Carbon Remedies Conference

Irish Society of Veterinary Homeopaths Conferences
homeopathy

The lecture hall

These well-organised conferences have been an annual event for five years now, organised by Erica Borge MVB VetMFHom. This 2016 event on carbon remedies and row two (of the PTE) remedies was as stimulating, informative, welcoming and inspiring as the previous years thanks largely to the lecturer Dr Jonathan Hardy who is a talented teacher as well as a talented homeopath. It’s not easy to have both talents but… “many are called but few are chosen”! His gentle manner makes it easy to follow the presentations.

The location, The Red Gates just outside Corofin, Co Clare, is unique as is the whole environment. Here the owner Des is all things to all guests but enlists a couple of local ladies to help with the cooking (behind every good man is a woman – or two!) The food is always excellent and plentiful. The only fly in the ointment this year was the absence of Dublin vet Jimmy due to poor health and we all missed him. The conference is always well attended by vets who can receive accreditation for their CPD. The conferences are human homeopathy, not veterinary medicine so homeopaths and doctors will always be in attendance too.

Dr Jonathan Hardy
carbon remedies row two 2

Dr Jonathan Hardy

Jonathan is a suitable candidate to teach the vets as he is a graduate in zoology from the University of Oxford before reading medicine which he abandoned for homeopathy. Jonathan has a vast collection of video cases from the animal, plant and mineral kingdoms which he has been sharing with us. This year he presented cases from the second row of the Periodic Table of Elements. Jonathan’s unique way to present a case is by pointing out the general themes for the larger group, carbon series in this case, then we look for what is not peculiar to that group in a particular case; that unique characteristic points to the remedy.

Row Two of the PTE – Carbon Series

The remedies in this row, now known in homeopathy as the carbon series, include Lithium, Beryllium, Boron, Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Fluorine and Neon. Cases requiring most of these remedies were presented. The Nitrogen case was impressive – a young man with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome responded extremely well despite a previous cardioversion which wasn’t so successful.

Carbon comes in four forms: elemental carbon; pure organic chemicals; organic mixtures and salts of organic chemicals. Structurally the element carbon has its own sub-classification and comprises further sub-groups: Aliphatic (e.g. Aether, Alcohol, Chloralum); Aromatic (Carb-ac, Kreos, Pic-ac); Amines (Urea, Uric ac, Alloxanum); Carbonyl (the largest remedy being Camphor) and Carboxylic (Acetic ac, Gallic ac, Saccharum alb, Lactic ac.); Alcohols; Nitrates; Sugars and Mixtures. Cases presented were: Petroleum; Kreosotum; Glonoinum; Carbo animalis; Carbolic acid; Chloralum; Carbon dioxide; Graphite and Polystyrene.

Jonathan says of Roger Morrison: “… the world expert on carbons (also known as Organic remedies) estimates 5% of all cases need carbon remedies and it is therefore a very important group. Jonathan also referred to the Indian homeopath and psychiatrist Dr Mahesh Gandhi who claims that row two (the carbon series) is “the bread and butter of homeopathic psychiatry.” Why? The themes common to the remedies in the row and the carbon groups of remedies and clinical experience reveals why.

Themes of Row Two

While there is far too much to cover here, an outline of the key features of the row and the carbon remedies will give an indication as to their use in “psychiatry.”

Remedies on the left side are more intense and insecure and as we move across the row, the further right we go, the more the need for separation (as elements have less need to bond) and the more materialistic patients present.

Patients on the left side showed a retention of primitive reflexes (Mori reflex especially), but also instinctive reactions generally – reflexes – reaction to sudden noise, panic, danger, reacting strongly to sudden noise, panic, danger.

Some of the other themes identified by Jonathan and colleagues he refers to, notably Bhawisha Joshi, Jayesh Shah, Jan Scholten and Rajan Sankaran, include: low self confidence, lack of willpower, feeling invisible (insignificant), separation anxiety, the “womb experience” – the sensation of being in the womb and experiencing it as a safe haven or a restriction, e.g. being happy to lock themselves away in the toilet for lengthy periods as a safe, cozy haven. Other themes include the birth process – the experience of one’s state in relation to birth. “Each remedy in Row 2 can be seen to represent a stage in the process of being born,” says Jonathan, “starting with Lithium in which the process has not yet begun, and ending with Fluorine which represents the cutting of the umbilical cord.” Also, issues with basic instincts – for nourishment, warmth and  survival including a desire for material things.

Themes in Carbon Remedies

carbon remedies row 2

Carbon by Roger Morrison

Jonathan, basing many of his ideas on the innovative work of Roger Morrison whose book on Carbon and carbon remedies, Carbon and Hydrocarbon Remedies in Homeopathy, is the main homeopathic reference on the subject. A quick summary of the main themes: confusion and mental weakness; lost/disorientated; downward/sinking (in gestures, sensations, linguistically); sudden onset – ties in with anaesthetics which take effect in seconds; isolation and estranged; money; vitality; identity; infancy and birth.

Minor themes include fire and explosion – as can be expected with nitrogen and gloinoin etc.; ghosts; hurry; shock; euphoria; lasciviousness; constriction/tight clothing/suffocation; childishness; aggression and the past – nostalgia, homesickness.

Common Disorders in Carbon Remedies

Environmental illness, head and neck problems, lethargy, weakness, sensitivity to the sun, contraction/constriction of head, eyes (especially the retina), cardiac symptoms: arrhythmias, palpitations, bradycardia, skin: cracks and fissures.

Characteristics may include a sensitivity to heat and cold at the same time, a sensitivity of the head to the heat of the sun, a desire for smoked foods.

Below is a video of Roger Morrison and Nancy Herrick speaking on carbon remedies. You may wish to skip the 9 minute introduction.

Further Reading
Homeopathy and the Elements and at Jan Scholten.com
And the Mineral Kingdom: Structure, by Rajan Sankaran
Jan Scholten’s books and here

Further Conferences
Erica Borge MVB VetMFHom
Ceithre Cos Vet Clinic
Main Street
Tulla
Co Clare
Ireland
ericahomeopathvet@gmail.com
tel:+353 86 852 7080

Dr Hardy
http://drjonathanhardy.co.uk/

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