COMMENT BY PAUL:
These statements are very significant. In Aphorism 6 Hahnemann has told us that the inner state will always be hidden from our eyes. Some people will say that by treating the "externally manifested symptoms" we are in fact suppressing, seeing that the symptoms are the adjustment by the vital force to the disordered inner state. In this Aphorism, Hahnemann tells us that the inner state, the affection of the morbidly deranged, spirit like dynamis and the outer totality of symptoms are one and the same. What he is actually saying, is similar to the observation of an object and its reflection. The reflection allows us to see the original and in the case of homoeopathy, our "seeing the totality of symptoms" allows us to chose the remedy for those symptoms, and to at the same time, choose the remedy that is matching the inner state.

Now it is obvious that these signs and symptoms will be dependent on the physical constitution i.e. the body of the individual. Whether the sign is a rash, some pathology or even a sensation. The integrity of the physical structures will determine the expression. If a nerve is severed, there will be no pain, no description of sensation and no observation of function.

In essence this aphorism reveals a deeper truth. On the one hand we have the orthodox medical view that we are physical life forms. Our true nature can be seen as some complex of chemical interactions within the brain, our depression is a chemical imbalance which must be treated chemically. For the physical body, we see a doctor or specialist. For anything not physical we see a psychiatrist, who will talk us through our problems, or better yet, prescribe medication to "address the imbalance of our physical state. There is no recognition of the human spirit, other than by saying that we seem to be "under stress" or a "little anxious".

In contrast we have well meaning new age thinkers who tell us we are "spirit" and the body is "illusion (as is all matter). I still seem to have difficulty walking through walls. The reality is that in this particular era of mankind's evolution, in this form of incarnation, we are "spirit dwelling in physical form". It is a necessary stage of our incarnation and offers us unique opportunities. There will come a time when we no longer need to incarnate physically, but it ain't here yet. We must acknowledge our physical status, without relinquishing our true spiritual essence. That means we must preserve the health of our physical organism. Going back to Aphorism 9 we see that through this we can best make use of this opportunity of life to achieve our higher purpose of existence.

What Hahnemann says is that we split the idea of spirit and body for sake of "easy comprehension", but we must actually see that the whole as greater than the sum of the parts.

COMMENTS BY EILEEN:
This aphorism reminds me of a very popular USA television commercial a few years back when it said (of chickens) "parts is parts." It is the typical traditional or allopathic view of medicine aimed at us, the person who is sick. All we are, at least to traditional medicine, is parts. You have an eyes, ears and nose specialist. A cardiac specialist. A gynecologist specialist. As a human being, we are chopped up into parts, organs and systems. Its no wonder that the traditional medical world never perceives the word "wholism" because when you look at one part, you ain't gonna see the whole of the person. Period!

Homeopathy, on the other hand, sees the person not only as whole, but recognizes that our mind, our spirit and our emotions can and does play havoc on all those levels (a state of imbalance which the Vital Force or Dynamis gives rise to symptoms to tell us we're not in harmony), but on our physical body as well. Homeopathy is inclusive. Traditional medicine is exclusive (parts).

Now, traditional medicine is grudgingly giving ground to a "mind-body" concept. But it is nowhere near the state of the art that homeopathy holds the person in. They are neophytes compared to the mastery of wholism in human beings that has been ongoing for the last 250 years.

I agree with Paul that we cannot separate our body from our spirit. Nor can we stay stuck in physical only (traditional medicine) or spirit only (out-of-touch metaphysical types. From my Native American background, all of this is seen as connected and you cannot separate out one from the other. What happens to us in spirit is reflected in our body, in our mind and our emotions. That is why I love Homeopathy so much--it in inclusive, it considers everything that might put us out of harmony or balance within ourselves. Symptoms are merely a red flag, a voice of the Dynamis or Vital Force, trying to get our attention. That is how our Vital Force "talks" to us--through symptoms or lack of them (then you have health).

Going along the lines of what Paul has opened up about people moving into a spiritual space to try and forget about their physical body--there is much more to this and I'd like to explore it a little more here. In a healthy person, the strong sense of spiritual connection with Creation is palpable. You sense it, you know you are a part of a greater whole, and a part of everyone and everything else. Spirit shines THROUGH our mental, emotional and physical body. But it does not take it to the extreme. One can be of this Earth and exceedingly spiritual. It is about living with the tension of the two opposites and bringing them together to work as a team within you.

My experience with those who go into an extreme spiritual realm is this: They have been severely traumatized, usually in young life (infants/children) or they bring experiences not-yet-worked-through from past lives, into this one. What ever the reason, the bottom line is: Trauma. When a person has been traumatized, most want to escape the pain of the feeling. Those who do not opt out for abuse of drugs and alcohol, can also escape into the nether world of meditation, too. One can choose to remain partially out of their physical body (the astral body) and in doing so, they don't have to feel fully at all. This is anesthetizing the individual and its a defensive action to help them cope and still try and struggle to remain afloat in our workaday world.

People who are not fully "at home" in their body (i.e., their astral body is not 'locked' fully into their physical body), are often accused of being spacy, ungrounded, dreamy, other-worldly, space-cadets, forgetful, etc. By being out of their body to some degree, they don't feel--and they don't want too. And those that go into a purely spiritual discipline with this background, are not doing themselves any favors because it can and does catch up with them eventually. These people who say that a spiritual path is the only way to go, are really quite vulnerable and hurting in a raw emotional state (although they'll probably not admit it to themselves or to us).

We cannot separate out body from spirit. We're like a complicated cake recipe; we need all these ingredients to be a human being. To be a healthy one means taking responsibility for our wounds, our vulnerability, our pain and working through it--not running away from it by leaving our physical body when we're awake or conscious. Good health is a recipe of spirit, mind, emotions AND our physical body. And Old Sam realized that.

TRANSLATION by GABY ROTTLER:
The suffering of the morbidly mistuned, spirit-like, our body animating dynamis (vital force) in the invisible interior, and the essence of the outwardly cognizable symptoms produced by it in the organism, representing the existing malady, constitute a whole, they are one and the same. The organism is indeed the material instrument of life, but it is not conceivable without the animation by the instinctively feeling and regulating vital force ,just as the vital force is not conceivable without the organism; consequently the two constitute a unity, although in our thoughts we split this unity into two conceptions for the sake of an easier comprehension.

Best wishes,
Gaby
Gaby Rottler Germany GRottler@mfr.de