Chris Johnson is a director of the British Society of Dowsers and chairman of its Health and Healing interest group. Based in the Midlands, he is a professional dowser and, with his wife, runs a relaxation and natural therapy clinic. Chris is also a spiritual healer and Reiki master and teacher.

As a qualified dowser for health specialising in testing nutritional sensitivities, food allergies and stress release I’d like to explain a little more about how this healing therapy works.

What is Dowsing?
To dowse is to search for that which is hidden from view. Many of you may be familiar with dowsing with the use of ‘divining rods’ to search for underground water sources. Dowsing for health, with a crystal pendulum, is based on the same principle; it is a therapy used to locate the underlying cause of bodily or emotional imbalance that leads to ailments and physical reactions such as allergies or disease.

The origins of dowsing are lost in history, but it is interesting to trace the development of our knowledge of this undoubtedly ancient practice. The earliest definitive reference to the use of a divining rod was in 1430 when it was used for locating metallic ores, although figures using tools similar to rods are depicted in Egyptian murals. References were also made in the 16th century and it is well known that divining rods were used during the reign of Elizabeth I to seek sources of zinc. History books continue to refer to dowsing for water through the centuries and as time passed, other simple tools such as pendulums, which act in the same way as rods, were used to find similar resources and began to develop as a method of helping to treat ill health.

Dowsing for health in this way, is extremely simple and effective. No one knows why it works and scientific research cannot prove how it works but we know from experience that it does.

You Are What You Eat
For many years I suffered from rough, dry skin on the joints of my hands and feet. I was prescribed cream for eczema by my GP but it made little difference. I learnt from a friend about a dowser who had helped her with a similar concern and, with some scepticism, decided to book an appointment. The dowser identified the root cause of the dry skin as food intolerance, caused by stress. With the cause identified, I went on a strict diet. Within three months the problems had disappeared. Cutting out certain dairy products and dry food goods, not only made a huge difference to this ailment but I felt more energetic.

The Root of the Problem
Being able to diagnose, through dowsing, the root of food intolerance is most effective when it is understood what causes unfavourable responses in the body. Often, intolerance stems from stress at some point in a person’s life. A stressful period or event contributes to a breakdown of the body’s ability to reject toxins and function properly. Incidents in life can affect how you behave and react to current and future events; your reactions can, in turn, affect your well being. Dowsing looks for the root cause of stress, together with an analysis of diet, leading to a removal of the problem.

Stress is released by using a unique but well established system of holding the dowsing tool, in my case the pendulum, over a developed set of ‘emotion’ words. The pendulum reacts to these words such as happiness, anxiety, guilt and panic. It swings in a negative or positive direction according to the feelings of the patient. This may relate to different stages of their lives. The words identified as being negative are spoken aloud by the patient. At first, the voice often trembles, but as the words are repeated, the voice becomes more controlled. This process helps the emotion suffered to be gently released. Often this leads to tears as the patient ‘lets go’ and feels the fading of emotion that has built up inside them for many years.

The pendulum is also used to dowse over food words: the type of food (organic, tinned, dried, fresh etc), food types (starch, wheat, dairy etc) and food colourings. The combination of the two different sets of words is strongly linked and means that the root cause, the stress, and the food to which the stress has created an intolerance, can be identified.

Distance Healing
For those who cannot travel to a registered professional dowser, help can be given by means of distance healing. This allows the healer, using a symbol, to channel energies to the patient to deal with the illness. Often the person receiving the healing can feel the effects instantly, sometimes not at all, even though it is still working.

It takes time, and distance healing may need to be sent several times, or on an on-going basis over days, weeks or even months. Receiving healing in this way over a long period helps to maintain the balance of the body. Usually basic information is all that is needed (name, address, etc) although a current photograph is also useful. Healing can be given to a person of any age. Even animals and plants can benefit.

Bizarre - but Effective
To some dowsing may seem an ‘off the wall’ approach to dealing with allergies and intolerance. Before I ever went to see a dowser, I’d never have believed it could benefit me and would have thought the whole process distinctly unconventional. But, whilst there remains little scientific understanding of dowsing, it is a natural process requiring no medication - and it has been proved to work.

Dowsing is not a miracle cure and sometimes it takes time to be really effective. Other times the effect of a treatment can be almost immediate. However, it should never be a replacement for ‘proper’ medical advice. It should be used as a complementary therapy that allows people with food-related ailments to gain a deeper understanding of the root cause of their problems, and to change their diet accordingly.

Dowsing for Oneself
Self-help can be achieved by learning the skills and techniques of the professional dowser. The basics of dowsing for food allergies and stress can be taught over a simple six-hour session. This would provide enough basic information and skill to help with food allergies and stress release.

Workshops on dowsing for Health and Healing are held on a regular basis in Worcester or in any other part of the country to suit requirements. A full course is 18 hours, taken in three six-hour sessions spread over several months to allow for practice and understanding between each session.

Chris Johnson is a director and trustee of the British Society of Dowsers and chairman of the organisation’s Health and Healing interest group. Based in the Midlands, he is a professional dowser and tutor, and runs a relaxation and natural therapy business, EMPATHEIA, with his wife. Chris is also a spiritual healer and Reiki master and teacher.

If you wish to contact him call 01905 455138 (24-hour answer service) or email him at chjdowsing@supanet.com

Any opinion in this article is Chris’s and not necessarily the opinion of the British Society of Dowsers.

First published in 2005

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