I started dowsing to get answers to questions in the late 1980s when I went to my first American Society of Dowsers Annual Convention in Vermont (www.dowsers.org).
Then thanks to Sig Lonegren’s work (www.geomancy.org), dowsing began to be a part of my daily life. If I don’t have an answer to a question or need to make a decision with all the “facts” in hand, I dowse for an answer. It may be a small question about which crackers to buy or a big question about a life decision. I don’t know where the answers come from, there are lots of theories. I continue to dowse because the answers are right often enough or I get clarity from the process of dowsing. Sig says that dowsing is correct 85%. I would agree with that.
Traditionally, people used a forked stick to look for water, but you can use any kind of bob/pendulum, dowsing rods/coat hangers, and your body (Applied Kinesiology).
There is lots of information available about dowsing especially about health. Over the years, I have dowsed about every kind of decision possible. I love dowsing. It has become part of who I am. I would like to point out a couple of suggestions that I feel are very important and are sometimes not explained by other teachers.
The secret to dowsing is the question.
After establishing the ask position, Yes, No, and None of the Above, Sig then asks “May I, Can I, Am I able to dowse about X? “ In other words, do I have permission, is it a dowsable question, and am I personally able to dowse this question at this time? If I get a “No” to that question, I stop and decide if there is a different way to ask the question or I take a break. Some questions can’t be answered, such as “”When will I die?” Sometimes, the timing is wrong as I am too close or emotional to dowse or perhaps it just isn’t the time. Sometimes it is none of my business. It doesn’t matter why I got a “No”.
The second part of asking a good question is to ask an answerable question.
This is where most of the mistakes or seemingly wrong/ bad answers show up. If you ask, “ Will it rain?”, the answer is always “Yes” because it will rain somewhere and sometime. You must be very specific to get the answer to the real question that you are asking. Digging to define what I really want to know gives me more clarity and often even answers the question. Asking questions based on value judgements such as “should” will never work as the answer would be dependent on something else, a set of unstated or undefined values. Sometimes you can work with this by asking ”What is the highest good for all concerned?” Asking the question over and over, even if slightly worded differently will not work. Take a break and go do something else for a while.
When I get wacky or seemingly wrong answers, I look back at my question.
Writing down your questions and answers can be really helpful as the quality of the question is more obvious over a distance. I also find that sometimes the “wrong” answer turned out to be right over time. As you dowse more, the more you begin to trust your intuitive knowledge for both personal and outside information. I particularly use my dowsing when I am working with the land and the beings that live there as I want to support my intuitive sense. The client can talk directly to me, but the other beings in the conversation aren’t as easily heard or seen.