Carbon Anhang
[Bhawisha Joshi]
Carbon
Separation is a must, I have no way
out and I am too stunned to react. Can '!' exist on my own?
Carbon is in the middle. It is a
state of perfect sharing of electrons. He is sure he must separate - live
separated and exist on separation, but the doubt is 'can I do it?'
Till Boron it was contemplation
about whether he wanted to separate, but here he is separate, and he has not
yet reacted to it. He is more stunned that now he must exist on his own.
It is what we call popularly in
India 'the fifty-fifty' state. 'I am separated, and I have the uncertainty
about how to handle it.' There are fears - will he be able to exist on his own!
on separation?'
Carbon is the basis of all life
forms. It is the basis of organic chemistry.)! new branch of chemistry
originates from this element which is responsible for life.
The Carbon feeling is: It's
happening... I'm separating, I am struck with this realization - I must be and
I can hardly react. I simply accept it.
Carbon is the picture of the person
who has taken the plunge. He's jumped. There is no turning back; there is not
even any thinking about it. It is that moment of mid-air free fall.
There is nothing that can be done.
The feeling is one of astonishment - it is happening...now.
In the process of birth he is in the
birth canal. He has left the pelvis, is now in the birth canal and will be out
any moment. Separation is inevitable. Gasp! It is so close! There is no room for any
doubt any more. He will be out any
moment. He has marked the process of separation, he cannot think 'if, 'how?',
'will I?', 'should I?' He is simply dumbstruck that there is no looking back
from this point - it is already
happening.
This is exactly the feeling of
Carbon, which is the element in the center of the Row 2.
I am separate and I am dumb-struck
The feeling is 'I simply am overwhelmed and cannot say anything more'. 'I am there'.
'I am about to separate'. 'Now there is no question of whether I can be by myself.
I'am inert and passive. He will have
to be by himself. So overwhelmed is he with this feeling he can hardly react,
just as is the nature of Carbon - inert and passive. Carbon is the element that
connects
in the Periodic table organic to
inorganic, the living to the non-living world. It could be seen as the exact
midpoint where the two unite and the two separate. It is the point where, in a
way, life comes
into existence.
Basics
I am now confronted by a situation
where I have to fend for myself. There is no more running away from it. There
is no time or space for doubt. Separation has begun. I will have to be on my
own and
fend for myself. The person I was
leaning on is no more. I am on my own and my whole energy is concentrated on
trying to digest this fact. My system will have to function on its own. I must
act in
this situation to survive but I am
numb and can hardly even react.
Fragile and vulnerable
I feel frail and fragile in this
moment. How do I deal with this? Where are my bearings? What do I do next? My
mind is reeling with thoughts and I feel almost collapsed in this situation.
The best
way to block this feeling of
fragility and vulnerability is to collapse and benumb myself to the outer
world.
Separation from the source of
dependence.
There is no doubt about separation.
The process has commenced. Yet at this moment I am so overwhelmed by it that I am
trying to cope with it, understand the situation and react to it. But my mental
faculties are refusing to react or
act. I feel so incapable and paralyzed in this scenario. If I do anything it is
merely an automatic reaction but I can hardly feel the situation.
Womb
The womb was my little heaven, my
space of comfort.
I once felt warm and cosy there. But
it has decided to abandon me. I am about to face the big bad world. I would
love to curl up and stay in the womb but now I will only have memories of the
times
when I did so. It is time to leave
the womb or rather the womb has been left behind in some moment. When did this
happen? I was so lost and shocked that I did not realise or feel it.
All I know now is that I cannot stay
there any longer. The womb gave me a feeling of being connected to you. But now
there is no connection. There is only a memory of it. The womb cannot keep me
any longer.
[David Quinn]
Carbon, the feeling of Carbon, and the feeling of forsaken, deserted and
‘discarded’.
In this article I wish to take a close look at ‘Stage 14’ of the
periodic table, and in doing this I put forth the argument that in my view Dr
Scholten should reconsider having taken both Carbon and Silica from this stage
and placing them into the middle of the periodic table at stage 10, as he has
done.
In my view both Carbon and Silica belong above Germ-met. Stannum and
Plumbum, and share with these three elements the same essential features.
Recently, while reading through the remedy Germanium in Rajan Sankaran’s
books on the mineral kingdom I began to realise that there was much similarity
in the symptoms and the description of Germanium with the Carbon remedies and
Nat-c. in particular.
These symptoms being especially,
“Sense of failure, suppressed anger, estrangement, dyslexia and fatigue
are only some of the indications that make this remedy uniquely suitable to our
times.”
“Difficult to focus my mind on what I’m doing, trying to gather my
thoughts and trying to think of everything to put in my brief case. See a
bollard coming towards me, would have to focus my mind hard to remember what I
have to do to avoid it. When teaching my class, it was difficult to focus on
the logical steps.” (Excepts from Jeremy Sherr’s proving of Germanium)
Confidence, want of
Delusion alone, castaway, alone in the world
Delusion does everything wrong; he cannot succeed, that he has failed
Pursued
Delusion life is meaningless
Forsaken (Complete Repertory)
Delusion refugee children in Kosovo
Delusion isolated
Dreams Third Reich
Delusion vulnerable
Fatigue, powerless, apathetic
Occasional outburst and desire to escape (Excerpts from cases in
Reference Works)
At this point I went to Homoeopathy and the Elements and read through
the outline of the main characteristics of Stage 14, the column containing
Germ-met. Stannum and Plumbum, and while doing this keeping in mind what we
think of as the important characteristics of the Carbon remedies. Here is what
Jan Scholten says:
Stage 14 Germanium Stannum Plumbum
Eliminated Discarded
They feel as if they are being discarded, they are being put out of
action, placed on a side track. They are no more than onlookers at this stage,
still there ‘for the show’, but their real role has come to an end. They are
being eliminated under the guise of a ‘gradual phasing out process’.
Diverting
While they are being put on a side track by other people, they in turn
are also very good at diverting important matters to another side track. They
are masters in changing the subject and passing the buck when things get a bit
too close. In a positive sense this can be seen as the ability to keep the
pressure off, to even things out so they don’t get out of control. This is the
‘dropshot’ technique: they catch a ball and play it back in such a way that all
the speed has been taken out of it, it drops down dead, all the energy has been
absorbed. This is the talent of the people in stage 14. The weakness of the
wrists of Plumbum is very symbolic.
Irresponsible
They are inclined to hand their responsibility over to other people or
to the apparatus. They hide behind norms and rules and don’t like to be
reminded of their responsibilities. All power has been taken from them, so how
can they be responsible.
Empty Weak Drained
Everything is coming to an end now. They have lost control and can’t do
much more. This makes them weak and feeble, makes them feel empty, as if all
life has drained away.
Indifferent
Their attitude can appear very indifferent. They are not interested,
they are bored, can even seem blasé...
Formal Distant
They become very formal and distant. The outer form becomes more
important than what is inside. They will attach great importance to etiquette,
protocol, ceremonies and standard procedures, even when they have no function
anymore. They are conventional people conforming to the rules...
Covering up
Then they start to cover up all their actions.
Nobody is allowed to see what they are doing in case they are being made
responsible.
Mask
Eventually we only see the outside, a facade, a mask. This mask makes
them stiff, reserved, stoic. All you see is an empty shell: the inside has
gone. They feel like a puppet, they no longer have the power to manage their
task, but they pretend that nothing is wrong. They carry on as if everything is
fine, but it is only an act...
Dis-:
There are several words with the prefix ‘dis’ that portray the mood of
this stage: distracted, discarded, distanced, displaced, dismembered,
discredited, disinterested. (Jan Scholten - Homoeopathy and the Elements)
To me this is an accurate description of not just the three states of
Germ-met. Stannum and Plumbum but also of the process we see in all the people
in Carbon states, and Silica too. And what I see as especially important is the
feeling as being ‘discarded’ as described by Jan Scholten.
The way the periodic table is set up in chemistry Carbon and Silica are
placed over Germanium and are thus part of this column of remedies which is
called Stage 14. However Jan has shifted both Carbon and Silica to the middle
of the table directly above Niccolum, Palladium and Platinum of stage 10.
He writes, “DD.: stage 10, Carbon and Silica: This stage (stage 14) is
often compared with Carbon and Silica with regard to its chemical properties.
We can see why, as they both have a certain desire for stability, they like to
keep the situation as it is. The ions of this group can also have a charge of
4, Like Carbon and Silica. But this stage is essentially different. Carbon and
Silica are really at the top, whilst Stage 14 only appears to be at the top. In
reality they are very close to their downfall.” (Homoeopathy and the Elements)
I now think that the shifting of Carbon and Silica from their natural
position should be re-considered by Jan Scholten, as I believe that Carbon and
Silica belong above Germanium and share with Germanium Stannum and Plumbum all
the characteristics he describes.
I will now go through all the prominent Carbon remedies and Silica to
see how they are described throughout the Materia Medica with regard to this
feeling of being ‘discarded’.
Up until this point my understanding of this column of remedies was of a
tremendous irresolution, an ‘unsureness of what to do’. However, I now see that
this is just one characteristic. Before the remedies are discussed individually
I will have a look at the rubrics which contain the feelings of being
‘deserted’ and ‘forsaken’. While these are not the same as ‘discarded’ it is
interesting how the Carbon remedies and Silica show up. Here are some of these
symptoms,
DELUSION deserted, forsaken Bar-c. Carb-a. Carb-v. Germ-met. Mag-c. Nat-c. (63 remedies)
DELUSION he is in a deserted town: Carb-a. (only remedy)
DREAMS cities deserted Helod-c.
DREAMS places, deserted Mangi.
ANXIETY forsaken her, as if a friend had forsaken her RHUS-T. (only
remedy)
BITING nails forsaken feeling, with Calc. (only remedy)
FEAR forsaken, of being Arg-n. Ars. Aur-s. Bufo. Candida. Carc. Caust.
Crot-c. Kali-c. Lac-d. Lac-f. Larrea, Lith-c. Lyss. Mag-c. Mangi. Musca. Nat-c. Phos. Phyt.
Plat. Puls. Sacch. Stram. Tub-k. (Here are 4 carbon salts included)
FORSAKEN feeling Bar-c. Calc., Carb-a. Carb-v. Germ-met. Kali-c. Mag-c. Nat-c. Plb-met. Sil. (196
remedies) (Complete Repertory)
No mention of Graphites in any of these rubrics.
Carb-v.:
AVARICE generosity towards strangers, avarice as regards his family
carbo veg
CONFUSION OF MIND compelled to arouse himself carbo-veg
IRRESOLUTION marry, to carbo veg, silica (12 remedies)
State known for being low-spirited, near death with no restlessness no
motivation, the person seems to be not getting enough air. They are going cold,
going blue.
The natural tendency of vital reaction is severely compromised.
E. Farrington: “Carb-v. is the better remedy when the debility arises from
organic causes, and we have a picture of collapse with Hippocratic face and
coldness of the body, particularly of the knees.” (Clinical Materia Medica)
James Kent: “You know he is sick because the bright, sparkling look has
gone out of his eyes. If he could only get somewhere by himself and lie down –
provided it was not dark – he would be comfortable. He wants to be let alone;
he is tired; his days work wears him out...He dreams of fire, burglars, fearful
and horrible things” (Lectures on Materia Medica)
Rajan Sankaran: ‘robbers’ is very important for Germ-met.
Jan Scholten: stage 14 ‘As if all life has drained away’.
Carb-a.:
Here are some of the mind symptoms of Carb-a. including the first seven,
from the proving by Samuel Hahnemann.
Extremely melancholy mood, with a sensation of being deserted.
He feels, in the morning, as if he was deserted, and full of
homesickness.
Homesick
Great disposition to sadness.
Pusillanimous and sad; everything seems to her so lonely and sad, that
she would like to weep.
Inclination to solitude, sad and introverted, she always only wishes to
be alone, and she shuns every conversation.
The objects on the street seem to him changed, e.g., farther apart and
brighter than usual, as in an empty abandoned city. (The Chronic Diseases)
Edward Whitmont: a short chapter on the state of Carb-a. and we begin to
see this picture of the ‘discarded’ person come into view. He writes “The
Materia Medica describes a state of isolation, rejection of people, withdrawal
and withering. These people become slaves to their own rigid views and routine;
they respond with anxiety to the threat of any disturbance of their accustomed
way of thinking or living...The personality type may be described as
introverted, indrawn, thin, dark, sometimes heavy set, rigid, retiring,
antisocial with an aversion to people, desiring to be alone. The Carb-a.
patients are poor mixers, though they may enjoy the company of one or two
individuals to whom they are accustomed...There is aversion to conversation,
taciturnity, shyness, a feeling of isolation, often heard in the words, “When I
was young...”:
a mournful reflective state of discouragement and gloominess, obstinate
irascibility, ill humour, a feeling of being abandoned, thoughts of death and
hopelessness.”
We know how the ‘carbonate’ trait in people takes the tendency of a
retiring, quiet, yet straight-forward, honest and reliable kind of person.
Here, Edward Whitmont shows the decline into being ‘anti-social’ ‘rigid’
‘taciturn’ etc.
Carb-a. said to contain some Phos. and Carb-v. a small amount of
potassium, and we see very Phosphorus like glandular and stomach affections in
Carb-a. and the Kali back problems in Carb-v.
Jan Scholten: the ‘abandoned’ feeling of Carb-a. more to do with the
‘animalis’ than the carbon, in which the central theme is one of displacement.
He writes,
“Carb-a.: again a similar duality of rigidity and instability, with the
emphasis on the theme of displacement (animals). This is expressed in an
aggravation on displacement, moving house etc. They are like a lonely cowboy
who finds himself in a ghost town." (Homoeopathy and the Elements)
Graph.: contains some Ferr-met.
Two keynote symptoms of Graphites are,
LAUGHING at reprimands
LAUGHING at reproach (Dr Chawla, Materia Medica of Human Mind)
These important symptoms of Graphites show the fighting oppositional
spirit of Ferrrum metallicum.
E. Farrington writes “Forebodings of some imaginary accident or mishap
which is about to take place; and this makes her anxious and restless;
impelling her to move about from place to place; she cannot be kept quiet…”
(Clinical Materia Medica)
This is the insecurity of row 4, with the restlessness of Ferr-met. as
well. In Graphites it is very much an ‘anxious apprehensiveness’.
E. Farrington: “In the case of chlorosis, the Graphites patient has
these symptoms; there is a tendency to rush of blood to the head with flushing
of the face, exactly like Ferrum”.
Vithoulkas: “Graphites shows lack of sensitivity to any stimulus – body,
emotional and intellect...Eventually, the mind becomes empty...In Graphites it
is an emptiness of thinking itself. It is an absence of thoughts. They feel
that nothing is happening inside...Because of the dullness of mind, there is
also irresolution. Graphites patients cannot make even the simplest decisions.”
(Essence of Materia Medica)
We see here that the irresolution, something which is present throughout
all the carbon states, is coming directly from the draining away of any vital
reaction. And for some hint of the forsaken discarded feeling of Stage 14.
Didier Grandgeorge calls his chapter on Graphites, ‘I could have been a
diamond’, and presents us with the Graphites case: “A high-level sports
professional asks my help for recurrent sinusitis and fissuring eczema of the
extremities, which has resisted a variety of treatments attempted. Consulting
my repertory, I find Graphites.
‘What is Graphites?’ he asks me.
Instead of answering him with the chemical formula, I respond in kind,
giving him the central idea of the remedy as expressed in the subtitle
above...He sinks down into the chair. “Doctor, I am going to tell you something
I have yet to confess to any doctor I’ve consulted so far. A few years ago, I
was taking heroin, and ruined my championship career. That is why I am now
nothing more than an obscure trainer.”
In fact, he is an educator and, as such, selects and trains the young
people who may later become champions...and, like the graphite in the lead of
the pencil, it is up to him to draw the straight line that leads to those
heights… (The Spirit of Homoeopathic Medicines)
Catherine Coulter: “A typical Graphites picture is the woman around
menopause who, with the onset of hormonal changes, puts on weight, develops
cysts in the breast or a uterine fibroid, or experiences hot flashes or other
forms of unstable circulation. In the mental sphere she has, for whatever
reasons, never explored her own strengths and, hence, she is restless,
discouraged, discontented, and apprehensive about the future (“feeling of
impending misfortune”: Hahnemann). She has hitherto found meaning and challenge
in her family life – also a legitimate outlet for her emotions in caring for
the needs of others. Then, when grown children leave home (and these days, more
likely than not, the husband follows suit thereafter), she is suddenly thrown
back on herself and forced to confront total emptiness...One such patient,
whose grown children had abandoned the home several years ago, was suffering
from “empty nest syndrome,” as well as from numbness of the arms and tingling
fingers, < at night...”
Nat-c.
An important:
MISANTHROPHY Bar-c. CALC. Germ-met.
Kali-c. Nat-c., STANN-met. (60
remedies) (Complete Repertory)
Perhaps this is a misanthropy of the deserted discarded person.
E. Farrington: “You will find such a patient decidedly averse to
society, even to his own family...Nat-c. also weakens the nervous system in
another direction. We find it exhibiting great debility, which is marked with
every exertion on the part of the patient. His walk becomes unsteady; any
little obstruction on the pavement causes him to fall. His ankles turn in when
he attempts to walk. I have a patient, apparently in good health, who has had
five falls within one year, and, for these accidents, I can find no reason…”
(Clinical Materia Medica)
See how this is like the weak wrists of Plb-met. and the “dropshot” of
stage 14 that Jan Scholten describes.
Rajan Sankaran: forsaken discarded feeling. “The Nat-c. woman needs just
one relationship and is very dependent on this one relationship, without which
she feels tremendous fear, sadness, and sense of isolation...Nat-c. is very
sensitive, especially to separation from the beloved and to the breaking of
relationships. When the beloved is not there or he has gone away the patients
show great sadness, reacting to sad music (piano). They desire to make contact
but have been unsuccessful in forming relationships and blame themselves for it
(Delusion, he cannot succeed, does everything wrong”). They become estranged
from their family and friends and bear their grief silently, feeling forsaken.
The Nat-c. woman feels like an outcast and is always at the receiving
end of abuse (offended easily)...Nat-c. people can have a severe inferiority
complex, especially in the sphere of forming relationships – they may feel
unworthy of love or of any relationship. I have found in Nat-c. a history of
disturbed relationship with one of the parents, especially being forsaken or
neglected by the father or mother. A woman may give the history of having been
neglected by the father in childhood...It is interesting to note that Nat-c.
does not have any fear or delusions of animals. She is only afraid of people.
Nat-c. is afraid of the human quality of forming a group and casting people
out... They are sympathetic and help others; sensitive especially to the
suffering of people who are lonely and forsaken by society, for example with
beggars.” (The Soul of Remedies)
I have a very good friend who is herself in a Nat-c. state. She is quiet
and polite and yet every now and again has a strong aversion to certain
persons. In one example of this she once she remarked of another person who was
only talking about themselves and not interested in anyone else around them,
how they are only ‘so into themselves’.
She was feeling discarded by another person’s self-centeredness.
However it must be said that self-centeredness doesn’t do anybody any
good, and is a very prominent process involved in the suppression of feelings.
Once you suppress feelings you begin to enter an ever worsening process of
experiencing everything in terms of that suppressed feeling. In this things are
either aggravating you or ameliorating and you begin to lose the capacity to
experience anything outside of yourself for simply what it is. Even though your
desire is to create a world which is the opposite of the feeling which you are
suppressing the feeling remains ever present and you are very sensitive to it
and are easily triggered into it.
Nat-c. 200C had an aggravation for about an hour and she said that
whatever she had been given is exactly how she feels, and then after that she
then experienced a feeling of pure peace like she had never experienced before
which lasted for about half an hour.
Mag-c.:
Keynote symptom of Mag-c.
FORSAKEN FEELING feels not being beloved by his
parents, wife, friends
James Kent: The image of the abandoned, discarded feeling continues
“I have observed (illegitimate infants), those that have been conceived by
clandestine coition, that they have a tendency to sinking in the back of the
head. The occipital bone will sink in, and the parietal bones jut out over it,
and there will be a depression. That is not an uncommon thing in children that
go into marasmus.
They are very likely to have a potter's clay stool. It does not run, and
it is not hard. The white, hard stool is quite another symptom, and the soft
semi-fluid white stool leads to another class of remedies, but this pasty
stool, looking as if it could be moulded into any kind of shape, is a Mag-c .
stool. I once was in charge an orphanage, where we had 160 babies on hand all
the time. The puzzle of my life was to find remedies for the cases that were
going into marasmus. A large number of them were clandestine babies. It was a
sort of Sheltering Arms for these little ones. The whole year elapsed, and we
were losing babies every week from this gradual decline, until I saw the image
of these babies in Mag-c. and after that many of them were cured.” (Lectures on
Materia Medica)
Rajan Sankaran: “The magnesium feeling is that the person doesn’t get
the care, protection and nourishment that he needs. It is the state of an
infant dependent on the mother for nourishment, care, security and support, but
who has been abandoned by his parents. It is the feeling of an orphan...In most
Mag-c. there is a total repression – they feel that they should not make any
demands on anyone, should not ask anyone for help. In this way, they may seem
to be independent...Another feature of the dreams of Mag-c. that in many of
these, there is a feeling of being alone, of having to face a problem alone.
Another theme is that of being left behind. Quite a few Magnesium patients that
I have treated had the dream of being left behind, alone on the railway
platform while the train departed with all their relatives in it. Among the
pleasant dreams that Magnesium patients get are those of being with people, of
going on a picnic with relatives, of meeting friends and relatives, and of
being with relatives who are actually dead.”
Didier Grangeorge: “J. T. Kent discovered that this is the remedy for
children who are abandoned by their parents, and then have to make an effort to
adapt to life in an institution or adoptive family.” Notice, ‘have to make an
effort’
Kali-c.:
Rajan Sankaran: “The main symptom the fear of being alone and the desire
for company...Her dependence on the group or family is so great that her entire
life revolves around her family – the health of family members, the integrity
of her family, the amount of support she gets from her family, etc...“Dreams of
dead relatives” shows extreme concern
for her family. One of the big aggravating factors for would be the sickness of
any member of the family (supporting one). She feels forsaken when she doesn’t
get the support she needs...In the clinic Kali-c. can be a very faithful
patient, following up quite regularly and sticking to the same doctor for a
long time. But the trouble begins when she starts considering the physician as
a family member. Then she will become truly dependent on the physician, she
will never leave him; but each time she comes she will quarrel and insist she
is not better. Speaks loudly and are impatient with the progress. They can be
quite nagging with the physician as if he is not paying enough attention to
them or supporting them. They will tempt the doctor by their general sourness
and extreme dependence to shirk responsibility towards them – which is similar
to the origin of their state, a neglecting and irresponsible spouse.” (The Soul
of Remedies)
State is often described to be one where the person is very
conservative, with extreme attachment to set rules and set customs of society.
If we consider the Kali insecurity and dependence combined with a sensitivity
towards being forsaken and discarded (carbon) then we can understand this
exaggerated conscientiousness.
Calc.:
Calc. has the symptom,
BITING NAILS with
feeling forsaken Calc. (only remedy)
Here is a proving symptom as recorded by Samuel Hahnemann,
Unconsciousness and delirium about her abode,
as if her room were a hall in the garden (The Chronic Diseases)
Here we see the feeling of being discarded from their normal place of
security.
Didier Grandgeorge: “Before birth, the infant was safe and sound inside
the maternal “egg”. Throughout their lives, our Calc. subjects will try to
rebuild a protective shell, from the cradle cap and umbilical hernia of the
infant to the search for stable employment in adulthood”. (The Spirit of
Homoeopathic Medicines)
Maybe this is something like being discarded (carbon) from the security
(calcarea and row 4) of the mother’s womb. Calc. is known to be very indicated
in very early childhood.
Ananda Zaren: “Calc. child will rarely risk rejection by an angered or
volatile parent...Calc. individuals often suffer from a specific type of
Isolation. These people are often well-liked, get along with co-workers, and
have many acquaintances. Few, however, are able to make close connections with
other people and completely “Let their hair down,” relax, and be fully
themselves. Belonging and being valued are dreams for the Calc. adult, who
never felt true acceptance as a child. One patient who worked as a theatrical
producer in Hollywood confessed that she had become extremely involved in her
work as a way of proving her self-worth to fill the emptiness and unhappiness
she felt in her life. As she explained, “I’ve been chasing approval and
acceptance all of my life. As a child, I felt left out or on the sidelines. I
was the last one picked to participate in any activity. I sense that I need to
be successful or uniquely different in order to be noticed, desired, or invited
to ‘join the club’, so to speak. I feel as though
I have never been asked to join. Perhaps the criteria for membership are
such that I don’t actually qualify. For instance, maybe my personal appearance
is not acceptable, or my way of being is not normal. I feel that I would have
to behave differently to be asked to join. The problem is that I really don’t
want to behave differently.”
[Notice the need to prove her ‘self-worth’ something which Jan Scholten
describes as being a central issue of the remedies of Row 2 of the Periodic
Table.]
And see how like Jan Scholten’s description of Stage 14 this next part
is by Ananda Zaren: “Calc. individuals of this type will avoid accountability
in their dealings with other people by using Procrastination.
MIND, Indifference to important things, Calc.
is one of only two remedies in the rubric. Many of these people will avoid
commitment by using fatigue as an excuse. They either put off unpleasant duties
or fail to communicate clearly, thus shifting the responsibility to the
shoulders of others.”
And finally, “Calc. individuals need to feel acceptance from family
members and friends. This is especially true of those adolescents who place a
great deal of importance on friendship. Rejection by a friend is deeply
wounding for Calc. teenagers, because of their desperate need to belong and be
part of the group. They attempt to fit in, and they seek acceptance by acting
in a way that seems to Conform to the group image. They try to find their
identity in the reflection of their peers, and they are afraid to be themselves
and risk rejection by the group...” (Materia Medica Volume II - Core Elements
of the Materia Medica of the Mind)
Bar-c.
Sad and anxious; all manner of gloomy ideas as to his future fate rise
in his mind, and he believes himself totally forsaken; in the evening.
Anxious and fearful; a little noise on the street seems to him at once
like a fire alarm, and he is frightened by it, so that it darts through all his
limbs.
IrresolLUTE; he proposes to himself a brief journey, and as soon as he
is to make his preparation, he is sorry for it, and prefers to stay at home.
(The Chronic Diseases)
The second symptom here shows the sensation of being in danger and the
starting from this, something we see throughout all the remedies of the carbon
row.
“Goes off alone and weeps as if she has no friends” (Sankaran - The Soul
of Remedies)
Sil.: The element directly below carbon and belongs to row 3 of the
periodic table. With the row of Silica the issue is to do with problems related
to a child’s relationship with very primary and significant others (mother and
father). This row is concerned with care, relationship and connection of early
childhood. If Silica belongs to stage 14 then the feeling will be of having
been forsaken and discarded within an important primary relationship, in which
the person is left feeling disconnected from others and forsaken. Carlyon
quoted by Frans Vermeulen, which describes the Silica person very well: “The
conflict can be between inner life and outer life, again underlining the fact
that the Silica type lacks the ability to enter fully into life; they are too
refined and may themselves be too special. This individual is too much in the
head, not in touch with instinct and feeling, not rooted. Indecision is a big
problem; the patient may say that she feels her mind doing one thing and her
body doing another. A conflict between different walks of life and different
interests could also be present. An example here would be a split between art
and science, the scientific thinking temperament battling with the artistic
feeling or intuitive temperament. The split often occurs in the field of
relationship with others. The person can be pulled between their own wants and
needs on the one hand and the demands and expectations of relatives, friends
and society in general on the other. This of course leads to indecision and not
knowing their own mind. I have often seen, when listening to the patient’s
story, that as a child the patient was caught in the middle between two
conflicting parents. This was not necessarily overt conflict or warfare, but
could have been an underlying tension, unresolved conflict, or temperamental
differences, which the Silica patient, being so sensitive to the psychic
atmosphere, would pick up on and experience as an internal split...They become
stuck in the middle of opposing tendencies in their environment...The person
feels that he is not in his body and cannot cope with being in the world. To be
in the world is to take on form and to take a stand. Ultimately the Silica
patient is afraid of and withdraws from the commitment of life, preferring
somehow to remain free of the restrictions of physical
manifestations...Isolation is a word constantly used by Silica patients. They
feel isolated and separated from other people and the world in general. They
also say that they feel cut off from themselves.” (quoted in Prisma)
Child dependent on parents for love and affection and the parents
spending all their energy on each other, fighting with each other, and the
child being discarded in this.
Interestingly, George Vithoulkas also captures this in his description
of Calc. where he writes “I cannot exactly explain this predilection in Calc.
child. It seems to arise out of the observation of the world around them. They
see suffering and injustices; perhaps there is some conflict between the
parents... (Essence of the Materia Medica)
The Silica state is also often described to be someone brought up in a
family with certain values of how things are to be. The focus is on the ‘image’
of the family, the name of the family and acting in a certain fixed way which
gives a certain impression to the community. The child doesn’t decide anything
for themselves. They are told how to act, how to be, what schools to go to, how
a proper person should behave. The child feels discarded in the sense that all
their feelings and opinions are being discarded.
It is this kind of background Rajan Sankaran describes in his
understanding of the Silica state. He writes “in Silicea it is his image that
must be protected at all costs...the Silicea person’s survival would depend
upon fulfilling a particular image...Silicea people constantly feel the eyes of
others on themselves and are very conscious of the impression they are
creating...Silicea comes from a situation where fulfilling a specific image is
a necessary condition for acceptance, for example a child is told that he will
be accepted and loved if he achieves in a specific way...So, a Silicea woman is
actually trying to fulfil an image made for her by somebody else. In that sense
she yields to that image, but she also becomes fixed to it and so in her effort
to maintain it, she is obstinate. This combination of yielding and obstinacy is
found in Silicea in a peculiar way. On one hand there is the desire to be
magnetized, i.e. she wants to be completely under the suggestion of somebody
else. On the other hand, she is so fixed in her opinions that if contradicted
she can become violent: “Contradiction, intolerance of, has to restrain from
violence”. Silicea does not openly revolt but sticks to her opinion. Samuel
Butler used to say: “Convinced against her will, but of the same opinion
still”. She will say “yes” finally so as not to make an issue, but the feeling
inside is still “no, this is all wrong”. She is not one to revolt but she knows
that if she yields completely and gives up her goals and image, then the one
she is dependent on will start disliking her. This is a peculiar
contradiction...Silicea people can be late to develop relationships and
marry...Thus the essential features of the “coped-up” state of Silicea are
fixed ideas, obstinacy, fixed image and rigidity. In the uncompensated state
the main symptoms are yielding, irresolution, desire to be magnetized, nervous,
timid, self-conscious.” (The Soul of Remedies)
Another situation of the Silica feeling could be a man and woman who
have children because this is the right thing for their image to have a family.
Silica also has many characteristics in common with the carbon states.
It has the weakness or lack of vital reaction. They are generally
straightforward sensible and a bit quiet. There is also the irresolution and
indifference.
Here are some quotes of various Homoeopaths about the state of Silica.
“I once knew a very refined Silica woman who had adopted a drug addict
as a friend. She went to great lengths to help him, and was always available
for him when he was in need of her, and would not abandon him as his health and
sanity deteriorated. The relationship was very much one of carer and cared-for,
and involved no sexual or romantic association. This Silica lady’s dignity and
self-possession contrasted starkly with her friend’s roughness, yet she was not
troubled by the latter…” (Philip Bailey, Homoeopathic Psychology)
Catherine Coulter shows with this example how skilled the Silica child
is at dealing with the situation where their feelings and opinions are being
discarded. “An instance of this effective persistence is the child who dislikes
is boarding-school intensely, yet cannot persuade his parents to bring him home
or send him somewhere else. He begins, deliberately or unconsciously, to apply
various methods of passive persuasion: not answering his parent’s letters and
refusing to telephone. Or, if they call him, he talks only about how depressed
he is. While the discontented Sulphur or Nux-v. will start to misbehave (both
being troublemakers who “make waves”), Silica develops elusive complaints or a
malingering attitude, thus forcing his parents to consider his wishes.”
Also, she writes “Another, who suffered non-specific “stubborn”
headaches that yielded to no remedies was finally recognised as needing Silica
by her reluctance to form new friendships due to remorseful recollections of
misunderstandings with former friends brought on by her own behaviour. She
readily fell into the self-accusatory mode: “Why did I act like that!” “I
shouldn’t have made that remark!” and so on. She was also obsessive about these
failed attachments, digging repeatedly into this terrain to discover the
reasons and circumstances of their rupture with the tenacity of a Schliemann
looking for the lost city of Troy.”
“He may so lack ambition or energy as to permit others to take credit
for his own achievements, or he will refuse to defend his position and would
rather be considered wrong than take trouble to prove himself correct. He may
even lack the energy for enthusiasm, and a large portion of his life will be
devoted to avoiding offense or friction.” (Portraits of Homoeopathic Medicines)
We see here how badly affected the wanting of normal social
consideration can be for the Silica person. Their sensitivity is such that it
all seems too hard because they only end up being discarded anyhow, as not too
many people pay much attention to anyone else. And notice how much this quote
sounds like Jan Scholten’s description of Stann-met., the remedy of stage 14,
Stann-met.: "…Weakness through talking
They may feel so powerless that they will go along with whatever is
being said. They don’t dare to express their own opinion anymore, always
babbling along with other people. This makes them feel exhausted because it is
not their own self expression and therefore doesn’t energise them. Nobody
listens to them so they have to shout to be heard." (Homoeopathy and the
Elements)
And see how much like Nat-c. these paragraphs are,
“Silica’s “sanguine” (H. C. Allen) disposition results in part from
imperturbability and a low-key self-sufficiency (mental equanimity being
perhaps the most precise expression). The happy and healthy child exhibits a
perky and independent demeanour and does not require the constant attention of
others...The endearing and gentle side of the Silica disposition reflects his
fair, even-tempered, and considerate approach to people. Seldom overly
conscious of status, he judges others as individuals, and for their true
qualities, not for their position in the world. He is not necessarily kind, but
is truthful and honest. He may lack the warmth of Phos. and the sympathy of
Puls., since the type extends compassion rather than sympathy and, rather than
becoming emotionally involved in the problems of others, tries rationally to
help work them out.” (Portraits of Homoeopathic Medicines)
It is interesting that it has been observed that the person of a Silica
constitutional state can tend into acute illnesses of the remedy Pulsatilla,
and the feeling of Silica is of having been discarded by a very close other and
Pulsatilla is the mortification of feeling all alone.
All of what has been written about Silica is summed up by Ananda Zaren:
“The characteristics that form the complex picture of Silica are forged in
childhood. The elements of the aetiology of this remedy include fright, abuse,
neglect, and abandonment. In normal development, the child slowly separates
psychologically from the mother and evolves its own sense of individuality. In
Silica individuals the separation occurs prematurely, resulting in trauma.
Typically, you will be able to detect a flawed family system in which the
Silica child felt hurt and isolated...The Silica individual is sensitive to
impressions from the emotional environment. Because of this vulnerability, many
situations are perceived as abandonment by the Silica organism. The Silica
emotional pathology can be triggered by being the product of an unwanted
pregnancy, parental preference for a child of the opposite sex, or transient
separation from the parents in the hours or days after birth. The etiology of
the Silica state can also result from incarceration in concentration camps,
after intellectual overwork, with loss of sleep, or as a sequel to vaccination.
The remedy is often required in people who have eating disorders, such as
anorexia and bulimia...A premier quality of the Silica wall is Denial. This can
be manifested as denial of the problem or denial of the feelings associated
with the problem. Silica patients have many buried issues that reach up to
control their lives. Denial and repression of emotionality results in either
the feeling of stiffness, which can be expressed as emotional reserve or
properness, or a physical stiffness that can be observed as rigidity of
posture.” (Materia Medica Vol I - Core Elements of the Materia Medica of the
Mind)
See mentioned here the idea of the concentration camp, something which
is mentioned with Germanium. The idea is one of being abandoned, ‘discarded’.
Carbon
Carbon is part of row 2 of the periodic table and Rajan Sankaran
considers this row to be like the experience of a baby in the womb and the
process of being born.
He describes the Carbon stage: “Here below I wish to share my concept of
Carbon in general which applies to all Carbon forms and compounds. This concept
takes into account the position of Carbon in the periodic table, namely in the
middle of row 2 which is about foetal life and the birth process. Carbon is the
moment of decision of the foetus to be an independent existence and with that
the inherent doubts and fears about its capability to be so. It does occupy a
very important and central position in man’s development. The ability to have
an independent existence has its main quality the ability to react to
circumstances on one’s own, independently. This vital reaction or its absence
is the central theme of Carbon remedies. I have expanded on this theme below
and given a few examples to show the differences in the expression of this
basic theme among some carbon remedies.
Carbon is exactly in the middle of row 2 (stage of separation) which has
an alternating state, where on one side they feel, ‘Can I be on my own or do I
need to be still here?’ And on the other side they feel, ‘I have to let go, can
I let go? For the first time I have to sense, I have to react and I am on my
own. Am I capable of being on my own?’
Carbon represents that stage of development where for the first time one
gets a sense of being an entity separate from the mother. They are still in the
womb but now they are no more a part of it, now the time has come where they
need to be on their own and react independently.
Carbon is the stage where the head of the baby descends further and
engages itself. The baby is preparing to leave the womb and needs the ability
to react independently.
Now there is no going back, so the question arises how will he react to
the outside world? The main idea here is vital reaction (the presence or
absence of it). So far the womb has been their world and their support system
and now they are going into a completely new world alone. Carbon is thus the
first substance to feel that he is a separate entity. Now is the time where he
has to adapt to the new. He has to now react for himself. The main carbon
symptom, lack of vital reaction, shows the opposite polarity of such a quality.
So it is about sensing and reacting, which is the vital reaction of a
person. Where the feeling is, ‘Is the outside going to dull me into no reaction
or am I going to react?’
We can see with this description how Rajan Sankaran agrees with Jan
Scholten in placing Carbon in the middle of the periodic table and into stage
10. This stage (stage 10) is considered to be the point where the person feels
they have the full capacity to do something. That there is no longer anything
missing or lacking which they need and therefore they are now ‘ready’, so to
speak. This corresponds with what Dr Sankaran is saying about the baby being
‘ready’ to be born, and to start an independent physical existence of their
own. However, I don’t think this context is correct. I think that Carbon
belongs in stage 14 and is the feeling of being discarded (from somewhere).
Sankaran: goes on to say “One important feeling in Carbon is ‘to be on
my own’.
For example Calc. asks, ‘Can I protect myself on my own?’
Bar-c. feels ‘Can I take responsibility on my own?’”
Then soon after Dr Sankaran says something very interesting,
“Carbon has a state of high energy # inactivity, stagnancy and
hibernation, and then slowly gets some stimulus and then it develops an
initiative, which is enough for him to feel that now, ‘I can’t be stationary; I
have to move out.’ (Structure)
This is like being pushed out (of the womb) and the best thing to do is
to simply accept it. Maybe it is the feeling of being discarded from the womb.
Dr Sankaran: “The main theme of all carbonates is that there is no
reaction in a situation in which they are. It is interesting how in carbonates
like Calc. and Mag-c. the carbon seems to depend on its partner to provide its
specific context. Calc. is somebody who would like to be protected as if by a
shield or by a person who offers him security. They show a kind of dullness and
lack of reactivity and independence in the context of a Calcarea situation. So
the feeling in Calc. ‘I feel insecure and I am not capable of protecting myself
and therefore I simply will remain at home and I will not come out.’ They feel,
‘I want somebody around me’, which is typical of carbon but because they are
not capable of protection, it is Calcarea.” (Structure)
Here the person feels discarded and abandoned and hence they remain at
home all alone (carbon), and yet they desperately want others around them, for
this feeling to be taken away.
Through observing many people in the carbon states and by reading the
Materia Medica I thought that the stage 14 and carbon feeling was of an
irresolution, an unsureness of what to do. And Rajan Sankaran goes further and
shows how Carbon is about vital reaction, and that we see in the carbon states
a lacking of vital reaction and then suddenly an exaggerated hyper vital
reaction. I think that both of these are coming out of a feeling of being
‘discarded’.
In Germanium there is the symptom: Life is meaningless (Structure)
When one feels discarded life loses its meaning. What is one to do with
this? How can you rouse yourself up in the face of this? Hence what emerges is
the ‘lack of vital reaction’. We see the progression. The feeling of being
abandoned and discarded, which naturally leads to a tremendous weakening of the
life force, and the dullness inherent with this becomes a sense of tremendous
irresolution (Life is meaningless).
Now I will just briefly show some of what is written of the elements
Germ-met. Stann-met. and Plb-met. to see more this feeling of being abandoned
and deserted, and also how much is like the Carbon states and Silica.
Germ-met.: belongs to stage 14 and row 4. Thus the proposed feeling is
of being ‘insecure and abandoned’. Here are some excerpts of the case of
Germanium taken from Rajan Sankaran’s book Structure – Experiences with the
Mineral Kingdom.
“Doctor: Which type of situations or failures make you feel worse?
Patient: Exams or that in March for example, my student’s friend with
whom I was sharing the apartment, decided to leave, and I had counted on their
friendship, and they decided to go and live together, as if they didn’t
reciprocate friendship. I felt hurt, sad and began to dwell in all type of
problems as I become pessimist; there are loads of negative feelings and
thoughts coming inside me.
Doctor: Like which?
Patient: Like Forsaken, with nobody in the world, and every time I fail
in anything, I remain accumulating these feelings as if I am worthless and
can’t see my good side. Then I begin to feel beaten down, sad, useless,
unmotivated and I can’t enjoy anything in life or do anything. Today I came to
consultation, but I hadn’t left my room all day. I have been worse, before I
could bounce back, now I am not able to, I feel I have no energy to react...
[Notice here the same process we see in the carbon, the draining away of
energy and the will to do anything which is directly related to the feeling of
being abandoned.]
Stann-met.:
Didier Grandgeorge: “Tin, in homoeopathic doses is a good remedy for
people who are exhausted, who seem to be completely subdued. They suffer from
long lasting bronchial or pulmonary discharge, or from paralytic afflictions of
the nerves. Discouraged, sad, and anxious, they are not interested in company.
Aware of their feeble state, they try to plan for the future,
accumulating money in the savings bank, keeping everything in order…”
[Notice how much this sounds like the way the Silica person ‘conserves
their energy’.]
“These patients vomit from the odour of food, and have a special
characteristic of not being able to wear earrings, which cause their skin to
become infected (Lach. Med.). At night, they perspire excessively and are
exhausted.”
Vithoulkas: “The exhaustion of Stannum is almost without parallel. The
weakness is so great that they have a feeling of heat under the skin. They even
say that their eyes are ‘burning from weakness’...Because of the tremendous
exhaustion, Stannum patients do not want to see people. It is not that they do
not like people; indeed, Stannum people are very sweet, undemanding individuals
who get along with people – somewhat like Silica…” (The Essence of the Materia
media).
Stannum also has catarrhal phthsis and epilepsy, like Silica.
Plb-met.: belongs to stage 14 and row 6 of the periodic table.
Jan Scholten: “The theme of isolation is very strong in Plumbum. They
may feel all alone in the world. This is heightened by their formal attitude
which doesn’t allow them to make contact easily” (Homoeopathy and the Elements)
S.R. Phatak: “Delirium from hearing music”
Vithoulkas: “On the emotional level as well, there is a kind of
paralysis which can best be described by the word APATHY. This is very similar
to the stilled, apathetic state seen in old arteriosclerotic patients. There is
no vitality, no movement of emotions inside...They seem to sense that their
powers are waning...Plumbum patients experience trembling with the weakness of
their muscles. It may be difficult for them to hold a glass steady...Offensive
foot sweat like Silica”
A word which is often used to describe a lot of symptoms throughout all
these states of stage 14 is ‘retraction’, and this is especially a keynote
feature of the state of Plumbum. We also see symptoms of ‘retraction’ with
Silica and Stannum.
E. Farrington: “In constipation you may use Plumbum when the retraction
of the abdomen already mentioned is present, and when there is marked spasm or
contraction of the sphincter ani. There is urging to stool, and the patient
complains of a sensation as though a string were drawing the anus up into the
rectum” (Clinical Materia Medica)
Jan Scholten: As all the remedies of stage 14 feel deserted abandoned
and discarded, as we move to the right into the other columns the feeling
becomes increasingly a more severe feeling, as describes. So the feeling of the
Phosphorus column is more severe than being discarded. I think the feeling of
stage 15, of the Phosphorus stage is like you are now being sacrificed for the
needs of others. It is like the feeling of having been sacrificed, like you
have been robbed of your right to be a person in your own right and now you are
seen as existing only for the needs of others. We see this in the way the
Phosphorus person suddenly says, “I am not going to be their slave, all they
think I am is their slave.” This is the feeling, it is past discarded,
abandoned. It is like, ‘I am sacrificed and everything I am and have is just
going to be taken from me, it is going to be robbed’. With Ars. this feeling is
combined with great anxiety and insecurity (Row 4). In the state of Arsenicum
album the person can come to have a tremendous anxiety about their health. This
is an anxiety and insecurity that they have ‘sacrificed’ their health, that
they have been careless and the cost has become their health. This then leads
the Ars. into an obsession about what is ‘healthy’. Also Ars. can be very
concerned about the welfare of the planet and the environment. They are
sensitive to the Earth being sacrificed for the sake of other interests.
The flip side of this feeling of being sacrificed is that these states
can also sacrifice themselves. When the Phosphorus person likes someone they
can readily sacrifice their own feelings for the sake of the other person. They
give everything of themselves and can totally immerse themselves in the world
and feelings of the other person. The pure ‘opposite’ state of Phosphorus is,
‘I am ablaze sacrificing myself’. The person, just like the substance itself is
‘ablaze’ for all to see. This is the opposite of the feeling being suppressed.
The characteristics of the substance itself are always the opposite of the
internal feeling of that substance.
As we move to the right of the Phosphorus stage we come to Sulphur. The
feeling of this stage is even more severe than being sacrificed for the needs
of others. Here the feeling is like being ‘almost finished’, it is like
everything is burning up, being destroyed, almost destroyed. The feeling is,
‘Lets live in the present while we can as everything is almost over’. It is
like being treated like you are ‘almost nothing’. When the person is
disregarded their response is like, ‘I am not finished yet, just watch what I
can still be’. The Sulphur person is close to the edge. The Muriaticum feeling
(stage 17) is one step further. They have fallen over the edge and they are
drowning in the sea. Sulphur is close to the edge, near the breaking point.
This is why the Sulphur child is always testing for the breaking point. For instance,
if the mother of the Sulphur child needs the child to help her with something
the child will delay helping and doing what is asked, and this will continue
until the mother finally says she has completely had enough and the child can
get lost. For the lazy Sulphur child, this is tremendously hurtful and at the
same time confirms their internal feeling. They feel that they are right, that
it only took so much for everything to be ‘finished’. I think a lot of Sulphur
behaviour is this kind of tempting of those around them. The Sulphur person
acts accidently on purpose in a frustrating manner to test others around them
and when others act accordingly then they feel they are somehow right, that
their internal feeling is correct.
As we move to the right we come to the Halogens. The feeling of the
halogens is like, “it is over, it is all finished, I have been totally
forgotten about.” The halogen feeling is like that of having been betrayed.
They have the feeling of being repeatedly let down and disappointed. At this
stage the person experiences themselves as having fallen over the edge, and
they are drowning in the sea.
For instance, the feeling of Nat-m. being alone and having been betrayed
and forgotten about by the person in which you seek love care and connection.
Rajan Sankaran states the feeling of Chlorine (Muriaticum) to be “I am
the opposite of you”. (Structure)
And you do get that feeling with Natrum muriaticum people. A very good
friend of mine who is Natrum muriatcum said to me once that whenever he thinks
that someone is demanding something of him, that he will always do exactly the
opposite of what the person is wanting. And while I could understand what he
was saying it was interesting to hear this because whenever we went somewhere
and did something it was always me who had to choose where we went and what we
did.
Catherine Coulter: “Of course, other constitutional types possess
eccentricities, Nat-m. and Lach. coming first to mind, but they are different
from Calcarea. Nat-m., for example, is aware of behaving strangely. He knows
the norm but is incapable of observing it, seemingly compelled by some contrary
force to act differently. Afterwards he suffers mortification of the memory of
his own “strange, rare, and peculiar” behaviour; however occasionally he is
proud of being different and cultivates it.” (Portraits of Homoeopathic
Medicines)
What is the behaviour of someone who experiences themselves to be in the
midst of everything being in ruins and where they are being betrayed. It is going
to be the opposite of what is expected of them, of what people are telling them
to do.
We can see here that the change from the Sulphur stage (stage 16) to the
Muriaticum Halogen stage (stage 17) represents a significant step from being
‘almost finished’ to the halogen feeling where it is all over. Likewise the
progression from stage 13 to stage 14 also represents a significant kind of
change in severity. Stage 14, the stage of Carbon, Silica, Germ-met. Stannum,
and Plumbum is where the person comes to feel discarded, abandoned and
deserted. Thus we could very well expect that the remedies of stage 13 to be on
the edge of this feeling. We could expect the person to be almost anticipating
and desperately wanting to be not deserted.
Rajan Sankaran writes of stage 13,
“The structure is under severe attack”
“The Loss is imminent. It is not a question of whether it will happen
but when it is going to happen”
“Superhuman efforts are needed to maintain it.”
“Delaying the disaster, not whether but when?”
“Holding on. But how long can you hold on.”
Keywords -...Vigilance, Monitoring, Prevention, Imminent...Holding on...
(Structure - Volume I)
This is just as we would expect. Here is how Dr Sankaran describes stage
14,
“The structure has failed”
“The loss has happened”
“It could not be prevented” (Structure, Volume I)
A Proving of Carb-v.:
Because of these ideas about the Carbon remedies and their relevance to
Stage 14 of the Periodic table, I decided to prove Carb-v. in 30C. I took a
dose, (which means for me going outside, unscrewing the cap and taking a little
smell of the cap as to get a faint smell of sugar), at 23 h. on the 30th of
July. Because I was very tired, I soon fell asleep. However in the middle of
the night I woke up with a vague feeling of discomfort and fear. Also I could
feel the remedy, which was strong for a 30C potency.
Then, a character from a television programme I had been watching that
night came into my mind. She was standing, it seemed, a long distance away from
me. I was half asleep at this stage and I zoomed in on her like you do using a
digital camera. When I did this I could see that she seemed alone and isolated.
She was totally by herself and was just looking around just kind of wondering
what to do.
In the TV programme itself her character had just had a miscarriage and
she hadn’t told her husband anything about it when she was going through it.
When he eventually found out about it he ended up sleeping with another woman.
One physical symptom I experienced from the dose of Carb-v. was the next
day I had a very slight twinging sensation in the palm of my right hand, near
the base of the thumb.
Carbon (and Silica) is the first stage of the emergence of being an
outcast (Discarded and abandoned). Thus there is not anything else at work that
we find in the later stages. The person is sort of a bit quiet and dignified.
They kind of don’t know quite what to do. They find it harder than other people
to grasp the way things are, they are not good at playing social interaction
the way other people are. There is a ‘rescue me’ quality to the person which is
like wanting to be brought back into the fold. They want to be rescued from
their isolation, and this can be like a romantic yearning. However early on at
least there is no edge to this. The person is well behaved, straight forward,
quiet and a little reserved. There is an innocence to it like a lost child.
They only want to be rescued and brought back.
However, as we move to stage 15 of the Nitrates, Phosphorus and
Arsenicum etc. the feeling is one of being discarded abandoned and now also
sacrificed (for the needs of others). It is a further stage of the feeling of
being discarded and is more severe. It has this added dimension, and edge to
it. As we get to the Halogens they also have the feeling of being discarded but
now we are a long way from the ‘innocence’ so to speak of stage 14. Here the
feeling is of also having been betrayed, totally forgotten. Here it is all
finished.
In Stage 14 with the Carbon remedies and Silica there is a naivety to
their abandonment. They are irresolute, they don’t quite know what to do, how
to behave. This is the form of the ‘division from others’. But they don’t feel
sacrificed like Phosphorus, they don’t feel almost finished off like Sulphur
does, and they don’t feel betrayed and finished off like the Halogens.
However this is not to say that the Carbon states don’t have any
negative qualities. They can become very rigid (sure about certain things) and
irritable. Yet this is exactly described by Jan Scholten in his description of
stage14.
The quality of carbon and Silica is of a slightly quiet, straightforward
reserved person who can become a little bit ‘logical’ in how they think and yet
has an innocence and naivety. This is all coming from an undifferentiated
feeling of having been discarded and abandoned by others. Because of this there
is a severely compromised vital force, etc. Carbon and Silica are in nature and
disposition exactly like how Jan Scholten describes stage 14. They are at this
stage of the appearance of a very significant fall.
[Carolyn Burdet]
While editing the notes for the Bristol Homeopathic Hospital’s proving
of Petroleum supplied for this issue, I changed the word “visible” to “seen” as
it had seemed out of context in a theme, “being ‘visible’ in a dream”. It
seemed a minor edit at the time. A month (and you’d think, several million
firings of the brain synapses later…), this word “visible” was in my mind. I
knew I had been mistaken to change it.
The Petroleum proving is such a clear summary of the themes that appear
in all these cases, that it seemed safe to send it off to the publishers of
this journal. One thing that drives a publisher mad is retracting a piece for
revisions after it has been sent. However, this one word “visible” was blinking
away like a warning light. I did not know why it was important, until reading
in Roger Morrison’s book on Carbon - Organic and Hydrocarbon Remedies in
Homeopathy that feeling invisible is a clue to needing a carbon remedy.
I knew about “invisible” in relation to plain old carbonate (Carbon
remedies feel alone and have fear of ghosts). This invisibility is not the
enhancement of a magical cloak, it is the unnoticed quality of plastic which
belies the toxicity that appears innocuous enough to contain processed food or
chemicals. It is the cheap yet profitable throwaway by-product of our
artificial disposable culture, and yet carbon is also the essential building
block of life. This, perhaps, is carbon’s quandary over value and self worth.
I had not appreciated the extent to which these themes permeate the
homeopathic pictures of diverse substances of the organic carbons and
hydrocarbon group – encompassing solids, liquids, gases and volatile compounds,
naturally occurring, organic and chemical substances, ranging from diamonds and
soot, to gasoline (fuel)
and ranging from aromatic plant sap (camphor, eucalyptus, peppermint) to
artificial chemical lubricants and man- made plastics, acetates and alcohols.
With such a complex group of remedies it is daunting to see how to go straight
to the remedy.
Carbon appears in different forms according to how the atoms arrange or
combine (diamond, carbon dioxide, petrol, plastic). Carbons perplexingly extend
beyond the mineral kingdom.
Carbo-a.: animal kingdom,
Gallic acid (from oak galls or nuts): restlessness that may be confused
with Nux-v., Med., Tarant. or insect remedies;
Camph.: product from a tree and puts the “weird” theme in context of the
bewildered sensation of Magnoliaceae.
Chloroform and other carbon compounds: anaesthetics, appearing
confusingly similar to drug remedies.
There may be glimpses of the second series’ themes of the birth process
in Carbon or Nitrogen (or both in Glon. or Benz-n.) according to Jan Scholten’s
Element Theory, with keynotes of the specific compounds, known since their
proving by Hahnemann.
Roger Morrison lists themes of each group of carbon compounds, aromatic
carbons, cations and anions, with a personable approach to how they appear in
human cases.
He points out the sweetness of volatile compounds (esters’ aroma of pear
drops or almonds making sense of “dreams of almonds”), blandness of some
carbons,
contrasting with the explosive volatility, shock and violence of the
fuels, whose polluting exhaust fumes are overshadowed by the relentless,
ruthless profitability of oil trading, transport, and war. These themes come
through in the remedy states.
It calls on our capacity for overview and clarity to see the coherence
of themes in this group and to realise in essence that this is a Carbon case. A
remedy needed from
this highly complex group may go unseen for years. What the cases in
this issue have in common is that it was a long and circuitous route to find
the remedy that worked deeply to resolve the case.
In sharing these cases, the homeopaths enable us to take a more direct
route to the carbons when faced with a patient presenting with a
poly-symptomatic picture (which may be characteristised by exhaustion or speed
and drive, materialistic ambition or lack of self worth, burning up with heat
or icy cold chills). With the help of Roger Morrison’s textbook in one hand and
clarity of hindsight in the other, we see how the final remedy always made
sense.
Vorwort/Suchen Zeichen/Abkürzungen Impressum