This blog is intended for educational purposes. It is not meant to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Always consult a healthcare professional for proper diagnoses, guidance, and treatment while exploring supportive options.
This blog post was written by Victoria L. Freeman, Ph.D., CHFS, CMH, CBC.
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Therapeutic Interventions in GHK
The year was 1978. The location was Munich, Germany. The man was Dr. Ryke Geerd Hamer. Dr. Hamer was a conventionally trained physician practicing allopathic medicine throughout the 1960s and 1970s until one fateful day in August when he received a tragic phone call. His son, Dirk, had been accidentally shot. Dirk suffered tremendously after the wound, and the following December, he died in his father's arms.1
Several months after that heartbreaking event, Dr. Hamer developed symptoms that were diagnosed as testicular cancer, explains Andi Locke Mears, M.A., CHHP, CWHE, Certified Whole Health Educator and Germanishe Heilkunde (Germanic Healing Knowledge or GHK)/German New Medicine (GNM) Teacher & Consultant. He underwent treatment and recovered but became convinced there had to be some connection between the trauma of his son's death and his cancer. Hamer had always been incredibly healthy, so his cancer just didn't make sense to him. With a heightened curiosity and a new perspective, he chose to explore this connection using what he knew...medicine.
Working in the cancer unit of the University of Munich Hospital as the lead internal medicine physician, Dr. Hamer began investigating the nature of this link between a shocking, stressful life event and symptoms of disease, reports naturopathic doctor and GNM/GHK proponent Katherine Willow, N.D. in her book, German New Medicine: Experiences in Practice.3 Prior to beginning this research, he looked at his own CT scan following his cancer diagnosis and saw a concentric ringed lesion in his brain. Radiologists had noticed these types of brain lesions before but had disregarded them as reflections from CT scan machines since they appeared too perfectly formed to be organic.3
Hamer went on to perform CT scans of all his hospital's patients with cancer. After all, by this time, it was the early 80s, and the CT scan was the new medical "toy," notes Locke Mears. As it turned out, all the cancer patients had the ringed circle-shaped lesion in their brains, but the lesion location varied depending on the type of cancer. In talking to the patients, Dr. Hamer found that all the men with testicular cancer had the lesion in the same place in their brains as his, according to Locke Mears. All of them. They also had all lost a child or someone close to them. Then he talked with women and found that all of them with ductal breast cancer had the circular lesion in the same location in their brains, Locke Mears continues, and they had all experienced a separation from someone very close to them. Again, with 100% consistency.
What began to emerge from Dr. Hamer's research was the critical role of the psyche (the subconscious, innate intelligence that protects us) in health and disease. Even though medical researchers such as Dr. Hans Selye had previously discovered a connection between stress and disease, and many other experts had discussed theories in mind-body medicine, Dr. Hamer's discoveries were unique in that the precipitating event is a completely unexpected, distressing experience he called a "biological conflict shock".1 Furthermore, Hamer's findings had a solid biological basis: the ringed brain lesions were based on the body's innate survival mechanisms (which we'll discuss more later), and they were and are 100% predictable and consistent, notes Locke Mears. Even though he was harshly persecuted by the medical community for his findings, Hamer spent the rest of his life exploring this phenomenon and attempting to share his findings with the world. Thus was the birth of a radically different philosophy of healthcare that Hamer originally called "German New Medicine" or GNM. Over the years, after the system was no longer new and Dr. Hamer had been so persecuted by the medical community, he no longer wanted to be associated with that group, so he changed the name to Germanische Heilkunde. This name loosely translates to Germanic Healing Knowledge or GHK. The name of the field is subsequently in transition, but it will likely take years for the updated terminology to completely replace GNM in research and practice.
GNM/GHK stands alone in the healthcare field as not so much a product or a technique but rather as a natural science with a new set of principles for understanding how and why we become ill and how we heal. Furthermore, GNM/GHK is a complete system and only occasionally recommends outside therapies from allopathic or holistic practices. All practitioners, when properly trained, can implement GNM/GHK with their clients for effective results.3
Knowing that the body is controlled by the brain, which is influenced by the psyche, Dr. Hamer wondered how the shock of an event perceived by the brain is communicated to an organ or other type of body tissue.3 His extensive research into this connection between a shocking, distressing event and the subsequent development of disease symptoms led him to discover that there are five principles forming the foundation of Germanic Healing Knowledge. Hamer called them the Five Biological Laws since they proved to be true 100% of the time. What follows are brief introductions to each Law.
Law #1: A biological shock will result in a lesion in the brain and a simultaneous tissue response in the body.3
Dr. Hamer found that diseases begin with a "biological shock," which he purposely differentiated from chronic psychological or physical stress. He called this shock "Dirk Hamer Syndrome," or DHS, named after his son, Dirk. When a person experiences a biological shock, or DHS, it creates a circular, ringed lesion in the brain, which he named a Hamer Focus.3
Several qualities characterize a DHS: unexpectedness, suddenness, isolation, and subjectiveness. The unexpectedness of a biological shock is reflected when people say, "That took me completely off-guard," or "I feel like someone pulled the rug out from under me." In other words, they didn't see it coming. The suddenness of an event can make the onset more acute. When a difficult event is both unexpected and sudden, there's no time to prepare. Since we're caught off-guard, we don't have time to think clearly. So, old survival mechanisms kick in, and our nervous system shifts into sympathicotonia, a predominance of the sympathetic nervous system (our fight-or-flight response). Talking with others can help dissipate the shock sooner, but unfortunately, overwhelmed people often isolate themselves. This can allow the shock to increase its hold on their body.3
Dr. Hamer spent years researching what area of the body responds to which type of DHS. His efforts resulted in an extensive and detailed description of the various strategies, which he called Biological Special Programs (BSPs), that the body implements to deal with "conflict shocks." He documented thousands of cases to show that the body's response to a biological shock is not a disease but rather a survival mechanism that is automatic and consistent. Moreover, these survival mechanisms, or BSPs, hold true not only for humans but also for animals and even plants. As comprehensive as these BSPs are, it's important to note that GHK principles do not apply to conditions, such as nutritional deficiencies, accidents, or poisoning, that are not the result of a DHS.3
Locke Mears explains that the subjective nature of a biological shock (Dr. Hamer also referred to shocks as "biological conflicts") means the DHS can be perceived differently from one person to another, and individual perception determines which biological program is needed at that moment. For example, one person may perceive an event such as a bank robbery as a death-fright conflict ("I'm going to die," when they see guns pointed at them), which starts the Lung Biological Program, she says. Or, if the same robber pushes another person out of the way, that victim in the robbery may perceive the situation as an attack conflict, which starts the Corium (Dermis) Biological Program. According to Locke Mears, that subjective, individual interpretation of the event is key in determining the nature of the shock and thus the body's response.
Simultaneously with the formation of the DHS, the brain signals an accompanying response in some area of the body -- a BSP -- as a primal attempt to assist the individual with the shock. The body's response throughout the resolution and healing of the biological shock (which, in allopathic terms, is called "disease") is not an enemy that must be defeated or eradicated. "Diseases are not what we think they are," says Locke Mears. "They are biological. They begin instantly, and they are there for a reason. They are always helping us."
Let's revisit the example of the bank death-fright shock for a moment. The area of the body that responds to a death-fright shock is the lungs. As part of a brilliant design, the purpose of the alveoli tissue in the lungs is to absorb oxygen and thus enhance the biological functioning of the lungs. With a death-fright shock, the alveolar tissue proliferates to give us more oxygen to deal with the death-fright. But if a person in that condition goes to an allopathic doctor, he or she will likely be diagnosed with lung cancer due to the proliferating cells. What GHK interprets as a normal, helpful biological response, allopathic medicine sees as a cancer that needs to be destroyed.
Law #2: There are two possible phases of every shock-initiated "disease," the shock phase and the healing phase. The healing phase will only occur if the initiating biological conflict shock is resolved.3
All diseases have two phases if there is a resolution to the shock: the shock or conflict-active phase and the conflict-resolution or healing phase. It is during the healing phase that most symptoms appear, and it is for that reason that healing phases have been potentially misdiagnosed as separate diseases, including inflammations and many cancers. However, these symptoms most often run their course when properly supported.
When people can resolve their shock or DHS, Hamer observed that their general symptoms change predictably. Willow writes, "During the shock phase, they would be cold, sleepless, without an appetite, and stressed. When they resolve the shock, their bodies would be warm, resume having an appetite, and be able to sleep, while their minds would feel relief from the constant strain of the shock and experience a deep sense of fatigue." In essence, people move from the stressed, sympathetic part of their nervous system to the relaxed, restorative, parasympathetic nervous system.3
Additionally, the specific organ or tissue attempting to adapt to the shock will also undergo changes when moving from the shock phase to the healing phase. For example, proliferating cells will stop growing, or an organ that has lost function will regain it. A person with such a special biological program is often unaware of the shock-related or post-resolution physiological changes that have occurred.
If, for some reason, a DHS cannot be resolved, the body will continue attempting to adapt with three possible outcomes. First, if the stressed state is great enough and persists long enough, the person could die. Secondly, an individual can downplay the situation and learn to live with it. We know this choice as suppression. The problem with suppression is that not only does it drain energy from the person's daily life, but the biological program ("disease") isn't allowed to complete. What can instead occur is a re-triggering of the BSP if the individual experiences a circumstance that reminds him or her of the original, unresolved trauma. Finally, and most commonly, the symptoms of the body's continued attempts to adapt can be misdiagnosed as a "disease." Frequent migraine headaches and arthritis are two common conditions that exemplify this reoccurring or prolonged condition known as a "hanging healing."3
This second biological law regarding the two possible phases of disease is so significant because "...it clarifies our understanding of what symptoms truly mean. What were once considered diseases "...can now be allowed to follow their course to the end and avoid a great deal of suffering."3
Law #3: The level of the brain which is affected by the shock or DHS determines how the corresponding tissue will react.3
The type of shock and the subsequent location of the brain lesion determines the cell activity of the related organ or tissue, i.e., whether it grows, ulcerates, or experiences functional loss. When DHS lesions occur in the old brain and the older part of the midbrain, the organs and tissues controlled by these areas grow in the stress phase and stop growing or even recede and are broken down in the resolution or healing phase. In the new brain, the response is the opposite. When there is a shock in the new brain or the newer part of the midbrain, the cerebral medulla, the initial tissue response is to ulcerate or lose cells. If there is a resolution of the shock, that same tissue will begin to grow to repair the ulcerations. If there was a particularly long and intense conflict shock, the subsequent repair site forms a lump and may be diagnosed as cancer.3
Hamer found that this repair phase is often misdiagnosed as cancer and treated as a life-threatening disease when, instead, it is a self-limiting repair process that will stop on its own. "If these 'healing cancers' are treated invasively and persuaded to stop growing through surgery, chemo, or radiation, as soon as the person recovers their strength and there are any cells left of the original tissue, they will try to finish the cycle of repair," Willow explains. "If this cycle continues too often, we can kill the person before we stop the cancer."3
According to GNM/GHK, cancer is not the only healing phase condition. Others include arthritis, multiple sclerosis, infections of various kinds, muscle spasms, skin rashes, and Parkinson's disease -- all with underlying inflammation in a relapsing "hanging healing" mode, causing them to be chronic. It's also possible that these conditions have other external causes, so it's critically important to determine whether a particular symptom fits into the GHK paradigm.3
Law #4: Microbial organisms are an inherent part of the healing and repair phase.3
Estimates are that the number of microbial cells residing in the human body (which we know as the "human microbiome") outnumber our body cells by almost 4 to 1. Given their symbiotic relationship with us and their vital role in maintaining health, in holistic health, we've come to understand that microbes are indispensable for our survival. However, according to allopathic medicine, much microbe activity is initiated by external factors, i.e., infectious diseases that come from the external environment and "invade" us. In other words, we've often considered microbes as something malicious that must be eradicated. Yet, looking through a GNM/GHK lens, we see just the opposite. From Hamer's work, we know that organisms such as yeast, mycobacteria, bacteria, and probably viruses are involved in the healing process. GHK tells us that all disease, including infectious diseases, begin with a conflict-active phase and that all microbe activity is controlled internally by our brains.
When examined in detail, the second Biological Law of the two phases of disease reveals that all microbes work, without exception, only in the second or healing phase, starting with the conflict resolution and ending with the completion of the healing phase. For example, mycobacteria begin multiplying at the moment of a DHS but start their work only when the conflict has been resolved. In fact, the body produces the exact number of mycobacteria necessary to break down what usually ends up being a superfluous tumor once cells that were proliferating to help us deal with a DHS are no longer needed. Yet consider what happens if those mycobacteria are not available to decompose the tumor. In the case of a thyroid carcinoma, if the conflict has been resolved and the tumor cannot be broken down, more amounts of unnecessary thyroxine continue to be produced. In the situation of a colon carcinoma, if there are no mycobacteria present to decompose the tumor -- due to the use of antibiotics, for example -- it may be beneficial to remove the growth surgically if there is a threat of it occluding the colon.2
During the healing process, bacteria help replenish tissue loss that took place in the
conflict-active phase. Most bacteria are specialized in this role. "Staphylococcus bacteria, for example, support the reconstruction of bone tissue; streptococcus bacteria help to rebuild tissue necroses in the ovaries."2
Law #5: What we have come to fear as "disease" is actually a "special biological program" of nature intended to strengthen the individual and species -- once the individual has gone through the entire cycle of shock, resolution, repair, and return to normal.3
Dr. Hamer once wrote, "All so-called diseases have a special biological meaning. While we used to regard Mother Nature as fallible and had the audacity to believe that She constantly made mistakes and caused breakdowns (malignant, senseless, degenerative cancerous growths, etc.), we can now see ... that it was our ignorance and pride that were and are the only foolishness in our cosmos. ... Full of wonder, we can now understand for the first time that Nature is orderly and that every occurrence in Nature is meaningful, even in the framework of the whole. Nothing in Nature is meaningless, malignant or diseased."2
GNM/GHK is a complete paradigm shift when compared to the allopathic model of disease and treatment. From a GHK perspective, disease is not the enemy. Rather, it is nature's way of strengthening us and helping us through the shock-resolution-repair process.
Willow writes that disease is not a "meaningless error of nature or biology." Rather it is a special program that allows us to deal with certain emergency situations. When we understand the principles of GNM/GHK and make a positive shift in our attitude toward symptoms and conditions, we can "... prevent 'diseases' by not allowing shocks to fester, shorten their course if we do fall sick, and avoid many of the invasive treatments we use in our attempt to block nature's programs."3
Speaking of the fifth Biological Law, Locke Mears explains that the takeaway is this: All these processes are here to help us. "They are simply our body helping us in times of distress. It is a perfect system."
Therapeutic Interventions in GHK
Is there ever a time in a GHK process when a therapeutic intervention is needed to facilitate recovery? Dr. Hamer reported that in approximately 90% of cases, you don't need any intervention to recover, notes Locke Mears, and she has found that to be true in her practice and teaching as well. The more you learn about GHK, she says, the more you know about when and how to step in and when to just stay out of the body's way. "Once clients understand the GHK framework and philosophy and what's really going on in their bodies, their conditions can be resolved with no further intervention most of the time."
Here's a client example from Locke Mears’ practice. A woman in her early 40s had spent $10,000 on a functional medicine physician because she was plagued by digestive problems. The functional medicine doctor had placed her on a series of elimination diets, and she was, at the time she came to Locke Mears, down to eating only about five foods. The worst part? She was still miserable, and the whole thing had been going on for a year. Locke Mears taught her about GHK, and they worked together to determine what her conflict-shocks were and resolve them. Within two weeks, she was eating all foods again without any negative reactions. No intervention was needed besides education about how GHK works and an understanding of her own conflict shocks.
Rare instances do occur when some sort of therapy may be necessary, and Dr. Hamer was open to incorporating strategies from allopathic medicine, such as antibiotics or surgery, or therapies from holistic health, such as herbs, flower essences, or chiropractic care, assuming the practitioner understands the two phases of disease and when the interventions would be helpful. Dr. Hamer wrote that "surgery on a tumor is recommended if vital nerves, arteries or pathways of supply or elimination are affected, for example, when a large growth obstructs the colon, the bile ducts of the liver, or the trachea."2 He also believed that, as a general rule, "the use of drugs should be carefully considered and restricted to cases of emergency. Medication can certainly alleviate or eliminate symptoms or prevent complications that arise during the healing phase. But, no drug and no therapy in the world can truly cure a disease. Only the patient can 'treat' his symptoms because only he can resolve his conflict, and only he can do the healing!"2
There is much to learn about how to approach therapy intervention within GHK before attempting to use it with clients. You can read a brief introduction here, but extensive training is required to ensure no damage is done with an improper intervention.
Once you truly understand GHK and the biological programs, then you'll know when someone needs help, Locke Mears explains. Dr. Hamer told us, "The therapy is in the knowledge." When you have the GHK knowledge, you'll know what to do. "With allopathic medicine, you have a certain diagnosis that triggers a certain pharmaceutical or surgical protocol," says Locke Mears, "but GHK is not that regimented. With GHK, we do not treat; we do not practice. We teach."
GHK is a fool-proof system, Locke Mears says. "Once you learn it, you can't go back, and you don't want to because it's so empowering. If you believe in personal health sovereignty, GHK is the way to achieve that." Our current allopathic model of healthcare is physician-centric, whereas, with GHK, we can learn to trust our own body and not fear what we've thought of as "disease," Locke Mears explains. We must move away from fear because, as Dr. Hamer found, fear is perhaps the single biggest contributing factor in causing disease. If we can leave the fear mindset behind and move toward a deeper understanding of what our bodies are trying to tell us, she says, we'll better understand what to do to be healthy again.
Learning about GHK is the first step in gaining the personal health empowerment to which Locke Mears refers. To that end, she has developed her own steadily growing GHK school. She's also involved in creating a new international GHK school with Nick Capetanis (who was trained by Dr. Hamer and Helmut Pilhar) called the GHk Pilhar Academy, named after Helmut Pilhar, who Dr. Hamer appointed personally to teach GHK. "This international school is bringing people together who have learned GNM/GHK from many different teachers, and we're so excited because this educational approach has never happened before," Locke Mears explains. "We need to focus on educating people about the Five Biological Laws because those are the foundation for everything else in GHK. We all need to know this information and share it with everyone we can. When we do this, the current health paradigm will shift dramatically."
Trinity offers a Lecture on Demand that features Andi Locke Mears discussing GHK. You can purchase this lecture here.
References
1) Dudley, K. & C. Lowthert. (Sept. 5, 2021). German New Medicine Series, Part 1A: Conversation with Dr. Chris Lowthert, German New Medicine Series. Part 1 A Conversation with Dr Chris Lowthert.
2) Markolin, C. (n.d.). German New Medicine, LearningGNM.com.
3) Willow, K. (2019). German New Medicine: Experiences in Practice. Independently published: Coppell, TX.
Resources
1) AndiLockeMears.com. Andi Locke Mears' personal website describing her educational programs in Germanic Healing Knowledge.
2) GHk Pilhar Academy Website. An international school offering three types of university-level educational programs in Germanische Heilkunde/Germanic Healing Knowledge.
3) GHk Pilhar Academy YouTube Channel, GHk Pilhar Academy YouTube Videos. A collection of educational videos about the GHk Pilhar Academy and Germanic Healing Knowledge.
4) LearningGNM.com. A comprehensive website about Germanic New Medicine/Germanic Healing Knowledge created by Caroline Markolin, Ph.D. Sections of the website include The Five Biological Laws, Biological Special Programs, Articles, Testimonials, Case Studies, and more.
5) GNM/GHK Lecture on Demand by Andi Locke Mears on the Trinity website.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
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Victoria L. Freeman, Ph.D., CHFS, CMH, CBC, has traveled a long and winding professional road that includes working as a teenage fine artist, later a personal trainer and wellness coach, a college professor and administrator in exercise science and education, a freelance natural health and fitness writer for national magazines, a property manager and interior designer for vacation and executive rental properties and most recently returning to the natural health arena while attending Trinity School of Natural Health to become a Certified Holistic Fitness Specialist, a Certified Master Herbalist, and a Certified Biblical Coach.