Dynamics and Methodology of Homeopathic Provings

From the Book

"And further, while we were preparing the so-called old medicines we never forgot our position as explorers of the unknown world of results, of effects; never forgetting the ground-work of our healing art, we prepared from time to time new medicines also; we made regular provings at least once a year, often twice and even three times a year.

"These provings were the high feasts in our church, and you cannot consider yourselves true members of it without joining in these feasts.

"Proving is a most wonderful thing, like world has never known its like. We suffer, and we enjoy it; we sacrifice a little of our comfort, and gain years of strength by it; we go to school to learn, and we increase the certainty of the healing art.

"As the same time, to probe drugs is of all other ways the very best, the nearest and the easiest to learn to master our Materia Medica. It is the way to learn; to observe the art of arts, the principal one on which all others are based."

Constantine Hering
Lectures by Hering and Lippe

Back to the Top

Details

The Dynamics and Methodology of Homeopathic Provings by Jeremy Sherr, was published in 1994.

Provings provide the very bedrock upon which homeopathy stands. Without a thorough understanding of provings and how to carry them out homeopathic medicine loses its integrity. Sherr has taken on the monumental task of reviewing this information, structuring it and making it comprehensible.

He gives us the systematic ground rules for careful, comprehensive provings that may assure uniformity in the evaluations of our medicines.

Part one of the book is the ‘Dynamics of provings’. Here Sherr covers the necessity for provings, and explains the concept of, "as one person" in very clear language. Included also are types of provings, primary and secondary reactions, clinical drug trials, and a chapter on the collective unconscious.

Part two of the book covers the methodology of provings. Sherr gives step by step directions for all aspects of a proving from choosing and preparing the proving substance, to supervising the proving, to how to repertorize the results.

Appendix A includes instructions to the provers and their supervisors. It is a very succinct How-to manual.

Appendix B is a listing of all the provings done in the previous 15 years that Sherr was able to find in the literature.

Back to the Top

Heritage

The first modern text to discuss the concept of provings and establish a methodology to follow which is consistent with the instructions outlined by Hahnemann in the Organon.

Julian Winston writes:
If only all provings were done with this methodology. . . Sherr clearly outlines the need for supervision, the time-frame needed, the extraction of the symptoms from the mass of information, and the uselessness of trying to force onto the proving remedy any "essence" or "theme." He sees it all very clearly and simply as a compilation, with extreme care.

A very valuable book that, unfortunately, too few read and heed.

From:
The Heritage of Homoeopathic Literature
copyright 2001 by Julian Winston
Reprinted with the permission of the author

Back to the Top

Author

Jeremy Sherr

(1955 -     )

Jeremy Sherr was born April 2, 1955, in South Africa, and grew up in Israel.

Homoeopathy found him 23 years ago, and Jeremy began formal studies at the College of Homoeopathy, London, in 1980. He completed a degree simultaneously in Acupuncture at the International College of Oriental Medicine. Though he has practiced homoeopathy exclusively since 1982, his knowledge of Chinese Medicine shines through his homoeopathic thinking.

Mr. Sherr began teaching while still in college. He taught in most of the British schools, and began his Dynamis School in 1987. It is the longest running post-graduate course in the UK.

Jeremy has taught the Dynamis curriculum throughout Europe and North America, and is a popular lecturer worldwide. He maintains a busy practice in London, Tel Aviv, and New York.

He was the first to re-develop the science and art of provings after a century of near silence. In 1982 he conducted his first proving of Scorpion, and has since completed 21 thorough provings.

He has written The Dynamics and Methodology of Homoeopathic Provings, which has become a standard textbook in most colleges and the basis of worldwide proving guidelines. It has been translated into French, German, and Russian.

He was awarded a fellowship from the Society of Homoeopaths in 1991 and a Ph.D. from Medicina Alternativa. He is a Member of the North American Society of Homoeopaths, and is an honorary professor of Yunan Medical College, Kunming, China.

Some of his publications are:

• The Proving of Plutonium Nitricum and the Collective Toxicology of Ionizing Radiation - 1999
• Dynamic Provings, Volume 1- 1997
• The Dynamics and Methodology of Homoeopathic Provings, 1st & 2nd ed. - 1994, 1997
  Translated into French, Russian, German, Spanish, Italian
• The Proving of Chocolate - 1994
• The Proving of Hydrogen - 1992
• The Proving of Scorpion - 1985
• Dynamic Provings, Vol. 2 - 2001
• Dynamic Materia Medica, Vol. 1 - 2001

Back to the Top

Reviews

Two Reviews:
1. LINKS
2. HOMEOPATHY TODAY



LINKS
Reviewed by Louis Klein, Canada.

Provings are a phenomenal and miraculous process; it is through provings that seemingly inert substances come to life. We are witness to the curative properties hidden inside the substances that occur around us.

Provings are the foundation of our homoeopathic science. When initiating the science and art of homoeopathy, Hahnemann made it clear that in order to be a part of his inner circle, a dedicated homoeopath had to participate in provings. He envisioned provings as a path to restore world health.

Today, in order to conduct effective provings, more modern interpretations and further explanations of Hahnemann's work are needed. Jeremy Sherr is well qualified to offer us guidance in the modern methodology of homoeopathic provings.

His solid experience has been gained from his own provings of Hydrogen, Scorpion, Chocolate (and 9 other newer substances). He writes in an articulate manner and substantiates his experience and methodology with quotes from Hahnemann, Herring, Kent and other past masters.

There are many provings being conducted today primarily to ascertain the 'deeper' mental state of the prover and to satisfy the homoeopath's thirst for an 'essence' or signature of the remedy.

The proving is conducted in a partial way, until this thirst is satisfied or until the participating provers get a 'feel' for the remedy. Often, only dreams or other fragments of the proving information are recorded, which can be helpful but is incomplete.

My experience is that speculation surrounds an unproved or poorly proven remedy. The remedy can still be applied and eventually understood, but with great difficulty. It often tends to be used for everything and anything.

A well proven remedy has the foundation to support its effective use and through clinical application we can enhance our understanding of the remedy's true nature.

Jeremy rightly categorises provings as superficial ones and good, well-rounded ones. What, then, is a well-rounded proving? We need only to look back to Hahnemann's provings and then to Jeremy's Hydrogen proving to see that it is one which clearly brings out the characteristic indications of the substance, for its use in treating disease on all levels: mental, emotional, physical and general.

A lack of consistent protocol throughout a proving diminishes the credibility of the results.

The methodology presented in this book is a guideline on how to obtain an unprejudiced result in a proving. In other words, he teaches us how to do a well-rounded proving, without skewing its results toward primarily physical or mental symptoms or, even worse, toward only the supervisor's preconceived 'suspicious', based on its signature in nature or the supervisor's previous use of the remedy.

Provings containing these flaws are done 'with prejudice' and are of dubious quality. Setting the highest standard for provings and embracing the concept of a proving that is well-rounded and non-prejudicial, Jeremy illustrates that outcome reflects intention and urges us toward consistency in our protocol.

By helping the reader to understand the dynamics of provings, this book prepares us more knowledgeably to evaluate remedy provings and their clinical use. Understanding an under proven remedy is like trying to ascertain what an elephant looks like just by seeing his tail and head.

Based on our limited information, we may conjecture wrongly that the elephant's body and legs are very thin. Ultimately, in my experience, the more facets of the remedy which emerge in the provings, the more prolific the curative results. When we view the more "well-rounded" picture we see that the elephant actually has a large body.

"The Proving of Hydrogen" by The Dynamis School demonstrates the excellence of a good, well-rounded proving. It contains an array of intriguing contradictory symptoms; but, to some, it presents too many symptoms.

What initially may seem a perplexing abundance, in fact, allows us fully to see all the possibilities of this remedy. Hydrogen's signature representing its position as first on the Periodic Table, is "light" and "unity", and we expect to see symptoms such as "feeling in the presence of pure energy", or "in the presence of God".

Out of its complex picture appear the symptoms of a person who has feelings, in the extreme, of being "ungrounded", "elated", and "too positive" and, thus, is unable to accomplish life tasks. Hydrogen's opposite symptoms, "delusions as if being pulled downward", "as if the mind were pulled downward", "as if dirty", and "as if persecuted", though confusing at first, are actual indications of its dual nature. "Negativeness", "isolation", and "hopelessness" represent this polarity, demonstrating the remedy's effective use for bi-polar, manic-depression as well as for its singular mood states.

My clinical application of this new and important remedy confirms Hydrogen's suitability for patients whose symptoms can be summed up in the rubric: "Conflict between higher consciousness and worldly existence".

Translating proving information with accuracy and verity into repertory symptoms is absolutely essential to the survival and authenticity of our profession.

In The Dynamics and Methodology of Homoeopathic Provings Jeremy gives clear directions on how to repertorise proving symptoms and how to add symptoms from the proving to the repertory.

He states: "Converting proving symptoms into repertory language is an exacting and painstaking task, and its successful conclusion is dependent upon the quality of the information gathered during the extraction and collation procedure. It is via the repertory that the proving information comes 'alive' and is transformed into a useful tool.

The responsibility of the repertoriser is to truthfully interpret the proving information into a format that is easily understood and accessible to the homoeopaths". (p. 80)

After demonstrating how to perform this task accurately, Jeremy discusses the more controversial subject of how to grade the repertory symptoms. He then treats us to chapters on antidoting provings, remedy reactions, extraction of symptoms, editing provings, toxicology, use of computers, and much more.

The book also features a useful appendix of 182 names of contemporary provings and a non-copyrighted "instructions to provers and supervisors".

For all homoeopaths intending to prove, supervise or in any way participate in a proving, this book is indispensable. Jeremy provides us with important protocol learned from his own well- founded experience.

Through careful description of methodology, he furthers the science and elevates the art of homoeopathy. The practitioner who wants to enhance his or her clinical practice by attempting to interpret a proving, will find here an in-depth understanding of the structure of this complex process.

This book is both enjoyable to read and valuable in its clinical application. It is profoundly important for homoeopathy's progress and should be studied by every homoeopath.

Homoeopathic Links - Spring 1995
Reprinted with permission from Homeopathic Links



HOMEOPATHY TODAY
Reviewed by Julian Winston

The study of provings is the study of homeopathy. According to the U.S. Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia, all drugs appear in that book because they are recognized as being "capable of evoking certain symptoms in an essentially healthy human being under controlled research procedures."

The FDA, which oversees the production and accessibility of homeopathic products in the U.S marketplace has recognized the "homeopathic proving" as the major criteria for having a previously unknown drug become a legal homeopathic product.

But the question is still being asked: "What constitutes a drug proving?" The answer has always been, "Well, read the Organon. It is all outlined by Hahnemann there." But Hahnemann's writing has often been dense and unclear. What we need are good directions for the "controlled research procedure." And that is what Jeremy Sherr has given us.

Jeremy, and his Dynamis School, have been doing provings since 1982. In the last few years he has treated us to provings of Scorpion Hydrogen and Chocolate. Soon he will share his recently completed provings of Brassica Germanium Diamond and Neon.

The first part of the book concerns itself with the philosophy of provings. Jeremy begins by quoting Hahnemann, and reminding us of the need to do provings: "...therefore, we have to rely on the morbid phenomena which medicines produce on the healthy body as the sole possible revelation of their in-dwelling curative powers..." -Organon, paragraph 21

"...for the pure, peculiar powers of medicines available for the cure of disease are to be learned neither by any ingenious a priori speculations, nor by the smell, taste or appearance of the drugs, nor by their chemical analysis..." -Organon paragraph 110

Jeremy then discusses the larger issue of what can be learned from a proving, and why they are the "essence" of understanding the remedies we use. They are, he says, not only a way we can learn about the drug, but a way in which we can learn about ourselves.

"Any sensation or phenomenon arising during a proving is but a seed which has always existed within us, a seed that has never before germinated and flowered... I look forward to doing a proving because I know it is a learning experience without comparison. Sometimes it is great fun, and sometimes it is lousy and one suffers. Either way it is an adventure."

A few years ago I (-JW) was attending a large outdoor music festival. Someone was stung by a number of wasps. The physician on duty did not have his bag (with the antihistamines) with him.

I asked if I could administer some Apis while he waited for the bag to be delivered. The patient agreed. I gave a dose of Apis The doctor asked the patient, "What did it taste like?"

"Sweet," was the reply.

And the doctor said, "You know, we never get to taste our own medicines."

And it came to me like a flash. That is what homeopathy is about. We can not only taste our own medicines, but we can experience the diseases themselves. Want to experience "depression"? You might take some Aurum! Read the magnificent account of Burnett's Aurum proving in Tyler's Drug Pictures. An adventure indeed!

Jeremy discusses the current "double-blind" research model in relation to provings. "It is worth bearing in mind that some homeopaths are thinking of using a biomedical model to assess the efficacy of their remedies, while in fact the very model has been found repeatedly to be faulty.

It is hard to see how scientific, empirical trials would be appropriate for use with homeopathic remedies, and it is certainly difficult to predict the outcome of such tests if they were successful. Is it likely that the medical profession would lay down their prescription pads and become homeopaths?…

It seems more likely that some remedies would be appropriated by the medical profession (as Bryonia, Rhus tox, Pulsatilla, and Apis were during the late 19th century), possibly producing'half breeds'who practice some homeopathy with their allopathy, a compromise that Hahnemann railed against as long ago as 1830."

Who can do provings? Everyone! But what if we are already undergoing "constitutional treatment"?

Says Jeremy: "Another reason that most homeopaths these days are reluctant to participate in provings is because they are so entrenched in their ongoing constitutional treatment. They imagine that the proving interlude will arrest their search for the 'holy grail,' the similimum that leads to health and enlightenment.

A brief interlude should not hinder their progress, and many have been surprised to find that the proving achieved better results than all their previous treatment! Provings are homeopathy's gift to the homeopath, a gift we receive once we embrace the unknown."

Jeremy writes that he has observed the following: A similimum is the remedy that produces nothing new (i.e, it is curative) or the similimum is the remedy that does not do a proving or a proving will occur only as a result of a remedy that is not the similimum.

Therefore, many symptoms that patients experience after the administration of a remedy are explained as "aggravations, healing crises, return of old symptoms" while they are, says Jeremy, nothing more than proving symptoms of the (wrong) remedy.

The second part of the book is devoted to the methodology of the proving itself: the Preparation, Proving, Extraction, Collation, and Repertorization. And it is this outline that will be most important for future provings. For the first time a formal procedure is explained and detailed.

The book concludes with two Appendices: The first is the instructions to provers and supervisors that Jeremy encourages potential proving groups to use.

The second is a listing of all the provings done in the last 15 years that Jeremy has been able to locate in the literature. Of the 180 or so provings, only 86 have been published. Of that total, many are fragmentary or consist primarily of clinical observations.

At the turn of the last century, Kent said "You cannot count twenty-five decent provings since Hahnemann." As we approach the turn of this century I trust that this magnificent (and much needed) work of Jeremy's will prompt many to begin to conduct provings that will give us, and the world, many great gifts.

HOMEOPATHY TODAY APRIL 1995
Reprinted with permission from the National Center for Homeopathy

Back to the Top

Contents

Forewordv3-4
Introduction -- 5
Introduction to Second Edition -- 6
Dynamis of Provings -- 7
Dynamis of Provings - The Necessity for Provings -- 7-17
Dynamis of Provings - Remedy Reactions -- 18-28
Dynamis of Provings - Interfering Factors -- 29-31
Dynamis of Provings - 'As If One Person' -- 32
Dynamis of Provings - The Collective Unconscious -- 33-34
Dynamis of Provings - Proving in Relation to Clinical Drug Trials -- 35-40
Methodology of Provings - Introduction -- 41
Methodology of Provings - Yielding Results -- 41-42
Methodology of Provings - The Roles in a Proving -- 43-48
Methodology of Provings - The Remedy -- 49-57
Methodology of Provings - Stages of a Proving -- 58-59
Methodology of Provings - The Proving -- 60-66
Methodology of Provings - Extraction -- 67-74
Methodology of Provings - Collating and Editing -- 75-80
Methodology of Provings - Repertorising -- 81-88
Methodology of Provings - Toxicological Reports -- 89
Methodology of Provings - Practical Issues -- 90
Appendix A - Instructions to Provers and Supervisors -- 91-98
Appendix B - Some Recent Provings -- 99-114
Appendix C - Proving Example - Hydrogen -- 115-118
Bibliography and Further Reading -- 119-122
Index -- 123-127

Back to the Top