dows-ing

douzING, dousING

noun

a technique for searching for underground water, minerals or ANYTHING INVISIBLE, by observing the motion of a pointer (traditionally a forked stick, now often paired bent wires) or the changes in direction of a pendulum, supposedly in response to UNSEEN INFLUENCES.

A Dowsing Story....

     My first instinct when presented with the idea of dowsing was.... no way.  Only superstitious (crazy) people would do this.  My science background didn't quite gel with this idea.  I have my healthy skepticism in tact.   But.... I remember many years ago listening to my father-in-law (at the time), explain his situation on his property in Arizona.  In the high desert, water was and is scarce.  He and his wife had a beautiful home there, but alas, no water.  He, as an engineer, invested hundreds of dollars towards well-meaning geologists who calculated and perused and calculated some more to help him find the perfect place to dig a well.  Maps and cameras and tools, oh my. So after three different water finding expeditions (drilling into the earth quite deep and paying the tab), the said geologists scratched their collective heads and gave up. There was no water on his property.  "Maybe you should call Old Jim so and so.  He's a dowser.  Heard to have pretty good luck."  And they all left my father-in-law, pardon the pun, high and dry. Now consider him with no water to even flush a toilet, let alone to drink or shower, and having to drive a tank truck into town weekly to "water" the house, you can imagine his next move. He was calling Old Jim.  

     Now my father-in-law was a good, Christian man, so it was only in sheer desperation that Old Jim was even allowed on the property.  I truly wish I could have seen this.  I would have loved it.  I can imagine Old Jim pulling out what looked to be hangars that had seen a really, bad windstorm and my father-in-law watching this debacle.  Probably a long miner's beard and a worn leather hat as most stereotypes would have him. Old Jim and his dowsing wires trudged the property paying no mind to the side-eyed glances he probably received that day.  He knew his wires, he knew the power of water, he knew of life-force and energy, and things he felt and sensed, even though he probably couldn't tell you why or how.  

     Old Jim marked the spot.  He was so sure.  He didn't have to sell anyone, he just knew... and believed.  The drilling machines were once again dragged onto the property.  Digging commenced.  When at only 100 feet water sprang forth from the parched earth, everyone just shook their heads.  Old Jim was long gone to his next dowsing job, because he didn't have to wait to see the proof.  My father-in-law told this story proudly for 20 some years, as long as I had the pleasure of knowing him, and before he moved on to his next plane of existence.  That day he was flabbergasted and awed.  He believed then and there in things that weren't too popular to admit, but he believed anyway.  He had seen Old Jim in action with his own eyes.  They never had a water problem again and this is the power of dowsing. 

  .                                                                                                ~ Lana C.