THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF DOWSERS
OCTOBER '26 NEWSLETTER FEATURED ARTICLE
ASD DIGEST
VOLUME 48, NO.1 – WINTER 2007-2008
CONNECTING WITH THE ENERGIES WE DOWSE
By Sue Miller
Who are you? How do you interpret yourself – your moods, your reactions in different situations, your ups and downs? How do you interpret the energies that constantly move through you and around you? Who are you in relation to all other beings in the cosmos? Where do you fit within the circle of life?
We all are beings of energy – slowly swirling masses of light held together by an invisible force. The energies that inform our beings are the same energies which motivate the creation and movement of all things. All emotions, all thoughts, the minutest aspects of out lives – breathing, laughing, crying twitching a muscle – involve continual shifts and movements of energy. Our day-to-day existence happens within constantly shifting energy fields.
When we dowse, we stand in the middle of these energy fields. We ask questions that assist us in understanding what we are experiencing. As dowsers, we can glean large amounts of information by asking an infinite number of yes and no questions. But what systems do we use to interpret the information provided by our yes and no questions? We can quantify out information, but what about the deeper levels of meaning, the qualitative information that can be provided when interpreting what the energies mean to us?
Our ancestors believed that all aspects of the outer world provided a reflection of what was happening in their inner worlds. They believed that there was no separation between them and all other beings. The alchemists reflected that same thinking in different words: “As without, so within; as above, so below.” This experience of an energetic unity to all of life has been lost, and its recovery is essential to reclaiming that connection. As people who consciously work with energy in a variety of ways, how can we use and increase our knowledge of energy movement to recover this lost link?
Interpreting Through Nature
Oriental Medicine provides us with a system for interpreting our experience of the movements of energy. The Law of the Five Elements, or Five Transformative Processes, was formulated over 5,000 years ago. In the ancient world, it was understood that the energies that one saw and experienced in the external landscape were the same energies that informed an individual’s inner landscape. They observed the cyclical movements of the seasons and the events that occurred within each season. Based on these studies, they began to assign different characteristics and qualities to each season: spring was associated with the element of wood, summer with fire, late summer with earth, fall with metal and winter with water. Each of these elements was further associated with a color, sound, emotion, organ system and various other characteristics, forming a picture of the inner workings of the human being based on what was being observed in the natural word. These ancient sages also came to understand that for an individual to maintain health and wellness on both the internal and external levels required living consciously and harmoniously with all the energies of nature. Not only were the elements recognized by their activities and functions in nature, but they were utilized metaphorically to explain the inner workings of the human psyche. The various characteristics were used to define patterns of balance and imbalance, harmony and disharmony.
The energy represented by the five elements is the energy of all creation, all manifestation. Nothing can be created, manifested, or maintained or sustained without the constant interplay of these elements. Likewise, nothing can be broken down, destroyed, changed, or transformed without them. The degree to which we operate in harmony with nature, both internal and external, determines the level of health and well-being we can enjoy on both personal and planetary levels.
How might an understanding of this ancient system help us today? What information could it provide about the movement of energy to further clarify our dowsing? There are many different ways of interpreting and working with energies, and the following information only scratches the surface of what is available in the study of the five elements.
What the Elements Can Teach Us
Wood = Creation
Fire = Growth
Earth = Nurturing (the Mother)
Metal = Inspiration (the Father)
Water = Introspection (the Unknown)
The energy of spring and wood moves upward and outward from our core, bringing our deepest aspirations toward the surface for manifestation. Wood represents the seed, the creative drive – expectant, energetic, desiring to move up and out and become. Spring evokes possibilities and planning and encourages the freedom to move with flexibility. If the push to become encounters difficulties and roadblocks which may seem to thwart its progress, frustration and anger may result. Theis anger is akin to a spring thunderstorm, arising suddenly, blowing ferociously and then quickly moving on and leaving behind clear, sunny skies and freshness in the air.
Summer and fire represent the warmth of the sun wrapping its arms around the young seedling and encouraging it to grow ever upward to fruition. There is joy and excitement in this season as we experience the full flowering of the seed we planted in spring, the manifestation of our deepest aspirations. Energy is at its peak, like the sun blazing overhead at noonday. Fire is symbolic of our inner sun, our hearts the center form which we experience love and compassions. If the sun becomes clouded for too long a time, our joy and excitement can be dimmed and turn to loneliness.
Late summer and the element of earth teach us about transitions as we begin the downward cycle form the high of summer towards the depths of winter. We are reminded of the importance of coming back to center, of grounding ourselves so that we may remain in touch with all that nourishes and sustains us. Losing our center potentially spins us into worry as we disconnect from our source.
Autumn is the season of harvesting and storing, cutting back and composting. Just as tress let go of their leaves in fall, we also must learn to release anything that no longer serves us. This season is represented by the element of metal, which models the process wherein the minerals of the earth condense inward to form precious metals, allowing manifestation of all that is precious and of value. Often this is a time of grief as we may deeply feel the sense of loss and longing. This grief may be associated with people, events or other aspects of our lives.
Winter is the closing season in the cycle of a year. It is represented by the element of water which reminds us of the importance of flow and stillness, the necessity to go deep within to renew and restore so that adequate energy will be available when spring arrives and new seeds need to be planted. This time is akin to entering the unknown and so may be accompanied by fear. it is important to remember that this season also begins a return of light and the promise of coming spring.
Reestablishing The Connection
Energy moves back and forth on a continuum; each element also operates on a continuum from balance to imbalance. In a balanced state, all energies dance in harmony, interdependent, yet creating an integrated whole, while states of imbalance tend to move into the realm of chaos.
If we look at the interplay of the five elements as a metaphor for our lives, we can recognize how our own energies slide back and forth on a continuum. Working with the five elements we have a tool that allows us to learn about our own balance/imbalance continuum, and thus to observe our own actions and reactions in order to identify and thus move toward the balanced end. We want to be a balanced and clear as possible when dowsing. Having an awareness of our individual place on the continuum at any given time can guide us, as dowsers, to a deeper connection with the infinite gradations of information that exist between the yes and no answers. This is because we stand in a constantly shifting field of energies and there is no separation between the dowser and the energy being dowsed. Thus, the more finely attuned dowsers are to their own energetic movement, the more readily they can tune in to the subtle levels of the shifting energies around them.
Our dowsing teachers emphasize the importance of recognizing that the dowsing tools do not “give” us answers; rather the tools offer visual verification of what we already know within ourselves. The more we learn about how we operate in and connect with the energies in the natural world, the better developed our innate dowsing skills become, and with that, the better the questions we ask and the clearer the answers we receive. As this connection is nurtured, so is trust in our instincts and inner knowing.
Each of us presents a multifaceted picture of experiences and responses. Familiarity with the movement of energies as viewed from the five-element theory enhances our ability to interpret this picture. Observing ourselves in the flow of life and discovering more tools to better understand our dowsing information. As without, so within; as above, so below. The better we connect with – know our oneness with – the natural energies, the more in tune our dowsing will be with that oneness.
One of the greatest values in learning this system lies in helping us understand the movements of our won energy, so that we may become clearer channels for the energy that we work with and ultimately reestablish our connection to – and place in – that great circle of energy we call life.
© Sue Miller 2007
Susan R. Miller L.Ac., is a practitioner of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, as well as a professional gardener. Working with both the inner and outer landscapes, she combines her love of energy medicine with her love of nature. A presenter at the ASD convention, her workshops explore the importance of reconnecting with the energies of the natural world and using these energies as a means of coming to know ourselves. She can be reached at sraem@earthlink.net.
