Tutorial 10 – Direction of Cure
Little Joshua developed eczema shortly after birth, which quickly spread from his elbows and knees to his neck. Every time he ate bread or fruit, the eczema flared around his mouth and across his cheeks, causing him to scratch until it bled.
His desperate mother obtained a prescription for a cortisone-based cream from her doctor, and the eczema began to clear within hours. While Joshua’s mother was relieved, a homeopath might worry about potential future problems for him.
Indeed, two months later, Joshua developed a persistent dry, wheezy cough, which was diagnosed as asthma, leading to costly medications.
Joshua’s story is not unique: it raises questions about whether the eczema was truly cured and if the asthma could have been prevented. In a previous tutorial, we discussed palliation, suppression, and cure, emphasizing the importance of treating symptoms wisely. Now, we will explore the “direction of cure” and how to recognize it.
The Direction of Cure: What Is It?
Early homeopathic practitioners observed specific patterns in the healing process, which they compiled into a statement called “The Direction of Cure.” This statement outlines the progression of genuine healing, as opposed to mere palliation or suppression:
- From above down,
- From within out,
- From a more important organ to a less important organ,
- With symptoms disappearing in the reverse order of their appearance
When symptoms follow this pattern, true healing is taking place. If symptoms move in the opposite direction, the person’s health is likely worsening.
From Above Down
If symptoms like skin rashes or joint pains move downward during treatment, healing is on the right track. Conversely, if symptoms improve upwards through the body, suppression may be occurring.
From Within Out
When symptoms move from deeper organs to more superficial ones during treatment (e.g., a liver infection transitioning to muscle pain, then skin itchiness), healing is underway. Symptoms moving inward suggest the person is becoming sicker.
From a More Important Organ to a Less Important Organ
A person whose high blood pressure and chest pains are replaced by sinus problems during treatment is heading towards better health, as symptoms have shifted from a more important organ to a less important one. However, if sinus symptoms are exchanged for heart problems after continual suppression by antibiotics and antihistamines, the person’s health is deteriorating.
Symptoms Disappearing in the Reverse Order of Their Appearance
For example, skin issues may progress to respiratory problems and then heart problems. If an unwell person is treated with medicines that match their symptoms, rather than suppress them, their vitality can be strengthened and the imbalance corrected. In this case, their symptoms will disappear in the reverse order of their appearance: first the heart problem, then the skin issue.
Are All Observations Equally Important?
While the Direction of Cure observations provide guidelines for determining health improvement or worsening, they do not all have equal value. The first three are less common, while the fourth is more frequently observed. In reality, a person’s symptoms may gradually improve during homeopathic treatment without strictly following any of the above observations. Their real value lies in accurately identifying worsening health when symptoms move opposite to these guidelines, which should raise concerns.
What about Joshua?
As we’ve learned in this and previous tutorials, our life force attempts to push disease towards the body’s surface to protect deeper, more vital organs. Consequently, infants like Joshua may develop skin conditions such as eczema and rashes during the initial stages of an energetic imbalance.
If these skin problems are suppressed by creams or steroids, or if vitality weakens, the Vital Force can no longer alleviate the disease through the skin, so it uses deeper organs as an outlet to preserve life. This is precisely what happened to Joshua. His skin issue was suppressed by a cortisone cream, which led to the more life-threatening problem of asthma.
If vitality weakens further or new symptoms are suppressed, the illness may progress to deeper organs such as the bowel, kidney, heart, or brain. This progression may occur rapidly or gradually over decades, as multiple suppressions worsen health and deepen chronic disease. Fortunately, Joshua’s mother sought a homeopathic consultation in time.
To treat Joshua, I prescribed a homeopathic medicine that matched the physical, mental, and emotional symptoms of his imbalance. Within two weeks, his asthma had significantly improved, but the eczema began to return. Joshua’s mother, concerned, brought him back to me. I explained that this was not a setback but a sign of deep healing. I advised her to wait a little longer, confident that the asthma would clear, followed by the eczema – which is precisely what happened, except for one incident.
One night, Joshua’s dad gave him a bath while his mother was out, adding bubble bath mixture to the water for fun. Within minutes, Joshua’s eczema flared and spread across his body. Distressed, his father applied the cortisone cream, which calmed the rash over the next few hours. The next day, however, Joshua’s asthma returned with a vengeance.
Joshua’s mom called me in a panic, and I explained how the bubble bath irritated the eczema, which was then suppressed by the cream. Without a skin outlet, the disease was redirected into Joshua’s lungs, posing a more serious issue.
I reassured his mother that the appropriate homeopathic remedy would once again strengthen Joshua’s vitality, resolving the asthma and returning the eczema to the skin. This happened over the following week.
Joshua continued homeopathic treatment for another two months, during which his eczema cleared entirely. Now asthma-free and energetic, he keeps his parents on their toes.
In Conclusion – Potentized Remedies Can Suppress!
The last two tutorials have discussed suppression extensively. Hopefully, you’ve decided not to suppress your symptoms.
However, suppression is not solely a concern with conventional medicine. While potentized remedies lack chemicals and the associated toxic side effects of traditional medicines, they can also “suppress” if not prescribed according to the Law of Similars. Our next tutorial will explore how to use the Direction of Cure to determine if your potentized remedy is genuinely leading you towards healing.
Tutorials
- Homeopathy: an Introduction
- Tutorial 1 – The Law of Similars
- Tutorial 2 – Law of Similars Discovered
- Tutorial 3 – Potentisation
- Tutorial 4 – Three Scales of Potency
- Tutorial 5 – Benefits of Potentisation
- Tutorial 6 – Provings
- Tutorial 7 – The Vital Force
- Tutorial 8 – Potentised Remedies and the Vital Force
- Tutorial 9 – Palliation, Supression or Cure?
- Tutorial 10 – Direction of Cure
- Tutorial 11 – Return of Old Symptoms
- Tutorial 12 – Homeopathy and Other Medicinal Therapies
- Tutorial 13 – Finding a Good Homeopath
- Tutorial 14 – That First Appointment
- Tutorial 15 – What to Expect (Part A)
- Tutorial 16 – What to Expect (Part B)
