Do you have a pull to have ‘it’ all worked out? To know where you’re headed before you take the next step?
Prior to being a coach I was a homeopath. I’d sit with clients, take down their symptoms, hear what was out of balance, construct timelines, see patterns, and ultimately choose a remedy which matched the overall presenting picture: in mind and body.
At one time I was also the Chief Executive of the Homeopathy Research Institute (HRI) which put me on the frontline of claims that homeopathy was nothing but placebo. I used to find this claim confusing for a number of reasons.
There was the existing body of scientific evidence which the HRI showcases. However, more so for me, was the first hand experience of homeopathy’s effect.
I remember watching a mother give a Belladonna pill to a toddler who had been up all night with high temperature and fever: she was glassy eyed and a bit manic.
Within seconds, the symptoms had eased. ‘She’s back’ her mum said with relief.
I remember thinking that that child had no idea if she’d been given paracetamol or homeopathy.
Over time I found myself thinking, ‘so what if worst case scenario it’s placebo??’ That would mean people are getting better purely through self belief, without side effects or out-of-date stockpiles. And it’s cheap to produce. What’s not to like?!
For me, being okay with it-might-just-be-placebo in no way takes away from the power of homeopathy. Quite the opposite in fact. It’s the first port of call when anyone in our family (pets included) fell unwell.
Back to when I had a private practice…Something was niggling me though. Often people were coming to homeopathy with the same approach as conventional medicine. It didn’t matter which, ‘just give me a magic pill and help me to get better!’
Understandable of course. I was the same when I first went to see a homeopath (‘a homeo-what??’) aged 19.
Influenced by my own personal development, I became increasingly interested in people knowing themselves as their own best medicine. I saw homeopathy as one possible helper on this journey.
There is a balance inherent in homeopathy: the science of the medicine and the art of the case-taking. I trained as a coach to enhance my case-taking, to support my clients more overtly in recognising their imbalances and patterns for themselves.
The case-taking and the coaching became the thing that most lit me up. People started wanting just coaching. At the same time, I wanted to start working academic terms only. Maintaining a practice for chronic conditions with regular call-in times didn’t match.
I let go of homeopathy, initially for a 6 month period while building up my coaching practice. That was almost 6 years ago.
I find myself at a point now where homeopathy is calling to be included again. It’s like a part of the garden that’s been lying dormant. A part I’ve been unsure what to do with it until now.
Life twists and turns. Sometimes we need to let something go for a while to be able to see it in its full splendour. That can apply to so many things in life: from work to relationships. We need time away from another to be able to grow and evolve. Sometimes we meet again and sometimes we don’t.
May you give yourself the gift of choosing just what’s in front of you. Let go of the big plan for now. Trust the bigger plan that is waiting for you. Allow yourself to be surprised.
When we do this, life has a way of taking care of us.
Arlene x
arlenefl.com 