Pendulum Power - The Art of Dowsing

 I LOVE working with a pendulum. I have been dowsing for over 30 years and it is a source of wisdom and inspiration for me every day.

Dowsing is in essence, a bio-feedback device, responding to what we have “picked up” when our energy field interacts with the energy fields of people, objects, crystals, places etc.  It is way we can work to connect to and develop our intuition and inner guidance.

Jean Haner in her book Clear Home, Clear Heart, quotes a study that researched people working with a pendulum and the impact that had on their brainwave activity.

We have 4 different Brainwaves  – Beta, Alpha, Theta and Delta. Beta is our everyday state of mind, alpha is when we are peaceful and content or in a light meditative state. Theta is the brainwave state when we are asleep, dreaming or in that deeply relaxed state when creative and intuitive ideas/solutions just “pop up”. We are in delta when we are in a very deep meditative state or in very deep, dreamless sleep.

In the research Jean quotes, the brainwaves of people using a pendulum were studied with some fascinating results. The researchers found:

• When the subjects were using a pendulum there was an increase in their alpha waves -the state we enter when we are peacefully happy and meditating. This was even with people who were new to dowsing.
• As people became more experienced in dowsing their theta waves increased (the very relaxed state when creative/intuitive ideas pop up)
• With even more experience and time using a pendulum delta waves became active (the brain waves of deep meditation)

Best of all the study found that as people became more practised, they remained in a heightened alpha and theta state even when they weren’t dowsing AND with highly experienced dowsers all FOUR brainwaves remained active at the SAME TIME! That was something they hadn’t found even in very experienced Indian Yogis.

So, doesn’t that want to make you become a Dowser!  By working with your pendulum you are expanding your consciousness, even when not actively dowsing and transforming your awareness – sounds pretty great! 

There are an infinite number of ways we can work with a pendulum. Just a few are below:

• To ask a question
• To determine what crystals, colours, remedies etc that would be beneficial for you to work with
• To assess energy flow and strength
• To infuse energy and balance energy flow etc 

So where do we start?

To begin working with a pendulum

• I love working with natural crystal pendulums, but you can use copper (also a favourite) wood, metal – whatever you are drawn to.
• Make sure you are relaxed and centred, as anxiety can interfere when you are dowsing, especially when you are learning how to work with your pendulum
• To help you relax and move into a calm, centred state, take some deep breaths down into your body, you may like to imagine you are in a beautiful, peaceful spot in nature
• Affirm you are connected to your higher self and spiritual guidance. I like to silently say – I am connected to/at one with the Earth, connected to/at one with the Sky, connected to/at one with my heart, connected to/at one with the truth
• Spend a moment attuning to your pendulum, perhaps placing it at your heart or third eye
• To ensure your own energy is flowing correctly you can tap your Thymus (it is on the centre line of your body mid-way between your heart and throat). The Thymus can bring us into a temporary state of balance and so help us get accurate answers.

Establishing your yes and no responses.

This is a key a stage of learning to dowse (some people also look for a neutral response – I tend to use confidence arcs instead – more about that in another blog!)

1. Make sure you are grounded
2. Try and ensure the area around you is clear and uncluttered
3. Relax with a calm, neutral mind
4. Find a comfortable length with which to hold the chain on your pendulum. Most people hold their pendulum chain/string between their index finger and thumb

• Now mentally ask your pendulum to swing and show you NO please  When you get a movement affirm mentally, this is No. You may like to imagine writing No in big letters on a blackboard in your mind. Notice any sensations in your body. Mentally say thank you.

The movements for YES and NO may be a clockwise swing, an anti-clockwise swing, a vertical swing, a horizontal swing.  The movement may be different for you than for someone else, the important thing is that you have established a consistent movement for YES and a different consistent movement for NO.

You can help verify your yes and no pendulum movements by asking some simple, clear questions you know the answer to. For instance –  if your name was Kate you could say while holding your pendulum my name is Kate and you would expect your pendulum to swing to your yes/positive response – Then say a false name and you would expect your pendulum to swing to your no/incorrect response. Try a few question/statements that are clear and unequivocal in their truth, your name, your address, your mother’s name, father’s name etc.

When working with your pendulum we need short, clear, unequivocal questions or statements. A long rambling sentence will not work!

You can either ask a question of use a statement – both are equally appropriate. For instance – I could ask is my name Kim OR My name is Kim, as that is my name I would expect a positive movement from my pendulum. Some people prefer to ask questions, others use statements – both are good.

To help you establish your YES and NO signals:

• You can hold your pendulum over the palm of your other hand and ask it to show you a movement for Yes/positive and then a movement for No/negative
• You can hold your pendulum over the positive end of a large battery to show you your YES or positive response
• Hold your pendulum over the negative end of a large battery to show you your NO or negative response
• Move your pendulum consciously in a direction you have chosen to represent YES, e.g. a clockwise circle, while affirming in your mind that this movement is YES
• Move your pendulum consciously in a direction for NO e.g. an anti-clockwise circle, while affirming in your mind this movement is NO.
• You can draw the directions for YES and NO on a piece of paper and move your pendulum over them, while confirming a movement for YES and then a movement for No

When you are dowsing be aware of your body sensations and perceptions.  Connect, if possible, with any bodily sensations of YES and NO – these body sensations often get stronger and stronger the more you use your pendulum.

Sometimes it just doesn’t seem to work! – Potential setbacks when dowsing:

• Accurate dowsing can be influenced or disrupted by fatigue, illness, emotional states of mind, anger, upset, fixed beliefs etc
• Learning to stay in tune with your pendulum and keeping a neutral mind is one of the most challenging aspects of dowsing
• Not being relaxed and centred and grounded
• The conscious mind can interfere, particularly if you are asking a personal or important question. 
• Not asking a clear question. If the question you ask is vague you will get a vague answer. Also, you can ask if it is appropriate to ask a certain question. 
• The other thing that can influence the accuracy of your dowsing is “Switching” – Simply put this is when our energy is  back to front, inside out, upside, down, the wrong way around! Our energy is just not functioning correctly. To determine this hold your pendulum by your side – put your hand, palm down on top of your head – your pendulum “should” swingto your yes/positive direction – great your energy is not switched. If it doesn’t swing to your positive direction,  carry on holding the top of your head – keeping a clear mind, you are not asking anything, it will after a fairly short period of time swing to your positive direction. Congratulations you are not switched!

Every single time I work with my pendulum( even after 30 years!)  I hold my pendulum and ask:

• show me my Yes
• Show we my No
• And I check for switching

It takes seconds and is a good practice to get into to ensure accuracy

100% True/Accurate

Another way of checking is to ask “Is this 100% the truth/ accurate?”  So, if you get a yes to your original question and a no to “Is this 100% true/accurate?” the answer to your original question is no.  I don’t recommend doing this too often, as it can set up doubt in your capacity to get a clear, truthful answer, however occasionally it can be valuable.

I seek the truth

This is something you can do to gain clarity – mentally say to yourself while you are preparing to dowse– I seek the truth, what I do with that truth is up to me – ( Big thank you to Madison King for that statement)

There is so many ways we can work with our pendulum and inner guidance. I hope this short introduction has inspired you to try dowsing. More information coming on dowsing in other blogs and classes……. 

Happy Dowsing!