YWB demonstrates backyard dowsing

Very interesting...but it sure looks like your lawn could use an application of nonorganic fertilizer. Maybe an application of a preemergent herbicide, too. Heh.

Is there any chance that you could be subconsciously affecting the movement of the hangers?

I would be more convinced if your experimental controls were better. Basically you know where the water line is in your yard which means you can sub-consciously influence the position of your hands. You really need to test this in a double blind manner. The person who buries the water can not participate in the experiment. In that way the recorder of the experiment can't influence the outcome either.

If you pull this off in a double blind manner then get to JREF right away as they have one million dollar paranormal ability challenge.

My guess is that you'll find with strong experimental controls the ability goes away or yields inaccurate information.

It is significant that you have somehow transmitted the power to Lucas but reversed since his right-hand rod turned the opposite of what you would expect. You should switch hands (holding his right hand instead of the left) and check the results. Also, do the same with Julie since she does not have the power either.

You and Matthew seem to have the opposite polarity from your dad. You and your dad should hold hands and try it to see which way the rods move.

This is very eerie. I am beginning to believe there is more to this than meets the eye.

I would have to agree with forestwalker. I have been around people all my life who dowse for water before drilling wells. No one thinks this is some sort of occult thing. Most of the dowsers or "water witchers" I know are often evangelical Christians of the type that think Harry Potter and yoga should be avoided. They rather think it's like being able to tap into sensitivity to natural things that normal people can't pick up on. Kind of like those seizure dogs that know when their owner is going to have a seizure and warn them ahead of time. It's probably some sort of electromagnetic force field thing.

Yeah, its probably MY fundamentlist baggage that makes me react so.....

The thing is, I didn't know that there was a pipe there. I figured that it might be there, given where the faucet is, but I wasn't sure. Anyway, how would you explain the wires moving in Lucas's hand when he didn't know what was going on, and wasn't even watching me and the wire in my hand, but rather was looking straight ahead?

I don't think there's anything spiritual going on; rather, I think it is a form of physical sensitivity that we can't fully explain yet. If I were to be convinced that there is a spiritual component to it, I would definitely not mess with this.

I will have to give this a try in my backyard! I don't know where my water mains are.

I don't think dowsing is like divination or sorcery; I do think it is a so-far-unexplained (but not necessarily inexplicable) ability to pick up on subtle physical evidence. Someone mentioned seizure dogs; I would also point out that there are many documented cases of animals acting very strangely before earthquakes. Animals often pick up very slight changes in their environments that we tune out completely.

This theory would make sense given that Rod and Matthew both have a form of sensory integration disorder, which Rod has referred to in other posts. Both are someone overly sensitive to tastes, smells, environmental stimuli, etc., which is a disadvantage in many aspects of life but clearly can come in handy for locating underground water sources.

I am interested to try this with my family, because my eldest daughter and I are both hypersensitive to a lot of things; whereas my husband and middle daughter are the opposite. So my theory would be that Daughter #1 and I might be able to dowse...I'll let you know what happens!

I think there is an important difference between what Rod is doing and "divination."

In divination, one would typically "charge" the instrument with intent, incantation, prayer, etc. Rod and family are just putting a wire in their hands and seeing where it goes. There certainly are dowsers who divine, and dowsers who attempt to locate, for instance, ghosts, discarnate spirits, energy residues of emotional trauma, and the like, and dowsers who do their work remotely. Rod and family will have to draw their own line. But from where I draw mine, they aren't practicing divination.

This theory would make sense given that Rod and Matthew both have a form of sensory integration disorder, which Rod has referred to in other posts. Both are someone overly sensitive to tastes, smells, environmental stimuli, etc., which is a disadvantage in many aspects of life but clearly can come in handy for locating underground water sources.

An interesting point. I mentioned earlier in this thread that Matthew was *really* sensitive with the wires; they began moving several feet from the water source, much earlier than anybody else's. That kid is painfully sensitive. Julie said that today they were at the vet's office for the first time (found a stray dog), and Matthew begged her to leave, describing a pulsating sound he kept hearing that was making him woozy.

Know what it was? The fluorescent lights. He could *hear* them. I think I know now why he has to hear Gregorian chants or the same Bach guitar piece every night, rather loud, to get to sleep. Ambient noise is overwhelming to him. I bet there's a connection between that and his ultrasensitivity to the dowsing stuff.