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An Interview With Henny Heudens
An Interview With Henny Heudens
Grimes) Henny Heudens-Mast is one the world's finest classical homeopaths and teachers. Through twenty years of a more than full time homeopathic practice (a twelve hour wor day is a short day for Henny-she has incredi!le energy")# with her een o!servation and clear thin ing# she has ac$uired a deep understanding of all facets of homeopathy. %he truly understands homeopathy as taught !y Hahnemann# &ent and Hering# and applies their highest principles in her wor . %he understands miasms and their practical application# using family history and the patient's symptoms to access which miasms are present in every case# which need to !e treated first# and which are e'pected to surface further down the road. Henny is practical# teaching what she has learned from her personal e'perience. %he is a !rilliant prescri!er# with an uncanny understand of patients# materia medica# and is a master at patient management. Many of her students feel she is the greatest homeopath and teacher alive today. %he teaches regularly in the (.%. # Holland# %weden# )orway# %wit*erland# Germany# and has her own school in +elgium (,-. hours a year for five years# totaling /#0.. hours). 1n short# Henny is roc solid2 she practices and teaches the highest standards of homeopathy. -M.G. AH3 How did you !egin in Homeopathy4 Heudens-Mast3 5hen 1 was child# 1 was treated with com!ination remedies and did not li e it. 5hen 1 was ten# 1 said to my mother# 61 don't li e all those drops with the taste of alcohol.6 1 li ed normal medicines# so# she started treating my illnesses with conventional medicine. 1 got interested in !eing a doctor at that time. 5hen 1 was ,7# 1 !ecame interested in homeopathy !ecause allopathy was not healing my children. %o# 1 too my son to a homeopath. He was given +ryonia# and got even worse. My hus!and said# 65hy don't you study homeopathy yourself# then.6 %o 1 did. AH3 5ho have !een your favorite teachers4 Heudens-Mast3 &ent. AH3 And now4 Heudens-Mast3 &ent. +etween &ent and &ent was 8r. 9oegli. 1 was impressed with his wor . His !oo s are philosophical wor s# a!out his view of the human condition. And Margarie +lac ie. AH3 5hat did you li e a!out Margarie +lac ie4 Heudens-Mast3 1 li e the love she has for homeopathy and for her patients. This came to me throughout her !oo . 1 saw that she loved the patient and loved to do the wor to heal the patient. And# 1 really appreciated her o!servations of the patient. AH3 How did you !egin your practice4 Heudens-Mast3 5hen 1 !egan# 1 was the only homeopath in the whole country. 1 gave that one pill and got a reaction. At first 1 was seeing patients out of my home. :or four years 1 wor ed for free# treating my friends. 1 did not charge !ecause 1 felt 1 was a !eginner and ;ust 6practicing.6 After a while# 1 was practicing twenty hours a day# !ecause the demand was so large. <ne day# 1 helped a woman who had had migraines for thirty years. Her doctor contacted me after he saw her cured# and wanted me to wor in his practice with him. 1 !egan to teach him# then others to practice# and when we had more practitioners# 1 could wor less and this is healthier. AH3 How did you teach the doctor4
Heudens-Mast3 8uring car rides to home visits 1 would discuss the <rganon and the =esser 5ritings. He would watch during my consultations# and 1 would !e in on his consultations# showing him how to apply homeopathy in acute situations. Then we !oth had too many re$uests for treatment# and a third doctor ;oined# then a fourth# then a fifth. AH3 These were trained Medical doctors4 5hat attracted them4 Heudens-Mast3 They heard the results we were getting. AH3 5hat is your practice li e now4 Heudens-Mast3 1 practice with 0 colleagues# one of whom is my son. 1t is a privilege to see him doing homeopathy. He is very enthusiastic. The rest of the family is very supportive to homeopathy in any way they can. >ven painting windows of the practice# if necessary. AH3 ?an you tal more a!out practicing with your son4 Heudens-Mast3 <ne day# 1 sat in to supervise him# as 1 do with all my colleagues. Afterwards he told the patient 61 had to !e @, years old to learn that. 1 had to listen to my mother.6 5e wor as colleagues# not mother and son. 1t is no pro!lem for us to do this. AH3 How do you prescri!e4 Heudens-Mast3 1 am very classical. <nly one remedy at a time# and 1 wait to see what the patient needs- not what 1 thin # !ut what 1 see in them# what the vital force shows me. AH3 5hat !oo s do you use4 Heudens-Mast3 &ent is always my favorite. 1 read the <rganon regularly. 1 read it in >nglish. 5hen 1 started to study homeopathy# the !oo s were only in >nglish. )ow we have good translations# !ut 1 have learned that if you read in another language# you thin more a!out what you read. %o# 1 prefer to read the <rganon in >nglish. 1n practice# 1 use ?lar e# and Ahata . ?lar 's Materia Medica for me is wonderful. 1 love his !eginning statements. Mary Tyler is a favorite !oo of mine. 1 li e to sit under an apple tree and read it# or ta e it into my !ath. 1 read this as a novel. %he is a soft woman# much more sensitive than &ent. %he descri!es the remedies in a feminine way. %he gossips a!out them. &ent is very strict# rigid# !ut he is honest and clear. He is wonderful. 1n each !oo you find the character of the writer. %tart with the one you love# then read the other ones and fill out the picture. Bou must study. 1t will never get from the air into your mind. AH3 5hat do you thin of computer repertories4 Heudens-Mast3 1 use MacCepertory# !ut 1 don't use it in the consultation. 1 don't li e to pay attention to the computer when 1 am tal ing to the patient. At the end of the consultation# 1 loo in my !oo s# !ut not while 1 am ta ing the case# and 1 never loo at the computer during the consultation. AH3 8o you use com!ination remedies4 Heudens-Mast3 )>9>C" ?om!ination remedies are not !ased on the principals of homeopathy. Homeopathy is loo ing for the simillimum. ?om!inations can never !e the simillimum. 5hy give a com!ination remedy4 1f you need one tire on your car# you get one tire. Bou don't put three tires on it. AH3 %ome say com!ination remedies may not help# !ut they cannot hurt. 8o you agree4 Heudens-Mast3 Aeople who ta e com!ination remedies for a long time will not respond that easily to one remedy. 1f it happens they need one out of the com!ination for their constitution# it won't act. These are the most difficult people to treat. (Homeopaths are ne't difficult") 1 would rather treat someone who had !een on anti!iotics for one year#
than someone on com!ination remedies. 1 would have !etter results. Also# 1 don't use intercurrent remedies or nosodes to treat. 1 only give a remedy if the vital force is as ing for it# only if the symptoms point to another remedy. 1f you prescri!e com!ination remedies# you are prescri!ing for the complaints. This is allopathy. 1f we do homeopathy# we must do homeopathy from !eginning to end. :rom the interview to the prescription. AH3 8o you have any e'amples from your e'perience with com!ination remedies4 Heudens-Mast3 1 find that when you start to ta e them# you feel !etter. As soon you stop ta ing them# the pro!lems come !ac . That is the sign of good suppression. AH3 5hat is wrong with a little suppression4 Heudens-Mast3 The shortest cure is a straight line. 1f you disrupt the case# you can ma e the way longer. 5e li e to ma e the cure as short as possi!le. %o !e careful# do not give strong things that suppress. AH3 How long does it ta e the vital force to recover4 Heudens-Mast3 1t depends on the individual's vitality. 1n one of my patients# it too a half -year to get rid of the symptoms of the com!ination remedy they had ta en for sore throat. The remedies Mercury# =achesis# Apis# and %anguinaria were in the remedy and were evidenced in the patient's case. 1t is common to ta e com!ination remedies for colds from %eptem!er to April# in our country. After three or four years li e this# you can't find a constitutional remedy. The patients have symptom of all those remedies. AH3 Have you seen =achesis engraft4 Heudens-Mast3 8efinitely. )ot more than other remedies. 1 have also seen Mercury# =ycopodium# and %ulphur engraft. Ta ing any remedy too much can engraft in a patient. +ecause com!inations are ta en so fre$uently it is worse. Cepetition of dose is what causes this pro!lem. AH3 8o you suggest other modalities to your patients for treatment4 Heudens-Mast3 )o# even physical therapy can confuse the symptoms. 1 tell my patients to do nothing. <nly the right remedy# and to let it wor . :irst the mental symptoms will disappear# them the physical complaints# as we now# according to Hering's =aw. Bou must wait to o!serve this process# and not confuse this !y adding any other therapies. 1 do not mi' types of therapies. 1f 1 have a case that isn't progressing well and the patient says# 6%hould 1 try acupuncture# or osteopathy46 -1 will call the very !est therapist that 1 now and refer them. 1 suggest they try it for si' months# !ut they must stop homeopathy during this time. 1 don't suggest the use of other therapies# !ut if they come to me and as # this is what 1 tell them. 1 do not recommend other therapies for a case in which homeopathy is wor ing well# a case in which there is some improvement# some change. 1 have found that in cases where homeopathy is not wor ing# these other types of medicine also won't have an effect. (sually# these patients will return to me# after the other treatment. 1 thin that is !ecause 1 don't mi'. 1 now they don't wor together. Mi'ing therapies only antidotes or confuses the case. AH3 How do you handle a case where someone is ta ing allopathic drugs4 Heudens-Mast3 The average person in +elgium ta es seven drugs a day" This is too much. 5e treat patients that do not even now why they are ta ing a certain drug anymore.
1f someone is on many drugs# this is what 1 do. 1f# for instance# someone is on lots of asthma drugs# first# 1 cut down cortisone# then on the cortisone inhi!itors# last the !roncodilators. :irst 1 cut down on the fre$uency# then on the $uantity. There are some drugs you can never stop# for instance drugs for when an organ has stopped functioning completely- li e pancreas drugs# or any organ replacement medication. +ut !lood pressure drugs can !e cut down. AH3 5hat do you tell your patients a!out vaccination4 Heudens-Mast3 1n general# 1 thin it's !est to give the parents !oo s to read# and then let them ma e up their own minds. Bou can e'plain to a patient the good and the !ad a!out vaccinations# whereas the medical world only tells them one side. A lot is harm is done !y vaccines and this information is covered up. Give patients the other side. AH3 5ho do you feel should not !e vaccinated4 Heudens-Mast3 <ften# if after the first or second vaccination# a child has a strange reaction# 1 tell the parents to stop. +ecause# in this case# the )>DT vaccination can !e 9>CB dangerous. These are the children who are at ris 2 the children who have an unusual or strong reaction. 5ith the repeated dose# there can !e harm. 1f# after a vaccination# you see a change in the child's character# sleeplessness# or screaming in the night# tell the parents that the child is in danger from the ne't vaccine. These reactions to the dose of the vaccine will occur within the first wee # not right away# !ecause it ta es a few days for the !ody to !uild up a strong reaction. AH3 Are there any remedies that you feel are in overuse# or misuse4 Heudens-Mast3 All remedies are overused# especially if a teacher has taught that remedy at a seminar. The day after the seminar# many patients will get that remedy. 1 see this in the cases 1 loo at. 1 can tell what seminars their homeopath has !een to. AH3 5hat dangers do you see for homeopathy today4 Heudens-Mast3 Homeopathy is going away from the !asics. 1t is good to now new ideas# !ut we must !uild them on a solid !ase of the !asics. Homeopathy is !ased on provings conducted on healthy people. Homeopathy is !ased on the law of cure. 1f we don't o!ey these laws# can we call ourselves homeopaths4 AH3 5hat do you thin a!out provings4 Heudens-Mast3 1 never did a proving. 1f one had to !e done# it should !e done li e Hahnemann recommended# on healthy people with lots of supervision. 1 would love homeopathy to reprove the old remedies. 5e have wonderful remedies# and we should learn them !etter. AH3 5hat do you thin the standard should !e for Cepertory additions4 Heudens-Mast3 A symptom should only !e included in the Cepertory when it has come out in a proving in a healthy person. 1 see a lot of symptoms which come out clinically. :or instance# 1 have a patient who only loved orange# who was cured !y %tramonium. +ut this was only once. These inds of things should not !e included in our repertory until we see it many times. AH3 5hat can you tell use a!out your wor with the >??H4 Heudens-Mast3 My wor with the >??H (>uropean ?ouncil for ?lassical Homeopathy) is very important to me. <ur wor is to set the standards for homeopathy is >urope. The e'perience of every representative is important so we can get the largest overview of the possi!ilities. <ur goal is to esta!lish standards for homeopathic education for every
country in >urope# and esta!lish legal possi!ilities for every homeopath in every country of >urope. (The 1??H is doing this same thing internationally). AH3 Bou are involved a lot with homeopathic education. 5hat do you consider to !e the responsi!ility of the teacher4 Heudens-Mast3 Teachers are very important. %tudents learn from teachers. The teachers have to teach according to homeopathic law- laws that are true# not their e'pectations !ased on personal !eliefs. They must teach only !ased on homeopathic laws. AH3 5hat would you li e to see in the future4 Heudens-Mast3 That homeopathy is recogni*ed as a way of healing for all people# should they choose it# in all of the world. AH3 8o you have any ho!!ies4 Heudens-Mast3 1 always carry materia medical with me# and study wherever 1 am. AH3 How do you recommend studying materia medica4 Heudens-Mast3 1 prepare a folder for each remedy. 1n it# 1 put copies of information from all the materia medicas 1 can find on that remedy. 1 add to it any cured cases 1 find# or that 1 have treated. 5henever 1 want to study a remedy# 1 pic up the folder and 1 have it all there. 1 carefully study the Mind and Generals sections# and the most important physical symptoms# and especially the materia medica of &ent. AH3 5hat are some of the places you have studied these materia medica folders4 Heudens-Mast3 >very place 1 have spare time- trains# !uses# waiting for patients who are late# all the rooms of my house. )ot in the mountains# never on holiday. AH3 5hat do you do on holiday4 Heudens-Mast3 >n;oy family life -and 1 love my garden. 1 grow vegeta!les# flowers# and plants. AH3 Tell me a!out your early life. Heudens-Mast3 1 was !orn in Holland. 1 lived there until 1 was an adult. Then 1 met my hus!and who was +elgian and moved with him to +elgium. AH3 Tell me a!out your family. Heudens-Mast3 My hus!and is most patient-a very sweet and understanding person. He is very supportive of homeopathy in every way he can !e. 5e have !een married for @0 years and we have three children -two sons and a daughter. 1 have one granddaughter and two on the way. My family gets together the first %unday of every month. <n that day we tal # eat# en;oy each other. My wedding anniversary is a very important family holiday for us. 1 will never lecture on this day. 5e always cele!rated this day with our children and cele!rated that we had children !ecause of our marriage. ?hildren have always !een important to me. :or our anniversary# we all go away for three days. 5e rent a ca!in# ride !i es# swim# !oat# hi e. )e't year will !e the first time doing this with a grandchild. AH3 5hat is your house li e4 Heudens-Mast3 1 live in a cottage. My home is in the countryside. 5e have a large garden and our home is surrounded !y woods. +oo s of homeopathy are everywhere. AH3 5hat !rings you ;oy4 Heudens-Mast3 :amily life and prescri!ing the right remedy. AH3 5hat else !rings you ;oy4 Heudens-Mast3 1 ;ust had my second grandchild# and a third in :e!ruary. Besterday# 1 came !ac from %wit*erland. My hus!and came for me at the airport. 1 didn't see him# as
he was !ehind some people. Then 1 heard a little voice. 1t was my granddaughter calling to me as she was one who saw me. %he is fifteen months old. %he was so happy to go with her grandfather to the airport. These are the things that ma e me happy- such a small thing- the smile of the !a!y# her arms around my nec as she was so happy to see me again. AH3 5hat is gratifying to you a!out !eing a homeopath4 Bou put in some much time# and dedication# something a!out this wor must please you very much. Heudens-Mast3 5hat 1 en;oy is to !e a!le to solve the pro!lems of patients# to give them a happier life# a !etter life. To !e !etter in all ways# as human !eings. The rewards are the ;oy of doing this wor . 1t's nice to see the third generation. )ow 1 see this from several families. 1 treat grandmother to granddaughters. 1 li e this. AH3 Have you noticed changes in the health of these families after three generations4 Heudens-Mast3 A woman in homeopathic treatment will not have so many pro!lems getting pregnant# will have good pregnancies# and child!irth# so that children are stronger. The generations !ecome strong. The vitality is more. 1f you treat one or two people in a family# it influences the whole family. A family is li e a circle. >veryone stands at a certain point. >ach has a role. After the remedy# the patient will get out of situations they don't li e anymore. 1t is as if after the homeopathic remedy# the individual steps forward# or !ac ward. 1t disrupts the old pattern in the circle. >veryone else has to put a foot forward or !ac ward to eep the circle. AH3 Bou seem to have a very logical approach. Heudens-Mast3 1n my e'perience# truth is simple. Truth is logic. Homeopathy is truth# and it has to !e logical. Thus# 1 try for myself# to loo in a logical way# to understand homeopathy and apply it. 1 want always to see things grounded in logic. AH3 5hat does it ta e to !e a good homeopath4 Heudens-Mast3 1n my opinion# to !e a good homeopath# we must !e o!edient to the !asics of homeopathy# to !e !rave# to !e H<)>%T in teaching and in seeing the results of prescri!ing# admitting when a prescription is not right# and to find# as $uic ly as possi!le# the right prescription. AH3 5hat do you loo for when you prescri!e4 Heudens-Mast3 5hen 1 prescri!e 1 loo for a remedy that covers the whole case- the roots# the tree and the !ranches. 1n most cases you can't find this. %ometimes you ;ust prescri!e for the roots. Then you will see some things improve# or a new symptom comes up# and you prescri!e only on that symptom. The patient is happy that some of the symptom are ameliorated. %o they thin you are doing your ;o!. Homeopaths can e'plain anything. 1f he has a si'-month aggravation# the homeopath can e'plain it. This chasing of symptoms is allopathy while using homeopathic medicines. The minute you say that this is homeopathy# you are lying to yourself. Bou need hum!leness# in order to say to yourself# 6Am 1 seeing the remedy or not4 1s the patient truly on the way to cure46 AH3 1s there really ;ust one remedy for a person for life4 Heudens-Mast3 )o# not usually. +ut if you wait# the remedies will present themselves to you# in the proper order. The case will come out. 1f a person had a certain picture in youth# and !ecame another picture after an accident# they you now the person doesn't have a strong constitution. Bou give the remedy that is presenting and wait# and eventually the other picture will come out. +ut seeing 0.- E. remedies in a patient shows
that the right remedy could not !e found. 1f you spot the first remedy needed correctly# and notice how the !ody reacts to it# then you see the ne't one. %tep !y step. AH3 5hat mista es do you see homeopaths ma ing4 Heudens-Mast3 The first prescription is not the most difficult. The second one is the most difficult. 5e see a new picture coming and prescri!e on it too soon. That is the most common mista e. 5e need to wait to ma e the second prescription# and not spoil the very good first prescription. 1f you spoil a case in this way# go !ac to the first prescription and see from there where you went wrong. 1t is usually in the second prescription that you will find your error. AH3 Are there incura!le cases4 Heudens-Mast3 )o# there are homeopaths that don't now enough. 5e must always !e learning. That is why 1 don't write a !oo . 5hen 1 am -0 1 will write my !oo s. (ntil then 1 have to study# always loo ing to find that little secret to prescri!e !etter. That is what homeopaths do. AH3 8o you have any suggestions for students of homeopathy4 Heudens-Mast3 8evote time to study# o!serve people# !e patient. =et the remedy wor a long time. +e honest to see if the remedy was correct. +e !rave enough to tell patient not to do other therapies. 5hen you see a small improvement in the patient after giving a remedy# then the remedy is wor ing. &eep off your hands. 5ho is impatient4 Bou" 5hy then4 1t is the patient who comes with the complaint. &eep off your hands. Aush away all your !ottles and wait. 5hen you hear that all is improving !ut not the chief complaint# the remedy is wor ing perfectly. +e patient with your patients. The vital force is very wise. 1t creates the symptoms we use to prescri!e on. %ymptoms are your friends# not your enemy# !ecause they disclose the !eautiful picture. How nice is the vital force# that it shows the symptoms in the patient. 1f you prescri!e the wrong remedy# it will show you the way with more and more symptoms. The vital force eeps silent if you disrupt the case. 1t ma es you hum!le to see the vital force. 1t is a gift from creation that the vital force produces these symptoms so clearly. Bou must admire the power that created this vital force# which allows these symptom to appear. ?hristina +autista lives and practices homeopathy in Austin# TD. /@- T H > A M > C 1 ? A ) H < M > < AAT H F / G G An 1nterview 5ith Henny Heudens-Mast# continued # M.8.