Homeopathy Book Reviews

Dynamic Provings, Vol. 2

Written by Dr. Manish Bhatia

A useful article about Dynamic Provings, Vol. 2.Full details about Dynamic Provings, Vol. 2


Author: Jeremy Yaakov Sherr
and Students of Dynamis School
Edited by Camilla Sherr
Publisher: Dynamis Books 2002
ISBN: 1901147053. Softcover, 841 pages
Price: 32£ (60$)
Reviewed By: Dr. Manish Bhatia
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I received this book for review long back but was not able to review it, as this is a huge book and going through new provings is a very time-consuming and meticulous task.

Proving new drugs in homeopathy is always a difficult and time-consuming work. There are very few homeopaths today who are willing to carry on with the work done by Hahnemann, Allen and Hering. There is plethora of information about new homeopathic drugs these days but very few have come through hands which can be relied upon. It is wonderful to see the Dynamis School has such passion and comittment for such a difficult work. Dynamic Provings vol I gave us many useful medicines. Sherr continues his work with the same zeal in volume 2. Dynamic Provings volume 2 is a welcome addition to the collection of new provings.

Dynamic Provings, Vol. 2 contains 841 pages of pure proving data, which after proper editing and clinical verification will enrich the homeopathic materia medica. The provings this volume contains are:

Brassica napus: Rape seed, 54 pages – 11 provers
Cygnus columbianus bewicki: Bewick Swan, 60 pages – 8 provers
Cygnus Cygnus: Whooper Swan, 224 pages – 21 provers
Olea europaea: Olive, 70 pages – 18 provers
Onchorynchus tschawytscha: Pacific Salmon, 156 pages – 25 provers
Salix fragilis: Crack Willow, 54 pages – 7 provers
Taxus baccata: English Yew Tree, 114 pages -16 provers
Taxus brevifolia: Pacific Yew Tree, 92 pages – 14 provers

The provings of Bewick swan and Crack willow were conducted by Penny Stirling and the Pacific Yew by Jake Kiakahe and Richard Pitt, the rest are by Sherr and the Dynamis School. Brassica napus has previously appeared in Dynamic Provings Volume I. Fresh material has been added to this proving from the ‘Magic Prover’, who didn’t participate the first time round. Her experiences and insights make the remedy more useful and exciting to read.

All the provings follow the guidelines given by Jeremy in his previous works. Jeremy says ‘All the provings were Hahnemannian, fully-supervised, double-blind and placebo-controlled‘. Each of the provings has a few pages of introduction to the substance and some of its dimensions and natural relationships. These serve as a good starting point towards exploring the medicine further. After that Sherr has included a new tool, which is a collection of significant symptoms of that remedy on one page, to enable a concentrarted overview. He calls it ‘As If One Person’. This new aid will again prove handy in analyzing the maze of symptoms and understanding the outlook of the people concerned with conducting the proving.

But not all the provings have the same level of richness and depth. The proving of Salmon is probably the best in this work. I personally feel that the difference in the provings can also arise from the size of the prover-pool. While Salix has been proved by only 7 provers, Salmon has been proved by 25 provers. This great difference in the number of provers makes it a bit difficult to compare all the new provings for their quality and consistency. When provings are being done by the same school, I think the number of provers for each proving can be kept relatively constant.

Editing proving data is a Herculean task and for the most part the work is well edited. There are still some provings that can do with better editing to make them more readable by removing repetitions. There is another question that comes up. Although the provings were double-blind, is the ‘prover no. 32’ idiosyncratic to be giving excellent provings for everything? This probably needs more review by the editors.

In all, Jeremey and his students have done wonderful work by doing and compiling these provings. If not all, some of them will prove to be of great clinical aid in many cases. Cases of Onchorynchus and Brassica can already be found in our literature. The book is beautifully printed on rich gloss paper and will add beauty and value to the book-shelf of every homeopath interested in new provings.

About the author

Dr. Manish Bhatia

- BHMS, BCA, M.Sc Homeopathy (UK), CICH (Greece), MD (Hom)
- Associate Professor, Organon & Homeopathic Philosophy, SKH Medical College, Jaipur
- Founder Director of Hpathy.com
- Editor, Homeopathy for Everyone
- Co-author - Homeopathy and Mental Health Care: Integrative Practice, Principles and Research
- Author - Lectures on Organon of Medicine vol 1, 2, 3. CCH Approved. (English, German, Bulgarian)
- Awardee - Raja Pajwan Dev Award for Excellence in the Field of Medicine; APJ Abdul Kalam Award for Excellence in Homeopathy Education
- Visit Dr. Bhatia's website

1 Comment

  • i needs new drug provings available at provings.com,if possible make possible for indian homoeopaths, & remain as Hero for them ever,

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