Underlying every chronic illness condition and its matching homeopathic remedy state is a vortex. The engine running the vortex’s cycle is a circular argument that eventuates in a self-fulfilling prophecy. In my clinical work I model illness chronicity as a radical disjunct between what for an individual constitutes a normal need and its associated satisfaction. This relationship becomes disharmonized as a result of physical, emotional or mental trauma. The usual satisfaction then not only fails to reconcile itself with the normal demand, but worsens matters, thus engendering persistent symptoms. As an example, the desperate need to be validated often degenerates into a hopeless search for validation. Consequent behaviors reflect a failed strategy that is subconsciously designed to confirm the individual’s non-acceptability. What we thus have is tautology, a dog chasing its tail, a spiral into illness—a negative vortex.

But if chronicity is a negative vortex then it is reasonable to suppose that movement into health and spiritual growth is its inverse, a positive vortex. Hence my interest in Sedona, Arizona.

Although no photograph, even if taken by Ansel Adams can do it justice, Sedona, Arizona contains some of the most beautiful landscapes on earth. On visiting this past October, I was surprised, even stunned to discover this truth for myself, and how the presence of a site influences and overrides one’s visual perception.

Remarkable and bewildering, Sedona’s red rock formations emanate a serenity disturbingly at odds with the violent forces that shaped the area over hundreds of millions of years. These include volcanic activity, tectonic shifts, oceanic and aquifer formation, sedimentation, oxidation effects and every variety of transformative erosive force. One stands dumbfounded before the product: these peculiar and suggestively shaped buttes, spires, mesas and one vast canyon that God in his infancy appears to have playfully created in his sandbox.

Hiking about one encounters the area’s contorted juniper trees whose twisted branches suggest ecstatic possession by an ancient Tai Chi master but which local lore indicates proximity to a spiritually powerful vortex site.

By the way, unless one is drawn to typically commercial venues the towns of Sedona and also nearby Oak Creek as well are forgettable. My recommendation instead is to visit nearby Jerome, once a thriving mining town that nearly became a ghostly dive once the copper went bust. Jerome remains lively, funky and with a bit of its original frontier roughness. Carved into the side of a picturesque mountain one can espy Sedona’s red rocks in the distance.

My venture to Sedona was certainly for the purpose of heightening my intuitive powers as a homeopath and for spiritual development. Apart from awe, wonder and the obvious benefits of relaxation, it is difficult to say that I was immediately struck by spirit of Sedona’s vortex energy. In the week’s time spent there I took six splendid hikes of which the most notable was the Little Horse to Broken Arrow trail. I also meditated at the foot of Bell Rock and climbed to its summit where I managed to get festooned with cactus spikes (homeopathic Ledum by the way, immediately alleviated the inflammation incurred from a one and a half inch thorn). Oak Canyon was a splendid, windy and stunning delight.

But Sedona’s effects were visited on me later.

In the two months since my return I note that my perceptions are sharper while my emotions more intense. I also detect an increase in personal compassion. Though not every day is the same the overall resultant change is enduring. I feel more alive and appreciative of life. My suspicion is that I have undergone the effect of a positive vortex wherein positive ideas within the subconscious are heightened and cyclically set in motion.

Of course, I hope to return to Sedona again sometime soon.

An idea to explore with regard to my homeopathic practice: undertake a trituration proving of a sampling of Sedona’s red rocks. I cannot imagine a more promising investigation or use of a weekend.

Posted on December 24th, 2009 by Jerry Kantor
Under: Health, Perspective | No Comments »

Acupuncture a Powerful Integrative Oncology Tool

The following article submitted to Homeopathic Wisdom by Jack Bleeker, a Research Coordinator at mesothelioma.com is a welcome reminder of the relevance of acupuncture with regard to problematic disease conditions, in this case mesothelioma:
Integrative Oncology is the combination of “mainstream” care and evidenced-based complimentary therapies to control cancer-related pain and symptoms [source: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Integrative Medicine]. Complementary therapies, while not given the attention that more traditional cancer therapies may receive, are perhaps equally important while undergoing treatment for certain types of cancer. Patients diagnosed with difficult to treat malignancies will often use these types of therapies in conjunction with traditional treatment options, which include surgery, chemotherapy, or radiology, to form a more comprehensive and effective treatment regimen. Among the most effective alternative therapies utilized by those diagnosed with cancer is acupuncture.
Acupuncture has long been utilized as a general pain reduction method for thousands of years, originating in the Far East and gradually being utilized throughout the world. Effective cancer treatment often depends on the patient’s ability to not only defeat the cancer through various methods but to also maintain their health and mental spirit throughout the course of treatment.
Often, the symptoms and effects of the cancer itself on the body are insignificant compared to the pain and other side effects of chemotherapy and radiation. Patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation are often fatigued, experience a lack of appetite and weight loss, and may become depressed.  For cancer patients experiencing these and other side effects, acupuncture is extremely beneficial. According to the ancient theories of Chinese medicine, “qi,” or “life energy,” flows through energy channels within the body known as meridians. These channels connect the body’s internal organs, and if these meridians become “blocked,” or an individual’s qi cannot flow properly, disease will set in. Acupuncture is said to relieve blockages and restore the natural flow of qi, and ultimately restoring one’s health.
Cancers such as mesothelioma, which are often unable to be removed by surgical means, are often treated with some combination of chemotherapy and radiation [the combination of chemo drug Alimta® and anti-cancer drug Cisplatin® is a popular mesothelioma treatment method]. While these potent drugs can be effective in eliminating some of the tumor mass and growth, they also profoundly affect the health of the surrounding tissue. Symptoms experienced by those undergoing mainstream cancer treatments include fever, nausea, and debilitating pain.
Patients who undergo acupuncture in conjunction with mainstream cancer therapies have experienced dramatic reductions in pain and feel that their energy and mental wellbeing was restored. Cancer patients who feel energized, are pain-free and have a solid state of mind are more likely to withstand traditional methods of cancer treatment and have an increased survival rate.
Acupuncture is said to be so effective, in fact, that the World Health Organization [WHO] has recognized acupuncture as a successful intervention for adverse reactions to radiation and chemotherapy. The National Institute of Health [NIH] also agreed that acupuncture may relieve nausea and pain experienced by cancer sufferers, and the organization supports acupuncture clinical trials.
While this ancient method of therapy may be extremely effective for some, acupuncture may not be recommended for all cancer patients. Those who have a history of endocarditis, neutropenia or thrombocytopenia should not undergo acupuncture. Individuals with lymphedema or those who have a pacemaker should speak with a physician before beginning any course of acupuncture therapy.
While oncologists like Dr. Valerie Rusch of the Cancer Center at Memorial Sloan-Kettering in New York City continue to work towards a cure, those who practice the ancient art of acupuncture will be working to help cancer sufferers experience a better quality of life and an increased rate of survival.

Information about the benefits of acupuncture for <a href=”http://www.mesothelioma.com”>mesothelioma</a> patients from Mesothelioma.com

Posted on June 30th, 2009 by Jerry Kantor
Under: Acupuncture, Health | 1 Comment »

In April at the Teleosis School of Homeopathy, Jerry Kantor will introduce conception, fertility and its various key issues from the vantage point of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Though ancient and spiritually oriented,  the Traditional Chinese perspective on reproduction remains realistic and relevant for modern day people. Mr. Kantor will discuss some of the common causes for infertility as well as lifestyle adjustments and specific techniques designed to enhance male and female fertility, some of which promote the birth of a healthy child as well.

Time allowing, Mr. Kantor who is also a classical homeopath and the co-author of a soon to be published text on the homeopathic treatment of infertility will discuss how homeopathy can bolster vibrancy in our reproductive lives.  For more information please contact Teleosis, located at 777 Concord Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138;

(617) 547-8500;

Teleosis School of Homeopathy, http://www.homeoschool.org

Posted on February 19th, 2009 by Jerry Kantor
Under: Health | No Comments »

Homeopathy and Other Modalities
In my experience homeopathy is one of, if not the single most profound of all healing modalities. Of course, this is true only when the remedy prescription is highly accurate! But yes, when such is the case one would be hard-pressed to find a health care intervention more finely tuned to the precise issue underlying a client’s illness.

That said, the question can be raised: what happens when homeopathy is utilized simultaneously with another powerful modality, for example, acupuncture? In my experience using both modes of care together is not optimal. Here is why:

The timeframe for an accurate constitutional remedy is usually in the vicinity of six weeks. The timeframe for a single powerful acupuncture treatment is several days (which is why acupuncture works best when performed at least twice weekly).

Let’s employ the metaphor of our having been assigned two work projects. The first work project will account for perhaps, sixty percent of my yearly income and will require my full-time involvement five days a week. While thus engaged I am offered a second work project that if given my full effort could be completed within three days. Assuming that I were to accept this second project on top of the first one, which project would be likely to suffer? At least according to my reasoning—and this is my own chosen metaphor—the second project would suffer. This is because, despite my greed I should be unwilling to risk under-performing in relation to the project on which my livelihood principally depends. Thus, the smaller project receives less than my optimal effort.

Similarly, acupuncture being the “smaller” project is diminished in its effectiveness. Being an acupuncturist as well as a homeopath, when the choice is left up to me, I opt for acupuncture especially when confronted with a client in obvious physical pain due to musculo-skeletal trauma. Otherwise, but especially when dealing with chronic illness my choice is constitutional homeopathy. I refrain from using both modalities together except for when seeking to blunt the edge of a homeopathic aggravation.

Despite a professional bias in favor of homeopathy other modalities hold tremendous healing and diagnostic value. Just now I should like to single out the usefulness of nutritional counseling as well as the remarkable skill of well trained Reflexologists (who perform foot massage based on ancient Egyptian or Traditional Chinese Medical diagnostics) and—provided you can find such a person—-a Medical Intuitive who is gifted with “second sight” diagnostic capability. As it happens Helen Chin Liu, a remarkable Reflexologist has recently joined my practice at Vital Force Health Care. I recommend her work highly. Read more about Helen at http://www.healingplacemedfield.com/.

From time to time I also have the privilege of working in conjunction with an extraordinary Medical Intuitive, Wendy Marks. Check out her video magazine interview at http://boldfacers.com/index.cfm?page=videos&video_id=142&channel=profiles.

Posted on October 19th, 2008 by Jerry Kantor
Under: Health, Perspective | 2 Comments »

Let’s discuss the well-known Curse of the Bambino.  This refers to the Boston Red Sox’ inability to win a World Series after basically giving away to the New York Yankees, and for a piddling amount of cash, Babe Ruth, who as it would turn out would become widely recognized as the greatest player in the history of baseball. In 2004 with the Red Sox’ miraculous come from behind playoff win against the Yankees, and their subsequent rout of the National League’s St. Louis Cardinals the infamous Curse was finally, and after 86 years was put to rest. How did this come about? Homeopathy provides the answer.

The power of the curse was not mystical. Rather, it represented an entrenched fear and its related behavioral rigidity. States of stuckness of exactly this sort are routinely identified by classical homeopaths as underlying disease states in their patients. But “remedy states” need not be cured by homeopathic remedies alone. Homeopathic “behavior” can also do the trick.

The fear underlying the Curse of the Bambino was that team management might again some day commit an error as serious as giving away Babe Ruth, the great Bambino. The associated rigidity is: beware of making any baseball trades that are even remotely suggestive of this possibility. When installed as a core front office belief a fear such as this delimits managerial flexibility, creativity, and thereby places the team at a disadvantage with respect to other teams in the trading marketplace.

There exists a shibboleth in baseball that the value of even a handful of good players cannot equate that of a single great player. The reason for this is that truly great players are irreplaceable while many even very good players can be readily exchanged for others having equal value. Avoidance of any such trade would be fully in keeping with the fear and associated rigidity of the Bambino Curse. Now, homeopathy teaches that “Like Cures Like.”  Thus, the homeopathically recommended way out of the dilemma is to indeed engage with the original error, but to perpetrate a micro-dosage of the mistake. Yes, facing the demon once and for all is better than doing nothing.

Nomar Garciaparra the Red Sox shortstop had been anointed the greatest Red Sox player since Ted Williams by no less a luminary than Ted Williams himself. Yet in 2004 General Manager Theo Epstein was inspired to trade the inimical and  irreplaceable Garciaparra for three talented but lesser lights: outfielder Dave Roberts, and infielders Orlando Cabrerra and Doug Mentkiewicz. The day on which the trade was announced talk show radio hosts went berserk. The trade was denounced in the newspapers as another Babe Ruth giveaway.

One can of course say that the team’s improved chemistry due to the three new players, each of whom went on to play significant roles in the Red Sox’ 2004 triumph that lifted the Bambino’s curse. I would argue that it was Epstein’s fear-dispelling moxie that did the trick, thereby liberating the team to perform at its optimal level.

Posted on August 14th, 2008 by Jerry Kantor
Under: Health, Humor, Perspective | No Comments »