Lycopodium - Crusade for Centre of Attention

Dr. Singh: Hi, Mati. Wishing you a Happy New Year!

Dr. Mati: Thanks Dr. Singh and same to you.

Dr. Singh: I was going through the news papers recently it seemed to me the political scenario of most of the countries is changing. New faces have come up with future promises. On a homeopathic perspective it seemed to me that from our list of medicines a Lycopodium is the best politician. He is either yielding, submissive or he is dictatorial and controlling. Is'nt he just a Hypocrite Politician who just knows better what to say and whom to say? What are your views about the same?

Dr. Mati : Yes, you are right; Lycopodium is either yielding and submissive, or dictatorial and controlling. He may even be a hypocrite politician, the reason why he is yielding and submissive is the fact that he isn't very brave. He doesn't have a lot of self-confidence, and doesn't like confrontations unless he is confident that he can win. If he isn't sure of that, he would rather submit than fail, since failure is considered the worst thing that can happen to Lycopodium. The opposite of failure, is success, so obviously, success is seen as the best that can happen to him. Therefore, Lycopodium is always looking for any opportunity to climb the ladder of success, and becoming a politician is one way of getting successful. In the process of climbing the ladder of success, Lycopodium has to make himself look good, and his opponents look bad, that is why they often become hypocritical because the objective truth is less important than achieving his goals of climbing to the top. Lycopodium even believes that he will only be loved if he achieves his goals, so achieving his goals becomes the main purpose of his life. Therefore, his biggest fear is to not amount to anything, or to not achieve his goals.

Dr. Singh: Now, Lycopodium is sometimes shy, yielding and sometimes dictatorial. How many different faces does he have or are there different types of Lycopodium?

Dr. Mati : We get different types of Lycopodium - they are actually just different aspects within himself. There is the shy, unconfident, yielding, submissive part, and the dictatorial self-confident self-righteous part. Some Lycopodiums get stuck in the submissive part, and will always feel like failures, and others are able to overcome their fear and lack of confidence and become successful. When that happens, they become over-confident and dictatorial, and when realizing how satisfying it is to be able to tell others what to do, they fall in love with having power. Once they achieve a place of power, they spend the rest of their lives securing that place to avoid becoming failures again. Lycopodium definitely feels much happier when they are in power, but if they run into someone more powerful, they will again yield and become submissive. I saw an example of this when a headmaster of a local school had to go up in front of a planning board that had the power to decide what he could or couldn't do with his school. It was quite amusing to watch the normally self-confident and dictatorial head master grovel in front of the planning committee, even asking them to help him fill out the application correctly...

So, you see, the Lycopodium confidence only applies when they are sure nobody can question their authority. In situations where they have no authority, they again become submissive.

Dr. Singh: Why does Lycopodium so often change his polarity? Sometimes he has delusions that his house is full of horrible hideous people. At the same time he even fears being alone and wants someone to be near him. Also his yielding and dictatorial stuff.

Dr. Mati: Lycopodium changes polarities so easily because his bravado and over-confidence is simply a compensation for feeling small and cowardly inside. The delusions that are associated with the remedy profile tell us something about what happened in the original story, so in Lycopodium's case, people were pursuing him because he failed in something he was doing. They got into his house, and they were intending to hurt and punish him. Lycopodium is still suffering from this perception of reality, that is why failure equals doom, and his whole life is about achieving and becoming powerful and successful. Achieving has become his survival mechanism, his way of making sure that he won't be punished again. This is something we can see in every remedy - something bad happens, and this changes the person's perception of reality first, and then it changes his actions. The person will avoid certain things, and compensate for other things, to ensure that something similar will never happen again. Even though the issue is no longer relevant, we are still acting as if it could happen again, and we are taking precautions to avoid, even though the issue is not here and now. That is why we are living in delusions, or maya. What we think is real, is actually just a delusional perception with roots into the past. By studying homeopathy, we can discover what the delusional perception of each remedy is, and once we know what it is, we can easily understand where someone is coming from and why they do what they do.

In Lycopodium's case, he failed, and people came to punish him. They got into his house, and he was very scared. So, now, he compensates by staying in his house and locking the doors. He often doesn't like to go places, and he may feel anxious if he has to meet people he doesn't know. And because he isn't very brave, he also feels better if someone he knows is in the house with him, even though he may not want to speak with them. So, the reason why Lyocopodium keeps changing polarity is that he is always trying to overcome his own fear. If he is able to do this, he becomes self-confident and dictatorial, but if he encounters a scary situation, the fear takes over and he again becomes submissive, since he isn't really strong and brave by nature. He is simply trying to hide his weakness behind his achievements and dictatorial manner. Therefore, he is always moving because he has to keep achieving, or keep securing his place of power in an effort to avoid failure, or he tries to escape from the situation. These are key issues in Lycopodium, issues that you will find in any Lycopodium story.

Dr. Singh: Lycopodium feels small, weak and wants to be big and strong, to become someone important. He believes that he will be loved if he performs well, or if he reaches his goal. How does he succeed in showing the world that He is bigger and smarter than everyone else?

Dr. Mati: Well, how does he show the world how successful he is, when the truth is, he always fears possible failure? Lycopodium is extremely clever. He knows how to put himself in a position of power. He knows who to become friends with. He knows how to talk with an air of authority that nobody will question. And once people in his life accept his position of power, he can simply suppress his feeling of inferiority. The more he starts to believe in his own success, the easier it is for him to keep his dictatorial position, and forget about his inner weakness. However, as we all know, suppression is not cure! Whatever Lycopodium is trying to suppress and forget about, is still there, always waiting to come back with a vengeance. Therefore, Lycopodium will intuitively avoid anyone who will question his authority, or they will try to intimidate them with logic, similar to what Arsenicum would do, only Arsenicum has more self-confidence.  So, in a "battle" between Arsenicum and Lycopodium, Arsenicum will win, and Lycopodium will submit. (In the Arsencium perception, he is here to convince the world that he is right, and in the Lycopodium perception, he is just a failure. Therefore the outcome of Arsenicum versus Lycopodium is predictable - Arsenicum will win and Lycopodium will fail).

Dr. Singh: In this quest to show he is the best, how does the dominating Lycopodium end up doing things against his wishes, like Sepia?

Dr. Mati: Simple - it all comes down to who is more dictatorial, Lycopodium or the other person. If the other person is more powerful, Lycopodium has to submit, even though he would much prefer to be in power. But, remember, he can only be in power as long as he can overcome his own fear. So, if you can scare Lycopodium, he'll submit, it is as simple as that. And the opposite is also true, if he can scare you, then he'll be in power. So it all comes down to who is scaring who! This is why Lycopodium hates anyone who questions his authority. They don't really trust their inner strength, and this is the main difference between Lycopodium and Nux. Lycopodium feels like a failure if you question his authority, or don't agree with him, while Nux doesn't care what anyone thinks. They don't mind being questioned either, because they love a good fight, and they don't have any confidence issues like Lycopodium. So, if there is an argument between Nux and Lycopodium, Nux will win. Nux is "the conquerer" in his perception of reality, and Lycopodium is "the failure," so he is doomed to loose. Again, we can see how each person's perception of reality will affect the outcome of what is going to happen in their relationships. I find this very interesting.

Dr. Singh: In his "race for the best" to outrun others can Lycopodium hurt others?

Dr. Mati: Well, of course they might, but in the process, they won't be as mean as an Arsenicum or as ruthless as a Nux. They will try to baffle their opponents with logic, intelligence and titles. Since someone has to loose and someone has to win, they will do whatever they can to make sure they are not the looser. If someone gets hurt in the process, then so be it, but they don't really intend to hurt anyone.

Dr. Singh: If at all he fails, does he get disappointed very easily? How does he show it to the world?When disappointed in life, who does he turn to: God or Ending up of his life?

Dr. Mati: Lycopodium does have a tendency to get disappointed very easily, but they will hide it from the world, so nobody will know that they feel like failures. However, if the disappointment is too much and can no longer be hidden, Lycopodium doesn't necessarily turn to God. He can only believe in God if it fits his sense of logic, which isn't too likely. Lycopodium is more of a scientific type who only believes in what can be logically understood or measured with instruments, so when disappointment hits, he might first seek support from his wife or family. If that doesn't work, he might want to escape from his family, or he might become an alcoholic. Committing suicide takes too much courage, so that option is not too likely. When life becomes meaningless, it makes more sense to him to look for a new life, or to look for the answer in the bottom of a bottle.

Dr. Singh: Now the relationship issue, Lyco is not the man to commit but if he once decides for it, he strives to make the relationship better. Why do we often say that Lyco and Puls make a perfect pair?

Dr. Mati: About relationships, of course Lycopodium and Pulsatilla are the perfect mates. Lycopodium wants to be in charge, and Pulsatilla is naturally yielding. She will never even think of questioning Lycopodium's authority! He can make all the decisions in the relationship, and Pulsatilla will be happy to let him do so, so she won't have to. Pulsatilla just wants someone who can take care of her, and Lycopodium is more than willing to be the breadwinner. The only problem is that Lycopodium isn't as warm and affectionate as Pulsatilla would want him to be, so she may not get her needs met on that level. And when she complains, Lycopodium doesn't like her criticism and may decide to leave her. And if he does, it triggers Pulsatilla's core issue of having lost her lover. So, they both trigger core issues in each other, even though the combination of Lycopodium and Pulsatilla can be considered "a good match."

Dr. Singh: You talked about Lyco and Natrm-mur forming a pair. Now, we have always known Natrum to be the highly sensitive and overexpecting lady. How can she work out with the dominating Lyco. Won't she end up brooding or go into suppression of her emotions?

Dr. Mati: Lycopodium's second choice of mate would be Natrum Muriaticum. Natrum is an ambitious type, like himself. Both want to achieve success and prestige in life, therefore, Lycopodium feels supported by Natrum, since she can be both loyal and encouraging. She also has more inner strength than Lycopodium, so she can help Lycopodium feel more confident. She won't question his authority either, and you are right, when you say that Natrum expects too much, and will end up disappointed and brooding in the relationship. But, again, we have to look at the relationship from a core issue point of view. Natrum never got enough love from her father, no matter how perfect she tried to be. Because we are supposed to learn how to overcome our old delusional issues, we often pick mates that will bring out these issues again so that we get the opportunity to go beyond them. This is why Natrum will always pick mates who don't fulfill her expectations because she needs to come to a place where she can give herself what she wants, and stop expecting it to come from others. She basically has to learn to love and nurture herself, and by being with a self-absorbed Lycopodium, she has the choice to either get bitter and nasty, or to "get it" by understanding that Lycopodium will never fulfill her expectations. She then has to drop her resentment and learn to give herself what is missing in her life.

From Lycopodium's point of view, he doesn't like it when Natrum gets nasty and starts criticizing him because it affects his self-confidence and makes him feel like a failure. So, Lycopodium will also have the opportunity to work on his issues in this relationship. Therefore, we can see that the attraction between Lycopodium and Natrum Muriaticum is irresistible because they are both willing to "play a role" in each other's core stories. The reason why we end up in these kinds of relationships is because we need to complete all the old issues we came in with in this lifetime. We are going to keep suffering until the issues have been resolved, understood or completed, and we look for people in our lives that can help us accomplish this. That is why "the perfect relationship" is not necessarily a comfortable one, and the "happily ever after" idea only exists in the fairy tales.

Dr. Singh: Regarding making the Family decisions how are Lyco, Nux and Ars similar yet different?
Dr. Mati: When it comes to making family decisions, Lycopodium, Arsenicum and Nux all love being in charge. Lycopodium may ask his wife her opinion first, but then still decide whatever he thinks is best, and expect his wife to support him. Arsenicum already knows everything, and if the wife has any opinion, God forbid, it won't be for very long. Arsenicum will destroy her arguments so totally that she won't even remember what her opinion was in the first place. Nux won't even think about asking his wife what she thinks. Why should he, when he already knows the answer? If she argues, he'll get very angry, and she'll eventually back down since she isn't going to be able to convince him anyway.

Basically, they are all dictatorial, but Lycopodium will at least ask his wife what she thinks first, since he needs her support to feel confident about his decisions. So, out of the three, Lycopodium is probably the easiest one to live with.

Lycopodiums don't handle stress very well. They often become irritable and may develop digestive problems or brain-fag when experiencing too much pressure from others. Some young Lycopodiums, who feel that too much is expected from them, may experience learning disabilities as a result, since the fear of failure and fear of not achieving their goals might affect their performance at school. In cases like this, Lycopodium can be very helpful. (And, perhaps a few remedies for the parents as well...)

Dr. Singh: What are key words in which you can summarise the bright and the dark sides of a Lycopodium patient.?

Dr. Mati: To summarize the bright side of Lycopodium:

Intelligence, loves to read, scientific, methodical, tolerance for boredom, submissive to superiors, great teachers and researchers, responsible, means well.

On the negative side, there is the tendency to be dictatorial, love of power, fear of commitment, lack of discipline and confidence, can be irritable and argumentative, self-absorbed and insensitive to other people's needs and emotions.

Dr. Singh:Thanks Mati, for everything you informed us about Lycopodium. I am sure now it will help our readers and even myself in better understanding of Lycopodium.

Mati H Fuller DI Hom (pract)

Author of "Beyond the Veil of Delusions" which is available from

http://www.amazon.com

http://www.biggervisionbooks.com

as well as other homeopathic bookstores online.

Mati H Fuller is available for homeopathic consultations via email, phone or in person http://www.homeopathyonline.biz