The River of Homeopathy: We Share the Journey
by Nancy Tam

Homeopathy cures a larger percentage of cases than any other form of treatment and is beyond doubt safer and more economical. — Mahatma Gandhi

I had a persisting cough that dragged on for months and months that eventually led to my close friend, Amara, strongly encouraging me to give homeopathy a try. I was scheduled to present at a national conference and was quite worried that I wouldn’t be able to deliver my speech. After answering seemingly odd and yet intriguing questions during the interview, I’ll never forget taking a few sips of a remedy and almost instantly feeling the cough subside. A few days later, I was able to give my speech in a very strong and animated voice! 

I was amazed at how well homeopathy had worked for me! However, it still took me a few years before I felt called to homeopathy as my “GO TO” for first aid situations, minor ailments, as well as chronic and more serious health issues: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. I marvelled at the totality of homeopathy and how it could holistically support my whole well-being, including my dreams. 

For the past 25+ years, homeopathy has become my way of healing, my way of seeing, knowing, and being; it has become my way of life… I WAS ALL IN! I began the journey of climbing the homeopathy mountain of learning and living, growing and healing, taking one step at a time, with Hoe Mark as my inspiration, guide, and mentor. 

Be still as a mountain,
Move like a great river. 
— The Tai Chi Classic

I recall a wonderful conversation Hoe and I had during dim sum. He was enjoying a cup of black coffee and he shared why he named himself after a basic gardening tool, a hoe. This was because he felt it matched who he was, a very simple person, nothing too fussy or fancy. As the garden “hoe,” he was preparing the soil for the homeopathy orchard of “trees,” the future homeopaths, that would “grow” and serve our community and beyond. 

For over 40 years, homeopathy has grown and flourished in Saskatoon!  Local health food stores, like Mom’s Nutrition Centre and Saskatoon Herbs ‘n’ Health, have a decades-long tradition of specializing in homeopathy remedies with deep roots in our prairie city, serving as important and highly valued “community hubs,” weaving together the homeopathy connection between practitioners, clients/consumers, and the main manufacturing labs in Quebec: Homeocan and Boiron. 

It has been inspiring to know and meet many individuals and families that have been using homeopathy for decades, spanning across multi-generations, often integrating homeopathy with Western medicine. There is a place for diverse complementary world views of medicine around the globe. In my heart, my hope remains that new waves of curiosity, openness, and respect will open the way for more meaningful discussion, inter-professional sharing, dialogue, and research, to see how homeopathy, allopathy, and other healing practices could work together, for the benefit of all sentient beings, for all of Nature.

These strong and deep roots for homeopathy in Saskatoon have caught the attention of many people over the years, such as Kim Elia, an internationally respected homeopath and educator. I recall a lively conversation with him several years ago, where we spoke about the remarkable uptake and success of homeopathy in Saskatoon. Kim has also had a passion project to produce a feature-length film about homeopathy, and I was delighted to have a chance to view this film online about a month ago!

I reached out to Kim recently to congratulate him on producing Introducing Homeopathy: The Film, an incredible new documentary that speaks to the transformative healing power of homeopathy! The film follows the homeopathy journeys of various people, including a young child with autism, a woman with fertility challenges, a war veteran with PTSD, a young man’s struggle with bi-polar disorder and substance addictions, and a dog with a major leg injury, as well as applications for plants and agriculture, too!  

This documentary is truly revelatory, showing the efficacy of homeopathy in healing a range of serious health issues, as well as explaining the history, art, and science underlying homeopathy, as a very safe, effective and affordable natural medicine. To view the official trailer, go to: introducinghomeopathy.com. For updates about future viewing dates and projects, sign up for the newsletter at: introducinghomeopathy.com.
I am grateful that as part of Hoe’s Swan Song, he orally transmitted to me the Medicine Buddha teachings:  first, to heal yourself; second, to understand what is healing, and third, to share and teach what you have learned about healing; with others. Whenever I cross the bridges and see the river that runs through our city, I give thanks to our River of Homeopathy that carries the fatherly spirit of the sacred Medicine Buddha teachings.

In the spirit of the Medicine Buddha, I feel Hoe’s beautiful poem speaks to the essence of these precious teachings and is a treasured part of his legacy, softly beating in rhythm with the heart of our shared humanity and the ebb and flow of our city’s River of Homeopathy.

We Share the Journey
Healing is not personal
We all share and accumulate collectively for the future generations and
back to the present and to the past generations.
Three times all at one moment.
We share the journey.
— HM

Nancy Tam (B.Ed., B.F.A., B.S.W.) is a registered social worker specializing in holistic wellness from a Taoist totality perspective. Her therapeutic approach is rooted in the Dreaming-body channel of process-oriented psychology (POP) and working with your active imagination, dreams (waking and night), mirroring, deep democracy, and personal life myths to cultivate inner and outer peace. Nancy enjoys facilitating workshops about POP, Non-Violent Communication, and Constellations Homeopathy. For updates about her peace activism work via the Positive Peace Umbrella Project, email her at positivepeaceup@gmail.com.  See her earlier writings about homeopathy as an inner peace movement in WHOlifE 30.2.