The School of Homeopathy was invited to an event on Monday 24th July 2017 to celebrate natural medicine at His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales’ home in Highgrove, Tetbury. Mani led the Homeopathy group that comprised of faculty from the School.
HRH supports the School
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales shows his support for The School of Homeopathy. The Prince of Wales is widely known as an avid supporter of homeopathy. In 2011 the School celebrated its 30th anniversary and received a letter of support from His Royal Highness. In 2017 members The School of Homeopathy’s faculty were invited to Highgrove to meet His Royal Highness.
Mani says, “I had the honour of meeting HRH in 2009 at an event in London. Back then HRH asked me to keep him updated on the School of Homeopathy’s activities and homeopathy in general. HRH The Prince of Wales, the Queen and other members of the Royal family have long been avid users and supporters of homeopathy and this form of medicine has been used by the Royal family for decades. Until her death in 2002, at the ripe old age of 101, Her Majesty the Queen Mother, was the principal royal patron of the British Homeopathic Association. Clearly the Royal family are well educated and well connected with access to just about anything they want. They also live long and healthy lives and they are known to choose homeopathy and natural medicine as well as conventional medicine. They adopt the best of both and use an integrated approach – something we can all learn from. So… ever we met in 2009 I have been writing to HRH each year. Last year, I suggested an event at Highgrove would help boost the profession and so to my great surprise the School was then invited to a Complementary Health Practitioner’s Reception at Highgrove last Monday”
HRH The Prince of Wales has always taken an active role in his support for homeopathic and complementary medicine, but this was a special event. Around 100 practitioners and professionals from the world of natural and conventional medicine gathered at Highgrove. Guests were taken on a tour of the extensive estate gardens. The tour groups returned to a champagne reception on the patio. HRH joined guests where he met with each person individually.
Mani continues, “I had the pleasure of introducing HRH to each person in our group. Misha Norland, the School’s founder and my father, Janet Snowdon and David Mundy, two of the School’s most senior faculty members and teachers, Aaron To, our Chinese course partner and Christine Lees, from Homeopathy at Wellie Level who is also a former student of the School.”
“Whilst introducing the first member of our group, a young woman from the next group caught HRH’s eye and I saw her go weak at the knees and she fainted. Luckily someone caught her and St John’s Ambulance were by her side in moments. I asked HRH if he always has that effect on women. He laughed and said yes, but he usually bores them to sleep. HRH had a charming and relaxed manner that immediately put us all at ease. He spent a few minutes with each of us. We discussed the School, homeopathy in the UK and China, natural medicine and his new state-of-the-art clinic at Dumfries House (a stately home in Ayrshire) that will offer free ‘holistic’ care for patients referred from the NHS.”
HRH addressed guests in a speech at 8pm where he spoke of the importance of natural medicine and an integrated approach to healthcare and his new clinic in Scotland.
Quote from Misha Norland, “HRH Prince Charles’ gardens at Highgrove (we had a guide for our group) are beguiling and idiosyncratic, an outer reflection of the inner man. Each area would require a few paragraphs to describe, as each is designed in a different style, varying from formal to woodland, with areas of natural planting through to stylised and elaborate where we encounter an abundance of topiary. A passion of the Prince, our guide informed us. There are gateways and temples, a stumpary and a green frog pond providing a snail and slug free habitat for a substantial hoster garden. There are wild flower meadows humming with bees. And so on and yet more, like walking in a book of fairy tales…”
Misha continues, “HRH is a charming man, and clearly a romantic to the core. I sense he is also a deeply private man, who is powerfully motivated to be of service through his royal presence, to various causes espousing humanitarian ideals. He is a committed net-worker; we saw plenty of evidence of that during his sessions with us. He came round to chat to groups of seven or eight individuals, spending around five to ten minutes with each group of which there were around twelve. He makes eye contact with his guests, and holds it. He smiles and laughs a lot. So there we were, having been enchanted by the grounds, and his royal presence, gathered in the substantial visitor’s garden centre under the blue sky, eating canapés and drinking Champagne and elderflower presse. Indeed, it had been a glorious meeting of folk joined by our common efforts of providing alternative health care. We certainly felt proud to be there, and I felt happily vindicated by being in the presence of so many fellow travellers, on that sunny afternoon in Highgrove!”
Quote from Janet Snowdon, “On a sunny afternoon we drank champagne chatting to a prince who is deeply committed to the cause of Homeopathy and espousing it as much as he can within the constraints of his position. His passion and dedication to organic gardening and farming was also apparent as we enjoyed a tour of his beautiful gardens. Not only stunning flower gardens created here but also land being restored to its natural state as in a wildflower meadow with flowers native to Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds. Nature is left to sort out the balance itself as was evidenced in green algae being left to flourish on a pond thus dealing with the problem of slugs and snails. HRH brought a relaxed air to a delightful afternoon with all of us pleased to see each other and dressed to reflect the surroundings of beauty, care and thoughtfulness.”
Quote from Aaron To, “I am sincerely honoured and grateful for the encouragement of His Royal Highness. Prince Charles’ continued support for homeopathy and our school is not only significant for the development of homeopathy in UK but around the world.”
Quote from Yvonne Fok, “His Royal Highness’ effort in transforming the gardens around the Highgrove house is inspiring, so is his enthusiasm in Homeopathy. The hearty words from the Prince of Wales definitely gave the School of Homeopathy and our Chinese colleagues fresh life and vigour.”
The 30th Anniversay Event
Over 2000 homeopaths come together to celebrate the School of Homeopathy’s 30th Birthday!
The School of Homeopathy held an historic event in Stroud to celebrate their 30th Anniversary. Many of the world’s leading homeopaths came to show support and give presentations and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales sent his warmest congratulations:
“I did just want to send my warmest possible congratulations in celebration of the Stroud School of Homeopathy’s 30th Anniversary. It seems to me this most noteworthy of events takes on an even greater resonance, coming as it does at a time when, sadly, we have been witnessing the relative decline of some homeopathic services in different parts of the United Kingdom.
It makes the achievements of the School even more significant – from being one of the first in this country to offer an on-site, four year programme, to developing an extensive clinical supervision process and, in addition, creating a home-study programme which reaches students in over sixty countries.
It seems remarkable all this has happened in spite of the apparently ceaseless attacks on homeopathy, and on the individuals attempting to build credibility around its patient outcomes, and I can only wish you every possible success in the years to come.”
Over the first weekend of July the School hosted a seminar, private party and online event at Hawkwood College in Stroud. Most of the UK’s main homeopathic organisations were represented, along with homeopaths and alternative practitioners from China, Japan, America, Canada, India and Europe. They started with an intimate seminar and dinner for special guests and business partners, which lead on to a day of presentations from world leading homeopaths that were simultaneously broadcast online and watched by over 1800 homeopaths in 60 plus countries. Following these presentations the School hosted a private party for 150 guests. There were speeches from David Drew, Town Councillor and former MP; Mani Norland, Principal of the School of Homeopathy; and Misha Norland, Founder of the School of Homeopathy. After a glass of bubbly toast, guests were entertained with music from two local Stroud bands: The Soggy Bottom Boys and Ben & Ru. Stroud’s award winning pub, the Prince Albert organised the bar and the whole event was made possible with the help of the School’s generous sponsors: Archibel, RadarOpus, Nelsons Homeopathic Pharmacy and The School of Health.
Mani Norland, the School of Homeopathy’s Principal says, “This incredible event was our way of celebrating the School’s achievement of 30 years at the forefront of UK homeopathic education. This is one of the largest most exciting events ever held in homeopathy. Never before have so many influential homeopaths come together to present at one free online event – it is truly world class! We are honoured and proud to be given the added endorsement from His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. We feel it was a great gift to give the profession and a fitting way to mark the year for us.”
The School (which is the longest running in the UK) was founded in 1981 and quickly developed to be one of the first to offer an on-site four year programme. It has worked closely with the Society of Homeopaths during a long development towards an accreditation process. The School has always maintained a cutting edge approach to its curriculum, integrating wisdom teachings and Jungian psychology from the outset. It also eagerly incorporates new developments in homeopathic thinking and clinical practice. These are put to the test in the clinics where the healing techniques are demonstrated. The School moved from its original home in Devon to Hawkwood College in Stroud two years ago. Last year, six of the worlds leading homeopaths were appointed as patrons and most recently the School is planning a considerable update to its distance-learning program with the inclusion of over 150 teaching videos.
Seminar Speakers:
Dinesh Chauhan, Guest (India)
Frans Vermeulen, Patron (America)
Jan Scholten, Patron (The Netherlands)*
Jeremy Sherr, Patron (Africa)
Kim Elia, Guest (America)
Linda Johnson, Guest (America)
Mani Norland, Principal (UK)
Miranda Castro, Patron (America)
Misha Norland, Founder (UK)
Rajan Sankaran, Patron ( India)*
* via pre-recorded video
Participant Quotes
It is so inspiring to listen to such amazing giants in the world of homoeopathy and to be able to ‘attend’ on line from the United Arab Emirates has been such a privilege.
Vicky (United Arab Emirates)
A profoundly appreciative thank you to you all for providing such an inspiring, informative and thought-provoking on-line experience on Saturday.
Adriana (South Africa)
A big thank you to you and everyone at the School of Homeopathy for a fabulous day. The web presentations were great. I have gained much useful information to help my patients and to use in my practice. Thank you for sharing with the wider homeopathic community, a very generous gift for us all.
Brenda (UK)
I wanted to thank you most sincerely for the wonderful day of speakers, it was so marvellous and generous that you offered this free for 24 hours around the world. I spent the entire day glued to my computer watching all the wonderful presentations from Jeremy, Rajan, Misha, Miranda, Frans, Linda, Jan and Dinesh. All of them were absolutely excellent and I feel I have learned so much. They were all deeply inspirational, and I feel very priveleged to be part of such a heartfelt, inspired, wise, compassionate and cutting-edge profession.
Carolyn (Australia)
30 moments in 30 years
1. Birth of the School 1981
2. School moved to Yondercott House in Devon 1984
3. Clinical observation via video link 1986
4. Home study programme launched 1987
5. In-house student clinical supervision launched 1987
6. First American student enrolled 1987
7. Course developed from 3 to 4 year programme 1988
8. First Australian student enrolled 1988
9. First Proving undertaking 1988
10. Anatomy & Physiology course added to programme 1990
11. First Canadian student enrolled 1992
12. Launch of international seminars and workshops 1992
13. First international representative comes on board in America 1992
14. Misha Norland publishes his first book: Signature, Miasms, Aids 1993
15. First course to achieved The Society of Homeopaths recognition status 1994
16. New York School of Homeopathy opens 1994
17. First Japanese student enrolled 1997
18. Student sign-in interactive website goes online 2003
19. New visual brand identify and design launched 2005
20. Japan licence partner comes on board 2006
21. Support work with 3 African projects started 2008
22. Launch of home study Homeopathy First Aid Course 2008
23. Chinese licence partner comes on board 2008
24. Launch School channel on You Tube 2009
25. School moves to Hawkwood College in Stroud 2009
26. Six leading homeopaths appointed as Patrons 2010
27. School funds media training for UK homeopaths 2011
28. £10k Donation to the Homeopathic Action Trust for positive PR 2011
29. £7k Contribution to joint PR campaign in the UK 2011
30. School’s 30th Birthday World Class Event broadcast to over 1800 homeopaths in 60 plus countries 2011
Mani Norland event speech outline
First of all I would like to thank you all for coming to this historic event. It is great to see so many faces I know and it means a great deal to me that you made your long journeys to be with us. We have people from China, Japan, America, Canada, India and Europe. I know that attendance places were limited, but it is wonderful that over 1800 people from over 60 counties have been able to join us online for this celebration.
A warm welcome to you all.
As many of you know, being Misha Norland’s son, I grew up with homeopathy all around me. I remember the little bottle of homeopathic tincture I used to take for my eczema when I was about 5, and I am pleased to report I have never had it since. I also remember getting up one Saturday morning and deciding to pile all Misha’s rather expensive homeopathy books on the floor. All the old masters were there: Hahnemann, Kent, Clark, etc. I’m not sure what I was thinking but I must have been hungry as I toddled off to the kitchen for porridge oats and then promptly dispatched the entire contents onto the books. Then I went back for the milk!
From those early days, homeopathy has enjoyed tremendous development in the UK and the School of Homeopathy has been there for the journey throughout. From almost nothing in the 1960s, homeopathy has flourished and grown to a healthy profession with around 10-12%1 of people in the UK using it every year, as well as 29%2 of Europeans, and 62%3 of the people of India! Indeed, it is recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the second largest therapeutic system in use in the world. So, in some way, it is no wonder it has become worthy of such close attention here in the UK – it would now seem it is considered competition!
As Schopenhauer wrote,
All truth goes through three stages:
First it is ridiculed,
Second, it is violently opposed,
Third, it is accepted as self-evident.
I believe homeopathy is in the second stage. So we all have to do everything we can to ensure it moves as swiftly as possible to stage three.
I think organisations like the School of Homeopathy are helping to make this happen.
The School was founded in 1981 and quickly developed to be one of the first to offer an on-site four year programme. It has worked closely with the Society of Homeopaths during a long development towards an accreditation process. The School has always maintained a cutting edge approach to its curriculum, integrating wisdom teachings and Jungian psychology from the outset. It also eagerly incorporates new developments in homeopathic thinking and clinical practice. These are put to the test in the clinics where the healing techniques are demonstrated.
The home study programme was launched in 1987 where it reaches students in over 60 countries. This programme is also fulfilling an original aim of being adopted and adapted for use in Africa. The course has always been popular in North America but more recently an interested party in China has recently taken up the course, while in Japan the School has had a presence for some years. The cross-fertilisation of ideas with intentions for health of body and mind, allowing the individual freedom to express their highest potential, is particularly close to my heart.
The School has an extensive clinical supervision process that has been in place for many years. As homeopaths have established practices up and down the country, it became possible to use this expertise to help new graduates establish themselves and model best practice.
The School has been carrying out annual homeopathic provings for 20 years. I believe that this is particularly important to the profession, for as new medicines are introduced, so the capacity to stimulate healing of new conditions is increased.
The School moved from its original home in Devon to Hawkwood College in Stroud two years ago. Last year, six of the worlds leading homeopaths were appointed as patrons and most recently the School is helping to promote homeopathy in the UK.
Of course, none of this would be possible without the help of many wonderful supporters and the dedication of the faculty at the School. So a heart felt thank you to all those that support the School and help us to grow.
References:
1. From Mintel Report on Complementary Medicines, Market Intelligence, April 2007
2. 29% use it for their health care. (Homeopathic medicinal products. Commission report to the European Parliament and the Council on the application of Directives 92/73 and 92/74. in 1997)
3. A Global TGI (Target Group Index the world’s leading provider of marketing and media surveys) survey of around 25,000 adults
