The initially intended topic of this issue was multi-miasmatic cases. Despite a call
for papers on the topic not many articles were received. As an article in the next
LINKS will show weʼre not short of theories on the topic of miasms, and we could have
easily filled an issue with articles on those, including case examples to show how
right each theory is. When it comes down to practically handling several miasms involved
in a single case it appears to be a different story. There it seems we still struggle
to find the simillimum at each point of time a patient comes to us. Each time they
bring us a snapshot of their current state and often we fail to see the broader panorama
of their miasmatic landscape.
In most, if not all cases a family history will show several miasmatic roots. This
is especially true if we agree that the number of miasms is not restricted to Psora,
Sycosis and Syphilis. In Africa Iʼve often seen a history of gonorrhoea, malaria and
tuberculosis in one and the same patient, and as in AIDS patients it is not uncommon
to see all three becoming active. Add to that an – again not uncommon – history of
rape or war, or any other life-changing trauma and it is clear that there are many
facets to the case that all need to be addressed in an intelligent way.
Clearly, here we already do not agree as we adhere to different theories and beliefs
concerning the miasms. Some of us wish to stick to Hahnemannʼs original miasms as the only ones, while others consider many more infectious diseases
as being capable of causing a miasm, which expresses throughout the generations in
all sorts of signs and symptoms. Introducing significant trauma as a miasmatic root
is a next step. A very liberal use of the concept of miasms practically includes about
every ‘ailments from’ or ‘never well since’ event in a personʼs life. So what is truth
here … and more importantly, what works?
Hahnemann developed his theory of miasms from his discovery of the genus epidemicus
– the most successful use of homeopathy that made it widely accepted in the 19th century.
Hahnemannʼs theory of miasms underlying chronic diseases is one aspect that makes
it hard for contemporary medicine to take homeopathy seriously.
Modern science in the meantime though has moved ahead in the field of epigenetics,
which provides a new foundation for explaining the transmission of the effects of
infectious diseases, and redefines Hahnemannʼs concept of miasms in modern terminology.
Epigenetics not only shows the long-term effects of infectious diseases, but also
that of other life-force-deranging influences like various forms of trauma or intoxication.
All these epigenetic (miasmatic) changes can express themselves in chronic diseases.
A symptom is regarded as a sign of health – of the vital force trying to restore balance.
We must ask ourselves the question whether chronic diseases, being a combination of
symptoms, could therefore as a logical consequence also be seen as serving the purpose
of restoring health.
In recent decades weʼve come to see that diseases can become very meaningful in the
life of an individual and could be regarded as a driving force behind a process leading
to more awareness. On a collective level, epidemics or mass trauma or their consecutive
chronic diseases can similarly wake humanity up to living its full potential. Life
provides our individual or collective simillimum in mother tincture, as it were. As
with a simillimum, after the initial aggravation, healing takes place and a next evolutionary
step in our collective development is made.
A conclusion we can arrive at is that the totality of a disease besides consisting
of its signs and symptoms should also include an understanding of its role and purpose
for the individual, or, in the case of collective derangements of the vital force,
for a certain group, population, race or even humanity as a whole.
This understanding may provide us the full picture – the panorama in which each snapshot
can be meaningfully placed and effectively addressed as the miasmatic landscape has
been sufficiently mapped.
Harry van der Zee
