The Case Witnessing Process – the Further Individualistic Artistic Journey with Designer’s Advice - Dr. Dinesh Chauhan

These are the masks that are used in various classical dance forms in India; they portray the various emotions and moods that are embossed on our faces as reflections of our various states of mind that an individual goes through.

Created by our many tribes in India and our ancestors these masks were considered to form a bridge between our outer phenomenal world and the inner person, they believed that every person has at least two selves the one that is without any guise, the true self and other the “alternate self”.

In olden days masks of Shiva and Shakti were considered extremely powerful and used in many dances. The masks used in dance forms helped the individual transcend into ones inner true power and be a vehicle of expressing the inner true self which is not seen normally in day to day life…like the avatar of “Natraja” that Shiva took while dancing. As a hermit, Shiva usually danced alone, in serene isolation, his eyes shut, blissfully unaware of anyone watching him. He danced for himself. It was said to be an expression of an inner state. While reading this I thought aren’t we today in need to awaken our true self, in need to dance like Natraja to let our conscious rational intellectual mind to be put aside and arise the Shiva-Natraja in us, visit our true inner self…?

Following case helps to understand this aspect of shedding all the conscious covers and going into a trans and expressing our true selves through the various art forms…it will also help you understand the importance of retakes, the importance of understanding the subconscious completely and developing different methods to do so, this case gives us the importance of dreams and taking into abstract through darkness, how to explore them to reach the centre and source of the patient. It also stresses on the importance of giving the whole to the patient in the Active-active and giving a holistic advice to the patient, thus making the whole process integrative and holistic.

This was a case of a Female aged 43yrs.; she suffered from Panic Attacks/ Phobias and Menstrual irregularities.

During her first interview I prescribed her the remedy Naja Tripudians giving her partial relief, when I tried to understand her again I prescribed her Kali Muriaticum without a long lasting healing effect. So I was put to thinking as to what was I missing in this case which was helping very superficially when my intention and focus was always to understand her in depth every time.

Gradually I realised when using the 3 steps of case witnessing process, although the intention was to get a holistic complete understanding of the individual, many a times the conscious logical mind of the individual was so strong even after giving space the conscious control was not let loose, and this control existed even while talking about the subconscious. This led me to develop methods where in our enquiry be such that the subconscious is let loose and comes out. To design such artistic methods where the left sided logical mind completely sleeps off and the right sided artistic mind is activated to understand the subconscious, unmasked, non-logical side of the individual. This gave rise to -

1. Guided Passive – exploring the subconscious

The Guided Passive Case Witnessing Process where we remain open and passive but explore and understand those areas which the patient hasn’t touched in passive and especially the subconscious areas to be understood completely. Like dreams, childhood, interest and hobbies etc…

2. Artistic methods to unmask the imaginative side

Gradually as I kept being with this problem the idea of using certain artistic methods (which the individual is in touch with) started emerging, understanding through fears and dreams, through darkness, taking them to an abstract level, and understanding the state of the patient through art, painting, story-telling, fairy tales, scribbling etc. came up

3. Active-active giving the whole, and explaining the two sides

This also brought me to another aspect where, we make sure that we bring a shift in the patient at the time of case witnessing itself by giving the whole to him or her, by giving the patient the 2 sides that we have observed in him and asking him whether have we put this in the right way, this is like a confirmation of whether we have understood the centre of patient correctly and creating a healing awareness in him at the time of case taking itself.

4.Individualistic Designer’s Advice and Diary

Also when we as homoeopaths are making an effort to understand and heal the patient homoeopathically, what about an attempt from the individual’s side to heal his self? Can we design the whole therapy in such a way that the patient is able to see this centre at this depth repeatedly so as to bring about a deep long lasting healing effect and gradually reach a point where no external healing stimulus is required, the individual can visit his own centre itself becoming a similimum dose for him. Hence the next development was in the form of giving advice to the patient (once the centre is understood clearly). This advice is specially designed in such a way that it is in sync with the patient’s centre. This gave rise to the concept of the designer’s advice and designer’s diary.

Coming back to the case, let me share with you the summary and understanding of the first and second interview

The first Interview summary:

In different areas of her life she speaks of someone harassing her and her family, she says it kills her from inside, “air which goes inside my ears also harasses me”. She hates someone lying, going around the bush, hiding, and bitching. She has phobia of darkness and being alone, she feels as if somebody is coming and harming her, while sleeping she feels that somebody is holding her tightly and not allowing her to move. She hates it when someone rules her family, feels as if she is in a cage, not allowed to live her life, feels dependant and helpless, feels people are taking advantage, spread bad rumours, dominate according to their wishes. Here the animal kingdom is clear, and the issues of ruling, dominating, husband weak, feeling of helplessness, and own family is against her hence the remedy given was NAJA.

The second interview (1^st Retake) summary:

After the first interview the remedy helped her partially, her anxiety and panic attacks were same, she had heavy menstrual flow, pain in both knee joints, and pain in feet, back pain, hair fall, husbands health was bad so was worried about him, lot of frustration, issues of fear and much panic came up. Being overweight cannot wear good designer clothes. Feel she lives with 3 men who are in their own world and nobody cares about her. No support from anywhere, feel like being used like a maid. “There is no support, why harass me; don’t want to be attached to anyone”. Wants to change everything right from childhood, have her own house where no one can enter without her permission, she did for everyone because it was her duty. Only when alive you have value once you die they just burn and bury you. Worried about husband she says why he listens to his brother who hurts him, here Kali Muriaticum was given.

The third interview (2^nd retake) (3 months after)

NOTE: The case has been edited for brevity. D, P, stands for Doctor and Patient respectively

Passive Case Witnessing Process

D:      Just trying to understand again who you are in different stages of your life, different situations of your life, your imaginary as well as day to day life, in your dreams, fears etc. just free flow and in the end everything will make sense to you and me both.

P:      I am scared of my retake. Why medicines are not working on me. Why my fear phobias about family and imaginary things are not going?

P:      Have period problem (referring to menstrual cycle here) it’s coming every fifteen days. It’s confusing where to begin with current issues with children and family as I told you earlier also.

D:      Just be in the moment and speak whatever is coming?

D:      Feel lonely. I don’t like gossiping with ladies for hours, their mean talk, jealousy, greed I don’t like. I am too much attached to house and my family. Husband’s health is always a priority in my mind. I like to be alone and don’t like any one taking my space; I like my comfort zone where nothing disturbs me.

D:      Whole idea of this interview is to understand you beyond your day to day life, situations, stress. What about you which is different, not connected to your day to day life?

(Here we are trying to keep her away as much as possible from the conscious talk as she always speaks about this, yet we note what all peculiar is coming up)

P:      I have phobia of darkness and animals, being alone in dark. I was paranoid by a kitten which was in house for two days. Fear of being alone and darkness is since childhood, I would keep all the lights on…

P:      Few years’ back two three deaths in happened in my family since then one dream I see regularly and since then phobia started. I see my sister in law in the dream. I saw her in kitchen after her death. (Vision) When my brother in law thought of marrying again few years after her death, I saw her sitting in the hall crying and telling me what are you doing?

P:      I am very possessive about my children; if anyone tries to take away my children I don’t like it. If someone tells me they/she is taking my children I get very scared.

Guided passive: fear and dreams

D:      Go more close to you. More those things which are abstract in you, not connected to day to day life. Your day dreaming, you’re imaginary fears?

P:      Dreams of snakes. Snakes hanging on a dry branch which comes frequently during Pitrudosh (In India it is the time of the year when everyone prey’s for their dead relatives) Dream of father passing away. Dream of husband dying or we are separated.

D:      Go more close to your fears, phobias, and imaginations since childhood. More those things which are abstract, like your day dreaming. Your imaginary fears especially from childhood…

P:      There is this repeated dream since childhood about a tree and 2 snakes hanging on the dry tree, earlier I use to dream almost every night.

My parents wanted a boy and that bothered me a lot for long time. There used to be always comparison with my brother. Brother put me down all the time in every activity; he would just ridicule me or speak rudely with me. I try to call him up now, try to make a connection but the relations are not good…

It is difficult to take when your blood relations are not good; my husband’s brother insults him even after my husband was so loyal to him. He abuses him. My sister in law abuses me and my husband in spite of the fact that we did everything for them. They insult our family. They play dirty politics.

Guided Passive: Using Abstract

D:      When you are alone in your space… especially when in darkness, or when sitting alone with your eyes closed what vision comes in front of your eyes and what abstract/disturbing thoughts cross your mind?

P:      My children are settled well; I am facing no problem with my husband family and get what they deserve from them. Vision of something happening to my husband shatters me.

D:      what other abstract thoughts come, as a child what abstract fears you had?

P:      being alone in darkness, what if something happens to me. What if I get some deadly disease? Fear that my parents will forget me after I get married

D:      tell me about this fear of darkness?

P:      very scared, what if in the dark an insect or animal comes in the dark and bites me, what if I fall and some insect or animal will come and bite me.

D:      More about this dark space?

P:      feel very scared, get palpitations, and feel claustrophobic at that time

D:      go more into that dark space?

P:      Afraid of photographs of dead relatives, photo of sister in law bothers me, especially my cousin, she died young, and I fear that she will come out and attack me as I have not accepted her daughter after her death. I feel she will come out and say something or do something or harm me. I visualize she is in kitchen dressed in red sari and smiling at me, sitting in corner and ready to attack me

D:      when you say in dark some insect or animal…

P:      Insects and animals what if they come and harm me, I feel they will attack me, as if something dirty and creepy coming towards you, biting you, hurting you. Two days back with the cat also same feeling came that she will appear any time and will attack me…

ACTIVE CASE WITNESSING PROCESS:

D:      Tell about this dream of snake as completely as possible

(Patient draws the exact dream)

P:      Brown trees which has branches and they are cut, no leaves, only two snakes, when I tried to get up from sleep but couldn’t get up I felt something is holding me.

D:      Stay with this dream and see what else about it you remember??

P:      there are no leaves on the tree; there is no other color only brown color, even snake is of brown color. Repeatedly I used to see this dream since childhood, exactly the same dream all the time.

D:      What is most important in this dream?

P:      it is scary, only two brown snakes are hanging, no leaves, such a big tree but no leaves, it is very sad to look at it, no roots also.

I could see one eye of both the snakes; I couldn’t see the scales of the snakes

D:      Suppose this dream if had to complete how it will complete, use your imaginations?

P:      The snakes will not harm anyone or me or my family. They will go safely back to their home and should harm nobody. They will not bite anyone.

D:      they will not harm anyone?

P:      if they bite then there will be death

D:      imagine that part where the snake is biting…

P:      If they bite person will get hysterical, will get panic attacks and will get paranoid (Connecting to her illness). Person will be sweating, increase heartbeat. There will be white thing coming from the mouth, and bleeding and death.

D:      what else will happen in the dream?

P:      will die of poison of snake, if non-poisonous then will die of fear, if he is lucky someone will come to save him but the fear will remain.

D:      the snake is brown?

P:      yes brown, one is fat and one is thin

D:      What used to be your first thought with this dream?

P:      Is something wrong with me. Why snake is coming to bite me, have I done something wrong to my family? Is this snake now coming because of sister in law (she is spontaneously connecting)

Snake is coming to bite me, this thought made me scared of being alone, my bed was near the window and I used to be scared what if it came from the window, so I use to keep the window closed. (Connecting to her fears) I am possessive of my children, will it bite my family or children. I am very possessive about my children (Connecting)

 

ACTIVE-ACTIVE CASE WITNESSING PROCESS: Giving the whole.

D:      So what I understand is, what bothers you in your day to day life situation is with your husband and children, husband being overruled or over powered by family members, you have fear of being alone, lonely in the dark to the extreme that you need the lights on because you fear that an insect or something will come and bite you. You also have fear of dead relatives’ sister in law coming in red sari, whose baby you had refused to take care. And you have a constant dream since childhood about a brown dry tree, no leaves, and two brown colored snakes hanging there.

         All these things are together, family, being over powered, and fear of being alone, sister in law harassing, dreams of snakes.

P:      yes, my husband being dominated by others hurts me; anything happening to family bothers me…

D:      sound also bothers you?

P:      yes, I don’t prefer very loud music

ACTIVE-ACTIVE CASE WITNESSING PROCESS: Explaining Homeopathy.

D:      In homoeopathy we believe that every individual has his own unique design, and every individual’s mental makeup is also different, while treating the mind and body together we need to understand your design. Inside us there are 2 designs, one we are born with and it remains constant and other design keeps changing, idea is to find out the constant design. In different stages of your life, your childhood, fears, dreams, day dreaming, that is common in all these areas that is you, to understand that which speaks of your inner unique design…

         In your outer design we saw that for your family you feel someone can do wrong, you are possessive of your children. Inside there is fear of being alone, in dark, because someone will come up from there insects, animals, fear are they will harm you…

What kind of fear – that is seen in your dreams which helps us to understand. The snakes should not harm, if they bite then person will die of shivering, sweat, paranoia, bleeding, that kind of death if poisonous snake bites you…

Your outer, inner an your dream is your pattern, we will prescribe a medicine which will match this exact pattern.

ACTIVE-ACTIVE CASE WITNESSING PROCESS: Advice...

D:      We have definitely understood you better; I want to give you 2-3 advice to be followed today and later

1. 1.Tonight if you get a dream make note of it, because today you went deeper to yourself, somewhere in your subconscious some answer may come. Make note of it as it is
2. 2.Spend half hour with yourself, see what naturally and spontaneously is coming
3. 3.First thing which you feel like doing make note of it,

D:      Today it was like throwing a stone in calm waters, so there will be ripples and these ripples will remain with you, so something will come up spontaneously make note of it.

In order to understand yourself better do few activities like

1. 1.Every 15 days do an activity you like walking, running etc., anything that touches your heart do it for an hour or so, (After doing this kind of activity you are centered your being will speak with you) after that be with yourself and make note of any situation or imagination comes up.
2. 2.Every 15 days, give yourself an alone space, be in a place you enjoy. Keep these 3 things in your mind your inner, outer self and dreams in front of your eyes. Keep watching this space as intensely as possible and whatever shift you see in yourself may be positive or negative make note of it as it is
3. 3.Keep the drawing in front of you and watch it, observe the shift in yourself positive or negative and make note of it.

Summary of Follow ups

• 1 month after the medicine she was much better, she had palpitations and panic attacks only twice in that month, she would get the feeling but it would stop on its own. However she had pain in both her feet. However she says that she was very calm. She is taking things as they are. She has had the dream of a child crying because it is being taken away from her family and she was much disturbed after that dream and had heavy menstrual flow for 2-3 days after that. We repeat for her a dose of the remedy here.
• After 4 months of treatment she feels much better physically and emotionally. She has started working and is doing graphology. She has occasional headaches, her pain in the feet is better. And she has had regular menses since 2 months. Her anxiety and panic attacks have reduced drastically
• After almost 8months: she feels much centered, she said her reactions have normalized to a great extent. She didn’t get paranoid after seeing her husband’s reports like she use to get before. Anxiety and panic attacks have completely disappeared. We ask her about her dreams: she says she hasn’t got the dream of snakes in many months now and not even disturbing dreams since last time. She continues learning graphology. And also now has started to read a lot, currently reading “how to heal yourself” by Louise Hay. She also says that she doesn’t feel jealousy any more as she believes that each one will get their own part. Physically she feels much better.

Understanding of the case:

CENTRE OF THE CASE:

In the passive she speaks about her issues of children and family, being possessive about her family, as we try to keep her in the moment she speaks of her dislike of gossiping with ladies their mean talk, greed, jealousy which shows her sensitivity to these things, she doesn’t like anyone taking her space. As this is the 3^rd time we are hearing her, we need to keep her away from her conscious cover up talk and explore more and more unconnected areas where her other side will come out clearly. So here we tell her to speak about things which are not connected to her daily routine or day to day conscious situations, she now starts to speak of her childhood where she was scared of animals, of being alone in the dark, and she spontaneously goes to the area of her visions and dreams where she sees her dead relatives. Then she speaks of one dream of 2 snakes hanging on a branch which since childhood and sees it daily, dreams of father passing away and of husband dying and separating. She then speaks about her childhood where her brother would put her down, ridicule her and how even her brother in law abuses her husband. She speaks about dirty politics and how their own family members insult them.

We now take her to complete abstract and ask her what she visualises in that dark space with her childhood fears and imaginations, she starts to speak about her family, and also about some animal or insect, something dirty creepy coming in the dark and biting her, attacking her, as we keep her in this dark space she speaks about claustrophobia, photographs of dead relatives bother her as if they would come out and attack her, she sees her sister in law in the kitchen and feels she will come and attack her.

As in different areas she speaks of someone attacking her, biting her, and also about her attachment with family. We are getting hints of her centre, kingdom. Now she also has this repeated dream since childhood every day. On asking her about this dream she draws and describes about two brown snakes and connects it to the fear of biting, about harming, not harming her family, if they bite how the one who has been bitten becomes paranoid, hysterical, heartbeat increases and death by poison. This confirms our centre of the case.

Level of experience…DELUSION

Kingdom: Animalia; Subkingdom: Reptiles

Source/Remedy: Crotallus Horridus 1M (is also a junction between Naja and Kali Mur which were given earlier)

Materia Medica of Crotallus Horridus: [Mac Repertory and Reference Works]

• Depression and indifference to everything; as if only half alive.
• Awaking in night struggling with imaginary foes; imagines himself surrounded by enemies or hideous animals.
• Ailments from grief; quarrels; quarrels in family. Full of worries about relatives.
• Taking antipathies to members of family.
• Strong ego-related issues with great aversion to family members. Cannot trust society; feel that family members are out to get him; feel betrayed or victimized by family.
• Aversion to family members. They feel they must help, but actually do not want to. In that case, the family is seen as a duty they can't avoid. The sense of persecution then issues from the idea that they are obliged to be social and maintain family contact. [M]
• Extremely sensitive to insults and demeaning comments. [T]
• Delusions: Animals; being surrounded by enemies; being on a journey; being an outcast; people, someone behind him; pursued by enemies.

Source information: Timber rattlesnake. Timber rattlesnakes live as stable, cooperative community members. They appear to form lasting relationships with other individuals, follow similar paths through the woods, bask together before shedding their skins under the same fallen log and sometimes follow each other from one den to another. Young timber snakes have demonstrated a tendency to trail older ones. A recent genetic study has demonstrated that snakes sharing a den are closely related.