Jonathan Hardy is a renowned homeopathic doctor and teacher from England. I was convinced by his accuracy at his seminars. He teaches the sensation method in a very structured and clear manner and has a detailed knowledge of the Materia Medica. Where he got this immense knowledge concerning the different kingdoms, families, substances and homeopathic remedies, he explains to us in the following interview. And he talks about what is needed in homeopathic practice besides the professional knowledge.


Q - I would like to start with the one question I carry around since I read your curriculum the first time -you made this three studies - can you tell something about you as a young man, how it came that you did first the zoology, then medicine and in the end homeopathy? What was the motivation behind this way?

I cannot say it was planned form the beginning! I have always loved animals and been fascinated by them. Being out in Nature was my favorite thing when I was a child and I spent many hours watching wildlife  - especially insects. I first decided I wanted to be a doctor when I was thirteen years old but my love for the natural world continued and when it came to deciding what I would study at university I was strongly drawn to Zoology. It should be said I had an inspirational biology master at school but then I was easily persuaded! I loved studying Zoology, especially animal behaviour, but when I obtained my degree my desire to be a doctor was undiminished and I then applied to medical school. So I spent a total of eight years as an undergraduate altogether which was a long time but I do not regret it. Sometimes early in my medical career I would think “ Why did I study Zoology?” However after I became a homeopath it soon became clear that the extra science that I had learned at Oxford - the Chemistry, Physics, Botany and especially the Zoology - was incredibly useful in understanding remedy states and the source material of our medicines. Oxford has a world-leading Zoology department and in particular some of the pioneers in the study of animal behaviour have been Oxford scientists.
I studied medicine at Southampton University which was a new medical school with some interesting innovations. For example in the fourth year we had to spend nine months conducting original research. I did a double-blind placebo controlled trial of House Dust Mite 30C in the treatment of house dust allergy. I recruited 60 people into the trial and the results were astonishing - to me at least. There was a statistically significant difference between placebo and verum for rhinitis symptoms (p value less than 0.001) and asthma symptoms (p value less than 0.01). I thought it was sensational and that the whole medical school would start taking homeopathy seriously. In fact I was stunned and disappointed by the resounding indifference - no one really cared! This was my first experience of conventional antipathy to homeopathy. In retrospect these were the good old days - when homeopathy was ignored. As Mahatma Gandhi said - “First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they attack you and at last you win.”
I was not deterred. After I had qualified as a doctor and worked in hospital medicine for a while I started to study homeopathy and passed my examination to become a member of the Faculty of Homeopathy in 1988. I have been in full-time homeopathic practice ever since. 
It was just an instinctive decision to become a homeopath. I have been interested in the esoteric side of life since early adulthood - meditation, esoteric philosophy, spiritual practice. Homeopathy is a natural part of that. We are studying and using the non-material side of life. It is telling that in our modern, materially-minded world everyone knows the word phenomenon. But how many know what noumenon means? They are both Greek words. Phenomena are of the external world - the outer form and appearance of things - the apparently real world. But phenomena are not truly real because they are temporary and superficial. The noumenon is the actual reality - the hidden yet enduring real essence of things. And this part of life is where real meaning and lasting satisfaction is found. In homeopathy we are searching for the deep inner state of our patients, understanding the disturbance in their consciousness and vital energy - the real essence of people. And then we are using medicines which in turn are the noumenon of the source substance - the blueprint, the intelligent energy pattern which is the real yet hidden essence of the thing. This is exciting! It speaks to the soul and is a way of working which fits with a spiritual way of life. I believe to practice homeopathy deeply we need to have a spiritual dimension to our life. Not necessarily an overt religious or spiritual practice but at least a willingness to work on our inner life, to grow and develop as human beings and to try to make a positive contribution to the lives of others and our world.

Q - In earlier interviews you spoke about the stillness as place where intuition grows and also as a quality which you try to create in the consultation. That stillness is a place in which the patient feels save. I remember this now, when you speak about the spiritual dimension in our life. Maybe this stillness is the essence of what Hahnemann called the "unprejudiced observer“ and this is such an important cornerstone in homeopathy and at the same time maybe one of the most difficult parts to implement truly.  
How du you invite this spiritual dimension in your life? How do you reach this space of stillness inside of you in your life but especially in the consultation? 

A successful homeopathic consultation is based on deep concentration. This is not a state of straining - rather the opposite. True concentration requires a relaxed and focussed consciousness. In the homeopathic consultation we are focussed one hundred percent on the patient. We are not thinking about the last patient or the pain in our back or what to do about the leaking roof. Our attention is wholly concentrated on understanding what the person in front of us is experiencing. And it is a place of openness and non-judgment. If we are completely committed to doing the best we can for the person they will feel it. This allows them to relax, feel entirely safe and to access regions of their inner experience that they may have never reached before. If they feel the practitioner is entirely to be trusted and has the capacity to help them they will enter the process willingly. When we hear the words “I’ve never told anyone this before … “ then we are probably doing OK. We must be still - true concentration and stillness go hand in hand. Then we can perceive the patient’s state clearly and in an unprejudiced way. Stillness produces concentration and concentration leads to stillness. And stillness allows us to begin to use our intuition. Intuition is that deep state of knowing which we must strive for in practice - and in life. Our lesser psychological faculties of reason and feeling are fallible. Calm feeling and balanced reason are necessary steps towards a deeper understanding but what we really want to gain is intuitive insight. Intuition is direct perception of truth - we know because we know. If I do not feel that deep state of certainty in understanding the patient’s state - and matching it with a remedy – then I am not happy. Although I freely admit I often have to settle for less! And try again to go deeper the next time they come. Intuition is developed through practice, through cultivating stillness and concentration, and most of all through spiritual practice, especially meditation. All true spiritual experiences are intuitive: intuition is a faculty of the real self - it is soul knowledge.


Q - When you started as a homeopath, what have been the most difficult challenges in your daily practice in the beginning? And how did they change during the years, what are the biggest challenges for you now in your work?

I think homeopathy is a very challenging profession.
There are many easier ways to make a living! I found it difficult at first. I remember sometimes thinking “Why did I not become an estate agent?” The first few years were like wading through treacle. But deep down I knew homeopathy was what I had to do. So I kept trying my best and kept going. And even from the beginning there were successes. Innumerable examples from my practice over the years convince me that if we are open to it we are deeply helped and guided.
Shortly after the end of World War Two Oxford University invited Sir Winston Churchill to address the new student intake at the beginning of their first term. Usually these addresses would last about an hour and be full of sage advice. Sir Winston arrived. He stood to speak, put down his cane, took off his hat and put down his cigar. He looked around the hall at the several thousand students. “Never give up!” he said. Then a long pause. “Never give up!” He repeated. Then he took up his cane, put on his hat, picked up his cigar and left. A memorable speech.
The secret of success is perseverance. First we have to be sure that what we are doing is right for us. Again only intuition will give us that certainty. Then when we are sure that we have chosen our career wisely we have to employ indomitable willpower.
There is so much information available to us. Too much perhaps – it can be overwhelming. So again we need to use our intuition to choose wisely which book to read, which seminar to attend, which system to use. Intuition will guide us – that which makes you feel inspired, excited and comfortable is the right thing.


The interview was conducted by Sabrina Holdener