Author:
Jan Scholten
Book:
Wonderful Plants
Type:
Theory
Chapter:
0.5.5
0.5.5 Provings
Curiosity is the father of discovery.
A prover is not a symptom machine.
Provings
Provings have been the first and main source of remedy pictures from the beginning of homeopathy. They are very useful and are often the main source of information for many remedies in this book.
Unknown remedies
In this book many new provings are presented, about 160. They are done on species that are not well known and often not known at all in homeopathy. Most are from families that are small or not known in homeopathy.
Start of the picture
They are done to get a start of the remedy picture and to be able to prescribe them. It is like a discovery journey into unknown territories. One has to have a glimpse of a remedy in order to be able to develop the remedy further as described in the chapter on Method.
Proving methods
The provings have been done in various ways but mostly not classical. The reason is that for me the content is more important than the form. In classical provings the emphasis is on the form, how to do the proving. I have discovered that the most important factor is the content, which is the attention and focus of the prover on the remedy.
Sense proving
This is a proving that I have developed over the last year. Parts of the plant like flower, leaves and twigs are used to give impressions to the prover on all senses. The plant parts are looked at, smelled, touched, tasted and its name gives an impression. The prover meditates on these impressions. This kind of proving has shown to be very nice, straightforward and rewarding.
A mother tincture of the remedy can be prepared at the same time.
Trituration proving
A trituration proving is mostly done in a small group of 3 to 5 provers who triturate the plant to a C3 in about 3 hours. The provers alternate the tasks of triturating, writing down symptoms and organisation like time keeping. All teh provers meditate on the remedy. This kind of proving has shown to be very good, going deep and giving good remedy pictures. One can find many nice examples of this kind of proving in the literature. The Lamu provings, Kenton provings and Toronto provings were done this way.
An important advantage is the production of the remedy to a C3.
Picture proving
A picture proving is a proving done by looking at a picture of the plant, or any other substance and meditating on it. This is a more superficial form of proving. The advantage is that it can easily be done during a seminar with the participants of the seminar as provers.
A disadvantage of this kind of proving is that it can produce pictures of remedies that are not potentised yet.
Dream proving
A dream proving is done by taking a remedy or having it in one’s vicinity like under the pillow during the night. The focus of the proving is often on the dreams of the provers but all impressions, as in any proving, are noted. Coincidences and synchronicities are frequently seen. This kind of proving is easily applied in work groups or sometimes seminars.
A disadvantage of this kind of proving is that it can be done only with remedies that are potentised already.
Bath proving
A bath proving is done by adding some of the essential oil of the plant to a bath of the prover. The prover meditates on the remedy and recieves an impression from the smell and touch of the oil. This can be a very impressive experience, giving good indications for the remedy.