The practice of homeopathy is the therapeutic embodiment of the “everything is what it isn’t” concept. It was practiced as mainstream medicine throughout the early nineteenth century. This system of healing utilizes
minuscule dosages of otherwise potentially toxic substances as the basis for hastening a cure. A material that in excess would cause a disease actually becomes a remedy in therapeutic dosages. And so it is both a cause and a cure. It is what it isn’t.
When coupled with the realization that when you change the way you look at things the things you look at change, everything in the visible universe becomes suspect. Integrating this fact with the other caveats provides us with a tangible model for evaluating any situation or circumstance, as well as any condition or symptom. This model offers the opportunity for us to make sense out of the unresolved issues that continue
to plague us. It gives us a means for understanding the otherwise mysterious events seemingly strewn together randomly that we experience as life. It suggests an explanation as to why the perception of an encounter is often very different from what is encountered. And for me, it provided the framework for engaging the outwardly unsolvable healthcare concerns of a population frustrated with unanswered questions about their relentless symptoms.
The Caveats
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The Sixth Caveat: When You Hear Hoof Beats, Look for Horses
This caveat suggests that when a patient is experiencing a physical symptom, a physical examination is indicated as the initial effort in establishing the source of their concerns. But once again, it stops there. The goal of this conventional assessment is to identify a structure that is tentatively associated with the experience of the physical symptoms, resulting in a physical diagnosis. Conversely, the use of the hoof beats caveat merely represents a starting point for ruling out potential causes and serves as a compass for guiding one through the maze of probabilities. With the other caveats as tools for refining a direction, the ultimate destination may reside in an entirely different realm than the one in which the symptoms exist.
Before these caveats became a formal part of my routine evaluation, a paradigm shift occurred that would forever alter the way I approached these seemingly unsolvable mysteries. The paradigm shift occurred when I decided to look at these concerns in a different way. This led me to the first step of integrating the caveats into a new understanding and approach.
The first step was simply a realization. The realization was, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” I had heard self-help “guru” Wayne Dyer say this many times. But this time it really made an impact. I immediately recognized that I was onto something, but I had no idea what it was. So I began to look at things differently. I began to think for myself, perhaps for the first time since before grade school.
The Caveats
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When All You Have Is a Hammer, Everything Looks Like a Nail
In addition to the caveats listed above, I have come to understand that the areas of expertise in the healing arts, referred to as specialties, are merely arenas of extensive information about a distinct feature of mortal existence. Hence the emergence of the next caveat: “When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like nail.” In other words, when something is always looked at the same way, it always looks the same.
This caveat accounts for the vast range of opinions available in response to questions about why someone is experiencing what they are experiencing. Each area of specialization in the healing arts has a distinctive rationale associated with it. Opinions regarding the cause and course of treatment for any given healthcare concern will vary according to the bias related to the particular discipline of the healthcare professional from whom you seek advice.
For example, a person with back pain will have a surplus of advice to choose from depending upon whom they consult for guidance. Every discipline has an intrinsic belief system associated with their approach to any given set of symptoms. The recommendations for managing back pain will be very different depending upon whom is consulted. A podiatrist sees the feet as the cause. A massage therapist sees the muscles as the source of the pain. A neurologist sees nerves, an orthopedic surgeon sees the spine, a neurosurgeon sees the structures inside the spine, a chiropractor sees the vertebrae, a psychologist sees the emotions, and a psychiatrist sees the mind. While these all potentially play a role in contributing to the symptoms of back pain, the inevitable cause may be somewhere entirely unrelated. If it was all as simple as one cause/one cure, there would be far fewer health care professionals and far less back pain.
The Caveats
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