I ran across an interesting statement in my reading the other day. The book is "Dowsing for Everybody" by Harvey Howells. The copyright date is 1979. Howells had been studying and practicing dowsing for about three or four years when he wrote that, learning his methods from some of the best dowsers in the American Northeast. The interesting statement was this:

"Success is most likely when there is a need."



In Howells' view, a "reputable practitioner would as soon dowse a horse race as an election; ...there is no 'need' to know the results ahead of time unless for selfish gain, such as a bet." He felt such activity was an improper use of a person's dowsing skill.

It got me thinking. Like so many other people who have taken Paul's dowsing course on the DVDs, I've tried dowsing the lottery. Like so many other people I haven't exactly made millions at it. But then, I never needed the money. On top of that lack of need, one of my friends pointed out that if I regularly picked the winning numbers, I'd probably spend the rest of my short and miserable life chained to a table, dowsing lottery numbers for men with guns. From that point of view, there may be a real "need" to be unsuccessful at dowsing the lottery, at least publicly.

That's a really good post. Thank you for sharing!

Hhmm. Interesting thought! It would be interesting (but kind of tricky to do, I would think) to research this -- to see if people dowsing for something they "need" are more successful than those dowsing for something they merely "want."

Hi Paul,

That's the thing isn't it? What is need? In his book, Howell reported sometimes succeeding at trivial tasks where the "need" was apparently only the requirement to show someone that dowsing can succeed. How can we objectively determine which dowsing targets and sessions are successful because the need is valid and which ones fail because the need is just not present?

You know me. I attended your basic RV class in Austen a year ago. You might remember that I mentioned my father was a dowser. He never made a big deal of it. When he needed to find a buried pipe or power line he would cut a Y from a cotton-wood tree and do his thing. He never missed. But he never dowsed as a parlour trick or in search of "treasure" of any sort. He didn't talk about it, he just did it. If he didn't have a need, he didn't even waste time thinking about dowsing. I thought it was a neat trick, but I was never very successful. In fact I was so unsuccessfel I began to believe the dowsing gene must skip a generation.

Your DVD set helped me develop my skill at dowsing, but "need is the ultimate monkey" as Ryan Phillipe's character says in "The way of the Gun". I'm looking around for worthwhile projects try my hand at, but so far I don't have any noteworthy successes to report.

Hi Bombur,

I wonder if we were classmates? I attended a year ago in March.

First thought that crossed my mind when you said "men with guns" was the army... followed by "Hey! They already did that to Paul!"

Guess you mean mafia, etc.?... like what seems to have happened to former National Basketball Association (NBA) referee, Tim Donaghy?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/s ... id=2976241

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Donaghy

Yes, we must have been classmates.

Kidnapping for ransom is already a fairly common cottage industry among the local coyotes and smugglers. Kidnapping someone who can dowse winning lottery numbers with any regularity wouldn't be a stretch for any of those guys.

Yikes! That is a dangerous possibility.

Faced with the same possibility, I'd function worse than I already do.

Part of my process is artificially creating an intense need. Start off by acknowledging any and every difficulty that pops up, and rapidly solving and/or setting it aside. Becomes easier with practice as the difficulties are similar at start of each dowsing practice.

I was intending to dowse MegaMillions last night but needed a nap -- fell asleep. That particular drawing is too late for me.

I'm still practicing on the local mid-day and evening pick-4 and 5-number drawings. But I don't actually buy the tickets. If I got good, and bought a substantial winning ticket, at my next ticket purchase I'd switch to another store/city. I'd switch location (and possibly state/province) each time I won.

"Artificially creating an intense need."

I wonder if that is always a good idea? I know it works; it is basically the modus operendi of every successful weight loss or stop smoking self-hypnosis program ever constructed. But if you create a need, say the need to succeed at lottery dowsing, that is in conflict with an established need, say the need to fail at lottery dowsing in order to avoid being kidnapped by gangsters, won't the result be mediocre performance? Or maybe a complete meltdown, ala the HAL computer in the movie 2001?

"Open the pod bay doors, HAL."
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Dave."

The lottery makes such an attractive training target because it is truly a blind target and provides clear feedback, just the combo a dowser needs for training. But maybe it isn't such a good training target after all if it results in a conflicted subjective mind.

Ultimately I'd like to be able to use map dowsing to locate lost or missing children and/or hikers. There is a real need in such cases. I have a friend on the local sherrif's posse search and rescue team who doesn't think I'm a complete nut (he only suspects) and who will take my suggestions for what they are worth. My problem now is to choose a training method that will produce a skill so dependable that my suggestions are actually worth something to him and his team. Blind targets abound but clear feedback is more rare. What I need is a partner who likes to play hide-and-go-seek, or a sort of a dowsing version of geo-cacheing. I'd like the feedback to be exciting, memorable, and as immediate as possible to enhance the training.

Hi Bombur,

Is there a way to use the Geocaches at http://www.geocaching.com/ as dowsing targets? Thanks for mentioning geocaching -- it sounds familiar, but I'd never looked it up before.

The last map dowsing target I was given was an old missing person case: tasker set it up as the map coordinate where the person was last seen alive. I had to determine where they were found.

Very interesting task. But never received any more training tasks. It'd be an excellent way to practice, I think.

Good idea, edb. I'll look into the possibility of using that geocaching website. They require users to get a membership to access the geocache location data. Memebership is free, but the username Bombur is already taken, so I'll have to think of something else to call myself before I can join.

Hi Bombur!

Saw an intriguing idea of using geography site http://www.fallingrain.com/world/index.html .

(Thanks to stanbland in the "Ideas for Dowsing Practice?" thread at viewtopic.php?p=2417#p2417 .)

My father did one interesting thing -- that he seemed to take for granted. I guess it was part of the culture he was reared in. I hazily remember him dowsing for something when I was young -- hazily remember him doing something with a tree branch during the spring or summer when I was less than 6 or 7 years. I don't remember any other obvious dowsing. He did trust and use his dreams more than anyone I knew (until I reached my adulthood and traveled and met more people). (He also slept throught the sermons in Church which was very embarrassing to the rest of us. I always think of that when I see "Sleep-Learning".)

Did your Dad -- or his friends and acquaintances -- mention how your Dad became a Dowser?

As to how my father picked up dowsing, it was probably something he learned as a kid growing up in Bisbee, Arizona, surrounded by German, Irish, and Cornish hard rock miners, but I don't know for a certainty.

Well I have a need for money so hopefully that will help me to dowse the lotto. I'm on disability but have applied at several places but no one has called back. We really need the money right now, so im picking up or maybe will make a set of dowsing rods because i think those will work better for me than the pendulum. The pendulum always seems to go to a yes position at every thing I've tried. it never goes to no, meaning left to right. I guess I just have to practice. which is hard because i don't have the learn Dowsing set. As soon as I get a Job I want to get it. In the mean time are there any good books on the subject i could pick up cheap on Amazon?

Wildstar,

I don't know about Amazon, but most public libraries have a book or two about dowsing you can access for free. Richard Webster's "Dowsing for Beginners" is a good one. "Pendulum Power" by Greg Nielson & Joseph Polansky has some good material in it. Kreskin's "Mind Power" isn't about dowsing but has some exercises for pendulum use that I found helpful. The book I cited at the beginning of this thread, "Dowsing for Everybody" by Howells, was one I read on loan from the local library. Some surprising gems like these turn up in used bookstores and thrift stores for very reasonable prices, but when money is tight free is always best. Check your local library. You might even find a copy of Paul's DVD there.

okay I'll check my library. there's only 2000 people in town so the library is small but ill check. and I'll check out those other books on amazon. thanks for the info.

Good morning to you all, I just got the course on Dowsing about a week ago and the remote viewing course about two months ago.
I saw Bombur's post about need vs want and have wondered the same thing.
I have never taken a course on Dowsing or remote viewing but did have some experience starting years ago while in Vietnam, I was in the Marine's then, my MOS was infantry.

Those experiences were an eye opener. Sense then I worked on developing what I thought was ESP and or spiritual growth in this area.
I must say that I had more positive results where there was a need more then a want.
Ego seems to get mixed up with want to often.
I also have found most positive results have come thru compassion when usually dealing with others.

I got away from this stuff a number of years ago but now I am getting interested again and want to hear what others think and experience.

Thank you Jarhead

Wow, fascinating thread -- I'm only sorry I came to it so late! A thought on dowsing in terms of need vs. want. In my long experience with remote viewing, I finally realized that the best remote viewing occurs in the zen-like absence of either need or want. If one can learn to become totally uninvested in the outcome, one's remote viewing improves considerably. (This is a point I make strongly in my ARV classes -- if the viewer is involved in the investment decisions, he or she may get emotionally involved, and the success rate drops.) I wonder if it is not that way with dowsing as well? I confess I have not done any specific testing of this idea -- I've just assumed in my dowsing that well formed intention and letting go of desire are important precursors to successful dowsing. In that case, neither 'need' nor 'want' are relevant.

Best,
Paul

If there's an experiment on this in the future, I'd like to participate as a test subject. I've been wondering about emotions. A mixture of fear and competitive anger (in response to an insult, or, in response to a debate or to a contest), mixed with a push to meet a deadline (and feeling a sharp sense of urgency) seem, for me, to produce good dowsing results (when I have good control of my emotions). It reminds me of the stage fright before going on stage (for example, acting, speaking, solo singing and playing instrument), or diving off of high platforms or cliffs, or while getting mugged, etc. I've heard that great actors get stage fright, too, but are able to use the energy of the fear to energize their performance. Maybe the Zen state is not absence of emotion, but instead, a type of awareness that leads to better control of emotions? (I don't have much practice at Zen or any meditation, but I have had many experiences with stage fright and pushing to meet deadlines.)

If you need more lab rats, I volunteer to be one. Especially if there's a chance to win cheese... !

]The importance of need indeed!!! I belive in the devine. Their are those who are corrupt and not needy that live in the lap of luxury. My God tells me if I want it, will it. If you need it for your betterment whether it be financial, health, curiosity or just because it's there for you. Life is a gift as are many options in this life. Go intrepidly.

OOPS! I said if you need it. IF WANT IT!!!!!!

Volunteer not to be a rat; rather seek ye thine inner hamster.

Personally, I've developed a fondness for gerbils (my son owned a couple for a few years!).

However, on the need-based dowsing topic. It would make for an interesting experiment -- one that would take a lot of thought to set up, I suspect (indeed, I haven't yet got a good idea how to do it). On the other hand, though, I'd almost as much rather work out how one can be successful in the absence of any need -- the zen-like state that EDB suggested.

Best,
Paul