I wrote the following article a year or more ago, to give more clarity to the references in A Mind Beyond Words to the way I communicated with those I couldn’t reach by other methods. A couple of people have recently shown interest in it, so I decided to reproduce it here.
How to dowse (divine) using your laptop
It sounds counter-intuitive, doesn’t it? Dowsing and divination for most people belong in the realms of incense and candles, crystal balls and the tarot, not at all in the material, businesslike domain of a laptop computer.
I remember the first time I took out my crystal pendulum and demonstrated this method of using a computer keypad as a makeshift divination board at a spiritual development circle.
One person gave an anguished cry. “It’s wrong!” she cried. “You can’t do that. You can’t mix the world of Spirit with modern technology.”
Actually, though, you can. It’s all frequency and vibration. Even modern technology uses quartz crystals…
I started by simply holding a crystal pendulum on a chain for dowsing. It was fine for receiving yes/no answers to questions I put to my inner self or to guides or other entities. There were times, though, when I needed a more expansive answer.
Moving beyond Yes and No
My first attempt was with using a home-made circular board divided into sections like pizza slices, each with a different message. Discovering that it seemed to work well, I moved on to writing the alphabet in a shallow arc on a sheet of paper.
Magically, my pendulum was able to swing towards various letters, spelling out messages and circling gently to denote the end of each word. When I had received a long and detailed message from someone in spirit, describing, in some detail, a meeting I hadn’t attended, and which I was later able to verify, I was convinced that this method worked.
From there, it was only a short hop to using my computer keyboard to receive the messages. This had the added advantage that I could record the words on the computer as they came through.
A word of caution
I can’t guarantee that this will work for you, although I’ve had some success teaching others to do it in person. Nor can I tell you how or why it works. I believe it has a great deal to do with intention and motivation. That means that anyone using this as a party trick or attempting to ‘summon up ghosts’ in a sensationalist sense may well have no results or even some unpleasant experiences.
Opening to spirit is not something to be treated flippantly. I believe we all have access to guides beyond the physical, but should invite and welcome them with a gentle, caring and respectful energy, showing gratitude for their help and wisdom.
The ‘how to’ guide
This is my (self-taught) method. Probably you will develop your own in time, but this is a starting point.
- You will need a pendulum of some sort hanging from a chain or string and a laptop with qwerty keyboard, open at Word or some similar word processor.
- You’ll only need to focus only on the alphabet, caps lock, return and space bar keys.
- Quiet your mind, focus on the source you wish to reach — your own inner wisdom or spirit guides, for example — and put out an intention to receive helpful and loving information which will be beneficial to all concerned.
- Type a polite, respectful greeting and preliminary permission question on your computer: something like, ‘Good afternoon. May I please ask some questions about…?’ Then press return. (I usually turn on caps lock for the dowsed responses and keep to sentence case for my own.)
- Hold the pendulum chain, so that the pendulum is suspended above the centre of the keyboard and comes to rest between G and H.
- Try to empty your mind of any expectations and keep your hand as still as possible. If you are able to make contact, the pendulum will start to swing gently. In my experience, the sort of question mentioned in number 4 above usually receives either ‘YES’, ‘NO’ or ‘NOT YET.’ If the pendulum moves towards the top of the keyboard, adjust your hand position slightly, so that it is centred on Y. If that is the target letter, the pendulum will circle over it. If, for example, it was heading for T, the pendulum would move slightly to the left. If, however, the initial movement is down, left or right, allow your hand to move slightly in the direction it shows, ensuring that you are always following the pendulum’s direction, not moving it where you think it will go.
- Once the pendulum is circling over the chosen letter, use your free hand to type that letter, return the pendulum to the G/H starting point and wait for the next letter, carrying on as above.
- When a word is complete, the pendulum will circle, rather than heading for another letter. Type a space and then see if there is another word to come. If it just keeps circling, that phrase or sentence is finished and it’s your turn to write.
- If you now have permission and wish to ask a specific question, type your query on the computer and hit return.
- Go back to G/H, repeating step 6.
- Once the conversation is at an end, thank your guide or your inner self for the wisdom that has been shared.
Any Questions?
Of course you have. So would I, in your place.
- What was I doing asking someone in spirit about events at a meeting I hadn’t attended?
I had a valid and honourable reason for doing so. For details, you’d need to read a chapter called My Left Knee in my book A Mind Beyond Words available from all good booksellers.
- How can I tell you how your pendulum will perform (e.g. circling at the end of a word), given that each of us will form a unique relationship with our dowsing tools?
I can’t. I’m telling you what works for me, and in doing so, I’m suggesting that the same method will work for you. That will therefore be what you are expecting and — in some odd, non-local way that I don’t pretend to understand — that is what may well happen.
- Is this a dark art? We’ve all heard of dangerous goings on with Ouija boards and suchlike.
As stated above, it depends entirely on your intention and mindset. Certainly, there is far more going on in the realms around us than the mainstream materialist outlook would suggest. If you approach this activity expecting to encounter malicious or mischievous ghosties and ghoulies, then perhaps that’s what you’ll discover. (I can’t say for sure, as I’ve never had the desire to do such things.) If, on the other hand, you have a strong desire to connect to your spirit guide or to your higher self and intend the conversation to be for the good of all concerned, that’s what you will achieve.
- Will my pendulum communication tell me what to do when I can’t make up my mind?
Probably not. There will be guidance and perhaps an opportunity to see the bigger picture and other perspectives, but questions such as, “Should I date this person?” or “Should I move to a new town?” are really down to you. That’s why you chose to incarnate in a human body — to make all those difficult choices and live with the consequences. That’s how we grow. When I’ve asked that sort of question, the pendulum invariably swings in a circle, which is its way of saying, “Your call.”