6 An Altered State of Consciousness

6 AN ALTERED STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS?
Is The Dowsing State Always The Same?

The preliminary results of the Jurka and Stillman studies indicate that there is
definitely a difference in brain wave patterns during dowsing. Although we'd love
to see a broader study with many more subjects and clearer qualifications for being
considered a masterful dowser, the important conclusion is that dowsing, done
properly, changes your brain wave patterns.
The patterns of masterful dowsers, as noted by Ed Stillman, are similar but not
identical to those of healers and those who practice Transcendental Meditation
(TM). Stillman also quoted a study by Dr. Maxwell Cade that showed that delta waves
are only noted in waking conditions "during higher levels of consciousness, at the
onset of paranormal phenomena, or when reaching out to the unknown." The latter
reference is not explained in Stillman's article (though it is a clear analogy to
dowsing), but the first two, higher levels of consciousness and paranormal
phenomena, will not surprise dowsers, since dowsing has long been listed as a
psychic ability. For those of us who don't like characterizing it as such, the
"higher levels of consciousness" rings a bell. We believe dowsing is a natural
human skill that anyone can master, but as a skill, it requires practice and proper
technique to reach this higher level of consciousness. In our book, Dowsing:
Practical Enlightenment, we make a strong case for dowsing as a way to raise one's
level of consciousness and live a more enlightened lifestyle, but that result only
comes through mastery of dowsing. Just dowsing now and then does not yield the
results.
But even when 'mastered'--that term is yet to be defined clearly--does the dowsing
state always look alike in terms of brain wave patterns? The answer Ed Stillman got
was 'no.' There were consistent differences between dowsers who used tools, eyes
opened, and subjects who dowsed devicelessly, eyes shut. As noted in the previous
chapter, it's a shame that Stillman changed two variables during the test--eyes
open/shut; use of tool/no tool--as that means it's impossible to say for sure which
variable was responsible for the difference in results. He speculated that maybe
all dowsers should not look at their tools, should close their eyes while dowsing,
as the brain wave patterns of the deviceless dowsers was coherent across a broader
frequency than those using a tool. For many years, we have advocated teaching
dowsers deviceless dowsing first and foremost, because it is our belief that
starting with a tool has many detrimental side effects, diminishing effectiveness.
We can now add this observation to those. We dowse almost exclusively without
tools, and we believe it is the more natural and accurate way to dowse.
A tool is very helpful in certain situations, and we are not saying tools should
never be employed, just that one should use deviceless dowsing unless there is a
compelling reason to use a tool. A masterful dowser can no doubt get accurate
answers with a tool, eyes wide open. But it now appears that the dowsing state of
that dowser is measurably different from that of a dowser dowsing without tools,
eyes shut, and the broader coherence across frequencies obtained by the deviceless
dowser should encourage you to put your tool aside and master deviceless dowsing.
Our interpretation for the observed differences in brain waves is that it's the
lack of tool that matters. We encourage students to soft focus when dowsing
devicelessly, which means not looking at anything. That, in our opinion, should
give similar results to closing the eyes. The visual focus on the tool diminishes
the brain coherence during the dowsing state, which is restored if one dowses
devicelessly, no focus on external objects, but looking within.
Increasing theta and delta waves has been shown to enhance intuition. This may
explain a perception that dowsers have as they master dowsing. Often, they find
that their intuition in general improves. They are able to get 'gut feelings' more
easily. By learning to dowse well, being able to get in a dowsing state and
practicing dowsing often, you will increase your delta and theta frequencies in the
brain and most probably, notice improvement in your intuitive abilities.
Most research suggests that if you can become consciously aware in the delta
brainwave state, you will have a nearly perfect sense of intuition This may explain
why we have found that as we became accomplished dowsers, we often did not have to
dowse about something in order to know the answer. If you're interested in learning
more about different brain waves and what they mean, we recommend you read
Understanding Your Brain Waves by Dr. Jeffrey Fannin. The white paper may be
obtained for free on the internet.

6 An Altered State of Consciousness

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6 AN ALTERED STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS?

Is The Dowsing State Always The Same?

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