‘The Power of Water’ – A Thesis
This project and proving has been inspired by the revolutionary life’s work of Masaru Emoto who passed away October 17th 2014. I have admired and been fascinated by his work with energies in water for many years, and his death, in my 2nd year at South Downs School of Homeopathy inspired me to take on this project. It just came into being one day and has evolved in my mind over the last two years.
“Masaru Emoto (July 22, 1943 – October 17, 2014) was a Japanese author, international researcher and entrepreneur, who claimed that human consciousness has an effect on the molecular structure of water. Emoto’s conjecture evolved over the years, and his early work explored his belief that water could react to positive thoughts and words, and that polluted water could be cleaned through prayer and positive visualization. Emoto’s work is widely considered to be pseudoscience.
Since 1999, Emoto published several volumes of a work entitled ‘Messages from Water’, which contain photographs of ice crystals and their accompanying experiments. Emoto’s ideas appeared in the movie ‘What the Bleep Do We Know!?’.
Emoto believed that water was a “blueprint for our reality”and that emotional “energies” and “vibrations” could change the physical structure of water. Emoto’s water crystal experiments consisted of exposing water in glasses to different words, pictures or music, and then freezing and examining the aesthetic properties of the resulting crystals with microscopic photography. Emoto made the claim that water exposed to positive speech and thoughts would result in visually pleasing crystals being formed when that water was frozen, and that negative intention would yield “ugly” frozen crystal formations. This phenomenon was not published in any peer reviewed scientific journal and the best quality study Emoto published on the effects of human intention on the structure of water did not yield positive results”.
Emoto claimed that different water sources would produce different crystalline structures when frozen. For example, he claimed that a water sample from a mountain stream when frozen would show structures of beautifully-shaped geometric design, but those structures would be distorted and randomly formed if the sample were taken from a polluted water source. Emoto believed that these changes could be eliminated by exposing water to ultraviolet light or certain electromagnetic waves.” (Source: Wikipedia)
Now, I am not going to start freezing and photographing the water I am using in this experiment as I do not have the technology to do this. Emoto has done this and proved his theory already. However I would like to prove the theory that water holds energy. As we know Homeopathy is an energy medicine, it holds the vibration of the raw material it was succussed from, and is then potentised.
My aim is to charge water with only the name of the meditative remedy, I will not know the name of the remedy as I wish this to be a double blind trial, one which I can participate in. I will ask the water daily to take on the energy of the remedy that is written underneath it. I then plan to succuss and potentise this remedy with a Sulis machine. I will use a placebo, a 30c and a 200c potency of water remedy, and also the actual homeopathic meditative remedy (30c & 200c). Kathy Pitt (tutor) has kindly agreed to supply the remedy name in a sealed envelope to charge my water with, and make theses remedies up and supply them to me. I will not know the name or potency of the remedies, if they are placebo, water or actually homeopathic remedy. They will be numbered 1-10 for ease of data collection and analysis.
I have a willing group of 10 people who wish to participate in the experiment. These are spiritually like minded people who sit in a meditative group every week with me. I have known many of them for 20 years.
I plan to collect information on them and their meditative habits prior and then again after the remedy to see what effect the remedy has had, if any. I also aim to run the proving on an individual basis as I am aware of the power of collective meditation. If provers are able to take the remedy in a group setting and also meditate individually under it then I can collect all the data and feedback and analyse it.
I will “charge” the water for a month, in a sealed kilner jar. I am going to start it on the Blue moon and leave it until the next fullmoon. Then Kathy will help me make it into a remedy, I am using the enegry of homeopathy, the power of the remedy, through its name, to induce the same results. Water is the key to homeopathy, as I believe and I hope that this study will prove my belief.
In the beginning was the Word
Emoto believed it was the word used to charge water that had the power. He discovered when you looked at water formed from pure and impure sources there was no real difference, he concluded that if it was not the type of water that influenced the crystal formations he was photographing, then it must be the vibration, the Word.
As such he exposed water to music and lyrics, and some to positive or negative words, or photographed crystals before and after prayer. The results of his experiments can be found in his writings, books or online. Now I don´t know if it´s the actual word itself or the intention of putting something good and pure into water that created the resonance. That´s what I am hoping to find out.
(Not Emotos water crystals)
Similar experiments have been conducted based on the discoveries of Emoto, the famous rice experiment is an interesting take on Emoto’s theories. Cooked rice was placed in 2 jars and labelled LOVE and HATE. The Love jar was spoken to and energised by the vibration of Love and it stayed fresh and pure. The Hate jar did not do so well, it took on the negative intent, and rotted. The water in the cooked rice was affected by energy. Negative energy stagnates and destroys and positive loving intention nourishes and heals.
Step One
Kathy started the process by sending me sealed envelope with the name of a meditative remedy written on a piece of paper inside.
I used spring water in a sealed Kilner jar and placed it on top of the envelope on the Blue Moon in July 2015, I left it out until the full moon and every day asked the water to take on the energy of the remedy in the envelope. I did not know what was written on this envelope as I wanted to participate in the trial.
After the water was taken in, I placed it in a cupboard separately from the envelope, which I returned to Kathy, still sealed.
Step Two
Kathy then invited me over to discuss the logistics of the project. She labelled 10 packets from 1-10 which included the water remedy in 2 potencies (30c & 200c), the actual homeopathic remedy in 2 potencies (30c & 200c) and the placebo in 2 packets so there are 5 different packets with 2 duplications of each. There are 2 pills in each pack, one to be taken in a group meditation and the same remedy for the same person to be taken on an individual basis as I wanted to discount the theory that meditating in a group scenario could affect the whole group.
So we have 10 packs containing 2 pills:
2 packets = Placebo
4 packets = water remedy (2 x 30c 2 x 200c)
4 packets = actual homeopathic remedy (2 x 30c & 2 x 200c)
10 packs in total
The Proving
The proving was conducted on 26/11/15 at 8pm in a meditation circle in Surrey. There were 10 participants. 3 males and 7 females between the ages of 32-55. Most are seasoned meditators. Many are holistic practitioners. I was included in the Proving.
Each participant was given a questionnaire to complete prior to the proving asking for details of health, stress levels, sleep, illnesses/medical history, medications/homeopathic use, meditation habits etc. Each questionnaire was labelled 1-10 to correspond to the number on Kathy’s labelled packets. One pill was taken 10 minutes prior to the meditation.
A second questionnaire (again labelled from 1-10) was given to complete after the meditation, as well as a section to complete the following day to see if sleep/dream state was affected. 2 more copies of this were given, so that the second pill results from the individual meditation could be monitored and collated at a later date.
The Meditation
The meditation was led by Sal Worringham, Sal has been holding meditation circles for 20+ years. I have been sitting in these weekly circles for 20+ years and the way Sal works is amazing. She never pre plans a meditation, it is all free flowing and spontaneous. Sal also took one of the remedies (remedy number 3 so will be interesting to see if she had a placebo!) I wonder if her remedy will have an impact on the rest of the Provers. This is another reason to repeat the meditation on an individual basis, to remove any outside influence.
The meditation began with the usual routine of grounding and connecting to the universe. We then bought our awareness inside ourselves, almost like we shrank down and entered our own heart centre. We took our awareness to all the organs and energies centres in the body and body systems. We spent a minute or so in each inner part of the body, in silence, until we were led onto the next. the whole meditation lasted 30 mins and the remedy was taken about 10 minutes prior to beginning.
After the meditation we did not discuss our experiences as I did not want people’s answers to be tainted. I wanted recordings that were as accurate as possible, in their own words.
Hahnemann’s Provings – The Organon
Aphorisms #19-#21 in the Organon lay out the framework for Provings.
Aphorism #21
“Now, as it is undeniable that the curative principle in medicines is not in itself perceptible, and as in pure experiments with medicines conducted by the most accurate observers, nothing can be observed that can constitute those medicines or remedies except that power of causing distinct alterations in the state of health of the human body, and particularly in that of the healthy individual, and of exciting in him various definite morbid symptoms; so it follows that when medicines act as remedies, they can only bring their curative property into play by means of this their power of altering man’s state of health by the production of peculiar symptoms; and that. therefore, we have only to rely on the morbid phenomena which the medicines produce in the healthy body as the sole possible revelation of their in-dwelling curative power, in order to learn what disease-producing power, and at the same time what disease-curing power, each individual medicine possesses.”
But also Aphorisms #105-142 cover the argument for provings
The basic rules I think Hahnemann was applying, are that you have to prove on healthy people otherwise the results would be tainted by an already established disease picture. To conduct your proving with healthy people and to record (without prejudice) the signs and changes in the body and mind. Hahnemann felt that poisonings with certain medicines corresponded with provings on healthy individuals. He says medicines act “according to fixed, eternal laws of nature” and produce “certain reliable disease symptoms each according to its own peculiar character” allopathic medicines differ from this law as their primary action is to take away sensation, sensitivity and irritability even in healthy people. (aphorism 113-114)
Aphorism 117 states that the symptoms only produced in a few people are called idiosyncrasies. You could call these people ultra sensitive to the proving as although they are in a healthy state they are more susceptible and display symptoms of a morbid state that had no effect on many others. 2 things are necessary to produce symptoms:
The power of the influencing substance and the susceptibility to it by the vital force.
Provers but be both male and female to reveal alterations to health in the sexual sphere (#127)
Since this is a meditative proving all the participants, both male and female are in good health (physically & mentally) and are not taking any medications. They occassionallly may use homeopathy, but no one had taken any remedies for at least 7 days prior to each proving.
The Great Water Debate
As Homeopaths, we agree that Homeopathy works, it is an energy medicine. We are harnessing the energies from the raw materials of our remedies. We are not using the raw material itself but a potentized vibration, brought about by succussion. We aren’t entirely sure how the energy is being transferred and held, but we know it is working. My belief is that water holds the key.
Water is made up of one Oxygen atom and two Hydrogen atoms, this is H2O.
A water molecule has three molecular vibrations.
The water molecule has a very small moment of inertia on rotation which gives rise to rich combined vibrational-rotational spectra in the vapor containing tens of thousands to millions of absorption lines. In the liquid, rotations tend to be restricted by hydrogen bonds, giving the librations. Also, spectral lines are broader causing overlap of many of the absorption peaks.
The absorption of electromagnetic radiation by water depends on the
state of the water.
The absorption in the gas phase occurs in three regions of the spectrum. Rotational transitions are responsible for absorption in the microwave and far-infrared, vibrational transitions in the mid-infrared and near-infrared. Vibrational bands have rotational fine structure. Electronic transitions occur in the vacuum ultraviolet regions.
Liquid water has no rotational spectrum but does absorb in the microwave region.
So if water (in liquid form) can absorb energies from microwaves it’s not unfeasible for it to be able to absorb and retain memory (energy) from a raw material, long after the raw material has disappeared from the chemistry of the water. If thoughts are energy, as I believe they are, the water can and will hold this vibration (Emoto’s theory) Therefore, the process of succussion is just a mechanism for the transfer of this energy. The librations of the water molecule are possibly triggered by the succussion process .
We know the human body is approximately 80% water and we know that water holds memory so it is perfectly feasible that the charged water could hold an effect on the body and mind. It is also possible that the thoughts we have can influence our state of mind and health, which could go some way to explaining the placebo effect.
If Emotos is correct, merely holding the intention of charging the water is sufficient for it to alter and penetrate the water molecule. Succussion aids the absorption of energy into the molecule and potentisation dictates the energetic distance from the raw material, the more succussed a remedy the more energy is released, making it possible for it to penetrate the higher realms of the psyche. The lower potency, in theory, working in the physical sphere of the body.
Since this was a meditative proving I would hope to see the 200c potency of both homeopathic and water remedy yielding the most mind, emotional and mental observations.
Why Placebo?
Initially I wasn’t going to include a placebo in my Proving but I decided to rethink my strategy. I believe in the Collective Unconscious and felt that any participants under the effect of the placebo were likely to experience similar meditative effects as those taking the water and homeopathic remedy. But I felt that it wasn’t right to collate the information without the placebo as a baseline for the results. Hence my reasoning to run the Proving twice in a group and an individual Proving. Individually there is no outside energies at work to influence the Prover.
Jeremy Sherr says about the Collective Unconscious, “The Dynamics and Methodology of Homeopathic Provings” -p33
“It has been my repeated experience with provings that symptoms highly consistent with the proving symptomology have occurred in people who were not participating in the proving directly, but who are in close proximity to the provers. For instance in the proving of Diamond quite a few provers experienced tearing or straining of tendons and ligaments in the ankle and wrist joints. However, in addition to the provers experiencing these symptoms a large number of ‘extras’ – supervisors, placebo provers, other class members and close relatives – experienced similar injuries, all unusual occurrences. This ‘echo’ of physical, mental and emotional symptoms have been repeated consistently during other provings. I have needed included these ‘additional’ symptoms in published provings, but the phenomenon is interesting and illuminating and well supported by modern physics and Jungian psychology. Pendulums swinging in proximity will eventually synchronize their rhythms. Women living together will often synchronize their menses. In many ways it is akin to the idea of sporadic illness-similar diseases in distant unrelated subjects, which Hahnemann attributed to meteoric and telluric -i.e energetic – influences in the environment. these occurrences have been reported by other contemporary provers including Jurgen Becker and Rajan Sankaran. This phenomenon also raises questions concerning the validity of administering placebo in provings”
So I feel a placebo is warranted and included and also a double proving. I need the results to be as clear and concise as possible, and given the nature of the meditative environment I believe that Collective Unconscious is a powerful factor in this proving.
Data Analysis & Collation
The data has been collated and presented in a similar way to Morrisons Desktop Guide with sections of:
Physicals/Sensations
Dreams/Sleep
Mental/Emotional/Meditation
I have subdivided these into 2 columns to indicate whether the result came from the Group or Individual meditation. All data is supported by the numbers 1-10 to indicate which prover recorded the information.
I have tried to categorise the information and display it using the Provers own words and descriptions.
Later on I will re-present the information in table format grouping the Water Remedy and Homeopathic Remedies separately so the results can be compared easily.
Outcomes
I have tried to conduct this Proving as best I can, adhering to the rules laid out in the Organon. At this point I am wondering whether participating myself will affect the results, It was a double blind trial and the remedy I was charging in water, and ultimately proving was confidential to Kathy and not known to me, I am wondering whether this in itself was a mistake? If I do not know what remedy to charge my water with how can I charge it? I am hoping that the answer to this question lies in “intention”. I asked the water every day to take on the homeopathic therapeutic energy of whatever remedy was in the sealed envelope. But was this enough? And even if this is enough, will water really hold this essence of intent? Only time will tell.
The Proving Results
Physicals/Sensations
|
Individual |
Group |
|
Stretched – arms and legs felt long (2) (7) |
Tickling sensation – back of head (9) |
|
Hands felt different (9) (2) |
Felt physically stretched (2) (7) (8) |
|
Auditory (4) |
Heaviness of body (7) |
|
Thirsty (3) |
Lungs – awareness of (5) |
|
Excessive Urination (3) |
Inner & outer expansion (3) (2) |
|
Dry Lips (3) |
Thirsty (3) |
|
|
Sore Throat (3) |
|
|
Pain in top lip (2) |
|
|
Band like pressure across brow (2) (1) |
|
No chronic pain sx – rare (10) |
Palpitations (2) |
|
Hungry (2) |
Beak Like Sensation! (2) |
|
Ulcer in mouth (3) |
Mental/Emotional/Meditation
|
Individual |
Group |
|
Improved focus (3) (9) (10) |
Improved focus (2) (3) (9) |
|
Diminished focus (7) |
Restless (7) |
|
Busy / racing mind (7) (10) |
Detached from body (7) |
|
Deep relaxed state (3) (6) (8) |
Detached from others (7) |
|
Less/No visual (4) (2) |
Less/No visual (2) (4) |
|
Ungrounded / Spaced out (8) |
More visual (3) (7) (8) (9) (10) |
|
Peaceful / Calm & centred (3) (8) |
Relaxed (2) (5) (6) (9) |
|
Sensory/ Senses heightened (8) (2) |
Sensory / Senses heightened (2) |
|
Sleepy (7) (8) |
Sleepy (9) |
|
Letting go (3) (5) |
Veiled / Behind glass (2) (7) |
|
Motivated and recharged (2) |
|
|
Connected to physical body (2) |
|
|
Heart Centre (1) |
|
|
Present, in the moment (3) |
|
|
Emotional (5) |
Dreams/Sleep
|
Individual |
Group |
|
Very sleepy (7) (8) |
Good / Improved sleep (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (8) (9) (10) |
|
Dreams of driving (7) |
Dreams of flying (10) |
|
Unrefreshed sleep (7) |
Visual/Vivid dreams (2) (4) (10) |
|
Awareness of being in a dream state (4) |
Sleepy / good sleep (8) (9) |
|
Good sleep (1) (2) (4) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) |
Tired (7) |
|
Dreams of holding onto old stuff / not wanting to let go (1) |
Theme of disconnection in dreams (7) |
|
Uncomfortable images / Nightmares (8) |
Dreams of drinking tea (7) |
|
Vivid (2) (4) (10) |
Dreams of needing help / helplessness (2) (3) (7) being deserted by friends |
|
Forgotten/unremembered dreams (2) (7) |
Forgotten/unremembered dreams (2) |
|
Dreams of haircuts – strange dreams (3) |
|
|
Dreams of driving (1) |
|
|
Dreams of menses/miscarriage (1) |
|
|
Awareness of being in a dream state (4) |
|
|
|
Dreams involving other provers (2) (3) |
The Remedy Revealed
Buddleia Davidii
After the initial analysis of my results Kathy revealed the identity of the remedy – Buddleia Davidi.
Kathy also disclosed the identity of the Water, Placebo & Homeopathic remedies and potencies:
No 1: Buddleia Homeopathic remedy 30c
No 2: Buddleia Water remedy 200c
No 3: Buddleia Water remedy 30c
No 4: Placebo
No 5: Placebo
No 6: Buddleia Homeopathic remedy 30c
No 7: Buddleia Water remedy 200c
No 8: Buddleia Homeopathic remedy 200c
No: 9 Buddleia Water remedy 30c
No: 10 Buddleia Homeopathic remedy 200c
Provers 2, 3, 7 & 9 had a Water remedy
Provers 1,6, 8 & 10 had a Homeopathic remedy
Provers 4 & 5 were Placebo
Buddleia Davidii – Arnica of the Soul
Originally proven as a meditative remedy by Madeline Evans and published by Prometheus (Volume 11) Stuart Deeks provided the specimen to Helios and the remedy was proven conventionally. Madeline Evans makes reference to Buddleia in the Meditative Provings Book volume 2, and also Jan Scholten documents it in his book entitled Sense Provings. Colin Griffith has some interesting information regarding Buddleia. I contacted Stuart Deeks to ask him about the remedy and he kindly emailed Madeline Evans asking her to send me the proving documentation for Buddleia.
Buddleia belongs to the Scrophulariaceae family (figwort).
Looking at my data from the provings (which I have represented in Homeopathic and Water groups) we can see themes and physicals from my proving that tie in with previous provings.
I have re-grouped the data for ease of comparison. I am staggered and delighted to see that my Water remedy had such an impact. The provers of the Water remedy reported many more mental, emotional and physical results in line with Buddleia than those provers taking the homeopathic Buddleia itself, and the dream analysis of the Water provers made for interesting reading.
The Homeopathic Results
HOMEOPATHIC Remedy – Mental/Emotional/Meditation
Provers 1, 6, 8 & 10
|
Individual |
Group |
|
Improved focus (10) |
More visual (8) (10) |
|
Deep relaxed state (6) (8) |
Deep relaxed state (6) |
|
Ungrounded / Spaced out (8) |
|
|
Busy / Racing Mind (10) |
|
|
Peaceful / Calm & centred (8) |
|
|
Sensory/ Senses heightened (8) |
|
|
Heart Centre (1) |
|
|
Sleepy (8) |
HOMEOPATHIC Remedy – Physicals/Sensations
Provers 1, 6, 8 & 10
|
Individual |
Group |
|
Ungrounded (8) |
Band like pressure across brow (1) |
|
Focus on breathing (8) (10) |
Felt physically stretched (8) |
|
No chronic pain sx – rare (10) |
HOMEOPATHIC Remedy – Dreams/Sleep
Provers 1, 6, 8 & 10
|
Individual |
Group |
|
Good sleep (1) (6) (8) (10) |
Good / Improved sleep (6) (8) (10) |
|
Uncomfortable images / Nightmares (8) |
Dreams of flying (10) |
|
Visual / Vivid dreams (10) |
Visual/Vivid dreams (10) |
|
Very sleepy (8) |
Sleepy / good sleep (8) |
|
Dreams of holding onto old stuff / not wanting to let go (1) |
Dreams of driving (1) |
|
Dreams of menses/miscarriage (1) |
The Water Results
WATER Remedy – Mental/Emotional/Meditation
Provers 2, 3, 7 & 9
|
Individual |
Group |
|
Improved focus (3) (9) |
Improved focus (2) (3) (9) |
|
Diminished focus (7) |
Restless (7) |
|
Busy / racing mind (7) |
Detached from body (7) |
|
Deep relaxed state (3) |
Detached from others (7) |
|
Less/No visual (2) |
Less/No visual (2) |
|
Connected to physical body (2) |
More visual (3) (7) (9) |
|
Peaceful / Calm & centred (3) |
Relaxed (2) (9) |
|
Sensory/ Senses heightened (2) |
Sensory / Senses heightened (2) |
|
Motivated and recharged (2) |
Sleepy (9) |
|
Letting go (3) |
Veiled / Behind glass (2) (7) |
|
Sleepy (7) |
WATER Remedy – Physicals/Sensations
Provers 2, 3, 7 & 9
|
Individual |
Group |
|
Stretched – arms and legs felt long (2) (7) |
Tickling sensation – back of head (9) |
|
Hands felt different (9) (2) |
Felt physically stretched (2) (7) |
|
|
Heaviness of body (7) |
|
|
Band like pressure across brow (2) |
|
Excessive Urination (3) |
Inner & outer expansion (3) (2) |
|
|
Thirsty (3) |
|
|
|
|
|
Pain in top lip (2) |
|
|
Palpitations (2) |
|
Ulcer in mouth (3) |
|
|
Beak Like Sensation! (2) |
Water Remedy – Dreams/Sleep
Provers 2,3,7,& 9
|
Individual |
Group |
|
Good sleep (2) (7) (9) |
Good / Improved sleep (2) (3) (9) |
|
Dreams of driving (7) |
Theme of disconnection in dreams (7) |
|
Visual/Vivid (2) |
Visual/Vivid dreams (2) |
|
Very sleepy (7) |
Sleepy / good sleep (9) |
|
Unrefreshed sleep (7) |
Tired (7) |
|
Forgotten/unremembered dreams (2) (7) |
Forgotten/unremembered dreams (2) |
|
Dreams of drinking tea (7) |
|
|
Dreams of needing help / helplessness (2) (3) (7) being deserted by friends |
|
|
Dreams of haircuts – strange dreams (3) |
|
|
Dreams involving other provers (2) (3) |
Homeopathic Remedy Themes
Provers 1, 6, 8 & 10
|
Individual |
Group |
|
Expansion / Contraction / Stretching Theme |
Water Remedy Themes
Provers 2, 3, 7 & 9
|
Individual |
Group |
|
Surrendering the past. No fear of what lies ahead (3) |
Connection to something greater than Self (3) |
|
Inner / Outer body theme (2) |
Inner / Outer body theme (2) |
|
Expansion / Contraction / Stretching Theme |
Expansion / Contraction / Stretching Theme |
Placebo Themes
Provers 4 & 5
|
Individual |
Group |
|
Medieval castle theme (5) |
AnalysingWater Results
Analysing the Water Remedies in Mental & Emotional Symptoms
After looking at the results of the Water provers it’s clear to see that they share themes and experiences with each other.
Within the Mental & Emotional sphere we see a consistent improvement in focus both within the Group and Individual results. 3 out of 4 provers experiencing more visual meditations. Colin Griffith says in “The New Materia Medica” Page 253 “Finds it difficult to stay focused and connected to anything” and this detachment is a major theme of Buddleia. We see disconnection from self, the physical body and emotional detachment from self and others featuring heavily in the Water remedy. Provers 2 & 7 (having both had the 200c potency of Water) report observing things in a veiled light, or from behind a glass which fits in with the disconnected theme. Prover 7 says “I felt separate from my body, I was watching myself as if I was behind a sheet of glass” Prover 2 says “Everything was quite grey and veiled”.
However we see a polarity here as 3 provers reporting improved focus, and only 1 with less.
Busy mind is another commonly reported. Prover 7 says “I felt restless and had to work at staying focussed” in the Group proving and similar in the Individual “Found it difficult to stay focussed, my mind seemed to be busy throughout and my thoughts kept jumping around” “I felt very sleepy and my mind seemed to race” Prometheus says under the Mind section “Chattering mind which prevents people from getting on and achieving; want to sleep to shut it out”.
On the whole the mental/emotional sphere yielded the least spectacular results, I feel this is more to do with the fact it was a meditative proving and therefore the themes of mental and emotional have manifested themselves through the meditative state and the subsequent dream state. I have documented and analysed the Dreams and grouped the physical sensations and meditation results together as these were only recorded in the meditative setting.
Analysing the Water Remedies – Physical/Sensations within the Meditation
The sensations in the Water Remedy are also very much in line with Buddleia. In Prometheus we see that Buddleia is a NBWS a blow to the head, sides of head, birth trauma and forcep delivery. Prover 9 felt a “tickling sensation” at the back of her head and Prover 2 felt a “band like pressure across crown chakra/3rd eye, brow” in both Group and Individual meditations.
There is a theme of stretching and limbs feeling bigger in my findings. Prover 7 said “I realised at one point in the meditation feeling that my body was being stretched so my arms and legs became very long” In her group meditation she says “I was aware of energy moving in my body and could feel myself stretched to the point I felt I was outside of my physical body” She added “I also saw myself detaching from this life attachments, parents and grandparents (all deceased)” Colin Griffith reports “Limbs feel as if they are larger than they actually are; especially the hands” The New Materia Medica p151. Prometheus also makes reference to “separation of mother and child when the bond needs to be broken and neither side can break it”.
Prover 9 reported that her hands felt “amusing” and Prover 3 said “was really aware of my hands, they felt large. My focus seemed to switch between head and hands”.
Prover 3 felt “a sense of inner and outer expansion and contraction” “A connection to something greater than my own energy” Prometheus makes reference to the esoteric buddleia “This is a remedy of profound spiritual importance, which brings with it to earth the Christ or Buddha consciousness; Light and Love” Prover 2 reported palpitations in the heart and this chakra is often overburdened in Buddleia cases.
Prover 3 says she had very dark urine following the Group remedy and an increase in thirst. We see Buddleia acting as a kidney diuretic as mentioned in Prometheus. Maybe this could be something to do with Prover 7’s dream of drinking mouldy tea?
Analysing the Water Remedies in Sleep & Dream State
This is the area where I really feel the Water remedy stands out. The theme of Buddleia manifests itself strongly in the dream state. Maybe this is due to the disconnection aspect of the remedy, in sleep we are disconnected from our conscious brain and it is in our dreams that the messages of the soul and psyche are relayed.
Provers 2 & 3 dreamed of other provers in their sleep. Prover 2 dreamed about prover 3 and Prover 3 dreamed about Prover 7! The theme of these shared dreams are of being helpless and deserted by friends. Prover 3 dreamed of having a haircut that was very asymmetrical. She was packing to leave India and only had shoes. She went to the hairdresser with Prover 7 and Prover 7 had a pink mohican and Prover 3 had short hair cut long and long hair cut short. They came back to find everyone leaving India in a 4×4 without them. The shared dreams provers were all Water provers!
Prover 2 had dreams that were mostly unremembered (as did Prover 9) but had a memory of a dream with Prover 3 where they were lost and no one would help them.
Prover 7 had dreams of being “disadvantaged and disconnected in some way” She was drinking tea which had mould in and made her gag. She also dreamed “she needed help from an ex colleague but she treated me as if I didn’t exist” In Prometheus it states that buddleia “Helps where there is a deep sense of separation and brings boundaries where they are necessary”.
These dreams were all reported after the Group meditation. After taking the remedy on an individual basis the following was documented:
Prover 7 mostly did not remember her dream but had a sense that she was driving a car. Prover 2 did not remember the context of her dream other than it was vivid. Prover 3 did not remember anythig at all. So from this we could conclude that in a group setting we shared an energetic bond that continued in the sleep state. However all 10 of us meditate every week and no one has reported shared dreams and dreams of a helpless disconnected nature before so I feel it is fair to say that the Water remedy carried the essence of Buddleia helped by an energetic connection to others from the circle.
75% of provers reported better sleep after the remedy both taken in a group and individual setting. Provers 7 & 9 were very tired/sleepy after the meditation and only 1 reported unrefreshed sleep.
Analysing Homeopathic Results
Analysing the Homeopathic Remedies in Sleep & Dream State
Prover 8 reported she slept well and dreamed. She couldn’t remember the details of her dreams except that they were “Uncomfortable images – a bit nightmarish”.
Prover 6 slept very well after both provings but did not dream. Prover 10 slept well after the individual meditation and dreamt. He describes the dream as:
“very vivid and real” his dreams included people and day to day situations. His dream after the Group proving was very interesting. “Flying, I can’t remember details for more than a few minutes after waking mostly. Flying is very real for me, i can’t remember the last time i has a flying dream. I had to put effort (arms flapping) into getting off the ground, sunk again as soon as i eased off, but the more I did it the easier it got and the less height I lost”.
Prover 1’s dream after the Group proving was also out of the ordinary, she noted the following “Very bizarre! Involved my brother having a period!! I also had a period – very heavy – it involved a miscarriage” She also saw “an ex landlord who in the dream was blind and driving his car”.
Now in Prometheus under the Generals section we see “Fibroids, menses, excessive loss of blood” and interesting also goes on to state “Separation of the mother and child” and Colin Griffith states “Period pains: cramps and heaviness particularly in those who have a difficult relationship with the mother” I find the dynamic of Prover 1’s dream fascinating as she is adopted and didn’t meet her mother until she was in her 50s and her mother in her 70s, her birth mother died shortly after they got in contact. Her brother was also adopted and was incredibly dependant on his adoptive mother, lived with her until she died in her 80s and has been lost and struggling to cope after her death. She never knew her blood father, he died a few years before she made contact with her birth mother and her adopted father died when she was very young, she loved him immensely and missed him terribly. In Martin Miles notes on Buddleia he says “Children who don’t know who their father is” and also “No psychic link with father”.
Prover 1’s dream after the individual proving “I had a bag, a green canvas one (like a fishing bag) that I seemed very attached to. I was supposed to be exchanging it for a brand new one. I went out of my way to keep the old one and not get the new one, despite many people trying to persuade me otherwise”.
This resonated with a case documented by Lee Pollack (Prometheus) where he was treating a female case for anxiety and prescribed Buddleia in the 10M potency, this caused her to have a huge panic attack and stop taking the remedy or any homeopathy. Pollack reflects on the failings of the case and summarises that Buddleia bought reluctance to change to the surface. The person has to take the necessary steps themselves, it is the soul’s choice.
Prover 8 dreamed after the individual remedy and although the details of the dream were unremembered she reports “Uncomfortable images – a bit nightmarish” Madeline Evans details this in Meditative Provings Volume 2 Page 50 under Fear “For people addicted to light and afraid of the dark” Prover 8 has a long established fear of the dark, stemming back from a childhood trauma. I wonder if Buddleia had somehow unlocked this fear in the dream state?
Analysing the Homeopathic Remedies in Mental/Emotional
Mentally and emotionally the homeopathic proving group showed more results in the Individual meditation that the Group. Prover 1 had an awareness of the Heart space, which we know Buddleia relates to.
Provers 6 & 8 felt deeply relaxed. Prover 8 also reported heightened senses and feeling peaceful, calm and centred, however they also recorded feeling ungrounded and “spaced out” in the individual meditation. Buddleia being associated with sacral and crown chakras then it is possible that too much energy in the crown could cause this. Prover 10 reported better focus but also a busy racing mind. Martin Miles states “People with chattering brains that preoccupy them”.
As we only have the experience within the meditation to go on we don´t see a lot of mental / emotional symptoms reported in this group. Whereas the Water group reported more findings. We don´t see the theme of detachment and separation in the Homeopathic as we do in the Water Provers.
Analysing the Homeopathic Remedies – Physical/Sensations within the Meditation
Again in line with the Water remedy we see the same themes of Buddleia play out in the Homeopathic Buddleia. We have the band like pressure across the brow as reported by Prover 1 “a pressure of energy like a band across my head, covering the area of my eyes and nose” It continued for most of her meditation “The pressure increased steadily and was there throughout the meditation. The pressure stopped as the end of the meditation”.
Prover 8 had the physical stretched sensation “Felt myself physically stretching up to give myself more space to breathe deeply”.
Prover 10 has a chronic hip problem which leaves him almost constant pain, he noted a reduction in the pain after the Individual remedy. Buddleia has an affinity to the Sacral region so may be that this gave him some relief although he did not note the same after the Group meditation. Madeline Evans states in Meditative Provings Generals section of Buddleia that it “Unties knots on all levels: in joints, in extremities, in rheumatics and arthritics, in the stomach, in the nerves”.
In contrast to the results of the Water remedy there are far fewer physical sensations reported within the Homeopathic group. Why this is I am not sure. Prover 6 is not a regular meditator and therefore his reports are of a general calmness as you would expect from someone who has quite a stressful lifestyle and no outlet for that. Prover 10 meditates and uses mindful techniques but does this in solitary ways like walking or in the bath, he needs a mechanism to get his mind to focus rather than just sitting still.
Prover 1 has been meditating regularly for 20 years and did provide the majority of the results for this test, She had the remedy in 30c potency. Prover 8 is also a regular meditator and work very much in the energetic realms yet her feedback was limited. She slept well and did not dream and I think it is within the dream state I am seeing the power of Buddleia both in the Water and Homeopathic groups.
Placebo Findings
Placebo Findings – Provers 4 & 5
The placebo group yielded results in line with my expectations.
Prover 4 had no visual component to the Group meditation, but this is normal for her. She slept well and felt rested in the morning. She reported 2 vivid dreams where she felt she was “seeing more” than usual and an awareness that she was in a dream state. The dreams continued for a week. The Individual meditation also had no visual component although felt she received information about how to progress in the next step of what she needed to do. again slept well. She had vivid dreams and again had an awareness of herself being in dream state.
Prover 5 recalls being aware of his lungs in the Group meditation. He went to a different place that the one guided through the meditation and “stood on ramparts of a medieval castle overlooking courtyards where people dressed in very brightly coloured costumes of period, recall one jacket made up of very bright blue reflective squares about 1/2 “ in size” He slept well and did not dream. Madeline Evans makes reference to the significance of the colour Blue in the Connections section in Meditative Provings (P55) so maybe the Group meditation did have some kind of collective consciousness affecting the placebo prover?
In the individual meditation Prover 5 connected with the memory of a recently departed friend, thanked them for their part in his life and let them go. He reported being more emotional than usual but considering the theme of his meditation this is understandable. He slept well and did not dream.
So nothing exciting here and even under the influence of the Group Buddleia remedies I can see no essence of Buddleia in their experiences, with the exception of the Blue connection of Prover 5.
From reading the feedback I had guessed these 2 may have been the placebos.
I was worried about having only 2 placebos in the group of 10. However Jeremy Sherr states “I have adopted a policy of giving 10%-20% placebo, while loudly announcing that there will be sac lac in the trial” I had 10 provers taking 2 tablets and there were 2 provers so feel this is acceptable on a small scale trial.
My Conclusions
Doctrine of Signatures – Buddleia
If we apply the Doctrine of Signatures to Buddleia we see a plant that grows rapidly, even after being cut back its growth is prolific. It has an affinity with the spine and it’s not had to see why, a very long stem with clusters of beautiful tiny flowers bursting out of the head of the plant. I can understand the affinities it has with crown and sacral.
I see the leaves being limb like and sometimes the weight of those limbs bows the stem over. Limbs being larger and stretched seems to be similar to the plant itself.
Water Prover 3’s Individual meditation saw her having a cloak removed from her back and this for me encapsulates Buddleia. It’s the letting go of emotion and deep held grief and anxiety. The breaking of bonds and ties from this life and before. Lightening the load on the spine. Whereas in contrast we see Homeopathic Prover 1’s dream about having a heavy old canvas bag that she refused to give up despite being offered a new one. Here we see and inability to let stuff go. As a remedy Buddleia can be a very relieving tonic for the soul, if the soul is prepared to lighten its load, in order to stand tall like the Buddleia we must be willing to let go. It really is Arnica for the Soul!
Prover 3 dreams of a haircut (long hair being cut short and short hair being cut long) are similar to the way in which Buddleia populates. You can cut it back but it almost grows before your eyes. Prover 3 dreamed that Prover 7 had a “pink mohican” and I can think of nothing more Buddleia like an explosion of pink, blue, purple at the head of the plant, or person!
Prover 10’s dream fascinates me the most from the Homeopathic group. The flying dream. He describes the way he has to flap hard to get off the ground and as soon as he eases off he loses height. I think about this a lot as a bird doesn’t have to flap constantly, once a bird is off the ground he can glide and ride the thermals. Then I think of Buddleia and Colin Griffith calls it the Butterfly Bush. A butterfly has to flap its wings in a strong figure of 8 motion to get off the ground, once it is in flight it can reduce its efforts for a leisurely speed but it always has to move its wings to stay airborne. So what is it about the buddleia that the butterfly needs? and could it be possible that the buddleia remedy has an essence of butterfly in it?
Stuart Deeks sample was of flower and stem so maybe it had a trace of butterfly pollen in it? I know there are Butterfly remedies in existence so maybe there is a link and crossover of symptoms.
So What Really Happened Here?
I had a long think about what occurred during this proving. Could there be any other explanation for the results of the water remedy? Was it the essence of Buddleia working here or was there another more simple dynamic going on? And then I thought, what if it was just Water? What if the findings of my Proving were purely coincidental? Could water in its simple form, but potentised, produce similar results? So I searched for provings of water, and I found one! Conducted by Misha Norland and Peter Fraser with TG24 at The School of Homœopathy and I extracted this summary of their Water proving Aqua Nova:
“The result of the proving was interesting. It has taken two years to publish any of the results and I still have some ambivalence in publishing it. During the proving it appeared to be a good proving that was producing an interesting picture. The process of the School’s proving involves a monthly meeting of the proving group during which the provider’s indicate something of their proving experience. The meetings were enthusiastic and seemed to be describing a coherent and useful picture. I was therefore very surprised in collating the provers’ diaries not to be able to see a picture of the remedy appearing. Having collated the diaries I looked at the proving a number of times trying to see some sort of picture and could not find anything. The things that had appeared in the provers’ meetings were simply not substantiated by the provers’ diaries. None of the themes or groups of symptoms that seemed to be important could be substantiated by more than one diary. Even symptoms that are common in the general population and common in most provings were only found in one or two diaries.
Some time ago the School had conducted a proving using placebo and the result had been reassuringly as expected: none of the provers had experienced significant symptoms. This situation was different. Almost all the provers had experienced a powerful proving and the group as a whole had also done so. They had symptoms that were clear and strongly expressed. The problem was that there was no coherence between the provings of the individuals or indeed between the group’s proving and that of any of the individuals.
Looking at things from a different angle it seemed clear to me that all the provers were proving themselves.
What does this mean for the remedy? To use it in a truly homœopathic manner it might be prescribed for a person who has no personal pathological picture. Some one who takes on their pathology from the people and circumstances around them and has nothing that comes from within themselves. They would be incredibly sensitive and responsive but have little internal character. I suspect this is not at all a common occurrence and it would be very difficult to see.
The remedy could be used to give to a patient in order for them to prove it. If my understanding is correct, they would prove themselves and so produce a stronger and clearer picture of their own state and so make finding a suitable remedy much easier.
My concern about publishing the proving is that it is a tabula rasa, an empty slate. Just as the provers were able to write their own personal story on the remedy; so a homœopath could easily read any of his patients’ stories in the proving and there would always be the appearance of a well indicated remedy even though that was almost never the case.
This was a challenging proving for all who participated in it and it may well be challenging for those who use it, but such challenges have a tendency to produce wonderful things” .
And I think this is exactly what Water is. “A tabula rasa, an empty slate”. Water has the ability to take on whatever energy it is exposed to. If it is given in its basic form, but potentised it is in effect unprogrammed “Looking at things from a different angle it seemed clear to me that all the provers were proving themselves” so what I take from this is that water in its base state is neutral. It has an enormous capacity to retain information and reflect the essence of which it has been exposed, but in reality it is a carrier, when unfilled it will only resonate with the energy and picture of the person to whom it is applied to. Remembering that we are 80% water, of which our thoughts, dreams, illness and habits are ingrained into, adding only pure water as a remedy will merely take on this existing constitutional picture of the prover and bring it to the fore. It will amplify all that already is, it cannot cure in its natural state.
Did It Work…?
I’ve been really excited and motivated by this Proving experience and I feel justified in saying that the Water remedy was a success on many levels. Obviously it’s a small scale Proving and not conducted in a way that can’t be totally conclusive. In order to do this I would have to reprove the remedy, on a large scale and grade the experiences / symptoms of the Provers meticulously and fit them into the framework of a Repertory. Some provers (especially in the homeopathic group) gave very little feedback which I can do nothing about, but which shapes and possibly distorts the proving, and if this was a simple proving of a remedy that would have been disastrous. But I wasn’t really trying to prove Buddleia, my aim was to prove that water holds memory and with that goal in mind I can say that it does, in a most mysterious and magical way.
I believe that intention is an amazing thing and water is an abundant substance able to absorb and hold the legacy of your thought long after that thought has passed. I couldn’t even ask the water to take on the energy of Buddleia as the remedy at that time was a mystery to me. All I could ask was that the water held the memory of whatever homeopathic remedy was written on the paper underneath it. It was left for 30 days and then potentised. The proving took place 2 months after the remedy was made and yet the power of Buddleia endured.
But really is this any different to traditional homeopathic dilution? None of the raw material remains in a remedy, especially in the potencies used in this proving, so we are already into the realms of energy medicine. How does intention in water differ so greatly from succussion in water / alcohol? Many homeopaths have told me that if they are without a crucial remedy they will write the name of it under a glass of water, or send it energetically to the patient so why then when I mention water holding memory and being able to charge it is this met with mixed opinions? Maybe this isn’t the principles laid out in the Organon but we are living in a world that is far removed from Hahnemann’s time. Illness is created in the mind and it would be naive to think that the power of the mind could not find a mechanism to reverse that.
Water is an abundant source on this planet, it is the life giver, without water the planet would die along with every living thing on it. What if we could cure all our illnesses and ailments in this way? It is food for thought and I will certainly never look at water in the same way again.
References:
Emoto, Masaru (2007) The Miracle of Water. Atica Books. USA
Emoto, Masaru (2005) The Secret Life of Water. Beyond Words Publishing. USA
Evans, Madeline (2005) Meditative Provings Volume 2. Rose Press Publications. York , UK
Sherr, Jeremy (1994) The Dynamics and Methodology of Homeopathic Provings; Dynamis Books. UK
Griffith, Colin (2007) The New Materia Medica. Watkins Publishing. London, UK
Prometheus Volume 11. December 1999
Hahnemann. Samuel, Boericke, William. (2011) Organon Of Medicine (6th edition) B Jain Publishers, New Delhi, India
Crockett, Peter (1995) The Unfolded Organon – A Precis of Hahnemann’s 6th Edition. Islington Centre for Homeopathy. London, UK
Misha Norland and Peter Fraser with TG24 at The School of Homœopathy. Proving of Terra Nova. (2009) source: http://www.hominf.org/aquanova/aqnofr.htm
About the Author:
Tracy White is a UK homeopath with a special interest in treating eczema & gut disorders. She graduated in 2016 from the South Downs School of Homeopathy and practices in Surrey and also via online appointments worldwide. She runs weekend homeopathic workshops to teach the benefits of acute prescribing and is utterly obsessed with the wonder that is homeopathy.
www.tracywhite.co.uk 07900 562882
Clever H. - the Mag! 
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