An
Introduction to Dowsing
by
Grahame Gardner
(originally
published as part 1 of 'Adventures in Dowsing';
a series of articles in Dowsing Today, the journal
of the BSD)
Definitions
Mention the word ‘dowsing’ to most people and
you invariably conjure up a vision of a tweed-jacketed gentleman
marching across a field clutching a forked twig, looking
for underground water. This is the classic image of a water
diviner, and many dowsers still operate like this, although
these days they are more likely to use a plastic V-rod rather
than a forked twig.
But dowsing is about much more than finding water. It can
also be used to find other underground features such as
gas mains, cables and other utilities (and breaks in them),
or even archaeological features like walls and cavities.
You can dowse to find lost items, pets or people; and dowsing
can help you improve your health by identifying food intolerances
and allergies, and can suggest which dietary supplements
or homeopathic remedies might be helpful. You can also dowse
earth energies and other energy fields like the human aura
or the electromagnetic fields from phone masts or power
lines. There really is no limit except your own imagination.
Theory
So how does dowsing work? There is no scientifically accepted
theory at present; this is mainly because there is no general
agreement in the scientific community that dowsing works at
all! Many scientists have researched dowsing and proposed
theories on its mechanism, and in Russia it is still taught
as a scientific discipline. Yet there remains a small but
vociferous bunch of dedicated sceptics who refuse to even
admit the possibility that dowsing might work. Some pretty
rigorous testing on dowsing has been done over the years,
but results tend to vary depending on who organised the tests
and how they interpret the data. So sadly, at the moment we
are still waiting on a definitive methodology for dowsing,
and although there are a goodly number of utility companies
and professional bodies who use dowsing in some way, they
are usually reluctant to publicise the fact for fear of ridicule.
This doesn’t help us gain an understanding of the dowsing
mechanism, and ultimately we each have to develop our own
‘map’ of the territory; so let’s take a
look at some possible models.
As we progress, you will see that many aspects of dowsing
have a dualistic or binary character, and the main uses of
dowsing can be divided into two aspects; location and divination.
Or to put it another way, finding things, and finding things
out.
When we’re looking
for underground water, theory and empirical evidence seems
to show that there is some sort of influence given off by
water flowing in geological faults and fissures in rock that
can be detected at the surface. Some research using devices
such as scintillometers (a very sensitive type of Geiger counter)
and electroscopes seems to verify this. This ‘influence’
or ‘radiation’ rises vertically from the water.
It used to be thought that the wood of the traditional ‘forked
twig’ dowsing rod somehow vibrated sympathetically to
these emanations, but today it seems clear that it is the
human organism that is detecting this at a subconscious level,
and that the dowsing tool is responding to minute muscle twitches
in the hands to give the response – either the twig
lowers or raises, the L-rods cross, the pendulum swings, and
so forth.
However, this ‘radiation’
model can’t explain the divinatory side of dowsing,
nor can it explain how it is possible to dowse for things
on a plan or map of the area without being physically present
on site. To explain how this works we have to accept that
dowsing is, at least partly, a phenomenon of the mind. What
I mean by that statement is that, at some level, the subconscious
mind can access information from the physical world that is
normally unavailable to the conscious mind, and this information
can be communicated to us through the movement of the dowsing
tool. So dowsing is in effect a form of controlled clairsentience.
The human brain processes
something like 400 billion pieces of sensory information every
second; but we are only consciously aware of about 2000 of
those. Our conscious mind selectively edits the information
to process what we perceive as ‘reality’. Psychologists
call this filtering process ‘latent inhibition’,
and it is a survival trait that enables us to disregard stimuli
that have had no impact on us in the past . Signals that are
not important to our survival from moment to moment are just
not processed on a conscious level. This does not mean that
the other signals are discarded – everything is processed
on some level, but our conscious mind decides what we get
to see. Our subconscious mind is still aware of the other
signals going on around us, and at a deeper level may be able
to access the collective unconscious and gain information
about other places and events. Many successful ‘remote
viewing’ experiments demonstrate that it is possible
to access information about distant places.
This is both a very old (mystical)
and a very new (scientific) world view. If you’ve done
any reading at all on quantum physics, then you may be familiar
with the phenomenon known as ‘quantum entanglement’,
which shows that two electrons that have been in contact with
each other maintain some sort of connection and can transfer
information between them, no matter how far apart they are
moved. So if we take two paired electrons, then move one to
the other side of the galaxy, it will still react instantaneously
to changes we make to the first electron. Tomorrow’s
quantum computers are being designed around this principle.
The implications of this are pretty staggering – quite
literally, everything is connected at a quantum level.
Another way of looking at
it is to think of the Universe as a hologram. If a hologram
is broken, each small piece of it contains all the information
needed to reconstruct the whole image, albeit at a somewhat
lower resolution. This is actually quite a good analogy for
map dowsing – often map dowsing produces a picture that
is not completely accurate. Usually everything is there, but
not necessarily in exactly the same place or at the same scale
as the map dowse revealed. I’ve had this demonstrated
to me in my own work on a number of occasions.
Whatever
model you choose to adopt, the central concept is that the
dowsing tool provides a means of accessing this normally hidden
information in our subconscious. By acting as a bridge between
our conscious and subconscious minds, the dowsing tool provides
a safe and convenient means for us to dialogue with our subconscious;
something that is normally only available to people in deep
trance states. Unlike trance states, brain scans of dowsers
at work show that both hemispheres of the brain are balanced
and producing brainwaves across all frequencies, so dowsers
are not in a trance; they are fully conscious and yet engaged
with the deeper levels of consciousness. Indeed, the correct
state of mind for good dowsing is best described as ‘engaged
yet unattached’. Your mind has to be focussed on what
you are dowsing for, yet there must be no desire to achieve
a particular result.
At
first, this can seem like being asked not to think about pink
rhinoceroses – it’s very difficult to think of
anything else in such circumstances. So you have to develop
ways of distracting the conscious mind from desiring a particular
result; in this way you can hear what your intuition is trying
to tell you. One way to achieve this is to mentally repeat
the object of the search to yourself over and over like a
mantra, e.g. “I’m looking for man-made underground
structures, man-made underground structures … and so
on. Another technique is to try inducing a state of child-like
innocence as though you earnestly desire to know the answer
but have no idea what it will be and are looking forward to
the surprise of finding out – “I wonder what the
answer’s going to be?” In either case the repetition
of the phrase will be enough to distract the conscious mind
enough for the dowsing reaction to manifest.
The
other essential attribute for accurate dowsing is to ask clear
and concise questions about the object of the search. It’s
no good just asking for “underground water” if
you’re looking for a place to sink a well – this
could find water in pipes or septic tanks as well as aquifers
or water flows. A better question would be “potable
water flowing all-year round in underground streams”.
Or, if you’re looking for a lost pet, it is better to
say “Where is so-and-so’s pet collie Fido at this
moment in time”, rather than simply “Where’s
Fido?”
I was recently asked to dowse for a missing dog and got a
strong response from a map dowse of the area. I reported back
to the client, and off they went in search of the dog. Unfortunately,
by the time they had got there the dog had moved on and they
didn’t find it for another two days. However, they later
heard from a local bus driver that he had seen the dog in
that area at the time of my dowsing.
It
is important to realise that there is no inherent magic in
the dowsing tool. Don’t be fooled into buying an expensive
rock crystal pendulum because you’ve been told that
it’s stronger or better than your home-made nut-and-string
combo. Of course, you can buy the expensive crystal pendulum
because it looks pretty, but that won’t make it work
any better. The reaction happens because the muscles in the
hand twitch very subtly in response to your subconscious stimulus,
and this small movement is amplified by the dowsing tool.
All we have to do is learn how to control and interpret this
reaction.
As we progress with our lessons, you will find that this process
becomes easier and easier. Eventually it becomes so automatic
that you often don’t need to use a dowsing tool, and
at this stage you are a ‘deviceless dowser’, which
is the ultimate goal for many of us.
Practice
The simplest dowsing tool is the pendulum, and it’s
what nearly everyone starts to learn with. If you haven’t
got a pendulum to hand, you can easily make one with a small
weight and a piece of fine cord or strong thread. A steel
hex nut or a lead fishing weight is ideal. A bunch of keys
will do if you can’t find anything else. The cord should
be as thin as you can manage; a fine chain is also good. Try
not to use a pendant hanging on a loop of chain as the double
length can affect the swing of the pendulum.
Hold the cord or chain between your thumb and index finger
of your dominant hand with the finger pointing downwards.
The idea is to minimise the contact area between the cord
and your fingers. Keep your arm relaxed but free to move.
Don’t rest it on your knee, the arm of your chair or
anything else unless that object is absolutely stable (like
a large rock), otherwise the swing can be affected.
Experiment to find what length of cord gives you a moderately
rapid swing – usually around three or four inches of
cord is ideal. Swing the pendulum back and forth until you
are comfortable with the swing.
Many
people, when they first start using a pendulum, will sit with
it stationary and wait for it to move in response to the question.
Although this approach works, it becomes very laborious if
you are dowsing through a series of questions, as each time
the pendulum has to overcome the inertia of being at rest
and it takes time to get up to speed. A far faster approach
is to start with the pendulum swinging back and forwards.
We call this our ‘search position’. When the pendulum
is already moving this way it’s much quicker to give
a response.
Next,
we have to establish our code for communicating. This will
take some time to develop fully as many reactions are possible,
but for the moment we’re only interested in our ‘yes’
and ‘no’ responses.
Sit comfortably with your feet apart, and start the pendulum
swinging between your legs. Each time you do this say to yourself,
“This is my search position”. When the pendulum
is swinging comfortably, ask it to “show me my ‘yes’
answer”. Most people will find the pendulum develops
a clockwise swing. You can help reinforce this idea by holding
it over your right (dominant) knee. This develops the idea
of the body having a polarity – positive on the dominant
side, negative on the non-dominant side (note positive and
negative are only terms for comparison here; don’t start
thinking of them as ‘good’ and ‘bad’
in any way).
Once
you’re happy that you’re getting a good reaction,
repeat the exercise by asking for your ‘no’ response.
Again, you can hold the pendulum over your non-dominant knee
to reinforce the idea if you like. Most people here find that
they get an anti-clockwise swing developing, but it’s
possible that you get something else, such as a side-to-side
swing. Once you have programmed these reactions, they will
always be the same for you, no matter what pendulum you’re
using (I once found one of my students was asking for her
basic responses with each new pendulum she used!). Otherwise
you will get to a point someday where you cannot remember
what your yes response is, and will never feel confident enough
to trust your dowsing.
If
you’re having trouble getting a reaction, after a while
try asking simple questions to which you know the answer,
such as “Is my name John?”
Practice by asking yourself these kinds of questions until
you are confident with the response.
If
you’re still not able to get a consistent result, it
is possible to actively program yourself by forcing the pendulum
swing into the pattern you want, whilst affirming to yourself
“This is my ‘yes’ response” and “this
is my ‘no’ response”.
Once
you are reasonably confident with your responses, devise a
list of twenty questions that you can dowse for. Try to ask
questions with verifiable true or false answers, such as “is
my wife’s name Sue?” If you are asking personal
questions about somebody else make sure you have their permission
before dowsing and always keep your dowsing ethical.
Try also the traditional ‘three-card Monte’ dowsing
trick of identifying one red card out of three face-down cards,
or have someone place a coin under one card and try to find
that; try to identify a pound coin hidden under a table cloth
with a bunch of other coins; try to identify if there is current
flowing in an electric cable. There are loads of little tests
like this that you can devise for yourself and practising
at these is the best way to develop your dowsing before you
get into areas where it’s not always possible to get
a verifiable answer at the time (for example dowsing for a
borehole – you won’t get confirmation until the
hole is actually drilled).
In
many books on dowsing, you will see sectored pendulum charts
for dowsing, where different areas of the chart provide different
answers. You hold the pendulum over the centre point, and
the angle of its swing determines which sector of the chart
contains your answer.
Although these are popular with publishers because they look
pretty and fill up the page, I don’t believe that they
are a good tool to use with pendulum dowsing, especially when
you are just starting out. Having a multiplicity of possible
answers dependent on pendulum swing will only confuse your
normal responses. It is far better to devise a list of possible
questions before you start dowsing and keeping to your yes/no
responses as you work through the list.
As
you get more confident with your pendulum, you may find other
reactions developing. For instance, if I get a weak oval swing
in a clockwise direction, it means ‘yes-maybe’
(and conversely for ‘no-maybe’). In this case
I’ll try and refine my questioning further.
I also get a side-to-side motion, which for me interprets
as ‘impossible to answer - the question doesn’t
make sense’. If my pendulum simply continues in the
‘search’ position, for me it means ‘don’t
know’. In either case, I know I have to ask a totally
different question to try and come at the issue from another
angle.
Ok,
if you've got this far, you're almost ready to start finding
stuff in the field; but there is one more thing we have to
cover first, and that is the issue of ethics and protection.
Some dowsers disdain this as unnecessary, but I always take
the attitude that it’s better to have protection than
not. This is especially true if you're doing dowsing at a
sacred site where you may run into some strong negative energies.
Fortunately, dowsing has built-in safeguards that can and
should be activated every time you try it. Here’s a
quick test you should do before you do any dowsing each day,
or at each new site.
With the pendulum swinging in your 'search' position:
1. State what you want to do (e.g. "I want to dowse this
stone circle for water lines", or "I want to find
my sunglasses" and so on). “Is this appropriate
at this time?”
The pendulum should start to show a ‘yes’ response
if this is OK.
2. Ask "CAN I do this?" (Do I have the dowsing ability
for this task?)
3. Ask "MAY I do this?" (Do I have permission from
the site guardian/ landowner/ Spirit of Place to do this?)
It always pays to check in with the site guardians before
entering stone circles or other sacred space. The last time
I visited Wayland’s Smithy, I asked my questions as
I walked up the access path from the Ridgeway. Just as I asked
this question, a huge fluffy bumble-bee came right up in front
of my nose, hovered for a moment, then turned and flew ahead
of me down the path. I took that as a ‘yes’ answer!
4. Ask "SHOULD I do this?" (Is it safe for me to
do this? Am I ready to do this now? Is there anything I've
forgotten? Are there any unforeseen factors that I don't know
about?). I once got a ‘no’ for this question when
I wanted to dowse a neglected stone circle in Perthshire.
It was then I became aware of a nest of newly-hatched chicks
behind one of the stones. Clearly not a good time for me to
be tramping about in the circle!
If
you get a 'no' response to any of these questions, postpone
your dowsing to another time. You can try rephrasing the first
affirmation a bit to narrow it down, but if you're not confident
of any of the answers then come back and try again another
day. But if everything checks out, then go ahead, ask your
question (e.g." I want to find any water veins in this
area") and dowse. What you are looking for is only limited
by the questions you can formulate in your head. And the more
precise these are the clearer the results you get. It’s
sometimes difficult to phrase your intent in a yes/no question,
but persevere; try a different angle on it and narrow it down
gradually.
©
Grahame Gardner 2007
|
