The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Discussions at Medical Conferences I

A participant asks about the significance of spurge and dandelion juices as remedies for leukemia. He says this remedy came to him during a meditation session.

[ 1 ] Of course, the point is that one must take the accompanying symptoms into account to some extent, because leukemia can have a wide variety of causes. If the issue is that there can be a clear awareness that one is dealing with a disturbance of some kind in the human rhythmic system, then you will be right; then you will achieve results. The fact is: Whenever one uses plant-based products that still contain remnants of the etheric body—and this is the case with resins and these milky sap-like substances, found in both dandelions and spurge; it is also the case with wax, for example, plant wax—all these substances have a powerful effect on the human rhythmic system. But if the primary cause has to do with something that is not rooted in the human rhythmic system, but rather in metabolism—the two overlap, but one must nevertheless distinguish between them in principle—you will hardly succeed. Everything that still contains the etheric body within it has a very strong effect on the inner mobility of the astral body, thereby stimulating the entire activity of the organism from the astral body. And in this way, one can achieve results. This is based on the fact that the astral body is strongly influenced by these substances and that, because it acts upon the etheric body, it then also brings about a counterbalance within the etheric body.

What are the conditions necessary for a smallpox epidemic to occur? It seems that this disease has lost its virulence. I have observed such cases.

What does Spiritual Science say about vaccination?

[ 2 ] In this case, as with smallpox, what we are dealing with in individual human beings is a marked withdrawal of the “I” organization from all three other human bodies—the physical, etheric, and astral bodies. This strong withdrawal, this weakening of the “I” organization, may be due to the fact that the human being, so to speak, slips deeply with his present “I” into the “I”s of his earlier earthly lives; and as a result, there is a strong affinity of the “I” organization as a whole toward the spiritual world. And what is remarkable about smallpox is that there is a certain similarity to what a person experiences when undergoing certain kinds of initiation. As strange as it may seem, it is so.

[ 3 ] When a person comes to know—for example, truly comes to know from within—the effect of the zodiac signs on human beings, such states of insight are associated with powerful inner upheavals. At least in this way, a person can endure—by exercising greater self-control and acting more from the soul—what occurs in the case of smallpox, because smallpox involves the person living very intensely in the spiritual realm, albeit in a different way.

[ 4 ] It can be said that the risk of infection is exceptionally high in the case of smallpox. However, one should not be so careless as to always assume that transmission occurs solely through physical contact; rather, psychological predispositions play a particularly significant role even in the case of smallpox. Evidence of this could be that one can protect oneself very well if one is able to shield oneself in the proper way. I am able to speak about this because, when I was twenty-two years old—I need not mention the circumstances—I taught a student whose mother was lying right next door with black smallpox, separated only by a folding screen from the room where I was giving my lessons. I took no precautions against it and continued teaching the entire time until the mother had recovered. But I was quite happy to do so, particularly to see how one can protect oneself by treating those with smallpox—including those with black smallpox—completely objectively, as one would any other object, such as a stone or a bush, toward which one feels no further fear or other psychological reactions, but rather regards it as an objective fact. In fact, the risk of infection must be addressed to a high degree. Therefore, the psychological factor can ultimately play a significant role in transmission as well.

[ 5 ] I have never once shied away from exposing myself in any way to the possibility of infection, and in fact I have never been infected; I have never suffered from any infectious disease. This allowed me to realize that simply the awareness—the strong awareness—of the existence of a disease can, originating in the astral body, be a cause of illness. The strong awareness of a disease can, originating in the astral body, be a cause of illness.

[ 6 ] And what about the smallpox vaccination? That’s a peculiar case. You see, if you vaccinate someone—and that person is an anthroposophist and is being raised in the anthroposophical tradition—it does no harm. It only harms those who grow up with predominantly materialistic ideas. In such cases, vaccination becomes a kind of Ahrimanic force; the person can no longer rise above a certain materialistic mindset. And that is actually the troubling aspect of smallpox vaccination: that people are, as it were, clothed in a phantom. The person has a phantom that prevents them from separating the soul entities from the physical organism to the same extent as in normal consciousness. They become constitutionally materialistic; they can no longer rise to the spiritual. That is the troubling aspect of vaccination. Of course, the point is that statistics are always brought into the discussion. The question is whether, precisely in these matters, so much weight should be placed on statistics. Smallpox vaccination is very much a psychological matter. It is by no means out of the question that the belief that vaccination helps plays an unpredictably large role. If this belief were replaced by something else—if people were educated in a natural way so that they could be influenced by something other than vaccination, for example, by bringing them closer to the spiritual again—then it would be entirely possible that they could counter the unconscious intrusion of the thought, “There’s a smallpox epidemic!” —with full awareness of it: “Here is a spiritual phenomenon—albeit an unfounded one—against which I must stand my ground!”—would be just as effective as making people strong against such influences in the first place.

If the circumstances are such as they are, for example, in our area, where it is very difficult to influence people through education and so on, how should one behave in such a situation?

[ 7 ] In that case, you simply have to get vaccinated. There’s no other choice. Because fanatical opposition to these things is precisely what I would not recommend at all—not for medical reasons, but for general anthroposophical reasons. Fanatical opposition to these things is not what we’re striving for; rather, we want to change things on a larger scale through understanding. Whenever I’ve been friends with doctors, I’ve always viewed this as something to be opposed—for example, in the case of Dr. Asch, who absolutely refused to vaccinate. I’ve always opposed that. Because if he doesn’t vaccinate, someone else will. It’s completely absurd to take such a fanatical approach in individual cases.

Dr. Kolisko: As a school physician, I have observed that children entering school exhibit tremendous inner restlessness, which manifests itself particularly during sleep, so that parents of children around 6 or 7 years of age complain that their children are plagued at night by nightmares and motor restlessness, and that they have trouble falling asleep. What circumstances account for this?

[ 8 ] The conditions that children exhibit when they start school now, that is, in Germany, stem from the fact that—not because of general conditions, but because of the nutritional conditions that have prevailed for years—their inner ability to digest food—not the process that takes place initially in the stomach, but the inner process, where it really matters, of propelling the digested food further from the intestines—is severely impaired. The fact is that these children actually develop an inability to properly bring their astral body into interaction with their etheric body. As a result, these children are generally unable to truly incorporate into their organism what they consume as food, even when they receive it through charitable donations. Isn’t it true that every food has its own inherent laws; it must undergo a specific stage of digestion, and every food must be transformed into an inorganic state? This is something that is not known in conventional science—that, for example, the protein we consume, whether plant-based or animal-based, must be completely broken down, converted into a mineral state, and then transformed back into human protein. The entire process takes place in the status nascendi, but it does take place. This transformation must occur; otherwise, the process does not proceed as a human one, but as a foreign one. Thus, one can say that within the human skin, roughly speaking, apart from the presence of direct salts, there must be nothing that occurs outside the human organism. There is nothing within the human skin that comes from outside, except for salt. Everything else is transformed. Now, precisely when these children’s etheric body becomes free—which happens when they reach elementary school age—they lose the ability to properly organize this newly freed etheric body from within the astral body. This is what causes the digestive disorder. They have non-human processes within them; and such things must be combated quite rationally and physically. We have this remedy for that, which we prepared back when we had some particularly severe cases of such children. I believe you will always have excellent success with this approach. Do you remember, Dr., the little pale boy in the second grade? How is he doing?

It's much better.

[ 9 ] He's actually quite decent, all things considered.

We've also used it with many other children.

[ 10 ] This was the next case: There was a pale boy whom the doctors had already given up on; he was expected to die soon. We administered this remedy to him: calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate. It then turned out that this remedy promotes digestion in a most excellent way; as a result, the internal conditions improve. Shortness of breath and breathing difficulties always occur when the astral body cannot function properly. If it becomes blocked, shortness of breath occurs, which can also be the cause of latent anxiety. All of this can be improved with this remedy. This remedy is from the

[ 11 ] In fact, one could say that if a person is no longer able to derive any benefit from food, even though they are eating, then this remedy is exceptionally effective.

What should you do in case of spinal (paralysis)?

[ 12 ] What are the symptoms?

Only tenderness over the affected vertebra. The X-ray shows that the vertebra in question may have fused slightly on one side, and that instead of its normal shape, it has now taken on this (shown or drawn) shape.

[ 13 ] It is natural that, in cases like these—where conditions are so localized—it is very difficult to get to the bottom of the matter unless one goes back to the primary cause. Which vertebra is it?

The sixth thoracic vertebra.

[ 14 ] Is there any evidence of an external mechanical injury?

No, but the findings indicate that it stems from pulmonary tuberculosis.

[ 15 ] But changes in the hilar glands.

The fact is that on the X-ray, larger shadows can be seen in this area, scattered throughout the lung tissue.

[ 16 ] How old is the patient?

Thirty-five years.

[ 17 ] Has he had this problem for a long time? Has it been noticed for a long time?

For about three months now. I have four such patients, all of whom are women. Two of them sustained trauma to their backs after falling down the stairs. In the other two, the X-ray findings suggest that the problem originates in the lungs.

[ 18 ] Can't we prove that the adjacent vertebra is also affected?

Not a single one. In one case, it’s the tenth; in others, the sixth. These are adults, about 36 to 39 years old. It’s traumatic for a child, and it’s also traumatic for a 20-year-old girl.

[ 19 ] In such a case, one will have to try to determine whether the lung—though the cause, of course, does not lie there—has too little space in some area, perhaps because it is dilated. And even in this case, one will find something in the area where the lung expands forward. And the issue there will be that, most likely, for this shrinkage—it is a process of shrinkage—one will find expansions or enlargements in some area of the lung. Perhaps it is not in the lung area; it could even be in the bone of one of the ribs. One will have to look for this. Then the task will be to use something suitable for balancing the structure of the human body. Now we have a substance that is exceptionally well-suited for balancing trauma. That is tobacco. When injected in a dilution, it proves to be what balances deformations. If the goal is to allow the remedy to act freely within the organism, phosphorus must be used for this purpose. In this way, healing processes can certainly be achieved. It can be said with certainty that healing processes will be achieved if the patient is under twenty-eight years of age. However, it is not ruled out—especially in women—that healing processes may also be achieved at a later age. And in the case of very stubborn individuals who resist treatment strongly, one would have to induce a state of artificial cheerfulness in them—that is, to somewhat stimulate their growth forces and vital forces—and in this way promote the therapeutic effect. That is what I mean by what could be done in such a case.

Following up on what has been said about syphilis, I would like to ask how a patient who has been given mercury and Salvarsan can be relieved of the side effects of these medications?

[ 20 ] Damage caused by mercury can be significantly alleviated in the following way: The patient is given a very hot bath every day or every other day, and is allowed to sweat out the toxins completely and thoroughly in the steam. This alone stimulates the body extraordinarily strongly to fight off the mercury. It is essential to fight the mercury right down to the bones if one has been treated with it. For you may all have heard that, in cases of mercury therapy, tiny droplets of mercury can be detected right down to the bones when an autopsy is performed. When the body is strengthened by the hot baths, this alone provides the body with a powerful aid. You can tell that it is sufficiently effective by the fact that the bathwater turns black from the mercury being released. Haven’t you noticed that? You really must notice it! Because you can’t understand why the bathwater is so dark. If this does not occur, one would have to take an arsenic bath—add about 5% of arsenic-containing water to the bath; again, have the patient take a warm bath and, in particular, ensure that the peculiar ink-like odor that arises is actually smelled by the patient, so that he has a sensory impression of it. (Gap in the text.)

[ 21 ] In such a case, follow-up treatment is necessary. For while the mercury may be almost entirely gone, this destructive tendency—which was introduced by the mercury—remains in the organism. One must bear in mind that mercury has an extraordinarily powerful effect on the human organism. One must ask: What is mercury to the human organism? If you follow embryonic development, you see an ascending process—that is, from the embryo rising toward what becomes a human being—and you see a descending process, something that declines, that is gradually destroyed. The regulator of this destruction is what constitutes the inner mercurial nature in human beings. And if, for example, it were to turn out that there are too many vital forces, you could curb them with mercury, which constitutionally works toward the destruction of the human being. This destructive tendency of mercury must be countered psychologically. If you can encourage a person to engage in a completely abstract science on a very regular basis—geometry, for example, dutifully for half an hour every day—then that is the follow-up treatment. Sharp, logically interconnected and distinct thoughts that engage the mind and foster inner activity—not a passive surrender to the world, but this inner liveliness—that is what must actually be practiced for a very long time. Then you will be able to heal someone of the effects of mercury.

Sometimes women develop nodular lumps in their breasts. Is it safe to use mistletoe prophylactically in such cases, even if a diagnosis of carcinoma is uncertain?

[ 22 ] Have you found that prophylaxis causes any harm in this case?

You once said that using this remedy, which is considered for treating a certain illness, also carries the risk of causing something else if used incorrectly.

[ 23 ] We administer the viscoinjection in a very specific way. Let’s assume there was an error in the diagnosis. That could be the case. Of course, we would not take a prophylactic approach, since the diagnosis has been made that the carcinoma is in its early stages. Once the predisposition is present, prophylaxis can no longer do any harm. But let’s assume a mistake has been made. In that case, we administer seven consecutive injections; then we take a break. If a mistake had indeed been made, we would see it immediately, since a kind of carcinomatous predisposition would have developed that would disappear right away once we administer the second set of seven injections. We would not proceed any further. Whatever were to develop would be reversed by a process of the same nature. If one is careful, it is entirely impossible that the Viscum treatment could cause any harm.

Dr. Köller: I had a conversation with a lay physician about cancer treatment. I told him that I believe Viscum is a remedy for this. He replied that this was indeed the case, but that one would have to add something else—namely, wild thyme—otherwise one would not be able to treat the disease with Viscum. Wild thyme is what makes this possible.

[ 24 ] Did the man know that on his own?

Dr. Köller: I got to know him because he had performed a remarkable healing. A girl who had nearly gone blind had sought him out. - He’s an eye diagnostician. It’s not clear how he does it. He has 750 kinds of tea. It’s so hard to have a conversation with these people. There’s something characteristic about them—they’re incredibly optimistic. He said everything can be cured, even cancer. He didn’t ask how we do it; instead, he said it’s through mistletoe. He told me that he once walked through the countryside with a few friends and came across a cherry tree with mistletoe on it; the tree was stunted and diseased. That’s when the man realized there was great healing power in the mistletoe.

[ 25 ] Viscum is indeed the specific remedy for carcinoma. There’s simply nothing else to be done. However, since every disease is, in essence, somewhat different due to the specific condition of each organism, the remedies may, under certain circumstances, be enhanced by the addition of something else. It is possible that he cured the patient with mistletoe. He does not use it as an injection. In that case, it would be possible that something else might be needed as an adjunct. But when Viscum is used as an injection, it is the specific remedy. One must, however, take into account the specific differences depending on whether the mistletoe comes from an oak tree, a cherry tree, or another tree, such as an apple tree. The essential point is also this: the use of mistletoe sap really depends on the fact that we actually have to enhance its effect. I don’t know if you’ve noticed that we don’t simply aim to use Viscum in such a straightforward manner, but that we need a device for this purpose. First, we set the mistletoe sap in vertical motion, and then we interweave this with a horizontal rotating motion. The aim is to ensure that the mistletoe juice drips and is swirled within the drop, recombining in horizontal circles with more mistletoe juice, so that a specific structure is created even within the smallest circles. It is actually this very process that produces the healing power of Viscum. Certainly, it is already an effective remedy in and of itself; but the truly specific remedy is only produced through this complex process. It can only be a matter of using wild thyme when the disease presents in a complex form. For pure carcinoma, which is a self-contained disease, is not like, for example, influenza or the flu, where all sorts of other factors come into play. It is a self-contained disease that is treated with a self-contained remedy.

[ 26 ] It is interesting that such a person would come up with something like this, simply because what he told you and what you said is merely a mask—not a mask he is aware of; for such knowledge can come to a person like that only in his sleep. The Lord grants this to His own in their sleep, truly. There is a prophetic foresight in their sleep that they are seeking mistletoe. Then they recall this unconscious prophetic experience just as they come upon the mistletoe. A conversation takes place that is entirely insignificant in and of itself. One must be aware that, especially in cases of illness, a certain foreknowledge is possible. This is something to be taken seriously. I remind you of the Schleich case: there, the person in question knew that he would die the following night.

Dr. Köller: It turned out, basically, that he heals in other ways as well. He said it had been weighing on his mind; he didn't think I would make any further progress.

[ 27 ] He does not administer injections. If one administers the remedy—mistletoe—as an internal medicine, it cannot treat the cancer. It affects the patient’s psyche more. But it addresses a malformation in the etheric body, which manifests as an impairment of the sensory system. One cannot heal internally with mistletoe, but only through injection. I understand what he is telling you; he doesn’t dare to tackle the issue.

Is the cause of cancer the same for women and men? Does the cause differ between men and women? I believe I have noticed that the remedy was effective for stomach cancer, but not for uterine cancer. The success was clear in cases of stomach cancer in men. In contrast, with uterine cancer, the process is protracted. In some cases, we are unable to treat the condition; we have always administered injections into the periphery, even in cases of uterine cancer.

[ 28 ] Of course, there is this consideration: one must distinguish between injecting farther away from the site of the tumor and injecting very close to it. If you inject very close to the tumor, you will achieve results more quickly than if the tumor is located in such a way that you cannot get close to it.

With uterine cancer, you can get very close to the uterus from all sides, whereas with stomach cancer, you have to stay much farther away.

[ 29 ] That is certainly true. But on the other hand, there is much greater interaction between the surface and the stomach than between the surface and the uterus. The uterus is a more internal organ. However, this does not explain the difference in effectiveness—that there is a difference between men and women. There must be other factors at play. We must rule out all sources of error. It is certainly the case that some of our remedies have gained a reputation for being less effective because, when prepared in the manner used in the past, they were not very stable. Now, I believe, this no longer occurs in the same way; even when they have aged, they do not become any less effective.

We are still conducting trials with some of these treatments.

[ 30 ] It has become clear to me, rather, that the carcinoma remedy, as it has been prepared thus far, loses much of its potency after one year, whereas it is absolutely effective when it is not particularly old. So this factor should also be ruled out as a source of error and taken into account. It is also possible that a significantly higher dose should be used for uterine cancer.

A participant would like to ask about a girl who is now 29 years old and who went mad between the ages of 18 and 19. As a child, she was always defiant and unruly; now she has become completely dull-witted. She became particularly wild during her period. As she became increasingly dull, she also grew fatter and fatter; she now weighs 97 kilograms. So before, she was what one might call a mischievous girl; then, between the ages of 18 and 19, there was a sharp increase in this mischievousness, dullness, and foolishness—she became unresponsive—and during her period she would rage so violently that she had to be put in a straitjacket; then she became increasingly dull, less and less active, and increasingly overweight, with regular periods. She was treated with thyroid extract, which successfully reduced her dullness and weight gain.

[ 31 ] These symptoms all indicate that she had a very severe weakening of her ego organization. And it is very likely that, in such a case, one can strengthen the ego organization through a silicic acid treatment—a silicon regimen—in which case one would have to recommend doing the treatment twice: that is, administering silicic acid and, in particular, taking silicic acid baths. Equisetum is also a good option. It is likely that this approach could yield positive results in her case.

She was given silicic acid for a while, but not baths, two years ago; yet everything has remained the same.

[ 32 ] I would emphasize the use of silicic acid in baths, particularly because, if applied effectively, it would have a specific effect. The unique rhythmic states induced by silicic acid would inhibit this accumulation of fat, combat lethargy, and make the patient more sociable. It could also be that she is in a state where she does not absorb silicic acid. In this case, one would have to try a highly potentized phosphoric acid salt, such as potassium phosphorate. One would first have to restore her to a state where she can respond to treatment.

In response to a further question:

[ 33 ] Silicic acid, to about the 6th decimal place. But for internal use, use actual quartz; for baths, use Equisetum.

A question about a patient with neurasthenia. The condition responded very well to formic acid injections, but it returned this year and no longer responded to them. Eventually, I went down the wrong path by removing an ingrown toenail; afterward, the condition got even worse. I tried formic acid again, combined with silicon; but I couldn’t get through to him. The pain became unbearable, radiating from the foot up into the calf. The pain varied; at times it was rhythmic. I had to give him morphine injections, which I had to increase significantly; I barely touched him to keep the pain within tolerable limits. He could no longer sleep. He sat there holding his foot, complaining of excruciating pain; I tried alternating foot baths. The foot had to be amputated midway down the calf. I’m asking because, unfortunately, the same process seems to be developing in the other leg as well. What can be done in this case?

[ 34 ] In such cases, the goal is to determine what the primary cause is.

He attributes it to his time in the military, when he usually didn't have very good shoes. He is 47 years old and has often had to lie in the wet.

[ 35 ] But perhaps the pain first appeared not in the leg, but in the lower abdomen? It is entirely possible that the entire condition stems from a deformation somewhere in the intestine—perhaps he was struck by a splinter, fell off a horse, or suffered a blow—and that this has caused an intestinal deformation. This intestinal deformation has the peculiarity of migrating downward and causing symptoms such as those you have described in the legs—first in one, but then spreading to the other. This usually ends in bone tuberculosis. But if the situation is as it likely is, one can achieve some relief with the remedy that counteracts the deformation: tobacco. In such cases, use tobacco enemas (see Note 5. 326).

He smokes quite a lot.

[ 36 ] That has absolutely nothing to do with it. Tobacco smoke does not have the same effect on the body as when you use tobacco by injection or as an enema. You only need very dilute enemas if you use them. This has a completely different effect on the body. When smoking, the tobacco does not have a chance to exert its re-deforming effect.

A boy who is now eleven years old learned to walk when he was one and could also speak a little. When he was two, he stood a little too close during a cannon-firing drill. It is said that he has been deaf and mute ever since. His speech is an unintelligible babble, and he cannot hear a thing. Is there anything that can still be done? He can walk; he even looks very intelligent.

[ 37 ] Other than not being able to hear or speak, are there any other problems? What happens if you somehow stimulate the eye?

Then he reacts just like a normal person; the only difference is in his hearing and speech.

[ 38 ] How was the second round of teething?

Completely normal at seven and a half years old.

[ 39 ] One would have to assume, then, that the vitality of the auditory nerve has been compromised in some way. Now, we have, after all, had quite considerable success with edelweiss, especially in the 10th decimal dilution; or first in the 6th, then in the 10th, for the revitalization of the auditory nerve. There have, of course, also been failures, but these have essentially been observed in fairly elderly individuals; in younger individuals, however, not really. I do believe you can give it a try. It is indeed extremely difficult to treat these devitalized nerves; but under certain circumstances, Edelweiss can certainly be successful.

A patient had suffered some kind of shock during the war. She believed her fiancé was dead. She was home alone and had no one to talk to about it. She has had epilepsy ever since. The seizures occur every time just before her period starts. The seizures involve biting her tongue and so on—quite typical symptoms. As soon as her period begins, they stop. She is in a facility for people with epilepsy, even though the seizures only occur before her period.

[ 40 ] How is it treated?

(No reply)

[ 41 ] In such a case, you start with Belladonna. If that doesn’t help, move on to reindeer lichen in the 6th decimal dilution, and finally administer fly agaric. Following this approach, it is very difficult to say anything definitive about this particular case without seeing the patient. There could be all sorts of underlying causes.

A fifty-year-old man had a very difficult time in his earlier years. For eleven years, he suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, a condition that had claimed the life of one of his brothers. Now, a lesion is still detectable in his left knee. Until two years ago, he experienced episodes where the blood rushed to his head. Two years ago, a marked change occurred. He gained weight, and then this rush of blood to his head subsided. However, he began experiencing what he briefly describes as asthma. He has difficulty breathing and has to gasp for air when he speaks. I have the impression that the problem is now located in his bronchi.

[ 42 ] At the age of 48. Just as the rush used to be directed toward the head, it is now directed toward the chest. Now, it so happens that the man sometimes changes color a bit; it only takes a little for him to turn a bit blue.

It is possible.

[ 43 ] It is very likely that this man was able to convert too much of the oxygen he took in into carbon dioxide, so that he always has too much carbon dioxide in his blood. You can test whether the man feels relief when given air richer in oxygen. If that is the case, then it is quite clear. Then the man is producing too much carbon dioxide, and it is necessary to—what is he? —

- Engineer —

[ 44 ] Give him silicon in the first decimal place—that is, five percent—and once he has taken it, you should have him engage in some form of mental exertion for about half an hour following the intake of the silicon. Then he can get better. He will then be able to reduce his excessive ability to produce carbon dioxide.

[ 45 ] We must conclude for now; we will continue in the same vein tomorrow.

I don't find these kinds of questions very productive. They're very helpful to the individual, but not so much to others. We should ask more general questions—something more interesting. We should do things a little differently tomorrow. Don't you agree, Doctor?

[ 46 ] I am willing to address any question that is asked. You could give an entire lecture on any single question. When the first person asked a question, I could have been talking about that very topic until now; but then only one person would have had a chance to speak. I think it was quite good to hear a variety of topics. After all, what matters isn’t that we’re satisfied, but that the audience is.

I think there’s something going on here, similar to the way clinics are run at the university, because the way questions are asked prevents the other question from arising—namely, how one can develop understanding within oneself.

[ 47 ] That would come up immediately if a question on this subject were asked. So if we bring up a question on this subject tomorrow, that’s how it might play out. I don’t think it’s entirely pointless to address this question. But other answers do come up as well. We’ll just interpret them in a way that satisfies the audience.

Could you say something about refining the diagnosis? We can spend a lot of time thinking about a patient. A lot of questions come to mind, and we often face the difficulty of deciding what to do. You can’t do it intellectually; you have to make a conscious decision. I’d like to ask: Isn’t it possible, in that moment, to set aside that intellectual impulse so that what you need to do simply comes to you? Perhaps you could say something about that?

[ 48 ] You mean, how can we make the diagnosis clearer?

When treating a patient, one is faced with various options. One cannot decide whether to use herbal or mineral remedies; one must choose one or the other. One should be able to approach the patient from a deeper perspective and bring all these mental images together so that one ultimately knows: this is the right course of action.

[ 49 ] We'll make something up tomorrow, and then come up with a theoretical diagnosis.