Homeopathic Care

Treating Body, Mind & Spirit

Newsletter
Autum 2007

 (510) 872-0725

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Melissa Rissman

Classical Homeopathic Consultation

As Autumn arrives, I remember a term from Botany class - 'abscission'.

The word abscission comes from the Latin, meaning to 'cut away'. Think about a leaf turning color and falling off a tree. How does that happen?

The key is the abscission zone, a smart couple of layers of cells at the base of a leafstalk. One layer of cells has deliberately weak walls, a kind of planned obsolescence, that in the Fall are ruptured by its adjacent and more powerful layer of cells expanding. The leaf is cut off from the flow of life-giving nutrients. Green fades to yellow, red, orange, and brown.

Abscission also happens with ripe fruit, spent flowers, unripe fruit that is sacrificially dropped for the best survival of the rest of the fruit, and cat's claws.

Personally, abscission means letting go of whatever is ready to go. Stale crackers at the back of the cupboard, that pair of shoes I never wore anyway, the hope of being a back-up singer for Leonard Cohen.

In Chinese medicine, Autumn is associated with grief, letting go, and the metal of knives. At this Fall Equinox, I let go again in empathy and rhythm with the abscising trees. Time to let those dreamed or created things compost in the winter-shadow of its maker, opening a void - a clearing that invites new dreams to sprout up.

Without abscission we would be choked and overgrown, our branches broken from the greedy weight of too much fruit, our minds burdened with outdated concepts like the earth is flat or that war is necessary.

Take time to honor the season of letting go - maybe ritually burn a little pile of leaves, sending up smoke, signalling your willingness to oblige nature's wisdom.

Be well,  Melissa

Upcoming classes

Birth Can Be Natural

Sat. October 13th from 1 to 5 pm

and Wed. October 17th from 1 to 5 pm.
In Albany
This class was a hit when Edi Pfeiffer and I taught it in February. It is a two-day intensive class teaching the indicators and uses of homeopathic remedies to enhance and ensure health and safety for mother and baby during pregnancy, labor and post-partum.

Reduce morning sickness

Address pain during pregnancy and labor

Turn a breech baby

Restart arrested labor, avoiding cesareans

Treat trauma and bruising in newborns

Promote healthy lactation

And much more

Sepia: A Wonderful Remedy for Women

This remedy, made from the ink of the cuttlefish, is most often thought of for normal nausea of 'morning sickness' during pregnancy. The smell, sight, or even thought of food can bring on a wave of intense nausea.

The small effort of movement out of bed, out of a car, or riding in a car can bring on nausea. If the woman is better for eating small amounts, and much worse from not eating regularly, Sepia may help. Another indication for Sepia is the sensation of bearing down or heavy pain felt low in the abdomen.

Make an Appointment for a Homeopathic Assessment
Many conditions are improved or eliminated with careful homeopathic treatment. I am committed to the best possible health of my clients.

What Clients Say ...
"I feel balanced and at peace." - massage therapist

"I have more energy, courage and optimism." - real estate agent

"My physical strength is coming back by leaps and bounds." - teacher

Feel free to forward this email to a friend. My quarterly e-newsletter can also be viewed on my website, www.homeopathic-care.net.