Does anybody know anything about Dowsing ?

Does anybody know anything about Dowsing ? (Full Version)

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ElectraGlide -> Does anybody know anything about Dowsing ? (3/2/2007 11:44:40 PM)
I just wondered this is random stupidity. Dowsing is using a device such as a stick or rod to find water or treasure. I do use a Metal Detector and Dowsing is a claim a very few make. I just do not think it is possible. It could be, I do not know. Has any body ever tried it or seen it done ? I will provide my photo gallery link to show magazine ads of old Dowsing type devices I call Snake Oil devices.http://www.flickr.com/photos/11364868@N00/

ElectraGlide -> RE: Does anybody know anything about Dowsing ? (3/2/2007 11:46:12 PM)
The link thing never works here. Go to Flickr and search the photos of DFXDaveinMD

azzmaster -> RE: Does anybody know anything about Dowsing ? (3/3/2007 12:15:13 AM)
my dad saw it done and said the guy that did it always found water.

igor2003 -> RE: Does anybody know anything about Dowsing ? (3/3/2007 12:21:14 AM)
Common sense would tend to tell a person that dowsing shouldn't work. However, one day, many years ago, i went to visit a high school friend. When i arrived he was in front of their garage holding a couple of pieces of wire and i asked what they were for. He told me they had to find a buried water pipe and he was going to dowse to find the place to dig. I kind of chuckled at that, so he handed me the wires. What they were was simply electric welding rods with the flux knocked off of them, then a 90 degree bend in each about an inch from the end. He told me to hold the short part of each rod and keep the long parts parallel and level about 3 inches apart, then start walking slowly across their back yard. I was to stop walking when the wires crossed. I walked slowly for about 30 feet when the wires actually did cross, though i didn't know why. My friend then went to the side of the house and pulled away some bushes to show me a water bib on the side of the house, then walked across the yard to show me where the pipe went into the livestock water tank. I was standing exactly over the pipe going from one to the other!

Zensee -> RE: Does anybody know anything about Dowsing ? (3/3/2007 12:22:26 AM)
Come on azzmaster. Confess. Your rod always finds paydirt, right? Z.

ElectraGlide -> RE: Does anybody know anything about Dowsing ? (3/3/2007 12:25:13 AM)
The theory behind it is, the ground does have a small electrical current in it. You are suppose to sense it because water or metal conducts the electricity. I guess you have a extra sense or god like powers to feel that current. I can remember seeing it on old movies but that is for entertainment. I saw an American Indian doing it in a movie and wonder if it is part of their culture. It was an old movie long time ago, but it stuck in my mind.

ElectraGlide -> RE: Does anybody know anything about Dowsing ? (3/3/2007 12:29:41 AM)
Wow Igor2003 one of those devices I have a magazine ad from has rods bent like you were talking about. You also did it instead of hearing it from some one else.

Taik -> RE: Does anybody know anything about Dowsing ? (3/3/2007 12:37:25 AM)
Well it's not just any stick of wood, you are supposed to use a willow branch if your looking for water. It's also supposed to be a branch with a natural "Y" you hold it in you hands with a top leg of the "Y" in each hand palms facing up and gripping tightly. Now aside from that... no idea if it actually works, I just remember my dad and grandpa showing me when I was a kid up in the mountains. We were looking for an old well or something I cant remember. Not sure if it's a wives tale and they were just playing with my childhood imagination and knew where the well was the whole time... or if it actually worked. It did point to the water though.

ElectraGlide -> RE: Does anybody know anything about Dowsing ? (3/3/2007 12:44:34 AM)
I know it is most common related to finding water. A guy claimed to find old silver and gold coins Dowsing. Not sure if you could find something that small. The movie term was De-vining Rod did I spell that right lol.

Lordandmaster -> RE: Does anybody know anything about Dowsing ? (3/3/2007 12:53:35 AM)
I've seen it work and it's pretty amazing. The guy found water within minutes. No idea how it works--of course there are people who deny that it's even possible. But I've seen it with my own eyes. quote: ORIGINAL: ElectraGlide Has any body ever tried it or seen it done?

thehouseofZMA -> RE: Does anybody know anything about Dowsing ? (3/3/2007 1:02:54 AM)
Yes, Dowsing is the most basic of all divinatory procedures and can be used with forked rods, L-rods, pendulums and literally dozens of more specific instruments. The best working scientific theory for dowsing, is that the mental procedure of centering and focusing on the object of the search releases brain waves, which when coded by the conscious mind for the object of search produces a physical response in the dowser, the instrument of which is just a physical amplifier for said signal. To the best of our understanding, the body's pattern receptors are in the pituitary and pineal glands in the forehead and brow, annd the dowsing procedure can be defeated by a strip of metal as thin as aluminum foil if it prevents reception of waves by these glands. And yes, Dowsing works for compass directions, finding land mines, oil, minerals, lost money, missing persons or their remains, people who badly need to go missing, emergency supplies, even arrival times of fiends and answers to questions of an abstract nature. Anyway, that's enough harping for now. Read The Divining Hand, by Christopher Bird, available at most public libraries, including ours here in Salem, OR. Best of luck-

Lordandmaster -> RE: Does anybody know anything about Dowsing ? (3/3/2007 1:07:34 AM)
Sorry, but that doesn't make sense. The dowser releases brain waves by concentrating on whatever he's looking for, and then those waves produce a physical response in him? How does he ever find what he's looking for? Look, I have an open mind about dowsing because it seems to work too often to be a lot of hogwash, but that doesn't mean I'm going to sell out all the principles of natural science just because they can't seem to explain dowsing. quote: ORIGINAL: thehouseofZMA The best working scientific theory for dowsing, is that the mental procedure of centering and focusing on the object of the search releases brain waves, which when coded by the conscious mind for the object of search produces a physical response in the dowser, the instrument of which is just a physical amplifier for said signal.

ElectraGlide -> RE: Does anybody know anything about Dowsing ? (3/3/2007 1:18:51 AM)
I might experiment with dowsing as a survival skill. I would crap if I found a hundred year old coin in the process. I spent a 1000 bucks on a metal detector and all I needed was a stick lol. It would have to involve a deep concentration if you had doubt it could ruin your thought process. It dont cost nothing to try you only need a stick or metal rod. You might look wacky if someone seen you trying it also.

Vendaval -> RE: Does anybody know anything about Dowsing ? (3/3/2007 2:07:27 AM)
Members of my family used this technique to find water before digging a new well. It was a very common practice not that many years ago for farmers and ranchers. Try checking some farmer's almanacs and talking to some old time country folks, they would have good stories for you.

windchymes -> RE: Does anybody know anything about Dowsing ? (3/3/2007 4:29:15 AM)
Perhaps there is a 'natural science' we just haven't discovered yet.

QuietDom -> RE: Does anybody know anything about Dowsing ? (3/3/2007 5:54:42 AM)
Skeptics who test claims that defy science as presently understood (such as dowsing) routinely test dowsers in batches. And they always agree before starting that the test is a fair one. And then they always fail. And then they always realize afterwards that their ability was affected that day by sunspots, or the phase of the moon, or ghosts, or ANYTHING, and go away still believing in their ability. On the positive side, even with large sums of money up as incentive, the dowsers almost never attempt to cheat. They're honest and sincerely believe in what they're doing. The skeptics explain the appeal of dowsing with something called the "ideomotor effect." It's based on the fact that your body does not have a "sit still" order to send to muscles. Muscles accept only one command, and that is "pull." Consider walking down some stairs with a very full cup of coffee. You're less likely to spill the coffee if you don't look at it or think about it. If you look at it, and make a determined effort to hold it steady, it vibrates more because your muscles twitch as they pull back and forth against each other, trying to hold still. Dowsing devices are all based on a state of precarious equilibrium -- in balance, but easily knocked off-balance. So, the dowser walks along until he suspects that he might find something. Then he starts paying more attention to the device, muscle fibres twitch, and PRESTO!! the device responds dramatically, with the dowser completely unaware that it was caused by his own expectations. If you're a water-dowser, of course, it still works. Drill deep enough anywhere and you'll eventually hit water. Since they'll only drill one hole for the well, they'll never know if you found the best spot or not.

Stephann -> RE: Does anybody know anything about Dowsing ? (3/3/2007 7:25:03 AM)
Quiet's right. Finding water doesn't rely on finding a pocket; it's about finding a spot in the ground that will eventually lead to a large water table that rests beneath many areas. Man naturally wants to believe he has powers he does not. It gives us a measure of psychological control over situations, when in an environment that we simply don't understand. Asserting psychological control is a healthy thing; it's one of the main benefits of prayer, in my opinion. Once we visualize ourselves capable of achieving a goal, we are that much closer to that achievement. Stephan

MasterFireMaam -> RE: Does anybody know anything about Dowsing ? (3/3/2007 8:11:38 AM)
My ex-father-in-law is a dowser. I've seen it work for water. A forked item (looks like a wishbone or Y) of some kind, usually wood, but can be metal as well, is used. The dowser lightly holds the forked end and when the third leg of the Y begins to dip, the dowser has found whatever deposit they're looking for. My father-in-laws fingers turned white around where he was holding the stick because he was fighting the pull so hard (like your knuckles go white when you grip the stearing wheel hard). It's been used to water, oil, minerals, graves and such. Some feel that it is a "gift" that you're born with and some feel that anyone can do it with proper training and guidance. I didn't have it when I tried it, but I haven't really tried it since. Master Fire

cjenny -> RE: Does anybody know anything about Dowsing ? (3/3/2007 8:40:46 AM)
At the 'Body Farm' aka the University of Tennessee Forensic Anthropology Facility dowsing is being used to assist in locating decomposing bodies that have been buried. Apparently there is a form of measurable energy put off by the bodies similiar to that of water. Dr William Bass is the founder of the 'Farm' & can easily be googled. Fascinating stuff! One of my uncles is a real live dowser as well, he has actually made a bit of money finding water via dowsing. I have tried it.. but it didn't work for me lol. Sigh, why did my font flip? Argh it drives me bonkers. Btw, Dr William Bass just wrote his second novel featuring a professor that works at the Body Farm. Well written books with incredible detail. Read em!

stockingluvr54 -> RE: Does anybody know anything about Dowsing ? (3/3/2007 9:20:22 AM)
I also used to metal detect (got an older Tesoro unit) and still do on occasion....hard work but fun also! Anyways....I can dowse metal objects with a set of welding rods or coat hangars bent to shape. Haven't had much luck with water (using rods) except one time when the City was replacing old sewer line ...I happened to walk by and they're all sitting there looking in a hole and scratching their heads while looking at a map? Heard one say..."it should be right here?" I had them scrounge up some welding rod (filler rod..the type used with accetalyne welding) and found their old sewer line about 4 ' off where the map said. The old line was wrapped in metal bands so I'm sure it was the metal I found? Anyways...it can and does work....you have to concentrate on what you're looking for I guess. I've also read that to find gold or percious metals such as a pocket or vein that abunch of other stuff comes into play? Can't remember but I think it has to do with the sun and magnetic forces of the earth and where your rods cross IS NOT where the gold will be? You are supposed to do some weird calculation like....8ft....SW or direct line to the sun (just and example) or some weird hocus pocus stuff like that? A friend flipped his pickup and his tool box and tools were scattered all around in about 2 ft of snow...we both dowsed the area with some coat hangars and found all but about 2-3 of his smallest sockets. An old logger I used to work with showed me and a buddy the dowsing rod thing....he said that's how the old boys used to find their logging chains,etc. in the snow... It works....... Just for shits and giggles... Grab a 12" cresent wrench and go outside and toss it on the ground in a spot you think might not have anything underground (wires,phone lines,junk,etc.). Now take 2 coat hangars staighten them out and cut em about 3' long...bend em at almost 90 degrees about 4-5" from the end.....now put one in each hand that is shaped like a fist but with your thumbs pointing up and your fist not fully closed....let each rod "lay" in your hand with the "handle" (short end of bent rod) resting on palm of each hand....rods resting parralell to each other..... now slowly walk over your cresent wrench.....you'll feel the rods either cross in an X directly over the wrench OR they may spread the opposite......move back and forth over the wrench and you'll see those rods cross and uncross (or spread and close) as you move back and forth.... You'll FEEL it...it's a trip!

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