Chapter 2:
Homeopaths treat people, not diagnoses.
continued

What In The World Is Homeopathy?
The Vital Force and the Defense Mechanism
The dynamic balance of all the functions of your body within the narrow range that maintains life and health is known as homeostasis. Homeostasis means keeping things static or constant. Imagine that your body is a gyroscope. As long as the gyroscope is spinning vigorously, it will stay in balance, even though outside forces may try to topple it. If you push it to one side, it will return to its upright position naturally.

Homeostatic and self-regulatory mechanisms constantly maintain the physiology of the body. Numerous feedback loops in the body stimulate necessary adjustments in your physiology. When the carbon dioxide content of your blood begins to rise, you breathe more deeply or you begin to yawn. When you drink too much coffee or beer, urination is increased to decrease the liquid volume in your body. When your immune system recognizes a protein that is foreign to your system, antibodies are produced to take the protein out of circulation before it can do any damage.

These self-regulatory mechanisms operate in an organized fashion, but the organizing principle that causes them to function is difficult to observe directly. Physiologists assume that there is an underlying principle because the body continues to live, think, eat, digest, reproduce, and move. When the body fails to do these things, we consider a person to be dead. So what is the difference between being alive and being dead?

Homeopaths believe that, as long as you are alive, there exists within you a living, intelligent energy that is responsible for healing and maintaining balance in your body, mind, and emotions. This energy is called the vital force. The idea has been shared by many cultures throughout the world, using names such as ki, prana, mana, and life force. Although the vital force is intangible, its effects are readily apparent.

The defense mechanism is the aspect of the vital force that is responsible for preventing illness and bringing all of your systems back into equilibrium. It helps your body repel invading organisms and keeps all of your internal biological functions running smoothly. The immune system is the physical aspect of the defense mechanism. It uses specialized cells and tissues to neutralize, destroy, or immobilize any foreign cells or tissues. The defense mechanism is not just physical; there are also mental and emotional aspects of the defense mechanism. It is just as responsible for healing the grief from a death in the family, or the confusion and delusions of the schizophrenic mind, as it is for healing a bruised toe, a cold, or an ulcer. It helps you to release anger, grief, and sadness; to forgive those who have hurt you; and to restore your emotional balance. It can also help you regain mental concentration, clarity of thought, and good memory.

You can help strengthen your defense mechanism and prevent minor health problems from becoming more serious if you pay attention to the messages your body is communicating to you. When your defense mechanism cannot prevent a situation, you begin to notice warning signals. You may get a slight sore throat, then a runny nose, then aches and pains, and then a fever. These are signs from the defense mechanism prompting you to pay attention and restore your health. It is your responsibility to take over. You can get more rest, eat lightly, take Vitamin C, and reduce the stress in your life. Suppose that in the process of defending you, however, the body keeps generating more symptoms that become increasingly severe, and do not go away. This is when homeopathy can help.