In this rich and reflective episode of Strange, Rare, and Peculiar, Denise and Alastair crack open a conversation that’s equal parts rigorous and relatable—blending sourdough toast, Hahnemann, and a serious look at provings, chronic disease, and how we interpret healing in modern homeopathic practice.
Whether you’re a student wondering who’s healthy enough to join a proving, or a seasoned clinician trying to make sense of a client “proving everything,” you’ll find a thread to tug on here.
From the classroom to the clinic, Denise and Alastair explore the blurred lines between good intentions and overreach. They share real-life case insights (including someone “proving” everything) and dive into how chronic diseases and miasms can distort the picture. They also wrestle with the modern-day confusion around terminology: when everything is labeled “healing,” how do we distinguish between proving responses, aggravations, relapses, and suppression?
The conversation is honest, unscripted, and fueled by tea (with a side of toasted sponge jokes). Denise may joke about having “miasmatic fog,” but the point lands—without clinical discernment, we risk making poor decisions and missing the mark.
When Good Intentions Go Off Track: Provings and Protocols
From the classroom to the clinic, Denise and Alastair explore the blurred lines between good intentions and overreach. They share real-life case insights (including someone “proving” everything) and dive into how chronic diseases and miasms can distort the clinical picture.
They also wrestle with the modern-day confusion around terminology: when everything is labeled “healing,” how do we distinguish between proving responses, aggravations, relapses, and suppression?
“What you don’t know is where your susceptibility is.”
Elasticity, Susceptibility & The Vital Force
One of the key themes in this episode is resilience—what Denise calls “elasticity.” Can someone go through a proving and bounce back? Or do they stay stuck in a pattern?
“You have to have the elasticity in your health status in order to be able to withstand a proving without getting sort of stuck in it.”
Challenging Secondary Sources and Checklist Thinking
Denise and Al also reflect on how chronic disease theory is often oversimplified into checklists, stripping away the nuance Hahnemann intended. Denise doesn’t hold back when she questions popular interpretations.
“Unless you see Chronic Diseases for what it is, I take umbrage with many of the secondary sources.”
What Did Hahnemann Really Mean by Miasm?
From spontaneous generation to sponge provings, they dig into the philosophical and practical layers of Hahnemann’s evolving work—inviting listeners to think deeper, and not just follow formulas.
“Hahnemann reached that point where an entirely new set of medicaments was required.”
Listen To the Full Episode
Available wherever you get your podcasts.
Want to Dive Deeper into Provings?
Alastair discussed his 25 years of proving work at The Potentized Homeopath Retreat—including remedies like Bufo, Blatta, and Boxed Jellyfish. The retreat also features deep dives into complex case management, miasms, autoimmune conditions, and more.
The recordings are available on demand now here.
Strange Rare Peculiar is a weekly podcast with Denise Straiges and Alastair Gray of the Academy of Homeopathy Education discussing everything you REALLY need to know about homeopathy. We’ll look at philosophy, practice, research,and education–all with a little bit of history. If you want to know why we still can’t get enough homeopathy after a combined 50+ years of study and practice, we invite you to join the conversation!
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