divining rods

During our visit to Fort Knox in Penobscot Bay (the OTHER Fort Knox, not the one where the gold reserves are kept), I spotted a small display of divining rods in the museum shop. Naturally, I could not resist the temptation and purchased myself a pair of L-Rods. Divining rods come in different configurations, with the sort of wishbone shaped stick being the most well-known. L-Rods resemble the letter "L" and come in pairs. The handles are hollow tubes and L-shaped copper wires are placed within the tubes to allow free-movement of the wires to do their thing. Tradition calls the ability to utilize a divining rod as "dowsing." Dowsing is the sixth sense originating from one's subconscious mind.

The document that accompanied my purchase of the dowsing rods claims that as your proficiency increases, "you will also be able to locate lost pipes, unmarked grave sites, lost treasure and other earth features with a high degree of accuracy and confidence."

Today, there exists an American Society of Dowsers (Inc.) headquartered in Danville, Vermont. There are approximately 1000 members with other smaller (dowser) organizations throughout the world.

There are many theories about the dowsing phenomenon. It is purported that those who believe it is possible and could work have moderate success, followed by increasing success as confidence and belief strengthens. As I have mentioned in earlier posts, I want to believe in such things (see my post regarding the Loch Ness Monster). I'm intrigued by the possibilities of things unseen and unexplained. I can attest to the fact that as I departed happily from the store with my L-Rods in hand (wasn't it P.T. Barnum who proclaimed, "There's one born every minute!"?), I swear the wires started to rotate freely, coming to rest for a brief moment, then arced towards the river to my left in unison! I turned with my back to the river, re-positioned the L-Rods in my hands once more with the identical result. The wires began to rotate, stalled for a brief moment as if settling into a final resting position, then slowly turned (again in unison) and pointed directly behind me! My daughter, Marissa, tried utilizing the L-Rods with exactly the same results. When Joni and Chris, my daughter's boyfriend, tried the L-Rods, neither achieved any positive results. Perhaps their shared training as lawyers was a hindrance to their psychic success.

I did try the divining rods again that night in the comfort of our hotel room and the L-Rods behaved in the same manner. In this instance, they both pointed directly to my left. I had no idea where any bodies of water lay in relation to the hotel room so I cannot vouch for their accuracy, but the fact that they both pointed in the same direction leads me to believe something was at play here. I'll have to keep you posted as I experiment more with these things. I figure my $7.00 investment is a small price to pay for a renewed sense of wonder . . .