An introduction to dowsing
and radiesthesia
What is the difference between dowsing and radiesthesia?
The art and science of dowsing is one that stretches back into the furthest reaches of human existence. Current archaeological evidence suggests that dowsing was practiced by the Ancient Egyptians, and artefacts found in China show that divining rods were known in the Ancient Imperial Courts. Even before that time, Neolithic cave paintings suggest that dowsing was used some six thousand years before Christ.
It is no surprise, then, to find that the skills involved in dowsing have become highly developed over the millennia. Different fields exist within the catchall term of dowsing, and it is important to draw a distinction between dowsing and radiesthesia.
Essentially, dowsing is the act of divining: that is, the use of an inanimate object, held by the diviner, in order to locate information, objects, or bodies of material. The most common examples that can be seen in the modern day are the water or oil diviners who use the traditional y-shaped divining rods to locate concealed pockets of their chosen substance. Similarly, there are those that dowse with a pendulum: an art that is frequently applied in modern holistic medical practice. The use of the pendulum to verify a point of physical illness in a patient is very different to the use of a rod to locate an underground spring, but both of these applications can be justifiably named dowsing.
Radiesthesia, on the other hand, is less of an art form and more of a scientific discipline. In general, dowsing requires a physical act with very little requirement for complete understanding of how the act works. It takes very little skill to make a pendulum swing to a positive or negative indicator. However, it is a completely different matter to be able to explain precisely why the pendulum moved in the first place.
Radiesthesia is a science. Like a great many scientific disciplines, the name is a compound word derived from the elements involved in the science. The name was originally used by the French Abbe Bouley, and is a combination of two words: the Latin radiare, meaning ray or connected to ray emissions; and the Greek aisthanesthai, meaning to perceive, or linked to general perception. Hence, radiesthesia: the study of ray perception. Generally, this refers to the analysis of radiation emitted from a specific body. The diviner uses the dowsing tool to tune in to the radiation emitted by their quarry.
This is the major difference between the two names – dowsing is the practical art of location using a tool that is attuned to both the user and the substance in question, while radiesthesia is the scientific study of how radiation emitted from a specific body of matter can be tuned into by an individual using a dowsing tool.
What is the ideal dowsing instrument for outdoor work?
There are a variety of different tools available to the dowser, and they all perform different functions. It depends very strongly on personal preference and application as to what tool is used for what job. While one diviner may prefer a y-shaped rod to locate water, they may use a pair of l-shaped rods or a wand to trace a ley line.
However, there are a few basic constraints within the field of dowsing that dictate the method and dowsing tool applied by an individual. The use of a pendulum to trace the energy signature of a human body, or to assist in the answering of questions, is well established. Yet, a pendulum is not so useful when attempting to locate bodies of oil or water beneath the ground. For this, the rod is a much better tool. A pendulum is subject to the vagaries of the elements, and could sway in the wind easily. Of course, a dowser can tell by the pull on their fingers if the swing is significant or not, but the element of inaccuracy is still present. Not so in the case of the divining rod, that can be held in such a manner that the wind does not interfere with its response to the subject being traced.
Evidence of the success of the dowsing done with a divining rod is readily available: oil and water companies have used them often, and with great effect. The art and science of rhabdomancy in the outdoors is clearly a powerful tool when wielded by proficient hands.
What is the oldest recorded method of pendulum dowsing?
Dowsing is an art that spreads back almost as far as recorded history, and in all probability, was being practiced by the very earliest human civilizations, long before records even existed. Dowsing in general has shown up as an ubiquitous technique, being use all over the ancient world, in all kinds of different cultures.
The art of rhabdomancy appears to be the older application of the practice of dowsing. Images and stories of divining rods occur in cave paintings, Ancient Egyptian, and Ancient Chinese paintings and texts. There is a logic to this – rhabdomancy requires the simplest of tools: at its most basic level, all the diviner needs is a stick taken from the ground, so long as it has the right balance and shape.
The use of the pendulum – dactylomancy – is, in historical terms, a fairly recent development. It is most likely that the art existed for a significant period of time before entering into historical usage, but it first rose to real prominence under the Romans. The Roman College of Augurs was the pre-eminent school for studying divination and other Sibylline arts, and it was here that the use of the pendulum was first developed into the form that we recognize today. The dactylomancers of the Roman world tended to use rings, suspended on fine threads, in order to divine according to their needs. Since this time, the practice of pendulum dowsing has grown vastly, but as far as history is concerned, it is to this Roman College that we owe the precepts of dactylomancy.
Name the four main branches of radiesthesia.
Radiesthesia is a combination of both art and science. While there are potential explanations for precisely why energy emitted from a body of matter could cause a rod or pendulum to spring into motion, the art of radiesthesia lies in the interpretation of the movements. Different diviners are sensitive in different ways, and usually apply their skill in different spheres. Hence, there are different fields within radiesthesia, each with specific techniques and tools, depending on the situation being analysed.
It is difficult to say which branch of radiesthesia is the oldest. However, two of the older applications of the skill are fundamental aspects of developing societies, and therefore it is possible to argue that different cultures may have developed them in a different order.
The first aspect – and one that may be the most alien to modern cultures – is horary, or predictive radiesthesia. By asking questions, or asking for advice, augurs can predict the outcome of future events. The Roman augurs who practiced dactylomancy were experts in the art of pendulum interpretation. This is the key to predictive radiesthesia: causing the rod or pendulum to move is one thing, interpreting the meanings of the movements is another matter entirely.
The other, ancient, application of radiesthesia is prospecting. This term is a general one that encompasses both the location of any given subject using a dowsing tool, primarily by tuning in to the radioactive emissions given out by the matter in question. Popular media often shows the use of the y-shaped rod to locate water in arid or dry locations. This is on the tip of a very complex iceberg. Both rods and pendula can be used to locate substances. Over even recent history, prospective radiesthesia has been responsible for the location of many valuable mineral deposits. In 1556, Georgius Agricola wrote a book called “De Re Metallica.” Agricola, now credited as being the founder of the science of mineralogy, stated and illustrated the validity of dowsing as a means of locating deposits. This may be responsible for a quick spread of divining for profit across Europe. For example, German miners were brought to England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, and were responsible for the location of tin deposits in Cornwall, using radiesthesia to do so. These deposits lasted for centuries, and even now, not all the resources have been plundered, even if the mines are not all functional.
In the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, dowsing has been used to locate oil. The oil prospectors in the Americas – known as wildcatters – frequently located deposits of oil using rods. Many of them were so successful that they, and their families, owe their fortunes to early skill with radiesthesia.
More recent developments in radiesthesia include the use of the skill in psychoanalysis. This is primarily due to the way the unconscious mind can influence a rod or pendulum. While we may be deliberately stating one thing, because we believe that this is what people want to hear, a pendulum could detect the truth of the matter if used by an expert. Psychological counselling has embraced radiesthesia, especially with regards to brainwaves and instinct analysis, and found it to be an excellent diagnostic tool.
However, it is the fourth branch of radiesthesia that has had the greatest diagnostic effect. Medical radiesthesia – and the associated sphere of radionics – was developed considerable by Dr Albert Abrams. Dr Abrams used a pendulum and electrical equipment to detect energy signatures within patients, and by studying the imbalances, he was able to accurately diagnose and treat conditions that symptomatic diagnosis might not necessarily have been aware of. Indeed, medical radiesthesia is used extensively as a diagnostic tool in holistic medicine. Acupuncture, massage, reiki – and more besides – can use radiesthesia to locate the sensitive areas and gear a healing session towards that problem accordingly. One especially useful technique is to locate an energy imbalance in the patient’s charkas and treat them for that problem, which may in turn alleviate a host of other symptoms.
Radiesthesia, it can be said, is a very varied subject. From the basic principle of ray detection, several diverse branches have grown, but all maintain their roots in the fundamental principles, and utilize the same tools.
What do you understand by the following terms: a) Dactylomancy, b) Od, c) Rhabdomancy?
The term ‘dowsing’ covers a wide variety of techniques and practices, developed over the several millennia the art has been in existence. To properly understand the nature of dowsing, it is important to grasp the different schools of dowsing, and the terminology that surrounds them.
The art of dactylomancy is one that is, if the name alone is studied, rather misleading. This is the art of dowsing using a pendulum.
The term dactylomancy is Latin in origin. This name is used because the Romans appear to be the main source of pendulum dowsing study in ancient times that the modern world has had access to, and as such, they provide much of the knowledge of the ancient use of the pendulum that is available to the modern practitioner. The Romans practiced augury with considerable skill, and the College of Augurs had a great deal of experience in the art of pendulum dowsing. Their pendula of choice tended to be finger rings, suspended on fine threads. The use of finger ornamentation for dowsing is the origin of the term dactylomancy – dactulos being Latin for finger.
The actual mechanics of dactylomancy are relatively simple. A weight is suspended on a thread or chain. Rings, crystals, or other such items are commonly used in the modern era. A question is then asked, or the diviner focuses on the energy being emitted by the substance or item in question. Positive results are shown by a circling of the weight in one direction, negative results are indicated by a circle in the opposite direction. A random, neutral swing indicates unclear or neutral results. The location of items can be accounted for by a swing towards a compass point.
Dactylomancy is often harder to interpret than the other forms of dowsing, and requires a great deal of intuition. Many practitioners believe that the results are influenced by spirit guides, or that the energy emitted from their subject bypasses them completely to influence the pendulum directly. Whatever the case, it can be said that dactylomancy is a valid diagnostic and dowsing technique, which has served diviners well for a considerable number of centuries.
The concept of Od is one that may well be known to man scientists in the modern era, although possibly by a variety of names.
The existence of Od was proposed by a German chemist, Baron Carl von Reichenbach. Von Reichenbach (the discoverer of creosote, amongst other scientific developments) claimed that there was a substance somewhere between heat, magnetism, and electricity, that existed all around us. There are several other such substances that scientific thought has considered in the past: the cosmic ether through which the planets moved, for example, that also allowed for the transmission of light and sound waves. Modern thought allows for the existence of cosmic dark matter – invisible, but nevertheless detectable, matter that seems to explain why the recorded mass of the universe far exceeds the visible mass. Also, Albert Einstein’s cosmological constant (lambda) required there to be a cosmic ether through which everything in existence moved. This wasn’t physical medium in the same way that the older ether had been, but was more a combination of forces that acted and re-acted to maintain a universal state of balance.
Od is, then, a form of energy field or matter that infuses and surrounds everything around us. While von Reichenbach was unable to explain Od, or precisely how Od worked, his hypothesis is not completely without merit. On a cosmic or relativistic scale, the etheric properties of the cosmological constant are currently being revisited for their potential viability. At the other end of the scale, at a quantum level, the concept of Od is especially vital.
The function of Od is to act as a medium through which the energy of existence can move. It was firmly believed in the Nineteenth Century that, without a medium, waves could not pass from one body to the next. The existence of the spatial vacuum was certainly understood, but it was so hard to grasp how a wave of radiated energy could pass from one body to another without a medium, that the etheric mass was introduced into scientific thought.
In the modern day, the development of quantum mechanics has first removed the need for etheric matter, and in an ironic twist of fate, started to provide evidence that may well justify its very existence. All matter is subject to quantum laws. The very name quantum comes from a principle that is the foundation for radiesthesia: matter, when it emits energy, does so in specified, regulated amounts, called quanta. The emission of quantum radiation could well be part of what the dowsing individual is sensitive to.
Brownian motion showed, years before Max Planck and Albert Einstein formulated the laws of quantum theory, that the movement of atoms influenced the world around them. Since quantum theory has been discovered, the knowledge that subatomic particles can have a direct influence over each other, and can cause a chain reaction of events in their locality, suggests one way in which energy emissions can e transferred from one body to another, by influencing the energy signatures of other atoms nearby.
Od is a medium of energy transferral. It does not necessarily have to fit in with current, accepted scientific thinking, as even quantum scientists have yet to comprehend how energy emissions and transference actually work at a quantum level. Yet, von Reichenbach suggested that Od could explain why the human aura could be seen – the energy emissions of the body are seen in the Od surrounding a person. Od also explains why radiation emitted invisibly by a body of matter can be picked up by a dowser. No matter what Od actually is in scientific terms, it is an essential element of radiesthesia, as it is through Od that energy can be felt by those attempting to dowse.
The most commonly practiced form of dowsing – which also appears to be the oldest form – is that of rhabdomancy. This is the art of dowsing using a rod of some description. There are many rods in existence – the y-shaped rods, the dual l-shaped rods, the single rod which is held lightly and dips when near its energy source – and each has its function, so different diviners prefer to use different rods, depending on the situation.
The term rhabdomancy stems from the Greek term, rhabdos, meaning wand. The use of wands in dowsing is portrayed in Egyptian tomb friezes, and has been documented throughout history. Monks mention the use of divining rods in Dark Ages texts, and the reference in the Bible to Moses using his staff to smite rocks and bring forth water has been interpreted as being a reference to water divining. (See Numbers, Chapter Twenty, Verses Ten and Eleven).
Possibly the most common application of dowsing is the use of the rod. Typically, the use of rhabdomancy was the domain of the augur, shaman, or the local magical practitioner. Although there are many applications for both staffs and wands, it is possible that they have been used by a variety of cultures. The tradition of the stereotypical witch and wizard using their wands for rhabdomancy is common dowsing lore – and a perfectly logical application of the art with a well-adapted tool.
Where are the Akashic Records to be found? What are they? Be brief in your answer.
In a variety of spiritual and esoteric traditions around the world, there is a concept of collective consciousness. However, this concept can be taken a stage further in the theosophical concept of the Akashic Records.
Essentially, the Akashic Records are a universal filing system that records every thought, word, and deed at a vibrational level. The records are imprinted on a subtle substance called akasha. This is a Sanskrit word, and in Hindu mysticism, the akasha is purported to be the raw elemental substance from which all other elements were created. In this substance, every event that ever occurred will leave a mark. It is a record, an imprint of universal existence.
The Akashic Records are not something that can be physically seen or touched by the normal state of human awareness. They are supposedly located at a higher level of consciousness, within the Astral Plane, or the Upper World, depending on the culture concerned. Accessing the Akashic Records requires that an individual can tune their mental processes out of the common perception of reality and into the same conscious level as the Akashic Records. Naturally, this is not a task that can be undertaken with any ease, and as such, there are numerous ways of approaching this state. The methods used by the mystics and shamans around the world vary extensively, but it is possible that dowsing is one method of tuning into this force. By opening the mind to the akasha the diviner could well be letting the intrinsic inter-connectedness of everything in existence speak through the rod or pendulum. The Akashic Records are the epitome of holistic thinking, and as such, cannot be overlooked in any way when considering the use of non-conventional or energetic healing or predictive techniques.
Which cerebral hemisphere is associated with a: mental arithmetic, b: recognizing faces, c: painting a portrait, d: dowsing, e: writing?
The human brain is a truly remarkable organ. To this day, we are still not sure exactly how it functions, and the study of neuroscience is still very much in its infancy. However, this is not to imply that we know nothing at all about the brain. The data that we do have is considerable – but it is almost certain that it is just a fraction of the information yet to be discovered.
Since mankind first embarked on the study of medical science, several thousand years ago, the basic anatomy of the brain has been understood. The left and right hemispheres, the frontal lobes, the hindbrain and brain stem – their physical existence is not exactly hard to verify. They can be seen just by looking inside someone’s skull. What has always been a problem (until fairly recently) is exactly how the brain works, and what it does. In mediaeval times, it was believed that the brain regulated the blood and the heart was the seat of thought. Science has advanced somewhat since then. We have now established that the left and right sides of the brain perform slightly different functions, while at the same time working in tandem as a whole organ.
Put simply, the left side of the brain is the logical, analytical hemisphere. The right is the creative and emotional side. Between them, they control the motor function of opposite sides of the body (left controls right, and vice versa). Much of this information has been gleaned from the study of the electrical activity in the brain under certain stimuli. For example, mathematics and mental arithmetic is a left-brain function. Numeracy is handled by the logical, analytical functions. This hemisphere of the brain is also responsible for recognizing faces: the memory for facts such as faces is handled in the left-brain. However, the artistic reproduction of the face is the role of the right-brain. This is the creative side of the brain, and it rules the task of portrait painting.
The faculty of dowsing is located in the right brain. The psychic element of dowsing is found in this hemisphere, and dowsing is part of the emotional, unconscious faculty. The human brain does not actively control the dowsing act with rational thoughts, and therefore the left-brain is bypassed.
An example of the two hemispheres working in unison can be found in writing. While the act of putting the words physically onto paper is the role of the left-brain, in that the verbal skills and action of writing are logical, definable functions, the creativity that conjures up the images to actually write about is a right-brain function. The right-brain provides the concepts, and the left-brain gets the, down on paper. As such, it can be seen that, while the brain has two hemispheres that control different aspects of our lives, they must work together for us to properly function in society.
Where and what are the chakras?
The human body is a remarkable piece of evolutionary development. The intricate mechanisms of the physical structure and workings of the body are so detailed that, even now, we do not fully understand the precise relationship between every element, nor even how every organ works. The brain, for example, is a mystery to even the most advance neurologists. Its precise method of working has yet to be fully explored.
However, the body is not just a mass of physical elements. It also radiates a substantial amount of energy, which is often attributed to spiritual influences as much as it is to simple physicality. Different religions place different levels of importance on the energies of the body. Conventional Western religions regard them with a lot less emphasis than the Eastern religions. Similarly, pagan religions tend to be more energy conscious than their modern equivalents.
Whatever the standpoint on physical energy emissions, it cannot be denied that the human body radiates energy, as do all things. The precise nature of this energy is another point of contention between the religious and medical communities, but one thing that can be said is that, while the variations of energy levels may be cause, effect, or both in the cases of physical illness, the presence of energetic imbalance is present when the human body is physically unwell.
Different cultures have different names for these energies. Kundalini energies the Dan Tien, the soul, the etheric body – these are all names for what may be the same fundamental energetic representation of self. However, one of the most well known names for the energetic body is that of the chakras.
The chakras are essentially nodes, or focal points, of energy in the body. Each chakra is associated with an area of the body, a range of emotions, physical and spiritual symptoms or well-being, and even with astrology, colours, and certain animals. Chakras, it can be said, control our bodies in almost every way – and as such, the study of chakras and their influence is a vital diagnostic tool to the holistic practitioner.
The body is comprised of seven chakras:
- Crown Chakra – just above the head.
- Brow or Third Eye Chakra – on the forehead.
- Throat Chakra – in the throat.
- Heart Chakra – at mid-chest level.
- Solar Plexus Chakra – over the abdomen.
- Sacral Chakra – over the upper pelvic cavity.
- Root Chakra – over the lower pelvic cavity and genitals.
By paying attention to each chakra specifically, it is possible to divine the energetic influences on the body, energetic dysfunction or imbalance, and energy flow in the person concerned. As such, diagnosis of illness with a pendulum is a very important application of the radiesthesic faculty.
Each chakra has certain qualities, which can be listed as follows:
- The Crown Chakra
Located at the top of the head, the crown chakra is usually associated with the head, the brain, and the entire nervous system. It is also linked strongly to the pineal gland. It is the chakra that most relates to empathy and unity with other beings. This chakra is associated with two colours – violet, which is a universal colour of spiritual healing, and white light. White light is often seen as being the cosmic force of creation, the raw energetic material from which we are all created, hence the crown chakra being the most in tune with the fundamental spiritual nature of the universe.
- The Brow Chakra
Found in the center of the forehead, the brow (or third eye) chakra tends to be associated with the brow, temples, and carotid plexus – which can be major areas of tension for those who have stressful lifestyles. It is also linked to the pituitary gland. Its colour is often seen to be indigo, and also midnight blue.
More than any of the chakras, the brow chakra is associated with extra-sensory perception. It is also the focal point of all the other senses, so energetic disruption of the sensory systems may be found here.
- The Throat Chakra
The throat chakra is associated with the colour sky blue, and the thyroid gland. From this location, the throat chakra controls the energy fields around the throat, neck, arms and hands. It is the chakra that deals with emotions and communication issues. In the modern world, where people are forced to repress their feelings or where society does not allow them to communicate as they would wish to owing to social or work related politics, the throat chakra is frequently in a state of energetic imbalance.
- The Heart Chakra
The heart chakra’s colour is a rich, emerald green. Naturally, it is associated with the heart and blood circulatory system, but also with the cardiac plexus, lungs, and the chest area in general. It also has influence over the thymus gland, and as a result, tends to have a heavy effect on the immune system. The heart chakra has a lot to do with personal feelings and relationships. It is the chakra that influences love a great deal, and because of the turbulent nature of that emotion, the heart chakra can frequently be seen to have energetic problems that show up to the skilled diviner.
- The Solar Chakra
The solar chakra, which is linked to the colour yellow, controls a great deal of functions in the body, lying as it does over so many of the vital organs. It controls the muscles and skin, the solar plexus, large intestine, stomach, liver, and most of the organs in that region, such as kidney and spleen. It also has a great deal of influence over the face and the eyes. In terms of the endocrine system, it is an influence over the pancreas.
The solar chakra is heavily linked to power, either over others or being a victim of other people’s power. It is closely linked to the ego – the sense of being oneself, of existing as an individual. When that sense of individuality is disrupted, the energetic signature of the solar chakra can be heavily unbalanced.
- The Sacral Chakra
Found over the middle of the abdomen, just over the pelvic cavity, the sacral chakra controls the reproductive system, sexual organs and cycle, and the gonads. It is seen to be orange in colour. It is a primeval chakra, in that it controls the basic human instincts: fear, sex, and hunger. It looks after what is considered to be pleasant in life, as well as the physicality of relationships, good or bad. At the very base level, this is a chakra that can be either heavily active or utterly repressed. It may have strong imbalances caused by (or leading to) energetic dysfunction.
- The Root Chakra
Located at the perineum, and associated with the colour red, the root chakra controls the energies of a variety of systems. The lymphatic system, skeleton, prostate, sacral plexus, bladder and elimination systems, and the legs and feet: all are linked to the root chakra. As is the sense of smell and the nose. In the endocrine system, the adrenal glands are touched upon. Judging by the systems that are controlled by this chakra, it is possible to say that is controls the survival instincts. Trust and the instinct to fight are linked to this spot, so it can undergo fast energetic disruptions several times a day, making it vulnerable to upset. However, it is also the chakra of connection to reality, the chakra of grounding. In order to stay in touch with reality, the root chakra must be in good working order.
From all of the above, it is possible to see that, working in unison with a powerful energetic flow, the chakras control the very essence of the physical nature of the human body. They are the focal points of what makes a human being alive and well, and treatment and diagnosis of the chakras and the energies within them using a pendulum is a vital part of any holistic diagnosis.
What is an ideomotor response? Give two examples.
Generally speaking, the activities in the human body, and our interactions with the world around us, fall into two categories: conscious action and unconscious action. Conscious actions are based on a stimulus/response pattern, where an activity around us causes us to react in a certain way, usually after a period of deliberation. It is the making of these deliberate decisions in order to obtain a desired result.
Unconscious actions are more complex. Here, the rational and logical mind is bypassed. A stimulus/response effect is still occurring, but the reaction is not processed immediately by the logical brain. It may register there, but perhaps only after the action has already been taken. An excellent example of this is found in the reaction to burning. A burn on the skin causes an individual to snatch their body away from the flame immediately. This is an unconscious reaction to pain. The body does not pause to think about it first.
The autonomic nervous system works independently of deliberate control all the time. The heart beats, the lungs breathe: it does not take brain effort to make them do so. The body is awash with autonomic, unconscious activity.
However, there is a type of stimulus/response reaction that can be induced that has no connection with autonomic systems, nor is it linked directly to the fight-or-flight instincts, as pain tends to be. This type of action is called an ideomotor response. Essentially, it is a connection between conscious decision and subconscious action. It is commonly used in hypnotherapy, but social programming can also create such responses. A shake of the head for no is introduced into children so early that it becomes second nature, and the adult does this automatically. An act done without thinking is an unconscious act – if a particular response is made to a certain stimulus without direct cerebral intervention, then an ideomotor response has been made.
It is believed that the root of the ideomotor response lies in the extra-pyramidal nervous system. This system normally regulates the bodily movements so that they are smooth and co-coordinated. In an ideomotor response, the extra-pyramidal system is shut off, so the individual concerned performs an action without a conscious decision to do so. This could, quite literally, be called a knee-jerk reaction.
The movements of the head are just one kind of ideomotor response: negative or positive, the head-jerk is usually not consciously controlled. Another example could be the smile that leaps to the face of a child when they see a parent, or to the face of a loved one when re-united with their family after a period of absence. The child does not see the face and say to itself, “Here is my mother. Now I will smile.” The expression of happiness occurs purely on instinct – an ideomotor response to the stimulus of recognizing the familiar face.
The ideomotor response is often cited as part of the radiesthetic faculty – the ability to move a pendulum without conscious action does bear some similarity to an ideomotor response.
Which part of the nervous system is thought to be involved in the radiesthetic faculty? How might it be involved?
The radiesthetic faculty is a reasonably complex process. The ability to receive, process, and physically manifest the presence of external energies is not something that can be summarized with a few choice words. However, it is possible to analyze each stage of the process in order to give a clear picture of how dowsing actually works.
The aspect of radiesthetic sensitivity that can cause the most confusion is, ironically, the biological side. While many are content to let the psychic elements of divining ride, since we know very little about this part of our existence, the physical manifestations of the art are more likely to cause problems – specifically because the human race believes it knows how the body works. Anything that appears to challenge the status quo is treated with scepticism. This does not necessarily mean that it is incorrect, but it does require a detailed explanation in order to persuade the critics.
Biologically speaking, the practice of radiesthesia is thought to influence the extra-pyramidal nervous system. Effectively, the dowser is influenced by the radiation or energy in their own body: the chakras. These chakras are influenced by the brain. When the brain is in the correct hemispheric balance, it is capable of attuning itself to the Akashic Records. Having done so, and being consequently in contact with the object or answer that is the subject of the dowsing session, the energetic signature of the chakras is attuned accordingly. This influences the physical body – specifically, it causes a bypass of the extra-pyramidal nervous system. This bypass produces a temporary disconnection of the conscious and unconscious control of the body, resulting in an ideomotor response. The response in question moves the rod, wand, or pendulum in a manner that reflects the influence of the subject being dowsed.
This is, of course, a highly simplified version of the radiesthetic influence on the nervous system. The reality is far more involved, but would require a great deal of research to accurately portray.
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