What makes homeopathy different than other “alternative” or “natural” health modalities?

Doesn’t homeopathy refer to those things? Aren’t all “natural” therapies the same?

How is homeopathy different than herbs, or acupuncture, or even naturopathy?  To much surprise, the differences are plenty.

This will be a two-part article.  The second article will go into more detail into the various other “alternative” therapies and how they differ from homeopathy.  In this article, I’ll explain the primary parts of what makes homeopathy so unique from other “natural” or “alternative” healing modalities.  For this articles purposes, the words “natural” or “alternative” will be used interchangeably.

At the outset, each “natural” therapy has its own origins of development.  For a more comprehensive article on the history of homeopathy, its origins, and why it isn’t as widely practiced today as it once was, please visit one of my past blogs on this topic.

First, I’d like to mention the similarities between homeopathy and other alternative or natural modalities.  At Austin Clinic of Homeopathy, like all truly natural therapies, we seek to stimulate the innate healing power of the individual so that all physiological systems function at their best.  

Whatever does this mean?  What is this innate healing power?  Aren’t we just the sum of our physical parts made up of organ systems, cells, molecules, and atoms?

Yes, that certainly is true.  No one can deny the reality of our physical nature.  But, is that all there is?  What organizes the physical parts and structures to do what they do?  What intelligence is orchestrating our physical parts to function in healthy or unhealthy ways?  

Each “natural” therapy may have their own explanation for this.  And I’ll elaborate further on each of these in the next article.  But, the key similarity is that the innate healing power of the individual is not of a physical origin.  It is sub-physical.  It transcends the physicality of our bodies!

Sounds too hard to believe, right?  Too hocus-pocus?  Many people think and feel this way.  It is the source of many non-believers to the healing powers of homeopathy.  

I ask you, though, how do you prove you love someone?  Can you put love in a box (although some gifts in boxes symbolize this love)?  But, you can’t physically measure your love.  There’s no scientific instrument to do that, and probably never will.  Yes, we can absolutely measure what happens to our physical bodies when we experience love, but we can never actually measure love itself.  It retains no physical properties.  Yet, we all know it and recognize it in the face of a friend or relative.

In homeopathy we call this innate healing power of the individual the Vital Force.  Austin Clinic of Homeopathy operates from a vitalistic perspective, not a materialistic perspective concerned only with physical matter.  The vital force of the body is the non-physical, inanimate healing intelligence of the body.  Disease is considered a mistunement of the vital force that manifests as physical symptoms and dysfunctions in the bio-physical systems of the human body.    

In simpler English: problems with certain parts of our body are not the cause of the illness itself.  Organic disease does not originate from a physical place.  One of the few exceptions to this is disease that occurs as a result from a physical injury or trauma.  But, organic malfunctions of our body do not arise from physical origins.  It follows then that treatment should thus not originate from a purely physical source either.

The central tenet of homeopathy is based on the “law of similars.”  This is also referred to as the principle of “like treats like.”  A homeopathic remedy is chosen that is capable of causing, in a healthy person, symptoms similar to those of the sick person.  This is a principle of healing that goes back to the time of Hippocrates.  It’s not always the easiest to understand, but is absolutely scientific in its premise.  As a principle, it can be replicated time and time again.  It will never fail.  

This all happens in a vitalistic, non-physical way.  This is what distinguishes Austin Clinic of Homeopathy from other “natural” or “alternative” healing practices and this is what makes homeopathy so unique!

Austin Clinic of Homeopathy is dedicated to providing you superior care for your health and wellness needs.  Should you have any further questions or would like to begin your own homeopathic healing, please contact us here.