Post by Admin - Joy Lucas on Jul 22, 2021 9:00:08 GMT
ULMUS CAMPESTRIS – (JL-P3)
THE SUBSTANCE
This is Slippery Elm Bark, also known as Moose Elm, Red Elm or just Slippery elm. As the name suggests it is the bark of the tree that is used, more specifically, the inner bark. The exterior bark has fissures and the whole bark exudes a sticky substance
The Elm is part of the quite large Ulmus family and are grown throughout the world. They are large trees, hermaphroditic, having a self contained reproductive unit. The tree is enjoying a renaissance now after its troubled times dealing with dutch elm disease that threatened to wipe out the entire species. Previous to that is has proved to be one of the world’s most favourite trees.
Elms love water and water seems to have preservative abilities for the wood, hence the hollowed out branches and stems have been used for water pipes. The bark, when stripped and boiled provides fodder – good enough for animals and humans, it resembles oatmeal.
This, from ‘A Modern Herbal’, by Mrs M. Grieve - “The bark, which is the only part used, is collected in spring from the bole and larger branches and dried. Large quantities are collected, especially in the lower part of the state of Michigan. As the wood has no commercial value, the tree is fully stripped and consequently dies.
The bark as it appears in commerce for use in medicine consists only of the inner bark and bast and is sold in flat pieces 2 to 3 feet long and several inches wide, but only about 1/8 to 1/16 of an inch in thickness. It is very tough and flexible, of a fine fibrous texture, finely striated longitudinally on both surfaces, the outer surface reddish-yellow, with patches of reddish brown, which are part of the outer bark adhering to the inner bast. It has an odour like Fenugreek and a very mucilaginous, insipid taste. The strips can be bent double without breaking: if broken, the rough fracture is mealy, strongly but finely fibrous. The clean transverse section shows numerous medullary rays and altemate bands of bast parenchyma, thus giving it a chequered appearance. A section moistened and left for a few minutes, and again examined, shows large swollen mucilage cells”.
“Demulcent, emollient, expectorant, diuretic, nutritive. The bark of this American Elm, though not in this country as in the United States an official drug, is considered one of the most valuable remedies in herbal practice, the abundant mucilage it contains having wonderfully strengthening and healing qualities.
It not only has a most soothing and healing action on all the parts it comes in contact with, but in addition possesses as much nutrition as is contained in oatmeal, and when made into gruel forms a wholesome and sustaining food for infants and invalids. It forms the basis of many patent foods.
Slippery Elm Food is generally made by mixing a teaspoonful of the powder into a thin and perfectly smooth paste with cold water and then pouring on a pint of boiling water, steadily stirring meanwhile. It can, if desired, be flavoured with cinnamon, nutmeg or lemon rind.
This makes an excellent drink in cases of irritation of the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines, and taken at night will induce sleep.
Another mode of preparation is to beat up an egg with a teaspoonful of the powdered bark, pouring boiling milk over it and sweetening it.
Taken unsweetened, three times a day, Elm Food gives excellent results in gastritis, gastric catarrh, mucous colitis and enteritis, being tolerated by the stomach when all other foods fail, and is of great value in bronchitis, bleeding from the lungs and consumption (being most healing to the lungs), soothing a cough and building up and preventing wasting.
A Slippery Elm compound excellent for coughs is made as follows: Cut obliquely one or more ounces of bark into pieces about the thickness of a match; add a pinch of Cayenne flavour with a slice of lemon and sweeten, infusing the whole in a pint of boiling water and letting it stand for 25 minutes. Take this frequently in small doses: for a consumptive patient, about a pint a day is recommended. It is considered one of the best remedies that can be given as it combines both demulcent and stimulating properties. Being mucilaginous, it rolls up the mucous material so troublesome to the patient and passes it down through the intestines.
In typhoid fever, the Slippery Elm drink, prepared as for coughs, is recommended, serving a threefold purpose, to cleanse, heal and strengthen, the patient being allowed to drink as much as desired until thirst has abated, and other remedies can be used. If the patient is not thirsty, a dose of 2 large tablespoonfuls every hour for an adult has been prescribed.
The bark is an ingredient in various lung medicines. A valuable remedy for Bronchitis and all diseases of the throat and lungs is compounded as follows: 1 teaspoonful Flax seed, 1 OZ. Slippery Elm bark, 1 OZ. Thoroughwort, 1 stick Liquorice, 1 quart water. Simmer slowly for 20 minutes. Strain and add 1 pint of the best vinegar and 1/2 pint of sugar. When cold, bottle. Dose: 1 tablespoonful two or three times a day.
In Pleurisy, the following is also recommended: Take 2 oz. each of Pleurisy root, Marsh Mallow root, Liquorice root and Slippery Elm bark. Boil in 3 pints of water down to 3 gills. Dose: 1/2 teaspoonful every half-hour, to be taken warm.
As a heart remedy, a pint of Slippery Elm drink has been prescribed alternately with Bugleweed compound. Slippery Elm bark possesses also great influence upon diseases of the female organs.
It is particularly valuable both medicinally and as an injection in dysentery and other diseases of the bowels, cystitis and irritation of the urinary tract. The injection for inflammation of the bowels is made from an infusion of 1 OZ. of the powder to 1 pint of boiling water, strained and used lukewarm. Other remedies should be given at the same time.
An injection for diarrhoea may also be made as follows: 1 drachm powdered Slippery Elm bark, 3 drachms powdered Bayberry, 1 drachm powdered Scullcap.
Pour on 1/2 pint of boiling water, infuse for half an hour, strain, add a teaspoonful of tincture of myrrh and use lukewarm.
As an enema for constipation, 2 drachms of Slippery Elm bark are mixed well with 1 OZ. of sugar, then 1/2 pint of warm milk and water and an ounce of Olive Oil are gently stirred in.
Injection for worms (Ascarides): 1/2 drachm Aloes powder, 1 drachm common salt, 1/2 drachm Slippery Elm powder (fine). When well mixed, add 1/2 pint warm water and sweeten with molasses, stirring well.
Slippery Elm mucilage is also prescribed to be mixed with Oil of Male Fern (2 oz. of the mucilage to 1 drachm of the oil) as a remedy for the expulsion of tapeworm.
The american Indians have long used this viscous inner bark to prepare a healing salve, and in herbal medicine a Slippery Elm bark powder is considered one of the best possible poultices for wounds, boils, ulcers, burns and all inflamed surfaces, soothing, healing and reducing pain and inflammation.
It is made as follows: Mix the powder with hot water to form the required consistency, spread smoothly upon soft cotton cloth and apply over the parts affected. It is unfailing in cases of suppurations, abscesses, wounds of all kinds, congestion, eruptions, swollen glands, etc. In simple inflammation, it may be applied directly over the part affected; to abscesses and old wounds, it should be placed between cloths. If applied to parts of the body where there is hair, the face of the poultice should be smeared with olive oil before applying.
In old gangrenous wounds, an excellent antiseptic poultice is prepared by mixing with warm water or an infusion of Wormwood, equal parts of Slippery Elm powder and very fine charcoal and applying immediately over the part.
A very valuable poultice in cases where it is desirable to hasten suppuration or arrest the tendency to gangrene is made by mixing the Slippery Elm powder with brewer's yeast and new milk.
Compound Bran poultice is made by mixing with hot vinegar equal quantities of wheaten Bran with Slippery Elm powder. This is an excellent poultice for severe rheumatic and gouty affections, particularly of the joints, synovitis etc.
Herbal poultices, generally made from the bruised, fresh leaves of special herbs, are frequently mixed with Slippery Elm and boiling water sufficient to give the mass consistency.
Marshmallow Ointment, one of the principal ointments used in herbal medicine, has a considerable proportion of Slippery Elm bark in its composition. It is made as follows: 3 oz. Marshmallow leaves, 2 OZ. Slippery Elm bark powder, 3 oz. Beeswax, 16 OZ. Lard. Boil the Marshmallow and Slippery Elm bark in 3 pints of water for 15 minutes. Express, strain and reduce the liquor to half a pint. Melt together the lard and wax by gentle heat, then add the extract while still warm, shake constantly till all are thoroughly incorporated and store in a cool place.
The bark of Slippery Elm is stated to preserve fatty substances from becoming rancid.
It has been asserted that a pinch of the Slippery Elm powder put into a hollow tooth stops the ache and greatly delays decay, if used as soon as there is any sign of decay.
Lozenges or troches containing 3 grains of Elm flavoured with methyl salicylate are used as a demulcent.”
This, from the University of Maryland, USA –
“Slippery elm is also one of four herbs included in a popular therapy called essiac that is promoted for cancer treatment. This remedy was developed by a nurse in Canada in the early 1930's. Later, the formula was expanded from its original inclusion of slippery elm, burdock root, sheep sorrel and Turkish rhubarb to also include red clover, water cress, blessed thistle, and kelp. Today, reports state that there are over 40 variations of these herbal combination remedies on the market, without scientific proof that any of them work.
The conditions for which slippery elm has received recognition from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a safe and effective option include sore throat (pharyngitis) and respiratory symptoms, such as cough. Herbalists also recommend it for external use to treat wounds, cuts, and certain skin conditions, including diaper rash.
Because of its growing popularity, there has been an increasing demand for slippery elm bark. However, since the wood of the slippery elm tree has no commercial value, the trees are left to die after their bark has been harvested. This has led the National Center for the Preservation of Medicinal Herbs to launch an effort aimed at promoting sustainable cultivation of slippery elm.
Slippery elm is also considered a wholesome nutritional food, similar in texture to oatmeal and can be prepared as a porridge. Consumed three times per day, unsweetened "elm food" may be a good source of nutrients. Because it is gentle and easily digested, it is well tolerated by people with gastritis and other forms of intestinal problems.”
“While there has been little scientific research on slippery elm, it has a long history of use based on clinical experience. Some of the conditions that seem to respond to slippery elm include:
Sore throat Cough Mild respiratory ailments Gastritis, peptic ulcer, and other gastrointestinal conditions Diarrhea Wounds, burns, boils, and other skin conditions (external) Skin softener Ringworm and leprous like skin conditions Skin wash for wounds Tonic, demulcent, astringent, diuretic qualities
Slippery elm has been used in Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine for gastrointestinal symptoms including bloody diarrhea. This herb is thought to work for such intestinal problems because of its demulcent properties, which means that it coats and soothes the digestive tract. Recent laboratory research on slippery elm suggests that this traditional application may prove to have scientific merit in treating inflammatory bowel disease (namely, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis); the authors of this study propose that it is the antioxidant properties of slippery elm that would offer such protection. Conclusions regarding this preliminary information, however, will have to wait on studies of people.”
Further non homeopathic information here:-
www.healthy.net/hwlibrarybooks/hoffman/materiamedica/slippery.htm
HOMEOPATHIC PRESENTATION
Burnett used the tincture and clinical use has been noted for the treatment of constipation; deafness; haemorrhoids; herpes; general pains of inflammations; sore throats; syphilis.
These clinical uses suggest a deep acting remedy with a heavy leaning towards the syphilitic miasm but with little information of application or cure it was decided a proving would be useful.
PREAMBLE AND MUSINGS
Sylvia Plath wrote a beautiful poem about the Elm Tree.
“I know the bottom, she says. I know it with my great tap root; It is what you fear. do not fear it: I have been there.
Is it the sea you hear in me, Its dissatisfactions? Or the voice of nothing, that was your madness?
Love is a shadow. How you lie and cry after it. Listen: these are its hooves: it has gone off, like a horse.
All night I shall gallup thus, impetuously, Till your head is a stone, your pillow a little turf, Echoing, echoing.
Or shall I bring you the sound of poisons? This is the rain now, the big hush. And this is the fruit of it: tin white, like arsenic.
I have suffered the atrocity of sunsets. Scorched to the root. My red filaments burn and stand, a hand of wires.
Now I break up in pieces that fly about like clubs. A wind of such violence. Will tolerate no bystanding: I must shriek.
The moon, also is merciless: she would drag me. Cruelly, being barren. Her radiance scathes me. Or perhaps I have caught her.
I let her go. I let her go. Diminished and flat, as after radical surgery. How your bad dreams possess and endow me.
I am inhabited by a cry. Nightly it flaps out. Looking, with its hooks, for something to love.
I am terrified by this dark thing. That sleeps in me; All day I feel its soft, feathery turnings, its malignity.
Clouds pass and disperse. Are those the faces of love, those pale irretrievables? Is it for such I agitate my heart?
I am incapable of more knowledge. What is this, this face. So murderous in its strangle of branches?
Its snaky acids kiss. It petrifies the will. These are the isolate, slow faults. That kill, that kill, that kill.”
It is well known that Plath had a preoccupation with death and suicide and this poem certainly reflects this. It is probably of no coincidence then that Elm wood has been used for centuries as the best wood for coffins because it is a very tough wood but becomes quite lightweight as it dries out. The Greeks and Romans also considered the Elm to be funeral trees because they produce no fruit. Elms are associated with the underworld and with a special affinity to Elves who guarded the burial mounds of the dead and their passage into the underworld. Elms are the mothers of the fire Goddesses.
When Orpheus returned to earth after his descent into the inferno, his lamentations for the loss Of Eurydice was so pathetic that the earth opened up and the elm sprang up to give him shade and comfort.
The Romans used the wood branches as a prop to grow their vines on. Norse myth tells us that the first woman was an Elm and the first man an Ash.
The Oneiroi, spirits of dreams, roosted on the branches of the Elm tree near the entrance of Haides.
It is considered beneficial to sit beneath an Elm tree to achieve deep meditation, the tree will share its healing energies with you.
The Elm tree has many names but it is often called the tree of Justice due to its longevity.
Elm wood also has a great affinity to water and has a history of being used as water pipes as the inner bark (which is used homeopathically) is very tough and watertight. It also makes excellent firewood.
Many types of birds love to nest in the Elm trees, especially Rooks – (this has some significance in the homeopathic proving).
The Elm has been used to cure cattle diseases by the use of a fire – 2 branches would be rubbed together until they ignited and a bonfire built – the cattle would be driven through the smoke to purge the disease.
In summer the bark exudes a sticky substance called Ulmic acid and as this is exposed to air it becomes dark brown/black but has no smell or taste. The inner bark is also very mucilaginous, hence the name ‘slippery’, and contains tannic acid and starch. The bark is dried and ground, mixed with flour to make bread and the leaves have been used to make a tea. The bark is also quite cracked and makes the perfect place for lichens to form and grow. Ulmic acid is everywhere in brown earth. Parts of the tree contain scopoletin which is a substance that controls blood pressure and also has properties that deal with bacteria and inflammations. It can regulate the hormone serotonin which in turn regulates anxiety and depression.
THE PROVING
The proving took place over quite a long period of time throughout 2006 and 2007 as one group of provers were not ready to begin at the same time as others. The provers resided in India, Canada, America and Australia.
The potencies used were:- 6x; 9x; 12x; 12c; 30c; 200c; 1m and placebo. There were 6 females and 5 males.
SYMPTOMS AND SUGGESTED RUBRICS
MIND
The main symptoms were feelings of anxiety that caused a need to be taciturn, either rushed or feeling calmer, feeling overwhelmed, irritable over trivial matters, restless. The anxiety was often felt in the chest. The memory was forgetful and dull and easy to misinterpret various things and mixing up words and spelling. There was weeping for no obvious reason, a sense of impending doom and feelings of homesickness, feeling alone as well as wanting to withdraw, a wish to travel and fly, feeling mischievous. Curious symptoms were delusions about big black birds, burning and smouldering sensations, everything smells like smoke and visions of black circles and bands whilst meditating.
(4)
Anxiety + < evening + < alone + with palpitations Anxiety with gloomy foreboding Forgetful + dullness + slowness + confused Taciturn
Delusion birds + delusion black animals + delusion black objects Delusion, imaginations, birds; sees; Delusion everything is burning (interesting that Vulture has this sx as well) + < afternoon Delusion everything smells like smoke
(3)
Misanthropy Overwhelmed Company, aversion to + >> Indifference + joyless + discontented Weepy
(2)
Hurried + speaking Restless Homesick
(1)
Irritable + trifles Mirth (wanted to strip in front of class) Calmness Remorseful Awkward
Optimistic Talks loudly Fear of speaking in public Answers hastily Music >
HEAD
A mixture of head pains felt throughout the proving – throbbing, piercing, sharp, dull, congested, heaviness. Some visual disturbances and vertigo accompanied the pains.
(4)
Head pain, sensation as if hot water vapours were coming from it Head, sensation as if falling to left Head, sensation as if objects are moving Head, sensation as if enlarged
Occiput, sensation as if empty Head, sensation as if crawling on the skin
(3)
Head, heavy + < on waking + < stooping + occiput heavy Head heavy but feels giddy and light
(2)
Head pain, temples, throbbing + > talking, + > tight bandage Head pain, temple, intermittent + < pressure Head pain, occiput < stooping, < pressure, < morning Head pain, dull > eating
Head pain, congestive, as if from a blunt instrument, < blowing nose, < morning Head, pain, sharp, left side Head, pain, throbbing, left temple Head pain, sharp, right temple
(1)
Head pain, night Head pain, draft cold air
EYES
The same heavy feeling in the head followed through to the eyes. Some swelling was also experienced as well as inflammation and visual disturbances.
(4)
Eyes, heavy Eyes, swollen, Eyes, burning pains (as if skin cut off), < morning, > warm water Eyes, inflammation, < morning on waking Eyes, lachrymation Vision, sees colours, yellow, black, shadows Eyes, sensation as if dropping out Sensation as if smoke in eyes, < left
(3) (2) Eyes, itch (1)
Vision, impaired Eyes, pain, sharp, right Eyes, pain, sudden Eyes, twitch, extends to jaw like electricity (shooting)
NOSE
Very few symptoms recorded.
(1)
Nose, sneezing Nose, sensitive Nose, watery discharge
MOUTH
The most unusual symptoms were the recurring ones of sensations of smoke, burning, caustic.
(4) (3)
Mouth, taste, smoke + caustic Mouth, tongue, burning + offensive + sour Mouth, swelling, upper lip
(2)
Mouth, pain, upper jaw, < pressure, < motion + < opening Mouth, teeth, pain, left, sudden, < eating, > cold water
(1)
Mouth, tongue, swollen Mouth, rough, inner lower lip Mouth, teeth, feel on edge Mouth, gums, bleed < brushing
THROAT
More burning pains were experienced and unusually the voice was altered in some provers.
(4) (3)
Throat, voice, voice changed, hoarse Throat, burning, < swallowing, < morning, > evening, > drinking cold water Throat, dry, < talking, > water
(2)
Throat, dry, but has to always swallow saliva (1) Throat, cough < as time progresses
Throat, sensation as if something trapped in throat has to expel Throat, rough Throat, pain, on swallowing
ABDOMEN
Heaviness and some burning pains were the commonest symptoms and more curious symptoms came in the form of ‘pulling’ sensations, the pains going wavelike up and down.
(4)
Abdomen, heavy + fullness + bloated
(3)
Abdomen, pain, pulling + wavelike up and down Abdomen, right iliac fossa, pain, pulling
(2)
Abdomen, pain > passing stool + < stool + > eating + < eating + > flatus Abdomen, pain, burning + cutting + sharp + clutching + bearing down
(1)
Abdomen, belching + hiccoughs + gurgling Abdomen, gurgling, rumbling Abdomen, pain, < standing, < movement, < jarring, < thinking about it, < evening, Abdomen, eructations, sour > drinking, > sleeping right side Sensation as if organs will be expelled through vagina
STOMACH
More burning pains, fullness and either a loss of appetite or increase of appetite occurred
(4)
Stomach, appetite lost + increased Stomach, pain, burning
(3)
Stomach, vomiting, bitter, acid, burning, accompanied by a sensation as if intestines would come out and a need to pass stool
(2) Stomach, bloated, feels full (1)
Stomach feels hollow Stomach, nausea Stomach, lump, oesophagus
FOOD
The main desires were for chocolate and sweets as well as sour, cold and ice cream (4)
Food, desires, chocolate Food, desires sweet things
(3)
Food, desires sauerkraut Food, desires, onions and vinegar Food, thirst, decreased
(2)
Food, desires, ice cream Food, desires cold drinks Food, desires, fruit
(1)
Food, chocolate, tastes smoky Food, thirst, increased Food, << vegetables, + <<< chilli Food, desires, spicy
CHEST
Palpitations, a sense of constriction and various pains were felt, either side or moving from side to side.
(4)
Palpitation with anxiety + with diarrhoea + sudden + on waking Constriction, feeling tight < tight clothing + < deep sighing
(3)
Chest, pain, dull < bending forward + > bending forward
(2)
Chest, pain left to right + < lying left, > lying right + < pressure + < deep inspiration + < bathing
(1)
Chest, pain, left side, as if pulling, > night Sensation as if a hand holding heart Chest, sensation as if empty Chest, heavy
Chest, pain right to left with dizziness
RESPIRATION
No outstanding symptoms
(1)
Cough, dry Feels tight Creaking noise of breathing Stabbing pain, right lung Easily out of breath
BACK
Considerable pain was felt, mainly in the lumbar and sacral regions
(4)
Back, pain, stabbing, lumber, sacral < lying on back, <<< movement, > sitting
(3)
Back, pain, right side, left, spine, lower thoracic (2)
Back, stiffness, cannot bend Back stiff, cannot sit up Back, pain, dull Back, pain, > lying on abdomen Back, pain > sitting and bending forward
(1)
URINATION
Few symptoms recorded
(1)
Urine, dark yellow Urine, urgent desire
MALE
Few symptoms recorded
(1) Irritation around scrotum, burning, < movement
FEMALE
Painful menses was the main symptom
(3)
Female, menses, dysmenorrhea Female, menses, scanty
(1)
Female, discharge, white, sticky + earthy odour Female, menses, pain, cutting Female, menses, bright blood only
RECTUM
As to be expected there were quality symptoms arising in this area and this was a main focus for this remedy.
(4)
stool, burning stool offensive stool semi liquid + stool sticky
(3)
stool gushing + explosive rectum sudden urging for stool + after waking + morning rectum urging, frequent rectum, stool, increased
(2) (1)
stool yellow stool >> constipated stool black + yellow flatulence
LIMBS
Various pains and stiffness felt throughout all the joints.
(4)
limbs, heavy limbs, stiff muscles, contracting + numbness
(3) (2)
limbs, pain, sharp, finger, right < exertion, < flexing, < pressing limbs, pain, calf < standing, < right limbs, pain, sharp, knee, right + swollen + < night, < cold, < touch, < standing limbs, pain, constriction, foot, left + right foot, < walking
(1)
shoulders, sensation as if beaten + as if paralysed limbs, feet, icy cold limbs, joints, sensation as if coming loose limbs, pain, sharp, toes, + < flexing, < weight of foot limbs, pain, burning, elbows, > rubbing, < pressing limbs, pain, wandering, radiating
SKIN
Itching and small eruptions were the main symptoms
(4)
skin, itching skin, burning skin, dry
(3)
skin, eruption, blisters skin, eruption, rash, red skin, eruption, pustule skin, eruption, pimples
(2)
skin, peeling (desquamation)
(1)
skin, sensation as if hard and thick skin, odour, strange, sweetish
TEMPERATURES
Generally brought out a severe chilliness.
(4) feels very cold, < change temperatures, < afternoon and night, > warm drinks
(3) perspiration, profuse + perspiration cold feels heat, internally
(2) (1)
GENERALS
Heaviness and weakness were the main sensations
(4)
feels weak + < after diarrhoea, + mental and physical weakness feels exhausted, > sleep feels heavy
(3) (2) (1) weakness, sensation as if will fall down or over
SLEEP
Sudden waking and sleepiness were the main experiences
(4)
sleepiness + heavy feeling sleep, waking, sudden
(3) (2)
wakes suddenly for stool wakes suddenly feeling hungry wakes suddenly with palpitation
(1)
sleepless due to buzzing in body sleepless wakes frequently sleep, anxious, disturbed
DREAMS
OF DEAD PEOPLE OF A STORM AT SEA, FLOODED CITY, HAD TO DRIVE INTO IT, BIG WAVES OF PHYSICIAN MAKING PIECES OF FOETUS AFTER ABORTION OF A HOUSE USED TO LIVE IN OF DRIVING WITH GIRLFIREND IN A FERRARI OF CASINOS DRIVING FAST INVISABLE PEOPLE BECAME VISIBALE JEALOUSY TEETRH CLEANING LOOKING AFTER ILL FRIEND AND DOG COLLAPSES, HAS TO BLOW ITS NOSE, WOKE UP VERY SCARED AND HEART BEATING
One prover in particular had some strong dreams and I thought it best to write them here verbatim (including spelling mistakes!)
1)
So – the dream was about a burnt body. I have a numbe r of dead bodies in my past, but this one felt different. In the past, it’s been about the smell, the sadness, the regret, the guilt and the hugeness of the story. They were situations where I felt the need to get involved in something I probably shouldn’t have – all in Africa. But this was different. There was no moral feeling at all about this body – it was one body – quite dismembered and unrecognizable. I don’t think I had any kind of real connection with this body. I don’t think I killed the person – there was a complete lack of any kind of moral landscape attached to it – including the lack of smell. It was stashed in some kind of fountain – like one of those public fountains downtown. There were people around – rubies, for want of a better word. Heroin addicts, perhaps. I put the body, with some difficulty, into a black garbage bag or something. This was a couple weeks ago, so I may forget the details, though it is very very prevalent for me. I was carrying it up some kind of mud slope with some big trees and I saw a cop. I immediately thought – Fuck! – what if I get caught. I sometimes think about that – about how, if I were to be caught for some terrible crime, I would try whatever I could to kill myself so I wouldn’t have to suffer prison. There have been suicidal thoughts/attempts in the past, but never anything all that successful – more about attention than anything. So, body/bag in tow, I climbed quickly up a large Fir tree. (Westcoaster – tree names come naturally). When the cop made chase up the tree, I left the body at the top of the tree – a bit of a panic of where to stash it – then flew up into the sky. I do fly in my dreams, and part of the flying is a need to be noticed. But, walking though the streets after this dream, I could feel it weighing down on me. Profoundly creepy – like something direct from my soul.
2)
Recurring nightmare used to be around bats. Didn't have many friends as a kid - practicing piano too much. So I was walking through and empty area - like one of those myterious planets in the old Star Trek. Misty - dark, scary - with my brother's friends. There were there , but they didn't really care about me much. Actually - I remember moments where paeople saved me in dreams. But we were kids, and they were bigger kids, walking through this Godotesque place, when a whole flock of bats came and tooke them away. I was alone and empty.
3)
Sleep and Dreams: probably the most active sleep I've had in a long time. There were points in the night where I was openly talking to someone I thought was in the room - used to be quite normal with me. Last night, I became conscious of the fact I was talking into the open room, but continued the discussion for a while! Even though Gerald was in the bed! But I was too exhausted to get uyp and write it down.
4)
Dreams - my dreams are sort of of this person, or this conception - of being a 'special' person, who people need to make allowances for, who is very very wonderful, but you also need to be careful of. I think I was dreaming about this person at the tennis club, where I was with the kids today (my brother is a member - I have a "nanny pass"!).
So, I just opened my eyes, from sleep. I've done my laundry recently - I hang it on the sprinkler system. A clump of shirts looked like a black bird, hanging upside down. Then it looked like the 'special guy's odd-shaped head - big and pointed, round and special, warm and odd. But it very quickly looked like his head was covered with this black bird - that it was spreading out over the guy's head, perhaps smothering him. But it wasn't so violent - it was like this was to be expected. The sense about the special guy is that he is to be made allowances for - he is to be tolerated - but also to be enjoyed. A word of advice from someone in my dream, about how to deal with him, was that you just needed to give him the freedom - the ability to move. And express. In reality, I don't have much experience with people like that. Yet sometimes I believe I'm like that. But sometimes I meet people who have 'special needs', and it seems like they are very precious rays from the source of our central and common beauty: unpolished and thus maligned.
5)
Yes - i dreamt all night. But I can only remember the very end. It was all in some kind of academic office building. This was my personal space - my room. The last thing that happened was, I can to my room (came), down a hall, a dark hall, and my roiom was open (was the hall dark?) - anyway - the door was wide open. I looked in, to my right, and there was a professor working in there - Cole Harris - someone from church as a kid. He was actually a Prof when I was doing my maters, and hkept reporting to my parents what a whiz I was! Even though he barely knew me and certainly didn't know my work - no-one did. I said hi - he was busy - I was very friendly and thought - OK - I guess we have to share this space. I thought of the kind of conflict there could be, and wondered if we'd be able to do this - there was a huge difference of power, and I really wanted to be myse3lf in my own space. I walked across the room and opened a window - wide! It was so wide, I wondered if there was a screan - there was. I reached out to touch it, there, and wondered if the Prof would mind the fresh air. I was thinking, it was probably him who pumped up the heat. That was it for the dream. The feeling was a bit invasion and worrying about the freedon to express myself. When i got to the room, I was slightly/briefly worried that all my stuff would be gone - I did a quick scan. In the halls of the school, I had been walking around, quite dispassionately, wondering about OHPs etc.. I guess, though, the feeling was, do I belong here?
6) Remembered dream - long
Going to Korean bathhouse. Huge structure - clean and beautiful. (Longtime fantasy of mine - to be at a ZZKorean bathhouse!). I'm the only white guy - all men. They know me (the guy at the counter) and there's a feeling, that repeated through several dreams - of not belonging. I kept thinking they were going to turn me back. But I got to the counter, the polite folks sold me a ticket, and when I was walking through the turnstile, the amanager spotted me and asked to see my bathing suit. He stretched it out and said, "This one is too tight! It looks terrible! You need to get a new one." I just took it back from him and silently went it. (Strategy of mine when travelling - when in small conflict, keep quiet and move on.) The feeling wasn't as much of mortification, embarassment or feeling ugly as it was, "I don't care what he says" or "He doesn't understand what it feels l9ike to be white in an Asian country" (a cop-out, as not all white folks have big asses like mine). But, walking through this huge complex, which all seemed indoors, nobody took any notice of me at all. In fact, I didn't take much notice of them, either, though there were some beautiful young men.
I was more stimulated by the Korean men on the soccer field. And, there, I really felt people were going to single me out / kick me out. I saw my friend, but avoided her for a while, so I could check out all the guys. But I like her, and it was nice to be with her. Her husband is William Shatner, and we talked music for a while, as the soccer game morphed into some kind of concert. When we were talking about the act, which was quite amazing, incorporating many instruments and voices from folks of all ages, my friend said, "They're actually quite good." She doesn't know music and, like so many people, isn't able to appreciate good art. (Coming home, in the car, with my homeofriend, it was like that as well. We had to listen to elevator music, on the radio, so quietly that we couldn't even really hear it. When I drive, I LOVE listening to fantastic CDs that I don't normally have the opportunity to hear in their entirety (I drive very rarely). Alas - it was OK! There were other pleasures.) But her husband, William Shatner, is there. I'm curious whether he's a conoisseur of music - his own CD is so amazing, but his persona is so goofy. I said, "Well, I think they've gone where no-one has gone before." My friend said, "Don't!" Bad to bring up Star Trek. I didn't feel embarassed, I just thought "fuckin' whatever". He really liked the band, and I woke up.
7)
In the earlier dream (that same night), it revolved around my relationship with my brother, or a very close male friend. We were living on the fringes of society - thus had a close and complex relationship with the polic. The setting was dirt roads, tumbledown shacks - Eastern Uganda? Dukes of Hazard? Actually - probably a projection of my childhood love for the latter. But also E. Uganda, where my brother and I once hitch- hiked - in real life. Anyway - my f/b (friend/brother) and I were involved in some kinds of illegal lifestyle. He was dominant - more into it them me. But I had the feeling of calm but excited complicity - like when I wandered through Madagascar with petty, homeless criminals for several months a few years ago. (REal life). Our little knapsack (so often I've seen/had one like that - grungy - with all available posessions - like a tramp. Like my friends and I had in Madagascar. We slept on it - everything.) Had a bag of pot - actually two -0 in it. The cops came around the corner and my f/b pulled one of the bags out and put it under a rock. The feeling is - this is our life, why are you criminalizing me. Not persecution, but deciding the way life should be. He then quickly engages the police - a strategy I'm familiar with, from many situations. I quicklyi took the other bag out of the knapsack and hid it under the rock (I had more time). (Craving: celery? Fennel? Clean and green). What happened next included an escape, being fugitives etc. Our mentor/ parent was pissed at us, worried. I was the only one who thought about going back for the pot (Partially so the police wouldn't find it and charge us, partialy because we were poor. I have, also, several times, hidden pot behind a rock etc. before going over borders, in real life). I went back, evaded police (childhood heros: papillon, Dukes of Hazard) and got it. (Craving: bananas: fresh and clean). Or... When I arrived at the rock, with the feeling that I shouldn't have done this, or what if I get caught, I was suddenly in the Korean bathhouse!
8)
In Indonesia - a small town. I was living in a little hotel room, teaching English classes. I don't think the dream was originally in Indonesia, but it ended up there. It was perfect - high on a hill, so the climate was great. The classes were getting boring (just like my English teaching in real life - can't wait to get out of it, though I'm paid very well) but that was OK. My boss was a woman who wasn't quite interested - she was an alchoholic, but she was really great. A little simple. I felt superior to her as a teacher. But, not that strong a feeling. (Superiority is a big part of my normal constitutional - superiority/inferiority.) I was so happy there - people had fun, they had freedom to do fun/odd/unusual things, and be creative. I realized I was falling in love with the guy who ran the hotel. He was responsible, kind, very sweet, and every one of his smiles took my heart with him. I thought of the 'practicalities' of love with this guy, in a small town, or moving to Canada - none of it mattered. We were sitting, facing each other in some kind of pool, having sandwiches or something. And I realized this was a very romantic situation.
9)
So - my very very very long dream was all about a solitary journey to a place like Mali. I was making a huge meal, doing all sorts of things, and I suddenly realized that everything I was using was very unclean, including the water, which disgusting, puss-ridden dogs were licking out of the aquafir right under the broken streets. The feeling in this place was not a lack of comfort, and the strangeness was fine for me. There was one moment where, for a little more comfort, I'd decided to drag a chaise lounge that I'd found, all the way to the beach, or wherever I was going. But, when I looked up, there was a huge, black sandstorm coming, so i had to abandon it. So I was making this huge meal with found utensils, and I started feeling really grossed out and attacked by all the dirt and grunge and contamination. Then, I woke up this morning and felt the same way about my apartment. It really needs a cleaning! And I felt, making my breakfast, that everything was contaminated. The last thing I can afford the time to say is that my
brother's family, who are all very nature-minded, have recently been being attacked in their very urban home, by crows from a nearby tree! They are actually afraid of playing hockey in the lane! I know, crows have babies and they get aggressive, but none of us have experience with this happening in the city before, and it just works in so closely with the black bird theme in this remedy!
10)
End of dream: Going really fast in a car, down a highway, totally out of control. Other cars are too. Whole periods where can't see car. Car goes over other side of medium. I'm looking at it from above - it's not me in the car or driving the car, yet it is. It's me driving the car. The person driving is talking about how they love the Gran Turino. I think the character is based on a boyfriend of mine from University - a total suburban Toronto guy - Italian - who'd chewed his nails right to disfigurement. The feeling is a huge lack of control. Constantly screeching the brakes and skidding. The passaengers are two cute Canadian-Asian folks - the boyfriend (hot - great in bed - sexy - cute - talented) of the driver, and his friend. They were occaisionally in interview posture about the experience. I couldn't believe he liked the Gran Turino, and wouldn't let it go. I was feeling superior, but also totally out of control. I wanted control.
THE SUBSTANCE
This is Slippery Elm Bark, also known as Moose Elm, Red Elm or just Slippery elm. As the name suggests it is the bark of the tree that is used, more specifically, the inner bark. The exterior bark has fissures and the whole bark exudes a sticky substance
The Elm is part of the quite large Ulmus family and are grown throughout the world. They are large trees, hermaphroditic, having a self contained reproductive unit. The tree is enjoying a renaissance now after its troubled times dealing with dutch elm disease that threatened to wipe out the entire species. Previous to that is has proved to be one of the world’s most favourite trees.
Elms love water and water seems to have preservative abilities for the wood, hence the hollowed out branches and stems have been used for water pipes. The bark, when stripped and boiled provides fodder – good enough for animals and humans, it resembles oatmeal.
This, from ‘A Modern Herbal’, by Mrs M. Grieve - “The bark, which is the only part used, is collected in spring from the bole and larger branches and dried. Large quantities are collected, especially in the lower part of the state of Michigan. As the wood has no commercial value, the tree is fully stripped and consequently dies.
The bark as it appears in commerce for use in medicine consists only of the inner bark and bast and is sold in flat pieces 2 to 3 feet long and several inches wide, but only about 1/8 to 1/16 of an inch in thickness. It is very tough and flexible, of a fine fibrous texture, finely striated longitudinally on both surfaces, the outer surface reddish-yellow, with patches of reddish brown, which are part of the outer bark adhering to the inner bast. It has an odour like Fenugreek and a very mucilaginous, insipid taste. The strips can be bent double without breaking: if broken, the rough fracture is mealy, strongly but finely fibrous. The clean transverse section shows numerous medullary rays and altemate bands of bast parenchyma, thus giving it a chequered appearance. A section moistened and left for a few minutes, and again examined, shows large swollen mucilage cells”.
“Demulcent, emollient, expectorant, diuretic, nutritive. The bark of this American Elm, though not in this country as in the United States an official drug, is considered one of the most valuable remedies in herbal practice, the abundant mucilage it contains having wonderfully strengthening and healing qualities.
It not only has a most soothing and healing action on all the parts it comes in contact with, but in addition possesses as much nutrition as is contained in oatmeal, and when made into gruel forms a wholesome and sustaining food for infants and invalids. It forms the basis of many patent foods.
Slippery Elm Food is generally made by mixing a teaspoonful of the powder into a thin and perfectly smooth paste with cold water and then pouring on a pint of boiling water, steadily stirring meanwhile. It can, if desired, be flavoured with cinnamon, nutmeg or lemon rind.
This makes an excellent drink in cases of irritation of the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines, and taken at night will induce sleep.
Another mode of preparation is to beat up an egg with a teaspoonful of the powdered bark, pouring boiling milk over it and sweetening it.
Taken unsweetened, three times a day, Elm Food gives excellent results in gastritis, gastric catarrh, mucous colitis and enteritis, being tolerated by the stomach when all other foods fail, and is of great value in bronchitis, bleeding from the lungs and consumption (being most healing to the lungs), soothing a cough and building up and preventing wasting.
A Slippery Elm compound excellent for coughs is made as follows: Cut obliquely one or more ounces of bark into pieces about the thickness of a match; add a pinch of Cayenne flavour with a slice of lemon and sweeten, infusing the whole in a pint of boiling water and letting it stand for 25 minutes. Take this frequently in small doses: for a consumptive patient, about a pint a day is recommended. It is considered one of the best remedies that can be given as it combines both demulcent and stimulating properties. Being mucilaginous, it rolls up the mucous material so troublesome to the patient and passes it down through the intestines.
In typhoid fever, the Slippery Elm drink, prepared as for coughs, is recommended, serving a threefold purpose, to cleanse, heal and strengthen, the patient being allowed to drink as much as desired until thirst has abated, and other remedies can be used. If the patient is not thirsty, a dose of 2 large tablespoonfuls every hour for an adult has been prescribed.
The bark is an ingredient in various lung medicines. A valuable remedy for Bronchitis and all diseases of the throat and lungs is compounded as follows: 1 teaspoonful Flax seed, 1 OZ. Slippery Elm bark, 1 OZ. Thoroughwort, 1 stick Liquorice, 1 quart water. Simmer slowly for 20 minutes. Strain and add 1 pint of the best vinegar and 1/2 pint of sugar. When cold, bottle. Dose: 1 tablespoonful two or three times a day.
In Pleurisy, the following is also recommended: Take 2 oz. each of Pleurisy root, Marsh Mallow root, Liquorice root and Slippery Elm bark. Boil in 3 pints of water down to 3 gills. Dose: 1/2 teaspoonful every half-hour, to be taken warm.
As a heart remedy, a pint of Slippery Elm drink has been prescribed alternately with Bugleweed compound. Slippery Elm bark possesses also great influence upon diseases of the female organs.
It is particularly valuable both medicinally and as an injection in dysentery and other diseases of the bowels, cystitis and irritation of the urinary tract. The injection for inflammation of the bowels is made from an infusion of 1 OZ. of the powder to 1 pint of boiling water, strained and used lukewarm. Other remedies should be given at the same time.
An injection for diarrhoea may also be made as follows: 1 drachm powdered Slippery Elm bark, 3 drachms powdered Bayberry, 1 drachm powdered Scullcap.
Pour on 1/2 pint of boiling water, infuse for half an hour, strain, add a teaspoonful of tincture of myrrh and use lukewarm.
As an enema for constipation, 2 drachms of Slippery Elm bark are mixed well with 1 OZ. of sugar, then 1/2 pint of warm milk and water and an ounce of Olive Oil are gently stirred in.
Injection for worms (Ascarides): 1/2 drachm Aloes powder, 1 drachm common salt, 1/2 drachm Slippery Elm powder (fine). When well mixed, add 1/2 pint warm water and sweeten with molasses, stirring well.
Slippery Elm mucilage is also prescribed to be mixed with Oil of Male Fern (2 oz. of the mucilage to 1 drachm of the oil) as a remedy for the expulsion of tapeworm.
The american Indians have long used this viscous inner bark to prepare a healing salve, and in herbal medicine a Slippery Elm bark powder is considered one of the best possible poultices for wounds, boils, ulcers, burns and all inflamed surfaces, soothing, healing and reducing pain and inflammation.
It is made as follows: Mix the powder with hot water to form the required consistency, spread smoothly upon soft cotton cloth and apply over the parts affected. It is unfailing in cases of suppurations, abscesses, wounds of all kinds, congestion, eruptions, swollen glands, etc. In simple inflammation, it may be applied directly over the part affected; to abscesses and old wounds, it should be placed between cloths. If applied to parts of the body where there is hair, the face of the poultice should be smeared with olive oil before applying.
In old gangrenous wounds, an excellent antiseptic poultice is prepared by mixing with warm water or an infusion of Wormwood, equal parts of Slippery Elm powder and very fine charcoal and applying immediately over the part.
A very valuable poultice in cases where it is desirable to hasten suppuration or arrest the tendency to gangrene is made by mixing the Slippery Elm powder with brewer's yeast and new milk.
Compound Bran poultice is made by mixing with hot vinegar equal quantities of wheaten Bran with Slippery Elm powder. This is an excellent poultice for severe rheumatic and gouty affections, particularly of the joints, synovitis etc.
Herbal poultices, generally made from the bruised, fresh leaves of special herbs, are frequently mixed with Slippery Elm and boiling water sufficient to give the mass consistency.
Marshmallow Ointment, one of the principal ointments used in herbal medicine, has a considerable proportion of Slippery Elm bark in its composition. It is made as follows: 3 oz. Marshmallow leaves, 2 OZ. Slippery Elm bark powder, 3 oz. Beeswax, 16 OZ. Lard. Boil the Marshmallow and Slippery Elm bark in 3 pints of water for 15 minutes. Express, strain and reduce the liquor to half a pint. Melt together the lard and wax by gentle heat, then add the extract while still warm, shake constantly till all are thoroughly incorporated and store in a cool place.
The bark of Slippery Elm is stated to preserve fatty substances from becoming rancid.
It has been asserted that a pinch of the Slippery Elm powder put into a hollow tooth stops the ache and greatly delays decay, if used as soon as there is any sign of decay.
Lozenges or troches containing 3 grains of Elm flavoured with methyl salicylate are used as a demulcent.”
This, from the University of Maryland, USA –
“Slippery elm is also one of four herbs included in a popular therapy called essiac that is promoted for cancer treatment. This remedy was developed by a nurse in Canada in the early 1930's. Later, the formula was expanded from its original inclusion of slippery elm, burdock root, sheep sorrel and Turkish rhubarb to also include red clover, water cress, blessed thistle, and kelp. Today, reports state that there are over 40 variations of these herbal combination remedies on the market, without scientific proof that any of them work.
The conditions for which slippery elm has received recognition from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a safe and effective option include sore throat (pharyngitis) and respiratory symptoms, such as cough. Herbalists also recommend it for external use to treat wounds, cuts, and certain skin conditions, including diaper rash.
Because of its growing popularity, there has been an increasing demand for slippery elm bark. However, since the wood of the slippery elm tree has no commercial value, the trees are left to die after their bark has been harvested. This has led the National Center for the Preservation of Medicinal Herbs to launch an effort aimed at promoting sustainable cultivation of slippery elm.
Slippery elm is also considered a wholesome nutritional food, similar in texture to oatmeal and can be prepared as a porridge. Consumed three times per day, unsweetened "elm food" may be a good source of nutrients. Because it is gentle and easily digested, it is well tolerated by people with gastritis and other forms of intestinal problems.”
“While there has been little scientific research on slippery elm, it has a long history of use based on clinical experience. Some of the conditions that seem to respond to slippery elm include:
Sore throat Cough Mild respiratory ailments Gastritis, peptic ulcer, and other gastrointestinal conditions Diarrhea Wounds, burns, boils, and other skin conditions (external) Skin softener Ringworm and leprous like skin conditions Skin wash for wounds Tonic, demulcent, astringent, diuretic qualities
Slippery elm has been used in Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine for gastrointestinal symptoms including bloody diarrhea. This herb is thought to work for such intestinal problems because of its demulcent properties, which means that it coats and soothes the digestive tract. Recent laboratory research on slippery elm suggests that this traditional application may prove to have scientific merit in treating inflammatory bowel disease (namely, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis); the authors of this study propose that it is the antioxidant properties of slippery elm that would offer such protection. Conclusions regarding this preliminary information, however, will have to wait on studies of people.”
Further non homeopathic information here:-
www.healthy.net/hwlibrarybooks/hoffman/materiamedica/slippery.htm
HOMEOPATHIC PRESENTATION
Burnett used the tincture and clinical use has been noted for the treatment of constipation; deafness; haemorrhoids; herpes; general pains of inflammations; sore throats; syphilis.
These clinical uses suggest a deep acting remedy with a heavy leaning towards the syphilitic miasm but with little information of application or cure it was decided a proving would be useful.
PREAMBLE AND MUSINGS
Sylvia Plath wrote a beautiful poem about the Elm Tree.
“I know the bottom, she says. I know it with my great tap root; It is what you fear. do not fear it: I have been there.
Is it the sea you hear in me, Its dissatisfactions? Or the voice of nothing, that was your madness?
Love is a shadow. How you lie and cry after it. Listen: these are its hooves: it has gone off, like a horse.
All night I shall gallup thus, impetuously, Till your head is a stone, your pillow a little turf, Echoing, echoing.
Or shall I bring you the sound of poisons? This is the rain now, the big hush. And this is the fruit of it: tin white, like arsenic.
I have suffered the atrocity of sunsets. Scorched to the root. My red filaments burn and stand, a hand of wires.
Now I break up in pieces that fly about like clubs. A wind of such violence. Will tolerate no bystanding: I must shriek.
The moon, also is merciless: she would drag me. Cruelly, being barren. Her radiance scathes me. Or perhaps I have caught her.
I let her go. I let her go. Diminished and flat, as after radical surgery. How your bad dreams possess and endow me.
I am inhabited by a cry. Nightly it flaps out. Looking, with its hooks, for something to love.
I am terrified by this dark thing. That sleeps in me; All day I feel its soft, feathery turnings, its malignity.
Clouds pass and disperse. Are those the faces of love, those pale irretrievables? Is it for such I agitate my heart?
I am incapable of more knowledge. What is this, this face. So murderous in its strangle of branches?
Its snaky acids kiss. It petrifies the will. These are the isolate, slow faults. That kill, that kill, that kill.”
It is well known that Plath had a preoccupation with death and suicide and this poem certainly reflects this. It is probably of no coincidence then that Elm wood has been used for centuries as the best wood for coffins because it is a very tough wood but becomes quite lightweight as it dries out. The Greeks and Romans also considered the Elm to be funeral trees because they produce no fruit. Elms are associated with the underworld and with a special affinity to Elves who guarded the burial mounds of the dead and their passage into the underworld. Elms are the mothers of the fire Goddesses.
When Orpheus returned to earth after his descent into the inferno, his lamentations for the loss Of Eurydice was so pathetic that the earth opened up and the elm sprang up to give him shade and comfort.
The Romans used the wood branches as a prop to grow their vines on. Norse myth tells us that the first woman was an Elm and the first man an Ash.
The Oneiroi, spirits of dreams, roosted on the branches of the Elm tree near the entrance of Haides.
It is considered beneficial to sit beneath an Elm tree to achieve deep meditation, the tree will share its healing energies with you.
The Elm tree has many names but it is often called the tree of Justice due to its longevity.
Elm wood also has a great affinity to water and has a history of being used as water pipes as the inner bark (which is used homeopathically) is very tough and watertight. It also makes excellent firewood.
Many types of birds love to nest in the Elm trees, especially Rooks – (this has some significance in the homeopathic proving).
The Elm has been used to cure cattle diseases by the use of a fire – 2 branches would be rubbed together until they ignited and a bonfire built – the cattle would be driven through the smoke to purge the disease.
In summer the bark exudes a sticky substance called Ulmic acid and as this is exposed to air it becomes dark brown/black but has no smell or taste. The inner bark is also very mucilaginous, hence the name ‘slippery’, and contains tannic acid and starch. The bark is dried and ground, mixed with flour to make bread and the leaves have been used to make a tea. The bark is also quite cracked and makes the perfect place for lichens to form and grow. Ulmic acid is everywhere in brown earth. Parts of the tree contain scopoletin which is a substance that controls blood pressure and also has properties that deal with bacteria and inflammations. It can regulate the hormone serotonin which in turn regulates anxiety and depression.
THE PROVING
The proving took place over quite a long period of time throughout 2006 and 2007 as one group of provers were not ready to begin at the same time as others. The provers resided in India, Canada, America and Australia.
The potencies used were:- 6x; 9x; 12x; 12c; 30c; 200c; 1m and placebo. There were 6 females and 5 males.
SYMPTOMS AND SUGGESTED RUBRICS
MIND
The main symptoms were feelings of anxiety that caused a need to be taciturn, either rushed or feeling calmer, feeling overwhelmed, irritable over trivial matters, restless. The anxiety was often felt in the chest. The memory was forgetful and dull and easy to misinterpret various things and mixing up words and spelling. There was weeping for no obvious reason, a sense of impending doom and feelings of homesickness, feeling alone as well as wanting to withdraw, a wish to travel and fly, feeling mischievous. Curious symptoms were delusions about big black birds, burning and smouldering sensations, everything smells like smoke and visions of black circles and bands whilst meditating.
(4)
Anxiety + < evening + < alone + with palpitations Anxiety with gloomy foreboding Forgetful + dullness + slowness + confused Taciturn
Delusion birds + delusion black animals + delusion black objects Delusion, imaginations, birds; sees; Delusion everything is burning (interesting that Vulture has this sx as well) + < afternoon Delusion everything smells like smoke
(3)
Misanthropy Overwhelmed Company, aversion to + >> Indifference + joyless + discontented Weepy
(2)
Hurried + speaking Restless Homesick
(1)
Irritable + trifles Mirth (wanted to strip in front of class) Calmness Remorseful Awkward
Optimistic Talks loudly Fear of speaking in public Answers hastily Music >
HEAD
A mixture of head pains felt throughout the proving – throbbing, piercing, sharp, dull, congested, heaviness. Some visual disturbances and vertigo accompanied the pains.
(4)
Head pain, sensation as if hot water vapours were coming from it Head, sensation as if falling to left Head, sensation as if objects are moving Head, sensation as if enlarged
Occiput, sensation as if empty Head, sensation as if crawling on the skin
(3)
Head, heavy + < on waking + < stooping + occiput heavy Head heavy but feels giddy and light
(2)
Head pain, temples, throbbing + > talking, + > tight bandage Head pain, temple, intermittent + < pressure Head pain, occiput < stooping, < pressure, < morning Head pain, dull > eating
Head pain, congestive, as if from a blunt instrument, < blowing nose, < morning Head, pain, sharp, left side Head, pain, throbbing, left temple Head pain, sharp, right temple
(1)
Head pain, night Head pain, draft cold air
EYES
The same heavy feeling in the head followed through to the eyes. Some swelling was also experienced as well as inflammation and visual disturbances.
(4)
Eyes, heavy Eyes, swollen, Eyes, burning pains (as if skin cut off), < morning, > warm water Eyes, inflammation, < morning on waking Eyes, lachrymation Vision, sees colours, yellow, black, shadows Eyes, sensation as if dropping out Sensation as if smoke in eyes, < left
(3) (2) Eyes, itch (1)
Vision, impaired Eyes, pain, sharp, right Eyes, pain, sudden Eyes, twitch, extends to jaw like electricity (shooting)
NOSE
Very few symptoms recorded.
(1)
Nose, sneezing Nose, sensitive Nose, watery discharge
MOUTH
The most unusual symptoms were the recurring ones of sensations of smoke, burning, caustic.
(4) (3)
Mouth, taste, smoke + caustic Mouth, tongue, burning + offensive + sour Mouth, swelling, upper lip
(2)
Mouth, pain, upper jaw, < pressure, < motion + < opening Mouth, teeth, pain, left, sudden, < eating, > cold water
(1)
Mouth, tongue, swollen Mouth, rough, inner lower lip Mouth, teeth, feel on edge Mouth, gums, bleed < brushing
THROAT
More burning pains were experienced and unusually the voice was altered in some provers.
(4) (3)
Throat, voice, voice changed, hoarse Throat, burning, < swallowing, < morning, > evening, > drinking cold water Throat, dry, < talking, > water
(2)
Throat, dry, but has to always swallow saliva (1) Throat, cough < as time progresses
Throat, sensation as if something trapped in throat has to expel Throat, rough Throat, pain, on swallowing
ABDOMEN
Heaviness and some burning pains were the commonest symptoms and more curious symptoms came in the form of ‘pulling’ sensations, the pains going wavelike up and down.
(4)
Abdomen, heavy + fullness + bloated
(3)
Abdomen, pain, pulling + wavelike up and down Abdomen, right iliac fossa, pain, pulling
(2)
Abdomen, pain > passing stool + < stool + > eating + < eating + > flatus Abdomen, pain, burning + cutting + sharp + clutching + bearing down
(1)
Abdomen, belching + hiccoughs + gurgling Abdomen, gurgling, rumbling Abdomen, pain, < standing, < movement, < jarring, < thinking about it, < evening, Abdomen, eructations, sour > drinking, > sleeping right side Sensation as if organs will be expelled through vagina
STOMACH
More burning pains, fullness and either a loss of appetite or increase of appetite occurred
(4)
Stomach, appetite lost + increased Stomach, pain, burning
(3)
Stomach, vomiting, bitter, acid, burning, accompanied by a sensation as if intestines would come out and a need to pass stool
(2) Stomach, bloated, feels full (1)
Stomach feels hollow Stomach, nausea Stomach, lump, oesophagus
FOOD
The main desires were for chocolate and sweets as well as sour, cold and ice cream (4)
Food, desires, chocolate Food, desires sweet things
(3)
Food, desires sauerkraut Food, desires, onions and vinegar Food, thirst, decreased
(2)
Food, desires, ice cream Food, desires cold drinks Food, desires, fruit
(1)
Food, chocolate, tastes smoky Food, thirst, increased Food, << vegetables, + <<< chilli Food, desires, spicy
CHEST
Palpitations, a sense of constriction and various pains were felt, either side or moving from side to side.
(4)
Palpitation with anxiety + with diarrhoea + sudden + on waking Constriction, feeling tight < tight clothing + < deep sighing
(3)
Chest, pain, dull < bending forward + > bending forward
(2)
Chest, pain left to right + < lying left, > lying right + < pressure + < deep inspiration + < bathing
(1)
Chest, pain, left side, as if pulling, > night Sensation as if a hand holding heart Chest, sensation as if empty Chest, heavy
Chest, pain right to left with dizziness
RESPIRATION
No outstanding symptoms
(1)
Cough, dry Feels tight Creaking noise of breathing Stabbing pain, right lung Easily out of breath
BACK
Considerable pain was felt, mainly in the lumbar and sacral regions
(4)
Back, pain, stabbing, lumber, sacral < lying on back, <<< movement, > sitting
(3)
Back, pain, right side, left, spine, lower thoracic (2)
Back, stiffness, cannot bend Back stiff, cannot sit up Back, pain, dull Back, pain, > lying on abdomen Back, pain > sitting and bending forward
(1)
URINATION
Few symptoms recorded
(1)
Urine, dark yellow Urine, urgent desire
MALE
Few symptoms recorded
(1) Irritation around scrotum, burning, < movement
FEMALE
Painful menses was the main symptom
(3)
Female, menses, dysmenorrhea Female, menses, scanty
(1)
Female, discharge, white, sticky + earthy odour Female, menses, pain, cutting Female, menses, bright blood only
RECTUM
As to be expected there were quality symptoms arising in this area and this was a main focus for this remedy.
(4)
stool, burning stool offensive stool semi liquid + stool sticky
(3)
stool gushing + explosive rectum sudden urging for stool + after waking + morning rectum urging, frequent rectum, stool, increased
(2) (1)
stool yellow stool >> constipated stool black + yellow flatulence
LIMBS
Various pains and stiffness felt throughout all the joints.
(4)
limbs, heavy limbs, stiff muscles, contracting + numbness
(3) (2)
limbs, pain, sharp, finger, right < exertion, < flexing, < pressing limbs, pain, calf < standing, < right limbs, pain, sharp, knee, right + swollen + < night, < cold, < touch, < standing limbs, pain, constriction, foot, left + right foot, < walking
(1)
shoulders, sensation as if beaten + as if paralysed limbs, feet, icy cold limbs, joints, sensation as if coming loose limbs, pain, sharp, toes, + < flexing, < weight of foot limbs, pain, burning, elbows, > rubbing, < pressing limbs, pain, wandering, radiating
SKIN
Itching and small eruptions were the main symptoms
(4)
skin, itching skin, burning skin, dry
(3)
skin, eruption, blisters skin, eruption, rash, red skin, eruption, pustule skin, eruption, pimples
(2)
skin, peeling (desquamation)
(1)
skin, sensation as if hard and thick skin, odour, strange, sweetish
TEMPERATURES
Generally brought out a severe chilliness.
(4) feels very cold, < change temperatures, < afternoon and night, > warm drinks
(3) perspiration, profuse + perspiration cold feels heat, internally
(2) (1)
GENERALS
Heaviness and weakness were the main sensations
(4)
feels weak + < after diarrhoea, + mental and physical weakness feels exhausted, > sleep feels heavy
(3) (2) (1) weakness, sensation as if will fall down or over
SLEEP
Sudden waking and sleepiness were the main experiences
(4)
sleepiness + heavy feeling sleep, waking, sudden
(3) (2)
wakes suddenly for stool wakes suddenly feeling hungry wakes suddenly with palpitation
(1)
sleepless due to buzzing in body sleepless wakes frequently sleep, anxious, disturbed
DREAMS
OF DEAD PEOPLE OF A STORM AT SEA, FLOODED CITY, HAD TO DRIVE INTO IT, BIG WAVES OF PHYSICIAN MAKING PIECES OF FOETUS AFTER ABORTION OF A HOUSE USED TO LIVE IN OF DRIVING WITH GIRLFIREND IN A FERRARI OF CASINOS DRIVING FAST INVISABLE PEOPLE BECAME VISIBALE JEALOUSY TEETRH CLEANING LOOKING AFTER ILL FRIEND AND DOG COLLAPSES, HAS TO BLOW ITS NOSE, WOKE UP VERY SCARED AND HEART BEATING
One prover in particular had some strong dreams and I thought it best to write them here verbatim (including spelling mistakes!)
1)
So – the dream was about a burnt body. I have a numbe r of dead bodies in my past, but this one felt different. In the past, it’s been about the smell, the sadness, the regret, the guilt and the hugeness of the story. They were situations where I felt the need to get involved in something I probably shouldn’t have – all in Africa. But this was different. There was no moral feeling at all about this body – it was one body – quite dismembered and unrecognizable. I don’t think I had any kind of real connection with this body. I don’t think I killed the person – there was a complete lack of any kind of moral landscape attached to it – including the lack of smell. It was stashed in some kind of fountain – like one of those public fountains downtown. There were people around – rubies, for want of a better word. Heroin addicts, perhaps. I put the body, with some difficulty, into a black garbage bag or something. This was a couple weeks ago, so I may forget the details, though it is very very prevalent for me. I was carrying it up some kind of mud slope with some big trees and I saw a cop. I immediately thought – Fuck! – what if I get caught. I sometimes think about that – about how, if I were to be caught for some terrible crime, I would try whatever I could to kill myself so I wouldn’t have to suffer prison. There have been suicidal thoughts/attempts in the past, but never anything all that successful – more about attention than anything. So, body/bag in tow, I climbed quickly up a large Fir tree. (Westcoaster – tree names come naturally). When the cop made chase up the tree, I left the body at the top of the tree – a bit of a panic of where to stash it – then flew up into the sky. I do fly in my dreams, and part of the flying is a need to be noticed. But, walking though the streets after this dream, I could feel it weighing down on me. Profoundly creepy – like something direct from my soul.
2)
Recurring nightmare used to be around bats. Didn't have many friends as a kid - practicing piano too much. So I was walking through and empty area - like one of those myterious planets in the old Star Trek. Misty - dark, scary - with my brother's friends. There were there , but they didn't really care about me much. Actually - I remember moments where paeople saved me in dreams. But we were kids, and they were bigger kids, walking through this Godotesque place, when a whole flock of bats came and tooke them away. I was alone and empty.
3)
Sleep and Dreams: probably the most active sleep I've had in a long time. There were points in the night where I was openly talking to someone I thought was in the room - used to be quite normal with me. Last night, I became conscious of the fact I was talking into the open room, but continued the discussion for a while! Even though Gerald was in the bed! But I was too exhausted to get uyp and write it down.
4)
Dreams - my dreams are sort of of this person, or this conception - of being a 'special' person, who people need to make allowances for, who is very very wonderful, but you also need to be careful of. I think I was dreaming about this person at the tennis club, where I was with the kids today (my brother is a member - I have a "nanny pass"!).
So, I just opened my eyes, from sleep. I've done my laundry recently - I hang it on the sprinkler system. A clump of shirts looked like a black bird, hanging upside down. Then it looked like the 'special guy's odd-shaped head - big and pointed, round and special, warm and odd. But it very quickly looked like his head was covered with this black bird - that it was spreading out over the guy's head, perhaps smothering him. But it wasn't so violent - it was like this was to be expected. The sense about the special guy is that he is to be made allowances for - he is to be tolerated - but also to be enjoyed. A word of advice from someone in my dream, about how to deal with him, was that you just needed to give him the freedom - the ability to move. And express. In reality, I don't have much experience with people like that. Yet sometimes I believe I'm like that. But sometimes I meet people who have 'special needs', and it seems like they are very precious rays from the source of our central and common beauty: unpolished and thus maligned.
5)
Yes - i dreamt all night. But I can only remember the very end. It was all in some kind of academic office building. This was my personal space - my room. The last thing that happened was, I can to my room (came), down a hall, a dark hall, and my roiom was open (was the hall dark?) - anyway - the door was wide open. I looked in, to my right, and there was a professor working in there - Cole Harris - someone from church as a kid. He was actually a Prof when I was doing my maters, and hkept reporting to my parents what a whiz I was! Even though he barely knew me and certainly didn't know my work - no-one did. I said hi - he was busy - I was very friendly and thought - OK - I guess we have to share this space. I thought of the kind of conflict there could be, and wondered if we'd be able to do this - there was a huge difference of power, and I really wanted to be myse3lf in my own space. I walked across the room and opened a window - wide! It was so wide, I wondered if there was a screan - there was. I reached out to touch it, there, and wondered if the Prof would mind the fresh air. I was thinking, it was probably him who pumped up the heat. That was it for the dream. The feeling was a bit invasion and worrying about the freedon to express myself. When i got to the room, I was slightly/briefly worried that all my stuff would be gone - I did a quick scan. In the halls of the school, I had been walking around, quite dispassionately, wondering about OHPs etc.. I guess, though, the feeling was, do I belong here?
6) Remembered dream - long
Going to Korean bathhouse. Huge structure - clean and beautiful. (Longtime fantasy of mine - to be at a ZZKorean bathhouse!). I'm the only white guy - all men. They know me (the guy at the counter) and there's a feeling, that repeated through several dreams - of not belonging. I kept thinking they were going to turn me back. But I got to the counter, the polite folks sold me a ticket, and when I was walking through the turnstile, the amanager spotted me and asked to see my bathing suit. He stretched it out and said, "This one is too tight! It looks terrible! You need to get a new one." I just took it back from him and silently went it. (Strategy of mine when travelling - when in small conflict, keep quiet and move on.) The feeling wasn't as much of mortification, embarassment or feeling ugly as it was, "I don't care what he says" or "He doesn't understand what it feels l9ike to be white in an Asian country" (a cop-out, as not all white folks have big asses like mine). But, walking through this huge complex, which all seemed indoors, nobody took any notice of me at all. In fact, I didn't take much notice of them, either, though there were some beautiful young men.
I was more stimulated by the Korean men on the soccer field. And, there, I really felt people were going to single me out / kick me out. I saw my friend, but avoided her for a while, so I could check out all the guys. But I like her, and it was nice to be with her. Her husband is William Shatner, and we talked music for a while, as the soccer game morphed into some kind of concert. When we were talking about the act, which was quite amazing, incorporating many instruments and voices from folks of all ages, my friend said, "They're actually quite good." She doesn't know music and, like so many people, isn't able to appreciate good art. (Coming home, in the car, with my homeofriend, it was like that as well. We had to listen to elevator music, on the radio, so quietly that we couldn't even really hear it. When I drive, I LOVE listening to fantastic CDs that I don't normally have the opportunity to hear in their entirety (I drive very rarely). Alas - it was OK! There were other pleasures.) But her husband, William Shatner, is there. I'm curious whether he's a conoisseur of music - his own CD is so amazing, but his persona is so goofy. I said, "Well, I think they've gone where no-one has gone before." My friend said, "Don't!" Bad to bring up Star Trek. I didn't feel embarassed, I just thought "fuckin' whatever". He really liked the band, and I woke up.
7)
In the earlier dream (that same night), it revolved around my relationship with my brother, or a very close male friend. We were living on the fringes of society - thus had a close and complex relationship with the polic. The setting was dirt roads, tumbledown shacks - Eastern Uganda? Dukes of Hazard? Actually - probably a projection of my childhood love for the latter. But also E. Uganda, where my brother and I once hitch- hiked - in real life. Anyway - my f/b (friend/brother) and I were involved in some kinds of illegal lifestyle. He was dominant - more into it them me. But I had the feeling of calm but excited complicity - like when I wandered through Madagascar with petty, homeless criminals for several months a few years ago. (REal life). Our little knapsack (so often I've seen/had one like that - grungy - with all available posessions - like a tramp. Like my friends and I had in Madagascar. We slept on it - everything.) Had a bag of pot - actually two -0 in it. The cops came around the corner and my f/b pulled one of the bags out and put it under a rock. The feeling is - this is our life, why are you criminalizing me. Not persecution, but deciding the way life should be. He then quickly engages the police - a strategy I'm familiar with, from many situations. I quicklyi took the other bag out of the knapsack and hid it under the rock (I had more time). (Craving: celery? Fennel? Clean and green). What happened next included an escape, being fugitives etc. Our mentor/ parent was pissed at us, worried. I was the only one who thought about going back for the pot (Partially so the police wouldn't find it and charge us, partialy because we were poor. I have, also, several times, hidden pot behind a rock etc. before going over borders, in real life). I went back, evaded police (childhood heros: papillon, Dukes of Hazard) and got it. (Craving: bananas: fresh and clean). Or... When I arrived at the rock, with the feeling that I shouldn't have done this, or what if I get caught, I was suddenly in the Korean bathhouse!
8)
In Indonesia - a small town. I was living in a little hotel room, teaching English classes. I don't think the dream was originally in Indonesia, but it ended up there. It was perfect - high on a hill, so the climate was great. The classes were getting boring (just like my English teaching in real life - can't wait to get out of it, though I'm paid very well) but that was OK. My boss was a woman who wasn't quite interested - she was an alchoholic, but she was really great. A little simple. I felt superior to her as a teacher. But, not that strong a feeling. (Superiority is a big part of my normal constitutional - superiority/inferiority.) I was so happy there - people had fun, they had freedom to do fun/odd/unusual things, and be creative. I realized I was falling in love with the guy who ran the hotel. He was responsible, kind, very sweet, and every one of his smiles took my heart with him. I thought of the 'practicalities' of love with this guy, in a small town, or moving to Canada - none of it mattered. We were sitting, facing each other in some kind of pool, having sandwiches or something. And I realized this was a very romantic situation.
9)
So - my very very very long dream was all about a solitary journey to a place like Mali. I was making a huge meal, doing all sorts of things, and I suddenly realized that everything I was using was very unclean, including the water, which disgusting, puss-ridden dogs were licking out of the aquafir right under the broken streets. The feeling in this place was not a lack of comfort, and the strangeness was fine for me. There was one moment where, for a little more comfort, I'd decided to drag a chaise lounge that I'd found, all the way to the beach, or wherever I was going. But, when I looked up, there was a huge, black sandstorm coming, so i had to abandon it. So I was making this huge meal with found utensils, and I started feeling really grossed out and attacked by all the dirt and grunge and contamination. Then, I woke up this morning and felt the same way about my apartment. It really needs a cleaning! And I felt, making my breakfast, that everything was contaminated. The last thing I can afford the time to say is that my
brother's family, who are all very nature-minded, have recently been being attacked in their very urban home, by crows from a nearby tree! They are actually afraid of playing hockey in the lane! I know, crows have babies and they get aggressive, but none of us have experience with this happening in the city before, and it just works in so closely with the black bird theme in this remedy!
10)
End of dream: Going really fast in a car, down a highway, totally out of control. Other cars are too. Whole periods where can't see car. Car goes over other side of medium. I'm looking at it from above - it's not me in the car or driving the car, yet it is. It's me driving the car. The person driving is talking about how they love the Gran Turino. I think the character is based on a boyfriend of mine from University - a total suburban Toronto guy - Italian - who'd chewed his nails right to disfigurement. The feeling is a huge lack of control. Constantly screeching the brakes and skidding. The passaengers are two cute Canadian-Asian folks - the boyfriend (hot - great in bed - sexy - cute - talented) of the driver, and his friend. They were occaisionally in interview posture about the experience. I couldn't believe he liked the Gran Turino, and wouldn't let it go. I was feeling superior, but also totally out of control. I wanted control.