In a preface to a book on the homeopathic treatment of Lyme disease I was faced with an expression that resonated with me and the work I have been doing recently:
"May each one of us in this brief lifetime encounter our mirror-like simillimum". (Douglas Smith)
When I am working with a client with the Sensation Method, I ask them to describe certain elements in their story. These are exact repetitions of the utterances of the person. It is similar to techniques that some psychotherapists use, where they repeat the exact phrase of their clients. In Focusing oriented psychotherapy the client talks about their inner experience, usually a physically felt sense. They locate a sensation in their body and with the help of the therapist they explore it. The cornerstone of the technique is repeating the words of the client, where the trained practitioner hears the relation to the felt sense. The felt sense is a term, coined by Gene Gendlin, PhD, founder of Focusing oriented psychotherapy. It describes a vague inner, bodily-felt sense that the person recognizes as a pivot point in their general sense of the issue they are talking about. This is the so called felt sense that one explores by simply following the very words of the client and as the therapist repeats those words to the client, it encourages further description of the vague sensations, thus crystallizing them further and further until a definite felt sense is established and named. When people are faced with this felt sense, a unique opportunity arises: they are mirrored to their own inner image, their inner self. It is but a small aspect of their simillimum, the vital sensation we are looking for during our homeopathic case taking. The search for the vital sensation and the felt sense is an intriguing journey: the thread you can follow it by is your very own words. These words are mirrored and reflected onto you at each step of the journey. The reflection and mirroring makes sure you do not get lost, you don't wander off from the path: you are following your own tracks towards your deepest, most true inner self. This is a process that brings about healing from the very core. Your cleanest mirror-like image appears in front of your eyes and you wonder why you had not seen this image before. It is so familiar, so crystal-clear.
