Dr. Lesya Lasota
Dr. Lasota completed the four year naturopathic program at the National College of Natural Medicine and is currently practicing in Southeast Portland, Oregon. In addition to studying naturopathic medicine, she has taken a deep and special interest in mental health and classical homeopathy. She studied under homeopaths, Paul Herscu, Amy Rothenberg, and Durr Elmore. She considers herself to be a classical homeopath and has used her love and understanding of literature, art, and film to deepen her knowledge of homeopathy and compassion and understanding for people. If there is anything that she loves more than a good story, it's homeopathy.
When Dr. Lasota completed her studies in psychology at the University of South Carolina in 2005, she had wondered if there was something more that she could do than to counsel people. It seemed odd to her that the mind and the spirit of a person could be studied solely without, also, understanding and appreciating the body. To her, it seemed that the body had as much influence over the state of the mind as the mind had over the state of the body. Could it be? The two are interconnected? So, began her interest in naturopathic medicine.
The importance of reading:
As passionate as I am about naturopathic medicine, I feel equally moved to promote reading where I can. Think of how immense our cumulative human knowledge is that resides in the world of books. Anything that anyone has ever conceived of has been recorded on paper (or in the current age, on the screen), and any one thought has likely been recorded over and over again over time, filtered through the uniqueness of each one individual. We, all of us, are individuals, of course, but our human experience is shared. Through reading, we realize that we are not alone, and we broaden ourselves through the understanding of other people. Naturopathic medicine can do so much for us, and reading can feed our souls.
DR. LASOTA'S PERSONAL THOUGHTS ON HOMEOPATHY
Thinking over a homeopathic case is a lot like studying a piece of literature or film. You look for theme, character development, patterns, metaphors, any significance with the author's personal history, etc. Imagine, now, that at the end of all that study, you could match the patterns that you found in that story with a similar pattern found in nature and use that as medicine. How poetic!
DR. LASOTA'S FAVORITES
In terms of literature, I love Umberto Eco. He is an Italian author and a professor of semiotics. In my opinion, he is one of the most knowledgeable men alive. His books expose his obvious curiosity for history, literature, media-culture, and the nature of time, and he has an uncanny ability to explain his rather complex theories and ideas in humorous story format. What I love about him most is his vast, good-natured, and compassionate heart for all things human.
It would be difficult for me to talk about my favorite movies, because my love for film is endless. I enjoy reading and learning about film history, and I spend much of my free time watching anything that is within my reach. That being said, I cannot talk about movies without at least mentioning this power pair, Michael Powell (director) and Emeric Pressburger (producer). Together, they made a production company called, "The Archers", and created a total of 24 films, mostly during the 1940's and the 1950's in Great Britain. This was during a time when color print was scarce and expensive, especially in Great Britain, and yet, they managed to generate movies that really look like moving Impressionistic paintings.
When in comes to art, there is Andrew Wyeth, who has been named the "father of modern realism". His brushstrokes are so precise, where often blades of grass would be painted with a single-haired brush. It is obvious that these paintings were done with the utmost care and endless patience. Though, as his title conveys, his paintings are realistic or reminiscent of a photo, there is, also, a dream-like quality.