This is the work of 10 years on gems, an in depth appraisal of many provings and cases, with a foreword by Scholten and 36 full page colour plates. An artist was commissioned to paint the inner feeling of each of the gems, positive and negative.
The text includes extensive mental, physical and spiritual indications on these gems: Amethyst, Black opal, Diamond, Golden topaz, Emerald, Lapis lazuli, Morion, Pearl, Quartz crystal, Rhodonite, Ruby and Sapphire.
This is a unique high quality production.
Foreword from the book by Jan Scholten:
Some four years ago Peter Tumminello told me about his experiences with Diamond and Opal. His enthusiasm about those gems and remedies was very infectious. I encouraged him to write a book about his fabulous stories, which he was already intending. Over the next few years I asked him regularly about his book, and each time his answer was that it was almost ready, but that it was delayed because he had so many new ideas and gems that had to be included. This is typical of Peter's thoroughness; he wants his descriptions to be perfect and his provings to go to the depth and core of the remedy.
Peter's search for the essence of remedies led him into the spiritual realm. His descriptions of remedies have all the usual and common physical and psychological aspects. But they also go further into the spiritual meaning, conveying what the remedy means for the spiritual path of the patient. This is a very valuable extension that makes remedies understood on a deeper level.
His experiences with these remedies have been a long journey. This will be obvious when you read this book. And it has become a real, personal journey. Peter hasn't been afraid to go into the worlds of these gems himself. Due to this, some homeopaths might object that his descriptions aren't objective enough. But that's an old-fashioned way of thinking, not recognizing the idea of the distant and objective observer doesn't exist. Even in physics, the most "objective" science, it has become clear that the observer is part and influences the object. The act of observing becomes part of the object seen. Or said more precisely, the object, subject and observing merge into one thing.
The confusion arises from the words subjective and objective. Subjective has the connotation of being unreal, something the subject puts into the phenomenon. But an observer can be very objective when he's prepared to look at his own problems. Then he can distract his own projections from his-objective- subjective observations. Peter has succeeded in doing that. So his personal journey has been transformed into an objective rapport of these wonderful gems. In this sense one can understand his diversion from the old rules of doing provings. In his provings the provers knew the remedy many times. Peter knew that he had to do things such as this in order to find the depth of the remedies.
The personal attitude has also led to a deep respect for these gems and Nature. Peter hasn't broken the gems in order to triturate them. His respect for the gems didn't allow him to do that. The gems were prepared by immersing them in water, and then potentising the water. One can wonder that this insightful respect has become part of the remedy pictures.
This book is an important extension of the homeopathic Materia Medica; it brings a deepening of our knowledge of remedies and is a personal engagement that makes homeopathy alive. It's a beautiful book. - Jan Scholten
- Author: Peter Tumminello
- ISBN: 9780975732502
- 469 pages
- Hardback
- Published in 2010
- Printed in Australia
Reprinted with the permission of The ARH (from the Journal 'Homeopathy in Practice', Autumn 2007 edition). Reviewed by Jo Ketteman MARH.
Peter Tumminello has been attracted to gems his whole life. From an early age he recalls collecting prehnite along the roadside in Australia where he lives. His connection with gems and their therapeutic qualities was triggered by a meditation in which he became aware of a beautiful, lush tree growing from an 'oval, rich, pinkish red mineral'. Surprised by this meditation he searched for a gem that matched the one in the vision and discovered that it fitted the description of Rhodonite. Peter purchased a piece and so began his journey into healing with gems.
This book is a collation of material covering 12 of the gems he has proved so far. As well as Rhodonite, there are descriptions of Amethyst, Black Opal, Diamond, Emerald, Golden Topaz, Lapis Lazuli, Morion, Pearl, Quartz, Rubyan, Sapphire. For anyone not familiar with these gems the book contains some fabulous photographs, giving a visual element to the understanding of each.
He has chosen a standard format for the remedy pictures. First there is a photograph of the gem, followed by a description of mineral content, planetary links and common beliefs or myths connected to the stone. Then he presents a 'negative seed essence' followed by the positive essence.
Both these descriptions are accompanied by illustrations of the essences. These are original artwork by an artist, Carol Ohl-bach, who also took part in seven of the provings. I found the illustrations added to my understanding of the remedies, but some other homeopaths I have spoken to were not so keen - I guess art is like that!
Next is a section covering key mental themes, then spiritual themes, generals, physical particulars and finally cases treated with each gem. In these sections, Peter uses myths, movies and famous people to demonstrate his points which I found helpful. For example, when describing Diamond he mentions delusions of grandeur, delusions of persecution, with a strong technical mind. He then forms the link with the mathematician John Nash portrayed by Russell Crowe in the film 'A Beautiful Mind'. Those sorts of tips really help me get to the essence and feel of a remedy. Less helpful for me was the repetition of proving statements. I can understand that a statement can be used to illuminate several points, but more than once I found myself wondering if I was re-reading a segment!
I love the chapter about gems as a family. I don't think I've seen this connection made before, and it really gives a sense of themes running throughout all the gemstones. Peter has, since writing this book, continued to prove more gems, and they all contain the family elements. It reminds me of the themes introduced in the mineral families. (Incidentally, Jan Scholten has written the foreword.)
The final chapter looks at 'Spirituality, process and homeopathy'. Peter says:
"This is something many homeopaths would rather not think about. It takes homeopathy beyond the edge of what is acceptable to many as science".
He goes on to say that it is time that we, as a profession, acknowledged this aspect of our work. We all know how a remedy can transform someone's life!
In many ways this is a 'coffee table' book. The photographs and illustrations are stunning. But the production on quality art paper leads to an extremely heavy book. I think this could be an issue for homeopaths who, for instance, have to carry their books to practice rooms. Also, it is currently quite difficult to repertorise symptoms, although there is a seven page 'Concept index' at the back of the book. In an ideal world there would be a lighter paperback version that you could annotate, throw in your bag, and use as the general reference, enabling you to leave the beautiful and expensive tome at home!
Peter discusses the preparation and proving aspect in some detail, telling us that: All the [gem] medicines are preferably prepared from high quality gemstones, wherever possible in their natural unpolished state'. He researched information from other sources that have prepared remedies from gems, particularly the work of Gurudas, and Ayurvedic medicine. Peter instinctively wanted to prepare his remedies without the use of trituration and so his remedies are immersions. The gem is placed in an unmarked dish with distilled water, covered with glass and then exposed to 'sun and lunar forces for 24 hours'. (As I'm writing this review during a time of flooding and torrential rain, I'm aware how he would be hard pushed to do this in England!)
