consciousness of everyone who participated in the trituration and affected several of their close friends and family members as well".
What if you want the empirical experience of C4 homeopathy without actual trituration?
The word "handbook" describes this well-edited, creatively designed book, and the answer to that question....lies in the Appendix.
Reprinted with the permission of The Society of Homeopaths. From "The Homeopath" Journal, Winter 2009 edition. Review by John Morgan.
For several years there has been a great interest in C4 potencies and this excellent book, born out of the authors' enthusiasm for what they describe as 'the trituration movement, tells us, in a very readable form, exactly what they are. The authors wish to excite and inspire readers to have a go and experience a trituration themselves. There is a foreword by Jonathan Shore and short interviews with Alize Timmerman and our own beloved Martin Miles.
The book acknowledges those who started and developed the C4 movement, namely Witold Ehrler, Jurgen Becker and Alize Timmerman. In 1993, Ehrler, a biologist and non-homeopath, was intrigued by remedies having personality profiles and triturated some Calcarea carbonica with the aid of an old German pharmacy handbook, achieving startling results. This particular edition specified four trituration steps as distinct from three, which Hahnemann described in the Organon. He continued quietly for many years triturating remedies before sharing his experiences with other homeopaths.
The first half of the book is a practical step-by-step section on how to do a four step C4 trituration and a comprehensive guide on how to conduct a proving whilst preparing a remedy. The second half shares some practical experiences of new remedy triturations, and the proving information received, including colourful artistic illustrations, whilst making Persimmon, Tumbleweed and Kidney Stone. They also made Calendula and Carcinosin revealing some deeper insights into those well-known remedies. There are many other interesting testimonials and case studies, from homeopaths from around the world, who have had C4 remedy experience and seen a difference in their practice when using them.
If you have any interest in the C4 potencies then this is the book for you. It is well written in an engaging style, is practical in its approach and the authors have done a great job in unveiling the mystery of these remedies. I complement the authors on their work and generosity in making this information available in such a clear and practical way.
It is true that trituration is the most powerful way of potentising a substance and the extra dimension of C4, and beyond, is an important development in the evolution of remedy preparation for the future. Remedy making provings are an intimate way to connect with a remedy and reveal its healing potential. Other innovations in remedy preparation will surely develop in time as homeopathy and humanity evolves, but for now The Trituration Handbook brings us up to date with the last 16 years and reveals in depth the fascinating phenomena of the C4 potencies.
Finally, if this book succeeds in its intention to inspire you to want to experience a trituration yourself, I offer my assistance in obtaining the required apparatus and materials needed to do so.
