WWR TALK 18 (Wednesday with Rajan – 1 – Notes on Case Taking)

Today we shall talk about Case Taking. I think this is probably the most important subject in
Homoeopathy which determines the success and the failure in that given case. So let's give in all
the attention we can and I will share with you some experiences and some techniques of Case
Taking.

The first question is:

Is there a standard way of case taking?

Many students and even teachers who are interested or who are practicing the Sensation Method
feel that there is a standard way of case taking; which is: You take the chief complaint and you
just stay with it and keep on probing the experience in relation to that chief complaint. So then
you pass through levels of fact, feeling, and delusion until you come to the sensation which is
Level 5.

And then you try to keep refining it and making clearer and clearer what the exact experience is.
And that experience will then show itself to be an experience from one of the kingdoms in nature
– Mineral, Plant or Animal. It will be either structure or survival or sensitivity. And then you go
on to the subkingdom and then you go to the source. And of course here the hand gestures
because they are more important, they show the energy pattern and your hand gesture can be
your way, your route, your door to the sensation.

Sensation Method homoeopath / Classical homoeopath

This is where the Homoeopathic profession sees the difference between the Sensation Method
homoeopath and the regular or classical homoeopath:

* Classical homoeopath:
Because Regular or Classical Homoeopath is more interested in finding out the facts, which
means the symptoms, the modalities, the locations, the local sensations, the objective features of
the mind.

For example:
The mild disposition of the Patient, weeping, loquacity, irritability, anger and sometimes
causative factors like ailments from injury, ailments from grief.
So he is collecting information and through the set of information he comes to the characteristic
symptoms of the patient and finds a remedy through the Repertory or through the Materia
medica.

*Sensation method homoeopath:

Whereas a Sensation method Homoeopath takes the patient right away into his experience and
doesn‟t give too much importance to the symptoms and the rubrics, this is what is commonly
believed. And often the new comer is in a kind of dilemma as to what kind of case taking one
needs to do with the patient. Do I pursue the symptoms or do I pursue the sensation? And he
feels compelled to decide at that point; am I going the way of Sensation or I am going the
symptom way with the traditional case taking.

However, for me, both these apparently discrete approaches are seamlessly integrated, one into
the other, each one complementing the other. For me they cannot be separated. One must have
all of one‟s basics in place first right and then with all these move further in the case-taking,
using any of a variety of techniques to understand the core and totality of the person in front of
us.

Once we know what is our basic, what we are looking for? What we are treating in the patient
then it does not matter what techniques you use. So let's understand what are the basic requisites
of case-taking.

Basics of Case Taking

Case taking beings even before the patient actually comes to the clinic. It begins when they take
an appointment, It begins when they fill up the Case taking or the Questionnaire form.

Fundamentals of solid facts:

It is very important to have the fundamentals of solid facts in the case. This is very important in
the Case. We must have in the ground and then we have abstract realm like the subjective
experience or the Sensation. I don't see this as one versus other, either - or. I always see them
together. We must have in every case, the solid ground facts and I think we need this kind of a
solidity before we jump on to abstractions.

I want to talk a little bit more about the use of the questionnaire form. I use the questionnaire
form to have that solidity to have that foundation in hard fact. I give it to the patient when they
take an appointment and they have at least 2 weeks - 3 weeks to fill it out and they have to bring
it with them when they come to see me.

Use of the questionnaire form:

The form is more than 30 pages and it begins with personal data like person‟s name, age, marital
status, address and phone numbers, the person who referred him etc. From here on it goes into
the details of past history, family history, the milestones, the etiological factors, the general
symptoms, the cravings, the sweating, the hormonal patterns, the modalities, and then it ends
with the mind symptoms, sleep and dreams.

This kind of Questionnaire form is extremely useful and I would like to

recommend it to all of you.

1. It gives all this information and you don‟t have to spend the precious time of your consultation
in eliciting factual details which are sometimes very important. For example it covers in a
systematic manner, the physical generals and other aspects of the patient‟s case that are very
significant, such as: past history, habits whether he drinks, smokes, how much. All the different
milestones like walking, talking, teething. Sleep, the qualities of sleep, the position during sleep,
the actions during sleep like walking during sleep, jerking during sleep, snoring during sleep,
talking during sleep. Several factors like vaccination, any history of trauma, surgeries, medicines
taken, emotional upheavals, like grief upheavals etc.

So when they fill a form and give it up, it's a kind of an insurance that you don't miss out on
anything. That you have all the facts in front of you before you jump into the abstract, the
subjective.

2. The patient doesn‟t have to come to clinic and jog his memory. So he can think about it,
consult his relatives, parents if need be and then confirm prior to coming.

3. It prepares the patient for a Homoeopathic consultation and makes him prepare of the kind of
detail that we will need in order to treat him.

4. The way he fills out the Case Record form gives a clue about his nature and character, about
his handwriting and whether he is serious, has he been lapsed, how has he done it? It gives a very
strong impression about who you are treating. I mean for example: some people do it very
carelessly. Some people do it in a hurry. Some people do it at the last minute, some people don't
do it at all. They just come with a blank form and some people are so careful that they write the
whole form in Panic and then they make it fair with the pencil. That kind of a nature immediately
you get an impression. Some people fill it so crowded and some people write it so neatly. It's like
print. It's and also how they express is a very very good clue to the patient even before the
consultation begins.

5. Sometimes the patients are more comfortable to express themselves in writing, rather than
orally and here they sometimes feel less inhibited.

For these reasons I have made the questionnaire form mandatory in my practice.
Participants of this course who want to view and download this form, can view and download it
from this link…http://www.sankaransclinic.com/clininf8.htm. I will send this link in the mail
so that you can have it. I think it‟s also on the forum, this questionnaire form. Have a look. The
download is without copyright and you can download it for free and use it in your practice.
Sometimes I even ask the patient to go to this link, download it from there and bring it to the
consultation. The form is also translated in German.

When the patient comes with this Case Record form, I have a quick look at it. It looks like this a
little bit, so I have a quick look at it. I just glance through it and I see what he has written, I need
it. So it's like a scan, I scan the entire life of the patient through the Case record form and I pick
out from there what is striking, what is different, what is standing out and in different areas of his
case and I use this for inquiry later if necessary.

Very often when somebody in Homoeopathy is asked what is the purpose of Case Taking? They
often say the Purpose of Case Taking is to find the remedy. But I think that is only one of the
purposes of Case Taking. There are so many other verbal and non - verbal advantages to Case
Taking. But the one I want to emphasize is the one highly neglected in Homoeopathy is I feel
and that is Diagnosis.

I feel your purpose of Case Taking should also have a diagnostic element in it. We need to know
what is the pathology the Patient is having and why is this important because only when we
know the Pathology it establishes the type of state the person has.

Diagnosis

1. We can know what is the peculiar individualising symptom of the patient because what you
think is peculiar, may be very common to that Pathology and the other way around.

2. Many remedies are known for their diagnostic label, and this can give valuable clues. If the
remedy goes through and through – name level (diagnosis), fact, feeling and sensation and the
pathology, then you have hit the jackpot. For example, Bryonia, with it‟s aggravation from
slightest motion, from coughing or sneezing, is a very well known remedy for pleurisy which has
got that symptom. Therefore, diagnosis, if the remedy has that pathology in it, is an additional
point, even though it is not mandatory.

3. Sometimes the pathology itself is so peculiar, that you have to consider it for that specific
pathology. One may like to consider it. What if the patient has no other symptom but a huge
lipoma? If you are able to diagnose that lipoma you might think of a remedy that is specific to it
called Lapis alba and even examine if the patient‟s state is of Lapis alba. For me it‟s a valuable
clue. I don‟t discount it at all. I would like to examine if Lapis alba could be the remedy
without any prejudice.

I will give you an example.

Last week I had in my clinic a Ear- Nose- Throat surgeon – Dr. Melgiri, a very senior specialist
who is deeply interested in homoeopathy and he actually gives Homoeopathic remedies for so
many years now. He pointed out to me a peculiar symptom of Staphysagria which is in Phatak‟s
Materia Medica. And the symptom is:

“Vertigo in which the patient must spin on his heel or walk in a circle.”

Now let us try to understand:

The symptom is the patient is already feeling giddy feels better by spinning in a circle or walking
in a circle. This is extremely peculiar so that the Doctor was very curious about this symptom
and then he examined the medical books and he found out an exact diagnosis for which this
symptom is the indicator and that is called „volvular epilepsy‟. And he found out that volvular
epilepsy is such a condition where the patient experiences vertigo and he is forced to walk
around in circles during the episode. So if you get a patient with volvular epilepsy should we not
consider when the remedy Staphysagria as a possible remedy?

4. The diagnosis also gives clues to the miasm.

Off course miasm is the classification of the state and not of the pathology. This is for sure. But
when a person has a destructive pathology especially at a younger age, one would think of a
destructive miasm. If a person has a fixed pathology, he has warts , tumors that are benign, one
would consider the sycotic miasm.
5. Diagnosis is also very important in order to investigate the case. In order to evaluate the
progress of the case. If you do not know the diagnosis, how do you know what‟s happening?
And this is also very important for the validation of Homoeopathy as a scientific system of
medicine. And this is where we sometimes lack. We don't validate it, we just treat the symptom.
We don't know what's happening and then we don't have any results to show or any validated
and proven result. And I think this is an area we should get sharper in.

So my sincere suggestion to everyone is to diagnose. Know what you are treating.

Any symptom the patient says don't just take it as a symptom also take it as a diagnostic clue.
Don't just say joint pains, is it a case of Rheumatoid arthritis is it an autoimmune condition. It's is
a Tubercular arthritis, what is it? It is Osteo Arthritis, so you should know what is it exactly or is
it gout? And often if I myself am not able to diagnostic then I do send the patient for
investigation or in some cases even to a consultation with a specialist and I try to be very clear
what pathology is going on.

Observation
The first thing about case taking is observation.

1. So one I told you is the use of questionnaire form which is also an observation of what's
happening over there and it's a scan very very useful.

2. Then the patient walks in with this form and then you see how the patient sits, how he walks,
how he talks, with whom does he come in, how he is with regards to the questions asked; is he
expressive, is he reserved, how decisive , how hesitant, how aggressive, how mild, how
communicative, how friendly. Similarly observation about the physical things. The colour of
tongue, the skin and are there any warts, how are his nails. Things that you can observe about
him how is his body built? And just the way the patient is. I think this is the most important
impression you get of the patient is really the foundation of your further Case taking. And I can't
emphasize this enough. I am just talking to you and telling you how exactly I take a case, how I
do it and how I register the impression of what the patient is expressing.

I will give you an example:

Characteristic mannerisms:

Case example:
Once I was taken to visit a religious guru. He was at the head of his religious institution in a
powerful position and he had a very commanding presence. Body posture itself was quite
commanding.

I was taken in his presence and there were people standing around there. I was sitting in front of
him and I had to take the history. Actually his main problem was severe constipation and what I
observe that any question that I asked, he would answer it by a counter question. For example, if
I asked him „what are the things you like in food and drink? He would say, “Can a yogi have any
cravings? Does the yogi differentiate between one thing and the other? Does the yogi not see
everything as the same?” These kinds of rhetorical questions is what he would, any questions
you would ask, he would give you an answer in a question and this kind of position of his. This
attitude, this command, the way he spoke and the exact symptom from the Repertory, “Question,
speaks continually in”

He spoke only in questions. And the remedy is Aurum metallicum, which helped him. Actually
his talk reminded me of a very well known former Indian Prime Minister who would always
answer in questions.

Once a Reporter got exasperated with him and said Mr Prime Minister why do you always
answer a question with a question and he said „Why not‟?

Characteristic behavior:
One thing that you observe is about the person‟s characteristic behavior – this is paramount.
Sometimes we hear what the patient says without actually seeing what the patient is. This is
where we make a mistake.

I want to give you a case example.

Case example:
Today I saw a follow-up. And this is a woman who used to get headaches that were really
terrible headaches. They are almost the worst kind of headaches I have seen in my entire
practice. She is about 35 yrs old. She is a secretary to a boss of a Construction company. She is
married and she has a child. The worst headaches I have heard of in my practice. She is a thirty-
five or forty years old, a secretary in a construction firm, married with one child.

When I would ask her about her headache, she would describe the character of the headache or
she would describe the stress factors that would cause the headache. It could be anger, it could be
grief, it could be irritation. And I would listen to her and give her a remedy based on what I
would listen and none of the remedies would work. I gave her 2 or 3 and at the time, we had a
workshop coming up where there were Homoeopaths coming all over the world and I would do
live cases with them for 2 weeks and I took this woman as one of the live cases. It was a
challenge and what I did here I just sat back and observed who is she really.

First is what she says and second is who is she? And one thing that came to came to my
observation…she is very loud, very loud. She has a very loud and shrill voice. She also
described that during the headache she would scream. So it is this loud, shrill screaming that was
her essential nature a part of it. This loudness and screaming was also quite undignified. It had a
kind of a shameless quality. Even the way she described the way she spoke was so loud.

Normally a woman is irritated, they don‟t show it much, so loudly. Even in my office she was so
very loud, with a kind of shamelessness. She could also speak about her sexuality in an
undignified and shameless way. For example she would say, “I dream of having sex with other
men, even though I love my husband. I have dreams Doctor of having sex with other men.”
Usually people mention these dreams in a kind subtle way. A woman would say with a little kind
of an embarassment. „You know sometimes I have kind of dreams that involve other men‟. But
no she was direct, blunt, loud. This was my observation.

In the previous history taking, I had not given this observation importance. I was a bit lost in her
description of her headache or in her description of her stress or in the description of her
situation. I actually got lost in the trees and missed the forest.

But this observation has to be an integral part of her sensation. And when we probed the case.
What came out, turned to be a case of an insect remedy. Insects have this quality „ loud,
shrieking, shameless , undignified.‟

Even a shameless kind of a sexuality like you have seen Cantharis, like you have seen in Apis.

In the Organon Homoeopathy mentions in the aphorisms.

Aphorism 153: he says

“In this search for a homoeopathic specific remedy, that is to say, in this comparison of the
collective symptoms of the natural disease with the list of symptoms of known medicines…the
more striking, singular, uncommon and peculiar (characteristic) signs and symptoms of the case
of the disease are chiefly and most solely to be kept in view…”

The word „striking‟ is important here. What does striking mean over here? Striking means that
which strikes. That which kind of slaps you on your face. It must have that kind of intensity. But
sometimes I have seen myself and some other people we take symptoms that are not striking. For
example we tell a patient to describe, who is friendly by nature. We take friendly as the
symptom. Or we take shy as the symptom or fearful as the symptom.

The description of the patient may be 'oh see is very friendly' and we say 'oh this could be
Phosphorus'. This does not work. It can not be lukewarm like that. For a symptom to be
important, it should slap you in your face. You should say, “What! This is so strange!” For that it
has to have intensity, it has to have strangeness, it has to have an individual quality. And we have
to probe till we come to that kind of quality.

We simply can't prescribe on shy / bashful / friendly. It doesn't work.

Inquiry from relatives

Another part of case taking is also to inquire about the patient from his relatives or acquaintances
who can give much objective information about the patient‟s physical symptoms as well as his
mental attributes. They can provide information about his habits, his life story, etiological
factors, childhood history, relationships, behavior etc.

Some times the patient can hide some facts or represent them in a totally different manner and
this can be corrected by inquiry with the relatives and acquaintances.
Off course, it is very important when you do this. That you should not take the opinion of the
relatives but the observation of the relative. You cannot take for example; the parent's say about
the child. The child is very obstinate. It doesn't work. You have to say what do you mean by
obstinate. What is the exact behaviour pattern that you have observed that makes a difference.

I want to highlight several things which we sometimes tend to neglect and that is why I am going
to focus in this Talk especially in things we forgot rather than things we do OK. So one of the
things is :

Systematic inquiry into symptoms

You should never underestimate the importance of the location, sensation, modality and
concomitant of every single local symptom. It is important to understand the local totality before
moving further in the case.

Look into the finest details:

We have to really look into the finest details of the symptoms to elicit the peculiar nature.
Sometimes symptoms are peculiar in themselves. Sometimes the absence of an expected
symptom is peculiar.

For example:
I have seen a case with Dr S R Phatak where there were eruptions from head to the foot. And we
have all the remedies and when Phatak asked him „ What is your problem?‟ He said „ I don‟t
have a problem. I just have eruption‟. And Phatak said „ What about itching? He said „ No I
don‟t get itching‟ and there were no symptoms.

So he took Eruptions without symptoms.

And he got cured with the remedy Cicuta which is one of the remedies for that. So peculiarities,
the strangest, we have to look into the fine details of what is strange here.

You find peculiarities everywhere; in appetite, craving, aversions, perspiration, sleep positions,
and etiologies etc and we will have to go into the finest details to elicit these peculiar symptoms
and very often they form very useful clues towards the remedy.

I tell you one thing. If we elicit the peculiar symptoms from every aspect of the case, even if you
completely forget the kingdoms and the miasms and the system and the sensation, you will still
be successful in a very good number of patients and that‟s what has kept Homoeopathy
successful for all these years. So we should never ever neglect this aspect. And I think if we
build on this then we will have a really firm, solid footing.

Importance of the modality:

One of the very important things is Modality. You have to elicit the exact modalities of that
particular symptom and then you will get the peculiarity.
Understanding the most characteristic thing about the patient:

What we have to understand is the most characteristic thing about the patient. And it
may be found anywhere Local, General, anywhere. But we have to get that which is
peculiar, that which is striking.

I will give you a case example:

Case example:

Last week I had a girl patient with a fracture in her tibia 5 yrs earlier. She is about twenty three
or twenty four years old now. After the fracture they put a rod in. After that they found there is
no problem with the bone afterwards. But now since that time, she has a swelling at that site of
the fracture. And she still has that swelling. And that swelling is very tender and painful. When I
tried to feel that swelling, it was very tender, she couldn‟t bear the touch. And it‟s so painful that
she needs 3-4 painkillers a day and night since so many years and they cannot understand why
this pain is what‟s the reason for this. So all they can do is give her pain killers.

She says I can hardly sleep at night for some years now. My sleep is disturbed. So I asked her „
Tell me what is the type of pain?‟
She couldn‟t describe it. She said „ Well it‟s very tender. It‟s very painful. But I couldn‟t get her
to describe the exact sensation. Then I asked her to describe what makes the pain better or worse.
And here she said „Now- a – days even in summer my pains are more‟. I said „ What do you
mean?‟ „ For sure my pain is much worse in cold and damp. And if I take my feet and put it on
the cold or damp floor for sure my pain will aggravate.

Now I had her Case record form there and I scanned it. I saw that there she has a problem or
even if she has, it‟s lukewarm. You know every human has some problems at emotional level, at
some …. you know. There are stresses and tensions in everybody‟s life and at the age of 23- 24
yrs, they are surely there. But there was nothing excessive in her case form that I could pick up
and say this is characteristic. This is important, this is striking, this is strange. I tried to ask , „Do
you have anything?‟ She tells not so much.
„Anything at all?‟
„No‟

Now what to do? Then I did the simplest thing possible I generalised the local modalities and
sensation. So the local sensation was tenderness, soreness – tenderness,
< from touch,
< cold and damp
A/ F bone injury.

This was a clear etiology at the site or of the fracture related now to the bone. They said but it
started at the site of the fracture. It is worse from touch. It is worse from cold and damp. I put
this into the Repertory. I used the Reference works. I just put these symptoms in and the remedy
that came out was Ruta, very prominently. And I gave her Ruta.
I could have asked her about her emotions and gone to the moon. And tried to pick where her
state is but it was not there. The prominence, the energy, the importance was right there in that
local thing.

I have to find where it is not where, somewhere else where I think it should be. So what I am
emphasing is take what is strange, what is peculiar. It is much more reliable to rely upon
something that‟s very very peculiar, very very strange like cold / damp aggravated. Strange ! it‟s
a very important symptom there.
A/F Bone injury
Worse from slightest touch.

These are very striking rather than to rely on some premise, some theory about her mind state. I
would have put her in some animal or some plant. Quite easily no problem. I am quite good at it
like you are. But is that what we wanted to do?
What is important off course is that on the one side, you have the symptoms, the peculiarities, the
modalities, the sensation‟s local etc. On the other side, you have the Kingdom, miasm and the
system.

The way I see these two are parallel. They are actually the two banks of a river, the two shores of
a river.
The river is the totality in the state that flows in, you can approach it for one bank or you can
approach it from the other bank. You still reach the same river. But the way I see is the way I see
in the middle and sometimes my boat goes to one side and some times stream to other. And I am
able to go to both weaving in and out of each other. When I ask about the symptoms. I get
indications of the kingdoms. When I ask about the sensation. I get peculiar symptoms as well and
for me both are saying the same thing. The symptom and the system and this is the way I weave
through Case Taking, sometimes eliciting the things of system, the kingdom and the miasm.
Some times eliciting the peculiarities and the modalities and the sensations and the generalities
and the characteristics. That is the way I do Case Taking.

It‟s s fulfilling because you have the solidity of the characteristics. And you have the freedom of
the system and they inform , they complement, they add to each other, they inform to each other
all the time. How can the characteristic speak of a different language then the source and how
can the source of a different language than the characteristics. How can the fears of Calcarea be
unrelated to the insecurity of the 4th Row, it has to be.

They all say the same thing. So whether you get it from here or there or from both places you are
fine. So that's what I say, 'The sensation method of Case Taking and the Classical method of
Case taking are not different. They are blended into one and other and that is the beauty and you
should take what you get when you get it.

The importance of factual narration:

I want to talk about the next step of case taking. That is - Factual narration.

So the patient has filled up the form, he has walked in. you have observed who the patient is. He
has indicated you where the complaint is, where the striking symptoms are, where the energy is?
And then comes Factual narration.

I think a factual narration along with the generalities of the person like appetite, thirst, craving,
aversion, sexual details, menstrual details, perspiration, the reaction to heat and cold, the various
other modalities and general modalities and also the local facts of the case are very important.
Do not ignore this information, as they complement the entire picture.

In fact, in many cases where the patient is unable to go further into the emotional level into the
delusional level or the sensation level then you may find these peculiarities, these facts. And you
will find that all these facts have a golden thread of commonality that runs through them and
they will reveal the core of who the person is to you.

So it is a very good in practice to first allow the patient to narrate factually everything that he
would like to, observing carefully all the while not only what he is saying, but also how he
expresses himself, as there are many things that can be understood just by carefully listening.
Even the Sensation Approach to analysis can be applied on a factual narration, and we will see
this in further talks and case examples.

So having talked to you little bit about the importance of eliciting the facts, the local sensation,
modality, the concomitants, the generalities, the appearance and the words. Now I would like to
speak a little bit about the sensation approach and now we do the Case taking in this way also.
Many times, it might help to begin by explaining the method to the patient.

The Sensation Approach

- If you think it necessary, you can begin by explaining the method to the patient
To explain to the patient the importance of the procedure what we are going to follow and that by
asking the same question over and over again we reach into deeper levels, to person‟s experience
and that really helps us to find the remedy. So this explanation interspersed in the questions
greatly enhances the patient‟s compliance with the case taking process.

And experience if the Patient is new to you, new to Homoeopathy, new to this method. I think it
is important to explain.' I am going to ask you questions. We are going to go into your
experience. I may repeat the questions again at times. But it doesn't mean that I don't understand
you, that you are not clear. It simply means that we are going to ask you same things. You go
deeper to your experience and narrate it to us. That helps in Case taking . Let's go with this
procedure.' This sometimes helps a lot.

The other thing is that if you:

- Stick to the chief complaint and you don’t lose the case.

The main complaint with which the patient has come with may be emotional or physical
whatever it is, that is the crystallization of the vital sensation in that moment. That's where it
manifests at that time and it is the best area to locate the vital disturbance. So you start with the
chief complaint and understand the sensation in it, or in the effect that it has on the patient. To
explore it as thoroughly as you can, before moving to other areas. The chief complaint often has
the best expressions of the whole case and very often with some co-operative patients, explaining
the chief complaint leads you to the end of the case. Everything is there. Just one thing leads to
the other. The other and the entire core is Right in front of you because it's all so interconnected.
And this we having I am sure have lot of experience with this.

For example :It's like a pressure, kind of pushes in and pushes out.' ' Describe this pressure' It's
like a force. 'Describe the force'. 'It's like external force coming into you and causing force.' '
Describe the external force' and then it went on and on into very very strange realms.

I had a patient just the other day with intense headache. ' Describe the headache' The headache is
over here and over here. 'Describe this. I

So when we ask the patient to describe the sensation that is associated with the chief complaint
for which he has come, and as we keep on delving deeper into this and asking him to make the
expression more clear and refined, we try to discourage any thinking process of the patient and
ask him to emphasize the process of experiencing, or bringing the experience into the present
moment, experiencing it then and there, in the now and witnessing this experience and narrating
it to the homoeopath. It can be a slow patient task where both the physician and the patient
should have space and the attitude that is needed, and unprejudiced observation coming from a
position of not knowing, and to see what will come up, to see what is there.

- Be unprejudiced. The journey is not to analyze but to perceive where sensation

and energy are revealed.

We have to be empty of prejudice; of effort. We have to let the patient lead. This happens best
when we merely say, “Tell me more about…” The emphasis and direction must be the patient‟s,
not yours. Only then will the pure picture emerge. When we allow the individual complete room
to move, giving no limits or direction then the person is free to gradually reveal to us their
deepest sensation. Take the patient's last expression. ' Tell me to describe more about this.' You
have to be absolutely, non - leading.

The most important question is to:

- Seek to understand what is and not why it is.

‘What is the experience?’ leads to the sensation.

„How is the experience?’ leads to the miasm.

How meaning, how deep, how desperate, how intense is the miasm. And why it is has no
relevance at all. And when the patient narrates what we have to do is to keep your focus.

- Focus on non-human-specific words

Which means words that are common between man and nature. These will express the sensation
and not the emotions because our remedies are from non human specific kingdoms. Simply
following these non-human-specific words, and asking the patient 'Pressure - Tell me more about
this Pressure about the word pressure'. Pressure is external force. ' Describe external force. Tell
more about this external force' That's all. Simple. Then the case what we need to do is, you can
go smoothly and then we can take the case forward and deeper.

- Focus on words that are repeated, emphasized or accompanied by a significant

gesture.

Because these are mostly related to the vital sensation.

- Gestures are important.

Which gestures are significant then?

Those gestures are significant which are specific, repetitive, which carry the energy. How do we
know? These gestures are significant which are especially used by the patient to express his
innermost experience and when words fail him, you say ' Describe this more and more'. He says '
I feel like this like this. I feel as if something is happening. What you feel? I feel like' means he
is describing his experience in the form of a gesture. This gesture is most significant and what do
you with the gesture. When that gesture is made, we say just focus on this gesture and just
describe. Whatever comes to you whether connected your not connected, logical, ill- logical,
reasonable or not reasonable. When you do the gestures whatever spontaneously comes. Just
speak that that's all not what it is, what it means, not what happens to you, no nothing to do with
you. Just whatever comes up and that becomes the Gateway to his sensation.

- Focus on the energy in the case.

It is very important that we do not use your mind, that we do not interpret, that we do not
analyse, that we do not categorise.

What we need to do is:

- Identify the themes but let the patient make links.

What is the most important thing to know with the patient and the most important thing
is to know what the experience is in a given situation.

- Always ask for what the experience was in a situation.

Patients always talk of what has happened to them.

I am in this situation or that situation. I am in a quarrel or a disappointment or a loss, whatever it

is. What we want is what is the experience to be in that situation, be it physical, mental, dream,
nightmare or past situation or imagined future. For example a woman says I had a fight with my
father.

So we say, „Tell more about the fight. Tell about this fight‟. Then she describes, „ This happened
that happened‟ and what you are looking for? And many times it‟s important that you don‟t ask it
directly. How did she experience the situation of the fight? In the narration of fight itself, very
often there will be a lot of hints and clues. And even that direct expression of her experience of
that situation and he said that „ and I felt so suffocated as if I want to get out of there‟, she would
say. So her experience of that fight was suffocation and want to get out.

For example:

But in case, in the narration of the situation, the experience did not come out or was not clear,
then you can ask. So how was it for you? How did you experience it to be in that situation. But
try to ask this question as a last resort because the more things come out spontaneously, the more
reliable they are. So the question for us is for example if she was angry. We say „Describe the
experience of the anger? How did the anger feel?‟ Not what the anger is about, not when, not
why the anger, not who got the anger but “How does the anger feel?”

Many times the patient‟s don‟t get this question, anger feels like this but if you know what you
are looking for then you will have the patience and the faith to slowly repeat this question. I say „
I understood when you feel angry. What makes you feel angry. I understood. No problem. But I
want to know what is for you the experience of anger. How does anger feel?‟

When you say angry, what is it that you experience? So if you are clear in your mind as to what
you are looking for then you will repeat the question at deeper levels. And the patient will very
often come out with the experience. An experience which is totally unrelated to the word anger;
an experience which is totally unrelated to the situation in which the anger was experienced
because anger was nothing. It is the experience, the sensation and that sensation will not only be
the sensation of anger in the patient, it will also be the sensation of joy. It will also be the
sensation of grief because the sensation is unflattered, it‟s free. Everything else is an expression
of it. The sensation is pervasive and that sensation is off course is coming from the other song.

So it is important in this approach not to stop,

- Don’t stop at the levels of Emotions and Delusions

At a superficial level the patient can talk anything at the level of emotions or delusions or
symptoms. And very often we make interpretations and we stop at that level, thinking that we got
something and then we give the patient mineral, plants and even animal remedy which are very
superficially indicated. But when we go into a certain depth then we see the very individual
sensitivity which is so not logical or human specific.
I will give you a case example.

Case example:

I saw a man about age 60 -63 years but professionally he is a lecturer on Philosophy subject. He
is like a spiritual teacher, very well – known in his community. And he came to me with a
variety of complaints like Hypertension and some other. He had urinary infection, he had some
fissure in the ano. He had few very intense complaints. I forgot right now what it was and when I
asked him to tell about himself, he says „He is the eldest brother in the family. He has like 7 or 8
siblings, all younger to him. And he is extremely responsible for his family.”

Anything happens to his brothers or sisters or their children. He becomes very anxious because
he feels very responsible for his brothers, nieces and nephews. He himself is not married.
Doesn‟t have his own personal family. But this extended family of his, he is very very
concerned, feels very anxious about the welfare of all these people. He considers this as the duty
of his family to be responsible given his hypertension. It would have been easy to give a remedy
like Aurum metallicum.

He is also a very highly respected person, in a good position in the society. People look upto this
man like a leader. But I ask him „ Tell me more‟. He says „ sometimes when my brothers don‟t
listen to me, when I am telling for their welfare and they don‟t listen, I get very very angry‟. I
said „ Describe the anger‟. He says „ Yes I get very angry‟. „Tell me about this anger‟. „ Yes
when my brothers don‟t listen to me‟. I said „ Yes, I understood but when you say anger,
describe the experience of anger. How does the anger feel? Tell about this anger little bit more.‟
And he says „ When I am angry I feel they are all against me‟. I say „ describe this all .. what are
you showing this‟. „It‟s all against me, they are all against, I am here. I am cornered.‟ „ Cornered,
tell me a little bit more‟ „ I feel I am trapped. I can‟t get out of here. I feel suffocated. I feel they
are all cheating me. They are all deceiving me and I am trapped by them. I can‟t get out and then
I get into a rage.

He had also such a beautiful response on the remedy Drosera.

You see what a great difference it makes at the level of Delusion, at the level of Human specific.
„ I am responsible. I am the head of the family. I have to look after this.‟ This is all human
specific. This could have been his sensation too in which his remedy would have been Aurum.

That is where we have to be extremely careful. His delusion would be possible, could have been
his delusion. It could be the same as the next level. So we have to be very circumspect, sceptical
about our own conclusion. When we take his position and his perception which is his delusion
and we examine his experience sometimes it can turn out to be so completely different. This is
where we have to be cautious. We have to see. May be it speaks the same language but many
times it doesn‟t.

The other thing I need to tell you is that we need to

- Find out ‘who’ the person is

We should be careful not to trace an incidental imagination, but to see what is the person, and
that is the next thing I want to tell you in case taking. Who is this person, what is his basic nature
or personality type, what is it that determines who he is. What are the things or factors that excite
him or aggravate him and what is it that they produce in him. These are the things we need to
look into. What are the main points in his life story so far and what do these points tell us about
who he is as a human being? Because we are ultimately treating who he is.
Hahnemann said, what is needed here is a lot of attention to detail and total faithfulness to the
patient‟s experience. We cannot assume anything. We must be ready to accept what the patient
says is true, whether it is logical or illogical, whether we can understand it or we can‟t.

- Case taking is all about going to the depth, the core

What we do in case taking is - to observe, let the patient narrate, and in the narration itself, you
get many hints about pace which is the miasm and sensation which is the kingdom. We get hints
about the exciting factors, the point that has energy, like the chief complaint, or some emotion or
some situation or dream and then you take that which is most prominent in the spontaneous
narration of the patient, you take the prominent thing and then trace that thing further to the most
fundamental thing of the case, beyond which you cannot go because that is the core or the centre.
And many a times, we would be surprised where we arrive. And when you are that core, you
trace back will lead to that core.

And this thing is often hidden and not so obvious and it is often not what you expected or
imagined it to be. From either the delusion or a dream or the chief complaint. But it is what it is
and it is the most individual, the most peculiar, the most basic experience of the person.

- Witnessing the experience

In some cases, when we follow this process we allow the patient to observe his own process or
experience. We just say you experience it. What do you ? what is it that you experience? Or we
use a word like „ just go into the experience, just see what happens?‟
He says, „ I feel like this. I feel tight‟. „ Stay with that experience. You want to close your eyes,
close your eyes. Just stay with it and see … where it goes?‟ In some patients, they can go into a
kind of meditative state where they become the witness of the experience and often they narrate
very strange and peculiar things.

- Stay with the most nonsensical thing the patient experiences.

And at that point, a lot of things from his chief complaint, past history, mental, childhood,
interest, dreams, hobbies they converge to a common basis. They go to a place where there is
that switch that suddenly opens the door to another world hidden behind. It is such a new world,
what we couldn‟t imagine before.

The nonsensical peculiarity of this world is one of the hallmarks of the Sensation. You
stay with it, give the patient the freedom to be in it, and they can describe it in enough detail to
make things clear.

- Something unusual comes out at the deeper level

At the superficial levels the patient talks a lot of logical things. Sometimes it looks like they are
talking of a particular remedy or a state. But often it is not true.

It is just a story that they know about themselves. Their real experience, their core experience it‟s
an analysis that they have made of themselves. So they are presenting it to you and then when
you go deeper, you find something so individual, it‟s strange for them. It‟s strange for you and so
different. Often from the story they have made for themselves.

I give you an example:

Couple of days back, I saw a follow- up of a woman who is doing very well on her remedy and
during the follow –up when I heard her narration of what was happening in her life in the follow-
up, I couldn‟t believe the remedy which I had given her, with which she is so better, quite a
remarkable improvement. The remedy which I gave her is a very specific kind of a spider. It is
the jumping spider. I had prescribed this remedy for the first time and it has worked wonderfully
on her. Just for your curiosity, the remedy I gave, it is called Salticidae.

When she came for a follow up I asked her, “So tell me what is stressing you. What is the tension
for you nowadays?” She said, “I am in a company and I have a good boss and he is leaving the
company and I don‟t know if I can get along with the new boss so I feel I should also quit the job
and go to. But people are saying don‟t do that? Why you have to quit when your boss is quitting.
You don‟t have to do that and I feel a sense of responsibility and I am very indecisive and I
cannot take that decision what to do in this situation.”

So what I saw at that moment was with regard to her job, the irresolution and responsibility.
Then I thought for a moment, I said „ What the hell I have given her something like Spider‟. Her
present narration gives no clue and the reason is so simple. It‟s the level of emotion and delusion.
You don‟t hear these words. You hear the story which the patient has in his mind. I am like this,
I am like that. I feel like this, I feel like that. I think like this, I think like that. But who are you
and what is it that you experience at the core of your being. They are not aware. That has to be
probed. So even in the situation, just to make sure she is given the same remedy, I say „ So tell
me little bit more. What is your experience to be in this situation?‟ and she said, „ I just want to
jump, I was so amazed when you just go to the experience. Involuntarily, the words of the
sensation, of the source, the other song just jump out at you. But often we allow the patient to
influence us with this narration and we get prejudice with this remedy.

- At the sensation level the qualities of the source become obvious

You can prescribe with confidence an unusual remedy because at the level of sensation the
patient is able to describe many qualities of the source for you. Once in a very rare while, the
patient can go deeper than the experience and start visualizing things and experiencing things
which have to do with the source.

They can actually see the source in their deepest conscious. I have patients who have described
qualities of the source to me. Almost exactly it‟s so uncanny. And many times I was not aware of
the source till most strange I had to go to the internet and there it was exactly described.

Arriving at the Sensation

- When we get to the point of the sensation, the experience is not only restricted to the mind but
in fact is the common point between both body and mind; it is the common point of body and
mind and the source of all experience.
- And often it is logically completely disconnected from the actual situation of the person. In this
sense, it is nonsensical. It is peculiar, queer and strange.

- It is non-human and universal.

- It pertains to the experience of the person at all times and in every significant experience
of his or her life, past and present.

- It is intrinsic to who he is as a unique individual.

Local to general, (i.e. from a part to the whole)

One of the ways to get to the sensation is to chase the local sensation to the general sensation,
from the local to the global of the whole person. Look for the general or the global.

Local means that which belongs only to that particular area, and
„Global’ means that which relates to, or contains, the whole of something, or a group of things.

The „Local’ is the location in the body, where the problem is or location is live where the
problem is whether it may be a work situation, financial situation or a knee joint pain.

It is also located in time, in space, in situations. The secret is:

„To see what is it in that local, in that thing which is limited in space and time. What is it that
goes over that limitation and applies to that whole person for his whole life. That is global.‟

What is it that surpasses the local and becomes global? What is it that transcends that situation
and applies to the person as a whole, and over time?

When you go there, you will see what is present that will, that is the common part of past and
present, physical and mental. That is sensation, vital sensation.

So when I ask the patient about any disease, „ Tell me about your pain over here. I ask and I
look. What is he going to say about this that he experiences as a whole being that is not only true
for this but it‟s an expression of his entire experience.

- Trace the connected points in a case

What is it that connects the different areas in the case? What is it that connects the chief
complaint, to his nature of the person, his dreams, interests and hobbies, fears and his childhood
?

I will give you an example.

Case example:
A couple of days before, I had a patient who gave a good follow up.
You might be wondering by this time, why I give cases that I saw a couple of days ago. I guess
the answer is obvious. That‟s the extent of my memory beyond two days. I remember nothing.
Some people call it „living in the now‟, being in the moment. Some people call it „Alzheimer‟s‟.
I don‟t know what is true for me. So I had this point who gave a good Follow up.

She is a twenty-seven-year-old female, married, and one of the chief complaint is aversion to
sexual intercourse. I asked her to describe this feeling and she said it‟s a kind of fear. I said her,
“what exactly when do you experience this fear?” And she said, “I experience this fear at the
point when there is going to be penetration.” “Describe this at the point there is going to be
penetration. Just describe this. Tell about it.” She feels as if something is coming into her and it
makes me absolutely want to shut off.

This is the description there with regard to the intercourse. Then I asked her to tell something
more. She described a fear of the dark. So I asked what the experience with the dark is and she
said, “I just want to run away and escape.”

So here you can simply take the expressions: fear of dark and desire to escape. And you will
completely miss the point because how do we explain this fear of dark in relation to her chief
complaint. There is no connection here. And unless you see the connection, you are not at the
centre. That‟s the whole idea. You got to trace back the fear of dark and the desire to escape, till
you manage to reach to the point which is also the basis of the explanation of the chief complaint
which is aversion to intercourse and that at the point of penetration, she feels something is
coming to me and she shuts off. So I say to her, “Describe the experience of fear, the fear of
dark, what is the experience” and she says, “The experience of fear is that I have no security.”
“So what is security, tell about it?” She said, “Security is like a protective wall around you. You
go inside and you feel closed.”

Closed! Your bell rings because she said at that point shut off. „Shut off/ closed‟ and then we
went further and got the remedy.
The point is not what the remedy was because i know you will ask me questions in the forum,
„What was the remedy?‟ But I am not trying to teach the remedy here but just the idea that we
need to reach a point here till commonality, till your case is not complete. You know your Case
Taking is complete when things come to a common point. If you leave your fear of dark and
desire to escape, hanging there and your intercourse and something is coming in and I want to
shut off there, they are two separate discrete, uncorrected points, you not reached the centre.

What is very important is:

- Do not miss the forest for the trees

What I mean by this let me tell you. Normally when the patient is narrating, we are observing
and then the narration begins. In the narration itself there are many clues about the inner
experience of the patient. We start picking up these clues with regard to pace which is the miasm
and sensation which is the kingdom.

The other point of case taking is to trace exactly what is the individuality or peculiarity within a
particular expression and be very attentive and careful as to what is the individuality there.

I will illustrate an example which off course is also 2 days old.

A woman in her mid forties, with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, she is a recent case I don‟t have
a follow up, I just remember. So I said what is the symptom? She said, „I hear voices telling her
to do things and especially things that are sexual. As if some force is making her do sexual
things, as if some force is making me masturbate.

One simple way that I would have worked with her this out is symptoms like; “Delusion she is
possessed,” “Delusion: hears voices,” “Increased sexual desire”. I could have created some
rubrics like this. But this is very partial and a local picture. We will not be able to reach
anywhere from here especially because this woman having a psychiatric illness where hearing
voices is not uncommon. In fact it is pathognomic, a pathological symptom of Schizophrenia. So
I asked her the question, „what her experience of the situation?‟ There she feels as if some voice
is telling her to do sexual things.

What your experience? And she says the experience is as if she is forced by someone else to do.

So in the local imagination that her voice is telling her to do sexual things, the deeper experience
is something is making me to what I don‟t want to do. I said, „What is it in your life you are
sensitive to? What affects you? What disturbs you?‟ She says, „She has a group of friends, she is
a part of a group of friends and they all go out together, have parties, or a picnic or sometimes
they all gather at someone‟s house for an event. And she says that when all are having fun and
what is she doing up there, who cleans up, it‟s me and then I feel bad and she says you know the
logic thing is that I offer to do it either I clean up or washing it. And I do it. They are having fun,
they are dancing, they are dancing, having merry and I am washing dishes. I feel so bad. I feel
they are making me do all these things. What I don‟t want to do.‟

She comes back to the same situation, the same experience. So at this point, I can probe a little
further. „So tell me, in this situation what do you perceive? What are they doing?‟ She is saying,
“They are putting a heavy burden or a load or something heavy on me.”

So it becomes qualified from the experience they are making me do something that I don‟t want
to do. They are loading me. They are burdening me, putting something heavy on me. They are
making me carry a load.‟ And then you come to the commonest between the different expression
between her friends and her Schizophrenia. And you realise that sexuality is not the central
theme of the case. It‟s not the centre. It‟s just one expression of something which is far deeper.

There is a commonality between the Sensation and Miasm

So when I take a case, I find in the chief complaint a certain pace and desperation, and the same
thing will be found in other areas of his life also. That pace and desperation is the miasm also.
There has to be a commonality there. The pace, the miasm, throughout the case, the sensation,
kingdom is constant throughout the case. If you don‟t see the constant miasm throughout the
case, if the chief complaint has a particular pace and in his life there is another pace and in his
dreams he has some other pace something is wrong, not Ok. Something is not Ok here.

The Sensation and Miasm will provide the commonality in the case as a whole

The pace and the experience of the chief complaint if you understand very very clearly you will
see that same pace and the same sensation in the whole case and then you can see in which area,
you can probe deep and refine it, qualify it, tempering out completely.

For example:

A young man came with a complaint of eruptions on his feet – some redness and itching was
there. Also his complaint was small boils or pimples around his shoulders. He was about 2-3 yrs
old, a big built. So I asked him what is the problem you are having? He said, “Nothing; just
slightly itches me sometimes, no problem.. just sometimes a little bit itching.” These are the
words he used. I asked him, “What are the things that affect you in life?” He said, “Well, if
someone appreciates me I like it. If someone criticises me I don‟t like it.” I asked him, „What do
you mean by you don‟t like it?‟ It touches me a little bit sometimes you see.”

So you see a commonality between itching and his emotion. Just touching little a bit no problem,
nothing to worry. Nothing deep, nothing desperate that‟s the pace of him, what is your life story.
I asked him, „Well‟. He said, „I had a break-up with a girlfriend. My parents did not give their
consent to the match, they said no they said she is not okay, so he gave her up. I said, “What was
the effect on you?” He said, “No problem. I didn‟t want her to get hurt so I broke it up nicely.”

Nothing is a problem, no problem, no problem slightly little bit itching. No problem, boils no
problem, appreciation no problem, criticism no problem, break up no big deal, no problem.
Everything was slightly, little bit no problem. This is the underlying language of the pace you
have to hear and then you hear the underlying language of the experience is the sensation or the
kingdom. It could be a language of competition, it could be an underlined language of structure
which is loss and lack or an underlying language or melody of sensitivity and reach it which is
plant. You got to see in each expression, what is the underlined pace and language? What
language is he speaking, how fast is he speaking? You have to hear the melody that melody and
that rhythm will be the common in his all his expression. So if there is an expression I get, a
strong experience, sensation or pace, unless I see that in all the areas, I am not going to be
convinced.

The case taking should help in healing by awareness

When you come to the centre point of his whole being, The patient‟s awareness of this
experience and his witnessing of what lies beneath all his expressions itself is a healing
experience, he starts hearing the melody of himself , the patient should emerge from such a case
taking already feeling better.

At this point, I want to talk a little bit about:

Hypnotic sessions or shamanic journeys

My colleague, Dr Jayesh Shah, in fact one of the closest friends I have in the world has shown
that with some slight encouragement and by the repetition of the non human specific words and
by encouraging the patient to go into that experience and to live it in that moment, sometimes
there happens in that moment a kind of hypnotic session which has some characteristics of past
life regression or shamanic journeys.

Important requisite - SPACE

The prime requisites of going into this kind of depth are - a complete conviction in that process,
the skill needed on the part of the physician to go through and be very careful and cautious to
know what to do and the most importantly the space that is a pre eminent requisite for both
physician and patient. The onus lies on the physician to create that space in which the patient has
the freedom to go into his experience; where the patient feels supported and safe because those
are the areas in which people normally never go in their conscious life.

Let us look at a case illustration, not of shamanic journey but illustration of Case taking.

109] Case
The clinic
18th March 2009
A thirty-two year old medical doctor.

Chief complaints:
She wrote the following in the case form: (Now we are referring to the case form which I read
and she writes)
1. Excessive thirst at night.
2. Feeling of heat in the body.
3. Gum infections
4. Constipation.
5. Flatulence
6. Dry skin
7. Bags under the eyes
8. Anal itching
9. Fatigue/lassitude

Excerpts from her entries in the case form:

I am anxious about my health and career, and fearful about gossip and rejection. I remember for
a long time the hurts caused to me by others, and sometimes I am very revengeful. At other times
not at all.

I am cheerful in the midst of nature, while I am listening to music, dancing and working, and in
company.

Inefficiency, slyness and ego make me angry. I dislike it when people are hypocritical, and not
true to themselves. When I get angry I desire to hit someone and scream. I tremble when I am
angry or nervous.

I was very unhappy about my relationship and loss of my friend. But now I am coming to terms
with them. The future looks good and I feel much hope in you for my health.

Dreams:
- These are sometimes prophetic.
- In my relationship I was able to see what my partner was doing when I was far off, and it would
always confirm.
- I also dream of death of my father and friends, of robbers, travelling, of danger and airplane
accidents, of parties and marriage. The feelings in the dreams are anxious, pleasant, grief,
jealousy and sometimes there are romantic themes, and of sexual pleasure.

Attributes in childhood:
Temper tantrums, hyperactivity, telling lies, shyness, emotionality. I was very attached to my
brother.

Notes from the interview:

D: I ask her what are the complaints you have?

P: I feel heat in my eyes, abdomen, hands and palms. I am very sensitive to heat and I feel very
hot. I have a dry mouth, bleeding gums and lots of cavities. I have megaloblastic anaemia and
took B-12 injections for it. There are baggy swellings under my eyes when I wake up in the
morning. I was very thin in my childhood, though I had a good appetite. At around the age of
nineteen years, when I got into medical college I got asthma.

I feel a lot of tiredness. There is a lack of focus. It‟s like you are in this space and you can‟t
make sense of it.

I don‟t have family support, either financial or emotional. In my childhood there was a lot of
physical rivalry with my sister, who was very physically healthy. I was often beaten up by her. I
couldn‟t beat her, so I would break things and destroy things. It is my defence mechanism. When
I am not being heard, my needs are not being heard I do this to get attention. I also get violent
when I am unable to express my anger or when I am in depression. Or I become withdrawn. I
either get violent or withdrawn.

I was in a relationship which recently broke up….was not able to provide a solid reference. I felt
a lot of jealousy. We lived together in the same house. He wanted to get married, but I didn‟t,
because I wanted to maintain my independence. He was great company, very childlike and we
were able to communicate well. It was good companionship. There were no rules.

My parents did not support my decision for the live-in relationship. I tried to connect with my
family but they didn‟t understand, so I went back to the relationship with him. I was left with no
choice. But it was a violent relationship. He began to physically abuse me. I felt violated. I was
very angry. I threatened to go to the police. I felt, “I don‟t belong here.” It was like being in no-
man‟s land. I felt betrayed by my parents and let down by him. He cheated on me. I was very
angry at the betrayal. How could he be so insensitive to me? I felt humiliated, violated and lost. I
would throw things in my anger. When he abused me I felt as if my boundaries are being
invaded. Someone walks into your boundaries, your world. “How dare you!” I would think of
vengeance.

He moved on, into another relationship with someone else. I felt very hurt about it. We kind of
had a love-hate relationship. It was traumatic to my ego. Now I want him back, but he is not
there.

I have a strong side, but I am also vulnerable. When this happened I felt as if my protective
barrier was lost. I felt very vulnerable, very weak. I needed strong protection.”

When asked about her interests and hobbies, she said, “I love music and dancing. I learnt Indian
classical dance and also learnt singing. I have learned Kathak (form of Indian classical dance)
and also the Salsa. I like doing Yoga. I like physical movement a lot, being fast-paced.

When asked about what she was sensitive to, she mentioned earthquakes, tsunamis, and the
Mumbai 9/11 terrorist attacks. She said “It was very brutal”. I asked her, “What is the experience
of that?” She said, “It trickles down to you (hg). Emotions travel and hit you. It comes inside
your boundary (hg)”

Physical Generals

Thirst: Increased in the morning on waking, after walking, eating well-cooked food and
especially at about two or three o‟clock in the morning.
Position during sleep: Left lateral or on the back. Unable to sleep on abdomen.

Sleep: I wake up a lot during sleep, to drink water.

So what is it? What is the thing over here?

Let‟s try to see it again:

So we have situations, we have things that she reacts to like – lying, hypocrisy, slyness etc. And
then we have situations, we have two prominent situations: One is her childhood and one is with
her relationship. And the story with her childhood is: so this is the way I pick it up. What is the
experience in her childhood? She feels that her sister can beat her up and she can‟t do anything
because of her sister is very much healthier than her, much stronger than her. And her reaction is
to get up is to destroy things, to get attention. She would get violent either she is withdrawn or
she is violent. And then what is with this relationship?

So I pick up the 2nd thread. I say, „So what is this with the relationship?‟ and then I probe into
that and she says the same story again. She says he got physically abused, she felt violated and
how did she react? By threat. „I threatened to go to the police. So there with the sister, she was
stronger. She used threat, I will destroy so don‟t come. And here I will go to the police and again
she gets very very aggressive and violent and starts throwing things. So at that point I decide that
in her childhood she might not be so conscious about her experience but in her adult life, she
could be more. So what was her exact experience when this was happening and then she says, „I
felt invaded as if something was coming into my space and that would make her aggressive and
violent.

And then we go to her point of sensitivity which is the Mumbai terror attacks. And there again I
ask her, „What is the experience and so strange, so suffocation of the same experience. It comes
inside your boundary and that is the beauty, the centrality of the case and how do we understand
it. We cannot understand it now merely as a boundary, there we are only seeing the tree and
missing the forest. That invading of boundary is only the last, the last step. We have to see much
before that what is the forest and then from there we go inwards. What are the trees?

And this is something that we are definitely going to look for the next talk and do watch this
space, we will be back with you next week and I think it‟s a good way of ensuring you will come
back and know what the suspense is.

So Good bye for now, Auf weiddersen, Chao have a great week. Bye Bye.