There are times when anyone can become frustrated with pain and discomfort, and they might wonder if other types of treatments might work better than what they are currently getting. This is becoming more and more popular, and homeopathy is what most turn to first. This is treatment based on methods other than prescription medications and surgeries to help with various ailments. Homeopathy can zero in on one gout symptom, but also tends to focus on the healing and care of the entire body as well. The basic idea behind this practice is that some believe small doses of some medications or herbs can mimic illness in healthy people, and those same things can be given to someone suffering from that illness to promote healing.

In most cases, a physician who practices homeopathic medicine will suggest that any of the things that might help with gout be taken one at a time to see what works. It can be a longer process, but finding the right thing will bring much relief for some. Usually one dose is taken, and then is given a certain amount of time to work. If it does work, it should be left alone to see how long it works. How much and how often will be determined by the type of medication and how well it works. If nothing happens, that type should be eliminated and something else will be tried.

One type that might be helpful is Bryonia. This can be good when pain is substantial, and tenderness is a huge problem. Pain comes from walking and touching. It might make a person not want to be touched at all, and they may want to be alone. Colchicum is another that is very much like this one. It focuses on gout pain the heel or foot. Since the most common spot for gout is the toe, this works great for many. When the joint is red, swollen, and tender to touch, this can be used. It is especially useful when given to someone who seems to have seasonal flare ups, and tends to be fatigued when stricken.

There are also some that are useful when the pain is not quite as severe, but it still needs to be taken care of quickly. Rhus toxicodendron is for someone who has stiff and painful joints that are sometimes hot and swelling may be apparent. However, it would seem that some movement might help, so the flare up is not quite as tender to the touch. Berberis vulgaris is for a pain that is all over the body rather than completely localized to one part of the body. It helps when motions and walking are painful, and the body as a whole needs some relief.

Though it is possible to find and try these things at home, it is always a good idea to find someone who is licensed in homeopathic medicine to assist someone who seeks relief. They have the benefit of knowing the history of this practice that goes back in time almost 2000 years. There is a huge benefit to trying things like this with someone who has knowledge and experience on their side. Some of these things can interact with prescriptions, so consult with a doctor if you are taking anything, or want to stop taking something. These can help with almost any gout symptom, but it is never a good idea to put the health at risk in any fashion.

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Most practitioners of medicine (any modality) begin their careers with the intent to be healers. Many artists (any modality) enter their chosen modes of creativity to be vehicles of healing for others, through expression. The skewed concept of values that our society impose on us takes many of us further away from “the work” and deeply entrenches us into the mechanics of selling it.

When we’re growing up, usually in our teens, we begin to make decisions regarding our livelihoods. So many of us embrace the idea that the work we will find in the world will be in the vein of helping others. In fact, as children are we not encouraged to follow our altruistic impulses?

The basic urge to help others, for the sake of simplicity, could easily fall within the realm of the healing arts no matter how expressed. Artistic expression summons a vitality that we know affects others in positive ways. We “bring joy” to ourselves and others by our playful performances, visual representations, and song, dance and music. Joy heals.

All around us we hear of athletes, actors, artists and singers who, by expressing themselves fully, inspire the rest of us to stretch our own perceived limits. This form of healing, which includes connecting individuals with their larger communities, was once recognized and embraced as the primary form of “treatment” available to the regular Joe or Josephina.

Those of us who choose to pursue one form or another of medicine (Isn’t this interesting: even I, after years of exploring the vast world of the healing arts still automatically refer to things in the realm of treating illness and injury as “medicine;” only one aspect of healing!) are first indoctrinated into an approach that almost wholly relies on facts and figures and the memorization of data, turns human beings into projects, and seeks solutions that are designed for the masses rather than the individual.

In the world of “the Arts” itself, early schooling for most is more about learning the boxes that we’re allowed to fit in to rather than seeking the full expression of the individual. So much of our so-called education is about the re-cycling of old information rather than an emphasis on the creation of something as yet unseen. Even worse, the career/economic paths they offer define the boxes that we are shuffled into.

But all this is only the start of an insidious process.

Economics typically enters the picture as soon as the course of study/indoctrination is completed. Individuals find that they must focus a significant amount of their energy and attention not to the individual or task at hand, but on how to provide a service and derive profit from it. The reason for this is that our advanced schooling system requires that we place ourselves in debt to take advantage of it. Essentially, most actions taken in the pursuit of healing others have to be wrung through the filter of their economic consequences early enough in the process so that these seemingly incompatible elements are joined at the hip and color everything we do.

It is no wonder that so many talented and inspired people discover that their experiences in their chosen professions are soul-less. What once was a calling becomes a vehicle for economic support. Stability takes precedence over innovation and exploration. We all suffer for it.

Russ Reina shares over 35 years of experience in the healing arts through his web site http://mauihealingartist.com. It is a potent resource for those wishing to deepen their abilities in connection and develop their powers as healers. For a powerful free tool to explore your inner world, please check out his adjunct site http://thestoryofthis.net

(Permission is granted to reprint this article, unedited, provided proper attribution is made and the signature line — the above resource paragraph — is kept intact)

Compassion is a trickster. It shows up when least expected. In many cases, it shows up even when unwanted. Wait a minute! Within the context of the healing arts, how could compassion possibly be an unwanted thing? Well, according to the actions of many of our teachers, even though they pay lip-service to the idea, compassion unleashed is considered a detriment to effective care.

Compassion, as defined by The Free Dictionary is “Deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it.” The “Deep awareness” part is the part where, in the midst of doing the work of treating our patient we feel their pain. To be compassionate means, “to share the suffering of others.”

Paradoxically, though many disciplines acknowledge the value of compassion, when it comes down to the nuts and bolts of relating to our charges, we are warned away from becoming “emotionally involved.” You cannot share the suffering of others without sharing an emotional link with them.

The dominant paradigm of our current-day medical system is geared toward the discouragement of compassion rather than its utilization as a tool of healing. This is not limited to allopathic medicine. It surfaces in whatever modality is taught Western-style, which is a head-oriented, facts and figures, symptoms and treatment, problem-to-be-solved approach of relating to a person and his or her dis-ease.

Time after time, we are told, “You can’t do your job if you make it personal.” Compassion is nothing if not personal. It puts you who are right now into the experience of the person to whom you are relating. Within the context of the human experience the perceived, hierarchical differences between you and that person dissolve. What remains are two human beings facing their maker together.

As children we were taught to be compassionate with others. So many of us started out in our professions to express that very heartfelt drive. But, as soon as we took our place in what could be called “the compassionate arts” (which, incidentally could very well include firefighters, police personnel, lawyers and politicians), we are more than warned to stay away from that territory; it is virtually bred out of us.

How? Through a persistent and repetitive exposure to head-based approaches that make us more and more distant from the human beings in our care. But we all know, it never really works.

Burnout is very often the by-product of having experiences of compassion slip in to our controlled environments. If repeated often enough, or with the right degree of intensity, because we are not taught how to integrate the experiences into our lives, we often find ourselves buried in emotions that do not fade away, but actually intensify over time, complicating, if not crippling, our lives.

Compassion by its very nature takes us out of our heads and into the realm of relating to our experience and the person we’re serving on a visceral, level. Because we are taught to distance ourselves from our experiences of deep, personal contact with our charges, when we feel ourselves affected, we doubt our own ability to be effective in our work because that’s what we’ve been taught.

The systems that define our professions are so concerned with getting the facts straight that they place almost zero emphasis on the emotional well-being of their practitioners. But more insidious is that these same systems passively discourage us from turning to each other for support. Even talking about the wonder, the despair, the pain and the transcendent moments of our experiences with each other is discouraged because that could indicate professional weakness.

The problem with compassion is that we are not provided support to learn how to use it as a fuel that supercharges everything we offer.

Russ Reina shares over 35 years of experience in the healing arts through his web site http://mauihealingartist.com. It is a potent resource for those wishing to deepen their abilities in connection and develop their powers as healers. For a powerful free tool to explore your inner world, please check out his adjunct site http://thestoryofthis.net

(Permission is granted to reprint this article, unedited, provided proper attribution is made and the signature line — the above resource paragraph — is kept intact)