On the weekend I attended the New Zealand Homeopathy Conference:
I will talk more about the content but firstly I want to discuss the magic of the coming together in person of so many Homeopaths from around New Zealand. One question for the weekend ( with a prize) was about the collective noun for Homeopaths- and several people individually came to “a resonance of Homeopaths”- and it really does feel like a resonance. (Unfortunately I cannot remember who to attribute this to, it certainly wasn’t my word!)
For many of us, it can be lonely or isolating being a Homeopath: we work in private practice, and in my case, I am the only practicing Homeopath in my town. I work at home, in my office, by myself, and while I try to catch up with peers in meetings online periodically, and in person when I can make it to Whangarei once a term, being in an area with so many Homeopaths and talking shop for a weekend was amazing.
There was a pre-conference drinks and networking event on Friday night – a good chance to meet people (many in person for the very first time, despite knowing them online) and talk. I had the chance to meet with four students at the College – we should have taken a photo then, because while we had good intentions to catch up later in the conference for a photo with Pip Andrews, the other tutor, it didn’t happen! We also got a goody bag with samples and full size products – I won’t name them all but the generosity of those companies was really appreciated, and I have discovered a few new things I will be using and recommending.
Saturday started with Ariana Sutton, a Rongoā practitioner who discussed the background of Rongoā Maori medicine. This was an emotional resonance for me, as she talked of the deliberate suppression and disenfranchisement of generations, with the loss of language, culture and healing lore. She also discussed the many forms that Rongoā Māori encompasses, not just Rongoā rakau or plant medicine, but the many pathways including karakia, mirimiri, romiromi, whakawatea and more that are intertwined.
Second was Leila Joffe, who shared some of the information from the trituration proving of Rimu, completed some years ago. She talked about her journey to bring the work to the conference, including discussion with mana whenua and her whakapapa. She shared a general discussion of the family characteristics of the conifers, the most well known of which is Thuja occidentalis. She also gave us information from a case where Rimu was a healing step for her client. Conifers are an ancient type of tree, and there can be this feeling of older than their years, or not connected to other people. The may be a history of betrayal and a disconnection in the mind. It has a theme of creativity, cleansing and transformation, and water may offer safety, joy, beauty and happiness. Rimu can help dissolve trauma – both current and ancestral trauma – and offer a bridge between the dark and light.
After morning tea, we heard from Dr Joe Rozencwajg with his talk Unicism, Pluralism and Complexism in the 21st century. This included a discussion of the history of the single remedy method. His takeaway quote for me is that “homeopathy works best when the individual is alive”. If that means a series of single remedies, or a layering of complementary remedies is the best way forward for the individual, do anything as long as it is based on solid principles. He also discussed complex remedies, that instead of a protocol they need to be well considered remedies that are appropriate for the individual.
Lunch was another chance to eat, meet and talk. There were plenty of conversations going on all around and it was great to discuss what we had already seen, and what was coming up, as well as homeopathy and life in general.
What I have not already mentioned is the tables with information and products, and more people to talk with! In no particular order, I managed to catch up with Bernadette Becker from Homeobotanicals, Mike Dong from Simillimum Homeopathic Pharmacy, Merryn Gibbons from The Dosing Dish, I spent a small fortune with the lovely (and far too enabling) ladies at The Homeopathic Society bookroom table, and also checked in with the ladies on the Nutriscript table. Other businesses represented included Pip and I with CNHH, Michael Chu and Megan Machado from NaturoPharm Ltd, Jess Coleman from Radar Opus and Jess Coleman and Kate Fitness from Homeopaths NZ.
After lunch, we heard from Kaylene Henderson who shared a case of Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy, or broken heart syndrome. Up to 5% of women who present with symptoms of a heart attack may have this condition and while this has been considered a condition that resolves, the 5 year morbidity and mortality data shows an increased risk of heart conditions or death. In her case, the woman had a history of stress, and she was having repeated hospital visits due to symptoms. Initially an acute remedy made a huge difference to her acutely in managing symptoms, then the case could be taken. Then a chronic remedy was prescribed, which was eventually changed to a Q or LM potency so it could be repeated daily and used for some time. This particular client has since moved through a number of other remedies, but she is a healthy and thriving woman and homeopathy was the healing catalyst for this.
Next was Rhonda Hamilton-Cross, who had an amazing presentation, videos included, of healing with animal homeopathy. As well as some heart warming cases, she had some fantastic tips for using homeopathy with animals- to observe them in their own environment, and to consider interactions with humans in the household and other animals, including any stressful events for them. How to dose animals was also discussed, with suggestions for in water for birds, on food for pets, or on bread for sheep, goats and cows. Horses can have remedies placed in their upper lip.
I spoke right after afternoon tea, the results of the 2023 Homeopaths Workforce Demographics Survey. I ran through the individual questions, and then discussed some of the findings that will be published hopefully this year in two papers. The results give us a baseline as a profession about where we are, and are a call to arms for our profession- we need leadership and support from the top down AND from the bottom up. All positions at Council and Society level are held by volunteers, which does make us reliant on people putting their hands up and being involved. I also took the opportunity to discuss some opportunities for further research and collaboration with other countries, and future directions for research in New Zealand.
Then it was time to hear from Jem Moon, the President of the Council, and Sonia Pechner, Vice President of the Society, about Homeopathy NZ, the umbrella organisation that will be a landing pad for anyone enquiring about homeopathy in New Zealand. I can assure you from our early peek at the logo, it is well worth the wait, and the website is gorgeous, with buttons that will lead visitors on to either the Council, Society or College as appropriate.
Finally, Crystal Clark shared some info about social media- particularly how prevalent it is these days, and why we need to engage as practitioners, and some tips for doing so, considering our brand and message as a practitioner.
It was an amazing, thought provoking day- and we were only half way through! There was a conference dinner organised at the hotel, as well as a few breakaway smaller groups that met elsewhere. More time connecting and resonating with the healers that had gathered together.
If you’ve made it this far, please stick with me for Sunday.
We opened with Veda Austin. This was a really powerful talk about water, the intelligence it holds, its ability to reflect thoughts, pictures and ultimately to heal. We could have listened to her talk all day, we really only just scratched the surface. One of the key aspects of her work is that she replicates everything and has so many examples of the same word giving the same picture or hydroglyph. That water contains photons and light, that this is intention and attention, and that the focused thoughts in our heads can be photographed through our retinas was mind blowing. The photos were amazing, her stories and presentation brought both wonder but also the sense that we are at the beginning of an amazing time of growth for humanity, and our work as Homeopaths is one part of that.
Gwyneth Evans had the difficult position of presenting after Veda, and shared the most amazing and traumatic case of a journey for a particular woman, with chronic incurable symptoms. The details are sensitive and not ones I can share, but it brought insights to the remedies Plutonium Nitricum, Disispyros Kaki and Frankincense, and brought many of us to tears on more than one occasion.
Jude Henry presented a case of bulimia, with a decades long history of the disease. This included the journey through several remedies, how a repetition of previously used remedies was needed after Covid lockdown times, and then her analysis that brought a remedy she did not know, but fitted the case perfectly – blood of the grizzly bear. Found through a kingdom and family analysis, when she did get a copy of the proving it matched exactly. The grizzly bear is both a predator, but also prey with the history of bear baiting and bile farming. They eat primarily vegetarian, but binge on salmon prior to their hibernation. And that hibernation involves a shutting down, a slowness and calming- and all of these things were reflected in the case.
Another lunch and a chance to chat with other people. But definitely the feeling that I haven’t caught up with everyone, there is more to discuss, and not enough time. I was one of the last ones back for the drawing of the raffles and silent auctions after lunch because I was too busy talking and making plans for the future.
The final presentation was from Jill Wilby, about the remedy Ruby Immersion. She shared 6 cases to support the various aspects of this remedy. The quote she shared at the beginning was particularly apt – that for Ruby if they are strong within they can be soft on the outside. These are people who may have a history of abuse, but they are strong internally and will stand up to it- whether it is calling someone out or going to court. The aspects of Ruby from this presentation include a feeling of burden, righteousness, conflict and dysfunction in the family, isolation or loneliness, a warrior energy- fighting for their rights, and an uncharacteristic lack of compassion. Physically it could be indicated for head injuries or headaches, shoulder pain (shouldering too much!), heart disease or blood pressure, haemorrhages, coughs and colds, or insomnia.
After a sponsor drawing, we had discussion tables, the final event of the day. This was an opportunity for everyone to have their say about various topics. These included:
- Homeopathy and Supplements, or complementary medicine. When to refer, when is homeopathy not enough?
- Let’s talk about the survey. (This was my table to facilitate, and I must say a huge thank you to Janine Gawn who stepped in for the last four tables as I had to run away at afternoon tea to catch my plane home).
- Miracles in your clinic, favourite or most used remedies
- Managing yourself within your practice. Self care, external influences to practice and supervision.
- Quality of your service as a Homeopath
- Covid, vaccine consequences, long term effects and protocols
- Council membership – what do you expect, what is of value, how does registration support work, what more could be done to support you.
- Animal homeopathy
My takeaways from the conference was not just the learning from the presenters (and this was incredible), but that the networking was invaluable. I made contacts with people who I can reach out to (or who may reach out to me) in the future for support with cases or case management, or to collaborate with on projects in the future.
I am coming away with a buzz, more enthused for homeopathy than when I left home. The passion of everyone there was contagious, the resonance of our homeopaths was further raised and the future looks bright.
A huge thank you to everyone involved in organising this conference. It must have been a mammoth job, but the value from the weekend cannot be quantified.
Image is the mural on the wall just over the road from the Distinction Hotel.